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BEEspoke Data 34

In the Hyborian Kingdom, none were more revered or feared, than Red Sonja. With fiery, red hair and a fierce warrior prowess, she became a force not to be reckoned with. After an unfortunate event that involves the death of her family and her body being desecrated, she prays for a means to exact her revenge upon those who have wronged her. To her luck, her prayers are answered by a benevolent spirit of the woods, appearing only as a red humanoid-shaped mist, who gives her enhanced abilities and skills useful in the ways of combat. In exchange, she must follow a vow to never lie with a man until he has beaten her in a fair duel. Nearby, in a temple ruled by white-clad priestesses, a ceremony begins. They make claim that the talisman, a glowing green orb responsible for the creation of all life, is growing massively unstable and must be hidden in complete darkness. It’s the only way to save the world and all who live on it. Unfortunately, things don’t go as they planned when Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman) with her black-clad army invades the temple and steals the talisman for herself. Among the priestesses is Varna, Sonja’s sister (Janet Agren), who discovers that the talisman can only be touched by women. Men evaporate instantly when they come into contact with it. She barely escapes with her life but when an arrow pierces her back, her vitality starts to gradually plummet. Her escape sends her flying right into the arms of a mighty warrior named Kalidor, played by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. The few perpetrators who followed were shown no mercy from him. He sliced through them clean – what a hero. Varna requested the presence of her sister before her oncoming passing, to which Kalidor obeyed and left to retrieve the mighty Red Sonja in much haste. Training in an outdoor arena of sorts, complete with a rather odd-looking statue in a squatting position, is Red Sonja (starring Brigitte Nielsen). No longer dressed in torn rags, but an alluring golden-scaled dress and a matching headpiece. Compared to the comic book version, I’d say her dress is pretty modest in the movie – though still revealing. Her master, a wise old man, decides to reward Red Sonja for becoming the “Master of the Master”, as he put it. A room full of dazzling swords of all kinds are shown to her. One sword in particular calls her name in a soft voice – the same voice she knew to be the kindred spirit from the woods. She was clearly on the path she desired: the path of vengeance. Kalidor, dressed in red and gold, arrives in style, upon horseback, and retrieves thee Red Sonja without delay. Before Varna passes away, she informs Sonja of the talisman and the destruction it would bring in 13 days time. Simply put: it’ll be the end of the world, if the talisman is not hidden in eternal darkness. Not if Sonja can do something about it… The hulky, yet courteous ally offers his help to the distraught beauty, but she refuses claiming, “I don’t need any man’s help.” To which she rides off alone towards the massive storm in the city of Hablok. Proof of the talisman at work, and her only clue to the whereabouts of Queen Gedren. Although Kalidor may have been left behind, he’s seen lingering in the mere distance keeping an ever close-eye on her in secret. When she arrives in the once-grand city of Hablok, she finds the kingdom in complete ruins. Only two bickering citizens remain. Specifically one actually, ranting uncontrollably to the other about how pathetic and insignificant he is. Of course, he just so happens to be the heir to the throne, Prince Tarn, starring Ernie Reyes Jr. Only a young boy in this film, but you can still recognize him from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, or The Rundown from his later years. Even then, he had the martial artist finesse of a champion. The other individual is Falkon (Paul Laurence Smith), Prince Tarn’s servant and guardian. Thanks to Sonja’s fast acting, she was able to help them both out of a jam. Prince Tarn offers her a rank in his army as a cook, as thanks for her good deeds, but she refuses. Her only interest is the directions to Berkubane, the land of Perpetual Night, where Gedren resides, which she receives. However, before leaving, she advises Falkon to “beat some manners into him” – by means of spanking of course. He’s against doing such measures, and seems to be content with the Prince the way he is, oddly enough. On Red Sonja continues her journey. First she has to pass through Lord Brydon’s domain, played by Pat Roach. In a short encounter, she leaves with the grand key necessary to open the gates, that she pulls from his dead body. Just as she refused Queen Gedren’s advances, she refused Brydon’s. The only difference is Queen Gedren lives with only a slash to the face while Brydon is pierced through the chest. The Queen actually wears a gold chain mask to cover the scar. I must say it gives her character a unique flair. As Brydon’s soldiers move in on Red Sonja, Kalidor busts in to save the day! The two manage to escape to the gate, except Kalidor stays behind to deal with them himself. She smirks at his decision, then rides off. She finds herself next in some woods, when she overhears odd commotion going on. Why, it’s Prince Tarn! Being tortured?! A ruffian has his hands and feet tied to a horse ready to pull him apart. Not on Sonja’s watch. She charges in, cuts the restraints, and fends off the bandits, but not without the help of Prince Tarn. Falkon returns after all the action is done, claiming he went out hunting for food. Now one has become three, for Prince Tarn is eager to make the Queen pay for her crimes against his kingdom. So our group travels together, all the while scolding each other. There’s an epic skeleton bridge that they cross, and it’s pretty glorious. Could’ve used some metal music in the scenic shot, would’ve given it edge. Sonja feels the need to “mother” the Prince a few times. She even boldly tells him, “You’ll never learn anything else til you learn gratitude and self-sacrifice – like Falkon; he’s a REAL man.” But later, a heart-to-heart talk smooths out their rough edges. She teaches him to be gentle when wielding a weapon. You learn that Prince Tarn is actually quite charming, and well on his way to becoming a wise, civilized king. Who knew? Supposedly, Falkon did. Meanwhile, at Queen Gedren’s palace, the talisman is moved into a large room filled with multiple lit candles. It is said the talisman gains it’s power from sources of light, where as darkness destroys it. Through magic, the Queen’s wizard (dressed in green and orange decor) displays the trio proceeding towards them. At the Queen’s side is a beautiful young maiden, obviously her partner, and an unnaturally large pet spider – that purrs? The sight of Red Sonja grasps her attention in a heartbeat. Without delay she orders that no harm better come to Red Sonja – not even a scratch on her body. This queen knows what she wants. She also knows how to “dress to impress”. Black may be her color, but the gold she adorns herself in, as well as her followers, surpass by far as her color of choice. In a way, seeing Red Sonja, reborn in golden apparel, appears as a treasure to Gedren; a prize worthy for her to behold. On Queen Gedren’s orders, the talisman is used to conjure up a “little” storm in order to sway the party towards the “Icthyan Killing Machine” she has released. Inside a cave filled with water, the metallic beast is eventually blinded, leaving it screaming in agony. Kalidor appears again, clad this time in black and gold, to help Sonja settle the score. Around a campfire later, it is revealed who Kalidor truly is. Turns out he’s a Lord of Hyrkania, vowed to ensure the talisman is properly taken care of. Sonja sighs, hoping he was lurking for a much different reason – he did. He pulls her in to kiss her, which she allows, but then backs away remembering her vow. He finds her vow ironic, but he’s up for the challenge. The two go at it hard, until they are both completely exhausted. The Prince even notices the amount of energy put into the match. “She doesn’t want to win,” he says. The next day, they reach their final destination: Queen Gedren’s palace. Through their teamwork, the Prince was able to retrieve his kingdom’s stolen gold, and Sonja was able to rid the world of the talisman and Queen Gedren. Due to the Prince’s courage, he almost had trapped himself inside the palace to help the others escape. Afterwards, Prince Tarn strongly encourages Red Sonja to visit his kingdom someday in the future when it’s rebuilt for he wants her at his court, maybe even make her his bride. But Sonja suggests that he’ll find a bride. Kalidor makes a comment to choose wisely, for he has made a rule “never to take a woman unless she can beat me in a fair fight.” A challenge Sonja is up to take. The royal pair rides off to their homeland, while the two warriors fight amongst themselves. The movie ends with them being lip-locked. All in all, Red Sonja is pretty similar to the Conan movie series, but with a strong female lead instead. I, myself, am a huge fan of the original Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, so I found this movie a delight. Even if you’re not a fan of Conan or Red Sonja, this movie will please audiences who enjoy action and adventure. The acting isn’t the best perhaps, but it’s quite comical and entertaining to watch. Out of five stars, I would give this film two and a half stars.

Friday, August 29, 2008 The future of newspapers? It is designed and packaged like a traditional newspaper, but delivered by email with a link to a PDF. I received my first issue (39 pages) today. It's reminiscent of the short-lived sports daily The National from the early 1990s. Unlike the newspapers delivered to my doorstep this morning, it was missing none of the "late" West Coast scores. It also had full stories and box scores on the previous nights Browns, University of Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio) football games. Best of all, perhaps, it's free (at least for now anyway). Click on the headline for today's issue. And note the story on Page 29 about the Tampa Bay Rays written by former Beacon Journal sports editor Bill Eichenberger. Thursday, August 28, 2008 Bloomberg runs Steve Jobs's obituary. Tuesday, August 26, 2008 BJ wins Society of Professional Journalist awards The Beacon Journal won three first place awards in the Society of Professional Journalists competition for newspapers over 100,000. They were for criminal justice reporting of the Jessie Marie Davis murder by the staff, Betty-Lin Fisher for a business profile “Smucker Family Preserves” and Bob Downing for environmental coverage of the Countywide Landfill fire. Other winners: • Second place, criminal justice reporting — Ed Meyer for Gondor, Resh Leave Jail. • Second place, headline writing — Kim Drezdzon. • Second place, human interest writing — John Higgins for Basketball Plus: A Winning Equation. • Second place, sports profile — Marla Ridenour, Glimpses of Greg Oden. • Second place, Web site — Ohio.com staff. • Third place, best critic in Ohio — Rich Heldenfels. The honorees will get awards at a ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in October. Click on the headline to read the Beacon Journal story on Ohio.com. The story was published Monday on page B2 Monday, August 25, 2008 Abe Zaidan a blogger? Here's link proof Retired veteran BJ political columnist Abe Zaidan now has his own blog called "Grumpy Abe." You can find it at Friday, August 22, 2008 Ex-BJ truck driver William Riffle Jr. dies at 43 William D. Riffle Jr., 43, passed away August 17, 2008. He was born December 11, 1964 in Akron, Ohio and resided in Copley Township. He graduated from the Univ He was preceded in death by father, William D. Riffle Sr.; grandmother, Hester Riffle; and grandmother, Irene Near. He is survived by his wife, Michelle; son, Brendan; and daughter, Brittany. Also survived by mother, Rebecca; sisters, Eileen Smith and Veronica Furman; the Rotili family; and additional family members. Private services for the family have taken place. (COX, WADSWORTH 330-335-3311.) [Beacon Journal, Akron, OH,Friday, August 22, 2008, page B7, col. 4] Thursday, August 21, 2008 Please send an email to a loyal blog viewer Gil Beorn, a 1972 BJ mailroom retiree and one of our regular viewers, has a new email address and a new postal address: Gilbert E Beorn 16225 N. Cave Creek Rd Space 28 Phoenix, AZ 85032 [email protected] Gil is an amazing man. He will be 99 years old in February but he lives for emails and always wants to make sure his records are current, his daughter Laura Modzel tells us. There’s a reason for the new addresses. Gil’s wife, Opal Christina, died on April 5, 2008 at the age of 88. Tney were married for 67 years. Gil has since moved in with his son. If you would like to recall a little more about Gil just type Beorn in the search box at the top of the blog to call up a couple of posts on Gil in February 2007. And then, please, send him an email. We owe that to a loyal viewer. 'Voice of Doom' from Syracuse Vin Crosbie of Syracuse, NY, has a blog called Digital Deliverance which reads like the Voice of Doom: . ." Crosbie will be writing more in the coming days at his site, but alas this sentence is the one that is most depressing: " I’ll outline what the American daily industry might have done to avoid its demise." Might have done, as if it is too late already. Click on the headline to go to Crosbie's blog. Wednesday, August 20, 2008 PD follows with buyout, hikes price to 75 cents The Cleveland Plain Dealer extended a voluntary buyout offer to most of its 370 non-union office employees Tuesday as part of the daily's effort to reduce expenses in the wake of a newspaper-industry advertising slump. It comes a day after the newspaper raised its newsstand price from 50 cents to 75 cents Workers offered the buyout, about a third of the paper's 1,200 employees, received a letter from Terry Egger, president and publisher. It went to newsroom managers, as well as employees in advertising, circulation and other departments.." They have until Oct. 2 to decide. The Plain Dealer offered a buyout to all employees in 2006, and 64 newsroom employees left with severance packages. The Beacon Journal laid off 40 newsroom employees — 25 percent of the staff — in 2006. The Plain Dealer is owned by Advance Publications Inc. and has a daily circulation of about 345,000. The Beacon Journal, which has an average weekday circulation of about 134,000 and 173,000 on Sunday, is owned by Sound Publishing Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Canada's Black Press Ltd. Read the Associated Press story in Editor & Publisher Read the PD website story by Frank Bentayou and John Funk on Cleveland.com No news is NOT good news Beacon Journal editor Bruce Winges got it right. “The Beacon Journal is no exception” to the rough times in the newspaper industry. It took only 77 words to provide the news. In the huge economic scheme with Summit County unemployment above the state level it is not a big deal--unless, of course, you are one of the 20 who will experience it. The news was offered in a Backgrounder on the second business page–a little difficult to find on Ohio.com where a search for ‘Winges’ asks if you mean “twinges” which usually means a sharp, sudden pain. Here’s the story: Beacon Journal offering buyouts The Akron Beacon Journal announced Tuesday that it is offering early retirement and buyout packages to all newsroom employees. ''We are offering these packages because of the economic downturn the newspaper industry is facing. The Beacon Journal is no exception,'' editor and vice president Bruce Winges said. ''We believe that these packages are a generous alternative to layoffs.'' The early-retirement package is available to employees 55 years and older. The buyout is available to all newsroom employees. And here’s the talk: There is not much news, but lots of talk going the rounds. An earlier post (August 11) noted that Phil White, advertising customer service manager, was let go. White is 55 years old and began working at the Beacon Journal on June 23, 1975. Also heard was Jan Wyatt, who has been at the Beacon Journal for 30 years, left because she found another job. Jerri Combs, who was secretary to the comtroller for 25 years, got severance pay of two weeks for every year of service. And how about these “have you heard” comments: “Tony Barone who works in newsprint told me this is the first time in history of Beacon that they have ordered a less amount of paper to use.” “Circulation will be delivering the Plain Dealer in all our delivery areas except up in the Northern part.” “ I heard just the opposite that they will be delivering PD to the northern part.” Which may prove that no news is not good news Tuesday, August 19, 2008 BJ to buy out 20 and trim section fronts The axe is falling again at the Akron Beacon Journal. Editor Bruce Winges was the bearer of bad news at a 3:30 p.m. staff meeting today in the JSK room. Buyouts are being offered to cut the staff by 17 per cent (around 20) and the paper will be confined to three sections; one for all news, one for sports and one for entertainment and other content. This would eliminate the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday section fronts. The goal is to get rid of 8 reporters, 8 copy editor/page designers, 2 artists and 2 photographers. Management will decide which to accept. Those 55 or older would be offered a lump sum payment of their pension entitlement plus $25,000. Younger staffers would get two weeks pay for every year of service plus an extra two weeks pay. The Newspaper Guild is currently in negotiations. Adding to the poor image: Nothing could be found in breaking news on Ohio.com, but Akron News Now was jumping all over the story. Also, see our earlier post about the new design plans for the Beacon Journal. Fake News show viewers know news better Pew Survey: Viewers of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Score High on News Knowledge. That’s the report from Editor & Publisher in a story by Greg Michell. There are, of course, many more significant statistics in the report (see the graphic here) so you should click on the headline to see the Pew story. Here’s Mitchell's report:% Could this happen: From the fake LA Times L.A. Times axes last employee Alleged newspaper will be written by a computer software program. CEO Zell orders downtown headquarters converted into a 'gentleman's club' to maximize the property's value. That’s the headline on a fake story on the fake web site called: Click on the headline to check it out. Monday, August 18, 2008 A new model for news by AP Finally someone is trying to fix the problem rather than just complain about it. The Associated Press commissioned a study and thinks it has come up with a new model for news. Remember the pyramid form of writing with the five Ws and an H: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY AND WHO? It needs work ---difficult study. We all have read the alarming studies that show people don’t read anymore and that young adults experience news fatigue from being inundated by facts and updates and have trouble accessing in-depth stories. The AP is in the business and needs to work on the problem. The surprise is that none of the gloom-and-doom media watchers have even commented on the AP report,. Consumers come to the news from a variety of perspectives and platforms and news providers can create links and pathways to different points. Editors must find ways to connect a story’s entry point for users –providing them with more information than they could find by searching or scrolling. A key finding in the 71-page report is. . Incidentally, the CNN presentation of Jim Kavanagh’s story on Shaken Baby Syndrome is a good example of using the new model to provide readers with information on an important subject. Click on the headline to read the full report. Hopefully others will stumble on it. A Memorable Project from Jim Kavanagh We occasionally post a Memorable Story we discover from the past or the present. Today we salute a work that goes beyond Memorable Story and must fit into a category we might call a Memorable Project.. The story is about the this little baby boy who became the 2008 Baby of the Year in Summit County when he was born at 12:33 a.m. on January 1 and died 12 Former Beacon Journal copy desk chief Jim Kavanagh, now at CNN, spent three months reporting and writing it. He originally proposed telling the story over two days with a main and a sidebar each day. The CNN editors were not ready to commit to that so it ended up a single, 1,600-word story. But what a story: It stood as the main story on the main page for four hours , an extraordinarily long time for CNN”s site, because it was drawing such heavy traffic. Between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., the story received 1,388,000 page views; 360,000 of those were people who read it because someone had emailed it to them. “This was by far the biggest project of my career,” Jim writes. “I spent about three months reporting and writing it. It's a tough read, but I thought it was a story worth telling. I hope you think so too.” The story is well displayed on the CNN site with links to the autopsy report, police investigator Jim, incidentally is one of the people honored on the Blog Wall of Honor on our website which contains the names of 16 who left the Beacon Journal during the big layoff announced on August 22, 2006 when one-forth of the staff was cut. The list honors 16 former employees with 291 years of experience who were not laid off but volunteered to leave--sometimes in the hope of saving the job of a friend. Click on the headline to see the Memorable Project. McClatchy online revenue stands out, according to a report in Adverisitng Age. . Tribune. At Lee -- which publishes a number of Midwestern titles including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch -- online ad revenue declined 9.1% during the quarter. . Click on the headline to go to the Advertising Age story. Saturday, August 16, 2008 The land of tons of daylight By John Olesky BJ 1969-96 I saw the light on my sixth cruise in 40 months with Paula. Plenty of it. During our July 15-28 Baltic Sea vacation sunrise was as early as 4 a.m. and sunset was as late as 11 p.m. Up to 19 hours of daylight in Scandinavia. Holland America’s MS Rotterdam took us to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland I got to test my 5-month-old right knee replacement on cobblestone streets, hills and church steps. We walked as long as five hours on some days. The knee worked fine. Thanks, Dr. Raymond Acus III of Falls Orthopedic Surgeons. I loved the Old Town section of Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, where the Town Wall and fortresses were built in the 15th through 17th centuries – and cobblestone streets. Old Town even survived World War II. Obviously, when you visit St. Petersburg you go to Russia’s Hermitage, where we spent three hours looking at some of the three million works of art. And marveled at the Church on the Spilled Blood, built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. The building has perhaps more mosaic pieces inside and out than any church in the world. A football field away near the Griboedov Canal we observed five wedding parties. Russian newlyweds go to various famous, popular sites for their wedding photos. Instead of “cheese,” the photographer and the guests yelled “Vodka!” before the pictures were taken. We were fascinated by the Vasa, a 226-foot long, 62-foot high wooden Swedish warship that capsized and sank 10 minutes into its 1628 maiden voyage. It remained under the Baltic Sea for 333 years before being brought up. The Baltic’s brackish water kept the Vasa 95% intact. A Stockholm museum was built to house it. Helsinki’s Lutheran Cathedral, with its 56 steep steps, gave my knee another successful test. It is a 1852 replacement for a 1727 church. Oslo’s 80-acre Vigeland Park, with 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland, beginning in 1924, was astounding. We also entered Oslo’s City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. Also amazing was the astronomical clock in St. Mary’s Church in Rostock, Germany. It was built in 1472 and will keep track of the minute, hour, day, month and year till 2017. Paula visited the 1,200-seat Arhus Theater in Arhus, Denmark, without me while I upchucked and spent the entire day in our cabin. We prefer to explore on our own and stumbled upon the World Lifeguard Championships off the beaches of Warnemunde, Germany. The Australians seemed to be dominating the events, which included jumping into a motorized rubber rescue boat, racing out to buoys and bringing the “victim” back to the sand. Since we were in Germany, the land of beermakers, Paula and I hoisted pilsners and emptied our cups. A fitting toast to another marvelous vacation, I’d say. To see the photos, click on the headline. Friday, August 15, 2008 Where can you go for a rest? Frances Burke Murphey (Dec 24, 1922 - Nov 9, 1998) has been gone for almost a decade, but she keeps popping up occasionally. The latest is a mention in the Dyer Streets column of the BJ's Bob Dyer. Bob got a note from Meleine (That's her real name and not just one of our typos) Dailey of Wadsworth who said she saw the flashing sign on Interstate 77 North which said the rest stop was closed and wondered if it was permanent or temporary. Dyer reported that "The Ohio Department of Transportation did close the northbound rest stop--the one with a plaque memorializing legendary Beacon Journal columnist Fran Murphey--on Aug, 1." It will reopen Sept. 1 with new waterlines. We know very little here, but would bet that the outhouse at Murpheydale is probably no longer available. Thanks to Bob and what's her name, however, we have an excuse for printing this photo. Fran loved to write about outhouses so this would bring a chuckle from her. Thursday, August 14, 2008 A mini-skirt design for Beacon Journal? There has been talk about it for some time but the word is that you can expect a tabloid-sized Beacon Journal landing on your porch within a month or so. Line drawers met this week to talk about design, but details are being held close to the chest. Supposedly there will be three tabloid sections: one for all the news (national, state and local), one for sports and one for entertainment et..al. Roy Peter Clarke, a senior of Poynter Institute, was talking about it a couple of years ago. “If I were an editor or publisher of a broadsheet newspaper in any corner of the United States, I'd be paying close attention to a powerful trend affecting the future of newspapers around the world: big papers are converting to smaller formats. “Size matters. But one size does not fit all. Yet the trend is smaller, smaller, smaller. Watch them shrink from the 54-inch to the 50-inch web; from broadsheet to what in Europe they call "compact" sizes: from the "super tab," known as the Berliner, down to the traditional tabloid. “In countries like England and the Netherlands, converts are popping up like reformed sinners at a tent revival. In places like Poland and South Africa, wild and wooly tabs are testing boundaries and building readership with a reckless democratic energy. “And while the word "tabloid" often connotes sensationalism, celebrity and sexuality, some of the world's most traditional and historical news journals have exchanged the formal gown for the mini-skirt.” The European edition of The Wall Street Journal is now a tab Here are a couple of points made in the Poynter article: + Catching the tab spirit should not require you to make a compact with the devil. Catching the tab spirit does not require the broadsheet to shed the monk's robes and don the harlot's frock. Serious tabloids, including Newsday and The Christian Science Monitor, exist everywhere, sometimes dancing the waltz so that no one can see them jitterbug + Broadsheets need to catch the Tabloid Spirit. Newspapers that converts soon discover that everything changes: news judgment, content, design, photography, advertising, marketing, story-telling forms, writing and audience. Without lowering their standards, news organizations need to study and adapt some of the best effects of tabloids: portability, tight writing, great headlines, connection with youth culture, devotion to sports, a lively editorial voice. Hopefully, it will not include one bad trend predicted by another media watcher: “One additional category that I predict will arise in the next few years: the newspaper that moves to a heavily templated design - that is, pre-formatted pages, including covers, plug-and-play with strictly placed briefs, pre-measured stories, pre-sized photos, whether local or wire, and possibly very strict pre-formatted advertising holes to accommodate it.. McClatchy announces salary freeze The McClatchy Co. announced on Thursday a one-year salary freeze starting Sept. 1. The across-thme-board freeze includes all 30 newspapers in the chain and the corporate office in Sacramento. If employees are scheduled to receive a merit or salary review between Sept. 1 and Aug. 31, 2009, the review will occur one year later than scheduled. Publishers of the newspapers sent out memos to all employees The memo at one of the newspapers explained: "This means that if you are scheduled to receive a merit or salary review between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009, your salary review will occur one year later than scheduled. For example, if your next salary review date is March 1, 2009, the salary review will be postponed until March 1, 2010. However, you will receive regularly scheduled performance reviews during this period." Thursday.Sacramento Bee publisher Cheryl Dell in his memo to all employees said “While we have taken many steps to reorganize and streamline operations to respond to changing business models and these economic challenges, we need to do more to control expenses.” Ed Fletcher, chairman of the employee union, said employees are learning to do more with less, but are opposed to doing more for less. “Sadly we’ve seen a steady stream of good employees making the often-difficult decision to leave the company over the last 12 months,” Fletcher said, in an e-mail. “Between layoffs, buyouts and attrition, the newsroom alone is down 29 people since Aug. 27, 2007.” The salary freeze will only further that migration, he said. “Losing pace with inflation will cause even the most die-hard journalist to question whether, for the sake of their future and family, it’s time to move on,” he said. He said the guild is looking forward to meeting with management to offer ideas on how to trim costs without “destroying employee moral, driving more employees away, or causing a financial hardship for employees. “One place to start is to eliminate management bonuses.” Management at the Lexingcton (Ky) Herald-Leader earlier announcecd another voluntary separation package with no specific target number. A memo there said: “The Herald-Leader continues.” Click on the headline to read the story in the Sacramento Bee Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Here's an update from Marvin Katz After 40 years of successive careers in journalism, public relations, and freelance writing and PR consulting, I retired in 1998. Three years later, my wife Joyce and I moved from Rockville, Md., where we'd lived for 24 years, to a mountainside home five miles due north of downtown Hendersonville, N.C., and 22 miles from Asheville. Life is reasonably good, with modern medical technology staying a step or two ahead of our needs. I stepped down earlier this year after six years on the board of our homeowners association, five of them as president. But there's enough other stuff going on that I wonder how I ever found time to work for pay. We have two daughters. Lisa is a Kent State grad like me who did her J-School internship at the BJ and is now director of news services for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Susie is a family-practice physician in Portland, Ore., and the mother of our two grandchildren. --Marv Visitor from South Carolina Harold McElroy also lives in Pauleys Island, about a block from Dick. Sid Sprague, who began the BJ retirees migration from Akron to Pauleys, moved to Colorado after his wife died. The Spragues were best friends with a couple in Pauleys. The couple's husband died, and eventually the widow and Sid got together, and later moved near her family in Colorado. Sid moved from Cuyahoga Falls to Pauleys Island. Dick has lived in Pauleys Island for nine years. He's a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and fishes a lot, in the ocean and on a nearby river. Others at the 1 p.m. second Wednesday monthly lunch were Pat Dougherty, retired engraver; retired printers Al Hunsicker, Gene McClellan, Carl Nelson and Cal Deshong; and retired Newsroom employees Dave Boerner, Tom Moore and John Olesky. 'Pro bono' does not mean working for free A note from Kevin Allman to Poynter Online:. Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Reminder: BJ Retirees lunch is tomorrow. Over 6,300 newspaper jobs lost “How severe have the recent cutbacks in newspaper staffing and operations been?” Potts asks. “Pretty severe. Over the past few days, I've built a database of the cuts over the past year at the nation's 100 largest newspapers (measured by circulation), and here's what I found: *. Click on the headline to see his PDF file. The Beacon Journal is 86 (by circulation) on the list. Monday, August 11, 2008 Bob Lewis having shoulder surgery -- again So I called Bob in Wadsworth but left a message when no one answered. Later, Paula and I were driving to Hudson High School for a German brass band concert (lots of polkas and oom-pa-pas) when Bob called back on my cellphone. Only Bob wasn't in Wadsworth, he was in California. Bob's wife told him that a guy named John wanted to talk to him about a Florida vacation. "I knew it was you," Bob said. "Where are you?," said I. "In California," Bob answered. Bob is in California getting his rotator cuff repaired, his second shoulder operation. Bob said that he overdid the physical therapy after the first shoulder operation, so he returned to his favorite doctor to fix the latest problem. I wanted to talk to him about renting his 2-bedroom home on Siesta Key, off Sarasota, which he still owns at 7007 Point of Rocks Road, maybe a block from the late BJ printer Bill Gorrell's rental complex. Several years ago, I ran into Bob and Mike Jewell walking on the beach at Siesta Key. Bob's place wasn't rented for about 10 days in February that year so they both went down to stay in it. We were staying in Sea Castle, whose parking lot is across the street from Gorrell's former rentals. My late wife Monia and I had dinner with Bob and Mike the next evening. Alas, Sea Castle has been razed to make way for a 6-story condominium. Gorrell's place also is or will be leveled for the same reason. And the two complexes behind Gorrell's former place, which Bill managed for the doctors who owned them. Good luck on your second shoulder surgery, Bob! Phil White is among half dozen who lost jobs A half dozen business types lost their jobs at the Beacon Jiournal last Monday --including Phil White, advertising customer service manager. White is 55 years old and began working at the Beacon Journal on June 23, 1975, Two other ad coordinators with less service and a top finance department employee also are gone. There are no specific details on what type of severance, pension or health benefits might be available. Home telephone numbers already have been removed from the employee list. Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Here's Cal in busy downtown Akron in 1949 Yes. That's now-retired printer Calvin Deshong at night on crowded Main Street in downtown Akron in 1949. You can see a reflection of the Richman Bros. sign in the background. Cal, who dug up the photo for us, says it was taken by a sidewalk photographer. The Canadian Rx solution to the donut hole Uroxatral is cheaper for me from Aetna as long as I have NOT reached the donut hole. When I’m in the donut hole I can get Uroxatral from Canada (same pills, exactly, as you get from Aetna or your local American pharmacist) for $113.99 for 90 when it costs me $223.24 from Aetna when I’m in the donut hole. For Alfuzosin, which is the generic for Uroxatral, it costs me $77 for 100. Celebrex is cheaper for me from Aetna as long as I have NOT reached the donut hole. When I’m in the donut hole I can get Celebrex from Canada (again, pills are identical to the ones you get from Aetna or your local pharmacist) for $137.78 for 100 when it costs me $301.41 for 90 from Aetna when I’m in the donut hole. For Celecoxib, the generic for Celebrex, it costs me $104.45 for 100. There also is a $10 shipping charge from the Canadian pharmacy to factor in. If I hit the donut hole Oct. 1, the 90 days of using the Canadian pharmacy will save me Celebrex $301.41 minus $137.78 and $10 shipping= $153.63 Celecoxib (generic) $301.41 minus $104.45 and $10 shipping= $186.96 Uroxatral $223.24 minus $113.99 and $10 = $99.25 Alfuzosin (generic) $223.24 minus $77 and $10 = $136.24 With brand names I will save $252.88 and get 10 extra pills (100 vs. 90) for 3 months. With generics, which we’re getting mostly from Aetna anyway, I will save $323.20! Some of us are hitting the donut hole with SIX MONTHS left. In that case, for generics I will save $646.40! How do you go about doing this and saving a ton of money for the exact pills you’re getting from Aetna? 1. Click on this headline, which will take you to the Canadian pharmacy web site, and find your drugs that cost more than Aetna’s $5 or $10 categories and see how much you can save. 2. Have your doctor write and hand you a prescription that, with refills, will equal or exceed the Canadian order (usually, 100 pills). If your doctor will fax the prescription to the Canadian pharmacy (mine won’t), have the Canadian pharmacy fax your doctor and he will fax the Canadian pharmacy the prescription. 3. If your doctor hands you your prescription, go back to this Canadian pharmacy web site, order your pills and either mail in your prescription or scan and email it in (that’s acceptable, too). There will be Rx delivery choices – Rx by U.S. Mail, email, etc. -- for you to click when you’re on the Canadian pharmacy web site. 4. CONTINUE to order the $5 and $10 prescriptions through Aetna. Even when you’re in the donut hole, that cost stays the same. Aetna just rigged the donut hole so that you won’t get out of it before the year ends, which means never. 5. Questions? I’d be happy to answer them. Email me at [email protected] or call me on my cellphone at (330) 388-4466. Or conduct a discussion on this BJ Retirees web site by clicking on Comments. Maybe someone else has other, legal, sensible ways to reduce the money we spend on prescriptions. Uroxatral 10 mg Aetna pre-donut hole cost ……….. $40 for 90 Aetna donut hole cost …………….. $223.24 for 90 Canada uroxatral cost …………….. $113.99 for 90 Canada Alfuzosin (generic) cost ... $77.00 for 100 Celebrex 200 mg Aetna pre-donut hole cost ……….. $80 for 90 Aetna donut hole cost …………….. $301.41 for 90 Canada Celebrex cost …………….. $137.78 for 100 Canada Celecoxib (generic) cost ...$104.45 for 100 Granddaughter of late Sol Shwartz dies at 17 Sarah Elizabeth Shwartz, 17, passed away unexpectedly in Akron on August 3, 2008. Born in Akron in 1991, Sarah had been a lifetime area resident. She was a 2008 graduate of Garfield High School and was set to start her first semester at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the fall. She wa Sarah was preceded in death by her grandparents, Barbara and Sol Shwartz and Hugh and Bernice Feller. She is survived by her loving parents, Leonard and Karen Shwartz of Akron; brothers, Lee and Joseph also of Akron; grandmother, Frieda Gerin; aunts and uncles, Roberta and Phillip Hittner, Yong and Peter Shwartz, Larry and Barbara Evans, and Doyle Feller; niece, Megan; and nephews, Devin and Zach; cousins, Libby and Lily; special friends, Ashley Dowd and Carol Carter. The family will receive friends Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Anthony Funeral Home Kucko-Anthony-Kertesz Chapel, 1990 S. Main St., where funeral services [Beacon Journal, Akron, OH,Wednesday, August 6, 2008, page B5, col. 4] McClatchy online revenue looking good Advertising lineage in newspapers will continue to decline, Media Daily News reports, but McClatchy Newspapers reports online advertising grew 58.5 percent in the second quarter of this year. Although most companies still don't release separate figures for "Internet-only" revenues, McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt, discussing second-quarter results, remarked: "Excluding employment advertising, which is the category most tied to print upsellsell." Online display ad revenue is up 26% at E.W. Scripps, and local ads (mostly display) rose 45.7% at Media General. Finally, although she did not cite specific figures, NYTCO CEO Janet L. Robinson attributed the 13% increase in the company's online revenues to "strong display advertising." Nonetheless, the proportion of total revenues derived from online display advertising remains quite small, and potential sources of new online revenues are a long way off. Most of the big newspaper publishers have seen their print ad revenues fall sharply over the last year, if not longer. The downward trend is clearly established, with executives warning investors that there are more declines on the way. It seems that things can't get any worse--but incredibly, they can, and probably will. As newspapers are buffeted by a perfect storm of industry-specific and general trends, the rate of revenue decline is likely to accelerate in the second half of 2008 and 2009. It's impossible to see into the future, of course--and Ken Doctor, an analyst with Outsell, Inc., steered clear of hard-and-fast predictions, but he did say "the points for revenue are all pointing down"--adding that the situation appears especially ominous because of a couple of new, emerging trends. First and most importantly, online revenue growth has sputtered, stalled, and in some cases even swung into reverse in 2008. Comparing the second quarter of 2008 to the same period last year, online revenues declined 9.1% at Lee Enterprises, 12% at A.H. Belo, and 8% at E.W. Scripps. Meanwhile, online revenue growth slowed to a snail's pace for newspaper divisions at Gannett--up 3%--and the Washington Post Company, up 4%. Online growth was more robust at the New York Times Company, up 12.8%, and McClatchy, up 12.5%-- but still looked positively anemic next to the quarterly growth rates of pure-play Internet companies like Google, up 39% in the same period. The slowdown in online revenue growth "is absolutely terrible news," Doctor said, removing the one source of good news in previous quarters. The slowdown could have been foreseen: "Newspapers got addicted to online upsells from the print classifieds," Doctor recalled, relying on combined print-online sales to sustain double-digit growth in online classified revenues for several years. Meanwhile, the volume of print classifieds was shrinking, a process accelerated by the economic slowdown. With fewer print classifieds being placed, there are fewer opportunities for online upsells. Click on the headline to read the full report in Media Daily News. Tuesday, August 05, 2008 Cincinnati Enquirer looks for 50 buyouts By E&P Staff CHICAGO Eight months after becoming the only local daily in the city, Gannett Co.'s Cincinnati Enquirer is seeking to buy out 50 staffers. In an e-mail to employees Monday, Publisher Margaret Buchanan said the paper is looking to make the reductions among non-union employees. "If this voluntary offer doesn't result in a sufficient number of volunteers, or if in the future, economic conditions worsen, it may be necessary to consider layoffs," Buchanan wrote. On offer is two weeks of salary for every year of service plus health benefits for a period of up to 52 weeks. The offer expires Aug. 15, Buchanan added. SF Chronicle offers buyouts to 125 The San Francisco Chronicle will offer at least 125 employees the chance to take a buyout before the end of the year, the company said Friday. "Obviously, we're not the first newspaper to be affected by the continuing downturn in advertising," said Publisher, President and CEO Frank Vega. "We are hopeful that by opting for our employees to voluntarily sign up for buyouts we can avoid any type of layoffs going forward." The program is open to all employees who are not represented by a union as well as employees who are represented by the Northern California Media Workers' Guild. The company said it would consider accepting more than 125 employees and that it has the right to reject as well as accept applicants. If the reduction goal is not met, the company said, layoffs will be likely. This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle Monday, August 04, 2008 The Mayflower Hotel: Yesterday and Today Today seem like an opportune time to post this old postcard of the Mayflower Hotel in all its glory. The card was provided by retired printer Calvin Deshong. And here's today's news: Beacon Journal staff report AKRON: A resident of a downtown Akron high-rise apartment building was taken Sunday morning to Akron General Medical Center following a fire that also caused the building to be partially evacuated. Several units from the Akron Fire Department responded to the Mayflower Manor Apartments at South Main and State streets shortly after 9 a.m. The fire was contained to a seventh-floor apartment. Fire officials said smoke spread to the upper floors. Residents on the first floor, where there was significant water damage, were evacuated. The extent of the woman's injuries was not known. Her name and age were not released.Damage was placed at $30,000 to the apartment and $50,000 to the building. Sunday, August 03, 2008 John Frederick Seiberling 1918-2008 Bob Downing wrote an admirable obituary for page A1 on Sunday on an admirable Akron native, John F. Seiberling. Rich Ststeinhauser drew an equally admisrable portrait of Seiberling to illustrate the front page tribute. Downing captures it all in thse first eight paragraphs: By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer. He was a liberal New Deal Democrat, a supporter of wilderness, arms control, free trade, world peace and historic preservation. He was a fan of Shakespeare, poetry and bawdy limericks, as well as an accomplished nature photographer and a lover of The Wind in the Willows. He was soft-spoken and reserved yet strong willed and at times feisty. He looked at the big picture, although he was a man of detail. Known for his calm, statesmanlike approach, he operated with caution and dignity, without flamboyance. He was known for his dry wit, intellect, idealism and integrity. He was a loner and proudly operated outside the political system, refusing to be one of the boys, to join the congressional club. Behind his back, staff and supporters called him St. John. Before Congress, during his 17 years as an attorney for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. — the company his grandfather founded — Mr. Seiberling once took a leave of absence to avoid crossing United Rubber Worker union picket lines. That's because he sided with the union at that time. And in the wake of the May 4, 1970, shootings at nearby Kent State University, Mr. Seiberling ignored the political risks and warnings of advisers to speak at a rally at the University of Akron, advising students there to keep their protests peaceful. It was his opposition to the Vietnam War that led Mr. Seiberling to run for Congress in 1970, defeating 10-term Republican incumbent William Ayers to become a 51-year-old rookie. Mr. Seiberling served on the House Judiciary Committee that conducted the 1974 impeachment hearings that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. And in his 1986 congressional hearings to probe the proposed takeover of Goodyear by raider Sir James Goldsmith, it was Mr. Seiberling who drew the loudest cheers from Akron when he confronted Goldsmith with the question: ''Who the hell are you?'' Part of Mr. Seiberling's success as a congressman was attributed to his ability to work with local and federal officials in a bipartisan effort. He got Akron a new federal courthouse and a new post office. He twice found federal money for the city's now-closed trash-burning power plant, as well as funds for Quaker Square, the Akron-Canton Airport, the Goodyear Technical Center and various other projects. ''I'm not sure any of us can adequately measure with words the immense contributions John has made,'' said Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic. ''The true value of his work will continue to reside in his legacy and will be enjoyed by and for many, many generations to come. His is the work of a remarkable public servant with a most generous spirit and creative mind. John Seiberling and his family have helped build and sustain this city.'' ''John Seiberling was a darn good congressman,'' Summit County Republican Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff told a reporter after Seiberling retired. ''If I were a liberal Democrat, I'd say he was a great congressman.'' Mr. Seiberling also left his mark far beyond Akron, stretching across the American West and Alaska. ''John Seiberling stands as a giant in terms of managing public lands . . . an American hero,'' said John Debo, superintendent of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. ''What he did was really extraordinary, and he truly was one of America's great conservationists.'' Right man, right time He was a key figure in Congress in the 1970s and 1980s and played a key role in preserving America's wild lands — with his constituents not always aware of the issues and what was going on, said Dan Nelson of Bath Township, an emeritus history professor at the University of Akron and author of A Passion for the Land: John F. Seiberling and the Environmental Movement (to be published next year by Kent State University Press). ''Getting the Cuyahoga Valley park created in 1974 only whetted his appetite. He got involved in Alaska and wilderness lands. . . . He was the right man at the right time to get a lot accomplished,'' Nelson said. Doug Scott of Seattle, a wilderness author and policy director for Campaign for America's Wilderness, said Mr. Seiberling should rank among the very top conservationists in the 20th century. Scott worked with Mr. Seiberling on wilderness measures while with the Sierra Club and wrote The Enduring Wilderness: Protecting Our National Heritage Through the Wilderness Act. ''Wilderness was his passion,'' Scott said. ''And that legacy will touch all Americans for generations. . . . He truly was an American giant.'' Over the years, Mr. Seiberling served as chairman of the Interior Committee's public lands and national parks subcommittee and pushed 33 bills for 250 new and expanded wilderness areas in 27 states. In 1980, he and U.S. Rep. Morris Udall, D-Ariz., led the fight to approve federal protection for 103 million acres under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. In all, Mr. Seiberling played a key role in preserving 69 million acres of wilderness — that included 54 million acres in Alaska — in addition to 59 million acres of other federal parks, forests and preserves. Mr. Seiberling made his first trip to Alaska in 1975 and came away impressed. In 1977, he held congressional hearings across that state, helping him develop a photo collection of more than 3,000 Alaskan shots. He exhibited his photos in the Capital during the 1978 debate and said the photos helped sway members of Congress. He was widely saluted by national environmental groups for his efforts to save the American wilderness — efforts that earned him opposition from some Western and Alaskan politicians. Bruce Hamilton, deputy executive director for the national Sierra Club, compared the significance of Mr. Seiberling's efforts for Alaska to President Theodore Roosevelt's creation of the national forests. The Alaskan legislation was ''a tribute to Seiberling's persistence and statesmanship,'' he said. ''He was the expert and made quite the difference. . . . Every wilderness advocate in the country knew him and worshipped him,'' Hamilton said in a telephone interview from San Francisco. ''Most considered John Seiberling to be their second congressman.'' Conservationist is born Mr. Seiberling's desire to save wild America may be traced to a childhood experience on a family vacation to an island in Lake Huron. On a return trip, the mainland forest near Hessel, Mich., had disappeared. The giant white pines had been cut to be turned into matchsticks. Later, in a quote still cited by his ex-staffers, Mr. Seiberling said: '.'' His associates said the words were reflective of his goals. But Mr. Seiberling was proudest of spearheading the creation of the Cuyahoga Valley park in 1974. In 1971, as a rookie legislator, Mr. Seiberling's efforts to help sponsor legislation to create a national park between Akron and Cleveland went nowhere. In subsequent years, though, he introduced the measure and worked to build public support for saving the Cuyahoga Valley. Debo, the park's superintendent, said Mr. Seiberling ''had the foresight and the ability to galvanize public support to preserve the valley. It was an incredible accomplishment.'' Not everyone supported the idea. The National Park Service didn't think the Cuyahoga Valley deserved federal protection. And even after winning approval in Congress, the legislation came perilously close to dying. With President Gerald Ford on a ski vacation in Colorado, federal officials, opposed to a high-cost urban park, were urging a veto. Mr. Seiberling called Regula, who got an emergency phone call placed to Ford by Akron's Ray Bliss, the influential former national chairman of the Republican Party. Other calls went to U.S. Sens. Robert Taft Jr. and Howard Metzenbaum, as well as former Goodyear Chairman E. J. Thomas. Bliss told Ford that he should sign the legislation if he wanted to win Ohio and to veto it if he wanted to lose Ohio. Ford signed the bill on Dec. 27, 1974. Mr. Seiberling called Ford's approval a Christmas gift for people in Northeast Ohio. In later years, he said the park was far more than he ever expected. Mr. Seiberling also protected the park from Ronald Reagan's secretary of the interior, James Watt, who wanted to eliminate it as a federal park in the 1980s. Mr. Seiberling also played key roles in the 1977 federal surface-mining reclamation act and a 1976 bill enlarging the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. He also pushed to eliminate acid rain in clean-air legislation. He was unsuccessful in an effort to have federal judges selected on merit instead of political appointment, and to create a youth job corps. He aggressively fought President Reagan over federal budget cuts in the early 1980s. His influence was felt beyond U.S. shores. He played key roles in Congress in the birth of nations: the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. His staff saw Mr. Seiberling as ''this cuddly distinguished college professor whom we all loved,'' said Andrew Wiessner, a one-time staffer and now a retired public lands consultant in Colorado. Issues instead of politics Mr. Seiberling was different: He was the nonpolitical congressman, a good and dedicated public servant, Wiessner said. ''He looked at the issues, not the politics,'' Wiessner said ''There was a gentle way about him. He was so scholarly and so thorough'' Long-time Seiberling staffer Loretta Neumann added: ''He really was a Renaissance man, an amazing man, a giant. . . . Everyone who ever worked for him said it was the best job they ever had, and that was true for me, too. . . . He was the right person at the right place at the right time to do the things he did.'' Neumann, who came to Mr. Seiberling's staff from the National Park Service, said he hired her mainly to get the park established. ''At the time, I knew nothing about the workings of Congress.'' she said. ''When I first met him, I told him so. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'I need you to teach me about parks. I can teach you what you need to know about Congress.' '' State Sen. Tom Sawyer, D-Akron, who succeeded Mr. Seiberling in Congress, said he knew Mr. Seiberling ''virtually my entire political life.'' ''He was a commanding figure throughout this community and as soon as I got to Washington, it was clear as it had ever been that he was beloved by the people who knew him best,'' Sawyer said. He had an ''enormous respect for the rule of law and love of nation,'' Sawyer said, and his respect for the environment went beyond Northeast Ohio in a way that ''will be remembered for generations.'' After serving in Congress, Mr. Seiberling returned to Akron to practice law, teach law and direct the University of Akron's Center for Peace Studies for 51/2 years, until mid-1996. He also returned to enjoy the Cuyahoga Valley from his long-time home at the edge of the park in Bath Township. He and his wife later moved to a Copley Township condominium. He earned countless honors over the years, including the Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award from the Akron Community Foundation in 1999. He attributed his love of nature to his father, John F. Seiberling Sr. But he frequently said the most influential person in his life was his mother, Henrietta, who died in 1979. His mother was described as a formidable woman of strong moral conviction — a churchgoer who introduced Bill Wilson of New York and Dr. Robert Smith of Akron in 1935. They went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron. Getting an education Mr. Seiberling attended King Elementary School and Buchtel High School in Akron before going to Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Va. He graduated from Harvard University in 1941. During World War II, he served in the Army from 1942 to 1946, fighting in Europe. He enlisted as a private and attained the rank of major. He earned the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and three Battle Stars. He also earned the Medaille de la Reconnaissance Francaise (France) and the Ordre de Leopold II (Belgium). After his discharge, he earned a law degree at Columbia University in New York in 1949. From 1949 to 1954, he practiced law with Donovan, Leisure, Newton and Irvine in New York City. He joined Goodyear in Akron in 1954 and remained here until he went to Congress in 1971. Locally, Mr. Seiberling was a member of the Akron Regional Development Board and the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority. He was a three-term president of the Akron-based Tri-County Regional Planning Commission. He was a member of the United Community Council of Summit County, the Stan Hywet Hall Foundation, the United World Federalists of Akron and the Akron Bar Association's World Peace Through Law committee. He was a founder of the Summit County Committee for Peace in Vietnam and a member of the local Sierra Club and the Cuyahoga Valley Association. In 1949, he married Elizabeth ''Betty'' Behr, a Vassar graduate. They shared the same interests, the same priorities, the same outlook for 59 years of marriage. She actually met her future husband while at Vassar through his sister, who was a student there. They had their first date in Paris in 1945 — at an officer's mess. He proposed during his last year of law school in New York. She later told reporters she accepted his proposal in part because he had respect for women's intellectual capabilities. In addition to his wife, he is survived by their three sons, John B. of Washington, D.C., David of Akron and Stephen of Chapel Hill, N.C.; and one grandson, Evan. He also leaves sisters Dorothy Seiberling of Long Island, N.Y., and Mary S. Huhn of Pennsylvania. A memorial service is planned for late August or early September. Billow funeral home in Fairlawn is handling arrangements. Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or [email protected].. Saturday, August 02, 2008 Health update from Ken Wright Well, just to bring everyone up to date with health problems, here goes. After surgery and six days in Cleveland Clinic, I got to come home Monday (21st). Sunday I had a fever, June took me to Akron City. They called my doctor at C.C. and he had me transported back to C.C. Spent five days there getting rid of an infection. Came home Thursday (31st). Doing much better. Still have no appetite (expected), sore stomach and get tired quick. Recovery will take several more weeks, at least. I am up walking around the house but not able to do much else. Please keep up the prayers. Friday, August 01, 2008 You can call him Professor Mitch soon You can call him Professer Mitch starting the end of this month, but you can still call him Editor Mitch part-time. . BJ online editor Mitch McKenney will join Kent State University as an assistant professor at the Stark campus. Here's the memo from Editor Bruce Winges: I am sorry to announce that Mitch will be leaving us to join Kent State University as an assistant professor Mitch has taught at Kent State as an adjunct professor for some time. He also has almost completed work on an MBA from KSU. He also holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Kent. Mitch joined the Beacon Journal in September 1998 as a deputy metro editor. Since then he has worked extensively in metro, as features editor and most recently as online editor. Before joining the Beacon he worked at the Palm Beach Post and the late Rochester (N.Y.) Times-Union. Mitch lives in Hartville with his wife, Kim, and two sons and one daughter. Please join me in wishing Mitch well. And if you miss him when he leaves at the end of August, he’ll be back soon. Thanks, Bruce [Charlotte.com is the website of the Charlotte Observer, once a Knight Ridder newspaper and once guided by Editor Perry Morgan, once editor of the BJ] Cageao and wife Audrey have a son, Fred, who will be attending the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Ohio.com is the fastest-growing part of the BJ business and averages 912,461 unique visitors and more than 6.8 million page views each month, according to Alton Brown, BJ executive vice president and business manager

This is a guide to various endurance nutrition products available. The objective is to help you choose the right products for your needs, and to understand the differences between the various brands and what’s available. I’ll try the products myself and give my most objective review possible. Sometimes I buy them myself and other times they may be sent to me, but either way all of these reviews are unpaid and honest. Also, I will ask each brand the same questions: What is it? 1-2 short, succinct sentences summarizing the brand or the specific product. How is it different? What’s the unique selling point? Why should we buy this one over a competitor? Who is it best for or what applications is it at its best? Longer races (70.3s to fulls)? Recovery? Fat-adapted athletes? Vegans? What forms does it come in and why? (Mix, tablet, bar, gel, chew, etc) It could be individually-wrapped blister tablets for ease of carrying during running, powders to mix in your drink on the bike, etc. A link to buy it with a discount code Precision Hydration PH has been a favourite product of mine for a few years now and it’s the one that really helped me dial in my sodium. It’s the most popular sodium or electrolyte product among my friends, but it’s expensive. That may be a good thing, though, especially in this sport. Anyway, who uses cheap equipment? Following are the answers to questions I’ve asked PH: What it is Precision Hydration provide multi-strength electrolyte supplements that match how you sweat. How it’s different The main electrolyte lost in sweat is sodium and everyone loses a different amount of sodium when they sweat – from as little as 200mg per litre to as much as 2,000mg per litre – so a ‘one size fits all’ approach to hydration simply doesn’t work. The focus of Precision Hydration is to provide a personalised service for athletes, which is why their electrolytes come in four different strengths – PH 250, PH 500, PH 1000, PH 1500, with the strongest PH 1500 containing 3 times more sodium than typical sports drinks. Who it’s best for PH is ideal for athletes who are looking to optimise their hydration strategy. Whether you’re an athlete who suffers with cramps, struggles in the heat, loses plenty of sodium in your sweat or you sweat profusely, PH provide Sweat Tests, supplements and advice to help you refine your hydration plan. Who it isn’t ideal for An athlete who isn’t a particularly salty or heavy sweater, or perhaps isn’t putting in huge amounts of hours in training or races, might not see the greatest benefit, compared with athletes who accumulate large sweat losses. But if you think you could do with tweaking your hydration strategy, then PH provide the solutions you need. On that note, feel free to email [email protected] with any hydration-related questions you might have. What forms it comes in and why (mix, tablet, bar, gel, chew, etc). PH electrolyte supplements come in three formats – all-natural drink mixes, low-calorie effervescent tablets, blister-packed salt capsules – because all athletes and sports are different, and so they have different needs. Many athletes will make use of each of the different forms in different scenarios or at different times before, during and after events. For more information on the differences between the PH supplements, check out this blog. Buy it! Use the discount code IRONMANHACKS at the PrecisionHydration.com checkout to get 15% off your entire first order of PH electrolytes. Useful articles: – Why sodium is crucial to athletes performing at their best – PH Annual Cramping Survey – Why do athletes suffer from cramp? UCAN This is a brand I had never used – it’s not available in Singapore where I live. But they sent me a pack which included the following: I’d refer to UCAN as a low-calorie, slow-release fuel. It sort of made me rethink the idea that I needed somewhere around 250-300 calories per hour on the bike and I was eager to try it. Read the UCAN review here. Following are the answers to questions I’ve asked UCAN: What it is What underlies UCAN’s products is SuperStarch, a unique complex carbohydrate that gives you energy without the spike and crash of sugar. Non-GMO corn starch is cooked through a patented 40 hour all-natural heating process to create SuperStarch, initially discovered for kids with a rare metabolic disorder. The breakthrough in carbohydrate technology has found applications in endurance sports through The UCAN Company. How it’s different SuperStarch provides steady, long-lasting energy rather than the spike and crash profile of simple sugars and maltodextrin, which are the two high glycemic carbohydrates that underlie nearly every product in the endurance sports nutrition marketplace. Steady energy leads to many athletes finishing their workouts and races stronger, and without bonking. Due to the low osmolality of SuperStarch, it clears the stomach very quickly reducing the chances of sloshing, bellyaches, nausea, unplanned porta-potty stops and other forms of GI distress. UCAN’s powders have no sugar in them for a healthier way to fuel. There is also evidence from peer-reviewed double-blinded studies to show that blood sugar remains more stable as compared to maltodextrin, insulin remains muted, and may therefore improve the body’s ability to burn fat. Who it’s best for UCAN is really for any athlete looking to finish stronger. It’s a clear choice for any triathlete who has experienced GI distress or has hit the wall in a workout or race, or for any athlete looking for a healthier way to fuel rather than chronically ingesting sugar. Athletes in the fat-adapted and diabetic communities have latched onto SuperStarch’s ability to stabilize blood sugar and improve fat oxidation. Men and women of all levels have found UCAN to be ultra-compelling including 17 hour IRONMAN finishers all the way up to Tim O’Donnell who placed 2nd in Kona 2019 in sub-8 hours. UCAN has a number of products in its line up that are vegan-friendly (anything without whey protein listed in the ingredients). Who it isn’t ideal for Since SuperStarch is a form of cornstarch, anyone with a corn allergy should not use UCAN. And if you’ve already bonked, simple sugars will be more effective to bring you back than SuperStarch due to the steadier nature of the carbohydrate. What forms it comes in and why (mix, tablet, bar, gel, chew, etc) UCAN has three main product lines with plans to expand that in the future. Currently, UCAN offers SuperStarch powders, UCAN Anytime Energy Bars and UCAN Hydrate. The SuperStarch powders are labeled UCAN Performance Energy, which is a powder that is mixed in fluid (typically water) to form a shake that is consumed pre, during or post-exercise to fuel your activity and help you recover quickly. UCAN Bars are great anytime as snacks or pre/during training to fuel your effort. UCAN Hydrate has no fuel and is solely for hydration purposes since it is simply composed of electrolytes and delicious natural flavors. Sign up for the UCAN mailing list at to learn about future product launches coming in the first half of 2020. A link to buy it with a discount code: The above link will provide 15% off on the person’s first order (US only) PURE I’ve seen PURE for years at races and have heard of friends who used it. I’ve tried it a few times and was immediately impressed with the taste of the drink – very mild and not overwhelming. But I have not tried all of the products. But now, here’s an overview. What it is. How it’s different All ingredients are carefully selected for quality & performance. No artificial colours, flavours or ingredients. High quality, real fruit & vegetable freeze-dried powders are used – creating a flavour unlike any other sports nutrition brand out there. Who it’s best for - Products across the range are primarily designed for those engaging in regular exercise – anyone from beginners training for their first 5k run to elite athletes to competitors in ultra-marathon, multi-sport, Triathlon, Ironman, Spartan et - We also have Whey Protein and other recovery products with multiple health benefits Who it isn’t ideal for - Some products are not suitable for pregnant women or children under 15 (those containing caffeine) - Some products are not suitable for those with lactose intolerance What forms it comes in and why Gels - Maltodextrin based.. PURE has two types of Gel : The main difference in our gel ranges is the consistency. The Fluid Gel Range is liquid in consistency whereas the Energy Gel Range is closer to a traditional gel thickness (although not as thick as most other gels). This means the Fluid Gel Range is slightly larger at 50g vs. the Energy gel range at 35g. We designed the Fluid Gel Range to be very easy to swallow, as we said it’s liquid in consistency so there is no need to struggle to ingest it while exercising. Which one suits you? It really comes down to personal preference and what you are using it for. Many of our athletes use the Fluid Gel Range during higher intensity parts of their training/ racing or when it is harder to swallow i.e. running. The Energy Gel Range is popular over longer distances, times where hunger sets in or to combat flavour fatigue (feedback is they look forward to these as a tasty treat while exercising). Both also contain caffeinated and non-caffeinated flavours. Don’t be afraid to mix and match during training and racing to discover which combination of Fluid and Energy Gel Ranges meets your fuelling needs and excites the taste buds. Electrolytes PURE Electrolyte Hydration is a natural isotonic electrolyte sports drink base, in powder form. - Made with a specific blend of sucrose and glucose which helps with rapid replacement of energy, PURE Electrolyte Hydration is designed to promote the availability of energy during exercise. - It’s not sickly sweet so you can easily drink it at full strength. - Contains the electrolytes, sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. When mixed with water to the correct amounts, PURE Electrolyte Hydration will assist with ensuring adequate fluid intake during exercise and to prevent or treat mild dehydration that may occur as a result of sustained strenuous exercise. PURE Endurance products - PURE Endurance Formula is a premium drink base specifically formulated with real fruit, carbohydrates, mineral salts and whey protein isolate - Perfect for strenuous exercise of 2 hours and over - Contains the electrolytes, sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium - 4.2% carbohydrate content - 1% protein content - PURE Recovery and Lifestyle products PURE Blackcurrant Recovery is a concentrated powder made from real New Zealand blackcurrants. - 100% New Zealand blackcurrants - The equivalent of over 30 blackcurrants in every serving - 150mg of anthocyanins per serve - Good source of Vitamin C - 200g pouch is equivalent to over 1kg of fresh blackcurrants PURE Exercise Recovery powder makes a premium, natural post-exercise drink containing a delicious blend of raw organic cacao powder, milk proteins and New Zealand honey powder. Designed for post-endurance exercise recovery. - Contains 15g of milk proteins per serve and naturally occurring nutrients including the essential minerals calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium - Contains real New Zealand honey - 16g proteins per serve Whey Protein is a premium natural protein powder using New Zealand-made whey protein. Formulated to provide your body with protein for optimum muscle tissue building and repair, PURE Whey Protein will also assist with supporting energy levels and weight control as part of a balanced lifestyle. PURE Whey Protein mixes easily and has a great natural taste profile.. Buy it!

Jump to:| Coaches' Poll | Playoffs | Links | Team Previews | 2017 MIAC Men's Tennis Conference Preview BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) men's tennis season is ready to serve up another exciting campaign. The 2017 season starts with a familiar favorite, as Gustavus Adolphus College looks to continue one of the conference's most impressive dynasties. The Gusties are aiming for a 29th-straight MIAC title, while the rest of the league hopes to finally make a change at the top just shy of three decades of Gustavus dominance. A year ago, the Gusties once again rolled to a perfect 9-0 conference record for consecutive title No. 28, and then Gustavus rattled off two more wins in the MIAC Playoffs to add that title as well. Head Coach Tommy Valentini's team finished 25-8 overall and was the runner-up at the NCAA regional tournament. Carleton and St. Thomas were the Gusties' top challengers a year ago. The Knights rattled off an 8-1 MIAC record and went 17-8 overall, with the Tommies also in the conference's top three with a 7-2 conference mark and an 11-4 overall record. After that there was a three-way tie for fourth as Macalester, Saint John's and Bethel each finished 5-4 in the conference. By virtue of tiebreakers, the Scots (10-9 overall) and Johnnies (10-9 overall) grabbed the final two MIAC Playoff spots, while Bethel just missed out despite an outstanding 19-5 overall record. St. Olaf finished .500 overall at 8-8 and took seventh in the MIAC with a 3-6 conference record. Concordia (2-11, 2-7 MIAC) was eighth, and Saint Mary's (9-12, 1-8 MIAC) and Hamline (7-13, 0-9 MIAC) rounded out the 2016 standings. The 2017 season begins with optimism around the league. With Gustavus gunning for a 29th-straight conference crown, nine other teams hoping to end that run, and five bids to the MIAC Playoffs up for grabs, there's certainly an exciting season ahead. COACHES CAST THEIR VOTES The MIAC coaches unanimously think Gustavus is the prohibitive favorite to win consecutive MIAC title No. 29, as the Gusties stood alone atop the 2017 MIAC Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll. Gustavus received nine first-place votes and 81 points to lead the predictions. The Gusties have plenty of star power back in St. Peter, led by junior All-American Mohanad Alhouni, who was the 2016 ITA Midwest Regional Singles Champion. Sophomore teammate Patrick Whaling was the Midwest Regional runner-up to Alhouni, and junior Zach Ekstein also returns after earning both singles and doubles All-MIAC honors a year ago. Carleton received the other first-place vote and 70 points to finish second in the poll, and once again the Knights are expected to be Gustavus' top contender. The Knights have a strong, veteran lineup, behind All-Conference performers Patton McClelland and Kevin Mei. Newcomer Sahil Chhugani is also expected to make big contributions in his first season. St. Thomas was right behind Carleton in third place in the preseason poll, just three points back with a total of 67. The Tommies have a talented, senior-laden lineup led by Burke Anderson, Luke Elifson and Scott Wall, who have all earned multiple All-MIAC honors in their careers. The coaches expect Saint John's to return to the playoffs, as the Johnnies received 47 points in the poll to finish fourth. Junior Tim Larson retursn to lead SJU, and hopes are high for sophomores Ryan Meger and Jonah Punnoose after each had breakout rookie campaigns. Just a point behind Saint John's in the coaches' poll was Bethel with 46 points to round out the top five, and the five expected Playoff teams. The Royals are led by three-time All-Conference standouts Matt Schull and Kolin Kiekhoefer and sophomore Hunter Fernelius who earned All-MIAC singles honors as a freshman. Macalester received 41 points in the poll to finish sixth, as the Scots hope to return to the Playoffs as well. Two-time All-MIAC junior Josh Doyle is back to lead Macalester, and junior Aidan Tirpack and sophomore Peter Willenborg are also back in the Scots' lineup. St. Olaf received 39 points in the poll to finish seventh, just two points behind Macalester. A pair of All-MIAC juniors return to lead the Oles in 2017, as Christian Beck was an All-MIAC singles pick, and Danny Hogan earned doubles honors. Concordia finished eighth in the poll, as the Cobbers received 25 points. Concordia welcomes new Head Coach Joseph Murrey, who has his top two singles players back in juniors Isaac Toivonen and David Schneck, and three-year starter Jesse Schneeberger also returns. Saint Mary's (21 points) and Hamline (13 points) rounded out the final two spots in the preseason predictions. The Cardinals have a junior-heavy lineup in 2017, led by Brett Giesen, Brenden Amiotte and Alex Holm, who all won at least nine singles matches a year ago. The Pipers have new leadership in Head Coach Julia Courter, who has some talented upperclassmen back in David Yanagita, Matt Seracki and Gabriel Guarin. A CLOSER LOOK The rest of the 2017 MIAC Men's Tennis Preview contains complete results from the 2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll, MIAC Playoff details, helpful links and a preview for each team submitted by their sports information director. The MIAC web site - - will be an outstanding source for MIAC men's tennis news, schedules, scores, stats and more throughout the 2017 season. Visit the MIAC scoreboard on game days to follow all the action, and download the MIAC mobile app to have all the information with you anywhere you travel. Also, connect to the conference on its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages for updates and interaction all season long. 2017 MIAC Men's Tennis Men's Tennis Playoffs The 2017 MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs won't have any significant changes for the first time in three years. The field will include the top five teams in the conference standings, squaring off in a single-elimination, high-seed host tournament. The No. 4 and 5 seeds will square off on May 2 in the quarterfinals, with the winner joining the top three seeds in the semifinals on May 4. The championship match will be held May 6 on the home court of the top remaining seed. The winner will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Tournament. | 2017 MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs Web site | | Home Page | Schedule | Standings | Statistics | News | Athletes-of-the-Week | MIAC Recordbook | MIAC Archives | Team-by-Team Previews | BU | CAR | CON | GAC | HU | MAC | SJU | SMU | STO | UST | Head coach • Drew Fernelius (5th season) A Year Ago • 5-4 MIAC (t-4th place) | 19-5 Overall In the 2016 Postseason • Did not qualify, lost out to Macalester & Saint John's in three-way tie for fourth place Players to Watch • Matt Schull (Sr | Three-time MIAC All-Conference in Singles and Doubles) • Kolin Kiekhoefer (Sr | Three-time MIAC All-Conference in Singles and 2014 All-Conference Doubles) • Hunter Fernelius (So | 2016 MIAC All-Conference Singles, 2016 Midwest Open Doubles Champion with Henry Morris) Did You Know? • Four of Bethel's tennis players (Cash Rodemaker, Peter Watchler, Peter Lindberg and Henry Morris) help make up one of Bethel's top intramural basketball teams. Head coach • Stephan Zweifel (19th season) A Year Ago • 8-1 MIAC (2nd place) | 17-8 Overall In the 2016 Postseason • MIAC postseason results (semifinals — def. St. Thomas, 6-2; finals — lost to Gustavus, 5-0) Players to Watch • Kevin Mei (Jr. | All-MIAC in singles in 2016; totaled 11 wins at first singles last season, the most wins by a Knight at any individual spot in the singles lineup) • Patton McClelland (Sr. | All-MIAC in singles in 2015 and 2016; paced the Knights with 16 singles victories overall last season, including an 8-1 ledger in MIAC matches.) • Sahil Chhugani (Fy. | worked his way into the singles and doubles lineup as a rookie; advanced to the third round of the ITA Midwest Regional last fall) Did You Know? • Carleton went 17-8 last season and finished among the MIAC's top two squads for the 14th consecutive season. Head coach • Joseph Murrey (1st Season) A Year Ago • 2-7 MIAC (8th place) | 2-11 Overall Players to Watch • Isaac Toivonen (Jr. | 2-year No.1 singles; 2015 MIAC All-Conference) • David Schneck (Jr. | No.2 singles player in 2016) • Jesse Schneeberger (Sr. | Three-year starter for the Cobbers) Did You Know? • The Cobbers have five freshmen on this year's roster which is the most since the 2014 season. Head coach • Tommy Valentini (8th season) A Year Ago • 9-0 MIAC (1st place) | 25-8 Overall In the 2016 Postseason • Central Regional runner-up. Defeated Coe College 5-2 before falling to No. 8 University of Chicago 5-2. Players to Watch • Mohanad Alhouni (Jr. | 2016 ITA All-American, 2015 & 2016 MIAC All-Conference Singles/Doubles Team, 2016 ITA Midwest Regional Singles Champion) • Patrick Whaling (So. | 2016 ITA Midwest Regional Singles runner-up) • Zach Ekstein (Jr. | 2016 MIAC All-Conference Singles and Doubles Team) Did You Know? • Gustavus hosted the 2016 ITA Midwest Regionals and Midwest Open. The Midwest Regional wrapped up with an All-Gustie singles final. Doubles teammates Mohanad Alhouni and Patrick Whaling competed for the singles championship with Alhouni prevailing by scores of 6-2, 6-2. Head coach • Julia Courter (1st season) A Year Ago • 0-9 MIAC (10th place) | 7-13 Overall Players to Watch • David Yanagita (Sr., 10-8 in No. 1 doubles last year, 3 year regular) • Matt Seracki (Jr., won one match at ITA event last fall) • Gabriel Guarin (Jr., 7-6 in No. 3 doubles last year) Did You Know? • New head coach Julia Courter is one of just four female head coaches of a men's team in the MIAC. Head coach • Jason Muhl (12th season) A Year Ago • 5-4 MIAC (5th place) | 10-9 Overall Players to Watch • Josh Doyle (Jr. | 2-time All-MIAC; 13-6, 7-2 MIAC at No. 1 singles in 2016) • Aidan Tirpack (Jr. | 7-9, 4-5 MIAC at No. 3 singles in 2016) • Peter Willenborg (So. | 7-6, 5-4 MIAC at No. 6 singles as a first year) Did You Know? • The Scots must replace last year's Arthur Ashe winner Brian Utz, who was 14-8 overall in singles play last year. Head coach • Jack Bowe (20th season) A Year Ago • 5-4 MIAC (T-Fourth place) | 10-9 Overall In the 2016 Postseason • W, 6-3 vs. Macalester in MIAC Quarterfinals; L, 0-9 at Gustavus Adolphus in MIAC Semifinals Players to Watch • Tim Larson (Jr. | Recorded the most wins in conference play at No. 2 singles and was one of only three tennis student-athletes in the MIAC to appear in all nine league matches and post eight wins or more with an 8-1 record (14-6 overall) last spring…two-time All-MIAC in both doubles and singles…finished second at the 2016 Aquatennial Tennis Classic) • Ryan Meger (So. | Went 11-9 (4-3 MIAC) in singles as a freshman last spring…posted a 12-8 record (6-3 MIAC) with classmate Jonah Punnoose at doubles) • Jonah Punnoose (So. | Tallied a 12-3 record (3-1 MIAC) in singles competition, as well as the aforementioned 12-8 mark (6-3 MIAC) with Meger in doubles play) Did You Know? • SJU freshman Jess Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) is the fourth Hansen brother to play tennis for the Johnnies: Dutch '10 (21-23 overall/9-11 MIAC at singles); Ian '12 (46-31 overall/20-16 MIAC at singles); and Jack '16 (33-50 overall/17-19 MIAC at singles). All three earned All-MIAC honors. Head coach • Jeff Halberg (19th season) A Year Ago • 1-8 MIAC (9th place) | 9-12 Overall Players to Watch • Brett Giesen (6-5, 190, Jr., Cato, Wis. | 10 singles wins and 10 doubles wins in 2016. … Shared team lead in singles wins and was fourth in doubles victories last season) • Brenden Amiotte (5-10, 185, Jr., Rapid City, S.D. | 10 singles wins and 11 doubles victories in 2016. … Shared team lead in singles wins and was third in doubles victories last season). • Alex Holm (5-10, 160, Jr., Red Wing, Minn. | Finished 2016 with nine singles wins, one back of team lead. … Shared the team lead in doubles wins in 2016 with 13—including a 4-1 record at the Gustavus Fall Invitational). Did You Know? • Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.), Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.), and Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.) shared the team lead with 10 overall singles wins last season. Head coach • Scott Nesbit (27th season) A Year Ago • 3-6 MIAC (7th place) | 8-8 Overall Players to Watch • Christian Beck (Jr. | All-MIAC singles in 2015-16... 10-3 from No. 3 spot... Was 12-3 in doubles.) • Danny Hogan (Jr. | All-MIAC doubles in 2015-16... Was 5-3 in doubles) Head coach • Terry Peck (26th season) A Year Ago • 7-2 MIAC (3rd place) | 11-4 Overall In the 2016 Postseason • Fell to Carleton 6-2 in the MIAC Playoff semifinals Players to Watch • Burke Anderson (Sr. | 2X All-MIAC, Career: 25-20 singles, 30-18 doubles) • Luke Elifson (Sr. | All-America, 2X All-MIAC, Career: 25-10 singles, 25-15 doubles) • Scott Wall (Sr. | 3X All-MIAC, Career: 32-14 singles, 30-18 doubles) Did You Know? • Junior Martin Beck played two years at UW-Whitewater before transferring to St. Thomas and winning the 2016 Fall ITA Midwest doubles tourney with Luke Elifson to receive All-America honors.

Sunday, 31 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Twenty Four - Birthday Blues Just eaten way too much at my Dads birthday lunch, yummy home baking, Cadburys mini-eggs and birthday cake! Good times! Hope you are all having a nice weekend. Navy suede ankle boots with large button detail New Look Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 2:52 pm 2 comments : Labels: ankle boots , blue , new look , suede Saturday, 30 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Twenty Three - I Loves It Stunning shoes today, but they are a complete bitch to get on! As much as I adore Irregular Choice, their fluctuating sizing drives me nuts, these shoes are small and narrow. Although I hate those pesky elasticated button fastenings, at least you have that little bit extra pull, these shoes fasten with a stud and I broke 2 nails and chipped 3 trying to get them on! I'm sure you would agree it was worth it though, because aren't they gorgeous? 'Cherry Loves It' black suede and pink felt shoes Irregular Choice and spotty tights Matalan Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 2:59 pm No comments : Labels: black , cherry , concealed platform , irregular choice , pink , suede Friday, 29 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Twenty Two - Guilty Pleasure Took a little trip to see my Granny today because she hasn't been keeping well. I came away with a handful of chocolates and a Clinique Eye Makeup Remover she got for Christmas but doesn't use. We had a cup of tea, shortbread and millionaire shortbread and I refused countless more cakes, it must be a Granny's job to feed you up! It was absolutely freezing out, so I definitely wore the best footwear as these boots are super cosy. I adore them, you can't help but notice them and they match my hair! Pink leather and suede Guilty Pleasure boots with cuff Irregular Choice Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:26 pm No comments : Labels: ankle boots , irregular choice , peep toes , pink , platforms , suede Day One Hundred & Twenty One - Frilling Eye I'm so sorry I didn't post yesterday, I accidentally erased the photos I took, so had to retake them today. I love the detailing on these shoes, so unusual, although I don't often wear them because they have a kitten heel and I can't walk in low heels. Beige suede shoes with frill and eye detail by Pepe Jeans Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:10 pm No comments : Labels: beige , court , pepe jeans , satin , suede Wednesday, 27 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Twenty - Snake Hips Put on a brand new dress today and noticed an hour later that it had split at the seams! It has lots of panels and they've just come away; poor sewing rather than expanding hips! So after a quick change, I wore these lovely green shoes. They are a really pretty shape with a concealed platform and I like the wide laces, it adds interest. Very excited because my new Terry de Havilland Margaux wedges arrived today, they are bright aqua and totally gorgeous! Green snake effect lace up shoe-boots ASOS Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:25 pm No comments : Labels: asos , concealed platform , green , shoe-boot , snake Tuesday, 26 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Nineteen - Got It All Going On Can't believe how fast we are speeding through these shoes now. Just seems like yesterday that I was making my 100th post. Very proud of myself for going shopping today and buying nothing for myself. I only went to TK Maxx and Matalan and they were both rubbish! I consoled myself with ordering some animal themed jewellery from ASOS when I got home. Had a change of shoes today to something more durable because I was wearing a suede pair and thought it was going to rain (my toes were freezing though). A lot going on with these shoes, metallic platform and heel, peep toe, slingback, zip, buckles and straps and laces. I really love them though. Bronze platform, peep toes Faith Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 4:10 pm No comments : Monday, 25 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Eighteen - On A Pink Platform I haven't stopped all day today, I'm knackered! Going shopping tomorrow (so it will be a delayed post), trying to find something for my Dads birthday. Why are men so difficult to buy for? The sandals today are like a trendy, heeled version of the Scholl pairs you get. They are really cushioned inside which make them super comfy, I used to wear them all summer. I just found them whilst tidying my room, I'm fighting a losing battle with all my shoes at the moment, where do you put them all?! Pink and black platform sandals New Look Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:42 pm No comments : Sunday, 24 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Seventeen - Bloomin' Again Been busy, busy, busy today, selling on ebay. Have loads of things to parcel up and post tomorrow, which is good. So just a quick photo today. Wearing my floral tights again (couldn't get them washed and dried quick enough)! These shoes have really cute ceramic heart buttons and a fabby big bow, which I love. I think I'm long overdue a new pair of Shoemissy's actually! Navy blue Shoemissy 'Bobbie' peep toes Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:43 pm No comments : Saturday, 23 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Sixteen - Old Faithful These shoes are old favourites of mine. I bought them for £20, years ago, before heeled brogues became fashionable. They seem to be that perfect mix of casual and dressy and pretty much go with everything, so I always reach for them. Navy patent and suede brogues New Look, grey legwarmers Accessorize Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:40 pm 1 comment : Friday, 22 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Fifteen - Another Planet Another dreich day, but I managed out for a quick walk and instantly felt like I was back in high school. I was wearing this huge furry hat and knitted cape and all the school kids were coming back from lunch and decided to poke fun and laugh at me all the way along the street. Eugh, I'm so glad I don't ever have to go through all that again. I hate people who can't accept others who are a little different to them. Anyway, that put a little downer on my day! Wearing gorgeous shoes though which fit perfectly (quite a hard task when it comes to IC). Brown 'Saturn' heels Irregular Choice Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:44 pm No comments : Labels: bow , bronze , brown , concealed platform , fringe , irregular choice Thursday, 21 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Fourteen - Bootball Did you see Dannii Minogue in that gorgeous dress at The National Television Awards last night? I've just posted it over on Pink Haired Princess, it's beautiful. And Jedward? Awww, they are soooo funny and Vanilla Ice joined them onstage, hilarious. Anyway, a lovely pair of shoes today, they remind me slightly of football boots (in a high heeled way of course). They rock when you walk, so you just have to go with the flow! Nude and black peep toe shoe-boots Topshop Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:46 pm No comments : Wednesday, 20 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Thirteen - Monochromatic I had my heart set on a pair of shoes and today they sold out : ( So disappointing. They were an absolute steal and I knew someone would snap them up before I could! I received my Topshop Unique sandals today though and I'm really pleased with them. I had wanted the ankle boot version, but they sold out, so I settled for the sandals which were a ridiculous £20 down from £130 (major bargain). I'm glad I did get them, they have far exceeded my expectations, much nicer in the flesh. Black and white slingbacks with white bow Dorothy Perkins and polka dot tights Primark Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:05 pm No comments : Labels: black , bow , dorothy perkins , peep toes , slingbacks , white Tuesday, 19 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Twelve - High Florals Very sore from all that shopping yesterday, but excited to be wearing my new floral tights. They look great. Black platform t-bars Matalan and floral tights Primark Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 2:23 pm No comments : Monday, 18 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Eleven - Frilling Time I went shopping today, for the first time since....the beginning of December or end of November. I spotted 2 beautiful floral dresses in my magazines last week and had to have them, both from Primark. I fully expected to go and come back with nothing, but they had them both! I was actually squealing in the shop. I also got 5 pairs of tights, including a floral pair, black stirrup ones and sheer polka dots, which will hopefully fit me better than the pair I bought from Matalan, months ago, which barely go up past my knees! I also got a ring, beret, leggings and some pink, high heeled doc martin style boots from Office. Black suedette shoe-boots with purple satin frill Peacocks Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 4:05 pm No comments : Day One Hundred & Ten - The Sculpture I've been busy this weekend putting more things up on ebay. I desperately need the money, so I'm selling these shoes. Aren't they an absolute delight? I think it's amazing that we can get something like this from our high-street! If you follow me on Pink Haired Princess you'll know I ended up buying 5 different pairs of these. I'm selling this style in size 5 and 6 and have decided to keep the green suede courts shoes I have. I've already sold the blue suede and black suede boots. The heel speaks for itself, just stunning. You definitely 'teeter' in them, the shoe really throws your weight forward, although the shoes are definitely easier to walk in than the boots. Ivory statement heel court shoes Topshop Unique Ivory statement heel court shoes Topshop Unique Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:50 pm 2 comments : Day One Hundred & Nine - Glitter Faux After updating you with the posts I missed, I forgot to post this weekends shoes (oops), so here is Saturday! Nice little sparkly, leopard print courts to brighten this miserable weather. I thought the snow was bad, but rain is worse! Pink leopard print, glitter 'Dolly Interbow' by Office Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:45 pm 1 comment : Saturday, 16 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Eight - Strap Yourself In Another fabulous pair of boots today (or technically yesterday). I got dressed up and all ready to go out on a walk and opened the front door and realised it was pouring with rain. So I had to wait until it cleared to go out. I'm glad I hadn't attempted to take these boots off in between because they are an absolute nightmare to get off! When I put them on, I tightened the straps all the way up, so they fitted better (and I had tights on, so don't think that helped). Even taking the buckles out and loosening the straps I couldn't get them off. You know when you had tight trousers or tights on a Sindy doll and tried to pull them off and her leg popped out of her hip? That's what I felt like yesterday! They're gorgeous though (very Vivienne Westwood inspired) and very comfy. Cream 'Bondaged Up' boots by Poste Mistress at Office, floral dress Dorothy Perkins Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 12:02 pm No comments : Labels: boots , buckles , cream , office , poste mistress Day One Hundred & Seven - Half and Half I didn't go out on Thursday because I was aching from the day before. I'd been busy clearing clutter in my room and overdid it! I'm also trying to gather some more shoes to put up on ebay this weekend, although I must admit, I'm struggling to find pairs I want to give away at this stage. I think I'll put up this pair though, I just don't wear them enough. They have a really cute, curved shape and I love the demi-wedge. Black patent demi-wedge sandals and high-shine leggings both ASOS Day One Hundred & Six - Lets Go Crazy As promised, here are my fabulous boots from Wednesday. I decided to take the photo on this crazy carpet because I thought it clashed rather well! My computer is all fixed now (it was the monitor), so I'll be updating with the shoes you've missed as quick as I can. These boots have an odd shape, the back is quite fitted with a zip down the centre, but at the front there is lots of excess fabric, which you can style as you like, using the ties. I really like the finished look, once they've been played around with a little. You can wear them as I have, or scrunch them down a bit (at their tallest they are mid-calf). Brown suede and leopard print boots by Irregular Choice Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 11:33 am No comments : Labels: boots , brown , irregular choice , leopard print , suede Wednesday, 13 January 2010 Delayed Post Sorry, no post today, woke up to a computer screen that wasn't working : ( I'm currently borrowing a laptop from my sister, so can't upload my photos. I did wear a super, duper, fabby pair of boots today (which photographed really well), so look forward to that post coming soon. Love and sparkles as always, Pink Haired Princess Love and sparkles as always, Pink Haired Princess Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 2:57 pm No comments : Tuesday, 12 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Five - Granny Chic These are my 'granny shoes', I'm quite sure my granny actually owns a very similar pair, scary! I'm going to attempt another little walk today, although it's started to rain. So once again, I'm wrapping up warm to keep cosy. Grey lace-up shoes Primark, grey leg warmers Accessorize Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 1:10 pm No comments : Monday, 11 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Four - Dotty Dice I ventured outside for the first time today since Christmas, because finally our pavements are almost completely cleared of snow, ice and slush. It was freezing, but so nice to be out. I wore so many layers I could barely move and decided to dig out a pair of my favourite boots for the occassion. I think these were the first shoes that I paid a lot of money for. They were £100 (which was a lot to me), but I just adored them. They feature a gorgeous Blythe heart shaped image, squared block toe, angular heel, polka dots, cut-out hearts and huge, clunky dice on the laces. They are also incredibly comfortable, cushioned and lined in gold metallic. I don't get to wear them as often these days due to my pink hair clashing with them, but as I was wearing a black hat today, I got away with it. It's a shame I couldn't get a better image of them, the camera hates red, so most of them came out funny. Red polka dot Blythe Dice ankle boots Irregular Choice and black legwarmers Accessorize Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:53 pm No comments : Labels: ankle boots , blythe , heart , irregular choice , polka dot , red , white Sunday, 10 January 2010 Day One Hundred & Three - The Point We got a considerable amount of snow yesterday, which excited me-even although we've permanently had a covering of snow/ice/slush since before Christmas. There's something about fresh falling, fluffy snow that seems more magical than an already thin covering. I love how everywhere looks pretty and picturesque and it's so quiet. Of course it doesn't last long and it's been reasonably warm today so it's already receding. I can't actually remember where I bought these shoes from and I've already placed them in a bag for the charity shop, so I'm not checking it! I think I got them from Nine West or something in Debenhams years ago. My feet are crossed in this image if you're wondering. Nude croc effect pointed court shoes with silver buckle detail. Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 6:16 pm No comments : Day One Hundred & Two - It's A Mess Sorry this is a day late. This 'tidying my room' malarkey is turning into a bigger project than I ever imagined. I keep uncovering more and more things and I've lost all method to it. I'm starting one area, leaving it half finished and moving onto something else and so on! I'm aching all over from bending, stretching and lifting heavy things! Oh dear, tidying really isn't my strong suit. Shoes are though and these tartan beauties will brighten anyones day. 'Dolly Interbow' in red tartan with black leather bow by Office Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 4:12 pm No comments : Friday, 8 January 2010 Day One Hundred & One - Woven Wedge Not a very good picture of these today but there is hardly a square inch of free space in my room to take photos just now. They are actually straw-like and woven and feature this textured, sequin flower and dinky wedge heel. They are a size smaller than I usually take, but must be very large made as I never usually have to go down a size. It snowed again last night, but not too much. I actually wish it was knee deep, it's fun and picturesque when it's like that. Here, it's icy, slushy and getting dirty! Although that's only what I can see from my window, I haven't been out since Christmas day! Woven shoes with sequin flower Bronx, grey leg-warmers Accessorize. Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:50 pm No comments : Thursday, 7 January 2010 Day One Hundred - New York, New York Yay, we finally made it to Day 100!!!! I'm so excited, even if it took a little longer to get there than it should have. This blog is clearly dedicated to my adoration for shoes and my collection which has just grown and grown over the years. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm completely obsessed with high heels and love my shoes dearly. When you're having a 'fat day' and the whole world feels like crap, for me, slipping on a pair of my favourite heels instantly makes me feel better. Shoes can not only transform an entire outfit but make you walk taller, feel slimmer and sexier. I hope this blog has in some way inspired or made you feel happy. I'll leave you with two of my favourite quotes from Marilyn Monroe "I don't know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot!", "Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world". I couldn't have said it better myself, here's to the next 100 pairs! Black patent court shoes with New York skyline by Irregular Choice Black patent court shoes with New York skyline by Irregular Choice Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 12:16 pm 2 comments : Wed. Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 5:05 pm No comments : Tuesday, 5 January 2010 Day Ninety Eight - It's Marilyn Monroe I've been trying to tidy my bedroom, although sometimes it feels like I'm fighting a losing battle! I'm at the stage where I have nothing left to throw out, so I'm moving things around and just making a bigger mess really. I unearthed a storage box filled with shoes, a few pairs I forgot I still owned to be honest. These Marilyn courts are one such pair. I'm rather obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and anything featuring her image is likely to be a hit with me. I couldn't believe it when I bought these shoes a few years back 'Marilyn' and 'shoes' combined, heaven! I would never wear an elongated pointed toe like these nowadays though and I've definitely had my wear out of them, so I think they will be making their way to the local charity shop soon. White and black Marilyn Monroe printed court shoes by Blu Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:13 pm No comments : Labels: black , blu , court , marilyn monroe , white Monday, 4 January 2010 Day Ninety Seven - Temperature's Rising This weather is driving me insane. I haven't left the house since last Christmas/month/year/decade! We even featured on the national news today (national!). For anyone who doesn't live in the UK, you basically never hear about snow on the news unless London has it bad! Our local council have advised everyone to stay indoors and not to travel because there is no salt left to grit the roads. Although the snow isn't too bad, we have permanently had a covering on the ground for the past few weeks which is unheard of. The schools are back tomorrow, so I don't see how you can advise against travelling when thousands of school kids, teachers, staff have to travel. Anyway, I just wish I could venture out for a wee walk for some fresh air, but there's no point taking a risk as I'll probably fall and hurt myself!! Lime green sandals with embroidered flowers and rhinestones by Unze London! Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 4:12 pm No comments : Day Ninety Six - It Wasn't Meant To Be If you follow me on Pink Haired Princess, you'll know I ordered these Ashish wedges from Topshop but when they arrived, they didn't fit. I had another go yesterday, but as you can see I couldn't get them on. I can get my foot in, but my heel won't fit inside the shoe. They are very gorgeous and I've been lemming them for ages so I'm pretty upset. On the plus side I've saved myself a massive £150, which I'm sure will come in handy to aid my shoe habit. It just wasn't meant to be. Leopard wedges by Ashish for Topshop Leopard wedges by Ashish for Topshop Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 3:53 pm No comments : Sunday, 3 January 2010 Day Ninety Five - Pink and Fluffy A sight I bet you never thought you'd see, me in flats! My sister got me these slippers for my Christmas as she had noted I hadn't worn slippers for years and considering all the time I spend in the house, I probably should. They are very cosy and fluffy (they look like marshmallows with bunny ears) and I'm still learning to walk in them, I feel/look like I'm walking on the moon. I'm sure I look ridiculous, maybe it's the old lady in me coming out though, after all I am turning 30 this year! Pink fluffy slippers with bunny ears by Playboy Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 12:21 pm No comments : Labels: bunny ears , heart , pink , playboy , slippers Day Ninety Four - Pom Pom Away I love these shoes but have never had the right outfit or opportunity to wear them in the year I've had them. So I was determined to get them out for New Year. I wore a blue dress from Monsoon with green and white flowers, so the green shoes perfectly accented. I also managed to find a pair of tights which matched perfectly. The heel is incredibly high (over 5") and very skinny, so I was glad I got to stay indoors! Green tights by Accessorize and green velvet 'Pout' platforms with pom pom by Topshop Boutique Posted by Pink Haired Princess at 12:11 pm 2 comments :

retina aberrant in pattern/fizzy-related Proteolysis of mitotic cyclins depends on a multisubunit ubiquitin-protein ligase, the anaphase promoting complex (APC). Proteolysis commences during anaphase, persisting throughout G1 until it is terminated by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) as cells enter S phase. Proteolysis of mitotic cyclins in yeast was shown to require association of the APC with the substrate-specific activator Hct1 (also called Cdh1). Phosphorylation of Hct1 by CDKs blocked the Hct1-APC interaction. The mutual inhibition between APC and CDKs explains how cells suppress mitotic CDK activity during G1 and then establish a period with elevated kinase activity from S phase until anaphase (Zachariae, 1998). Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis due to the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclos. It is not known what determines the release of Cdc14 and enables it to promote Cdk1 inactivation, but it is known to be dependent on APC/C bound by Cdc20 [APC(Cdc20)]. (Shirayama, 1999).). This study explores the molecular function and regulation of the APC regulatory subunit Hct1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recombinant Hct1 activates the cyclin-ubiquitin ligase activity of APC isolated from multiple cell cycle stages. APC isolated from cells arrested in G1, or in late mitosis due to the cdc14-1 mutation, is more responsive to Hct1 than APC isolated from other stages. Hct1 is phosphorylated in vivo at multiple CDK consensus sites during cell cycle stages when activity of the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc28 is high and APC activity is low. Purified Hct1 is phosphorylated in vitro at these sites by purified Cdc28-cyclin complexes, and phosphorylation abolishes the ability of Hct1 to activate the APC in vitro. The phosphatase Cdc14, which is known to be required for APC activation in vivo, is able to reverse the effects of Cdc28 by catalyzing Hct1 dephosphorylation and activation. It is concluded (Jaspersen, 1999). Progression through mitosis is controlled by protein degradation that is mediated by the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclos. Pds1p has a novel activity as an inhibitor of mitotic cyclin destruction, apparently by preventing the activation of APC/C(Cdh1). This activity of Pds1p is independent of its activity as an anaphase inhibitor. It is proposed (Cohen-Fix, 1999). requires. An extensive mutagenesis study was carried out shows very mild phenotypic effects, with an increase in the fraction of mitotic cells with broken spindles (Hildebrandt, 2001).. ste9 mutants are sterile because they are defective in cell cycle arrest in the G1-phase upon starvation. Sterility is partially suppressed by the mutation in cig2 that encodes the major G1/S cyclin. Although cells lacking Ste9 function grow normally, the ste9 mutation is synthetically lethal with the wee1 mutation. In the double mutants of ste9 cdc10(ts), cells arrest in G1-phase at the restrictive temperature, but the level of mitotic cyclin (Cdc13) does not decrease. In these cells, abortive mitosis occurs from the pre-Start G1-phase. Overexpression of Ste9 decreases the Cdc13 protein level and the H1-histone kinase activity. In these cells, mitosis is inhibited and an extra round of DNA replication occurs. Ste9 regulates G1 progression, possibly by controlling the amount of the mitotic cyclin in the G1-phase (Kitamura, 1999). Fission yeast ste9/srw1 is a WD-repeat protein highly homologous to budding yeast Hct1/Cdh1 and Drosophila Fizzy-related, which are both involved in activating APC1. Therefore, it is proposed that the main role of APC(ste9/srw1) is to promote degradation of mitotic cyclins when cells need to delay or arrest the cell cycle in G1. ste9/srw1 is negatively regulated by cdc2-dependent (Blanco, 2000). Cdc20, an activator of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC), is also required for the exit from mitosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. During mitosis, both the inactivation of Cdc28-Clb2 kinase and the degradation of mitotic cyclin Clb2 occur in two steps. The first phase of Clb2 proteolysis, which commences at the metaphase-to-anaphase transition when Clb2 abundance is high, is dependent on Cdc20. The second wave of Clb2 destruction in telophase requires activation of the Cdc20 homolog, Hct1/Cdh1. The first phase of Clb2 destruction, which lowers the Cdc28-Clb2 kinase activity, is a prerequisite for the second. Thus, Clb2 proteolysis is not solely mediated by Hct1 as generally believed; instead, it requires a sequential action of both Cdc20 and Hct1 (Yeong, 2000).Δ. The IR domain of Cdc20 is dispensable for viability, suggesting that Cdc20 can activate the APC through another domain. This study has provided an updated model for the subunit architecture of the APC (Thornton, 2006). A synthetic-lethal screen in Caenorhabditis elegans is describes that overcomes a number of obstacles associated with the analysis of functionally redundant genes. Using this approach, mutations that synthetically interact with lin-35/Rb, a SynMuv gene and the sole member of the Rb/pocket protein family in C. elegans have been identified. Unlike the original SynMuv screens, this approach is completely nonbiased and can theoretically be applied to any situation in which a mutation fails to produce a detectable phenotype. This screen has identiifed fzr-1, a gene that synthetically interacts with lin-35 to produce global defects in cell proliferation control. fzr-1 encodes the C. elegans homolog of Cdh1/Hct1/FZR, a gene product shown in other systems to regulate the APC cyclosome. Genetic interactions between fzr-1 and a subset of class B SynMuv genes, and between lin-35 and the putative SCF regulator lin-23, have been uncovered. It is proposed that lin-35, fzr-1, and lin-23 function redundantly to control cell cycle progression through the regulation of cyclin levels (Fay, 2002). fzr-1 cooperates with lin-35 to control cell proliferation. A relatively small number of genes have been described that cause widespread hyperproliferation in C. elegans. These include the putative SCF components cul-1 and lin-23 , the CIP/KIP family member cki-1, and the CBP/p300 homolog cbp-1 . In the cases examined thus far, a hyperproliferation phenotype is observed following inactivation of a single gene product. Loss of cell proliferation control can also result from a synthetic genetic interaction. Although single mutants of lin-35 and fzr-1 show only subtle or low-penetrance phenotypes, lin-35; fzr-1 double mutants showed extensive tissue hyperproliferation affecting a wide range of cell types. Thus, uncontrolled proliferation in C. elegans can in essence follow the same genetic pattern as multistep carcinogenesis in mammals. Namely, proliferation control is abolished through the sequential loss of genes that function to restrain cell cycle progression (Fay, 2002). Given these findings, and the large body of evidence implicating Rb in human cancers, it seems reasonable to suggest that this technical approach may facilitate the study of multistep carcinogenesis using C. elegans. Along these lines, it will be interesting to determine whether the human homolog of fzr-1, hCDH1, can function as a tumor-suppressor gene, and if so, whether it does so in cooperation with Rb (Fay, 2002). Inactivation of fzr-1 function using RNAi injection leads to sterility and aberrancies in germ cell proliferation. Although the specific cause of this phenotype has not been determined, previous studies would implicate defects in either the execution of G1 arrest or in late-stage mitotic events such as cytokinesis. Embryonic lethality is also observed when fzr-1 is inactivated using RNAi injection in a lin-35 mutant background. The cause for this lethality is presently unknown. These embryos do not show obvious hallmarks associated with either excess cellular proliferation or grossly elevated levels of apoptosis. Although additional work will be necessary to determine the nature of this embryonic requirement, a role during embryonic development is consistent with the expression patterns observed for both fzr-1 and lin-35. The lack of an apparent hyperproliferation phenotype in embryos likely reflects significant differences in the means by which embryonic and postembryonic cell cycles are regulated. For example, cyclin D, an upstream regulator of Rb, has been shown to be required exclusively for the execution of postembryonic division cycles in C. elegans (Fay, 2002). Work carried out over the past several years has produced an explosion in the number of identified SynMuv genes. Although certain functional classifications, such as transcriptional repressors, may accurately describe some of the SynMuv genes, others clearly defy straightforward categorization. This fact alone suggests that SynMuv genes most likely do not all act through the same mechanisms or pathways (Fay, 2002). Both lin-36 and efl-1(RNAi) can phenocopy the effect of lin-35 LOF in an fzr-1 mutant background. However other class B genes, including lin-53, hda-1, and chd-4, did not show genetic interactions with fzr-1, nor did the class A gene lin-15a. These experiments are complicated by the fact that lin-53, hda-1, and chd-4 encode for essential genes, and RNAi leads to a highly penetrant sterile or lethal phenotype within several generations. Nevertheless, no evidence was seen for hyperproliferation in either the affected or unaffected classes of RNAi-treated animals. This suggests that neither a weak nor a severe reduction in the function of these genes is capable of producing a synthetic hyperproliferation phenotype with fzr-1. In addition, no evidence was found for an interaction in lin-53(n833); fzr-1 double-mutant animals. Although n833 results in only a partial loss of LIN-53, this allele does lead to a highly penetrant Muv phenotype in conjunction with class A SynMuv mutations (Fay, 2002). Rb and its family members p107 and p130 have been shown in multiple systems to modulate transcription through direct interactions with a variety of transcriptional regulators. The majority of work indicates that Rb serves primarily as a transcriptional repressor, acting through a number of mechanisms including the recruitment of chromatin-modifying enzymes and the steric interference of transactivation domains. Acting as transcriptional corepressors with E2F, Rb and its family members regulate the expression of many key genes required for entry and progression through S-phase, including cyclin E and cyclin A. Consistent with these reports, a significant increase in the levels of ribonucleotide reductase mRNA, an E2F-regulated gene, is seen in lin-35 mutant animals (Fay, 2002). In Drosophila, loss of fzr function leads to reentry into the cell cycle following embryonic cycle 16, thereby bypassing the normal G1 arrest. This ectopic division cycle is correlated with excess levels of cyclin A, which when overexpressed during G1 can lead to ectopic entry into S-phase. Interestingly, mutations in the Drosophila Rb homolog rbf , as well as in the CDK inhibitor decapo, show cell cycle defects similar to those of fzr mutants, suggesting complementary roles in G1/S-phase regulation. However, it is noted that conclusions regarding fzr functions were inferred from the analysis of a large deletion that removed several genes in addition to fzr. Therefore, fzr-1(ku298) is the first reported mutation in metazoans that specifically reduces CDH1/HCT1/fzr activity (Fay, 2002). An analysis of distal-tip cell (DTC) hyperproduction in strains that overexpress either cyclin A or cyclin E mRNA supports the model that lin-35 and fzr-1 are likely to coregulate cyclin levels during G1. In addition, the E2F homolog efl-1 synergizes with fzr-1, adding further credence to this model. The ability of both cyclin A and cyclin E to induce extra DTCs in fzr-1 mutants could indicate that these cyclins may be functionally interchangeable and that sufficient levels of either cyclin A or cyclin E, or possibly both in combination, can work to override G1 arrest (Fay, 2002). By screening ~3500 haploid genomes, seven synthetic with lin-35/Rb (Slr) mutations were uncovered that show synthetic lethality or inviability with mutations in lin-35. Other than fzr-1 and lin-23, no Slr mutations have been identified that produce an obvious synthetic hyperproliferation phenotype with lin-35. The means used to uncover the genetic interaction between lin-35 and fzr-1 will be of general use for those wishing to assign functions to genes lacking known biological roles or to identify novel functions for genes with previously characterized activities. In addition, this genetic approach serves to identify functional copartners through the isolation and cloning of the affected second-site mutations. Importantly, this method in no way depends on prior knowledge of the synthetic double-mutant phenotype, thereby permitting a nonbiased search for genetic modifiers of any gene of interest (Fay, 2002). Given the inevitable saturation of the genome for mutations that cause easily detectable phenotypes, the ability to identify synthetic mutations will become increasingly important. Large-scale analyses carried out in yeast and C. elegans suggest that a large percentage of genes in higher organisms may fail to show easily discernable phenotypes when mutated. It is likely that the vast majority of these no-phenotype genes may nevertheless confer a weak selective advantage to the organism, thus accounting for their presence in the genome. At the same time, it can be argued that many of these genes fail to show mutational effects owing to genetic redundancy. Importantly, these two explanations are in no way mutually exclusive. By devising methods to experimentally address this latter issue, biological roles may be assignable to many genes that would normally not be amenable to straightforward functional analyses (Fay, 2002). The anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome is a tightly cell cycle-regulated ubiquitin-protein ligase that targets cyclin B and other destruction box-containing proteins for proteolysis at the end of mitosis and in G1. Activation of the APC in mitosis depends on CDC20, whereas APC is maintained active in G1 via association with the CDC20-related protein CDH1. The mitotic activator CDC20 is the only component of the APC ubiquitination pathway whose expression is restricted to proliferating cells, whereas the APC and CDH1 are also expressed in several mammalian tissues that predominantly contain differentiated cells, such as adult brain. Immunocytochemical analyses of cultured rat hippocampal neurons and of mouse and human brain sections indicate that the APC and CDH1 are ubiquitously expressed in the nuclei of postmitotic terminally differentiated neurons. The APC purified from brain contains all core subunits known from proliferating cells and is tightly associated with CDH1. Purified brain APC(CDH1) has a high cyclin B ubiquitination activity that depends less on the destruction box than on the activity of mitotic APC(CDC20). On the basis of these results, it is proposed that the functions of APC(CDH1) are not restricted to controlling cell-cycle progression but may include the ubiquitination of yet unidentified substrates in differentiated cells (Gieffers, 1999). CDC20/CDH1 activates the anaphase-promoting complex and targets various substrates for degradation, thereby allowing the ordered progression through mitosis and G1. Multiple functional CDH1 homologs have been found in the chick. The transcripts of these novel genes are differentially localized to proliferating, differentiated, and postmitotic tissues. All four proteins bind and form a complex with APC in vitro and in cultured cells and have quantitatively different activities in mediating ubiquitination of various APC substrates. These results suggest that multiple CDH1s may temporally and spatially regulate APC activity both within and outside of the cell cycle (Wan, 2001a). The cyclosome/APC (anaphase-promoting complex), the major component of cell-cycle-specific ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of mitotic cyclins and of other cell cycle proteins, is essential for sister chromatid separation and for exit from mitosis. Cyclosome activity and substrate specificity are modulated by phosphorylation and by transient interactions with Fizzy/cdc20 (Fzy) and Fizzy-related/Hct1/Cdh1 (Fzr). This regulation has been studied so far in Drosophila embryos, in yeast, and in cell-free extracts in vitro. Studies of cyclosome regulation in mammalian cells in vivo have shown that both Fzr overexpression and Cdk1 inhibition can override the prometaphase checkpoint. Fzr activation of the cyclosome is negatively regulated by Cdk1. The mammalian cdc14 phosphatase, like its budding yeast homolog, plays a role in cyclosome pathway regulation. These results suggest that Cdk1 is essential for coupling various activities of the cyclosome and in particular for preventing Fzr from short-circuiting the spindle pole checkpoint. Cdk1-cyclin B is thus an inhibitor, activator, and substrate of the cyclosome (Listovsky, 2000). The ordered activation of the ubiquitin protein ligase anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome by CDC20 in metaphase and by CDH1 in telophase is essential for anaphase and for exit from mitosis, respectively., it was proposed that mitotic APC phosphorylation is an important mechanism that controls the proper timing of APC(CDC20) activation. CDH1 is phosphorylated in vivo during S, G2, and M phase,C(CDC20) and APC(CDH (Kramer, 2000). Cell cycle progression is driven by waves of cyclin expression coupled with regulated protein degradation. An essential step for initiating mitosis is the inactivation of proteolysis mediated by the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome bound to its regulator Cdh1p/Hct1p. Yeast APC(Cdh1) has been proposed to be inactivated at Start by G1 cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK). In a normal cell cycle APC(Cdh1) is inactivated in a graded manner and is not extinguished until S phase. Complete inactivation of APC(Cdh1) requires S phase cyclins. Further, persistent APC(Cdh1) activity throughout G1 helps to ensure the proper timing of Cdc20p expression. This suggests that S phase cyclins have an important role in allowing the accumulation of mitotic cyclins and further suggests a regulatory loop among S phase cyclins, APC(Cdh1), and APC(Cdc20) (Huang, 2001).. Subcomplexes of the human APC have been biochemically characterized.. It is concluded that. By analogy to PEX5, the different TPR subunits of the APC might function as receptors that interact with the C termini of regulatory proteins such as CDH1, CDC20, and APC10 (Vodermaier, 2003). The isolation and characterization of two subcomplexes of the human APC have provided first insight into the molecular interactions between APC's many subunits. The cullin subunit APC2 and its binding partner, the RING finger protein APC11, are found in a subcomplex with APC1, APC4, and APC5 and are essential for the assembly of multiubiquitin chains from ubiquitin residues donated by E2 enzymes. Substrate ubiquitination requires the activator proteins CDH1 and CDC20, which interact via their C termini with the TPR subunits APC3 and APC7. APC's TPR subunits are predicted to form structures that are similar to the one of the peroxisomal import receptor PEX5, which binds cargo proteins via their C termini. The APC may therefore contain multiple TPR subunits to allow modular interactions with different regulatory proteins. These results reveal a function for the TPR subunits of the APC, and they provide insight into how substrates are recruited to the ubiquitin ligase (Vodermaier, 2003). Exit from mitosis requires the degradation of regulatory proteins including the mitotic cyclins and securin through ubiquitination by the anaphase promoting complex bound to Cdc20 or Cdh1. Cdc20-APC is regulated through inhibition by the spindle assembly checkpoint protein MAD2. Knowledge of Cdh1-APC regulation is limited to the phosphorylation-dependent dissociation of Cdh1 from APC. A novel means of regulating Cdh1 by the MAD2-related gene, MAD2L2, is reported. MAD2L2 specifically binds and inhibits Cdh1-APC, paralleling the effect of MAD2 on Cdc20. It is suggested that MAD2L2 and MAD2 inhibit the release of substrates from APC and a mechanism of inhibition is proposed (Pfleger, 2001a). The specificity of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation with regard in a substrate-specific manner, there is no evidence that the activating protein and substrate interact directly; hence, no clear model exists for the mechanism of APC activation or recruitment of substrates. (Pfleger, 2001b). Two forms of the anaphase-promoting complex mediate the degradation of critical cell cycle regulators. APC(Cdc20) promotes sister-chromatid separation by ubiquitinating securin, whereas APC(Cdh1) ubiquitinates mitotic cyclins, allowing the exit from mitosis. Phosphorylation of human Cdh1 (hCdh1) by cyclin B-Cdc2 alters the conformation of hCdh1 and prevents it from activating APC. A human homolog of yeast Cdc14, human Cdc14a (hCdc14a), dephosphorylates hCdh1 and activates APC(Cdh1). In contrast, hCdc14a does not affect the activity of APC(Cdc20). hCdc14a is a major phosphatase for hCdh1 and localizes to centrosomes in HeLa cells. Therefore, hCdc14a may promote the activation of APC(Cdh1) and exit from mitosis in mammalian cells (Bembenek, 2001). The precise order of molecular events during cell cycle progression depends upon ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of cell cycle regulators. Hsl1p, a protein kinase that inhibits the Swe1p protein kinase in a bud morphogenesis checkpoint, is targeted for ubiquitin-mediated turnover by the anaphase-promoting complex (APC). Regions of Hsl1p that are critical both for binding to the APC machinery and for APC-mediated degradation have been investigated. Hsl1p contains both a destruction box (D box) and a KEN box motif that are necessary for Hsl1p turnover with either APC(Cdc20) or APC(Cdh1). In coimmunoprecipitation studies, the D box of full-length Hsl1p is critical for association with Cdc20p, whereas the KEN box is important for association with Cdh1p. Fusion of a 206-amino-acid fragment of Hsl1p containing these motifs to a heterologous protein results in APC-dependent degradation of the fusion protein that requires intact D box and KEN box motifs. Finally, this bacterially expressed Hsl1p fusion protein interacts with Cdc20p and Cdh1p either translated in vitro or expressed in and purified from insect cells. Binding to Cdc20p and Cdh1p is disrupted completely by a D box/KEN box double mutant. These results indicate that D box and KEN box motifs are important for direct binding to the APC machinery, leading to ubiquitination and subsequent protein degradation (Burton, 2001). (Chen, 2001). The anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), activated by fzy and fzr (fizzy and fizzy-related), degrades cell cycle proteins that carry RXXL or KEN destruction boxes (d-boxes). APC/C substrates regulate sequential events and must be degraded in the correct order during mitosis and G1. How d-boxes determine APC/Cfzy/APC/Cfzr specificity and degradation timing was studied. Cyclin B1 has an RXXL box and is degraded by both APC/Cfzy and APC/Cfzr; fzy has a KEN box and is degraded by APC/Cfzr only. The degradation of substrates with swapped d-boxes was characterized. Cyclin B1 with KEN is degraded by APC/Cfzr only. Fzy with RXXL can be degraded by APC/Cfzy and APC/Cfzr. Interestingly, APC/Cfzy-but not APC/Cfzr-specific degradation is highly dependent on the location of RXXL. Degradation of tagged substrates was studied in real time and it was observed that APC/Cfzr is activated in early G1. These observations demonstrate how d-box specificities of APC/Cfzy and APC/Cfzr, and the successive activation of APC/Cby fzy and fzr, establish the temporal degradation pattern. These observations can explain further why some endogenous RXXL substrates are degraded by APC/Cfzy, while others are restricted to APC/Cfzr (Zur, 2002). More than a dozen different groups of proteins are degraded by the APC/C pathway, including mitotic A and B type cyclins, fzy, securin, E2-C, polo kinase, nek2A, hsl1, cdc6 and geminin. While all these proteins are degraded by the APC/C, they start to be degraded at different time points, such as prometaphase for cyclin A and nek2A, metaphase for cyclin B1, securin and xkid, and G1 for cdc6. APC/C substrates carry conserved motifs, so-called destruction boxes (d-boxes), which are required for their degradation. The cyclin B1 d-box (RTALGDIGN) is crudely shared by many of the other APC/C substrates. The arginine (R) and the leucine (L) are conserved in almost all substrates except in pim1, where arginine is replaced by lysine, and in cyclin B3, where leucine is replaced by phenylalanine. The asparagine (N) at position 9 is conserved in a subset of substrates and is required for the degradation of cyclin B1 in Xenopus extracts. Other residues of this RXXL box are much less conserved and it is virtually impossible to identify such a box merely by its sequence. However, the APC/C is evidently able to identify real RXXL boxes because not every protein that carries an RXXL is degraded. Moreover, fine differences in this box can contribute to changes in degradation, as is the case for cyclins A and B. An important recent advance is the identification of the KEN box as a targeting signal of some APC/C substrates. The discovery of this motif explained how vertebrate fzy, which lacks an RXXL box, is targeted for degradation by the APC/C. This box also plays a role in the degradation of substrates that do have an RXXL box, such as securin, clb2, hsl1 and nek2A. However, the KEN motif is also abundant in many proteins that are not APC/C substrates (Zur, 2002 and references therein). The APC/C is activated by two WD repeat proteins: fzy/cdc20 and fzr/cdh1/hct1. In yeast, these two proteins confer some substrate specificity on the APC/C: pds1 is ubiquitylated by APC/Ccdc20, and clb2 by APC/Ccdh1. A similar specificity has been suggested in mammalian cells, and it was shown that fzy is ubiquitylated by APC/Cfzr only. Fzy and fzr directly bind different APC/C substrates in vitro. Fzy is restricted to substrates that have an RXXL box, and fzr binds both RXXL and KEN box substrates (Zur, 2002 and references therein). In order to study the signal specificity of the RXXL and KEN boxes, artificial motifs were inserted into known substrates and their degradation was studied in vivo. The degradation of cyclin B1 with a mutated RXXL box can be restored by the insertion of an artificial KEN box close to the N-terminus of the mutated RXXL box. The location of this KEN is critical for its capacity to support degradation. Strikingly, cyclin B1 with a KEN box and a mutated RXXL box is ubiquitylated in vitro and degraded in vivo by APC/Cfzr only. This is in contrast to cyclin B1 with a wild-type RXXL box, which is degraded by both APC/Cfzy and APC/Cfzr (Zur, 2002). The degradation of fzy, which is targeted for degradation by a KEN box and is an APC/Cfzr-specific substrate, was studied. Mutation of the KEN box stabilizes fzy, and its degradation can be restored by the insertion of an RXXL box. Following the replacement of KEN with RXXL, fzy is targeted by APC/Cfzy, as well as by APC/Cfzr. RXXL inserted anywhere into the N-terminus of fzy can support APC/Cfzr-specific degradation. Degradation by APC/Cfzy is, however, highly dependent on the location of the RXXL, suggesting that flanking sequences or conformation influence the APC/Cfzr/APC/Cfzy specificity of the RXXL box. This could explain why certain RXXL substrates are degraded by APC/Cfzr only while others are degraded by both APC/Cfzr and APC/Cfzy (Zur, 2002) The degradation of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged versions of APC/Cfzy and APC/Cfzr-specific substrates was studied in real time. APC/Cfzy-specific degradation starts upon sister chromatid separation, and APC/Cfzr-specific degradation starts in early G1 (Zur, 2002). These results show that d-box type and location determine APC/Cfzy and APC/Cfzr specificity, and that fzy and fzr sequentially activate the APC/C. This specificity could thus form the basis of the ordered degradation of APC/C substrates during the different stages of mitosis and G1 (Zur, 2002). Cyclin A is a stable protein in S and G2 phases, but is destabilized when cells enter mitosis and it is almost completely degraded before the metaphase to anaphase transition. Microinjection of antibodies against subunits of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome or against human Cdc20 (fizzy) arrests cells at metaphase and stabilizes both cyclins A and B1. Cyclin A is efficiently polyubiquitylated by Cdc20 or Cdh1-activated APC/C in vitro, but in contrast to cyclin B1, the proteolysis of cyclin A is not delayed by the spindle assembly checkpoint. The degradation of cyclin B1 delays the metaphase to anaphase transition, whereas expression of cyclin A mutants lacking a D-box arrest cells in anaphase (Geley, 2001).. This study examined spatial control of this process by determining the intracellular location of the proteins involved and using nuclear-targeted cyclin B1. It was found that raising nuclear cyclin B1 concentrations, an event normally observed in the minutes before nuclear envelope breakdown, was a very effective method of inducing the G2/M transition. Oocytes expressed only the alpha. A simple spatial model of G2 arrest is proposed in which nuclear APCCdh1-proteasomal activity guards against any cyclin B1 accumulation mediated by nuclear import (Holt, 2010). Fizzy-related 1 (FZR1) is an activator of the Anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and an important regulator of the mitotic cell division cycle. Using a germ-cell-specific conditional knockout model this studyDelta. It is concluded that APC/C(FZR1) is an essential regulator of spermatogonial proliferation and early meiotic prophase I in both male and female germ cells and is therefore important in establishing the reproductive health of adult male and female mammals (Holt, 2014). The ubiquitination and degradation patterns of the human securin/PTTG protein have been studied. In contrast to budding yeast pds1, securin degradation is catalyzed by both fzy (fizzy/cdc20) and fzr (fizzy-related-degradable securin mutant is also partially ubiquitinated by fzy and fzr in vitro. Expressing the non-degradable securin mutant in cells frequently results in incomplete chromatid separation and gives rise to daughter cells connected by a thin chromatin fiber, presumably of chromosomes that failed to split completely. Strikingly, the mutant securin does not prevent the majority of sister chromatids from separating completely, nor does it prevent mitotic cyclin degradation and cytokinesis. This phenotype, reminiscent of the fission yeast cut (cells untimely torn) phenotype, is reported here for the first time in mammals (Zur, 2001).. Bub1 is degraded during mitotic exit and degradation of Bub1 is mediated by APC/C in complex with its activator Cdh1 [APC/C(Cd(Cdh1) in vitro. Two KEN-box motifs on Bub1 were identified that are required for its degradation in vivo and ubiquitination in vitro. A Bub1 mutant protein with both KEN-boxes mutated is stable in cells but fails to elicit a cell cycle phenotype, indicating that degradation of Bub1 by APC/C(Cdh1) is not required for mitotic exit. Nevertheless, this study clearly demonstrates that Bub1, an APC/C inhibitor, is also an APC/C substrate. The antagonistic relationship between Bub1 and APC/C may help to prevent the premature accumulation of Bub1 during G1 (Qi, 2007). DNA damage checkpoint prevents segregation of damaged chromosomes by imposing cell-cycle arrest. In budding yeast, Mec1, Chk1, and Rad53 (homologous to human ATM/ATR, Chk1, and Chk2 kinases, respectively) are among the main effectors of this pathway. The DNA damage checkpoint is thought to inhibit chromosome segregation by preventing separase-mediated cleavage of cohesins. This study describes a regulatory network that prevents segregation of damaged chromosomes by restricting spindle elongation and acts in parallel with inhibition of cohesin cleavage. This control circuit involves Rad53, polo kinase, the anaphase-promoting complex activator Cdh1, and the bimC kinesin family proteins Cin8 and Kip1. The inhibition of polo kinase by Rad53-dependent phosphorylation prevents it from inactivating Cdh1. As a result, Cdh1 remains in a partially active state and limits Cin8 and Kip1 accumulation, thereby restraining spindle elongation. Hence, the DNA damage checkpoint suppresses both cohesin cleavage and spindle elongation to preserve chromosome stability (Zhang, 2009). In mammalian somatic-cell cycles, progression through the G1-phase restriction point and initiation of DNA replication are controlled by the ability of the retinoblastoma tumor-suppressor protein (pRb) family to regulate the E2F/DP transcription factors. Continuing transcription of E2F target genes beyond the G1/S transition is required for coordinating S-phase progression with cell division, a process driven by cyclin-B-dependent kinase and anaphase-promoting complex (APC)-mediated proteolysis. How E2F-dependent events at G1/S transition are orchestrated with cyclin B and APC activity remains unknown. Using an in vivo assay to measure protein stability in real time during the cell cycle, it has been shown that repression of E2F activity or inhibition of cyclin-A-dependent kinase in S phase triggers the destruction of cyclin B1 through the re-assembly of APC, the ubiquitin ligase that is essential for mitotic cyclin proteolysis, with its activatory subunit Cdh1. Phosphorylation-deficient mutant Cdh1 or immunodepletion of cyclin A results in assembly of active Cdh1-APC even in S-phase cells. These results implicate an E2F-dependent, cyclin A/Cdk2-mediated phosphorylation of Cdh1 in the timely accumulation of cyclin B1 and the coordination of cell-cycle progression during the post-restriction point period (Lukas, 1999). The ordered progression through the cell cycle depends on regulating the abundance of several proteins through ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Degradation is precisely timed and specific. One key component of the degradation system, the anaphase promoting complex (APC), is a ubiquitin protein ligase. It is activated both during mitosis and late in mitosis/G1, by the WD repeat proteins Cdc20 and Cdh1, respectively. These activators target distinct sets of substrates. Cdc20-APC requires a well-defined destruction box (D box), whereas Cdh1-APC confers a different and as yet unidentified specificity. The sequence specificity for Cdh1-APC has been determined using two assays, ubiquitination in a completely defined and purified system and degradation promoted by Cdh1-APC in Xenopus extracts. Cdc20 is itself a Cdh1-APC substrate. Vertebrate Cdc20 lacks a D box and therefore is recognized by Cdh1-APC through a different sequence. By analysis of Cdc20 as a substrate, a new recognition signal has been identified. This signal, composed of K-E-N, serves as a general targeting signal for Cdh1-APC. Like the D box, it is transposable to other proteins. Using the KEN box as a template, cell cycle genes Nek2 and B99 have been identified as additional Cdh1-APC substrates. Mutation in the KEN box stabilizes all three proteins against ubiquitination and degradation (Pfleger, 2000). Ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated destruction of rate-limiting proteins is required for timely progression through the main cell cycle transitions. The anaphase-promoting complex (APC), periodically activated by the Cdh1 subunit, represents one of the major cellular ubiquitin ligases which, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila, triggers exit from mitosis and during G1 prevents unscheduled DNA replication. In this study the importance of periodic oscillation of the APC-Cdh1 activity for the cell cycle progression in human cells was investigated. Conditional interference with the APC-Cdh1 dissociation at the G1/S transition results delays G1/S transition and lowers, failure to inactivate APC-Cdh1 beyond the G1/S transition not only inhibits productive cell division but also supports slow but uninterrupted DNA replication, precluding S-phase exit and causing massive overreplication of the genome. These data suggest that timely oscillation of the APC-Cdh1 ubiquitin ligase activity represents an essential step in coordinating DNA replication with cell division and that failure of mechanisms regulating association of APC with the Cdh1 activating subunit can undermine genomic stability in mammalian cells (Sorensen, 2000). CDC6 is conserved during evolution and is essential and limiting for the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication. Human CDC6 activity is regulated by periodic transcription and CDK-regulated subcellular localization. In addition to being absent from nonproliferating cells, CDC6 is targeted for ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis by the anaphase promoting complex (APC)/cyclosome in G1. A combination of point mutations in the destruction box and KEN-box motifs in CDC6 stabilizes the protein in G1 proteolysis of CDC6 in early G1 and in quiescent cells suggests that this process is part of a mechanism that ensures the timely licensing of replication origins during G1 (Petersen, 2000). Progress through mitosis is controlled by the sequential destruction of key regulators including the mitotic cyclins and securin, an inhibitor of anaphase whose destruction is required for sister chromatid separation. Live cell imaging was used to determine the exact time when human securin is degraded in mitosis. (Hagting, 2002).. This study substantiates the evidence that mammalian cyclin A-Cdk2 prevents unscheduled APC reactivation during S phase by demonstrating the Cdk2 periodic interaction with Cdh1 at the level of endogenous proteins. Moreover, a conserved cyclin-binding motif has been identified within the Cdh1 WD-40 domain; its disruption abolishes the Cdh1-cyclin A-Cdk2 interaction, eliminates Cdh1-associated histone H1 kinase activity, and impairs Cdh1 phosphorylation by cyclin A-Cdk2 in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of cyclin binding-deficient Cdh1 stabilizes the APC-Cdh1 interaction and induces prolonged cell cycle arrest at the G(1)/S transition. Conversely, cyclin binding-deficient Cdh1 loses its capability to support APC-dependent proteolysis of cyclin A but not that of other APC substrates such as cyclin B and securin Pds1. Collectively, these data provide a mechanistic explanation for the mutual functional interplay between cyclin A-Cdk2 and APC-Cdh1 and the first evidence that Cdh1 may activate the APC by binding specific substrates (Sorensen, 2001). The anaphase-promoting complex (APC) coordinates mitosis and G1 by sequentially promoting the degradation of key cell-cycle regulators. Following the degradation of its substrates in G1, the APC catalyzes the autoubiquitination of its E2 UbcH10. This stabilizes cyclin A and allows it to inactivate APC(Cdh1). How the APC establishes this complex temporal sequence of ubiquitinations, referred to as substrate ordering, is not understood. This study shows that substrate ordering depends on the relative processivity of substrate multiubiquitination by the APC. Processive substrates obtain ubiquitin chains in a single APC binding event. The multiubiquitination of distributive substrates requires multiple rounds of APC binding, which render it sensitive to lower APC concentrations, competition by processive substrates, and deubiquitination. Consequently, more processive substrates are preferentially multiubiquitinated in vitro and degraded earlier in vivo. The processivity of multiubiquitination is strongly influenced by the D box within the substrate, suggesting that substrate ordering is established by a mechanism intrinsic to APC and its substrates and similar to kinetic proofreading (Rape, 2006).. This study, it was shown that reduced Cdh1 levels have no effect on destruction of many APC/C substrates during mitotic exit but strongly and specifically stabilize Aurora kinases.. It is concluded that targeting of Aurora kinases at anaphase by APC/C(Cdh1) participates in the control of mitotic exit and cytokinesis (Floyd, 2008). 'licensing', transgenic mice were used expressing Fucci fluorescent cell-cycle probes that report the activity of APCCdh1 and SCFSkp2. By performing long-term, high temporal-resolution Fucci imaging, it was possible to visualize reciprocal activation of APCCdh1 and SCFSkp2 in differentiating TGCs and MKCs grown in custom-designed culture wells. TGCs and MKCs were found to both skip cytokinesis, but in different ways, and that the reciprocal activation of the ubiquitin oscillators in MKCs varies with the polyploidy level. Three-dimensional reconstructions were obtained of highly polyploid TGCs in whole, fixed mouse placentas. Thus, the Fucci technique is able to reveal the spatiotemporal regulation of the endoreplicative cell cycle during differentiation (Sakaue-Sawano, 2013). Anaphase-promoting complex is activated by two regulatory proteins, Cdc20 and Cdh1. In yeast and Drosophila, Cdh1-dependent APC (Cdh1-APC) activity targets mitotic cyclins from the end of mitosis to the G1 phase. To investigate the function of Cdh1 in vertebrate cells, clones of chicken DT40 cells disrupted in their Cdh1 loci were generated. Cdh1 is dispensable for viability and cell cycle progression. However, similarly to yeast and Drosophila, loss of Cdh1 induced unscheduled accumulation of mitotic cyclins in G1, resulting in abrogation of G1 arrest caused by treatment with rapamycin, an inducer of p27(Kip1). Cdh1(-/-) cells fail to maintain DNA damage-induced G2 arrest and Cdh1-APC is activated by X-irradiation-induced DNA damage. Thus, activation of Cdh1-APC plays a crucial role in both cdk inhibitor-dependent G1 arrest and DNA damage-induced G2 arrest (Sudo, 2001). Degradation of SnoN is thought to play an important role in the transactivation of TGF-beta responsive genes. The anaphase-promoting complex (APC) is a ubiquitin ligase required for the destruction of SnoN and the APC pathway is regulated by TGF-beta. The destruction box of SnoN is required for its degradation in response to TGF-beta signaling. Furthermore, the APC activator CDH1 and Smad3 synergistically regulate SnoN degradation. Under these circumstances, CDH1 forms a quaternary complex with SnoN, Smad3, and APC. These results suggest that APC(CDH1) and SnoN play central roles in regulating growth through the TGF-beta signaling system (Wan, 2001b). AML1 (RUNX1) regulates hematopoiesis, angiogenesis, muscle function, and neurogenesis. Previous studies have shown that phosphorylation of AML1, particularly at serines 276 and 303, affects its transcriptional activation. that (Biggs, 2006). In response to DNA damage in G2, mammalian cells must avoid entry into mitosis and instead initiate DNA repair. This study shows that in response to genotoxic stress in G2, the phosphatase Cdc14B translocates from the nucleolus to the nucleoplasm and induces the activation of the ubiquitin ligase APC/CCdCdh1 reactivation in DNA-damaged G2 cells, Claspin, which is shown in this study to be an APC/CCd (Bassermann, 2008).; see Drosophila Rb) protein. This study shows that inactivation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC(Cdh1)) in a cultured mammalian epithelial cell line has the necessary characteristics to be the point of no return for cell-cycle entry. APC(Cdh1) inactivation is shown to be a rapid, bistable switch initiated shortly before the start of DNA replication by cyclin E/Cdk2 (see Drosophila Cyclin E) and made irreversible by Emi1 (see Drosophila Rca (Cappell, 2016).). Home page: The Interactive Fly © 1995, 1996 Thomas B. Brody, Ph.D. The Interactive Fly resides on the Society for Developmental Biology's Web server.

Blog Archives Something to Think About – Mise Éire (I am Ireland) The Republic of Decay, a place now so dire that even the monkeys decline offers of bananas. The three pillars of the Establishment, the financial institutions, the political organizations and the Church stagger on unwittingly oblivious to the realities of life. Their epicurean menu is corruption, lies, arrogance, greed, sleaze, sodomy, deceit, nepotism, distortion of the truth, gross incompetence. The list can go on and on forever. When can they learn to tell their Citizens something that resembles the truth? Observe them. The Financial Institutions: The Dracula’s of nowhere sucking the nation’s blood dry- The crutch of capitalism-that an inherently unstable system which periodically falls off the rails and when it does who pays? Well, the 2% who control the wealth do not. The payees are as always the inevitable underclass. Their level of incompetence defies belief. Take, for example, simple basic maths, Division, addition, multiplication, subtraction, for short DAMS. Well, the boys from Dams appear to have come up with a “constant” that allows their cash shortfall figures to spiral upwards on a never-ending charge of woe. Right now, it is not in their interest to stick a finger in the dam to restrain the flow. Do we take it; they do not understand simple maths or are they pulling the wool over our eyes? D.A.M.S is an acronym for a shadowy group known as the as the drawee artistic math’s society? This group of people is found in the highest echelons of business and normally operate at a level above that of the Golden circle. Figuratively speaking these people can paint any picture they wish but primarily their drawings are to their own advantage. These avaricious bastards would skim cash off the bones of a dead rat, but they will never get their fingers dirty. The Church: This Frankenstein Monster lends solace to the fiends of banking, shares its virgin but sexually satisfied bed with both government and Bourgeoisie and in the meantime buggers the children of the poor and expects the state to pay for their criminal enjoyment and the state duly obliges. The Political Organizations have become a collective of brain-dead zombies. Their place of residence is a mausoleum called Sinisterhouse house, which serves as the Rotten Island Parliament building. The primary function of these humourless dead beats is looking after their own self-interest, which takes up seventy-five percent of their time. Taking care of the interests of the financial institutions takes another twenty percent of their time. Performing minor functions- like proposing bills to erect streetlights in the two-horse village of Ballysilly and to fill potholes in marginal electoral areas, this takes up a tiresome 5% of their time. To be a member of this collective, no qualifications are required, but it does help if you understand the term the gravy train. Those currently in Government amply illustrate this where few ministers have any credentials whatsoever for doing there jobs. Le Grand Dame, The sex symbol of the parliament is the leader of this group. This entity makes bullish attempts to explain that the country’s economy is on the road to recovery, this notion relates to nothing more than his careful consideration. His only notable achievement is impoverished thinking based on the mantra; all will be well? The entity prays fervently every day for economic miracles. He has visions of the Sherkels and Dragi flapping their wings over the skies of Rotten Island where they shower the country with a deluge of monetary bills that astonishingly transform the country into a fictionally, financially viable sensation. He will proclaim these events to be a miracle of his own making, he will ask us to admire the quality and wonderment of his efforts. This entity has disturbed fantasies of success, which are always just around the corner. This leader of our illustrious small nation bestows on himself the honour of being the highest paid Prime Ministers in the world with a take home check greater than any other leader. To augment his Government, he has a drone army of civil servants, who are the most highly paid in the world and ironically turn out to be the least productive. A talent that his compatible to that of their leader He has huffed and he has puffed, but he still does not comprehend that the house is already a busted flush. That dear citizen is Rotten Island today a golden triangle of cognasty, a three-headed dog of darkness. No figurehead to rally behind, no Orpheus to lead us out of this triangulated underworld, no Che Guevara to kick-start a revolution, no rising star to guide us into the future. Part 2 Johnny Citizen: Where does he fit in, well he is the lamb who is there to be fleeced? He pays the bankers bills. He pays the church bills. He pays the Government bills. Moreover, he will pay for anything else the ghouls will screw up now and in the future. Why is Johnny citizen so sheepish? Short and simple, he abandoned his protectors the trade unions. His living standards improved. He suffered the illusion of getting fat and rich on an enduring monetary upward rocket. He played golf, and he had his overseas holidays to exotic places. He inflated himself with notions of self-importance. He drinks XO brandy in his local bar and guffaws with his friends, sure wasn’t it far away from this we were raised, whilst a glow of self-satisfaction crosses his face. When foreign workers came to fill low paid jobs, he developed a xenophobic state of mind, something he understands well. Why as an immigrant youth did he not suffer xenophobia from the hands of the foreigner? Even so, he will maintain he was a worker. The assortment coming to our beloved shores nowadays is nothing but a bunch of scroungers and malingers. He will assert that the Government must put a halt to this inward flow of migrant spongers. As things fell apart in his esteemed homeland, he failed to notice that the hard-working idlers were first to leave to seek work elsewhere, which contributes to a reduced tax, take which in turn Johnny will have to make up. What are the prospects for his children? They are in the stew pot; they are the future fodder for the controllers of capital to devour and spit out at will. What hope can he have, not much? However, what happens if Johnny citizen wakes up from his slumbers? If he is sharp, he will link chains of events together, he will have questions, he will want answers, and of course, he will request down to earth solutions to uncomplicated problems. He will question why he is paying the outlandish bankers debt. He will swiftly conclude, that the notion he should do so is preposterous. Moreover, he will state in a loud voice. The bankers lent money, which they did not have in the first place, to people who did not have the resources to pay it back. This is reckless trading, which is an offence-Off to jail with them. Better, still off with their heads He will question how the Government of his dearly beloved fatherland could make a deal with the church of pederasts who cruelly and callously buggered the children of his native land. He will conclude, that the concept that he should pay, is unbelievable. In addition, he will state in a loud voice. The full rigor of the law must apply to these fiends. The crimes of the Frankenstein church are hideous. Off to Jail with them, better still off with their heads. He will question how our Politicians and civil servants contrived to make such a mess of our cherished Republic that became the envy of many. A nation held up as a shinning example to emerging states now derided and cruelly laughed at by the nations of the world. He has observed former double-dealing Prime ministers questioned in the dock over misdeeds, which they strenuously denied, but were even the mongrel dogs in the street knew they were lying through their teeth. He will have seen friends and cohorts of these people questioned by the law. He will conclude, self-interest coupled with corruption was the name of their game. He will holler – These people failed in their duty to represent us, corruption and self-interest were rife. Off to jail with them all, better still off with their heads. Johnny citizen will have noticed that those who controlled the money represented less than two percent of the population. He will comprehend that the gap between those with capital and those with limited money had not narrowed at all. For the money the statues quo remains, control of capital is God. Our citizen friend now realizes his lot is to be nothing more than to be the bonded serf of capitalism. He comprehends with a heaviness of mind that the free market reduces everything to matters of money and thus exploitation, Direct, brutal, blatant. Our citizen is now a commodified extinction to the machines of capitalism. He is the disposable part of the equation. He will deduce, construe that once we learn how to control the monarchy of capital and production, we are then on our way to a better life. He will postulate there must be a greater division of wealth; it can no longer be the preserve of a tiny minority. Governments must control this; it must be for the benefit of the citizens? Pervasive social corruption must cease. As he reads and researchers, he begins to understand the injustices of the system as applied to the working person. He will learn that of the world’s top 100 economies based on GDP That fifty-one of them are corporations and are not countries. He will see and understand quite quickly the dangers these people pose to the illusion of his freedom. He will learn that corruption is rife in these companies. He will learn that business is not ethical and decent. He will learn that industry does not care for its workers. He will learn that the well-being of the people is secondary to monetary gain. He will learn that much of industry out source’s production to the cheapest labour point. He will realize his job is no more than a movable commodity. He will learn that the result of all of this is wealth consolidation, communal stratification, labour abuse and exploitation, Tactical corruption. He will realize that he is witnessing a form of covert dictatorship by the rich. He will learn not to trust people in the system. He will learn that the number of poor people in the world increases daily. He will learn that the worker’s lot is a miserable lot. He will learn that as each day passes the national depth of our sovereign country increases, and he knows and expects further tax demands on his income. He speculates on the percentage of the nation’s resources spent on servicing the nation’s debt. He foresees disaster. He will learn that if we get out of the current predicament that the cycle of bust and boom is likely to intensify due to the mechanisms of the banking system. Our good friend Johnny citizen compiles endless lists, which he uses as conversation pieces when he discusses the affairs of the nation. He converses with his friends in the pubs, hotel lobbies, eateries and the fun palaces of the land. Each conversation inevitably ends with the expression, well fuck the lot of them, what can we do about it? Our friend has at least verbally expressed himself. He is most likely fated never to play a part in altering the system but perhaps; just maybe he did plant a few acorns in heads that someday, might grow. What happens to Johnny Citizen? Does he disappear into foggy shadows will he survive? Does anyone care? The Truth Behind the Bailout To Read please click on the banner heading above Below some sound bites The financial institutions of today have become the tsunamis of fiscal catastrophe for all but the inner circle. These Draculas of pecuniary are the epicenter of greed and corruption and appear to have the freedom to bleed, people, banks and nation-states of their wealth. a backdoor bailout of invisible financial players who failed to manage their exposure to a shaky borrower (Anglo) In the German domestic market, the banks behaved impeccably. However, the external dealings of these banks came from either a financial asylum or a home for retards.

According to reports, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office responded to the following calls: JUNE 30 THEFT: Rhonda Showalter, Washington C.H., reported a bicycle had been stolen from outside a residence on Peddicord Avenue. Later in the day the bicycle was located at another location by Sheriff’s deputies and returned to Showalter. JUNE 29 SUSPICIOUS PERSONS: Employees of the Sunglass Hut Outlet and Coach Outlet at the Tanger Mall reported suspicious activities involving the use of credit cards. When the subjects were asked to provide identification to make purchases on the credit cards, the subjects declined to do so and cancelled the transactions. No known transactions were made. The subjects were located and identified. THEFT: Sanjay Malik, of Grove City, reported the rear license plate had been removed from his vehicle while parked at his place of business. MENACING/TELEPHONE HARASSMENT: Ivan Joseph, Washington C.H., reported he had been receiving numerous voice mail messages that he believed to be threatening in nature from a known person. Joseph was referred to the solicitor if he wished to pursue criminal charges. THEFT/MISUSE OF CREDIT CARDS: Staci Payton, Washington C.H., reported her daughter’s debit card information had been used to make two unauthorized purchases. TRAFFIC CRASH/HIT SKIP: Employees of the Fayette County Fairgrounds reported an unknown vehicle struck a utility pole on the fairgrounds causing damage. THEFT: Employees of Gap Outlet, Tanger Mall, reported two subjects removed merchandise from the store without making payment for the items. The subjects were not located. OBSTRUCTING OFFICIAL BUSINESS: Deputies observed a subject who was known to have an outstanding warrant in a vehicle near Eyman Park. Upon attempting to make contact with this subject he fled on foot and was not located. POSSESSION OF DRUG ABUSE INSTRUMENT/DRUG PARAPHERNALIA/ILLEGAL CONVEYANCE OF DRUGS OF ABUSE INTO A DETENTION FACILITY: Deputies responded to a report of a recklessly operated vehicle. The vehicle was located in the village of Bloomingburg and a female standing near the vehicle was contacted and found to be under the influence of a narcotic. Upon searching the vehicle, a syringe and other drug abuse paraphernalia were located. Isabelle Allman, of Washington C.H., was arrested and transported to the Fayette County Jail. During the intake search of Allman at the jail she was found to be in possession of four Xanax tablets. Allman was additionally charged for Conveyance of Drugs Abuse into a detention facility. JUNE 28 BURGLARY/THEFT: Angela Ross, Greenfield, reported someone forcibly entered her residence and removed property. THEFT: Employees of Tommy Hilfiger, Tanger Mall, reported three subjects removed merchandise from the store without making payment for the items. The area was checked by the responding deputies but the suspects were not located. VEHICLE DAMAGE: Nick Cummings, Bloomingburg, reported an employee was mowing the ditch line near his residence when an unknown subject stopped at his residence and reported a stone had been thrown up by the mower causing damage to the windshield of the vehicle. Cummings requested a report, but did not have the name of the person who claimed their vehicle had been damaged. DOMESTIC DISPUTE: Deputies responded to a reported domestic incident behind the Bloomingburg Post Office. Upon arriving at the Post Office, a male and female, both of Bloomingburg, were located and found to have been involved in a verbal argument. Both parties denied any threats or physical altercation. JUNE 27 ASSIST CITIZEN: Gretchen Specht, Pickerington, reported she inadvertently locked the keys to her vehicle in the car with her 19-month-old child still in the vehicle. Deputies responded and forcibly entered the vehicle at her request. The child was unharmed and did not need medical assistance. THEFT: Mark Rhyan, Jeffersonville, reported the Post Office delivered a package to his home and when he returned home, the package was not there. THEFT: Jenny Riley, Washington C.H., reported money may be missing from an organization she is in charge of and that several checks have been returned as insufficient funds. The matter remains under investigation. BURGLARY/THEFT: Amy Harper, Washington C.H., reported her residence had been forcibly entered and property removed. JUNE 26 TRAFFIC CRASH: Lois Mason reported she was attempting to make a left turn into a residence on SR 207, when she failed to observe another vehicle heading northbound on SR 207 and turned into its path, and was subsequently struck. The other vehicle driven by George Obannon, of Obetz, sustained functional damage and was towed from the scene. Obannon’s passenger sustained injuries and was transported by Tri-County EMS to Grant Hospital. Mason was cited for failure to yield on a left turn. UNRULY CHILD/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A female resident in Bloomingburg reported her 16-year-old daughter became unruly and refused directions in the home. When confronted about her behavior she began shoving the complainant. The reportee declined to pursue charges in this incident. MENACING/TELEPHONE HARASSMENT: Anna Conger, Jeffersonville, reported she has been receiving numerous unwanted and threatening text messages via social media from a known person. The messages were reviewed and Conger was referred to the Village Solicitor if she wished to pursue charges. TRAFFIC CRASH: Christopher Gray, Jeffersonville, reported he attempted to turn into his driveway at too high of a speed and slid in the gravel, striking the neighbor’s home. The home is owned by Bobbie Richards, Jeffersonville. Gray was cited for reckless operation of a motor vehicle. JUNE 25 THEFT: Aimee Ross, of Washington C.H., reported someone removed her vehicle from her residence. The vehicle was located a short time later and returned to her. TRAFFIC CRASH: Julia Phillips, of Zanesville, reported she was attempting to back out of a parking space in the gravel parking lot at the Fayette County Fairgrounds when she failed to observe the vehicle parked behind her and struck it. The other vehicle owned by David Baker, of Cardington, sustained minor damage and was driven from the scene. Phillips’ vehicle was not damaged. THEFT: Natalie Palma, Cincinnati, reported during the Don Scott Antique Show at the Fayette County Fairgrounds that someone removed merchandise from her booth without making payment. BREAKING AND ENTERING/THEFT: Phantom Fireworks reported someone forcibly entered the business and removed property from a storage trailer. THEFT: Becky Costilow, of Washington C.H., reported after returning home she observed a house key missing from her residence. CIVIL: Lori Moore of Bloomingburg reported when known subjects vacated her rental property it had been damaged. THEFT: Katherine Mahorney of Bloomingburg reported someone removed her son’s bicycle from her residence. THEFT: Felix Cruz of Kansas City, Kan., reported someone removed the license plates from his vehicle. BURGLARY/THEFT: Richard Anders, of Washington C.H., reported someone entered his residence and removed money without permission. CIVIL: A Cincinnati resident reported a known person failed to meet for a child custody exchange. THEFT: Gusweiler Toyota reported several keys missing from vehicles located on the showroom floor, inside the business. JUNE 23 LOST PROPERTY: Brittany Wilson, of Mt. Sterling, reported her temporary tag missing from her vehicle. THEFT/CRIMINAL TRESPASS: Matthew Alltop of Bloomingburg reported someone entered onto his property and removed a battery from a vehicle. PROTECTION ORDER SERVICE: Sheriff’s deputies made contact with a respondent and served the Protection Order pursuant to court order. He was advised of the guidelines and the consequences of any violations. TRAFFIC CRASH: Melody Darif, of Washington C.H., was traveling north on S.R 41 and hydroplaned due to high winds and heavy rain. Darif traveled off the right side of the roadway, striking a curve marker and coming to rest in a field. No injuries were reported. The vehicle sustained minor damage in the crash. VIOLATION OF PROTECTION ORDER: Lillian Howard of Jeffersonville reported a male subject was at her residence and she has an active protection order against. Sheriff’s deputies made contact at the residence locating the male subject. William Howard of Grove City was arrested and charged in the offense. JUNE 22 DOMESTIC DISPUTE: Sheriff’s deputies responded to S.R 729 on a domestic incident. Upon arrival all parties involved were identified and it was determined that no assault or threats of violence had occurred. BURGLARY/THEFT: Johnny Lute, of Washington C.H., reported someone entered his residence and removed items from inside. ILLEGAL MANUFACTURE OF DRUGS OR CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA: Doug Barton, of Sabina, reported finding a marijuana plant growing on property near his home. The plant was confiscated and placed in evidence. JUVENILE OFFENSES: A Jeffersonville mother reported her 8-year-old daughter was hit by a tennis ball by an 11-year-old neighbor boy. The child was not injured and the mother declined charges. Contact was made with the male juvenile and his guardian and they were advised of the complaint. VEHICLE DAMAGE: Stephanie McIntosh, Wilmington, stated while sitting in her vehicle in the parking lot of Tanger Mall, an unknown male in a vehicle parked beside her, opened the door striking her vehicle causing damage. The male departed prior to deputy’s arrival. FIRE: Abdirahman Yusuf, of Minneapolis, Minn., stated he was driving southbound on I-71 near the 65 mm, when smoke began coming out of the vents in the cab. Upon pulling over to the side of the road, the fire subsequently engulfed the vehicle. Jeffersonville Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. CRIMINAL DAMAGING: Rockney Reed, Greenville, reported the tool box on his truck had been forcibly entered, while the vehicle was parked at the Quality Inn, Jeffersonville. Upon checking the tool box he did not find anything missing. JUNE 21 BREAKING AND ENTERING/THEFT: A passerby observed a suspicious subject in the area of a residence in Bloomingburg. Upon checking the area, two firearms where located hidden in the bushes near the residence. Upon checking with the resident he identified the firearms as his and that they had been taken from his detached garage. The firearms were returned to the owner. CRIMINAL TRESPASS: Employees of Jackpots Skill Games, Washington C.H., reported they had previously advised a male subject not to be on the premises. He returned. Arriving deputies advised him if he returned again charges would be filed. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Beth Burge, Washington C.H., reported she had become involved in a verbal altercation with a known subject which escalated into a physical altercation. Burge declined charges in this matter. DISORDERLY CONDUCT BY FIGHTING/ASSAULT/THEFT: Deputies responded to a report of a fight between inmates in the jail. Upon reviewing video and interviewing the involved parties, it was determined that commissary items had been stolen from another inmate which resulted in the assault. THEFT: Employees of the Travel Center of America reported an unknown female removed merchandise from the business several days before and had just been noticed on their video surveillance system. TRAFFIC CRASH: Deputies responded to a report of a hit-skip traffic crash at the Creamer Cemetery, Jeffersonville. It was determined that an unknown vehicle was southbound on S.R. 41 and ran off the roadway at Creamer Road, striking the chain-link fence around the cemetery and departed. CRIMINAL DAMAGING: Kristina Duncan, Washington C.H., reported someone scratched the hood of her vehicle while it was parked outside her residence. JUNE 20 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A complaint was received of a domestic incident on Colonial Dr., Jeffersonville. Upon completion of the investigation it was determined that an assault had occurred. Alan Creamer, of Jeffersonville, was arrested in the incident. ASSAULT: Deputies responded to the 3000 block of Miami Trace Road on an assault complaint. Both parties had conflicting stories and no signs of an assault were visible on either party. Both parties were referred to the solicitor. DOMESTIC DISPUTE: Deputies responded to a report of a domestic incident on Jamison Road. Upon arriving in the area all the parties had departed. One of the parties was later located. Parties denied any physical assault and attempts to contact the female by telephone were unsuccessful. THEFT: Rock Dunaway, Washington C.H., reported he left his vehicle overnight at J’s Café on the night of June 18-19. Upon returning the vehicle was missing. TRAFFIC CRASH: Byron Bartholomew, of Washington C.H., reported he was traveling southbound on SR 38 near Yatesville, when two deer entered his lane of travel. He subsequently struck one of the deer and sustained minor damage to his vehicle. The deer was not located and the vehicle was driven from the scene. TRAFFIC CRASH: Rodney Roberts, Ludowici, Ga., reported he was attempting to make a left turn on the lot of the Travel Centers of America lot, when the trailer of his semi-tractor trailer vehicle crashed into the tractor of another parked truck. Both vehicles sustained moderate damage. BURGLARY: Stacy Burlile, Washington C.H., reported a female forced entry to her residence while she was at home. This female was assisted in entering the residence by another female that was outside. Burlile confronted the suspect in the residence and both suspects fled in a vehicle. The vehicle was subsequently located and the occupants were identified as the suspects. Tisha Dunn and Kristina Hurtt, both of Washington C.H., were arrested and charged with this offense.

Kenya Free Travel Guide and Practical Information Discover Kenya and its wildlife 🐘 Get inspired with our Travel Guide 📚. Advices, Tipes, Best location, itineraries and more ✅. Travel to Kenya Kenya's dramatic Great Rift Valley, stunning savannah sunsets, and varied wildlife create a package which attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. The country is set on Africa's east coast, and has a southern shoreline which hugs the Indian Ocean. It's known for its rich flora and fauna, including lions, elephants, rhinoceros, and migratory wildebeest. Most visitors fly into the capital, Nairobi, where there is a well-respected national park. From here, safari trips head out into the Maasai Mara Reserve and other places in the country's interior. As well as being a starting point for safari tours, Nairobi is packed full of vibrant arts and crafts, delicious street food, and is a thriving modern city with a population of over three million. The top 10 things to see/do on site 1. Maasai Mara Reserve One of Kenya's most famous destinations, this savannah reserve is home to lions, cheetahs, wildebeest, elephants, zebras and hippos. Maasai villages are dotted throughout the reserve, which borders Tanzania. 2. Nairobi Kenya's bustling capital is a hub for business and culture. Colonial buildings rub shoulders with modern high-rise offices, busy markets and the stunning Jamia Mosque. Head to Nairobi National Park to spot wild animals roaming free. 3. Amboseli National Park A vast national park in southern Kenya, known for its elephant herds, Lake Amboseli (which dries up outside of the country's rainy seasons, from November to March and May to October), and stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is located just over the border in neighbouring Tanzania. 4. Mombasa Set on Kenya's Indian Ocean coastline, Mombasa is the country's oldest city. It's known for its white beaches, coral reef diving, and its picturesque old town, which is a melting pot of cultures from the 16th century onwards. India, Arabia and Africa – with a dash of European influence – merge to create a cosmopolitan, charming port town. 5. Lake Nakuru The high ground of Lake Nakuru (1,754 metres above sea level) is home to this Rift Valley soda lake, famous for spectacular scenery, waterfalls and rhinos. Up until 2014, the lake was famous for attracting vast quantities of flamingoes to its shore, but rising water levels have forced most (but not all) of the birds to other locations. Leopards, hippos and giraffes also wander the park's grounds. 6. Lake Naivasha This freshwater lake is home to hippos, fish, and over 400 species of birds. It's situated just outside the market town of Naivasha. Several other tourist destinations are close by, including Hell's Gate National Park, which was the inspirations for a number of Lion King locations, including Pride Rock and the Gorge. 7. Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East has been a national park since 1948, making it one of the oldest parks in the country. It's located in a dry area which was previously known as the Taru Desert. It's known for its rich biodiversity and is home to animals including lions, elephants, leopards, black rhinos and buffalo. You can also spot birds such as the sacred ibis and lovebirds here. 8. Watamu Just north of Mombasa is Watamu, a small coastal town whose main draw is the Watamu National Marine Park and Reserve. This park is known for coral gardens and pristine sandy beaches. Mangrove forest and sandy flats are inhabited by a host of seabirds, and the ocean is populated with many varieties of fish and turtles. 9. Lake Natron Lake Natron is a photographer's dream. Its deep red waters are coloured by bacteria in the lake to create a striking natural feature. The lake is a breeding ground for hundreds of thousands of flamingoes, who brave the highly alkaline waters to lay their eggs. The alkaline content of the water is so high that it is dangerous to swim in - around the lake, you can see the calcified bodies of birds and animals who perished in the water. 10. Mount Kenya The highest mountain in Kenya, and the second highest in Africa (the highest is Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania), Mount Kenya offers plenty of opportunities for trekking, rock climbing, and exploring the surrounding national park. It's an ancient extinct volcano, tipped with glaciers at the summit and thickly forested on its lower slopes. Here, you can see a number of interesting animals and plants, including the hyrax, a small, furry cousin of the elephant. When to go to Kenya Kenya has two seasons; dry and rainy. There are two rainy seasons per year, the first is from March to June, and the second, shorter rainy season is from November to December. The best time to see wildlife is during the second dry season (June to late October), when temperatures are cooler. To see the wildebeest, you'll want to head to the Maasai Mara between July and October – at other times of the year, they move back to Tanzania. The two rainy seasons are considered "off-peak", and so you can generally find cheaper rates at these times of year. How to get there? Most tourists fly into Nairobi. It's a nine-hour flight from London, eight hours from Paris, nine hours plus from Rome, 11 hours from Madrid, and 15 hours from New York. There are also a number of flights into Mombasa airport. Alternatively, tourists may arrive into Mombasa as part of a cruise. Currently, there are no international ferries into Mombasa. You can also take the bus, or drive, from Tanzania or Uganda. All visitors to Kenya require a visa. Single-entry visas on arrival can be obtained at the airport (current cost $51), or applied for online, but multiple-entry visas need to be arranged in advance. All visitors are also required to hold a valid certificate of vaccination for yellow fever. Which hotel to choose? The Sarova Stanley Hotel Located in Nairobi's central business district, the Sarova Stanley is the oldest hotel in the city. It has welcomed guests as distinguished as Ernest Hemingway and continues to provide five-star, luxury service to all its guests. If you'd like to find out about the hotel's interesting history, you can avail of a free guided tour of the building. Otherwise, just relax in its elegant, retro rooms, poolside, or in the spa. Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge Set in Lake Nakuru National Park, Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge has panoramic views right down on to the lake itself. It's located on the slopes of Lion Hill and is surrounded by lush woodland. In the surrounding national park, you can catch sight of a wide variety of wild animals, including leopards, rhinos, and one of the largest bird populations in the country (over 400 species call the park home). Keekorok Game Lodge Keekorok Game Lodge is perfectly located for wildlife-spotting. In the Maasai Mara National Reserve, it's surrounded by wildebeest at the height of migration season. All through the year, you can see hippos, monkeys, and birds right in the grounds of the lodge. It's built using a number of traditional materials, which give the hotel a unique, quirky charm. Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge Nestled at the foot of the Chyulu Hills, close to Mount Kilimanjaro, Kilaguni was one of the very first lodges to be built in a national park. Its stone walls meld harmoniously with the volcanic peaks of the Chyulu Hills. The lodge has its very own watering hole, where you can see elephants, buffalos and other plains game assemble every day. It's set in Tsavo West National Park, and well-placed for day trips to other interesting locations in the area. Saltlick Lodge Saltlick Lodge is perfectly primed for wildlife watching. The entire lodge is elevated on stilts and overlooks a small watering hole and a salt slick where animals gather. It's set in a private wildlife sanctuary right next to Tsavo National Park. As well as views from the elevated lodge there's also an underground hide to spot wildlife from. Rooms are furnished in an elegant, traditional-meets-contemporary style. The Baobab Beach Resort & Spa This resort is set on Diani Beach, looking out over the Indian Ocean. Blue water laps at pristine white sand and The Baobab provides luxurious accommodation, complete with swimming pools, inventive traditional and international cuisine, and a tropical spa providing a full range of innovative treatments. Beautiful surroundings and spacious rooms help to provide an even more relaxing stay. Culture and festivals in Kenya Kenya has a number of festivals, which celebrate everything from traditional culture to cutting-edge cinema. Here are some of the most popular: Lamu Festival Lamu Festival is the longest-running cultural festival in the country, having started in 2001. Expect artisan craft making, dhow boat sailing races, and Bao, a game which has been played in the region for thousands of years. It's a celebration of Swahili culture, and you can expect to learn about Swahili life, foods and customs. The festival is held over three days, every November. Maralal Camel Derby Held in the middle of the year (dates vary), these annual races are open to both professional and amateur camel jockeys. A cultural festival (and a cycling race) run alongside the camel races. It's popular with locals and visitors – and if you've ever dreamed of racing a camel, this might just be your chance. Rusinga Festival This cultural festival is held on the last Thursday and Friday before Christmas, on Rusinga Island. It celebrates the culture of the Suba people: expect music, sports, food, art and traditional performances. Kenya Kite Festival This celebration of all things kite-y is held over one day in March. It aims to bring together kite lovers, kite makers and kite flyers from all over the world. Nairobi Film Festival Launched in 2017, this up-and-coming film festival aims to celebrate the region's best cinema, and grow Nairobi's cinephile population. It's held in March or April. Shela Hat Contest One of the weirder festivals in Kenya, this event is a chance for locals to stretch their creative muscles and show off handmade sunhats – which you can expect to be made from a bewildering array of materials, and have a wide variety of themes. A rocket hat? A penguin hat? A metre-tall cone hat with a giant pom-pom on the top? The only limit is your imagination. The festival is held in February. Local practices and customs Dress modestly, in lightweight clothing (it can be very hot!) Kenyan society is conservative, so refrain from behaviours that could be construed as offensive. The Kenya map Our practical advice for Kenya What to bring back from Kenya The best things to bring back from Kenya are traditional crafts. Ornately decorated Maasai blankets, colourful Kazuri beads, or soapstone carvings make for souvenirs full of memories. What currency to use? Kenya uses the Kenyan shilling (1000 shillings = £8). For upmarket resorts, hotels, and safari trips, however, prices will normally be quoted in US dollars. Sometimes (although not always) you will also be able to pay in euros or pounds sterling. It's best to have a mix of US dollars and Kenyan shillings with you, as paying in the wrong currency will generally leave you out of pocket; businesses tend to use the exchange rate which is most favourable to them. ATMs are readily available throughout Kenya, and are the cheapest and easiest way to access your money. US dollars, euros and pound sterling are the easiest currencies to exchange, but rates are unlikely to be in your favour (and carrying around large sums of money in cash is generally not recommended). The most commonly accepted cards are Visa and MasterCard. Be aware that credit card may not be accepted for sums below $50 (or sometimes higher, depending on the establishment). What time zone? Kenya has a time zone of GMT+3, 3 hours ahead of London (2 hours ahead during British Summer Time) What language is spoken in Kenya? Kenya has two official languages, Swahili and English. Both are widely spoken. How long to stay? Most visitors are issued with a 90-day visa. In order to see some of the country, it's best to stay at least a week; Kenya is a diverse country, with much to see. Travel times may also be long. Restaurants on site Most hotels offer a range of international dishes. Cities such as Nairobi have a vibrant dining culture, and some excellent restaurants. Traditional food is also common, and varies greatly from region to region. The staple dish of the country is cornmeal (as in Ugali), and richly flavoured rice (as in Kenyan Pilau) is also popular. Meat dishes include Kenyan Stew and Nyama Choma. Family activities The top family activity in Kenya is to go on safari. Other activities include snorkelling and attending cultural festivals. How to travel to Kenya with your pet It's not recommended to travel to Kenya with a pet – there are many ferocious wild animals, including lions, rhinos and leopards, which pose a threat to any pet running free. Kenya: what budget to plan? The average cost of travelling in Kenya is $100 (approximately £80) per person per day. However, if you're planning to go on safari, or to stay in luxury hotels, expect prices to be significantly more. The average cost of a safari is $800-$1,000 (£640-£800) per person per night. Environment Most of Kenya is still fairly natural. Savannah grassland predominates, and there are forests, mountains and lakes. Additional practical information Kenya uses a Type G plug, the same as in the UK. Kenyan society is conservative, so wear modest clothes and refrain from public displays of affection. Wear neutrally coloured clothing if you plan to go on safari. Discover our offers to Kenya : holidays Visit all our travel guides FAQ Travel Guide Kenya A safari is undoubtedly THE thing to do in Kenya! Voyage Privé offers different types of safaris, such as: Kenya Safari and All Inclusive Beach Escape , Kenya Safari and Zanzibar Beach or Natural Wonders of the Magical Kenya !

One of the more interesting characters in my lifetime is G. Gordon Liddy: lawyer, FBI agent, CIA operative and Watergate burglar. While the others tossed the hot potato of blame at each other during the Watergate investigation, Liddy fearlessly took the heat and went to prison for his president. During my university years he was something of a hero for me. His biography, Will, resided in my backpack throughout my tenure and I often used examples of his life to illustrate points in college papers. A favorite story was how he learned to overcome his fears. When Liddy was a child he was terrified of the rats that scurried around in his basement. So overcome with fear was he, that he had panic attacks at the slightest perceived noise when he had to go down there for something. Finally, he became so frustrated and ashamed with himself, that when he was 13 he went down into the basement, waited for a rat to emerge, and then he killed, cooked and ate it. This so exhilarated him, that that’s how he approached the rest of life. As members of the Church we are, from time to time, confronted by rats in the forms of callings and Church assignments. Most of my assignments have been pretty agreeable. I like to teach and give talks, I’ve done enough theater to get off on running road shows and Christmas programs, and I’ve had enough leadership callings to feel somewhat comfortable going in, with the possible exception of my first stake calling and feeling the weight of that HPGL gig. But I have my rats, too. I hate hospitals and being asked to go visit and bless gravely ill and dying people. The first gravely ill person I blessed was on my mission, and though her doctors gave her 6 more months, my laying-on-of-hands took her out that very night– so you can understand at least part of the reason for my squeamishness.I have a horrible bedside manner and it’s all I can do to think of what to say to them. Needless to say, my visits are brief and as innocuous as possible. Unfortunately, an 86-year old high priest with whom I was particularly close (and whose family I home taught) was on the brink of death last year and I ended up visiting him a few times a week, giving him a gaggle of blessings and torturing him with bad jokes (he was very susceptible to my jokes). Amazingly, he suddenly rallied and made a full recovery. I can’t say the same for my phobia of hospitals and sick people. I hate doing blitzes. I don’t know if all wards do this; basically, it’s making a list of inactive members found in the computer and then splitting up in pairs to find them, make contact and invite them to church. As far as I’m concerned, if these people were really where the computer said they were and they didn’t come to church, that’s their prerogative. I don’t think I can recall one member who reactivated because we hunted them down and happied them into submission. Another big fat rat loitering in my basement is missionary work. As a recent convert to the Church, I sent in my mission papers swept up in the romance that I’d be a savior to the world, met by the outstretched arms of good people starving for the truth. What a maroon. It was a tough gig on several levels: I went to the Bible belt, North Carolina, where Mormonism was the perpetual Cult Playmate of the Year; I was almost immediately met with jerk companions and leaders that resembled nothing I saw on My Turn on Earth; and I learned that my success was gauged by how many doors, discussions, “golden questions” and baptisms I got every month. It didn’t take long for the romance to go down like the Hindenburg and be replaced by my predisposed aversion to infringing on people I didn’t know with a sales pitch. I persevered because I knew my attitude was wrong and I was called of God, and while I was sent home as a ZL and a “successful missionary,” I was glad to put it all behind me. No lie, to this day I have a recurring nightmare that I’m sent back to that mission 28 years later, becoming companions with some 20-year-old hotshot and separated from my family for two years. So when the Preach My Gospel campaign went into full swing, my blood ran cold. Were we going to be monitored for “golden questions” again? Was I expected to ask my fair-weather neighbor over for burgers and discussions? As the GL I had to push Preach My Gospel fever to the quorum like an Herbalife team leader, and I did, but it went so against my grain. Couldn’t we just be good examples and let them notice our shining lights? Okay, yeah, I know it doesn’t work that way, and it doesn’t work that way. But it’s my big, ugly pet rat– pushing the product. ‘Scuse me ma’am, watch what happens when I throw dirt on your clean carpet… So I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere, having those rats in the basement. Maybe it goes something like, “See how strong and fearless Liddy became after he caught, cooked and ate his rat?” And I guess that’s what we’re supposed to do with all of those dreadful, unsavory callings and assignments we get from time to time: Embrace them, make them our own, become them. Convert to them. We don’t have to believe they were given to us by divine inspiration, but we can show the Lord that we have a handle on faith and the tools that He left at our disposal. Actually that would be just the first step. From there we should probably strive to make that stewardship more about others and less about ourselves and making points with God. And it’s at this point the rats and their metaphor jump ship. 6 responses so far ↓ 1 cheryl // Feb 4, 2009 at 1:03 am Great post. I honestly believe that everything we are given –everything, inspired or not –will make us a better person if we just let it. Of course, I’m saying this as I just finished telling the RS presidency that for the first time in my life I’m the one who needs a good VT companion and I can’t play the you’re-with-this-companion-to-reactivate-her role anymore. We all need to take turns giving and receiving once in a while. Anyway, my point is that I agree with you. Some callings suck. Some are a dream. But no matter what we get, if we stick with it, work hard, and try our best (with a load of prayer), then something good will always come out of it. Always. 2 David // Feb 4, 2009 at 5:36 am Amen, Cheryl. And usually the first and most obvious good that comes from it is by the time we’re released, we leave loving it– or at least not disliking it quite so much. 3 Chris Bigelow // Feb 4, 2009 at 5:54 am Very well expressed post. Makes me feel pretty queasy, though. Makes me feel rebellious and mentally practice saying no to my bishop if he asks me to do something I just don’t want to do. I’ve said yes in the past and then just not done it, and next time I’d like to be honest and say no if I know there’s little or no chance of me really doing anything. I hope my clerk job drags out for several more years… 4 s'mee // Feb 4, 2009 at 6:15 am Late to the party, but a few comments. It started so long ago I can’t even remember when. As a Primary Presidency we would go out once a month, on Sunday to visit 2 active and 2 inactive families of children. We would make a plate of treats for each family, go unannounced, cold, and make our door approach. We’d stay on the porch, stay five minutes and just say howdy, leave the goodies and go. Our ward still does this every month. Our stake, has practiced visiting (paired up with ward axillary companions) the Wednesday night prior to that ward’s conference. Each set of paired leaders visit with one family in the ward. Add that up. 4 families with the Bishopric, 4 RS, 4 Primary, 4 YW, 4 YM 5 Karron // Feb 5, 2009 at 4:11 am I hate being required to shove the church down anyone’s throat. It is just flat wrong to me. Inactives will come back when and if they want to. I have inactive sisters on my route, we try to see them regularly, we are always turned away with an excuse. but we keep trying anyway. The only way I have ever brought anyone into the church (two families over the years) was to be good friend with them, set the example, and when they asked, answered questions honestly. And, of course, lived the gospel. As for callings, some I have hated, but learned from, some I have loved, and learned from. There is always a reason and I just do as I am asked. But, every time the bishopric wants to talk to me, I start begging that I don’t get put in primary or YW. Puuuuullllleeeeezzzzz…… Good post David, and I get your frustration and the rats that bug you. 6 s'mee // Feb 6, 2009 at 2:18 am my comment was too long and got cut . My point: In our stake we have had MANY successes in visiting and bringing back less active and those who have left for one reason or another. It works for us. You must log in to post a comment.

Published on 05.04.13 in Vol 2, No 1 (2013): Jan-Jun Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at, first published Aug 16, 2012. Original Paper The SADI Personal Health Lens: A Web Browser-Based System for Identifying Personally Relevant Drug Interactions ABSTRACT Background: The Web provides widespread access to vast quantities of health-related information that can improve quality-of-life through better understanding of personal symptoms, medical conditions, and available treatments. Unfortunately, identifying a credible and personally relevant subset of information can be a time-consuming and challenging task for users without a medical background. Objective: The objective of the Personal Health Lens system is to aid users when reading health-related webpages by providing warnings about personally relevant drug interactions. More broadly, we wish to present a prototype for a novel, generalizable approach to facilitating interactions between a patient, their practitioner(s), and the Web. Methods: We utilized a distributed, Semantic Web-based architecture for recognizing personally dangerous drugs consisting of: (1) a private, local triple store of personal health information, (2) Semantic Web services, following the Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) design pattern, for text mining and identifying substance interactions, (3) a bookmarklet to trigger analysis of a webpage and annotate it with personalized warnings, and (4) a semantic query that acts as an abstract template of the analytical workflow to be enacted by the system. Results: A prototype implementation of the system is provided in the form of a Java standalone executable JAR file. The JAR file bundles all components of the system: the personal health database, locally-running versions of the SADI services, and a javascript bookmarklet that triggers analysis of a webpage. In addition, the demonstration includes a hypothetical personal health profile, allowing the system to be used immediately without configuration. Usage instructions are provided. Conclusions: The main strength of the Personal Health Lens system is its ability to organize medical information and to present it to the user in a personalized and contextually relevant manner. While this prototype was limited to a single knowledge domain (drug/drug interactions), the proposed architecture is generalizable, and could act as the foundation for much richer personalized-health-Web clients, while importantly providing a novel and personalizable mechanism for clinical experts to inject their expertise into the browsing experience of their patients in the form of customized semantic queries and ontologies. JMIR Res Protoc 2013;2(1):e14 doi:10.2196/resprot.2315 KEYWORDS - drug interactions; - telemedicine; - Web-based services; - Web-based interaction; - semantic Web; - SAD For the lay-person, free health information on the Web is a potentially valuable resource for better understanding personal symptoms, medical conditions, drugs, and nutrition. However, while sites such as WebMD [] provide accredited sources of information, a multitude of other sources such as blogs, Wikipedia articles, and news articles exist that provide no guarantees about their completeness, accuracy, or objectivity. Thus, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable information is a central issue. However, even when restricted to verified sources, the sheer quantity of available material often makes meaningful interpretation a challenging task for readers without a medical background. For example, a study published by White and Horvitz in 2009 demonstrated a phenomenon known as “cyberchondria”, wherein a person experiences a heightened anxiety about medical conditions after reviewing search results and online literature relating to common symptoms (eg, headache [ ]). Finally, the issue of “information quality” is both personal and subjective—information that is relevant for one individual might not be relevant to another, based on personal factors such as overall health, drug-regimen or other interventions, lifestyle, gender, or even personal interest. As observed by Burgess et al, “due to the unique nature of every individual, a single…method that assumes all people are the same will fail to meet every person’s information needs” [ ]. It would be highly desirable, therefore, to assist Web users by filtering and/or annotating the information they encounter on the Web in a personalized way, thereby increasing its relevance and utility to that individual. Moreover, given that a patient may be at any point in their continuum-of-care, it would be particularly desirable to provide the patient’s clinical-care team an opportunity to include their “voice” into that annotation and filtering mechanism, such that the clinician’s plan for that patient enhances the personalization of the page even further. We recently published a novel framework for automatically synthesizing contextually-sensitive data retrieval and analysis workflows composed of dynamically-selected Semantic Web Services []. The system used a semantic template describing the abstract “intent” of the workflow, combined with the specific details in a given dataset, to concretize an appropriate workflow capable of evaluating that data. In this work we intend to demonstrate, using a straightforward prototype application called the Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) Personal Health Lens, that these components—the data, the semantic model, and the derived analytical workflow—map directly onto the various facets of the Health Web personalization problem described above. The Personal Health Lens application utilizes the patient’s individual medical history and data, the clinician’s plan for that patient (in the form of a semantic query), and publicly available tools that can be automatically selected and appropriately chained-together to analyze and contextually interpret the content of a webpage. The output is an annotated page containing new information specifically relevant to that patient, which is loaded into their browser as usual. Personalization of Web information necessitates the use of the individual’s personal medical profile, since this information can be used to identify both relevant and inappropriate advice within a webpage. There has been considerable work in the area of semantic representation of electronic patient records, both institutional [] and personal [ ], and a variety of different standards exist for the content and structure of these records. Here, we do not intend to prescribe or proscribe any particular standard. This work simply assumes that such health records exist, are accessible to the local browser, and are (or can be) expressed in standard Semantic Web syntaxes. As the various models for electronic health records begin to consolidate, the prototype system could be easily re-written to conform to that standard. For the purposes of this prototype, we created a simple model of the drug-regime portion of the patient’s health record, along with several other clinical and personal features. Much of the prior work in “personalization” of a patient’s Web experience has been in the domain of facilitated search, particularly through the use of semantically-backed personal health portals (eg, [, ]) where the role of semantics in the portal is either for search-expansion to discover additional relevant pages, and/or to simplify medical terminology for the patient while still providing access to complex literature. While portals allow a much higher degree of potential curation by experts, thus (presumably) improving information quality, they also require a much higher level of buy-in from the patient, who must choose to exclusively visit the portal for their health information in lieu of more typical forms of Web exploration such as search engines and browsing. Moreover, though a portal may provide access to a curated or filtered set of pages, the pages themselves are generally untouched; we were unable to identify any personal health portal in which the source pages were, themselves, contextually marked-up. We believe that context is an important part of the personalization experience, as is the freedom to explore the Web in any manner the patient chooses. The Personal Health Lens, therefore, was designed to operate over any page, at any time, discovered in any manner, and places its patient-oriented annotations directly into the page-context. This is achieved by utilizing the semantics—both in the patient’s data, as well as in a semantic template query—to generate a contextually-relevant Semantic Web Service-based annotation workflow at the moment the Health Lens is invoked. This workflow may differ depending on the patient’s medical information and the content of the page they are viewing, thus providing the flexibility necessary to operate on the open Web, rather than through a curated portal. We now describe in detail our prototype system that attempts to identify drugs within the online literature that are potentially dangerous to the user based on their personal health record. We begin by giving an overview of the system and a description of the prototype implementation in the Methods section. In the Results section, we demonstrate use of the prototype in the context of a sample health profile. Finally, we discuss some high-level design issues and provide closing remarks in the Discussion section. Methods Use of Semantic Web Standards and Technologies RDF, OWL, SADI, and SHARE Overview All data within the Health Lens system were represented using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) model [], which provides significant advantages over other formats such as Extensible Markup Language XML and ad hoc text formats when integrating data across multiple sources. In particular, RDF allows the assignment of globally unique identifiers (URIs) to all entities within the data, making it possible to match entities across distributed data sets in a reliable manner. Further, RDF supports an automated procedure called RDF-Merge [ ] for merging data sets into a single file or database, regardless of the actual content of the data sets involved. This significantly reduced the cost of developing a database for the system, and will also reduce the cost of maintenance when adding new data sources in the future. Finally, in contrast to other data models, RDF data sets are not constrained to a fixed schema. This property of RDF allows any type of statement to be added to an existing data set without adversely affecting clients or servers that use that data set. For instance, in Health Lens, the use of RDF to represent the personal health profile will allow any new type of health data to be added to the profile in the future without requiring an update to the database schema or the interfaces of the various system components. The Web Ontology Language (OWL) [] also played a central role in the design of the Health Lens system, providing a general framework for describing and processing logical constraints about RDF data. The chief advantage of using OWL in the context of the Health Lens project is that data matchmaking and validation tasks can be performed by a reusable tool called an OWL reasoner (eg, [ ]), rather than by custom, application-specific software. The Health Lens system utilizes 2 Semantic Web projects that have been built on top of the RDF and OWL standards—Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration, and Semantic Health and Research Environment. Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) SADI is a set of design patterns for producing stateless Web services that natively consume and produce RDF data. The structure of the input and output data for SADI services are formally described by an input OWL class and an output OWL class, respectively. Further details about SADI are described in []. Semantic Health and Research Environment (SHARE) SHARE is a proof-of-concept Semantic Web query engine that resolves SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL, []) queries by building and executing workflows of SADI services. SHARE is also capable of discovering instances of a given OWL class by building an appropriate SADI workflow. Further details about SHARE are described in [ ]. A Note About Opaque URIs in RDF Data Many of the URIs in the example RDF data of this paper are opaque, making human interpretation of the data considerably more difficult than if human-readable identifiers had been used. For example, the URI of the “has attribute” predicate of the Semanticscience Integrated Ontology (SIO) ontology [] is. The use of opaque URIs is a best practice when the uniqueness of a label for an entity cannot be guaranteed, due to the existence of synonymous labels or labels in multiple languages. By convention, human-readable labels are indicated via the rdfs:label predicate. This allows multiple labels to be assigned to the same entity, and also permits changes to the labels without adversely affecting other RDF data sets on the Web that refer to the entity in question. To aid the reader, comments are provided within the example data that provide translations from opaque URIs to human-readable labels. System Overview The Health Lens system operates in a cycle of 3 steps, as depicted in: - The user creates or updates his/her personal health profile, which is stored locally in the personal health database. - The system executes a SHARE query to identify dangerous interactions between the user's personal health profile and any known drug. All discovered interactions are aggregated and stored in the personal health database for use in Step 3. - From within a Web browser, the user clicks the Health Lens bookmarklet to identify mentions of drugs in the current webpage that may be personally dangerous. The bookmarklet accomplishes this by (a) identifying drug mentions within the text using one or more SADI entity recognition services, and (b) comparing the identified drugs against the list of drugs that have interactions with the personal health profile, as computed in Step 2. The circular arrows ofindicate that Steps 1-3 occur in a repeating cycle; each time the user changes his/her profile (eg, adding a new prescription), Step 2 must be rerun to rebuild the full set of known interactions with the profile. Step 1: Creating/Updating the Personal Health Profile Our prototype implementation of the Health Lens system includes a sample personal health profile (). The profile is provided as an RDF/N3 file, and describes a 37-year-old female named Jane Doe who is on a prescription for Alprazolam (Xanax), a member of the benzodiazepine class of psychoactive drugs that is commonly used to treat anxiety disorders. While the current focus of the profile is drug prescriptions, the use of RDF will allow future extension of the profile to include personal data such as allergies, medical conditions, diet, clinical test results, and genotyping. Currently, changes to the health profile must be made by editing the RDF/N3 file by hand; however, any future versions of the system will provide a user interface for this task. The schema for the sample health profile uses a combination of Friend of a Friend (FOAF) [], an ontology for describing people and their relationships, and the SIO [ ], an upper level ontology for representing scientific data. The main subject of the profile, Jane Doe, is represented by a blank node (“[ ]”) with an rdf:type of foaf:Person, and this node has a combination of FOAF and DBPedia [ ] properties indicating first name, last name, gender, and date of birth. A prescription node is attached to the Jane Doe node by the med:prescription property, and this node has attached attributes indicating the prescribed drug, quantity, dosage, and date of prescription. Step 2: Precomputing Dangerous Drug Interactions In order to access dangerous drug interactions, we developed a drug-drug interaction (DDI) discovery SADI service. For the backend data, a small data set of approximately 40 known drug interactions with St. John’s Wort, a herbal treatment for depression, was constructed manually from the literature. The authors chose to use a hand-constructed data set for the initial version of the project because they were unsuccessful in finding a curated public resource with all of the required details of the interactions, namely directionality, supporting citations, and coded clinical effects. The databases that came closest to meeting the requirements were DrugBank [], which describes clinical effects in natural language, the Twosides [ ] PharmGKB database, which provides only computationally-predicted interactions, NDF-RT [ ], which does not provide access to supporting citations, and the Drug Interaction Knowledge Base (DIKB) [ ], which does not describe clinical effects. In future work, the authors may be able to replace the hand-curated St. John’s Wort data set with some combination of these resources. Example input and output data from the DDI service are provided inand , respectively. Using the terminology of this example input/output data, the DDI discovery service takes as input a “chemical entity” (Alprazolam) that “has attribute” some “chemical identifier” and outputs an “annotated chemical entity” that “is participant in” some “drug-drug interaction”. The provided output data describes a directed drug-drug interaction between St. John’s Wort and the input drug Alprazolam, where the direction of the interaction is indicated by assigning the roles of “actor” and “target” to St. John's Wort and Alprazolam, respectively. A citation providing evidence for the interaction is attached via the SIO “has source” property, and the clinical effect of the interaction is attached via the SIO “results in” property. The effect of the interaction itself is represented using a controlled vocabulary term for “decreased efficacy of drug”. For clarity of exposition, many long auto-generated URIs (UUIDs) in the real service output data have been replaced by blank nodes in , however, the resulting RDF is semantically equivalent. The Health Lens system invokes the drug interaction service via a SPARQL query () to a local instance of SHARE. The result of this query is the collection of all known interactions between the user’s prescribed drugs and any other drug. Using the SHARE system as the client for the drug interaction service had several advantages over implementing application-specific client code. One advantage is that new sources for interaction data can be added to the system in the future simply by adding entries to SHARE’s registry of SADI services. Another advantage is that the nature of the conflicts that are discovered by the system can be changed by modifying the SHARE query, rather than modifying the application code. For example, while the current version of the system searches for interactions with prescribed drugs, future versions might also take into account interactions with allergies or specific genotypes. One caveat of using SHARE system for invoking the DDI service is that running the query can be time intensive. Resolving a SHARE query involves several potentially expensive operations such as downloading ontologies, performing OWL reasoning to match local data to available services, and invoking SADI services over the Web. The Health Lens system therefore runs the SHARE query “offline”; whenever the user creates or updates his/her personal health profile, the query is re-executed and the retrieved interactions are cached in the personal health database. This approach enables the user to scan a webpage and view any resulting warnings in a reasonably short amount of time. Step 3: Identifying Dangerous Drugs in Webpages The Health Lens system was integrated with the user's Web browser via a javascript bookmarklet []. Whenever the user is reading a health-related webpage, he/she can click the bookmarklet to scan the page for drugs that are potentially dangerous with respect to his/her health profile. The bookmarklet performs the following actions when activated. First, the text of the <body> element of the webpage is extracted using jQuery’s text() function. This text is then substituted into an input RDF template for the entity recognition service (described below) and the service is invoked with an AJAX request. When the service invocation completes, the URIs of the identified drugs are extracted from the output RDF. Next, the URIs of all personally dangerous drugs are obtained by issuing a SPARQL query ( ) against the local personal health database. Finally, the URIs of all personally dangerous drugs are compared with the URIs of drugs returned by the entity recognition service, and any drugs in both of these sets are marked up with appropriate warnings in the page. As part of the Health Lens prototype, a SADI entity recognition service was created that identifies drug names within plain text. Example input and output RDF data for the service are provided inand , respectively. The input data for the service was modeled using a combination of the Bibliographic Ontotology (BIBO) [ ] and the Dublin Core (DC) [ ] ontology, while the output data was modeled using the FOAF and SIO ontologies. A valid input is an instance of the bibo:Document class, with the text content attached via the bibo:content predicate and a MIME type of “text/plain” attached via the dc:format predicate. The resulting output attaches instances of SIO “chemical entity” to the input document URI via the foaf:topic predicate, where each “chemical entity” has attributes indicating the DrugBank [ ] identifier and any synonymous drug names. The semantics of foaf:topic are slightly stronger than is required in the context of the entity recognition task; however, since we failed to find a more suitable predicate, we followed a weaker interpretation where any object mentioned in the text was considered a topic of the document. For the business logic of the entity recognition service, we implemented our own drug extraction algorithm based on a dictionary lookup. The dictionary was extracted from the DrugBank database and contains 58,708 entries, where each entry consists of the name of a drug, its DrugBank ID, and its canonical name in DrugBank. Drugs are recognized using the GATE ANNIE Gazetteer lookup tool [], which loads the dictionary and annotates the text with DrugBank IDs and canonical names. At the final step, annotations of names with length less than 4 characters were filtered from results. The entity recognition service is a prototype and has not yet been evaluated in terms of precision and recall. Although it follows a basic lookup-based approach with naive filtering of candidates, it has shown qualitatively acceptable performance during testing of the Health Lens system. Results The authors have provided a downloadable demonstration of the Health Lens system as a standalone executable jar file (). This jar file bundles all components of the prototype system, including the sample personal health profile, the SHARE query engine, the bookmarklet, and the SADI services for drug interactions and entity recognition. Please note that running the prototype requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to be installed on your system. To start the system the user must execute the jar file, which can be done on most systems by double-clicking the file. Alternatively, the user may run the jar by typing the following at a Linux/Windows/OSX command line prompt: java -Xmx1g -jar personal-health-lens.jar. Executing the jar file brings up a console that allows the user to start and stop the system on port 8080. (Please note that the current version of the system will only work correctly on port 8080.) Clicking "Start" starts up the local SADI services and the Joseki server that hosts the personal health database. In most environments, the Start button will open the installation/testing page for the Health Lens bookmarklet in the user's default Web browser. If this does not happen automatically, the user must instead manually visit in a Web browser. The Health Lens bookmarklet can then be installed by dragging one of the two "Personal Health Lens" links near the top of the page onto the browser's bookmarks toolbar. The webpage at can be used to test correct operation of the system. As the content of the test page is under the control of the authors, it provides a reliable means to separate issues with the system components from issues that are specific to the content of particular webpages. To run the bookmarklet against the test page, the user must click the Personal Health Lens bookmarklet in the toolbar, which will activate scanning of the page for dangerous substances. During scanning, an animated SADI logo appears in the top right hand corner of the page. When scanning is complete, the words "St. John's Wort" are colored in red and annotated with a stop sign symbol indicating a dangerous interaction. Clicking on "St. John's Wort" displays a dialog box with the details of the interaction between "St. John's Wort" and the personal health profile, as shown in. The warning indicates that St. John's Wort may decrease the efficacy of Alprazolam, a prescribed drug in the user's personal health profile. As evidence, it provides a link to a publication that describes the interaction, which is believed to due to the induction of the CYP3A4 enzyme. Any webpage may be scanned for personally dangerous drugs by clicking the Health Lens bookmarklet. For example,shows the St. John's Wort warnings in the context of an online article regarding naturopathic treatments for depression [ ]. Discussion The Personal Health Lens is only one of many tools that have been developed in recent years to leverage personal health data. For example, profile-oriented smartphone applications are now available for identifying allergy-safe foods [, ], monitoring sleep patterns [ , ], and sharing medical information across physicians and caregivers [ , ]. The use of such personalized tools is likely to continue increasing as new forms of personal health data, such as genotyping and whole genome sequencing, become more readily available to the general public. What makes the Personal Health Lens architecture distinct from other personalization tools is that, in addition to the patient’s data and the set of analytical tools, there is a third component—the semantic model/query—which guides the selection of which tool to use given which set of data. Though in this prototype the semantic model was quite simplistic, taking the form of a SPARQL query relating to drug-drug interactions, the SHARE resolution engine is capable of interpreting significantly more complex models, for example, the clinician’s treatment trajectory for any given patient. As such, we believe this is the first personal health tool which has the potential for clinician-initiated personalized medical advice to be injected into the patient’s own health research browsing activities. Moreover, since the SADI Personal Health Lens has a flexible underlying infrastructure, we believe it can be easily adapted to operate in combination with many of these existing health-information-support tools to enhance the relevance, detail, or quality of their personalization. The Personal Health Lens project was intended only as a prototype of a novel framework for patient/practitioner/Web interaction, and was not intended to be used by genuine patients. There are some important factors of the personal profile that are not yet taken into account when detecting relevant interactions, such as sex, age, drug dosages, and drug routes (eg, pills, creams, inhalers), to name a few. Beyond these issues, it is useful to point some general concerns with our approach to health browsing personalization, and possible solutions. Unlike earlier efforts [], the Health Lens makes no attempt to evaluate the quality of the information on any given page; “hazardous” pages containing overtly incorrect information are not automatically weeded-out, as they are in other portal-based approaches. If there were a public registry of evaluated webpages, this limitation could be partially overcome by adding that registry’s evaluation as part of the annotation pipeline; however, it could not be guaranteed that any page the reader had accessed would exist in that registry. Thus, by ensuring that our systems scales to the Web, we become limited in our ability to filter hazardous or fallacious information. Conversely, the Health Lens system, by not adopting a portal-like structure, becomes a more natural part of the patient’s Web exploration, and one that is under their control. Rather than appearing as a centralized “paternalistic” [ ] information source, the Personal Health Lens prototype allows the patient to choose when to bring the expert evaluation framework into their Web experience. Although Health Lens does not attempt to evaluate the quality of information on webpages, information quality is still a relevant issue with respect to the underlying sources of drug interaction data. In this sense, much of the previous work and lessons learned from designing and maintaining portal-based sites such as MedlinePlus [] could be usefully applied to Health Lens to build a more transparent and trustworthy system. For example, many metrics (“instruments”) have been developed for systematically evaluating information quality on webpages that might also be used to evaluate the quality of the drug interaction services. Existing information quality metrics are based on factors such as provision of article metadata (eg, authors, date of last update, supporting citations), accuracy of information, completeness of information, and balanced presentation of evidence [ ]; there also exist various composite scoring systems, such as DISCERN [ ], that employ weighted combinations of these factors. The criteria of completeness is particularly relevant to the drug interaction data sets, as there exists a potential danger that users will assume a substance is safe in the absence of any warnings about interactions. Building a perfectly comprehensive and up-to-date corpus of drug interaction data is obviously not a feasible goal, especially given the distributed nature of the system. This caveat must be made clear to the end users, and they must be reminded to consult a physician before making changes to their medication regimes, regardless of any warnings that the system does or does not report. Another area where the system can potentially be improved is in catering to the user’s personal level of health literacy. While Health Lens makes no attempt to filter the webpages themselves by literacy level, the user’s literacy is still relevant for the appropriate presentation of warnings. Although we have intentionally described interactions in terms of high-level clinical effects (eg, “decreased efficacy of drug”), the supporting citations provided with the interactions are scientific publications and thus require a high level of medical knowledge to understand. In future work, providing references to trusted secondary sources such as MedLine Plus would probably be more appropriate for most users. As with the issues of information quality described above, our approach to accommodating the user’s literacy level could likely be informed by previous work. For instance, several ontology-based systems have been developed for automatically mapping expert medical terminology to equivalent consumer-friendly terminology (eg, [, ]), and these might be employed within Health Lens to generate more accessible warning messages. In addition, many sociological studies have employed metrics based on word complexity and sentence length (eg, the Fry Readability Formula) to gauge readability levels of health-related webpages in a systematic manner [ ]. These metrics might likewise be employed within the Health Lens framework to help present supporting documents for interaction warnings at an appropriate level of literacy. Finally, it is important to note that there is a potential privacy concern relating to the use of a public drug interaction service—the system must send the URIs of the user's prescribed drugs out over the Internet in order to retrieve the relevant interactions. In general, there is a trade-off between the degree of privacy the user wants to maintain and the ability to utilize all possible sources of data for identifying conflicts. In future work, this issue can be addressed by allowing the user to indicate which types of data are safe to send over the Web. In addition, the user might also choose to restrict the system to services that support HTTPS. With respect to privacy, the prototype implementation errs on the side of caution by using a locally hosted drug interaction service. We believe the SADI Personal Health Lens demonstrates that dynamically-generated, context-sensitive pipelines of data and analytical Semantic Web Services can be usefully applied to the personalization of health information on the Web. Moreover, this approach provides the unique ability to fine-tune these workflows through the utilization of expert knowledge within semantically-encoded guidelines. Thus, for the first time, the Personal Health Lens establishes a framework within which clinicians can provide on-demand guidance during their patient’s personal health explorations. Acknowledgments The development of Personal Health Lens and the underlying technologies of SADI and SHARE have been generously supported by CANARIE through their funding of the C-BRASS project. In addition, initial funding for the SADI and SHARE projects has been provided by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon, Microsoft Research, and CIHR. Core funding for the Wilkinson laboratory has been provided by an award from NSERC, and Mark Wilkinson is funded by the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the Marie Curie COFUND programme. Conflicts of Interest None declared. Multimedia Appendix 1 A sample personal health profile for the Health Lens system.Notation3 File, 1KB Multimedia Appendix 2 Sample input RDF for the SADI drug interaction service.Notation3 File, 610B Multimedia Appendix 3 Sample output RDF for the SADI drug interaction service.Notation3 File, 3KB Multimedia Appendix 4 The SPARQL query issued to the SHARE system, in order to precompute all known drug interactions with the personal health profile.SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language File, 277B Multimedia Appendix 5 The SPARQL query issued by the bookmarklet, in order to obtain personally dangerous drugs from personal health database.SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language File, 2KB Multimedia Appendix 6 Sample input RDF for the SADI entity recognition service.Notation3 File, 529B Multimedia Appendix 7 Sample output RDF for the SADI entity recognition service.Notation3 File, 1KB Multimedia Appendix 8 SADI Personal Health Lens Prototype Java ARchive File [].Java ARchive File, 59MB References - WebMD. 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[Medline] - SADI personal health lens prototype JAR. URL: [WebCite Cache] Abbreviations Edited by G Eysenbach; submitted 16.08.12; peer-reviewed by R Boyce, H Wu; comments to author 22.12.12; revised version received 01.02.13; accepted 03.03.13; published 05.04.13 ©Ben Vandervalk, E Luke McCarthy, José Cruz-Toledo, Artjom Klein, Christopher J O Baker, Michel Dumontier, Mark D Wilkinson. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (), 05.

Kathleen B. Johnson, a longtime resident of Danville and San Ramon, died Dec. 6 at the age of 93. She was born Feb. 6, 1915, in New York City. As a young adult she worked on Wall Street as a financial secretary. On Dec. 4, 1940, she married Vernon Johnson, who was to be her devoted husband for 67 years. They lived in Fort Worth, Texas, until Vernon was called back to active duty during World War II. When he returned from overseas they lived in Great Falls, Mont. After the war they lived in New York, and in 1956 they moved to Danville with their two children, Bonnie and Rich, and their nephew Bob Benatar. She successfully battled breast cancer in 1962 and spent many years afterward volunteering in the gift shop at Mt. Diablo Hospital. She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Bonnie and Paul Keck; by son and daughter-in-law, Rich and Eileen Johnson; by three grandchildren, and a nephew and niece and their family. Per her request, there will be no services. Her ashes will be spread over the slopes of Mount Diablo from an airplane as were the ashes of her husband and parents. Donations may be made to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Attn: Gift Management Services, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250, Dallas, TX 75244. Daniel Drake Polakof-Jurgenson Danville resident Daniel Drake Polakof-Jurgenson died of brain damage from a bicycle accident Dec. 3 at the age of 44. He played sax and jazz, symphony, band, and was a gourmet cook. He supported a family of five by giving away his paycheck for one year, and was a caretaker to his mother in her time of need. He cut two cords of wood by hand each winter and gave it to his friends. He rode 30 miles every day on his bicycle when not climbing 7,000-12,000-foot mountains. He is survived by two sisters, and four nieces and nephews. Memorial services were Dec. 13 at a private residence in Danville. Glenn G. Gooder Glenn G. Gooder, a resident of Danville, died Dec. 4 at the age of 86. He was born Jan. 20, 1922, in Orient, S.D., and moved to the Fresno area where he graduated from Clovis High School. He attended Fresno State College where he was student body president his senior year and the drum major for the marching band. He served in the Navy in World War II. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from University of Southern California with degrees in speech, which he taught at Los Angeles City College and Pepperdine University. He co-authored a book called "Improving Your Speech." He was the dean of students at Los Angeles Harbor College and then became the president of Los Angeles City College. He retired from Santa Barbara City College. He spent his last years as a consultant for the Junior Colleges. He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, traveling with his wife and talking politics. He is survived by his wife, Virginia, of 65 years; his daughter, Elizabeth Van Acker; son-in-law Scott Van Acker; and three grandchildren. Ana Maria Olsen Ana Maria Olsen, a former resident of Danville, died Dec. 7 at the age of 44. She was born Nov. 15, 1964, in Sao Miguel Island in the Azores. She lived in Danville for many years before moving to San Joaquin County nine years ago. She was the owner of a steel processing plant, Universal Service Recycling, Inc. She enjoyed spending time at her ranch with her family, dogs, cats, Lustano horses and her quarter horse Doc Holiday. She loved the outdoors, traveling, gambling, rocking out to her 1970s music and spending time with nieces, nephews and her extended family. She loved to go back to the Azores as often as she could to spend time with all of her family there. She is survived by her beloved husband Kirk Olsen of Clements; daughter Alexis Williams and husband Chris of Clements; son Anthony Olsen of Clements; parents Guilherme "Bill" and Donatilde Mendonca of Danville; brothers Dennis DeCosta of Lodi, Joe Mendonca of Merced and William Mendonca of Tracy. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Dec. 12 at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Lodi. Helen Dorothy Nelson Helen Dorothy Nelson, a resident of Danville, died peacefully Dec. 9 at the age of 89. Her hobbies included sewing, gardening, crafts and playing cards. She also loved attending the sports activities of her grandchildren. She was employed as a manager by McFarland Candies until 1976. But her most loved role was being a wonderful wife, Mom, Gram and Gigi. She was predeceased by her loving husband Kenneth of 71 years and her brother John Conser of Oregon. She is survived by her sons, James Nelson (Barbara) of Walnut Creek and Craig Nelson (Judy) of Mission Viejo; three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Services were held Dec. 12 at Wilson & Kratzer Mortuary in Danville. Memorial donations may be sent to Hospice of the East Bay, 3470 Buskirk Ave., Pleasant Hill 94597, the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society. George William 'Bill' Bay Jr. George William "Bill" Bay Jr., a resident of Blackhawk, died Dec. 11 at the age of 88. He was born Feb. 21, 1920, and was raised in Kenilworth, Ill. He co-founded Bay's English Muffins with his father and namesake. But his passion was flying, not baking, so his brother James took over at Bay's and Bill joined United Airlines in 1944 and stayed with it for his entire career. He started flying DC-3s, and his final flight as a captain was piloting a 747 from Honolulu to Chicago. At United, he met the love of his life, Lillian Walsh; they married in 1948, and in May celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. In 1950, they moved to Hillsborough, where they raised their family. They then lived in Reno, Nev., for 30 years, and Phoenix, Ariz., before returning to California in 2006. Bill is survived by his wife Elizabeth Bay of Danville; his children, Carolyn Bay of Lexington, Ky., and Poland, Ohio; Martha O'Neil of Sandia Park, N.M.; Monica Bay of New York City and Lakeville, Conn. and William Bay of Danville and five grandchildren. Private family services will be held in Hawaii. Memorial donations can be made to his favorite charity, the Boy Scouts of America. Edward Lynn 'Ted' Fieger Edward Lynn "Ted" Fieger, a resident of Danville, died after an eight-year battle against cancer Dec. 14 at the age of 56. He was born Feb. 18, 1952, in the Midwest. His family moved to Santa Barbara, where he lived for many years before moving to the Bay Area. He spent most of his life in the equestrian field. He wore many different hats in his profession including judge, manager and exhibitor. Some of his accomplishments include being named Zone 10 Equestrian of the Year in 2005 and being part of a management team who organize events which have included the Olympic Trials and World Cup events. He was often referred to as a "Renaissance Man" and had many passions including golfing, surfing, scuba diving and horseback riding. He is survived by his wife Diane, daughter Erica, his mother Georgia, sister Jill, nephew John and niece Janet. A memorial service was held Dec. 20 in Pleasanton. Val Licciardo Val Licciardo, a former resident of Danville, died Dec. 15 in Folsom at the age of 89. He was born March 13, 1919, in San Francisco and later moved to the East Bay and then to Folsom. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII, where he was stationed in Papua New Guinea. He worked in the construction industry in San Leandro for 30 years. He loved fishing, traveling, and trips to the casino. Family and friends were the most important thing to him. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marian, daughter Valerie, and son Jack. He is survived by many nephews and three granddaughters and four great-grandchildren. Marshall Perkes Marshall Perkes, a resident of Danville, died Dec. 16 at the age of 81. He was born Aug. 13, 1927. He was a fourth generation Bay Area native. He graduated from San Mateo High School in 1945 and served in the Navy at the end of World War II before distinguishing himself in three industries. He loved to share constant outdoor adventures with family and friends. He is survived by his wife Loa and a large extended family. A celebration of his life was held Dec. 20 at Hull Chapel in Walnut Creek. Stanley Allen Stubbs Stanley Allen Stubbs, a resident of Alamo, died Dec. 20 at the age of 72. He was born Dec 15, 1936, in Springville, Utah. He dedicated 40 years to teaching in California. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since birth. He loved to golf with his sons and spend time with his grandchildren and great-granddaughter. He is survived by his beloved wife of 48 years, Ellen Carol Stubbs; his sons, Brett Stanley Stubbs of Oakley, Alan Richard Stubbs of Concord, Stanton Howard Stubbs of Danville and Christopher Dean Stubbs of Broomfield, Colo.; his daughters, Tana Ellen Gummere and Cindy Grace Stubbs, both of Alamo; and his grandchildren and great-granddaughter. A celebration of his life was held Dec. 30 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alamo. Marvis Charlet Terry Marvis Charlet Terry, a former resident of Alamo, died Dec. 23 at the age of 77. She was born Nov. 28, 1931, in Galva, Ill., the oldest child of a farmer. She worked for Bank of America for 35 years, mostly in the Alamo branch where she was one of the first women promoted to a bank officer. She loved to garden and to cook, and her family. She was diagnosed with dementia in 1999. She was preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, James Terry. She is survived by her brother Laverne Charlet of Kentucky; her sisters Marcy Inness of Illinois and Eileen Kenney of California; her daughters Sharon Terry, Shea Halligan and Cathy Wickboldt; her sons-in-law Joe Halligan and Walter Wickboldt; her sisters-in-law Mary Bader and Shirley Terry; her seven grandchildren; great-grandson and numerous nieces and nephews. Services were held Jan. 3 at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Danville. She will be buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kewanee, Ill. Judy Jacobs Judy Jacobs, a resident of Diablo, died peacefully Dec. 24 at the age of 65 after a 20-month battle with breast cancer. She was born Oct. 24, 1943, the eighth of 13 children, to the late Alvin and Margaret Wallander in Cato, Wis. She graduated from Reedsville High School in 1961 and moved to Sacramento in 1965. That fall, she met her future husband and love of her life, John, at a church social. They were married in 1967 and had two children. While raising their children, the family moved seven times following John's career as an engineer and manager with a national construction contractor. During these moves, she was active in the local schools, churches and communities. She taught skiing in the Sierra and on smaller hills in Chicago. After settling in Alamo in 1979, she ran several marathons and played golf and tennis. She returned to college and graduated from University of San Francisco in 1987. Her life was marked by love of family, sailing and travel, taking her to 46 states and 24 countries. She was a longtime member of St. Isidore Catholic Church in Danville and co-founded the Young at Hearts and ministered with the Legion of Mary, serving the needs of the sick and elderly. She was also active with St. Joan of Arc Parish, Round Hill Country Club, Diablo Garden Club and the Berkeley Yacht Club. She was preceded in death by her brothers Bill, Chuck and James Wallander. She is survived by her husband of 41 years, John; daughter, Jill Jacobs Baar; son, Patrick; son-in-law Aaron Baar; daughter-in-law, Rebecca Whittaker; and six cherished grandchildren. She is also survived by her brothers and sisters, Mary Joan (Al) Haefke, Sister Margaret Ann Wallander, Jerry (Karen) Wallander, Jeanne (Hank) Shimek, Jack Wallander, Dorothy (Wayne) Dirkman, Eve (Richard) Engelbrecht, Donna (Richard) Quinn, Rick (Barbara) Wallander, and sister-in laws Jane Wallander and Luella Wallander and many nieces and nephews, extended family and good friends. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated Jan. 3 at St. Isidore. Memorial donations can be made to the Wallander-McCulley Family Memorial Scholarship, Silver Lake College, Manitowoc, WI 54220; or the Jacobs Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, St. John's University, Collegeville, MN 56321-7222. Harold F. Winkler Jr. ***PHOTO*** Harold F. Winkler Jr., a 37-year resident of Danville, died Dec. 26 at the age of 79. He was born June 6, 1929, and raised in San Francisco. He was a graduate of Balboa High School. He served as a San Francisco police officer for 29 years and retired as a sergeant in 1985. He was a member of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, Widows and Orphans Aid Association, Movie Guild, Municipal Motorcycle Officers of California, Mount Diablo Amateur Radio Club KD6AAT-S.K., Balboa Buccaneers and a Navy veteran of the Korean Conflict who spent his time on a PT boat at Subic Bay. He enjoyed gardening, traveling in his trailer, riding his Harley Davidson, woodworking, computers and spending time with his family and friends. He is survived by his high school sweetheart and beloved wife of 58 years, Betty Lou Winkler; sons Barry Winkler (Vicky) and Rodney Winkler (Beth); sister Arleen Wetmore and three grandchildren. At the request of the family, a private service was held. Memorial donations may be made to the Widows and Orphans Aid Association, P.O. Box 880034, San Francisco 94103.

When a recent court decision threatened to oust Toronto’s controversial mayor Rob Ford from office, 169 years of journalistic muscle memory kicked in at the Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest-circulation national newspaper. Reporters, photographers, and other staff scrambled to prepare a series of written stories that appeared first on their news site, then in the paper, each story marked by the daily’s signature deep reporting and analysis. Flexing newer muscles, the newspaper also sent videographer/editor Patrick Dell to City Hall to capture video of the historic decision using a handheld Canon video camera. After getting his shots, he was able to quickly edit the footage onsite using Final Cut Pro X on a MacBook Pro. Within hours, Dell’s video story was published on the Globe and Mail website as part of the digital reporting that led the coverage. Follow the Reader The newspaper’s ability to augment its reporting with video is the direct result of a strategy initiated in 2010 by Globe and Mail editors to hold on to news readers who indicated that they clearly preferred to watch. “Video has been a huge area of expansion for us, and it’s accelerating even more quickly than we expected,” says Globe and Mail executive editor Jill Borra. “We can barely keep up with how much our readers and advertisers want video. So we try to find ways to present and integrate it in everything we do.” The Globe and Mail’s move to video mirrors efforts at other prominent newspapers, where much of the news that’s fit to print is regularly shot and posted. And the strategy has paid off in readership and revenues. In just two years, the Globe and Mail has become a video force, publishing 200 videos a month on the Globe Digital Network, which includes the paper’s website, mobile site, and news app for iPad and iPhone. The network gets over 4 million unique visitors per month — more than any other individual newspaper site — and nearly 107 million monthly page views. DIY Video Just as impressive is how the newspaper achieved its video results. After briefly considering partnering with a video content provider, the Globe and Mail decided to grow its own flexible in-house video team. “When we relaunched our Life site two years ago we needed to create all of these cooking and health videos,” says Borra. “There was a pivot moment when we realized we had all the talent to do them here. So we decided to go for it and expand our video operation.” As part of that expansion the Globe and Mail hired more producers, videographers, and editors, many capable of both shooting and editing video. And because the paper’s strategy relied on using traditional newspaper reporters and photographers to complement its veteran video talent, it required cameras, apps, and a workflow that would accommodate multiple skill levels. Key in the mix was Final Cut Pro X. “We needed a tool that was flexible enough so reporters and photographers could use it,” says executive producer Angela Pacienza. “Final Cut Pro X enables our professional journalists to create videos quickly and easily. The interface is so intuitive that even new editors can assemble pieces fast.” “Here it’s all about speed and accuracy, and I know I’m cutting faster in Final Cut Pro X.” — Robin Dwarka, editor News Travels Fast In video-reporting Toronto’s vacillating mayoral controversy, Patrick Dell found workflow advantages at every turn. “Speed is always a key challenge when there is a breaking story,” he says. “I’m competing with TV, other publishers, and other video providers to get my own content done and out as quickly as possible. Then there are the general challenges of working in a big media pack where everyone wants that same moment, same comment, same quote, all at the same time.” Photo credit: Micheal McLaughlin Anticipating that scenario, Dell used a Canon HD camcorder on a monopod camera support with a directional shotgun microphone mounted to the top. That allowed him to lift the camera over the heads of other media to capture good sound and footage of the mayor entering his office. For the news conference that followed about an hour later, he used the same camera and monopod combination with a Sennheiser wireless microphone set. But Dell found his biggest leverage after he had his shots: “Being able to edit in the field with Final Cut Pro X on a MacBook Pro with Retina display was essential to turning around my raw footage quickly. After capturing the shot of the mayor entering his office, I loaded that footage on to the MacBook Pro while still at City Hall, cleaned it up in Final Cut Pro, added our branding graphics, and uploaded it to the Globe and Mail in no time at all. “Likewise, as soon as the mayor’s news conference was done, I rapidly edited his comments on location into a complete package. Being able to quickly skim the raw footage in Final Cut Pro X made picking relevant clips an easy and fast process.” “The China Diaries” Globe reporters and photographers have found that using accessible tools like Final Cut Pro X and iPhone has significantly extended their reach. For a sweeping story about cultural change in China, Globe photojournalist John Lehmann, working with Globe China correspondent Mark MacKinnon, rode a train from Chengdu to Xining, retracing the path of Mao Zedong’s Long March. To stay focused on capturing the right details in a story of such enormous scale, Lehmann followed a very simple workflow. He used iPhone to shoot anything inside or outside the train that he found interesting and uploaded the footage to the Globe and Mail video team for editing in Final Cut Pro X. Whatever delays he experienced in the transcontinental upload were ultimately made up for on the back end. Says Julian Liurette, a senior video production editor who edited their first video installment: “With Final Cut Pro X, we don’t have to convert footage. We just grab the video files and begin editing. For us, that’s a huge advantage.” Speed to Edit Most of the shooting and editing demands on the video team come from a fast, relentless stream of popular business and lifestyle videos. Globe and Mail reporters and videographers capture footage on location or in their newsroom studio using as many as four cameras shooting simultaneously. The mix-and-match video acquisition is easily handled by the new multicam capabilities of Final Cut Pro X, which helps the team organize and sync their footage. “We couldn’t use an application that didn’t support multiple-camera editing,” says editor Robin Dwarka. “The multicam support in Final Cut Pro X is more intuitive and efficient than anything I’ve seen.” Dwarka, who edits two to five videos a day, notes that the momentum carries through the editing process: “Here it’s all about speed and accuracy, and I know I’m cutting faster in Final Cut Pro X. Dropping a clip down and having the rest of the timeline shift out of the way makes things so much easier, and I don’t need to worry about closing up gaps.” Branding in Motion Editors also finish faster because they can simply open their custom Motion-built branding templates in Final Cut Pro X. “Branding’s a big issue for reporters and even videographers because we put our logo at the bottom of each video,” says Liurette. “Now editors can open the Globe and Mail custom lower-third templates in Final Cut Pro X and immediately change the text right in the viewer rather than going out to a text editor.” Liurette, who created the Motion templates for their current branding, is helping the design team with a refresh. He likes the fact that the new motion graphics tools in Motion 5 and Final Cut Pro X let them integrate projects using templates, which helps enforce design discipline across hundreds of monthly video projects. With a bigger, more experienced video team, Globe and Mail videos are verging on television quality. And video effects requirements have ratcheted up along with production standards. Using advanced Motion features such as rigs and build markers, three graphics-savvy videographers are able to create all of the needed motion graphics. “In general, our people find that Motion is much more approachable than other programs,” says Liurette. “It’s better suited for our daily workflow.” Taking the Long View Along with news, business, and lifestyle videos, the video team also creates longer documentary-style investigations, for which they’ve received multiple Emmy Awards and nominations. Editing these projects requires working with much larger amounts of footage. For that reason, Liurette used Final Cut Pro X to edit the news site’s lauded documentary “Breaking Caste” as a test case before moving the group from Final Cut Pro 7. “There were about 1000 video clips when I started the edit,” he says. “Using Final Cut Pro X, I could skim through my footage and find things really quickly. That was a major time-saver, and a big advantage compared to what we had been able to do before in Final Cut Pro 7.” Liurette also used range-based keywords and Smart Collections to organize the material. “With so much footage, these features provided a very practical way to quickly find clips by day, location, and subject.” Final Cut Pro X also helps large documentary teams collaborate effectively. For a recent cross-media feature, “The DNA Dilemma,” the team used the application to edit five related videos. “It’s about genetic testing, so we’ve been shooting personal stories with people out in the community,” says videographer/editor Amanda Lowe, who worked on the project with producer Hannah Sung. “The challenge was the amount of footage we were working with, and how to piece it together efficiently.” Lowe created multiple Final Cut Pro X events so Sung could find and mark clips she wanted to include in one interview while Lowe edited another. “The markers Hannah left helped us communicate,” says Lowe, who used this collaborative workflow throughout the editing of the series. Looking Ahead With a team and tools in place, the move-forward strategy for the Globe and Mail is more video in more places. The goal this year is to produce 200 video pieces a month. Eventually, the Globe and Mail hopes to produce six hours of video a day for everything from mobile devices to connected TV to live video programming. A recent upgrade of its mobile video site allows iPad and iPhone users to watch video there, resulting in more consistent mobile traffic. “We’re seeing very strong growth,” says Angela Pacienza. The team anticipates that all those new videos will require creative solutions as different as the devices on which they’ll be watched. “We don’t just want to keep increasing the number of two-minute clips that we do,” says Pacienza. “We’re actually rethinking the whole model for what video means to a news reader today.” Pacienza believes much of that rethinking will happen on the fly in the hands of flex journalists who are as comfortable with video tools like Final Cut Pro X and Motion as they are writing for the page. “As people become accustomed to watching video on different devices and in different places, increasingly we need to use it in our news gathering and reporting. Telling a story in only one medium is not going to cut it anymore.”

Patent application title: Infant positioning seat insert Inventors: Beth G. Rumack (Phoenix, AZ, US) IPC8 Class: AA47D100FI USPC Class: 29721912 Class name: Chairs and seats detachable supplemental flexible pad or cover for child seat Publication date: 2008-09-25 Patent application number: 20080231097 Abstract:. Claims: 1. A device for positioning an infant, the device comprising:a) a frame; andb) a shoulder roll attached to the frame such that the shoulder roll can be positioned behind the shoulders of the infant so that the breathing airway is not substantially compromised. 2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a first side roll and a second side roll attached to the frame. 3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a bottom roll attached to the frame. 4. The device of claim 1 further comprising a support bar attached to the frame. 5. The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a first side roll, a second side roll, or a bottom roll in which in at least one of the first side roll, second side roll, bottom roll, or shoulder roll further comprises a cover containing fill. 6. The device of claim 5 wherein the cover is attached to the frame by stretching it over the frame. 7. The device of claim 5 wherein the cover is attached to the frame by an adhesive. 8. The device of claim 5 wherein the cover is attached to the frame by a non-adhesive. 9. The device of claim 5 wherein the cover is polyester. 10. The device of claim 5 wherein the fill is memory foam. 11. The device of claim 1 wherein the frame comprises:a) a base;b) a first column attached to the base; andc) a second column attached to the base;the columns being substantially coplanar and spaced apart to allow the infant to be placed between them. 12. The device of claim 11 wherein the first and second columns are attached to the base using an attachment structure that enables the frame to be bent to fit the incline angle of the infant seat. 13. The device of claim 11 wherein the shoulder roll is attached to the frame at the first column and the second column such that the shoulder roll may be positioned behind the infant's shoulders by moving it along the first and second columns. 14. The device of claim 11 wherein the shoulder roll further comprises a backing that attaches to a first guide using a first anchor and to a second guide using a second anchor such that the shoulder roll may be positioned behind the infant's shoulders by moving the backing along the first and second guides. 15. An insert for positioning an infant, the insert comprising:a) a base;b) a first column attached to the base;c) a second column attached to the base;d) a first side roll attached to the first column;e) a second side roll attached to the second column;f) a first guide in the first column;g) a second guide in the second column;h) a shoulder roll attached to the first and second columns such that it can be moved up and down the columns along the first and second guides; andi) a bottom roll attached to the base. 16. The insert of claim 15 further comprising a support bar attached to the frame. 17. The insert of claim 15 moveable from a first position in which the base and columns are substantially co-planar to a second position in which the base and columns conform to the incline angle of an infant seat. 18. The insert of claim 15 wherein the first and second guides are slots providing access to a cavity in each column, and the shoulder roll is attached to a backing that is attached to the first and second guides by a first anchor and a second anchor, respectively. 19. The device of claim 15 wherein the first side roll is a quarter cylinder. 20. The device of claim 15 wherein the shoulder roll is a half cylinder. Description: CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims the benefit of co-pending provisional application No. 60/896,444 filed Mar. 22, 2007. FIELD OF INVENTION [0002]This invention relates to infant safety devices. This invention relates particularly to an insert to support an infant in a position that provides a clear airway and prevents compromise of that airway. BACKGROUND [0003]Compared to an adult human, an infant's parietal and occipital bones are disproportionate to the rest of the skull, resulting in an enlarged back of the head. When laid flat or positioned in a seat, the back of the infant's head contacts a surface in advance of its shoulders. The infant's head is pushed forward and downward, allowing the infant's pencil-sized airway to be easily compromised, putting the infant at risk for suffocation, apnea, oxygen desaturation episodes, bradycardia, and other dangerous conditions resulting from restricted breathing. [0004]Parents use car seats to protect their infants in the event of a car accident. The angle of a car seat is specifically designed for crash safety to minimize the impact on the infant. The angle needed to maintain the safety of a regular-sized infant in a car accident places preterm and term infants at risk for airway compromise. Further, infants tend to slouch in car seats due to excessive room between the infant's crotch and center car seat strap, potentially causing airway compromise. Excess room on the sides of the infant allows shifting of the head, body, or both, sideways in the seat, which also may restrict the airway. [0005]If the parents recognize the danger to the infant, they may attempt to pad the excess room using blankets, towels, or other space-fillers in order to keep the infant in place in the seat. This makeshift solution is potentially dangerous: the parents cannot be sure they are creating a safe environment for the infant and may be compromising the safety features of the car seat. Several patented solutions address the empty space in the seat, but do not resolve the airway restriction caused by the infant's enlarged head. A device that fills the dangerous empty space, supports the infant's head in a natural position, adjusts to the size of the infant, and does not affect the safety features of the infant seat is needed. [0006]Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an infant seat insert that can be used in standard infant seats to prevent an infant's airway from becoming compromised. It is a further object that the insert be adjustable to accommodate any size infant. It is a further object that the insert not affect the safety features of the infant seat. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007]An infant seat insert positions an infant in an infant seat so that the infant's airway is not compromised. Two side rolls and a base roll fill the excess space in the seat, keeping the infant from slouching or shifting sideways. An adjustable shoulder roll rests behind the infant's shoulders to prevent the infant's head from driving its chin toward its chest and restricting the airway. The rolls are attached to a U-shaped frame which maintains the shape of the insert. The frame may be bent to provide adjustment of the resting angle of the insert. A support bar may attach to the frame near where the frame is bent and extend between the side rolls to help maintain the shape of the insert. The insert can be used in car seats, strollers, joggers, infant swings, and other seats having varying degrees of incline, and may also be used in a flat position, such as on a changing table. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008]FIG. 1 is a rear view of the frame laid flat. [0009]FIG. 2a is a front view of the shoulder roll and backing. [0010]FIG. 2b is a top view of the shoulder roll and backing. [0011]FIG. 3a is a section view of the preferred embodiment of a column, taken along line B-B in FIG. 1. [0012]FIG. 3b is a section view of an alternate embodiment of a column, taken along line B-B in FIG. 1. [0013]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the insert showing the front and right sides. [0014]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the insert showing the back and left sides. [0015]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the insert showing the front and right sides. [0016]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the insert showing the back and left sides. [0017]FIG. 8 is a right-side view of a small infant in a car seat without the insert. [0018]FIG. 9 is a right-side view of a small infant in a car seat with the insert. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0019]FIGS. 1-7 illustrate the present invention, designated generally as 10, which is used to position an infant in an infant seat where excess space in the infant seat poses the danger of compromising the infant's breathing airway. Referring to FIG. 1, a frame 6 is U-shaped and forms the core of the insert 10. The frame 6 may be any non-toxic and inexpensive material, such as rubber, medium-density fibreboard, cardboard, vinyl, polyvinyl chloride, or other polymers. The frame 6 may be rigid or flexible, but is preferably flexible to best conform to the surface on which it is placed. Preferably, the frame 6 is a single, planar piece made of rubber, which comprises two columns 7 and a base 8. The frame 6 may be sufficiently flexible that a natural bend occurs where the columns 7 meet the base 8, shown by line A in FIG. 1, allowing the insert 10 to lay flat or to bend to conform to the incline angle of any seat. When flat, the columns 7 and base 8 are substantially coplanar. When inclined, the columns 7 may be adjusted independently of each other, but once positioned in the infant seat the columns 7 are preferably substantially coplanar. The columns 7 and base 8 are attached to each other, wherein throughout this application attached means operably connected to each other, either integrally or in pieces, either permanently or removeably. The columns 7 and base 8 may also be physically separable at line A and permanently or removably rejoined by an attachment structure 4. Preferably, the attachment structure 4 is Velcro®, allowing the base 8 to be easily removed from the columns 7. In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the attachment structure 4 is a set of hinges. Alternatively, if a flat-laying insert 10 is not desired, the frame 6 may be initially shaped in a rigid incline shape for placement in specific infant seats. For example, the frame 6 may be cast so the columns 7 and base 8 are defined by a 90 degree angle integral with the frame 6, so the insert 10 may be used in a straight-backed high chair. [0020]A bottom roll 3 is attached to the base 8. The bottom roll 3 may be any shape that will support the infant, but is preferably a half cylinder. Preferably, the bottom roll 3 and base 8 are removably attached to the columns 7 so the insert 10 can be used for infants who do not need the support provided by the bottom roll 3. At least one side roll 2 is attached to each column 7. Preferably, a single side roll 2 is attached to each column and is the same width as the column 7 and is parallel to the column 7. Each side roll is preferably straight for ease of manufacturing, but may also be curved to resemble the contours of the infant's body. Alternatively, multiple side rolls 2 may be attached to the column 7 and may be varying widths to approximate the contours of the infant's body. For example, the side rolls 2 at the tops of the columns 7 may be wide enough to contact the sides of the infant's head. The side rolls 2 may be any shape that will support the infant, but preferably form one-quarter of a cylinder so that the surfaces of the side rolls 2 which contact the infant seat may best conform to the interior corners of the infant seat. The side rolls 2 and bottom roll 3 comprise a filler material such as cotton fill, memory foam, polyester fill, down fill, open- or closed-cell foam, or other materials that are preferably non-toxic and comfortable. Preferably, the side rolls 2 and bottom roll 3 are memory foam. The side rolls 2 and bottom roll 3 also comprise a fabric cover which encases the filler material and also stretches around the frame 6, attaching the side rolls 2 and bottom roll 3 to the frame 6. Alternatively, the fabric cover may encase the filler material and then be attached to the frame 6 by an adhesive, such as glue, or a nonadhesive, such as staples, buttons, or hook-and-loop attachments such as Velcro®. The fabric cover may be any non-toxic and comfortable material, such as cotton, polyester, denim, velour, or a blend of materials. The fabric is preferably polyester. The fabric is preferably machine-washable but may also be dry-clean only. [0021]A shoulder roll 1 is oriented perpendicularly to the columns 7, stretching between the side rolls 2. The shoulder roll 1 may be any shape that will support the infant, but is preferably a half cylinder. The shoulder roll 1 is preferably straight, but may be arched or rounded to support the infant's neck as well as its shoulders. The shoulder roll 1 preferably comprises the same material as the side and back rolls 2 and 3. The shoulder roll 1 is attached to its own backing 13 which is separate from the frame 6 but is preferably made of the same material as the frame 6. The backing 13 attaches to the frame 6 via two guides 11 on the back of the columns 7. See FIG. 2b. The attachment between the backing 13 and the guides 11 allows the shoulder roll 1 to glide up and down the columns 7 so that the shoulder roll 1 may be properly positioned behind the infant's shoulders. The guides 11 may be inset into the columns 7 or may extend outward from the columns 7, and may be integral with the columns 7 or may be separate pieces adhered to the columns 7. In the preferred embodiment, the backing 13 comprises two anchors 12 and the guides 11 are slots integrated into the columns 7. See FIGS. 2a and 2b. The slots allow access to the interior of each column 7, which is at least partially hollow to create a cavity 20 large enough to accept an anchor 12 inserted through the slot 11. The backing 13 is thereby anchored to the columns 7. In the preferred embodiment, the interior of the column 7 includes a series of elevations 21 which protrude into the cavity 20 to impede the gliding motion of the backing 13. In the preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 3a, the elevations 21 are spaced at regular intervals and protrude into the cavity 21, narrowing the cavity 21 to a point that the anchors 12 cannot move past an elevation 21 unless a pushing or pulling force is applied to the shoulder roll 1. The elevations 21 may be rounded, rectangular, triangular, or other shapes, but are preferably rounded. In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIG. 3b, the elevations 21 protrude into the cavity 20 in a stepping configuration. The backing 13 glides up or down until the anchors 12 meet an elevation 21. To move the backing 13 further down the columns 7, a user pulls the backing 13 forward to release the anchors 12 from the current elevation 21, then slides the backing 13 downward. [0022]A support bar 9 may be included to improve the integrity of the insert 10 once it is placed in the infant seat. The support bar 9 attaches to each column 7 near line A, extending between the columns. The support bar 9 is rigid in order to stabilize the columns 7 in the infant seat by keeping the columns 7 a set distance apart and preventing their bending or shifting into odd angles. The support bar 9 is preferably plastic, but may also be the same material as the frame 6. The support bar 9 is preferably covered in fabric like the rolls. [0023]Referring to FIG. 8, without the insert 10 in place in the infant seat 30, the infant 31 slouches and the back of the head 32 rests against the back of the infant seat 30, pushing the head 32 forward and restricting the airway 33. When the insert 10 is placed in the infant seat, the columns 7 and base 8 may be adjusted to conform to the incline angle of the infant seat. See FIG. 9. The insert 10 may be held in place by the weight of the infant, by restraints built into the infant seat, or by an additional attachment mechanism such as a series of buttons that mate with buttons on the infant seat. The bottom roll 3 is positioned under the infant's 31 buttocks or upper legs to prevent the infant 31 from slouching in the infant seat 30. The infant's 31 upper body rests against the side rolls 2. The infant 31 is thus prevented from shifting to the left or right. The shoulder roll 1 is positioned behind the infant's 31 shoulders so that a natural position of the head 32 is maintained and the airway 33 remains clear. The insert 10 may also be laid flat, such as on a changing table, and the infant placed thereon with the shoulder roll positioned behind the infant's shoulders. The shoulder roll keeps the infant's head in a natural position and protects the airway, while the side rolls prevent the infant from rolling off the table. [0024. Patent applications by Beth G. Rumack, Phoenix, AZ US Patent applications in class For child seat Patent applications in all subclasses For child seat User Contributions: Comment about this patent or add new information about this topic:

: As the chart indicates,. Here is another way Nutting could have framed the spending issue: The Obama spending record looks a little different now, yes? I dont get it, liberals will twist the facts to make a fact they cant stand to see, when conservatives give THE fact, liberals tell us we can make statistics do anything, seem ironic to anyone else Sorry buddy, it’s the conservatives who have it wrong. Pethokoukis’ analysis conveniently forgets there was a recession that caused not only GDP (the denominator) to go down (raising the %) but revenue to go down and expenditures to go up (the numerator). Then he forgets (conveniently) that the economy wasn’t performing efficiently (i.e., how it compares to potential GDP). Conservatives and the propaganda machine, Fox, have it wrong and have lead you to believe nonsense. Krugman gets is right: Why do you believe the economy has tanked and stayed there? It is Obama and the job killing Democrats period. Obama’s use of the EPA to squeeze industry especially coal fired power plants is costing all of us jobs and money. How about Obama denying drilling permits and funding so called failing green projects to the tune of hundreds of millions. Your use of the down economy is transparent and foolish. Obama and the Democrats are spending like the Drunken Marxists they are. Ever heard of ObamaCare and what it costs…ooopps There goes more jobs in the private sector! 1) Because it’s a financial crisis at the zero lower-bound. This means monetary policy is much less effective than fiscal policy, and since Republicans refuse to allow fiscal policy the country can not rebound as effectively as it would if Republicans had a clue about economics. 2) A single major industry — housing — which affects so many others is so over-supplied that it can’t rebound until excess inventory is used up. And that can’t happen because of new lending rules, ongoing foreclosures, .. 3) The rest of the world can’t help by taking American imports because this conservative idea lead recession affected the entire world. … I’ll leave it at that. Republicans have been WRONG every step of the way. And they’re proud of it. I love it you say that the housing industry has to recover (correct) and that it won’t happen until the excess inventory is used up, but then support the Democrats that are using the pull the bandaid off slowly approach, kicking and screaming to keep people in houses that they should never have owned and can’t afford to keep. The Republicans, on the other hand, have been advocating letting the foreclosures go through the system and to get it over with, or ripping the bandaid off quickly. And they have been criticized as heartless bastards for it. And drill, baby, drill and green projects are unbelievably trivial. It’s so ridiculous I can’t believe any intelligent person even brings that up anymore. And so I have to conclude you’re not intelligent. Tire-Pressure gauges! What a boob. That was his answer to our domestic energy policy problems. Tire-Pressure gauges. Proof positive he is unfit and incapable of the job of POTUS. Never mind the fact that we are sitting on Billions of Barrels of oil and Billlions of Cubic Meters of Natural Gas, and this boob is waving a Tire-Pressure gauge around, as if it will be our savior, as the price of a gallon of premium gas is about $4.50 in California, with Diesel approaching $5.00 Since most consumables are carried by rail and truck (Diesel) food prices are skyrocketing along with gas prices. Yet more proof positive he is unfit and incapable of the job of POTUS. Iman, in case you care, you should read the analysis of this issue by FactCheck. It put some serioius dents in Nutting’s arguments. It goes into great detail about the numbers and context. If you care more about the truth than ideology, go take a look. (Because you cite Krugman, my guess is you have only a passing acquaintance with facts and truth. Prove me wrong. Please.) I note with interest that the red bar graph gives very little context. Lying with graphics 101 dude. Where are the other presidents? Readers, find the same statistic on a graph that includes alleged deficit hawk Ronald Reagan. Civics 101, people. The President can’t spend a single, solitary dime. It is Congress that controls spending. All spending and tax bills originate in the House. To get a true indication of how much a spender a President is or was, you have to compare the budget that is submitted to what is enacted. Claims that Reagan was a big spender are fallacious because his budgets were dead on arrival; they didn’t include enough spending(according to the Democrat Congress) on Domestic programs. It was the Democrat Congress who proposed and passed the bugets that ratcheted up spending under Reagan. Sorry, but all presidents own the spending they sign for. They can be excused the spending they veto and Congress enacts over their veto, but that total is exceedingly small for most presidents. Ronald Reagan, for example, was overridden only once on a spending bill veto. The $14 billion bill was actually less than he had proposed to spend on the same items, but included more domestic and less military spending than he proposed. Too bad wingnuts. You lost the reality challenge again. Pethokoukis wrong. Krugman, Nutting right. You’d think you might start to question the abilities of someone like Pethokoukis. Might want to look into it. Your inability to describe and articulate the arguments yourself shows you inability to understand the actual facts revolving around the Keynesian and Classical theories. Simpley posting links is annoying, it demonstrates you can’t argue and that you will mindlessly follow your Keynesian leaders like a sheep to the slaughter house. Have some self respect. Your argument methodology is disgusting. go to my website and see for yourself, the CBO breaks down the annual overspending by Obama and his Democrats. The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It ( Debt Held by the Public vs. Intragovernmental Holdings ) The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. 01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 Total Public Debt Outstanding 05/22/2012 15,721,218,607,447.09 See information on the Debt Subject to the Limit. ( History lesson on budgets, taxes. Another advantage accruing from this ingredient in the constitution of the Senate is, the additional impediment it must prove against improper acts of legislation. No law or resolution can now be passed without the concurrence, first, of a majority of the people (House of Representatives), and then, of a majority of the States (Senate). It must be acknowledged that this complicated check on legislation may in some instances be injurious as well as beneficial ( The House controlled by Republicans pass a budget, then it goes to the Senate controlled by Democrats and from there either passed or vetoed by President Obama, also a Democrat. ) It’s tough, isn’t it. Being a wingnut, believing all the nonsense that Fox has been spouting all this time and then finding out you’ve been mislead. Too bad, guess you’ll just have to grow up and learn that your entire worldview is wrong. Hard slogging for you, I guess. - Supply-side economics is a fraud and doesn’t work. All the evidence tells us that. - Global warming is a fact. Humans are causing it is a fact. Addressing it is actually an opportunity for an economic boom is a fact. - Obama hasn’t spent like a madman like you’ve been told. - Republican/conservative failed ideas of the last 30+ years directly lead to the Great Recession and caused untold suffering across the world. You have a lot of mental work to do to get on the right side of history and ideas. Seriously, what is it like living in an alternate universe where demand side economics works and guys entering dubious tree ring data into computer programs means the Earth is doomed? You are probably a credentialist. Better to reason through things yourself. PS Mine are better than yours anyway in economics and science. Oh, and I don’t return to read comments so (attempt to) flame away. You don’t return because you know the facts aren’t on your side. 1) Supply-side economics is a fraud. No evidence supports it; all evidence refutes it. 2) All the science — ALL THE SCIENCE — supports the greehouse theory, shows increased CO2 is causing the enhanced greenhouse effect, shows humans are the source of the increased CO2, and shows we must tend to it else the unborn generations will suffer to the extent it will make all wars combined trivial in comparison. But you’re OK with that, I’m sure. Wake up, pal. Your world died. “All the science” are you kidding me? There are considerable numbers of climate scientists who do not concur. As recently as last week a group of NASA climate scientists went public with their dissent. I don’t doubt that the earth is warming, it’s done it before BTW and will do it again. I am dubious that CO2 is the sole cause and even if CO2 has a significant impact. The climate models that are used are flawed to the point that if you used them to predict today using data from 10/20 years ago they would be woefully off. And then to add to this further, the “fact” that man-made CO2 is the straw that is breaking the camels back to to speak is a serious stretch. For the climate change crowd, I’ll ask you a question: Given the cycle times on climate and the planet, what makes you believe that the climate that we have today is “right” or that maybe we’ve just been on a 100-year cool period and we’re going to warm back up to what was right? (or cool down to what is is right) you have no evidence, none. Thats why they had to doctor the data to prove the fake theory of global warming… No evidence supports supply side? You mean other than the largest peacetime expansion of the US economy, begun by Ronald Reagan in the early 1980′S? The very same policies that carried us all the way to 2006 with two minor recessions during Bush I and Clinton? You mean besides Reagan inheriting a FAR worse economy and, by this point in his first term, enjoying GDP growth rates over 8%? You mean other than more than doubling revenue to the Treasury in his two terms? I can go on. Re: global warming…. no, dear, ALL the evidence does not support your position. These two absolutist positions show you to be an idealog, rather than a thinker, therefore your position will not be influenced by information. That also means that I am wasting my time. Oh well, good day. Where’s the impending Ice Age you guys were in hysterics about back in 1974? What happened to that? That was also “Man Made” as the Suns rays couldn’t penetrate all the smog we were creating, according to Time Magazine, dated Monday, June 24, 1974 Yeah, 39 years ago. Still waiting… Some people live in reality. Others scream “The sky is falling” if there is a 1 degree temperature change. Newsflash: The Sun doesn’t burn at one constant temperature.It fluctuates. Geo-Stationary Satellites orbiting in the Clarke Belt, which is approx. 22,500 miles above the Earth are displaying correlating temperature changes. What’s causing that? They run on Solar Power once they are launched and positioned. If they “drift” they might be moved by jet propulsion for a few seconds, and it is rare for this to happen anyway. Your logic, like your President’s stories, is full of holes. Iman, while I give you an A+ for Advanced Socialism, you flunk Economics 101 miserably just as your heros Marx, Stalin, Khrushchev, Gorbachev, Castro, et al have methodically done. Supply side free market Capitalism works every time, whereas demand side Socialism is an abject failure every single time it is tried. The reasons are too numerous to list, but I will give you the opportunity to list just one Country that has embraced demand side economics that has turned out to be successful for any period lasting anywhere near a century. It just doesn’t happen, because it can’t happen, and the only way it lasts as long as it does is through tyranny. Supply side economics rightfully demonstrates over and over again that the more you have of an item whether it is houses or bubble gum, the less it costs. That benefits the consumer, and makes the average wage earner’s hard earned money go further. On the other hand, demand side economics demonstrates over and over that the less of an item available, the more expensive it is, thereby costing the consumer more. What free markets do is better than any other system and certainly better than any government manipulation has ever done or can ever do is make timely corrections in supplies versus demand. This in turn prevents massive inventory surpluses, but it also insures the consumer ample quantities of both houses and bubble gum. The housing surplus happened because government promised every Tom, Dick, and Harry a house whether he could afford it or not. The banks approved the loans because it was no skin off their backs if the buyers defaulted, because the government backed the loans. The more loans the government backed, the more questionable loans the banks made. what makes it worse is the fact that government was more generous with some banks than others. That my dear Socialist friend cannot be described as supply side economics which you so detest, but rather crony Capitalism or to be more correct, croney Socialism, because it is the taxpayer that absorbs the cost of failure, not the banks or the the builder once the transfer of ownership of the house has been consumated from builder to buyer. I could go on and on, but I know Liberal minds can only absorb facts in small doses. However as to your statement regarding Climate change, I challenge you to find one single scientist that can accurately and scientifically state how much CO2 is man generated, and how much is generated through natural processes. Also if mankind was as influential on the climate of this planet, then why did AGW scientists have to lie, fudge, and otherwise cook the math, physics and other science to make their case? Answer: they couldn’t make their case otherwise. And why did they not release their scientific findings and processes through the Freedom of Information Act? Answer, because their fraud would have been discovered sooner than climategate exposed such fraud. The math doesn’t compute, and it never did. I do not deny climate change. It exists just as it has always existed before and after the existence of mankind. I do, along with many scientists reject the notion that mankind is driving the change. It has been proven that there is indeed a correlation between increased sun activity and climate change. If as you say, ALL the science supports increase in greenhouse activity with humans being the main source as the reason for climate change, then you and ALL these scientists you cite must believe that humans also control the sun activity. Have you even bothered to research your claims? Hint, CO2 bweing the culprit defies at least the first two laws of thermodynamics. Finally as to your assertion that “unborn generations” suffering the consequences, I have news for you……They already are because your Liberal friends are aborting them faster than any climate change could in a thousand years. They won’t be here to know what climate change is or is not. But I’m sure you’re OK with that. Obama is a wannabe celebrity, not a leader. When the USA needed him to get the troops out of Iraq, what did he do? He fired his general, put Bush’s guy in charge, and the war ended on Bush’s timeline and not a day earlier. Zero Leadership. When he took office, there were 8 million American people out of work. And these people weren’t out of work because of the War in Iraq. They were out of work because the housing crisis tanked the economy. That was started by Chris Dodd of Goldman Sachs and Barney Frank (D), the congressman who ran a Gay Brothel out of his home. Bush II warned us in 2003 that the Housing Bubble was going to burst unless Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, followed his advice and recommendations. Google: “New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae” and pay special attention to page 3 of the article where Frank says:.” Anyway, according to the jobs report that came out a few months ago, in 2010, there were 26 million people out of work. And this is after Obama spent a trillion dollars to “create jobs.” Instead, Obama and the Democrats tried to stick us with Obamacare, which has nothing to do with Health care. It is an insurance scam. Don’t believe me? Ok, next time you are really sick or badly injured, drive yourself to Aetna. Don’t go to the hospital. See if Aetna treats you. Let me know how that goes. And of course when you put money into something, it gets more expensive. As an added “Bonus”, deductibles and rates have more than doubled. Then you have Obama’s Wall St. Overhaul. What a historic achievement… Hey, did you notice how the Occupy Protesters emerged After Obama passed this? Hmmm… It must not have been that great. Then you have his failed business proposals and 500 Million dollar photo ops like Solyndra, which the GAO predicted would fail in Sept. of 2011, which is when it went under, or his shell games with GM, which basically robbed or borrowed from “Peter to pay Paul.” The Solyndra inventory is being thrown out. If “Mr. Thrifty” had a clue, he would sell off the remaining inventory and divide up the money from the sales equally and send a check to working taxpayers in the 50% and higher earnings group, which is about $33,500 annually. The $300/$600 tax rebate Bush II did in the Summer of 2003 jump started the economy after the economy tanked after 9-11 and liberating and capturing Hussein, taking him to trial and having him executed. Also, Obama’s entire cabinet has quit on him in his 1st term. The only people that are left are in embroiled in scandals. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is being investigated for Solyndra. Eric Holder is being investigated for Fast and Furious among other things, while turning a blind eye to Black Panther voter intimidation, despite video of BP’s at a polling place holding Billy Clubs, Black Panther apparel, and telling a potential a White voter to “get out of here.” Now, his only economic policy is Class Warfare and a threat to raise Capital gains taxes. This will hurt the country. 401k’s will tank, Corporate profits will stall, it will be really hard for the middle class, the average investors to make money in the market for their Retirement/401k He, along with his remaining cabinet members is financially inept, yet Obama comes on TV and tells us what a great job he is doing and how thankful we should be for his guidance and leadership, otherwise, we would all be sleeping in our cars and standing in soup lines while Government spending as a percentage of the GDP continues to grow, as does unemployment. Obama begged us for the job. He promised us everything but the Moon. He even promised us that the levels of the Ocean would stop from rising if he were to be elected. What we got was the predictable train-wreck that his critics said he would be, only worse. Obama is the “Eddie Haskell” of President’s. He takes credit for good things, even if he had nothing to do with the outcome, and blames everyone and everything for his utter failure and ineptness to perform his job duties, often blaming his predecessor, even digging up Ronald Reagan and throwing some blame on him. You may think Obama is a swell guy, but you can’t honestly say that he is good for the USA. He’s nothing more than a slick-talking BS artist, aided by a teleprompter. I’ve seen great leaders – I’ve seen them give hour long speeches filled with substance spoken without a script or a teleprompter. They can do this because they are espousing the principles and beliefs by heart.. People like Obama don’t have an original thought, nor is he passionate about his principles and beliefs, thus the need for a teleprompter and the numerous gaffes that the networks will never show you, but will replay Sarah Palin saying “refudiate” 24/7, then having a panels filled with liberals or mostly liberals talking about how stupid she is, then they will run an internet poll after spending 24-48 hours tearing her down for a minor verbal gaffe while they ignore the CIC making huge verbal gaffes about putting hospitalized kids on “Breathalyzers” (YouTube) and calling our US Navy Corpsman “Corpseman” several times. (YouTube) He may be educated, but he isn’t smart, nor does he have any common sense. “If I don’t get this thing turned around in 3 years, I don’t deserve a 2nd term.” Of course, he will blame the GOP for his failure as POTUS. By Pethokoukis’ logic, the family that loses one of its two incomes but has to pay the same bills has just doubled its spending. Idiocy. It’s his job to lead the Useful Idiots astray and give them confidence in their Fox educations. Krugman does the analysis correctly: Can you say DEFICIT! What do you believe has caused that multi-trillion dollar deficit? I guess it was Bush’s fault…please try not to be so smug when you are so wrong! What, Krugman does the analysis correctly? Stop, I am laughing so hard, my stomach hurts. Krugman is trying to play the “Well let’s just look at how we can not count all the spending” game. As such, he is the perfect little Democrat. But, the numbers that matter are the total spending as a percentage of GDP and that, even Krugman, cannot manipulate. I sense panic by the Democrats as they try to staunch the Obama caused bleeding. Too late. You have said nothing. Now go try and knock down Krugman’s concepts and analysis. Here’s what going to happen. You won’t because you can’t because Krugman is correct. He took into account the things Pethokoukis conveniently left out, he did it elegantly and completely and it took him very little time. And he did it over a year ago. You need to catch up to reality, pal. It’s left you behind. Krugman is a fool. Potential GDP calculation? Try that the next time you try to get a mortgage…Yes, Mr Banker, my debt to income looks bad but my “potential earnings to debt ratio” is just fine… How does anyone take this mouth breather seriously? That’s a might persuasive piece of thinking there, fella. Congratulations on proving your cluelessness. Of course, Krugman would be a fool to you. After all, he’s been completely correct about the entire Great Recession, the results of austerity, the predictions of inflation, etc. You boys just don’t cotton to reality too well, do you? And my hat’s off to that mortgage example. Smoking piece of irrelevant thinking there pardna. I’ll give you a second chance. Let us all know what the potential GDP in Krugman’s analysis addresses. I’ll bet you can’t. Yeah, Krugman’s a real mouth-breather, huh? He took all the context that the fool Pethokoukis left out — who can say whether Pethokouksi is just stupid or intentionally misleading (but I’ll go with both) — and made an elegant, simple, correct argument. Too bad you don’t get it. I’m not surprised, though. You might not be a stupid liberal, but you are a stupid wingnut. And what did he leave out? Krugman is a Nobel-prize wining moron. he has said in the past the deficit doesn’t matter because the country has so many assets that the debt isn’t a huge deal. he likens it to my personal mortgage, see you have income of $100K and a debt of $300K so the country is all right since it has a large GDP and a debt that is less than GDP. We should keep borrowing! What he fails to tell you, because he is probably a pretty smart guy but it doesn’t fit his story, is that we buy our houses once and that singe large outlay is paid down, albeit slowly, every year. What we don’t do is go out the next year and buy a boat, then a couple of new cars, and then a couple of vacations, and then a vacation home to the point where we are spending our entire income servicing the debt (and still want to increase it) The US has gone on the spending spree that is getting us to the point that the interest on the debt is soon going to be the single largest piece of the discretionary budget. you would think that the progressives would be up in arms about this since every dollar spent on interest on the debt is one that can’t be spent for social programs, etc. But they seem to be perfectly happy to continue to add to the country’s credit card year after year. It’s insane. The other thing that you need to keep in mind is that measuring spending as a % of GDP is a ruse as well. Think of it this way: You start a company, you have revenue of $1M and you spend $2M a year to do marketing for your company so you lose $1M in the first year, your marketing is 200% of revenue. But you do it to grow revenue. When year 2 comes along and your revenues reach $2M, you don’t go right out and justify spending $4M for marketing do you? Of course not, you declare a partial victory and say that you’re going to spend $2.2M in marketing and thus your marketing spend is only 110% of revenue. When you get to year 5 and have grown revenues to $10M, you’re still probably spending $3M in marketing, and have thus grown into a model of where you are spending 30% of revenue on marketing. The point here is that businesses follow rules where spending is a function of effort to get the job done, not as a function of revenue. The % of revenue is useful to see where you are, but it’s not the thing that should drive how much you spend. So the federal government should be talking about REDUCING the % of GDP that we are consuming for spending, not increasing it as “revenues” grow. How else do you explain that Obama’s administration has put up just about as much debt in 3.5 years as it took our buddy G.W. Bush to pile on in 8? The economic downturn alone wouldn’t come close to explaining that feat. I was no fan of GWBs policies either. The government must learn to live within its means. Doing otherwise, Dem or GOP, is courting the larger fiscal disaster that’s coming our way soon. Oh, that’s right, Dems want that fiscal disaster because it’s the only way they will ever force Americans to succumb us to their “utopian” socialist state vision. Socialism NEVER works no matter who’s in charge. Charles Krauthammer has just slapped it on Obama and his leftist sycophants about the huge lie they have been telling about Obama’s spending spree. I have been reading articles and watching TV marveling at the in your face lies the media and leftists are telling about Obama, by some of their accounts Ovomit is the lowest spending president in 60 years. Even on the face of it we know that is a titanic lie and like the Titanic these enormous misrepresentations will sink our socialists in the White House and the congress. Even the Liberal rag U.S.A. Today found some revealing facts about Obama’s claimed level of spending and his actual levels in Real federal deficit dwarfs official tally.ObamaCare alone should clue you into to the truth about our government’s spending under Obama and the Democrats. Why do you think the U.S. has not had a budget in three years? This allows them to keep spending like Drunk Marxists! Click on the link and listen to what Charles Krauthammer has to say about Obama’s spending. Krauthammer: Obama Claim Of Fiscal Discipline “Whopper Of The Year”Don’t forgot about those Obama campaign promises!A Long Post: The Complete List of Obama Statement Expiration Dates It’s terrible being a wingnut these days, isn’t it, and finding out that your Fox-education isn’t worth the time you spent investing in it. Sorry buddy, but Pethokoukis’ analysis is garbage. You see, he left something out: there was a Great Recession (directly caused by Republican ideas of the last 30+ years). If you want an elegant analysis of whether there was an Obama spending spree, all you have to do is read this: Hope you’re up to it because it might require a little more insight than the typical wingnut possesses. But if you give it the ol’ college try, maybe you’ll get there. (Hint: you’ll find out you’ve been lied to by all those you’ve trusted. If you’d had a brain, you’d know it already.) What truly amazes me is the attitude you, and the others of your ilk here, present. You belittle those who see the data a different way than you at every opportunity yet still think they will pay attention to what you have to say. Moreover, I’ll bet you even believe such behavior somehow makes it even more certain they will want to read your comments and do what you say they should. Perhaps in your circle of people, pointless insults and nasty sarcasm is the norm and magically gets beneficial results. In the real world, it doesn’t. It simply causes rational people to ignore your points. Something even your leader has yet to learn. Try again, without the childish, immature schoolyard taunts and see if you can get a mature discussion going. Doubt you’ll try, but there is always hope. Iman, just the fact that you would offer Krugman as your authority says all that needs to be said about your “education,” regardless of where you got it. Why didn’t you just quote Jay Carney, the White House talking head? They’re equally reliable and truthful. Just answer this one question: who signed the 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill, proposed in January 2009 in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. Hint: he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. Don’t you mean that recession and continuing trouble for our economy caused by liberal policies! The policies I am referring to are Democrats forcing banks to grant loans to unqualified applicants based on race and sex. These same applicants defaulting on those loans! This directly caused the housing bubble that burst the banks and the rest of the ugliness followed. Bush warned the Banking Queen Barney Frank about Freddy and Fanny but Barney said the GOP was just scare mongering. Get it right! LOL… yet Bush wanted to make home ownership increase by eliminating down payments on FHA loans… LOL The FBI indicated that 80% of mortgage fraud was internal with the banks, because they can take the unqualified loan and sell it to be packaged by Wall Street so that risk can spread. Obama was given a deficit of nearly $1 trillion and that includes millions of lost jobs BEFORE he came into office. You expect to balance a budget as tax revenues decrease and the need for social assistance to increase. Obama has raised the debt about 40% since taking office, Bush in 8 years increase it around 95%… Reagan did about 140%. You say that “Obama was given a deficit of nearly $1 trillion” but what is the deficit now? Let’s take a look at the difference between Obama era congress and Bush era congress. When was the highest amount of spending done during the Bush administration and who controlled congress at that time? So who controlled congress during the first couple of years of the obama administration? Also, let’s take a look at the relationship between Bush and the high spending congress years and obama and every year he has been in office? You may be able to see the relationship there but maybe not considering what you’ve wrote prior. The funny thing about this is that I’m not a huge fan of Bush nor am I a fan of most of the Republicans’ who claim to be conservative. Unfortunately for the country, obama has the same philosophy as those huge spenders in congress so we lose in every way. Someone finally has said it! You’ve named the regulations, thankyou. Let’s not forget to add Obama’s relentless attack on energy producers. This has cost Americans untold numbers of jobs and billions more for energy. I guess you would say this had little effect. I guess you don’t believe putting a stranglehold on coal and oil has caused any of this. Just look at the gas prices since Ovomit took office. That money could have been better used by the people to assist the economy not as directed by Our Dear Leader. You’re kidding, right? Banks were forced to lend to unqualified applicants? Seriously? No. The Community Reinvestment Act didn’t force lenders to give out money like candy; the CRA didn’t keep interest rates too low for too long; the CRA didn’t dismantle the Glass-Steagall Act; the CRA didn’t create nor encourage credit-default swaps; the CRA didn’t mandate no-money-down home loans. Both sides are too blame for the mess, though. I guess Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had little to do with any of that right? The fact that they financially encouraged banks to create “unique” lending packages all backed by their endless pit of government money; packages that required limited credit rating or income to qualify for loans that they knew could never be afforded by borrowers. No responsibility put on the lenders or those who were getting the loan, until of course everything came crumbling down…who walked away unscathed on that one? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…and they are still doing the same thing, while we waddle in a foreclosure and economic mess, all started by Glass-Steagall Act signed by Clinton. From Sept., 2003; New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Excerpt; . Veronique du Rugy has a complete run down on the issue: du Rugy on Who Spent How Much This is a misleading graph. First off it shows Bush’s average compared to Obama’s consecutive years. Second of all the Obama graph is showing spending GROWTH the other is simply showing spending as a percentage of gdp. It’s not misleading to me. All of them are comparing % of GDP, including the Obama. The 23.95% of Obama (I averaged it for you) is spending at a higher level because he refused to back off of the stimulus after the first year, so yes, OBAMA is a BIG spender. I’m just glad we are finally ‘discussing’ the correct topic and that is Ovomit’s(like that one) dismal economic record. In the end, it will prove to be his undoing which cannot come soon enough. I am going to use Popper’s method of argument. Instead of trying to prove my argument against this article, I will try to prove this article true…make it valid, sound, and sturdy. I would start by looking at the spending of GDP, then look at what defines our GDP (not easy to calculate). Then, I would ask why our GDP went down when Obama took over (look for the obvious reasons, but especially for the not so obvious ones). Then ask yourself how much correlation does GDP have on Government spending (I’d do some legitimate statistical analysis and give you some means of showing correlation…standard deviations and such). Then I’d have you forget all that rambling I just did and simply ask: If spending remains the same, and GDP is down, will not government spending/per GDP percentages be up? Even if Obama decreased spending by billions, the GDP could have been so low that it skewed his tiny 1.4% increase in spending to look like it was larger than it actually was. Sure he spent 24+% but he was dipping the porridge ladle into a smaller kettle…and when people said, please sir, may I have some more, he made sure to make it last longer by increasing spending by only 1.4% over the years, vs our historical increases. Sounds like a smart Orphanage Headmaster to me. I believe the argument ought to be: (Bush’s average spending in billions (2000-2008)/The average of GDP from 2002-2012) then compare that number to (Obama’s average spending in billions 2008-2012)/The average of GDP from 2002-2012). And sure I am leaving out major players in the equation, like Congress, and Bankers, etc. But I feel that at least for this argument, this equation will truly tell us what we are arguing about. Someone do the math for me…..the 1.4% increase could very well be plausible, and these numbers will show how much less or more Obama spent in billions/average GDP from 2002-2012. Needs to be tested with math!!! Math wizards, I challenge you! Mostly because I don’t have the time. Trying to launch my second company and get this economy rolling. BTW, I’m not necessarily for Obama, nor am I for anyone else. I plan on making an informed decision by election day. I just like to point out fallacies when I see them. This article is using the “begging the question” or “cyclical” fallacy. Any argument that uses a fallacy is not sound, but can still be valid. We cannot have cyclical arguments driving our political decisions. Nor should we be relying on straw man tactics. Lets talk about the facts, and perhaps compare our spending to not only the 40′s but let’s take the article’s argument back to the 20′s and 30′s. I’d like to know how much per GDP Roosevelt was spending in “The New Deal” roll out. Turns out, his spending methods are what this country needed (although some would argue a second World War was the thing that brought us back to life). But his administration built jobs, built the economy, and heck, it even rewrote the trade routes! Gotta love the arguments in this post. Shows that people still care, albeit in a bloggy sort of way. Sorry…2000-2012 not 2002-2012. But one could use 2004-2012 if one would like to keep the averages to 4 years for each president. Per Nutter’s argument, still need to assign each president the spending for which they are directly responsible. That would mean FY2001 (adjusted for any increases or decreases derived from Bush-signed spending) as baseline for Bush 43. His period runs through FY2009, adjusted for Obama-signed spending changes that year. Likewise, GDP should be measured from 3Q of 2001 for Bush, and from 3Q of 2009 for Obama. You could also inflation-adjust both, although the changes over each period would be modest. Like your comments.. This analysis — even the title — is completely misleading. The *recession* happened. Stimulus policies helped prevent a complete economic meltdown.. could have been Dow at 4,000 and unemployment up at 20%.. and stop the slide. Luckily, we’re starting to see the first early signs of improvement — but need jobs to come back a lot further. Critical spending in a severe recession, in no way qualifies as “new normal”. That’s intellectually dishonest — trying to paint a spending picture, far more exaggerated than is actually true. “Trivial”? Hardly. I know the few remaining Obama believers will try to trivial his incompetence saying gas prices are trivial, but they’re not as they are having a profound affect on our economy with skyrocketing gas and food prices, among other consumables. Thanks again to the Boob in the WH. “Obama. Everything we expected, but worse.” Every time a republican quotes gas prices and associates them with the presidency shows your ignorance. THE PRESIDENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR GAS PRICES YOU STUPID GOP PUPPETS! Oil is traded on the stock market. There is no shortage of oil as well there is a surpluss. In other words THE MORE OIL THAT IS INTRODUCED HAS LITTLE EFFECT IF ANY ON PRICES. Therefore, blaming Obama for gas prices reveals you are puppets for the rich and you don’t even realize it. I have to say, your argument does have a fair amount of merit to it…I’m a neo-liberal, so I believe in free, world wide markets. However, there are a few policies that can be enacted to cheapen the price of oil: you could decrease the gas tax, you could give companies more permits to drill on and off shore, and you cannot veto the Keystone Oil Pipeline. Obama has taken an utterly horrible stance on any and all policies related to gas. Another thought to consider, the liberals blamed George Bush II when gas prices went up under him…it seems there is somewhat of a double standard. 1 if the Keystone is so good why don’t the people in Canada just build a refinery there? If you think that a Corporation should be able to use Emanate Domain to take land rights away to build a Private Oil line on land they could not buy then you should move to another country. 2 The only thing that could be done to reduce the price of oil and in the long run gas is to stop the people who are buying futures based on fear of something major happening. So far nothing outside of the War Bush put in Iraq. This is also why the liberals blamed Bush for the gas prices going up under him. I remember 5$ per gallon. 3. you could give companies more permits to drill on and off shore This has already been done. LibPat: “However, there are a few policies that can be enacted to cheapen the price of oil: you could decrease the gas tax, you could give companies more permits to drill on and off shore, and you cannot veto the Keystone Oil Pipeline.” Decreasing the gas tax would likely increase, not decrease, the price of oil. Reducing the tax would reduce the retail price and stimulate demand (more driving, more sales of fuel-inefficient vehicles, etc.), which would increase demand for oil, driving up spot-market as well as contract prices. Oil exploration and production (on- and offshore) in the U.S. is at record levels, and existing pipeline systems can transport oil very efficiently throughout the U.S. Increased U.S. production, however, has almost no effect on U.S. gasoline prices, which are much more sensitive to global oil prices controlled by OPEC, and by refinery output. The only legal change that would structurally reduce U.S. gasoline prices would be a federalization of gasoline formulas, which now vary widely by state and impose substantial additional costs on refiners and distributors. i think it is you who are ignorant. The President does have a direct affect on gas prices. How about the keystone pipeline that obama has put a stop to. i believe that in itself would lower prices The near-term effect of the Keystone project would be to increase, not decrease gasoline prices. Pipeline network operators would increase their prices to oil producers and refiners to recover the increased costs of their investment. Plus, there is no evidence that the Keystone project would increase the efficiency of oil distribution in the U.S. Even if it did so, pipeline distribution costs constitute less than a dime of the total wholesale price of gasoline. Its effect either way is negligible. were u bitching,about bush gas prices,and did u support the dumbest man ever in the white house/G.W.BUSH? Trivialize. If you’re going to snark at someone at least use the right word. Sheesh. Look, let’s face it. It was our government (both Republcan and Democrat) that put our country in the situation it’s in now. The increased deficit can (and rightly so) be attributed to Bush II. He came into office without one (thanks to Clinton). Then he started two wars. Instead of initaiting taxes to help pay for them (think back to WWII), he decided to put it on the government credit card. When Obama took office, he maintained status quo. Now that a Democrat is in the office, all of the deficit falls on his shoulders. That’s inaccurate, Bush II has led us to where we all today. Now it is up to Obama to start cleaning the mess. Congress sure isn’t going to. It had its chance with the sequestration debacle last year. Our Congress has failed to pass a budget on time the last seven years, I believe? If Romney becomes president next year, how does he think he’ll be able to do any better when the President can’t control Congress? Interesting … no mention that the Federal budgets during the Obama Adminstration were passed by a Republican House of Representatives, and in the first two years by a Republican Senate. “We all did it, now I blame you for it” is a classic strategy — of ten-year-olds. The Senate and House were controlled by the Democrat party until 2010, and after that no budget has been passed. OOps my bad….the Republicans have never controlled the Senate under Obama. Republicans took control of the House in 2010 pretty much putting a stop on getting anything productive passed. So by that standard Bush has no responsibility for what happened in the last two years of his administration. Since the democrats controlled both the house and the senate and were fighting him tooth and nail on everything he was trying to accomplish, or was he just so intellectually superior to Obama that he was able to get everything he wanted through a hostile congress and Obama is incompetent that he is unable to accompish anything ? A budget is passed every year… Presidents are responsible for the fiscal effects of legislation they sign into law. President Bush could have refused to sign Congress’s changes to bills that yielded higher fiscal 2009 spending levels than his FY2009 budget proposed. He didn’t do so, and his administration, not Congress, directly drafted TARP and related emergency spending measures that had the biggest effect on increasing FY2009 spending. Fiscal 2009 spending that President Obama signed into law added approximately $209 billion to the $3.5 trillion in total FY 2009 spending. Nutting removed that amount from his analysis, leading to a slightly higher spending growth total that would otherwise be the case. So here’s the average spending for all you complaining liberals out there: 23.95%. That’s still a 3.45% spending increase from George Bush’s average. So when you say the graph is misleading, next time show the people the average and they’ll see that Barack Obama is still a relatively large spender. For me, there are some very valid ideas from the Libertarian party but I do not believe all government is BAD. And for me, there ONCE were some very valid and very solid ideas from the Republican party but lately, it seems the entire Republican party has been TAKEN OVER by people who think like Rep. Todd Akin and HATE President Barack Obama…more than they love this country. And solely for that reason have I turned totally away from the Republican party as it stands today. I don’t always agree with Democrats. There is a whole laundry list of things I think, they don’t do a very good job with or certainly could improve on. And I don’t think that President Obama’s administration or some of his policy is without criticism. What I do know, ‘As it stands now’ in today’s political climate… ‘He Who Has The Most Corporate $$ WINS’… I will fight against this type of Tyranny to my very last breath. The ONLY CHANCE ordinary ‘Working For a Paycheck Americans’ have…. for just a fair shot…… against, the total takeover of our Government to Corporate Rule, over ourselves and our country….is only… being offered by the Democrats…as flawed as they may be. Despite his rhetorical attacks on Wall Street, a study by the Sunlight Foundation’s Influence Project shows that President Barack Obama has received more money from Wall Street than any other politician over the past 20 years, including former President George W. Bush. Hey there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any methods to protect against hackers? Clearly we have the obvious comparison between absolute spendng vs. increasing spending. What makes Nutting;s argument stick is the fact that a) while at an all tme low, inflation did not disappear entirely and b) since the damage to the economy was deep, perhaps deeper than any President before Obama inherited, the INCREASE spending to fight it off was kept an an all time low. The real conclusion to the metaphor should read: We did buy a shiny new car after the first year (at cut rate prices) but since then rather than buy a new car every year we took as much care as possible each successive year to keep that car in ship shape order. We kept it garaged, shined it up every weekend as digilantly as we could, and made sure we took it to the competitive dealership once every quarter to give it a tip top inspection since this was the only car we would be getting for the next 4 years. And guess what, our perspicacity worked! Interesting … no mention that the Federal budgets during the Obama Adminstration were passed by a Republican House of Representatives, and in the first two years by a Republican Senate. “We all did it, now I blame you for it” is a classic strategy — of ten-year-olds. “no mention that the Federal budgets during the Obama Adminstration were passed by a Republican House of Representatives, and in the first two years by a Republican Senate.” Is that an April Fools joke? During President Obama’s term in office, Democrats controlled the House of Representatives only during the first two years, from January 2009 to January 2011. The U.S. Senate has been controlled by Democrats throughout President Obama’s term. And budget bills don’t matter. Only appropriations bills represent real spending authority, and those have been stuck in continuing-resolution loop mode since 2008. I cherished as much as you’ll obtain carried out right here. The comic strip is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nevertheless, you command get bought an impatience over that you would like be delivering the following. ill for sure come more until now again since precisely the similar just about a lot continuously inside of case you shield this hike. Politifact offers the most thorough analysis of Nutting’s data: accounting for all manner of factors, alternative calculations, and addressing nearly every criticism of Nutting’s work (including Pethokoukis’) check link below: Nutting and Pethokoukis are both right. Federal spending under Obama has increased at the lowest rate in the past 60 years, and has at the same time risen as a percentage of GDP to the highest levels in that same time period. These two seemingly contradictory points simply describe the same data from different perspectives. Nominal spending has increased little, but because of the massive declines in growth brought on by the financial collapse, budgets enacted before the collapse and the increases in spending made afterward constitute a much greater share of GDP. I’m just rehashing the Politifact piece, so I would encourage others to read it for a thorough, substantiated analysis, empirically backed-up, accounting for nearly of counter-point and criticism, offering multiple and alternative calculations. In short every angle, every critique is addressed and answered–this 2-page or so piece of analysis should put an end to all dispute, from left or right.

It's October 2007, and Newcastle has just been hit by another massive storm. As the flood waters recede, politicians from all sides line up to give their condolences - but in a break from tradition, they fail to announce any financial assistance for the flood victims. "Natural disasters are a part of life" says Prime Minister Howard, "we expect responsible families to plan ahead for this kind of thing". Premier Iemma echoes the sentiment: "the state government can't be expected to foot the bill for every act of god". Sound unlikely? It probably is. Not only do most people expect governments to act as "the insurer of last resort" when disaster strikes - we also expect them to play an active role in calculating and preparing for the risks facing their citizens. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated just how serious the consequences can be when a government fails to live up to this expectation. In 'The Risk Society: social democracy in an uncertain world', CPD fellow John Quiggin examines the role of government as the ultimate risk manager. He argues that risk will be the defining concept of the 21st century, the way that globalisation was for the 1990s. Download The Risk Society: social democracy in an uncertain world (pdf) Any party aspiring to win this year's election will need to grapple with 'the great risk shift' - the increased exposure of individuals to everything from the vagaries of international finance, energy and labour markets, to the risk of a complete collapse of our environmental life-support systems. The kind of deep-seated anxiety this exposure creates will not be soothed by assurances that the economy is booming, or exhortations to change our lightbulbs or buy green power. The risks and uncertainties shared by all require a shared response, argues Quiggin.. In an increasingly high-risk world, any government that fails to do this may be headed for a perfect storm. Comment on Quadrant article I have just read the Quadrant paper. It is, as one would expect of an economist who unquestioningly supports the Washington Consensus, based on a long series of unsubstantiated assertions that masquerade as unvarnished truths for which no proof is required. In the nineteenth century Alessandro Manzoni, in his novel The Betrothed wrote that “History may truly be defined as a famous war against time”. But the mainstream of the economics profession cannot even participate in this war as they have no functional memory. It is as if the manifest historic failures of the ideas that underlie their theories about such simplistic concepts as the universality, and general beneficence, of competition had never happened. In an unconcious repitition of the centuries old philosophical and theological conflict between free will and determinism Ergas seems to plump squarely for the determism inherent in the artificial abstraction of the "marketplace" as the ultimate arbiter of human destiny. It is a direct rebuttal of the last two and a half millenia of western intellectal history.One of the defining lessons of that history is that humankind has not only the capacity, but the responsibility, to shape its own destiny. The emrgence of democracy was about a recognition that the imposed determinism favoured by the Medieval Church and the Monarchy were not inevitable. The economic determinists among us are keen to return us to that state of childhood where we accept unquestioningly the power of another abstraction to take control from us. Where an understanding of that history would suggest to people sensible of how much they do not know, that doubt, rather than certainty, was warranted, the prophets of market determinism have instead a child-like certainty that they are right. Their technocratic arrogance is useful in obscuring the narrowness of their knowledge and their ignorance of the past. George Santayana had some pretty apposite things to say about those who fail to learn the lessons of history being doomed to repeat them. Probably the greatest Magistrate that the US has ever produced, a man with the extraordinary name of Learned Hand, is instructive in this regard. When speaking to a graduating class at Bryn Mawr College in the 1920’s he said “In competition there lies latent a fatal antimony. Men take their color from one another, catching a reflection from sources that themselves send out no light; they are chameleons surrounded by others of their species, mysteriously acquiring hue from a colourless environment”. Those who insist that we should abandon our democratic rights to decide to an abstraction called the market, are seeking to return us to a state of childhood that ill befits grown-ups. Les MacDonald Quadrant responds to 'The Risk Society' Risk Not perhaps quantifiable in economic terms but the risk induced by the provision of innaccuarte information, most recently seen in the case of Iraq or of climate chanmge in which the documentation provided by Pearce High and Dry is an indictment of our societies information provision. Prof Quiggin argues that class divisions have largely gone but if not class division then certainly divisions exist in the right to know. The elite still rules see the rise of the vulcans. Prof Quiggin refers to this but does not equate it with risk. If the sum society can allocate to covering risk then the cost of wars decreases the amount for anything else as does climate change. Would accurate iformation help to forestall increased risk if so how does society guard against capture of the organsof information by parties who's aim is manipulation their own life purposes? Still a one dimensional interpretation of risk Hi John, First let me thank you for a stimulating article. I did enjoy your risk perspective of WorkChoices. However, many of the points you raise still assume risk is something that is quantifiable, predictable and can be readily translated into dollar amounts. This is the one-dimensional insurance industry view of risk that Ulrich Beck actually argues against. For example, your discussion of risk in the healthcare system, seems to revolve around who should pick up the tab. I would argue that the complex and multi-faceted issue of preventative care is where government should be focusing its energies, as it is uniquely placed do this. The management of preventative care (an idea often placed outside the scope of western medical 'best practice') is something that should, rationally, be pooled. Also, you mention 'lifetime risks' associated with education. Redistributing funds to disadvantaged sections of the community (although crucial for ensuring some measure of social mobility) does not address the more serious threat of changing standards. This cannot be offset by a government regulating for higher standards. Private enterprise has developed intimate connections with the higher education system, connections that seek to high-jack the direction of cirricula in the interests of 'business innovation.' In our current neo-liberal climate no government would dare stand up to the mantra of 'innovation.' The risks associated with business led path dependance need to addressed by government. Not only can we not all be miners, lawyers and accountants, we shouldn't be. Many of the risks we face in contemporary society are over-determined and their consequences often unpredictable (this may make them 'uncertainties' in the strict sense). Phenomena like cancer, labour market disparities and climate change cannot be insured against because they cannot be easily quantified let alone predicted. This is the crux of the issue. This is what causes widespread anxiety. The 'organized irresponsibility' of the "free market" can often act to obscure calculable 'risks,' (that is after all one of the ways of turning a profit) and the government can and should ensure that this is kept to a minimum. However, government (in its being accountable to the people) is uniquely placed to deal with 'uncertainties' that require restraint or the employment of the 'preventative principle'. As long as we continue to think of risk as something that can be dealt with by means of the 'distributional logic' (and its associated emphasis on ownership and control) I fear we will miss the point of what it means to live in the Risk Society. Cheers, Bob Karmin The "Risk Society" This is the kind of debate we should be having before any Mr Howard or Mr Iemma tell us WE are responsible for THEIR economic, environmental and planning DISASTERS. As Quiggin foretells it is in the realm of possibilities that such responses could be forthcoming from neoconservative "small government" proposers faced with natural and man made disasters. Prevention, as the adage tells us, is better than the cure, however we are still allowing development at all costs without a price tag on risk. What a better example of plausible circumstances are presented by those who built Noosa Sound (QLD) all those years ago. They were never made to pay a RISK bond, to ensure that if a natural disaster (I'd call it a natural correction) ever takes place and Noosa Sound is wiped out the new owners and society at large are left handling the costs of such folly. The very reason for living in a society as ours is to not only manage risk but to share the costs and REPONSIBILITIES of being such with all tiers of responsible government. So far the Cyclone Larry and Bali responses have been comforting. John Quiggin's paper is one John Quiggin's paper is one of the most uplifting policy papers I've read for a long time. The paper proposes an economic risk management role for governments which makes sense to me against the background of empirical data, daily life, and insights from mainstream mathematical economic theory, with origin in Adam Smith, as developed since the 1950s. Insurance and Risk The following is I think an easy way to make this point. I think most people are comfortable about insurance. It is possible to point at that at a particular size it makes sense for organisations to do their own insuring - they don't need to pay another organisation to do it for them. Australia is a big enough organisation to self insure - its called pensions, benefits, infrastructure and so on. I know this isn't elegantly put but I think the general idea is good. Evan

Wednesday, January 5, 2011 1/5/11 UPDATE: Love Triangle Could Be the Motive for the Russell "Rusty" Sneiderman Murder Just posted on this blog a comment that could be the motive of this horrible crime. Thank you for this information Ginger. Ginger said... . January 5, 2011 5:37 PM" Borrowed from CNN - Thank you Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Police in Dunwoody, Georgia, have arrested a man in the killing of a father outside his 2-year-old son's day care center. Hemy Zvi Neuman, 48, is charged with murder in the death of Russell "Rusty" Sneiderman on November 18. Sneiderman was shot multiple times in the parking lot of Dunwoody Prep after dropping off his son, in what police have described as an apparent "cold and calculated murder." Neuman is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday in DeKalb County Magistrates Court. Police have not given a possible motive for Neuman nor said whether he and Sneiderman knew each other. The investigation is ongoing, police said. Witnesses to the shooting told police a man came up from behind Sneiderman, opened fire, and shot him multiple times. They said the shooter then got away in a silver minivan that didn't have a license plate.." The family offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Sneiderman, 36, was a Cleveland, Ohio, native, a Harvard MBA graduate, and an active volunteer with the Georgia chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, CNN affiliate WSB reported. A week before his death, police said, Sneiderman called police to report a suspicious person behind his house, WSB reported. Hemy Neuman's Facebook page shows a picture of him smiling with his arms around three children who appear to be teenagers. It says he has worked at General Electric and studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His LinkedIn page says he is an operations and quality manager at General Electric. Neuman has not made a public statement since the arrest. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE SUSPECT FOUND BY THIS BLOG FROM LINKEDIN Operations & Quality Manager at General Electric Greater Atlanta Area Hemy Neuman Current•Operations & Quality Manager at GE Past•Deputy GM and Program Manager at GE •Global Quality, Regulatory and Safety Manager at GE •Production Manager at GE Education•Bradford University •Georgia Institute of Technology Connections 8 connections IndustryElectrical/Electronic Manufacturing Hemy Neuman’s Summary A results driven leader that utilizes operational excellence through organizational motivation to deliver results, that can think strategically with tactical translation to action, able to manage local teams or large complex global organizations with innovative ideas that generate competitive success. Vast international experience in multifunctional environments managing engineering teams developing complex integrated systems (hardware, physics and software) in the aerospace, healthcare and energy sectors, implementing successful quality systems and improvement strategies and driving productivity gains in manufacturing, product design and services. Hemy Neuman’s Specialties: Operations management, strategic planning, engineering management, financial planning and analysis, product development, quality systems, regulatory compliance, manufacturing, software development, electrical, electronic and mechanical systems, medical devices Hemy Neuman’s Education Bradford University Master , Business Administration, Finance Specialty , 1998 Completed with Distinction Georgia Institute of Technology Bachelor of Engineering , Aerospace , 1980 — 1984 Completed with Honor Prior Story by the author of this blog By Nicholas Contompasis On Thursday morning Rusty dropped off his child at preschool for the last time. Shortly after doing so, he was shot at point blank range several times and left to die in his own blood. Russell Sneiderman, 36, Rusty to his friends and relatives had an MBA from Harvard and had handled private banking for JPMorgan in Atlanta before being laid off two years ago. The only witness, helped police draw up the only picture they have of this lone assailant. He was described as a man with a beard and cap which is included in this story. What makes this killing noteworthy is that it may be the beginning of many more assassinations of bankers and government officials who have ignored the people and organizations that invested monies in instruments that Rusty and others like him have sold over the past few years. As the dust settles from the massive destruction of wealth in this country over the past three years, only banks and bankers were helped out, with investors left holding the bag which at this point is empty. There have been no indictments or trials of these individuals that duped millions of investors around the world. The government has acted in concert with these bankers by refunding them, while looking the other way. This has led many to feel that they are just as guilty as the bankers that took the money on a sure thing, which later became worthless. We are not aware that Mr. Sneiderman has ever defrauded his clients or been involved in misrepresenting products he has sold or packaged over the years, but this investigation is new and over the next few months I’m sure we will find more motives for someone taking such rash steps. To be frank, I’m quite surprised this type of gangland hit hasn’t happened sooner and more often as people become more desperate. Of course, again, the mainstream media is ignoring another important story, that America would like know about. Yet, they sweep it under the carpet hoping there won’t be a citizen revolt against the government and banking system. This tactic can work just so long as the peasants slowly gather with their pitchforks and torches blazing by the light of a full moon. 13 comments: Nice pice. You idiot. Why don't you read the facts of the case before you publish such drivel? Rusty hadn't worked for JP Morgan private banking for two years. He was LAID OFF during the financial meltdown of 2008. To Deborah S Thank you for the added information. There were only four articles on google about this shooting which I think is wrong. It should be getting much more attention. If you know anything else about him and his life I would like to do a follow up article about his life. I'm not out to condemn him, it's important to find out if this killing was because of his business dealings and a hit was put out on him. Thanks in advance. my Email [email protected] So, a random execution of a guy that happens to be a Jew. You really think that some disgrubtled investor did this. Take a good look at the artist's rendering. Look like an "investor" to you? . Looks more like a middle eastern cab driver to me. OH OH - moslem looking guy tied to a Jew's murder. Give you any thughts" If I were the Dunwoody, GA police, I'd be checking mosque congregatons Correct about the shooters looks. Very Middle Eastern look. Remember assassins come in all shapes and sizes. They are paid by people that have lots of money. It could be anybody that ordered this. Problem is they may never tell us when they do find out. You know how that is. Nicholas, As I do somewhat agree with you in principal about the state of this country, I do find this post to be nauseating. You have zero proof that "Rusty" sold any of these instruments, and to link him to that bs for self promotion of a blog is irresponsible. You are smearing a good man's name. Shame on you. I live in Dunwoody, and only know of the good that Rusty has done for others, selflessly and very quietly. I highly doubt he had any involvement with the derivates market and the selling of that junk. Thanks for the comment Todd. If you read the article I did not say he was involved with something unethical. But his killer may have, thus the comments made by the police. Just a little background about my involvement. I'm very close to many on Wall Street and they forwarded me this article (below). Take a look at it and you tell me what you think. Karl is in the know and wouldn't make statements like this without some knowledge of the situation. After reading his article I wrote mine after doing a little research on the matter. I personally am alarmed by this killing and I feel so sorry for his family and young child. The more I read about him, the more I understand he was a good member of your community and will be missed. But let's not forget, many made a lot of money on Wall Street and many investments were not represented properly. Thus the problem our country is facing. Thx again for your comment. I do listen. Posted 2010-11-22 11:20 by Karl Denninger in Corruption Random Murder Or An Organized Hit? A valid question, I believe.... The shooting was not random, police have concluded. Investigators have spent the day interviewing friends, family and business associates hoping to develop a motive for the killing. So far, they have none. .... Davidson, who lives in Los Angeles, said the Sneidermans relocated to Atlanta about a decade ago. Rusty Sneiderman served as chief operating officer for Innovia Group and then as a financial consultant for the Atlanta division of JP Morgan Chase & Co. Private Bank, where, according to Davidson, he advised "high-end" clients with large estates. What happened ? Copy and paste the link in my prior comment to read more of this article. It seems there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. Nicholas I am an award winning doc filmmaker- if you want to talk about connecting the dots from this to Foreclosuregate it might be good as I am making WARCLOSURE: The American Scheme about the foreclosure crisis- and I just beat JP Morgan Chase in my own personal foreclosure battle over 2 years... I think this guy KNEW too much- I bet he was involved with CDO and MBS derivatives- a Harvard MBA? No, he was answering phones- damn yeah he was part of the brain trust that created what was illegal but profitable (short term) and maybe not even malicious as no one thought real estate would EVER depreciate... [email protected] and. When the trial starts, you will see that this had nothing to do with business and more to do with personal issues, including a love triangle... sad. very sad.. Yes, it is sad. We knew early on that it wasn't business but many on Wall Street thought at the time it was a deal gone bad. The age old love triangle again. It's very exiting to find this shutking.blogspot.com blog. Thank you for sharing your talent and helpful information with us. You are a bright light!

Updated Monday through Friday, providing local news and weather. At a press conference at the historic site on Thursday, Fort Ticonderoga Association President and CEO Beth Hill said a 2016 analysis showed the fort had a $12.1 million economic impact on the. from the fort and Mt. Defiance. Hill. Fort Defiance High School is a high school website for Fort Defiance alumni. Fort Defiance High provides school news, reunion and graduation information, alumni listings and more for former students and faculty of FDHS in Fort Defiance, Virginia. Last Friday the Pretoria High Court ruled that President Jacob Zuma was disqualified. The problem raised here is the break in the so-called chain of command. Three individuals were fatally shot at Aztec High School this morning, according to various reports. Southeast College Of Nursing Education Games For Adults The game is different each year. will be revealed to thousands of teams from around the world and the season will 04/06/18, 07:15 PM, Game, Broadway, Broadway High School, -. 04/10/18, 07:15 PM, Game, Turner Ashby, Spotswood High School, -. 04/13/18, 07:15 PM, Game, Harrisonburg, Spotswood High School, -. 04/17/18, 07:15 PM, Game, Fort Defiance, Fort Defiance High School, -. 04/20/18, 07:15 PM, Game, Waynesboro. Something particularly enjoyable is to see painters mostly associated with the East Coast, the Ashcan School, or even European high society offer their take. seemingly in defiance of the power of nature.” Thematic exhibits like this can. If you need assistance, please contact our office at 844-466-1454 or email us. What’s included? You’ll get delivery of The Roanoke Times every day and access to all. Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith said clowns were reported in the 100 block of River Bend Road in Fort Defiance just after 9 p.m. WHSV staffers. by two separate vehicles leaving the area at a high rate of speed. Both vehicles stopped.. Thank you for your. Information about public and private schools in Arizona, covering student enrollments, faculty details, financial figures, and state and federal accountability. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – How a state panel of sports writers and broadcasters rates Ohio high school football teams in the third weekly Associated Press poll of 2015, by OHSAA divisions, with won-lost record and total points (first-place. Trailing in order are Hanover (69), Franklin (59), Defiance and Manchester (41 each), Anderson (31. Competing are Butler, Eastern Illinois, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Green Bay, Illinois-Chicago, IUPUI, Indiana State, Lipscomb, Northern. Date & Time, Opponent(s), Facility, Score, Info. (A), 01/10/18 4:15 PM, vs Polar Bear Meet @ Fort Defiance, Fort Defiance High School. (A), 01/17/18 4:15 PM, vs Pola Bear Meet @ Fort Defience, Fort Defiance High School. (A), 02/13/18 TBA, Region Track @ Arthur Ashe Center Richmond VA, Arthur Ashe Center. In Fort Lauderdale, a group of tenants claimed they were scammed. in the development deal had occurred), or a document retention program until 2003. High school students had better data backup in 2000 than he did. It took. Online Graduate School Rankings How To Teach A Foreigner English The Guardian Education Supplement But he’s done some early work on developing a nutritional supplement and conditioning program that Listings 1 – 14 of 14. 50 Acres FORT DEFIANCE, Augusta County, VA $410,000. WONDERFUL SETTING IN FORT DEFI Defiance High School district. Great building site, perfect for livestock, run in shed exist, mountain views. All very. Save Property. Save Property. 6 Acres FORT DEFIANCE, Augusta County, VA $145,000. If you need assistance, please contact our office at 844-466-1454 or email us. What’s included? You’ll get delivery of The Roanoke Times every day and access to all. Ottawa-Glandorf (10-1) beat Defiance 43-35, beat Findlay 53-43. Vanlue (9-2) lost to Leipsic 62-61, beat Bascom Hopewell-Loudon 46-38. 8. Old Fort (12-1) beat Gibsonburg 81-68, beat Tiffin Calvert 89-32. 9. Ft. Recovery (10-2) beat. Colleges Boulder Co Links to newspapers and TV stations in Colorado. Looking for something? Start here! Choose the best College Essays tutor for you from many highly-rated tutors Get reviews, hours, directions, coupons and more for Clymore Elementary School at 184 Fort Defiance Rd, Fort Defiance, VA. Search for other Public Schools in Fort Defiance on YP.com. CAIRO – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources assumed control of Fort Defiance State Park July 31. The park is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The park, which will be a satellite of Horseshoe Lake State. Compiled by Phil and Pete Payette – ©2011 American Forts Network. Fort Bidwell (1863 or 1865 – 1893), Fort Bidwell Originally known as Surprise Valley Post, possibly. PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIRGINIA, 1870-1940. VIRGINIA HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION. Thematic National Register Nomination Inventory Form. Historic Name: New Hope High School. Street ~dressj~t. No. : Rt. 608. Vicinity of: New Hope. USGS Quad:. Fort Defiance 7.5. Common Name: New. Extreme Teen Study Bible College Trip – 2016. Teen Extreme 2015 Awaken Youth · Youth Worship Center Photos. Bible Study. We're going to change the way you think about Click/tap here to download the free azfamily mobile app. A woman who was found dead in a wooded area was mauled to death by her two dogs, according to the Goochland Sheriff’s Office A woman who was found dead in a wooded area was. According to our research of Ohio and other state lists there were 88 registered sex offenders living in Defiance, Ohio as of December 25, 2017. The ratio of number. Providing comedic relief was Richard Klos as King Louis XIII who’s casual defiance of the Cardinal and memorable laughter always brought a smile to the audience. As love interest to D’Artagnan, Katie Leslie was both sweet and kind. As Fort Hood turns 75, veterans recall their time at the ‘Great Place’ Date & Time, Game Type, Opponent(s), Facility, Score, Info. (H), 11/13/17 6:00 PM, Regular, vs Broadway, Fort Defiance, Harrisonburg, Spotswood, Turner Ashby, Waynesboro, Rockbridge County High School. (A), 11/20/17 6:00 PM, Regular, vs Fort Defiance, Harrisonburg, Spotswood, Turner Ashby, Waynesboro. Find high school friends using our Fort Defiance, Virginia (VA) alumni listings by last name that includes class year and contact info. Page 3 with last names M-S. Zillow has 20 homes for sale in Fort Defiance VA. View listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place. Feb 16-18 Into the Woods at Fort Defiance High School in Fort Defiance, Fort Defiance High School, Friday, 16. February 2018 – February 16 to 18. 2018 (Note : We don't have much info at this point a. Customize Your Own. Fort Defiance High School Indians Apparel. We have thousands of custom Schools t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jerseys, bags, backpacks, and other accessories in stock. Customize any of our Schools designs to fully personalize your product by choosing colors, text, and even adding a back design. View listings of land for sale in Fort Defiance, VA. Find information about ranches, lots, acreage and more at realtor.com®. Nov. However, Ambanwela Rala’s progeny, perhaps who did not flee with him to Kollupitiya to escape the king’s wrath had got domiciled later at Ratnapura. Oct 24, 2017. HARRISONBURG — Harrisonburg football improved to 4-0 in Valley District play Friday, and Fort Defiance coach Dan Rolfe is hardly shocked. “There are teams when you watch on film, you go, 'Holy cow, they're good,' but usually, especially in high school, they have one or two deficiencies. I think this is. and May Hood on September 29, 1951 in Fort Defiance, AZ, where he lived his younger years in Gallup, NM. He moved to Idaho at a young age with his family where he attended and graduated from Minico High School in May of 1969. Later. All data contained in this database was provided by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and comes from the Education Management Information System (EMIS), which. Compiled by Phil and Pete Payette – ©2011 American Forts Network. Fort Bidwell (1863 or 1865 – 1893), Fort Bidwell Originally known as Surprise Valley Post, possibly. On this day in History, Central High School integrated on Sep 25, 1957. Learn more about what happened today on History. Updated 7/5/16. The following state records should be regarded as "unofficial." They were compiled by the Ohio High School Athletic Association from information. However, Ambanwela Rala’s progeny, perhaps who did not flee with him to Kollupitiya to escape the king’s wrath had got domiciled later at Ratnapura. Profiles housing, population demographics, jobs, weather and climate tables. Includes a list of area hospitals, schools, airports, radio and TV broadcast stations. Jan 16, 2015. 1866. The High School building was built on its beautiful site at the head of Clinton Street. 1871. Defiance County Courthouse was erected. 1904. The Defiance Public Library was built with funds from an Andrew Carnegie Grant. The building located near the grounds of Fort Defiance is still one of the most. How a state panel of sports writers and broadcasters rates Ohio high school football teams in the third weekly. Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Defiance Ayersville 41. 12, Newark Catholic 33. 13, Chesapeake 20. 14, Attica. FORT DEFIANCE FOURTH OF JULY celebration was attended by 150 people on Saturday. Fort Defiance is the home of Gen. William Lenoir, a local militia leader in the Patriot cause of the American Revolution. It’s in the Happy Valley. On Monday, the Tacoma School Board opted for a construction schedule that envisions the completion of 14 new and renovated schools over the. a new building in Point Defiance Park for the Science and Math Institute (SAMI) high. Updated 8/11/16. The following state records should be regarded as "unofficial." They were compiled by the Ohio High School Athletic Association from information. Hi, this may be interesting you: Ohio high school boys, girls basketball scores for Saturday, Dec. 2! This is the link:. 10/11/17, 05:30 PM, City-County Meet, East Rockingham, Broadway High School , -. Harrisonburg, -. Spotswood, -. Turner Ashby, -. 10/14/17, 11:30 AM, Invitational, Albemarle, Panorama Farms, -. 10/24/17, 03:45 PM, District Tournament, Fort Defiance, Mount Airy Course, Verona, -. Harrisonburg, -. Rockbridge County, -. Chilhowie vs. Rural Retreat, ppd. to Oct 10. Eastern Montgomery vs. Auburn, ppd. to Oct 8. Fuqua School vs. Roanoke Catholic, ppd. to Oct 10. Galax vs. Fort Chiswell, ppd. to Oct 8. Hidden Valley vs. Carroll County, ppd. to Oct 10. Huge selection of custom Fort Defiance High School fan gear and apparel from thousands of High School and K-12 stores. Save 10% off your first purchase! Order Fort Defiance High School shirts, t shirts, sweatshirts, hats, gear, merchandise and more. Fort Defiance High School is located in Fort Defiance, Virginia.

- 47shares - Facebook39 - Twitter0 - Google+0 - Pinterest8 - StumbleUpon0 - Yummly0 Can you believe that its the middle of July and summer is nearly coming to an end? I know a lot of parents cannot wait for school to be back in and I may feel that way when I have both kids of school age, but I am a bit sad that it’s creeping up to that time. I have so enjoyed having both my kids home with me this year! While its been trying on some days, its also been pretty fun too! And now that the summer is nearing a close, I want to ask you- have you finished all those summer books you promised yourself you would read? Now is the time! Because I am absolutely a “go to gal” when it comes to books, I wanted to share a 5 Summer Reads you Must Read list! Keep in mind I read far more books than 5 over the summer (and year round) so it was pretty hard to narrow it down. In the interest of just bringing you 5, I picked mostly books that are “one off” rather than series books. This way you can read at the beach, finish, and put it to rest. 5 Summer Reads you Must Read (in no particular order) 1) Wonder by R.J. Palecio >>IMAGE OK so I didn’t exactly read it this summer, but you should unless you are one of the million that already has. I actually read it on a book release and wow! It’s available in the kids section for most book stores and has won all sorts of reader awards like#1 in Childrens Diseases on Amazon and #1 NY Times Best Seller to name a few. Wonder stays with you and makes you re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about disabilities. The beauty of this book is that its written for any age and has a profound affect regardless of that age. It should be a book on every shelf of every classroom in America. Wonder is a seriously fast read with a seriously good plot. 2) PANIC by Lauren Oliver I have to tell you that I am not someone that ever reads the end of the book first. I literally cringe when people tell me they start at the back and then go back to the front. But in this book…I may have sneaked a peek because I was so nervous for the character. I also read this book in a DAY. I was so engrossed in the story I could not put it down and kept wandering back till I closed it with a satisfying thunk. Lauren Oliver also writes a great series of books called Delirium and I recommend those too, but unless you want to be stuck in a long Hunger Games type drama for a bit, start here. An Amazon Best Book of the Month, March 2014: Imagine a game that required you to walk, on a dark rainy night, across a narrow plank 50 feet in the air between two water towers. What could be worth that or any of the other terrifying tests of reckless courage in the game of Panic? For Dodge and Heather, graduating high school seniors of Carp, population 12,000, winning means a $67,000 chance at freedom from their claustrophobic town. In Panic, Lauren Oliver’s characters are imbued with the emotional intricacy of teenagers hungry for both connection and new beginnings, some hiding secrets that blunt even the most frightening challenge the game can impose. Although there can only be one winner, a competition based on fear shapes powerful new relationships, understanding, and even forgiveness. —Seira Wilson 3) Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf Quite timely, Little Mercies debuted just a few weeks ago in June, within the midst of a 100 news reports of parents leaving their kids in the car. The book follows the life of a woman who is a social worker and spends her time taking kids out of horrible situations. She then finds herself wrapped up the same legal system she has spent her whole life in, but this time as the suspect. I found myself having to put this one down a lot. The subject is so heavy, scary, and riveting- but it’s a must read for parents finding themselves talking about this all too often situation and never imagining themselves on the other side. - Watch the Book Trailer - Visit Heather Gudenkauf’s Official Site - Follow Heather Gudenkauf on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest - Visit Little Mercies page on Goodreads. 4) The Selection by Kiera Cass I cannot tell you how many times I passed this book cover at Target and was like hmm, maybe, hmm, OK fine. I am so glad I did because I was not disappointed. This is the only “series” book that landed on my summer list but it’s because ALL three of the books (and a bonus mini story) are currently published. That way if you get engrossed (and you will), you can pick up all three up without stopping the story. The Selection is sorta a modern day old world take on a competition to win the heart of a prince. Its like The Bachelor with an old world twist- a dystopian fairy tale if you. 5) Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures by Amber Dusick Amber is a fellow blogger so I have a soft spot for them- except don’t let my bias fool you. This book is one of those laugh out loud “yep, yep, yep” books that make summer reading fun and funny at the same time. I believe I fought back and forth with my spouse over this one for a bit and every time I wanted to tell him about a scene he was like…I already read it. Darn. Good for spurts of time or to sit down and devour, this is a cute and quirky book that every parent should read and then gift on. If you want a sample of her writing before you buy, head to her ultra funny blog- this is my favorite post.. Now do not be fooled into thinking those are the only books I think you should be reading. If you want some great series books, check out the House of Night, Evolution of Mara Dyer, Syrena Legacy, Grisha Trilogy, and the new start of Dangerous Creations (yep- the other side of Beautiful Creatures!) for some page turning action. Do you have a book recommendation that should be on my shelf? I’d love to hear it! ~Trisha This post was sponsored by Harlequin - 47shares - Facebook39 - Twitter0 - Google+0 - Pinterest8 - StumbleUpon0 - Yummly0 Not much of a reader – but I do enjoy reading when I’m on vacations: So i’ll check these out for my next trip 🙂 I didn’t know Amber had a book!! That’s awesome. I also think I’d be interested in reading Panic!! I’ve read Parenting- Illustrated with Crappy Pictures and I have Panic on my kindle but haven’t read it, but the other ones are new to me! Thanks for the recommendations, I’m almost done with the book I’m reading (All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner) so I’ll need a new book soon! I haven’t given much time to reading this summer but The Selection has caught my interest. I love the Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures blog, but I didn’t know there was a book! This might be a good baby shower gift for new parents 😉 Lately I haven’t been able to read as much as I would like. I am definitely going to check out some of your recommendations! The Selection sounds great! I limited my reading on vacation this year and I admit I missed it. I hope to catch up with some reading at home in the next few weeks! Ok, if you read PANIC in a day, that’s definitely worth checking out. Going to see if I can download it for my Kindle this week. I don’t read nearly as often as I’d like. The last book I read was ‘Heaven is For Real’ … I think! I’m 3/4 of the way through Little Mercies right now. It’s soooo good, but really sad at the same time. I need to go finish that tonight so I can see how it all ends up. Thank you for all the great recommendations! Just wrote these titles down for my teen to check out as they aren’t in my field of interest. But I know she would love to enjoy these while laying in the grass under the sun. What a great selection of book Trisha.. I have not read any of these but that is about to change. I LOVE reading, especially good books that draw me in so much I can’t put them down. Here’s to a wonder filled rest of my summer! Good thing I still have close to 6 weeks 🙂 Oooo! Just the dress that girl has on in The Selection cover makes me want to read it! We have similar tastes in books. I have read 3 of the 5 and loved them – now I’m happy to have the other 2 to add to my reading list. Thanks for sharing these. I love a good book. Great books, I have read The Selection but I have to try Little Mercies, it sounds like it would be a great read. All great books! Though I’ve not yet read Little Mercies or the Parenting one. I’ve worked with Kiera Cass back in my #YALITCHAT days before and after she was first published. Have you checked out her youtube page, she’s hilarious! I actually have The Selection on my TBR pile. But now, I am going to add Panic. Thanks for the recommendations! I got addicted to The Spellman Files. It’s a series of books that follow a PI daughter who is in a family of Private Investigators – family business. It’s LOL and I love that it is mystery, funny and that the protagonist isn’t having sex with vampires. LOL. No vampires at all. No teen sex. (I really can’t stand twilight…) Little Mercies is such a timely novel. So much going on lately with the Child Welfare system, parents trying to understand where the other parents are coming from. What a great read for RIGHT NOW. Love that.

March 22, 2020 Good to read over the weekend that much progress is being made to keep the planning system functioning. There are a number of key issues which include (1) obtaining all the technical reports (2) getting applications registered (3) statutory consultees performing and (4) the use of virtual Planning Commitees. In addition various Chambers are in dialogue with the Planning Inspectorate to see if virtual Inquiries can be used. One area which will be key is giving those involved access to the application site. Planning Commitees certainly won't be carrying out site inspections. Drone imagery can be of great help here and quite possibly be a means by which you can keep your application on track. Call if you need assistance. February 19, 2020 Wind and rain are the primary limiting factors in being able to fly a drone. In light of this ongoing succession of storms time had come to purchase a new anemometer. September 25, 2019 I have purchaesed a Mavic 2 Zoom to join the three other drones currently used for a variety of jobs. With an increasing scope of work having access to different drones enables jobs to be completed efficiently. September 06, 2019 Mansfield Brick asked to help with a planning application to vary two key planning conditions for their manufacturing site in Mansfield. These related to hours foir the deleivery and dispatch of materials and overal noise controls. The application was approved at Committee last night. April 30, 2019 With increasing workload for construction updates we have acquired another drone. The majority of this work is for video outputs so a small`compact drone has provided an ideal solution. November 28, 2018 Everything is Somewhere were instructed to submit a planing application for a steel framed storage building to be used in conjunction with a residential property and planning permission has now been granted. In this case we advised that pre application advice was sought as there were three potential locations for the building. The application did not receive any objections and therefore a delegated decision. November 20, 2018 With the onset of winter flying days become fewer as weather restricts operations. It will be either rain or the wind which prevents flights taking place. This year the amount of enquires and instructions is higher so every effort is being made to get the jobs completed. October 26, 2018 Everything is Somewhere has a had a busy week and three new instructions received for various planning applications. October 18, 2018 Photogrammetry requires high specification hardware and with an increasing number of instructions we have purchased a new workstation. October 15, 2018 We have undertaken a survey of a large inert landfill operation in the North West, an ideal application for drone derived data. All flights were undertaken on one day and initial data processing carried out within 5 days. October 15, 2018 We are plased to have been instructed to carry out ongoing aerial surveys to monitor some infrastructure assets. In light of the commercial nature of this project we cannot disclose details. It is however a project where drones provide the ideal solution for the client. September 16, 2018 As a Chartered Surveyor I use any number of tools and technology to assist in our work and delivery of solutions for clients. I have been a long term GIS advocate and have been using drones commercially for 3 years. Whatever the tools being used the single most important aspect is delivering the right outputs and solutions for the client. GIS and drone technology continues to evolve and for Everything is Somewhere they are used on most projects we undertake. We are feel very priviledged to be featured on ESRI UK's web site and the case study can be seen here. September 04, 2018 The planning application has now been validated. The Story Map - created to provide an overview of the project now includes "Updates" (scroll to bottom). I have added a link to the North Warwickshire Borough Council's web site to view the application. Story Maps are proving to be an ideal method for keeping Stakeholders advised on progress. August 12, 2018 Everything is Somewhere have submiited a major planning application on behalf of Litecast for a new concrete products manufacturing facility at the Purley Chase Industrial Estate, Ansley Common, near Nuneaton. July 26, 2018 Another UAV job where the dry weather may reveal further information about a Scheduled Ancient Monument and adjoining land. July 25, 2018 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the first review of the National Planning Policy Framework on July 24th. Whilst much of it relates to delivering more housing it will have ramifications for all development. It has received mixed responses from developers. July 23, 2018 A DJI Osmo is a handheld gimbal witrh a 4k camera. A useful add on for close up ground level image capture. July 18, 2018 June 07, 2018 Much of the work I undertake is aerial surveys and for a wide range of properties. Imagery acquisition is an automated process and therefore you are not viewing the "picture" as you would with conventional photography. On some projects a few thousand images can be captured which are then processed to create orthomosaics. However when reviewing the imagery you do come across individual photographs which are interesting. May 25, 2018 This was the first Certificate of Lawful Use or Development (known as a CLUED) that I have submitted. In this case it was a residential property where various buildings had been constructed or altered without planning permission. The difficulty I had, and I assume that this is case with similar applications, is collecting the appropriate evidence to support the application. If you are doing one remember that Google Earth allows you to view historic aerial imagery which can be very useful. April 11, 2018 Everything. April 11, 2018 Are the benefits of UAV derived surveys becoming apparent? March 14, 2018 Planning permission granted for three new toilet blocks as part of a number of unfrastructure upgrades at Donington Park. January 28, 2018 Link here to the review January 04, 2018 With a number of projects progressing using City Engine some time has been spent on creating a number of 3D models. A "stock" of models is being created using a combination of Sketchup and CGA generated models. December 28, 2017 We have acquired a new UAV which will be predominatley used for survey work. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro has a 25 minute endurance which allows larger sites to be surveyed more efficiently. November 13, 2017 Whilst not necessarily "news" whilst capturing true vertical imagery today this particular picture caught my attention. Whilst over 300 images were captured this one shows the variance in colour of the foliage. The weather was overcast will and the drone (Phantom 4 Pro) was 100 metres high. Aperture 5.6 at 120th/sec, ISO 100. October 27, 2017 Everything is Somewhere secures permission for a new three bay garage. October 22, 2017 Following the successful mapping of two farms using the New Zealand Grazing system Everything is Somewhere have been recommended to map three more farms. October 17, 2017 How do you show a site that is difficult to access to a Planning Committee - Use a Drone October 16, 2017 Everything is Somewhere has been commissioned to map the extension for another established dairy unit. September 21, 2017 Everything is Somewhere has been commissioned to map the extension for an established dairy unit. August 07, 2017 Masterplan for Sports Facility and Outline Planning Application August 04, 2017 Site survey undertaken with a UAV successfully completed and design work can now start. June 17, 2017 Stakeholder Engagement remains an important part of the development process. Everything is Somewhere has created "Story Maps" using GIS and UAV imagery to keep stakeholders upto date. June 13, 2017 One minute I am filming a development site, next task a Charity Event. May 19, 2017 Vertical imagery of woodland - a different perspective. May 15, 2017 Everything is Somewhere has just complted another survey of a dairy fram using the New Zealand grazing system. April 11, 2017 More site surveys to undertake this week. April 10, 2017 Everything is Somewhere have been commissioned to undertake a tree survey of a developement site. March 31, 2017 Everything is Somewhere are working on a project to monitor mining subsidence which is being achieved using UAV imagery and GIS. March 03, 2017 The Association of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (ARPAS) AGM was held today, good to meet many fellow pilots and learn about plans for the next 12 months. January 18, 2017 Everything is Somewhere were instructed by Jacksons of Jersey to help locate a new site on the Isle of Wight for a new multi franchise dealership. A site was found and contracts entered into and subject to the grant of planning permission. The site had the benefit of an outline consent which the former owner had allowed to lapse. The planning team have now secured a full permission for the site and construction is likely to commence this Spring. January 09, 2017 Everything is Somewhere have been commissioned by a long standing client to carry out a Schedule of Condition for a diverse range of assets. This will require a significant number of photographs (likely to be over 2,000) to accompany the reports. UAV imagery captured last year for other purposes will come into use. December 14, 2016 Everything is Somewhere has been commissioned to undertake roof surveys of 23 buildings for an independent school to assist with a 5 year maintenance and capital works programme. The task is to be undertaken over the School Christmas holiday when the puplis won't be distrached by a UAV! The challenge will be weather conditions. November 20, 2016 I have been surprised how much difference a new car can make to day to day life. I have recently purchased a Skoda Octavia Scout. October 26, 2016 Everything is Somewhere have received three planning permissions this week for two different clients. Whilst not all big schemes there were difficulties to overcome not least as two of the schemes were retrospective. October 14, 2016 We are now an approved BASIS UAS Operator providing high quality imagery and analysis for the agricultural sector. October 06, 2016 I attended my first event as a CLA member yesterday in Lincolnshire on the growing of miscanthus for energy. The event was hosted by Terravesta who are leaders in providing biomass for power plants. September 30, 2016 A day spent training and learning about UAV's and their use in Agriculture September 09, 2016 My career started in Land Agency so I seem to have full circle in joining the Country Landowners Association. The link to the CLA website and the announcement is here. September 05, 2016 Just attended a day UAV training with HexCam over in Norwich. As with any skill you can always learn more. I have owned my UAV for just over a year and have undertaken a wide variety of commissions over that period. However there is always scope to improve both flying and camera skills. Today demonstrated that and with an excellent and knowledgeable tutor you can improve learn a considerably amount. July 22, 2016 Well a couple of years have passed since purchasing my iMac and today a nice new one has been delivered. The reason I have found it necessary to upgrade is that I am doing much more 3D work and 4k video editing which I wasn't expecting to be doing 2 years ago. July 22, 2016 Everything. July 07, 2016 This. June 27, 2016 I am currently undertaking stock surveys for 12 quarries so lots of flying time with the UAV. There is something intruiging with the resulting DEM's, they are almost artistic. Clearly when there are signifcant variances in height it makes it look more dramatic. June 08, 2016 Whilst. April 22, 2016 Good to receive three planning permissions through in one day. Two were for applications at Donington Park and the thrid was an appeal decision for Nottingham Rugby Club. February 14, 2016 Visited an excellent planning event yesterday to see the proposed mixed use scheme for a site known as "Barton's Quarter". The property owners (Barton plc) and developers (Farland Developments) and working in conjunction with the Prince's Foundation are bringing forward a mixed use scheme for a brownfield site in the centre of Breaston. January 22, 2016 You will see below my first 3D model created from aerial imagery from my drone. Exciting ti January 17, 2016 Good example of where a drone can be used for roof inspections. In addition to capturing the shadow of the drone as the picture below shows the chimney pots need re-seating and new flaunching. January 14, 2016 Data. December 11, 2015 Since November 17, 2015. October 23, 2015 After. September 22, 2015 You. September 17, 2015 The. September 07, 2015 There are three main elements to achieving your CAA approval to fly a drone (1) Ground School Exam (2) Operations Manual and (3) Flight Test. I am making good progress and the first two are completed. The Operations Mnaula takes some time but as with all processes and systems as long as you follow it logically it all fits into place. Flight test taking place soon. I have to complement RUSTA who have provided excellent training and guidance throughtout the process. August 21, 2015 Everything is Somewhere will soon be able to provide clients with the aerial photography and videography. I am in the process of securing my CAA Licence to operate a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System and am hoping that all will be completed by early September. The use of drones are certainly enjoying fantastic growth and you can see why given the opportunities they can provide for a vast range of uses. January 20, 2014 Don. November 18, 2013 In early December I was appointed the Chariman of the AGI's Land & Property Special Interest Group. This group brings together specialists working in the management of land and property. The aim of the group is to highlight key issues facing the sector and improving GIS knowledge. June 08, 2013 HS.

Günther H. Oettinger, former (until 2010-02-10) prime minister of Baden-Württemberg, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia). –Paul Ehrlich, Financial Times Deutschland, Daily Telegraph, 5 October 2012 Natural gas remains “absolutely central” to efforts to curb U.K. emissions, Energy Secretary Ed Davey said.. –Bloomberg, 5 October 2012 Deutsche Bank has suspended a handful of employees after it was criticised by a judge last year during a trial into tax evasion on carbon permits, a financial source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. In December, a German court sentenced six men to jail for participating in a conspiracy to evade around 300 million euros ($387 million) in value-added tax (VAT) on carbon permits between August 2009 and April 2010. –Reuters, 4 October 2012 Since 2007, the former Vice President has been preaching the benefits of putting your money where his mouth is: Alternative energy. But if Al Gore has any message for investors today, it might very well be this: “Stay the hell away from alternative energy!” –Bill Gunderson, The Street, 4 October 2012 38 thoughts on “Newsbytes: EU Energy Commissioner Warns Against New Climate Targets” I’m guessing that’s not the Paul Ehrlich we all know and love. Correction: the journalist’s name in the Financial Times link is Peter Ehrlich. “I strongly advise against more stringent climate targets after 2020. — Günther Oettinger, EU Energy Commissioner, …” More? Hey mr commissioner Öttinger, the only way to curb the downfall of the EU is to START a full repeal of all the ‘EU climate targets’ and in that process get real – however I think it’s too late already today. History tells plenty of various ‘dynastices’ over time, all with same ‘record': they’ve crashed and the main reason for that is, simply, that all fish rottens from head down… Go figure! :roll: Brgds from Sweden /TJ I think Bill Gunderson (last article) missed the most hypocritical Gore investments. They can be found in Gore’s involvement with Jeffrey Skoll’s Capricorn Investment Group. Skoll financed Gore’s Inconvenient Truth through his film company Participant Productions. Some board members have interesting career histories. Capricorn Investment Group invested $200 million in Truecar Truecar sponsor most major (hydrocarbon fueled) motor-sport formats (with a feminine twist). I love the smell of Chanel #5, gasoline and burning rubber in the morning. It’s almost enough to hide the stench of hypocrisy. Would this statement by Herr Oettinger have anything to do with Germany building lots of new coal burning power plants? Oh sweet revenge. I’ve been tracking the downfall of First Solar for a while now. And Al Gore was stupid enough to believe his own drivel. Wonderful, just wonderful. About Öttinger. First I found him silly – he insisted on speaking English in Brussels even though his English was barely understandable. But later he impressed me with his “roadmap” for energy in the EU – even though Germany was in full Fukushima panic mode, he had nuclear power as inevitable component of his plan, which lead to sweet howls of Greens in Germany. Now he impresses me again. Not bad for an unelected Eurocrat. It’s a different question whether he can convince the others. David Schofield says: October 5, 2012 at 11:40 am “Would this statement by Herr Oettinger have anything to do with Germany building lots of new coal burning power plants?” Germany never had a problem with reaching the Kyoto targets as the Kyoto treaty was designed by the German Bundestag (parliament), and rather cunningly so. The shutdown of old industries in the DDR after 1990 created a surplus of credits. So we had so many carbon credits we were able to give some away to France and Poland in return for favors. And this also enables the expansion of lignite burning now. Günther Oettinger was not elected by anyone. He’s an EU commissar (I use that term because that’s what the commissioners are called in German and it’s much more fitting.) He’s one of those in Brussels who want to take away everything we have. The EUSSR may paddle back about climate targets, but who ultimately cares? They found a much better way to enslave us all: “saving” the Euro. While it’s nice he advises against more stringent climate targets after 2020, shouldn’t he be more worried about simply making it to 2020? What a stupid energy politics the EU has it blows ones mind. Instead of developing 3rd generation nuclear power plants to generate electricity and convert the coal they burn for energy to oil, replacing the oil imports with local production. Wind is unstable, does not blow when one needs it. Same with solar. One does not even have the right to say: no thank you, I do not buy it. The more resources are bound to feed such nonsense the less resources has the EU to solve real problems. What a waste. The commissar dreams about climate targets for 2020? Another factor as far as the UK is concerned is that many – recent straw polls suggest a large majority – of us want to get the hell out of the EU anyway, as more and more of us realise that we were conned into it in the 1970s on the basis of a lie. (The lie was that this was just an economic arrangement, not a political one, and it rings very hollow now.) If we had any control over the creatures running this country, we could simply ignore EU “environmental” legislation and tease a bit more life out of our older power stations while newer ones were built. How we can do this isn’t obvious. Cameron isn’t going to derail the gravy train, and has passed a new law forcing a 5-year electoral cycle onto us, which makes it difficult to see how governments gone bad can be levered out. And when the Lisbon Treaty comes into force in November 2014 – before the next scheduled election – it will start the EU bulldozer on the task of replacing national governments in favour of EU federalism. Think on that. We have a government dedicated to removing our self-government. Any advice on how the disarmed citizens of “the most surveilled country in the world” can wrest back control of their country gratefully received. We’re heading for “interesting times”, I fear. Maybe off-topic, maybe not, but relevant news it is: US Temperatures Have Been Falsely Adjusted According to the Level of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide The possibility of a Mitt Romney victory, has a lot of people reinforcing their flanks. There is nothing so good as an economic crisis and a severe lack of money for focusing minds on reality. There is also no assurance that the EU will exist after 2020 either. The European strategy with respect to UNFCCC was to use the Kyoto Protocol to drive up the energy costs of the United States and Canada relative to Europe. Since the early 1990s, Europe has been losing its competitive economic position re. China and Asia. Rather than deal with their high internal production costs, they adopted a strategy of trying to use carbon constraints to limit US energy advantages. Oettinger’s statement is a straight forward admission that this strategy has failed. The US has not bought into Kyoto even with the Obama administration in office. Canada has publicly withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol And it’s become evident that there is no international agreement in the works, particularly given the massive failures in Copenhagen and Durban. Finally it should be noted that with the near-insolvencies of a number of EU nations, Europe is in no position to be saddling itself with additional high energy costs while the rest of the world blithely ignores the entire UNFCCC process. What Oettinger is doing here is trying to halt a Brussels policy train wreck. Old King Coal might be up for a comeback in the EU. Bloomberg: (R.” It appears UK (us) missed the part in the debates where Mitt Romney loudly sloshed our tax money around, promising renewables and green energy, and much much more spending on the poor poor neglected public schools/UNIONS. I can well imagine that sound of billions may be highly attractive to some voters, but alarmingly it went unperceived and unnoticed by many who tuned it out and somehow only heard “tax cuts.” Either mandates and so-called renewables work, or they do not work. Romney is a Keynsian through and through. Point to the countries where renewables and green mandates have done anything but destroy production and consumers’ buying power. harrydhuffman (@harrydhuffman) says: October 5, 2012 at 1:19 pm Maybe off-topic, maybe not, but relevant news it is: US Temperatures Have Been Falsely Adjusted According to the Level of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide You also posit. The Earth, indeed the entire solar system, was re-formed wholesale, in the millennia prior to the beginning of known human history; c. 15,000 BC marked the decisive event, when the Earth first began to orbit the Sun as it does today. Harry mate,I hope i`m not the first to tell you, but you`re as mad as a box of frogs.(are you anything to do with peculiar surveys?) Zeke says: October 5, 2012 at 3:25 pm ========= I think you are right, but how do “we” enforce the point that they work for us, without firing the whole lot, which is gonna happen again. Why is nobody talking about the Senate ? @cgh: You nailed it. I’d say more, but not much to add to that. Maybe that a nice hard cold winter might further clarify some E.U. minds and help them decide to deal with thier Oil, Middle East dependency, and China problems without expecting to do it on the backs of Americans. (Yes, I’d like to see us bring our troups home and let the E.U. deal with their back yard…) The goal, IMHO, was a unified EU / North America economic playing field. Won’t happen. Can’t use that to herd the rest of the world, either. China is collecting all the chips, and until that is addressed, the rest is a pipe dream. Er, I think they sense their own mortality in contrast to blind teenager impetuousness up to this point. So the question is whether history is repeating itself, and is Europe going to cover themselves with worthless windturbines, and then call the US Marines to come and get rid of them?! Probably they could do it overnight too. (-: (-; @uk (us) I like your thinking. EM Smith, when you hear EU delegates openly discussing what the strategy is in the halls of the COP conference at The Hague in 2002, you know you’re hearing the real thing. What terrifies the EU over the long term is simply this. The population density of the lower 48 states in the US is about 50/sq km. In the habitable part of Canada, it’s about 20. In the EU it’s about 500. What this means in terms of demographics over the next century is that the EU is done. It’s filled up. Whereas North America still has enormous room to expand. This means Nth Am and Asia grow enormously over time in global importance, whereas the EU dwindles in relevance. The only way to slow that down is to limit energy availability and consumption. Hence, Kyoto. Dirk H; I think Oettinger is battling the intoxication of noble self-sacrifice swaddled in the illusion that the universe shares the politics of “fairness of outcome”. Facts quickly die of suffocation when they run into that impenetrable puffery. Those are not “climate targets” anyway, but rather “carbon strangulation targets”. Hate to say this, cgh, but your remark sounds all too logical. Soylent Green anyone? As Steve C says, the UK,and other countries within the EUSSR have voted out their governments, in effect. Although the German peoples are fighting back with frequent cases going to court – the last being on Euro bail-outs to other countries….. EU commissioners/commisars are normally high profile, failed, politicians. So, they usually want to prove a point. As failed politicians, this means they rarely have any understanding of how the real world works, but they do understand the concepts of political correctness and trendy political ideas. Not surprisingly, the monolithic and expensive bureaucracies they control routinely spew out rules and regulations that make it increasingly more difficult and more expensive for businesses to operate within Erope. To find a commissioner/commisar who actually realises the damage these unelected officials have done to Europe’s economy over the past 20 years is refreshing news. Unfortunately, I fear it is a case of: “Too little, too late.” DON’T FOLLOW THE BRITISH (OR OUR STUPID POLITICIANS) Britain risks running out of energy generating capacity in the next three to four years, according to a report by energy regulator Ofgem. Ofgem said the amount of spare generation capacity could fall from 14 per cent to only four per cent by 2015, largely due to tough environmental targets and the closure of coal and oil-fired plants to cut carbon emissions. Ofgem said this would leave Britain relying more on imported gas, which would make price rises more likely. The regulator’s chief executive Alistair Buchanan said Britain’s energy industry faces “unprecedented challenges to attract the investment to deliver secure, sustainable and affordable energy supplies for consumers.” Responding to OFGEM’s report, Angela Knight, chief executive of Energy UK, said today: “We must secure over £150bn of investment in the UK to replace aging power stations and infrastructure and meet our carbon targets. All while making sure that energy bills are affordable for the millions of homes and businesses that rely on the power supplied by our members. Out of all major economies, politicians in the UK have embraced aggressive climate policy in the most starry-eyed and expensive way. No other country has taken on more ambitious targets, done less to protect industry from the consequences or imposed more draconian unilateral regulations. We were the only country to set serious targets in the European Union’s emissions trading system from the start. Most of the other countries involved took the opportunity afforded by the system’s lax controls to print money at our expense. According to the think tank Open Europe, this led to a £1.5bn transfer to other European economies over the first phase of the scheme. We also accepted the most ambitious target to increase the use of renewable energy, and the government is paying lavish subsidies to try and get there. And the more expensive the source of energy, the more generous the subsidies tend to be. Onshore wind gets over £40 per megawatt hour from the renewables obligation, on top of the normal price of energy and the carbon price generated by the EU’s emissions trading system. Offshore wind is more expensive – it gets over £80 per megawatt hour from the renewables obligation. Citigroup has estimated that meeting our current environmental targets would require £200bn of investment from 2010 to 2020, and paying the profits to justify that investment would increase prices by 50 per cent. We also have the highest taxes on petrol and diesel in the European Union – 60 per cent of the price that motorists pay at the pumps is tax, and they pay vehicle excise duty on top of that. In theory, the idea is to encourage people to drive less and drive more efficient cars. However, cars are already becoming more efficient, so the Treasury is panicking. It’s now looking for an excuse to “reform” this tax in a way that will allow them to keep on taking motorists’ money anyway. Our tax on flights – air passenger duty – is also exceptionally high. The EU’s emissions trading system also applies to flights and we are stopping the sector from increasing capacity at the most popular airports. The UK is missing out on new routes from emerging economies that should be bringing tourists and investors to our shores. The most recent example of our exceptional embrace of expensive climate policies is the new floor under the carbon price. Artificially increasing the price of energy used in the UK will reduce the amount that people emit here. That will reduce demand in the EU’s emissions trading system carbon market and depress the price in the other countries, as they haven’t implemented a cap. It will therefore increase emissions in those other countries. The net result, then, is that the measure does nothing to reduce emissions. It simply means we do more of the work and our industry is handicapped twice: we pay more; our competitors pay less. The resulting costs to British industry have been enormous. Earlier this year, a Department for Business report estimated that climate policies will add nearly £30 a megawatt hour to energy prices for energy intensive industries here by 2020, while other European countries will pay half that. Families are also seeing substantial increases in their own heat and power bills, and vulnerable elderly people in particular are struggling to pay. Only a handful of politicians have spoken up about it though. But now things are starting to change. Talented backbench MPs like Dominic Raab and Chris Heaton-Harris are willing to take on the subsidies, and the special interests profiting from them. And within the government, both the Treasury and the Department for Business are trying to limit the rising costs. Owen Paterson, the new Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, is keen to encourage the British shale gas industry. If he is successful that will further undermine the economics of renewable energy. More and more politicians are starting to see the case for a more affordable energy policy. Unfortunately, the targets set in Brussels and the major policies enacted already mean that tinkering won’t work. Only a government willing to make serious changes can deliver the lower bills that businesses and families need. cgh states “The population density of the lower 48 states in the US is about 50/sq km. In the habitable part of Canada, it’s about 20. In the EU it’s about 500.” According to Eurostat, the overall population density of the EU in 2006 was 112 people/sq km. I don’t think it’s increased nearly five-fold in six years. cgh may be overstating his case, but probably not by much. “.. a conspiracy to evade around 300 million euros ($387 million) in value-added tax (VAT) on carbon permits…” This is what goes for “value added” in EU these days. We gave George Bush a lot of flack for referring to “…Old Europe..”. He’s been vindicated. We are being prepared in the UK for the lights going out in 2015, due they tell us, to the spare capacity being diminished from 15% to 4% as a result of the coal power stations being switched of at the command of our continental neighbours. As usual they are lying – it is much, much worse than that. Every day for months now we have been importing from France and Holland through the interconnectors an average of 7.5% of total consumption. In my book that makes us dependent for that amount already. With Germany also increasingly dependent on imported generation due to their switching off the Nuclear fraction we are already between a rock and a hard place. A fading El Nino and a burgeoning La Nina today signals another cold winter with many more Uk citizens this year in fuel poverty. ROC may well be their epitaphs. The Epitaph of the Conservative and Liberal parties will be ” It was the Oceans, stupid!” Meistersinger, I should have been more specific. I was referring specifically to the North European Plain, principally France, Germany Belgium, Holland. It’s the same general comparison with the habitable parts of the US, excluding most of the Great Western Desert and the Rocky Mountains. If you include the entire area of Canada, not just the habitable parts, the average sinks to less than one. The numbers will serve as approximations. I think the moderator’s input should have a separation line or some other indication from the post he’s commenting on, It is annoying and confusing the way it is. DavidG says: October 6, 2012 at 12:38 pm I think the moderator’s input should have a separation line or some other indication from the post he’s commenting on, It is annoying and confusing the way it is. =============== Almost enough to cause one to create their own blog, just to deal with issues such as these. Almost. roger says: October 6, 2012 at 10:59 am The Epitaph of the Conservative and Liberal parties will be ” It was the Oceans, stupid!” ======================================================================== I’m not sure why you single out those two parties here (guilty though they undoubtedly are). As Sasha rightly points out (above):- Out of all major economies, politicians in the UK have embraced aggressive climate policy in the most starry-eyed and expensive way. No other country has taken on more ambitious targets, done less to protect industry from the consequences or imposed more draconian unilateral regulations. That refers to the Climate Change Act, the single most costly piece of legislation ever to pass through Parliament. It’s architect was Ed Milliband, now leader of the Labour Party. IIRC it was opposed by a grand total of 4 MPs (out of 650 in the House of Commons). As with so many other policies, there is simply no difference between any of the ‘major’ political parties in the UK. The answer to this manical brand of policy leadership is to cut off the credit and watch as the huge costs of the various competing interest groups wreck havoc on the budgets. It is credit that allows these leaders to pretend the demographic wave in social program costs is manageable and that competitiveness no longer matters. These central bankers are part of the facade and not the answer. The UK Government is waking up to some of the economic risks of its decarbonisation policies – see the consultation paper at about a plan (subject to EU approval) to save major UK industries from the impact of the “Carbon Price Floor”. This “Carbon Price Floor” was designed to tax fossil fuel users to help to fund the £110 billion of investment required to build the new generating capacity needed to meet the UK’s world-leading decarbonisation targets, made legally binding by Ed MIliband’s Energy Act. That level of investment is needed – and needed PDQ – because the UK is certain to lose almost a quarter of its current coal-fired generating capacity by 2015 under one EU non-carbon emissions management directive, while the rest could close by as soon as the end of this decade under another. As I write, that doomed capacity is contributing nearly 48% of UK electricity supplies, more than our nuclear and gas-fired stations added together. It needs to be replaced with new capacity which will produce secure, reliable, affordable electricity for the future, and which can cope with increasing levels of intermittent renewables on the grid. Any suggestions??? NB that the UK has not built any coal-fired capacity for 40 years, and now has rules in place (Ed Miliband again, putting into legislation what had been tacit policy for years) which ban any coal-fired new build which does not demonstrate full spectrum carbon capture and storage technology on at least part of its capacity from the outset and provide for retrofitting it to the remainder in due course. Until then, however, that remainder would be subject to the gamut of UK anti-carbon taxes…

Stephanie, who just happens to one the sweetest, most adorable bloggers out there, tagged me for this interesting reading meme. The meme was actually started by Eva (A Striped Armchair), whom many of you already know and love. Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? The books that immediately come to mind are Colleen Gleason's books. Remember, the question did say "irrationally"?!! So, what's holding me back? The fact that they're shelved in the romance section. Why can't I get past this? I honestly don't know. I've read so many wonderful reviews of her books, by people whose opinions I trust implicitly. Heck, I even have her first two books (autographed copies even!) sitting on my shelves. And one of these days, I will overcome idiocy on this matter...I promise. If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be? Hmmm...this is really tough, mostly because social events just make me extremely uncomfortable. So I think I'll just have a laid-back barbecue in our back yard, and invite a few laid-back characters. Shadow (American Gods) and Larry (The Stand), both laid-back fellows with good hearts, each of whom has enough of an edge to make them really interesting. And to round things out, August (The Secret Life of Bees), because, well, I just loved this woman. Another down-to-earth character who could really spice up a get-together. ? Babbitt. Maybe I would feel different if I read this book today, but back in high school I truly believed that being made to read this book was a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it? I honestly can't think of any. I'm the first to admit that I'm not a well-rounded reader. There were, however, a few required reads back in high school, that I probably didn't give my full attention to...Ethan Frome, for example, comes to mind. You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP). Crap. This one's just too hard. Maybe And The Band Played On. Yes, it's the story of the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, especially in the U.S. But it has lessons to teach us about so many things...humility, bigotry, misguided intentions, selfishness, greed, etc. A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with? Another tough one. I think I could be happy with whatever ability the good fairy gave me. Maybe Chinese? A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick? My immediate thought was The Stand. But I'm afraid once a year might take away some of its magic for me. So I'm going to say The Lorax. Hope it's not cheating to choose a Dr. Seuss book. I truly love this book and its message. I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)? Okay, and this one's tough for an entirely different reason...how to limit it to one thing! Book blogging has opened so many doors for me. I've grown to love fantasy; I've read more non-fiction than I have in many years; I've entered into the world of graphic novels; I've read more classics than I have since high school; I've discovered new-to-me authors, like Neil Gaiman and Ray Bradbury, that I adore. I simply can't believe how much my horizons have expanded in the past year!. I think my vision is pretty stereotypical. A huge stone fireplace. Big comfy chairs and loveseats. Floor to ceiling bookshelves lining all the walls. And, of course, the rolling ladders. An area with a huge table to spread out books and papers. Favorite framed photos and travel finds interspersed amongst the thousands of books. Ahhh...if only. Tag 4 people for this meme... Jean of Runs with Scissors...and a Sword (Haha...I can do this now that you have a blog!) Kara of Calm and Chaos Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made On Nymeth of Things Mean A Lot 17 comments: I love your barbecue guests! Can I come,too? I think The Lorax is one that everyone should read once a year,every year anyway. Like on Earth Day or something :) LOL Oh No! You know how good I am at doing memes! Ha! Ha! I promise I'll do it, though! Rebecca- I'd be honored to have you at the barbecue! And I couldn't agree more about The Lorax! Kara- Yeah!!! I was really hoping you would--they're kind of fun questions, don't you think? Is this like the freshman beanie or some sort of blog initiation ritual? So I copy those questions into my blog and answer them? I guess I do need something to do as I roll a couple large skeins of yarn into balls. It might as well be this. Oh no I'm tagged! And Oh yay, Jean has a blog! :) I LOVE your answers Debi! This one should be a fun meme to fill out, though it's a little challenging too! We'll see how it goes, though Megan's coming in tonight so I may not have it up until Monday! I really understand your answer to the question about blogging. I could have gone on and on with that answer! I want to come to that BBQ! And now you have me looking at The Stand-I've never even heard of it before (I went through about a year-long Stephen King phase, but I didn't hit that one). The Lorax is a great read! Oh, and thanks for the kind words about me. :D Chris- I didn't know Megan was coming...WOOHOO! We can definitely wait for your answers. Enjoy your weekend! Debi, I love your answers! Your barbecue sounds like fun, can I come too? ;) And don't you agree that Eva has came up with those great questions? :) That is so funny. I would have felt the same way about Colleen's books if I hadn't 'met' her first and discovered what a sweetie she is, which made me want to step outside my usual parameters and read them. I have read some other romance fiction before and my personal opinion is that they are far less 'romancey' than what one would expect from that section. You'll get to them someday. I want to come to your BBQ too....but if I was inviting a character from The Stand, I think I would want Nick. (Especially, since I picture him as Rob Lowe now from the Mini-series!) I'll put my two cents in about Colleen's books. They are totally misshelved. I don't buy romance novels. I'll read the occasional "Chick Lit", but it's usually more comic than anything else. But Colleen's books shouldn't be considered Romance. They are far more than that. Much darker....and much more fun! (and by the way...thanks for all the really kind words. You just made my day!) Stephanie- I could not help but burst out laughing at your comment! I seriously debated about which character to choose from The Stand...I could have picked several. But I knew if I picked Nick that my husband would see right through that one...because, of course, my reason would have been the same as yours! About Colleen Gleason, I don't exactly cringe away from them, but I keep postponing reading them for I don't know what reason. Just today I ventured into the romance section at Waterstone's just to look for them - they were there alright. Now I just need to actually pick them up. August is a wonderful choice! As you know I've done the meme, but thanks for tagging me anyway! Shadow! Great choice. I love your answers! I'm shying away from Colleen Gleason's books myself, partly because of the vampire bit (bored to death by vampires) partly the romance thing and partly because she's so popular. What if I hate them? Do I want to say so? Ha - I am the same about Colleen's books, which is completely shameful as I adored the first one. I did start to read the second book, but got sidetracked and didn't pick it up again, and now I am oddly resistant. Ridiculous, because I was enjoying it! The "paranormal romance" label does put me off, and again, that is stupid because I loved the first book. Ah, my brain, one day I will understand it. ;) The Stand is an awesome book, an enduring favourite of mine. Will be time to revisit it soon, has been a couple of years. What a relief to know I'm not the only one who's been avoiding Gleason. One of these days, I'll jump on the wagon but there are so many other books in front of hers. I just read my first vampire book last fall and just finished Twilight. Funny, a year ago, vampires and romance are two things I would not have put together.

Sec. 62-36. - Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Domicile means the residence of an owner of a motor vehicle as of January 1 of the applicable year. Motor vehicles shall be construed to include, whether owned or leased, motor vehicles and motorcycles as defined in Code of Virginia, § 46.2-100, except publicly owned motor vehicles and motor vehicles owned by volunteer fire companies or volunteer rescue squads. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-37. - Imposed. An annual motor vehicle license fee is levied and assessed upon all motor vehicles normally garaged, stored or parked within the county on January 1 of each year, and used upon the streets, roads and alleys of the county, or otherwise within the jurisdiction of the county on January 1 of each year. If it cannot be determined where such motor vehicle is normally garaged, stored or parked, the situs of such motor vehicle shall be the domicile of the owner. The revenue derived from the motor vehicle license fees shall be deposited by the treasurer in the general fund of the county. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-38. - Amount. (a) The motor vehicle license fee on each and every motor vehicle, except motorcycles, shall be $35.00 per year. (b) The motor vehicle license fee on every motorcycle shall be $21.00 per year. (Ord. of 4-17-2007; Ord. 04-10-2012) Sec. 62-39. - License year and payment. The license year under this article shall commence on January 1 and shall end on December 31. Payment of the motor vehicle license fee shall be due on December 5 of each year. Partial payments made on personal property taxes associated with a motor vehicle license fee shall first be applied towards this motor vehicle license fee. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-40. - Exemptions and limitations. (a) Nothing in this article shall be construed as requiring the payment of a motor vehicle license fee for any motor vehicle for which an exemption or limitation is provided by the laws of the commonwealth. (b) The motor vehicle license fee imposed by this article shall not apply to the following: (1) One motor vehicle, owned or leased, and used personally by any veteran who holds a current state motor vehicle registration card establishing that he has received a disabled veteran's exemption from the department of motor vehicles, and has been issued a disabled veteran's motor vehicle license plate bearing the letters "DV." (2) One motor vehicle, personally owned or leased by a member of the armed services of the United States on active duty. For the purposes of this article "the armed services of the United States" includes active duty service with the regular Armed Forces of the United States, or the National Guard, or other reserve component. (3) Vehicles owned by a nonresident of the county and used exclusively for pleasure or personal transportation and not for hire or for the conduct of any business or occupation, other than as set forth in subsection (4) immediately following this subsection. (4) Vehicles (i) owned by a nonresident and (ii) used for transporting into and within the county, for sale in person or by his/her employees, wood, meats, poultry, fruits, flowers, vegetables, milk, butter, cream, or eggs produced or grown by him/her, and not purchased by him/her for sale. (5) A motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer which is owned by an officer or employee of the commonwealth who is a nonresident of county, and who uses the vehicle in the performance of his duties for the commonwealth under an agreement for such use. (6) A motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer which is kept by a dealer or manufacturer for sale or for sales demonstration. (7) A motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer which is operated by a common carrier of persons or property operating between cities and towns in the commonwealth and not used for intracity transportation or between cities and towns on the one hand and points and places outside cities and towns on the other and not in intracity transportation. (8) A daily rental vehicle, as defined in Code of Virginia, § 58.1-2401, the rental of which is subject to the tax imposed by Code of Virginia, § 58.1-2402 A 4. (9) One motor vehicle, owned or leased, and used personally by any former prisoner of war who holds a current state motor vehicle registration card establishing that he has received prisoner of war state license plates as prescribed in Code of Virginia, § 46.2-746. (10) One motor vehicle, owned or leased, and used personally by any recipient of the Medal of Honor who holds a current state motor vehicles registration card establishing that he has received Medal of Honor state license plates as prescribed and limited in Code of Virginia, § 46.2-745. (11) Antique motor vehicles, as defined in Code of Virginia, § 46.2-100, and registered and licensed by the state in accordance with Code of Virginia, § 46.2-730, shall be exempt from the payment of the license fee levied under this article, provided that other conditions prescribed herein are met. In order to qualify for exemption hereunder, an antique motor vehicle registered and licensed under Code of Virginia, § 46.2-730, shall not be used for general transportation purposes, including, but not limited to, daily travel to and from the owner's place of employment, but shall only be used: a. For participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades and similar events; and b. On the highways of the commonwealth for the purpose of testing their operation, obtaining repairs or maintenance, transportation to and from events as described in subsection a. of this subsection, and for occasional pleasure driving not exceeding 250 miles from the residence of the owner. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-41. - Payment of personal property taxes prerequisite. (a) No motor vehicle shall be licensed by the department of motor vehicles until such applicant for such license has paid all personal property taxes and the license fee assessed hereunder upon the motor vehicle to be licensed and until the department of motor vehicles has been provided satisfactory evidence by the county treasurer that any delinquent motor vehicle personal property taxes or license fees which have been properly assessed or are assessable against the applicant by the county have been paid. (b) No motor vehicle license shall be issued by the department of motor vehicles to an owner of a motor vehicle as to which a fee is required to be paid pursuant to this article, qualified under the provisions hereof to a waiver of that fee, until the applicant for such license or registration from the department of motor vehicles has produced to the county treasurer satisfactory evidence that all personal property taxes upon the motor vehicle licensed have been paid and satisfactory evidence that any delinquent personal property taxes due, and which are associated with the vehicle which have been properly assessed or are assessable against the owner, have been paid. (c) The county treasurer is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with the commissioner of the department of motor vehicles whereby the commissioner will refuse to issue or renew any vehicle registration of any individual who owes to the county local motor vehicle license fees or delinquent tangible personal property tax or parking citations issued to a resident of the county. Before being issued any vehicle registration or renewal of such license or registration by the commissioner, the individual shall first satisfy all local motor vehicle license fees and delinquent taxes or parking citations and present evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that all such local motor vehicle license fees and delinquent taxes or parking citations have been paid in full. The commissioner shall charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of such enforcement action, and the treasurer shall add the cost of this fee to the delinquent motor vehicle license fee, tax bill or the amount of the parking citation. The treasurer seeking to collect delinquent taxes or parking citations through the withholding of registration or renewal thereof by the commissioner as provided for in this section shall notify the commissioner in the manner provided for in the agreement with the commissioner and supply to the commissioner information necessary to identify the debtor whose registration or renewal is to be denied. Any agreement entered into pursuant to the provisions of this section shall provide the debtor notice of the intent to deny renewal of registration at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of a current vehicle registration. For the purposes of this section, notice by first-class mail to the registrant's address as maintained in the records of the department of motor vehicles shall be deemed sufficient. In the case of parking violations, the commissioner shall only refuse to issue or renew the vehicle registration of any individual therefor pursuant to this section for the vehicle that incurred the parking violations. The provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles owned by firms or companies in the business of renting motor vehicles. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-42. - Towns within the county. Whenever a town within the county imposes fees like those imposed in this article upon motor vehicles of owners residing in such town, the owner of a motor vehicle subject to such fee shall be entitled, upon displaying satisfactory evidence of the payment of such fee, to receive a credit on the fee imposed by the county to the extent of the fee paid to such town. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-43. - Transfer of motor vehicle license fees; refunds. The motor vehicle license fee shall not be transferable between persons or vehicles. There shall be no refund of the motor vehicle license fee imposed herein for vehicles sold or otherwise disposed of during the license year. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Sec. 62-44. - Collection. The county treasurer shall, after the due date for any motor vehicle license fee required by this article, collect such motor vehicle license fee in accordance with the provisions of Code of Virginia, § 58.1-3919, or any other applicable state law. Additionally, the county treasurer shall have the authority to take any action authorized by Code of Virginia, § 46.2-752. (Ord. of 4-17-2007) Secs. 62-45—62-75. - Reserved.

Read about what's happening in and around Plymouth. (Due to the weather conditions, events scheduled for Feb. 9 and 10 listed below are likely to be canceled or postponed.) PCIS fundraiser postponed PLYMOUTH – Due to the forecast, a giant indoor yard sale and craft fair scheduled to be held from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in the cafeteria at PCIS to raise funds for the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C., has been postponed. More information will follow. SPYB Skills Day postponed CARVER – The first South Plymouth Youth Baseball Skills Day scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the RBI Academy, located at 160 North Main St. in Carver (inside USA Fitness), has been postponed. Visit for more information. PACTV special PLYMOUTH – Talking with Governor Patrick, a special hosted by SCATV, features a conversation with the governor and his initiatives for transportation expansion and modernization, lowering the sales tax, raising the income tax, raising the tobacco tax, education reform, health care costs, obesity issues, cutting tax deductions, and more. Patrick also talks about his achievements in office and his plans after he leaves and shares his thoughts about President Obama. The 20-minute special will air on PACTV throughout February on Plymouth government access channels 15 Comcast and 47 Verizon at 10 a.m. Saturdays; 7:30 p.m. Sundays; 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; and at noon Wednesdays and Fridays. PACTV ‘Community News’ PLYMOUTH – PACTV Community News is cablecast on Comcast channel 13 and Verizon channel 43 at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Monday, 8 p.m. Thursday and 1 p.m. Friday. The show features local stories from Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury and Pembroke. To submit a story idea or find out more about the show, visit or call Kim Miot at 508-830-6999 or email her at [email protected]. This week’s episode features stories on the Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation, the Amazing Acapella and the Paul S. Fortini Foundation, the Hobomock Arena in Pembroke, the Efron Center in Kingston and more. Valentine Gala rescheduled PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Education Foundation’s third annual Valentine Gala scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Waverly Oaks Golf Club, located at 444 Long Pond Road, has been postponed due to concerns about the approaching storm. It has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, Feb. 22 at Waverly Oaks. This is a black tie-optional event and will include dinner, dancing and live music featuring Smoking Jackets. There will also be live and silent auctions featuring wares and gift certificates from local businesses, unique services and trips, as well as gifts and services from the Plymouth South High School Technical Studies Department. Plymouth’s own Michael Rothberg will be the evening’s auctioneer, assisted by a special “celebrity” guest co-auctioneer. Rockland Trust Company is the event sponsor for the second consecutive year. All proceeds from the event go the Plymouth Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2008. During the event, the PEF will present the family of the late Alba Thompson with the Adele Manfredi Excellence in Education Award, in recognition of Thompson’s selfless, lifelong commitment to education and community. She passed away Jan. 2 but was notified of the award prior to her passing. The award will be accepted by her family on her behalf. Reservations are $75 per person or $550 for a table of eight. The Foundation is also accepting auction items of any value. To purchase reservations or donate an auction item, contact Nicole Manfredi at [email protected]. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit. Dinner theater at John Carver Inn PLYMOUTH – The 2013 dinner theater season is underway at the John Carver Inn & Spa at 25 Summer St. This year brings comedy, rock & roll parodies, mind reading and more. Solve a mystery or share a laugh about relationships. Admission includes a buffet dinner and the show for $59.99 per person. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. For reservations, call 800-274-1620. Overnight packages start at $126 per person, double occupancy, and may also be reserved online at. Feb. 9, Dave Kane’s Misgivings; Feb. 16, The Trial of Love; March 9, Joey Canzano’s Man of Many Voices; March 16, Finnegan’s Wake; March 23, Jon Stetson’s Psychic Mindblowing Comedy Show; April 27, Mobfellas; May 4, World Gone Crazy Comedy Band. Jeans for Teens drive PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth South High School fashion marketing class is hosting a drive to help homeless teens. There are 1.7 million homeless teens in America and their number one request from shelters is a pair of jeans. Gently used jeans can be dropped off through Feb. 10 in Plymouth in the PSHS main/gym lobbies, the JunglePlex, the Plymouth and Manomet branch public libraries, the Armstrong skating rink and St. Bonaventure Parish Center. You can also drop jeans off in Wareham at the Delkin Laundromat. For more information, call Donna Shea at Plymouth South High, at 508-224-7512, ext. 1150, or visit. Pink in the Rink PLYMOUTH – At 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, Plymouth Youth Hockey will present the third annual Pink in the Rink at Armstrong Arena on Long Pond Road. Try girls’ hockey for free. All girls are welcome. Equipment is required, but will be available for free rental. Email Courtney Brock at [email protected] or call 508-317-4634 if you have any questions. Poetry: The Art of Words canceled PLYMOUTH – Poetry: The Art of Words, the Mike Amado Memorial Series, scheduled for noon Sunday, Feb. 10, at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, at 11 North St., has been canceled due to the forecast. Next reading will be Sunday, March 3. For details, visit. Wine seminar series PLYMOUTH – Pioppi’s Package Store, at 183 Court St., is conducting its “Sunday School” series of wine seminars. The events are from 1 to 3 p.m. and each seminar, built around a unique theme, feature a tasting menu from local restaurants, paired wines, and a discussion led by acknowledged wine experts. The events are meant to be informative as well as fun. Pioppi’s owner and general manager Peter Balboni instituted the series in 2003 as a way of educating customers and creating an excuse for them to get out and socialize during the post holiday winter doldrums. The series celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Each week, participation is limited to a maximum of 35 people and the classes sell out quickly. Tickets are $40 per person/per event and include a tasting menu from the partner restaurants, paired wines and the seminar. Each week’s seminar is a “stand alone” event. There is no need to commit to the entire series. Scheduled: Feb. 10, “American Originals” with Rye Tavern; Feb. 24, “Old World Style” with Anna’s Harborside; March 10, “Pacific Northwest” with RooBar; March 17, TBA; March 24, “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” with Union Fish. More information is available at or by calling the store at 508-746-1943. Indoor winter family carnival PLYMOUTH – All are welcome to Plymouth United Methodist Church, located at 29 Carver Road, from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, for a free community event, an indoor winter family carnival offering games, activities and refreshments. For information, call 508-746-1642. Babe Ruth Baseball registration PLYMOUTH – The final registration for the 2013 Babe Ruth Baseball season will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, at Ernie’s Restaurant on Court Street in North Plymouth. The cost is $175, cash or check. The draft for the Downie division will be held Feb. 17. If you are not registered by that date you will not be on a roster to start the 2013 season. If you have any questions, email League Treasurer Bud Holbrook at [email protected]. Juried photography show PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Guild will hold its third annual juried photography exhibition March 30 through May 5 at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, located at 11 North St. Submissions may be made Feb. 1-22. Painted photos, digital (computer generated) artwork or other mixed-media work partially containing photos will not be accepted. All work entered must be for sale. A reception and awards ceremony will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 7, with hors d’oeuvres, live music and a cash bar. For a complete prospectus and details, see or call 508-746-7222. Call for art PLYMOUTH – Sighted and non-sighted artists are invited to submit work for “A Different Vision 2013,” a unique tactile art exhibition for blind, visually handicapped and sighted viewers. The Plymouth Guild will present this show from May 12 through June 1 at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, located at 11 North St. “A Different Vision 2013” is a juried show with cash awards. Categories include 3D work in metal, wood, fabric, glass, clay, etc; 2D art with high contrast and/or textural qualities; and multi-sensory art. Since all work in the show will be touched by visitors, artists must create pieces that will not be damaged by repeated touching and that will resonate for sighted, blind and low-vision visitors. Registration and delivery of art will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. April 27; there is a nonrefundable fee of $10 per entry. The full prospectus is available at. The Plymouth Center for the Arts is owned and operated by Plymouth Guild for the Arts, an all-volunteer, nonprofit arts organization, now in its 46th year. The galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for Rising Stars Showcase PLYMOUTH – Steven Karidoyanes will conduct the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra in the annual “Rising Stars Showcase,” a family concert bursting with youthful talent and energy, at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at Plymouth Memorial Hall, located at 83 Court St. The popular hands-on instrument demonstrations precede the concert, from 2 to 2:40 p.m. Joining the orchestra are the 100-plus voices of the Plymouth Children’s Chorus, directed by Kathy McMinn, performing a spirited medley of Irving Berlin songs titled “From Rags to Ritz,” as well as Howard Blake’s “Walking in the Air” from the British animated film, The Snowman. The piano accompanist is Sharon Francer. The winner of the South Shore Conservatory youth concerto competition, 18-year-old Zachary West, of Plymouth, is featured in music from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. The program also includes music that is a favorite of Karidoyanes, the exciting Carnival Overture by the popular Czech composer Antonín Dvorák. As with previous Family Concerts, this event is part of the national food drive, Orchestras Feeding America. Audience members are encouraged to take nonperishable food items to contribute to benefit the Food Warehouse of Greater Plymouth. Tickets are $15 and $20 for adults, $8 and $12 for children (through age 12). Advance tickets can be purchased online by visiting or calling the Phil office at 508-746-8008. Citizens Police Academy PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Police Department will host its 13th Citizens Police Academy beginning Wednesday, March 27. The 12-week academy will meet in the front training room of police headquarters on Long Pond Road from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays. Academy topics will include patrol operations, traffic enforcement, police powers, prosecution, detectives and investigations and K-9. Anyone interested should visit, click on the Citizen Police Academy link, download an application and drop it off at the station. Participants must be 18. Applicants will receive notice if they are selected for the academy. ‘Look Good, Feel Better’ PLYMOUTH – Jordan Hospital will host the American Cancer Society’s “Look Good, Feel Better” program from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, in the Breast Center Conference Room, at 275 Sandwich St., Plymouth. Look Good, Feel Better is offered through a partnership of the American Cancer Society, the Personal Care Products Council Foundation and the Professional Beauty by emailing [email protected]. For more information or for cancer information anytime, call your American Cancer Society at 800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org. Bone marrow donors PLYMOUTH – PACTV is hosting a “Be the Match” bone marrow donor registry drive from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 4 Collins Ave. If you are a match you could help save a life of a patient with diseases like leukemia and lymphoma and most donations can be made through an automated blood donation. Registration is easy. A simple swab of the inside of your cheek and some paperwork is all it takes to be registered. Donors are asked to provide their health insurance card. Donors should be between ages 18 and 44.Visit for details. For more information about Be the Match Foundation, contact Nicole at [email protected] or 401-248-5720. Pancake Day Race PLYMOUTH – The Boys & Girls Club of Plymouth will hold its inaugural Pancake Day Race to celebrate Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday. The event will be held Feb. 12 at the former Sam’s Club parking lot, located in Colony Place. The race is to celebrate Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras. Pancake Day is the traditional feast celebrated the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Men and women must wear traditional housewives’ attire. Take a skillet; the pancake will be furnished by the Race Committee. There is a $10 entry fee and the race begins at 6 p.m. The race is 425 yards. Four-person teams of runners race in a relay of 425 yards each, handing off the skillet and pancake. Phone in your registration at 508-746-6070. See webpage for details. Plymouth Garden Club meeting PLYMOUTH – The next monthly meeting of The Plymouth Garden Club will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, in the Chiltonville Church, at 6 River St. The program will be “The Organized Gardener: Get a Handle on Your Garden Clutter and on Life in General,” presented by Susan Stone. Artistic design: reflective design. Horticulture: Take in your favorite gardening tool. Garden Therapy is looking for members who would like to brighten nursing home residents’ lives with the joy of flowers. Contact Natalie Caramello if you would like to volunteer your time. The Boston Flower and Garden Show, “Seeds of Change,” at the Seaport World Trade Center, will be held March 13-17. Guests are welcome at the meetings for a $3 fee. If interested in becoming a member, contact Judy Tessin at [email protected] or visit for further information. The Plymouth Garden Club is a member of the National Garden Clubs Inc. and the Garden Federation of MA Inc. South East district. Cordage meeting PLYMOUTH – The next meeting of the Cordage Historical Society will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, in the museum. There will be a viewing of the restored edition of The Ropemakers of Plymouth, originally recorded several decades ago. The Society is devoted to studying and preserving artifacts and memories associated with the Plymouth Cordage Company (1824-1970), which was once the largest rope-making company in the world, and with the North Plymouth neighborhood that grew up around it. The museum is open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and is accessed through the Tower Entrance at Cordage Park.. Feb. 13: Host Matt Muratore with guests Plymouth Pilgrims of the New England Collegiate Baseball League Feb. 20: Host Karen Buechs; first half of show guest, photographer Rick Hulbert; second half of show guest, author Kathleen Ready Dayan Feb. 27: Host Karen Buechs with guest David McGlinchey, communications director at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences March 6: Karen Buechs hosts a Round Table on solid waste with guests including Jonathan Beder, Dennis Westgate and Town Manager Melissa Arrighi March 13: Chuck Nilosek hosts; guest is Karen Buechs April 10: Karen Buechs hosts with guest Matt Muratore, selectmen chairman April 17: Host Karen Buechs with guest Rob Bielen, candidate for selectman Special event at Plimoth Plantation PLYMOUTH – Visit Plimoth Plantation Thursday, Feb. 14, for a special Valentine’s date featuring fine food, music and film. Dinner will be followed by your choice of a screening of an independent film or a live performance entitled “An Evening of Courtly Love.” “An Evening of Courtly Love” is a concert/recital of 17th-century music, dance, poems, plays and love letters. The main theme is guided by Andreas Capellanus’ book, The Rules of Courtly Love, written in 1184. The cast is comprised of Plimoth Plantation interpreters and friends. The performance will include excerpts from the diary of Samuel Pepys, letters from King Henry VIII, music and dance inspired by 17th century classics and, of course, scenes and sonnets from Shakespeare. The evening will be an intimate exploration of the meaning of chivalry, the passions and decadence of the restoration period and the humor and wit of great minds in love. The dinner menu includes salad, grilled swordfish steak with tomato butter or grilled pork tenderloin, fingerling potatoes and pumpkin cranberry pecan bread pudding with creme anglaise. The cost for the evening, including tax and service, is $45 per person; Plantation members and club card holders pay $40 per person. Dinner will be presented at 5:30 p.m. followed by the independent film or performance at 7 p.m. Reservations are required. Call 508-746-1622, ext. 8365, or email [email protected]. Winter-into-Spring Farmers’ Market PLYMOUTH – Gather with more than 30 farmers, foodmakers and artisans. Saints and Singers rehearsals BOURNE – The Saints and Singers Chorus will practice its Easter cantata, “Now I See You,” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursdays at Bourne United Methodist Church, at 37 Sandwich Way in). Farmers’ Market at Cordage Park PLYMOUTH – Plymouth Harbor Market Days’ new winter farmers’ market will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays through April, in the rear lower mills of Cordage Park in North Plymouth. Sponsored by Explore Historic Plymouth Inc., the Plymouth Winter Farmers’ Market will provide the community with access to fresh, wholesome, locally grown foods. Weekly events, activities for children and community tables will lend ambiance and highlight the historic venue. Continuing its partnerships with local community groups, the Plymouth Winter Farmers Market will host a canned-food drive through April. Local nonprofit organizations interested in setting up an information table at the market, those looking to volunteer and churches interested in participating in the canned-food drive should contact [email protected] for more information. Visit and join the Facebook page “Plymouth Winter Farmers Market” for weekly updates. Volunteers needed PLYMOUTH – volunteers to help feed and clean the cats, do laundry and general cleaning, “socialize” the cats, etc., during a one-morning-per-week commitment. If you are interested in helping in any way, call the adoption line at 508-273-3472. Ghost story submissions MIDDLEBOROUGH – The editors at Rock Village Publishing are still seeking true local ghost stories for a forthcoming book about hauntings, ghastly deeds or weird goings on in Carver, Wareham, Middleborough, Lakeville and the surrounding towns. The submission deadline has been extended to April 30. You may submit your story either by regular mail or by email. Be sure to include your address and phone number. Your story may be of any length. (Don’t worry about spelling or grammar; the editors will take care of it.) email your story to [email protected] and enter “Ghost” in subject line of your email. Masquerade ball PLYMOUTH – A masquerade ball will be held Saturday, Feb. 16, at the American Legion Post 40, at 199 Federal Furnace Road. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7. The cost is $25 per person. Enjoy a great meal, dancing and lots of raffle prizes. All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society. Tickets are available at the Legion post or by calling Beth Lynch at 508-746-2040. Visual Inverse PLYMOUTH – Visual Inverse, a joint venture between visual artists from the Plymouth Center for Arts and poets from Plymouth, the South Shore and Eastern Massachusetts, kicked off with a reception Jan. 26 at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, located at 11 North St. Various pieces of visual art are the subject of the poets’ writings, including oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings; black and white and color photos, drawings, mixed media, digital art and fine crafts. Twenty-four pieces from the current Winter Show were selected from the over 200 pieces on display. The project will run until Feb. 17. Frozen Pilgrim 10K PLYMOUTH – Bayside Runner and South Shore Race Management will present the Frozen Pilgrim 10K at 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, starting and ending at Forges Field in Plymouth. A portion of the net proceeds will benefit the Kurt Giessler Foundation for Youth Achievement. Register up to Feb. 14 at, then race day only. Runners, walkers and volunteers are needed. New Plimmoth Gard event PLYMOUTH – The New Plimmoth Gard will reenact Establishment Day, the day in 1621 that the Plymouth settlers met to establish military orders for the new colony. The reenactment will begin at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, at Town Square at the top of Leyden Street. The Gard will then march about three blocks south to the Training Green and perform a pike and musket drill. The New Plimmoth Gard is a group of historical reenactors portraying the citizen soldiers. Art show, concert at Memorial Hall PLYMOUTH – Grammy-award-winning guitarist and composer Hernan Romero will appear in concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, at Memorial Hall, at 83 Court St. Romero plays flamenco-style guitar, which he infuses with Latin, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences, in music that ranges from folk to jazz to classical. Also performing will be Carmen Estevez (cajon and vocals), Sean Kupisz (cajon and bass) and Kestutis Vaiginis (sax and flute and world-renowned flamenco dancer). There will be an art show exhibit at Memorial Hall beginning at 2 p.m., featuring a collection of Latin-inspired oil painting, abstract, fantasy, landscape, original fine art, glass, metal and more, presented by Artist Exposure, a fine art studio gallery in Plymouth. Tickets are $20 and include admission to both the concert and the art show. For tickets, call 800-838-3006 or visit romero.brownpapertickets.com. Parking permits PLYMOUTH – Park Plymouth is selling 2013 parking permits. Those who held your tickets online, visit and click on “parking tickets.” You may also pay by phone by calling 866-220-6778. If your registration has a lien at the RMV, you must pay Park Plymouth in person, at 17R Court St., and clear it before a permit can be issued. Visit the Park Plymouth website at for further information. Kids Week at Pilgrim Hall Museum PLYMOUTH – Forget the flurries and frost of February and enjoy vacation week fun at Pilgrim Hall Museum, located at 75 Court St. Every morning during Kids Week, Feb. 18-22, children can write with quill pens, make a boat, design a postcard, string wampum beads, and then explore the museum while on a treasure hunt. Treasure hunts run all day, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and arts and crafts from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Introduce your children or grandchildren to their American heritage in an interactive family setting. Thanks to Kids Week sponsor Rotary Club of Plymouth and media partner Kidding Around the South Shore and Bristol County, non-residents under 18 are admitted free all day (must be accompanied by an adult). Admission is free for Plymouth residents. For non-residents, admission is $8 per adult, $7 per senior and $6 per AAA member. Free parking is available in the museum lot. Pilgrim Hall Museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week. Call 508-746-1620 or visit pilgrimhallmuseum.org for details. Art camps for kids PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Center for the Arts is offering art camps for kids during February school vacation (Feb. 18-22). The camps are of three, four and five days duration and will be led by several of the Center’s most popular art instructors. Full information is available at. The Plymouth Center for the Arts offers numerous art classes and workshops for adults and children. View the Classes section of the website for details. The Center is located at 11 North St., just steps from Plymouth Rock and the waterfront. The beautifully restored 1902 Russell Library gallery and the 18th century Lindens building possess uncommonly elegant gallery spaces to display diverse work created by regional artists. The Center is owned and operated by Plymouth Guild for the Arts, an all-volunteer, nonprofit arts organization, now in its 46th year. The galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Performing Arts Center naming contest PLYMOUTH – The Greater Plymouth Performing Arts Center Board of Directors is asking for help from the community to come up with a name for the venue. For more information about the building, visit the GPPAC Facebook page. The GPPAC naming contest is open to anyone. Entries will be accepted until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19. To enter, you will need to be a registered Facebook user. You may register for a free account at. There is no limit on the number of unique names you may enter. The Board of Directors of GPPAC will select the winner of the naming contest on or before March 1. The prize is two nontransferable tickets to a show of the winner’s choice at the GPPAC during the summer of 2013. Some restrictions may apply. Eagles Sports Camp PLYMOUTH – Eagles Sports Camp will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 19-22, vacation week, at PCIS. This program is open to all students in grades 4-8. Lunch will be included. This is a Plymouth North Booster Club fundraiser, put on jointly by the football and basketball teams. Games and gym activities to be offered include basketball, whiffleball, dance revolution, asteroids, kickball, ring hockey, indoor soccer, etc. Camp directors are Kevin Cobban, head football coach, and Phil Lewis, head basketball coach. The cost is $125 per person, $100 for a second household member, or $35 per day. Email [email protected] or [email protected] for more information. Evening Garden Club meeting PLYMOUTH – The Evening Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the John Alden Club, 16 Minuteman Lane. The program for the evening will be “Gardens with Fragrance,” presented by Kim Smith. Exhibit: red and white design. Guests are welcome for a $5 fee. The Evening Garden Club of Plymouth is a member of the National Garden Clubs Inc. and the Garden Federation of Mass. Inc. ‘Plymouth’s Got Voice’ PLYMOUTH – Martini’s Bar & Grille, located at 50 Court St., and D&G Entertainment will present “Plymouth’s Got Voice” competition, 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Thursdays from Feb. 21 to April 11 at Martini’s. The finals will be held April 11. Singers are welcome to showcase their talents for a chance to win a grand prize of $500. Meat raffles DUXBURY – Starting Feb. 22, a meat raffle will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. the fourth Friday of the month through May, at the Duxbury Legion, 5 West St., to benefit Plymouth’s nonprofit Marine Corps League Post 1306. There will be meat raffle packages, 50/50 raffles and door-prize raffles. Pizza and drinks will be available for purchase through the Duxbury Legion. Winter clambake PLYMOUTH – The American Legion Post 40 annual winter clambake will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at the post, located at 199 Federal Furnace Road. Enjoy clam chowder, steamers, lobster, half chicken, sausage, hot dogs and vegetables. Tickets are $35 per person and available at Post 40. Wells Fargo Advisors presentation PLYMOUTH – Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, will present “2013 Outlook” on financial markets, hosted by Andrew Carter, first vice president, investments, with speaker Dave O’Brien, regional director, Wells Fargo Funds, from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, located at 134 Court St. The public is welcome and there is no charge. RSVP by calling Michelle Sheridan at 508-830-6900 or toll free at 800-807-3880. Blood drive PLYMOUTH – The American Red Cross will hold several community blood drives during the month of February. All eligible and new blood donors are encouraged to give blood. Blood donors are needed every day to ensure an adequate blood supply for patients in need., call 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or go to redcrossblood.org. Wednesday, Feb. 27: 1-6 p.m., Radisson Hotel, 180 Water St. Cancer education workshop PLYMOUTH – Patients and their family members, caregivers and friends are invited to attend the American Cancer Society’s I Can Cope workshop, “Nutrition: Managing Side Effects of Treatment,” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Jordan Hospital, in the Breast Cancer Conference Room, at 275 Sandwich St. The free workshop will concentrate on nutrition tips for managing side effects of treatment, how a caregiver can help with nutrition, and where to find resources for nutrition and cancer. The workshop will be facilitated by Jordan Hospital Chief Clinical Dietician Carol Burns, R.D. Light refreshments will be served. To register, or for more information, contact Cat Melendy, nurse navigator, at 508-732-8770. For cancer information any time, call your American Cancer Society at 800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org. Free senior legal planning workshop PLYMOUTH – A free senior legal planning workshop will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, and again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at Attorney Jonathan Graham’s office, located at 115 Court St., Suite 1, in Plymouth. Refreshments will be served. Senior planning today is complex and changing. In order to make informed decisions, seniors must be aware of issues such as wills, nursing home planning, Medicaid, trusts and new probate law changes. By attending this free seminar, you will learn a lot about the obstacles so you can better understand your needs and make good decisions to keep you and your family in control and reduce costs. The legal process will be simplified by Graham, who is the dean of education for the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners. This is a free seminar, but registration is required due to space limitations. Walk-in participants will not be allowed. Call 508-830-1120 and speak with Laura Ward to reserve your spot. Chrissy’s Charity PLYMOUTH – The Chrissy’s Charity Bazaar in October was its best ever, raising $1,895. Chrissy’s Charity is grateful to all who helped and supported the bazaar. donation sites for Chrissy’s Charity are in Plymouth at Balboni’s Drug Store, Mayflower Bank and St. Mary Church, all on Court Street, and Mayflower Bank on Obery Street. See the website chrissyscharity.com for more information. Plymouth Pilgrims tickets PLYMOUTH – Season tickets to the new NECBL Plymouth Pilgrims team are on sale at the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce and online at. Season tickets cost $50 and provide access to all 23 Pilgrim home games. The first pitch goes out June 7 against the Mystic Schooners at Plymouth’s Forges Field. Get the best value for your money with season tickets that cost just over $2 per game. Credit cards, checks or cash will be accepted for season tickets. Stop in at the office at 134 Court St. in Plymouth or order online at. For more information call 508-830-1620. PYBS softball skills PLYMOUTH – Plymouth Youth Baseball and Softball’s third annual softball skills development program, focusing on pitching, catching and defensive skills, began Sunday, Feb. 3, and will continue through March 17 (excluding Feb.17) at PCIS on Long Pond Road. There will be two one-and-a-half-hour sessions each week, 3 to 4:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m. catching program will focus on stances, receiving, blocking, throwing, plays at the plate and pop-ups. The defensive skills program will address both infield and outfield skills, including throwing mechanics, ground balls and tracking fly balls. 50th reunion PLYMOUTH –. Pilgrim Hall Museum exhibit PLYMOUTH – Pilgrim Hall Museum, located at 75 Court St., reopened (closed Christmas Day and the month of January). Admission is free to Plymouth residents. For non-residents the charge is $8 per adult, $7 per senior (62-plus), $6 per AAA member, $5 per child (5-17) and $25 per family (two adults with their children ages 5-17). For information, call 508-746-1620 or visit. Customer appreciation month at Thrifty Lily PLYMOUTH – Thrifty Lily is a thrift shop located at 126 South Meadow Road and run by volunteers from Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Church. It is now in its eighth year of operation, thanks to its volunteers, donors and returning and new shoppers. February is customer appreciation month. Everything in the shop will be half off – all clothing, coats, jewelry, household items, bedding, etc. – throughout the month. Shop hours are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 3-5 p.m. Mondays, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of each month. Winter hours for Christ Church Thrift Shoppe PLYMOUTH – Christ Church Thrift Shoppe will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays for the winter. The shop is located at 6 Lothrop St., in the 1830 vintage gray “Hall House,” across the driveway from Christ Church (149 Court St.). An eclectic mix of gently used clothing and household goods is always available. Also offered are antiques, jewelry, art, small pieces of furniture and the kinds of treasures thrift shop aficionados love to find. Donations are always welcome and may be delivered during regular business hours. Clothing must be clean and in good or better condition. For more information, call the thrift shop at 508-746-4990 or Christ Church Parish at 508-746-4959, email [email protected] or go to. ‘State of the Commonwealth’ PLYMOUTH – Governor Patrick’s State of the Commonwealth speech of January 2013 will air until Feb. 13 on PACTV Plymouth government access channels 15 Comcast and 47 Verizon at 12:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 11:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.. Daffodil Days The American Cancer Society Daffodil Days program involves offering daffodils to donors every spring in appreciation for their contributions. However, it is about more than just giving beautiful flowers; it is an opportunity to share hope for a world with less cancer and more birthdays, where cancer never steals another year from anyone’s life. Flower and product orders can be placed now through March 1 by calling the American Cancer Society at 800-227-2345 or visiting cancer.org/daffodils. Delivery is during the first week of spring, March 19-21. Daffodil Days offers a bouquet of products. For a $10 donation, donors receive a bouquet of 10 fresh daffodil blossoms. Three mini-daffodil bulbs in a soil filled pot are available for a $15 donation. A bouquet of 10 daffodils and a Boyd’s by Enesco collectable stuffed bear; $25 donation. Gift of Hope: daffodils are delivered to a cancer patient undergoing treatment; $25 donation and up. Bear Hugs for Hope: special edition, collectable bear is delivered to a child impacted by cancer; $25 donation and up. Dollars raised through Daffodil Days enable the Society to offer free programs and services that help people fight cancer with courage and optimism, while it provides day-to-day help, emotional support, and 24-hour information to help ease the cancer experience. Volunteer opportunities abound, for people of all ages, to assist in taking daffodil orders, sorting and packing the bouquets for order fulfillment and/or delivering daffodils in your community during Daffodil Days week. Sponsors for Daffodil Days 2013 in Eastern Massachusetts are FedEx and Mix 104.1. For more information about Daffodil Days, to request flowers, or to get involved with the program, call the American Cancer Society at 800-227-2345, email [email protected] or visit cancer.org/daffodils. Museum Cleanup Day PLYMOUTH – All are welcome to Plimoth Plantation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 2, to help with Museum Cleanup Day. Take a friend or the family. Participants will tackle raking, painting, exhibit setups and more. As a thank you, a complimentary lunch and free pass to Plimoth Plantation is provided to all volunteers. Rain date is March 9. Sign up at. Call 508-746-1622 for more information. Jordan’s Polar Plunge PLYMOUTH –. Burial Hill tour PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Antiquarian Society invites the public to a free tour of Burial Hill at 1 p.m. the first Saturday of each month (except January). Tours meet at the main Burial Hill stairway; no reservations are required for individuals and families. Participants may traverse steep and slippery slopes; wear appropriate shoes. Severe weather may cancel tour; updates will be posted on the Plymouth Antiquarian Society website. This tour is part of the Burial Hill: History in Progress program that will continue through the year 2020. Local historians Stephen O’Neill, Karin Goldstein and Joyce Poremski join Antiquarian Director Donna Curtin as tour leaders, sharing their individual expertise on a range of topics. For a full listing of upcoming tours, visit. For more information contact [email protected] or call 508-746-0012. Poetry: The Art of Words PLYMOUTH – Poetry: The Art of Words, the Mike Amado Memorial Series, will be held March 3 at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, at 11 North St., Doors open at 11:30 a.m., the music starts at noon, followed by poetry at 12:45 and an open mic at 2. Admission and refreshments are free. Upcoming guests: March 10, Charles Coe and Doug Holder; April 14, fifth anniversary, Nancy Brady Cunningham and Sheila Twyman; May 5, Dimitris Lyacos and Rene Schwiesow; June 9, January O’Neil and Affa Michael Weaver. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Plymouth Cultural Council. For details, visit. Concert at Plimoth Plantation PLYMOUTH – Seven Times Salt, a Boston-based early music ensemble specializing in repertoire of the 16th and 17th centuries, will perform “A Brave Barrel of Oysters: Music from Samuel Pepys’ London,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at Plimoth Plantation. The concert will be followed by a brief question and answer session. Tickets are $15 or $10 for members and can be purchased by calling 508-746-1622, ext. 8346, or through. More information about Seven Times Salt is available at the website. Girl Scout cookies Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts will be selling cookies to March 12. Choose from Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbreads, Thanks-A-Lots, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Sandwiches and new Mango Crèmes. Cookies are $4 a box. The money earned from cookie activities helps troops partake in service projects, go on field trips, purchase patches, attend summer camp and. To find out where to buy cookies in your area, visit, click on the “cookie locator” and enter your zip code. Business expo PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual business expo from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 14, at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor, located at 180 Water St. The reservation deadline to participate in the expo is Feb. 25. A networking luncheon will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Radisson. Reservations for the luncheon are not included in the purchase of a booth at the expo and are required in advance by March 4. Call 508-830-1620 or visit for details. Plymouth Guild annual meeting PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Guild for the Arts will hold its annual meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 (snow date, March 21), at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, located at 11 North St. Following a brief business meeting and the election of officers and board members, Kathleen Mullins Mogayzel will provide a demonstration of printmaking. She will explain various techniques and show methods and materials to transition a print into a mixed media creation. The demonstration and discussion will be followed by a tour of the new printmaking studio and press downstairs at the Center. Printmaking classes and studio time are a new offering in the Plymouth Guild curriculum. Wedding expo PLYMOUTH – A wedding expo will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at Little West Pond Functions, located in the American Legion, at 199 Federal Furnace Road. There will be local vendors from the Plymouth and Cape area who can help make your special day spectacular. There will be food, raffles and a cash bar. Donation is $5 at the door. If you are a vendor and would like to participate, call coordinators Mary Belanger at 508-465-0767 or Linda Greenwood at 508-747-2179. Fuel assistance benefit levels increased PLYMOUTH – The South Shore Community Action Council Inc. announced Dec. 21 that benefit levels have been increased for the Fuel Assistance Program. Benefit levels for the heating season for delivered fuel now range from $475 to $1,125 depending on household the Plymouth COA (seniors only), 508-830-4230; and Plymouth Veterans Services (vets only), 508-747-1620, ext. 172. For further information, call SSCAC Fuel Assistance at 508-746-6707 or visit the website for a listing of volunteer sites and their contact information and hours for fuel assistance applications at. Relay for Life The Relay for Life of Greater Plymouth will be held Friday and Saturday, June 21 and 22, at Plymouth South High School. Last year, more than 700 walkers and 125 cancer survivors participated in this important fundraiser to stop cancer. The event covers the towns of Plymouth, Carver, Kingston, Plympton and Pembroke. For information about registering a team, contact Lisa Jensen at [email protected] or 781-831-4937. For details about the 2013 Relay for Life, contact Jennie Babcock at [email protected] or 508-254-9320, or go to the local website at. PCHS Class of 1983 The Plymouth-Carver High School Class of 1983 will hold its 30th class reunion the weekend of Aug. 2-4. For more information see the Facebook page or the webpage at plymouthcarver1983.com. Pan-Mass Challenge The 34th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, set for Aug. 3 and 4, will raise money for adult and pediatric cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. The PMC is the most successful athletic fundraising event in the nation, raising more money for charity than any other event. The event contributes 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the Jimmy Fund.. For more information about the PMC or to register to ride, visit pmc.org.

Columbia Disaster - REDIRECT Template:Infobox event The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana as it reentered Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. During launch, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the left wing. When the Shuttle reentered the atmosphere, the damage allowed hot gases to penetrate and destroy the internal wing structure, which rapidly caused the spacecraft to break up.[1] Most previous shuttle launches had seen similar, if more minor, damage from foam shedding, but the risks were deemed acceptable.[2] After the launch, some engineers suspected the damage, but NASA managers limited the investigation, under the rationale that the Columbia crew could not have fixed the problem.[3] Mission STS-107 was the 113th Space Shuttle launch. The mission was delayed 18 times[4] over the two years from the planned launch date of January 11, 2001, to the actual launch date of January 16, 2003. (It was preceded by STS-113.) The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that this delay had nothing to do with the catastrophic failure six months later.[4] The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's recommendations addressed both technical and organizational issues. Space Shuttle flight operations were delayed for over two years, similar to the delay following the Challenger accident.. Missions were also restricted to flights to the ISS (so that the crew could use it as a "safe haven" if need be), except for one final mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Contents - 1 Crew - 2 Debris strike during launch - 3 Flight risk management - 4 Re-entry timeline - 5 Presidential response - 6 Recovery of debris - 7 Investigation - 8 Memorials - 9 Effect on space programs - 10 Sociocultural aftermath - 11 See also - 12 References - 13 External links Crew - Commander: Rick D. Husband, a U.S. Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer, who piloted a previous shuttle during the first docking with the International Space Station (STS-96). - Pilot: William C. McCool, a U.S. Navy commander - Payload Commander: Michael P. Anderson, a U.S. who was on her second space mission. - Mission Specialist: David M. Brown, a U.S. Navy captain trained as an aviator and flight surgeon. Brown worked on a number of scientific experiments. - Mission Specialist: Laurel Blair Salton Clark, a U.S. Navy captain and flight surgeon. Clark worked on a number of biological experiments. Debris strike during launch The shuttle's main fuel tank is covered in foam, an insulator intended to prevent ice from forming when the tank is full of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Such ice could damage the shuttle if shed during lift-off. About; 12.5 mi), traveling at Mach 2.46 (1,870 miles per hour or 840 meters per second). The Left Bipod Foam Ramp is an approximately three-foot (one-meter) aerodynamic component made entirely of foam. The foam, not normally considered to be a structural material, is required to bear some aerodynamic loads. Because of these special requirements, the casting-in-place and curing of the ramps may be performed only by a senior technician. before STS-107). All affected shuttle missions completed successfully. NASA management came to refer to this phenomenon as "foam shedding." As with the O-ring erosion problems.[6] As it happened, STS-112 had been the first flight with the "ET Cam", a video feed mounted on the ET for the purpose of giving greater insight to the foam shedding problem. During that launch a chunk of foam broke away from the ET bipod ramp and hit the SRB-ET Attach Ring near the bottom of the left solid rocket booster (SRB) causing a dent four inches wide and three inches deep in it.[7] After STS-112, NASA leaders analyzed the situation and decided to press ahead under the justification that "The ET is safe to fly with no new concerns (and no added risk)" of further foam strikes.[8] Video taken during lift-off of STS-107 was routinely reviewed two hours later and revealed nothing unusual. The following day, higher-resolution film that had been processed overnight revealed the foam debris striking the left wing, potentially damaging the thermal protection on the Space Shuttle.[9] At the time, the exact location where the foam struck the wing could not be determined due to the low resolution of the tracking camera footage. Meanwhile, NASA's judgement about the risks was revisited. Chair of the Mission Management Team (MMT) Linda Ham said the “Rationale was lousy then and still is”. Ham and Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore had both been present at the October 31, 2002, meeting where the decision to continue with launches was made.[10] Post-107 analysis revealed that two previous shuttle launches (STS-52 and -62) also had bipod ramp foam loss that went undetected. In addition, Protuberance Air Load (PAL) ramp foam had also shed pieces, and there were also spot losses from large-area foams. Flight risk management. DOD assets.[12] Details of the DOD's unfulfilled participation with Columbia remain secret; retired NASA official Wayne Hale stated in 2012 that "Activity regarding other national assets and agencies remains classified and I cannot comment on that aspect of the Columbia tragedy."[13] Throughout the risk assessment process, senior NASA managers were influenced by their belief that nothing could be done even if damage were.[14] In 2013, Hale recalled that Director of Mission Operations John Harpold told him before Columbia's destruction:].[16] Ultimately the NASA Mission Management Team felt there was insufficient evidence to indicate that the strike was an unsafe situation, so they declared the debris strike a "turnaround" issue (not of highest importance) and denied the requests for the Department of Defense images. On January 23, flight director Steve Stich sent an e-mail to the Columbia, informing commander Husband and pilot McCool of the foam strike while unequivocally dismissing any concerns about entry safety.[17][18].[19] Re-entry timeline Columbia that hit) told the crew that they were GO for de-orbit burn. - 8:15:30 (EI-1719): Husband and McCool executed the de-orbit burn using Columbia’s two Orbital Maneuvering System engines. - The Orbiter was upside down and tail-first over the Indian Ocean at an altitude of 175 miles (282 km) and speed of 17,500 miles per hour (7.8 km/s) when the burn was executed. A 2-minute, 38-second de-orbit burn during the 255th orbit slowed the Orbiter to begin her re-entry into the atmosphere. The burn proceeded normally, putting the crew under about one-tenth gravity. Husband then turned Columbia to right side up, facing forward with the nose pitched up. - 8:44:09 (EI+000): Entry Interface (EI), arbitrarily defined as the point at which the Orbiter enters the discernible atmosphere at 400,000 feet (120 km; 76 mi), occurred over the Pacific Ocean. - As Columbia descended, the heat of reentry caused wing leading-edge temperatures to rise steadily, reaching an estimated 2,500 °F (1,370 °C) during the next six minutes. (As former Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said in a press briefing, about 90% of this heating is the result of compression of the atmospheric gas caused by the orbiter's supersonic flight, rather than the result of friction.) - 8:48:39 (EI+270): A sensor on the left wing leading edge spar showed strains higher than those seen on previous Columbia re-entries. - This was recorded only on the Modular Auxiliary Data System, which is similar in concept to a flight data recorder, and was not sent to ground controllers or shown to the crew. -.0 mi). - 8:52:00 (EI+471): Columbia was about 300 miles (480 km) west of the California coastline. - The wing leading-edge temperatures usually reached 2,650 °F (1,450 °C) at this point. - 8:53:26 (EI+557): Columbia crossed the California coast west of Sacramento. Speed: Mach 23; altitude: 231,600 feet (70.6 km; 43.86 mi). - The Orbiter's wing leading edge typically reached more than 2,800 °F (1,540 °C) at this point. - 8:53:46 (EI+577): Various people on the ground saw signs of debris being shed. Speed: Mach 22.8; altitude: 230,200 feet (70.2 km; 43.60 mi). - The superheated air surrounding the Orbiter suddenly brightened, causing a streak in the Orbiter's luminescent trail that was quite noticeable in the pre-dawn skies over the West Coast. Observers witnessed four similar events during the following 23 seconds. Dialogue on some of the amateur footage indicates the observers were aware of the abnormality of what they were filming. - 8:54:24 (EI+615): The Maintenance, Mechanical, and Crew Systems (MMACS) officer told the Flight Director that four hydraulic sensors in the left wing were indicating "off-scale low." In Mission Control, re-entry had been proceeding normally up to this point. - "Off-scale low" is a reading that falls below the minimum capability of the sensor, and it usually indicates that the sensor has stopped functioning, due to internal or external factors, not that the quantity it measures is actually below the sensor's minimum response value. - 8:54:25 (EI+616): Columbia crossed from California into Nevada airspace. Speed: Mach 22.5; altitude: 227,400 feet (69.3 km; 43.07 mi). - Witnesses observed a bright flash at this point and 18 similar events in the next four minutes. - 8:55:00 (EI+651): Nearly 11 minutes after Columbia re-entered the atmosphere, wing leading-edge temperatures normally reached nearly 3,000 °F (1,650 °C). - 8:55:32 (EI+683): Columbia crossed from Nevada into Utah. Speed: Mach 21.8; altitude: 223,400 feet (68.1 km; 42.31 mi). - 8:55:52 (EI+703): Columbia crossed from Utah into Arizona. - 8:56:30 (EI+741): Columbia began a roll reversal, turning from right to left over Arizona. - 8:56:45 (EI+756): Columbia crossed from Arizona to New Mexico. Speed: Mach 20.9; altitude: 219,000 feet (67 km; 41.5 mi). - 8:57:24 (EI+795): Columbia passed just north of Albuquerque. - 8:58:00 (EI+831): At this point, wing leading-edge temperatures typically decreased to 2,880 °F (1,580 °C). - 8:58:20 (EI+851): Columbia crossed from New Mexico into Texas. Speed: Mach 19.5; altitude: 209,800 feet (63.9 km; 39.73 mi). - told the Flight Director that pressure readings had been lost on both left main landing-gear tires. The Flight Director then instructed.[20] - 9:00:18 (EI+969):.[20] The crew module remained mostly intact through the breakup, though it had lost enough structural integrity that it lost pressure, and was completely depressurized no later than 9:00:53. - 9:00:57 (EI+1008): The crew module, intact to this point, was seen breaking into small subcomponents. It disappeared from view at 9:01:10. The crew, if not already dead, were killed no later than this point. - 9:05: Residents of north central Texas, particularly near Tyler, reported a loud boom, a small concussion wave, smoke trails and debris in the clear skies above the counties east of Dallas. - 9:12:39 (EI+1710):.[21] Presidential response File:George W Bush Columbia FINAL.ogg At 14:04 EST ."[22] Recovery of debris More than 2,000 debris fields were found in sparsely populated areas from Nacogdoches in East Texas, where a large amount of debris fell, to western Louisiana and the southwestern counties of Arkansas. One debris field has been mapped along a path stretching from south of Fort Worth to Hemphill, Texas, as well as into parts of Louisiana.[23] Along with pieces of the shuttle and bits of equipment, searchers also found human body parts, including arms, feet, a torso, and a heart.[24] In the months after the disaster, the largest-ever organized ground search took place.[25].[26] A group of small (1 mm) adult Caenorhabditis elegans worms, living in petri dishes enclosed in aluminum canisters, survived re-entry and impact with the ground and were recovered weeks after the disaster.[27][28] The culture was found to be alive on April 28, 2003.[29] The worms during the search.[30] Some Texas residents recovered some of the debris, ignoring the warnings, and attempted to sell it on the online auction site eBay, starting at $10,000. The auction was quickly removed, but prices for Columbia merchandise such as programs, photographs and patches, went up dramatically after following the disaster, creating a surge of Columbia-related listings.[31] A three-day amnesty offered for "looted" shuttle debris brought in hundreds of illegally recovered pieces.[32] About 40,000 recovered pieces of debris have never been identified. The largest pieces recovered include the front landing gear,[33] and a window frame.[34] On May 9, 2008, it was reported that data from a disk drive on board Columbia survived the shuttle accident.[35] The drive was used to store data from an experiment on the properties of shear thinning.[36] Although part of the 340MB drive was damaged, the area that contained the data was unharmed and could be recovered. On July 29, 2011, Nacogdoches authorities told NASA that a 4-foot (1.2 m) diameter piece of debris had been found in a lake. NASA identified the piece as a "PRSD: power reactant storage and distribution".[37] All recovered non-human Columbia debris is stored in unused office space at the Vehicle Assembly Building, except for parts of the crew compartment, which are kept separate.[38] Crew cabin video.[39] Investigation Initial investigation".[40] Analysis of 31 seconds of telemetry data which had initially been filtered out because of data corruption within it showed the shuttle fighting to maintain her orientation, eventually using maximum thrust from her Reaction Control System jets. The investigation focused on the foam strike from the very beginning. Incidents of debris strikes from ice and foam causing damage during take-off were already well known, and had damaged orbiters, most noticeably during STS-45, STS-27 and STS-87.[41] After the loss of Columbia, NASA concluded that mistakes during installation were the likely cause of foam loss, and retrained employees at Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana to apply foam without defects.[13].[42] In any case, the original formulation had shown frequent foam losses, as discussed earlier in this article. Columbia Accident Investigation Board Following protocols established after the loss of Challenger, an independent investigating board was created immediately following the accident. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, or CAIB, was chaired by retired US Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman, Jr.,[43] and consisted of expert military and civilian analysts who investigated the accident in detail. Columbia's flight data recorder was found near Hemphill, Texas, on March 19, 2003..[45] Investigators could often use the loss of signals from sensors on the wing to track how the damage progressed.[46] This was correlated with forensic debris analysis conducted at Lehigh University and other tests to obtain a final conclusion about the probable course of events.[47] Beginning on May 30, 2003, foam impact tests were performed by Southwest Research Institute. They used a compressed air gun to fire a foam block of similar size and mass to that which struck Columbia, at the same estimated speed. To represent the leading edge of Columbia's left wing, RCC panels from NASA stock, along with the actual leading-edge panels from Enterprise, which were fiberglass, were mounted to a simulating structural metal frame. At the beginning of testing, the likely impact site is estimated to be between RCC panel 6 and 9, inclusive. Over many days, dozens of the foam blocks were shot at the wing leading edge model at various angles. These produced only cracks or surface damage to the RCC panels. During the month of June, further analysis of information from Columbia's flight data recorder narrows the probable impact site to one single panel: RCC wing panel 8. On July 7, in a final round of testing, a block fired at the side of an RCC panel 8 created a hole 16 by 16.7 inches (41 by 42 cm) in that protective RCC panel.[48] The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam impact of the type Columbia sustained could seriously breach the thermal protection system on the wing leading edge.[49] that a compromise of safety was expected no matter who was in the key decision-making positions. An example was the position of Shuttle Program Manager, where one individual was responsible for achieving safe, timely launches and acceptable costs, which are often conflicting goals. The CAIB report found that NASA had accepted deviations from design criteria as normal when they happened on several flights and did not lead."[50].[51] Possible emergency procedures The CAIB determined that a rescue mission, though risky, might have been possible provided NASA management had taken action soon enough.[52][53] They stated that had NASA management acted in time, two possible contingency procedures were available: a rescue mission by shuttle Atlantis, and an emergency spacewalk to attempt repairs to the left wing thermal protection. Normally a rescue mission is not possible, due to the time required to prepare a shuttle for launch, and the limited consumables (power, water, air) of an orbiting shuttle. However, Atlantis was well along in processing for a planned March 1 launch on STS-114, and Columbia carried an unusually large quantity of consumables due to an Extended Duration Orbiter. As mission control could deorbit an empty shuttle but could not control the orbiter's reentry and landing, it would likely have sent Columbia into the Pacific Ocean;[53] the vehicles. NASA investigators determined that on-orbit repair by the shuttle astronauts was possible but overall considered "high risk", primarily due to the uncertain resiliency of the repair using available materials and the anticipated high risk of doing additional damage to the Orbiter.[53][52] Columbia did not carry the Canadarm, or Remote Manipulator System, which would normally be used for camera inspection or transporting a spacewalking astronaut to the wing. Therefore an unusual emergency extra-vehicular activity (EVA) would have been required. While there was no astronaut EVA training for maneuvering to the wing, astronauts are always prepared for a similarly difficult emergency EVA to close the external tank umbilical doors located on the orbiter underside, which is necessary for reentry. Similar methods could have reached the shuttle left wing for inspection or repair.[53] For the repair, the CAIB determined the astronauts would have to use tools and small pieces of titanium, or other metal, scavenged from the crew cabin. These. The CAIB could not determine whether a patched-up left wing would have survived even a modified re-entry, and concluded that the rescue option would have had a considerably higher chance of bringing Columbia's crew back alive.[52][53] a similar service at Washington National Cathedral. Patti LaBelle sang "Way Up There" as part of the service.[54].[55] In 2004, Bush conferred posthumous Congressional Space Medals of Honor to all 14 astronauts lost in the Challenger and Columbia accidents.[56].[57] On Mars, the landing site of the rover Spirit was named Columbia Memorial Station, and included a memorial plaque to the Columbia crew mounted on the back of the the Amarillo native. State Route 904 was renamed Lt. Michael P. Anderson Memorial Highway, as it runs through Cheney, Washington, the town where he graduated from high school. A newly constructed elementary school located on Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, was named Michael Anderson Elementary School. Anderson had attended fifth grade at Blair Elementary, the base's previous elementary school, while his father was stationed there. renamed Commander William C. McCool Elementary School.[58] The City of Palmdale, California, the birthplace of the entire shuttle fleet, changed the name of the thoroughfare Avenue M to Columbia Way. In October, 2004, both houses of Congress passed a resolution authored by US Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard and co-sponsored by the entire contingent of California representatives to Congress changing the name of Downey, California's Space Science Learning Center to the Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center. The facility is located at the former manufacturing site of the space shuttles, including Columbia and Challenger. The US Air Force's Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, renamed their auditorium in Husband's honor. He was a graduate of the program. The US Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California named its pilot lounge for Husband. NASA named a supercomputer "Columbia" in the crew's honor in 2004. It is located at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division at Ames Research Center on Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, California. The first part of the system, built in 2003, known as "Kalpana" was dedicated to Chawla, who worked at Ames prior to joining the Space Shuttle program.[59] On February 5, 2003, the space agency of India, ISRO, renamed one of its meteorological satellites METSAT Kalpana-1 on the orders of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A US Navy compound at a major coalition military base in Afghanistan is named Camp McCool. In addition, the athletic field at McCool's alma mater, Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, was renamed the Willie McCool Track and Field. A proposed reservoir in Cherokee County in Eastern Texas is to be named Lake Columbia.[60] Ilan Ramon High School was established in 2006 in Hod HaSharon, Israel, in tribute to the first Israeli astronaut.[61] The school's symbol shows the planet Earth with an aircraft orbiting around it.[62] The National Naval Medical Center dedicated Laurel Clark Memorial Auditorium on July 11, 2003.[63] Gamma Phi Beta sorority, of which Clark was a member, created the Laurel Clark Foundation in her honor.[64] Effect on space programs Following the loss of Columbia, the space shuttle program was suspended.[46] The further construction of the International Space Station (ISS) was also delayed, as the space shuttles were the only available delivery vehicle for station modules. The station was supplied using Russian unmanned Progress ships, and crews were exchanged using Russian-manned Soyuz spacecraft, and forced to operate on a skeleton crew of two.[65][66] Less than a year after the accident, President Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration, calling for the space shuttle fleet to complete the ISS, with retirement by the year 2010 following the completion of the ISS, to be replaced by a newly developed Crew Exploration Vehicle for travel to lunar orbit and landing and to Mars.[67].[46] After delaying their re-entry by two days due to adverse weather conditions, Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot James M. Kelly returned Discovery safely to Earth on August 9, 2005. Later that same month, the external tank construction site at Michoud was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.[68] At the time, there was concern that this would set back further shuttle flights by at least two months and possibly more. The actual cause of the foam loss on both Columbia and Discovery was not determined until December 2005, when x-ray photographs of another tank showed that thermal expansion and contraction during filling, not human error, caused cracks that led to foam loss. NASA's Hale formally apologized to the Michoud workers who had been blamed for the loss of Columbia for almost three years.[13].[69],[70] the weather and other technical glitches did, with a lightning strike, Hurricane Ernesto and a faulty fuel tank sensor combining to delay the launch until September 9. On September 19, landing was delayed an extra day to examine Atlantis after objects were found floating near the shuttle in the same orbit. When no damage was detected, Atlantis landed successfully on September 21. The Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report released by NASA on December 30, 2008, made further recommendations to improve a crew's survival chances on future space vehicles, such as the (planned) Orion spacecraft. These include improvements in crew restraints, finding ways to deal more effectively with catastrophic cabin depressurization, more "graceful degradation" of vehicles during a disaster so crews will have a better chance at survival, and automated parachute systems.[50] Sociocultural aftermath Fears of terrorism After the shuttle's breakup, there were some initial fears that terrorists might have been involved, but no evidence of that has ever surfaced.[71] Security surrounding the launch and landing of the space shuttle had been increased because the crew included the first Israeli astronaut.[72] Moreover, the Merritt Island launch facility, like all sensitive government areas, had increased security after the September 11 attacks. Purple streak image The San Francisco Chronicle reported that an amateur astronomer had taken a five-second exposure that appeared to show "a purplish line near the shuttle" during re-entry.[73] The CAIB report concluded that the image was the result of "camera vibrations during a long-exposure".[74].[75] Music The 2003 album Bananas by Deep Purple includes "Contact Lost", an instrumental piece written by guitarist Steve Morse in remembrance of the loss. Morse is donating his songwriting royalties to the families of the astronauts.[76] The 2005 album "Ultimatum" by The Long Winters includes "The Commander Thinks Aloud", a song about the Columbia disaster written by John Roderick. The 2008 album Columbia: We Dare to Dream by Anne Cabrera was written as a tribute to space shuttle Columbia STS-107, her crew, support teams, recovery teams, and the crew's families.[77] A copy of the album on compact disc was flown aboard space shuttle Discovery mission STS-131 to the International Space Station by astronaut Clayton Anderson in April 2010.[78] The 2005 album Golevka by The Evpatoria Report includes "Taijin Kyofusho", a post rock piece utilizing audio transmissions between the crew of Columbia STS-107 and flight controller during re-entry. See also References Template:Include-NASA External links - - photos of recovered debris stored on the 16th floor of the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC

External summary EWoT TarValon.net SummaryEdit Graendal is in her elegant palace just outside Ebou Dar, but she has no plans to stay. She quickly packs what she considers a few necessities. Angry because her little plan to kill Perrin Aybara has failed, she protests silently that "it should have worked!" As she continues packing, she reminds herself that "he" can find her anyplace in this world, so considers moving to a Mirror World through a Portal Stone, but even as her thoughts complete, "he," Shaidar Haran, appears. Throwing herself to her knees, Graendal attempts to talk her way out of her failure to slay Aybara, but the Myrddraal is having none of it. He also blames her for the death of three Chosen and describes her recent efforts as "a lattice of failure, a framework of incompetence." The more she pleads, the less inclined Haran is to listen. His final statement is chilling: "I shall not forget you, and you shall not forget that which comes next." Grinning, he reaches for the howling Forsaken. Point of view: Perrin Aybara Perrin visits the wolf dream and is dismayed to find that even here it is dying, just like the real world. Because of his affront at what is happening he gathers his will and demands that it return to health and vigor and at first he succeeds. Life reappears, healthy and vigorous, in a circle around him. He forces it out until even the clouds above part and sunlight pours down. He then imagines that Hopper still lives and the wolf appears as if from mist, but his eyes are dead. He suddenly realizes that he cannot control the whole of the wolf dream and something snaps; the wolf dream returns to its former sense of dying accompanied by lightning, thunder and death, as Hopper vanishes from before him. Remembering Faile helps to stabilize him and he also remembers Hopper's last request: "Seek Boundless. He will explain." So he begins the search for Boundless. He quickly finds him, but after a short amount of wolf banter, Perrin tells the wolf that that Hopper said he, Perrin would need him, Boundless. The wolf vanishes. That starts a wild chase where Perrin, turning into Young Bull to better follow, seeks out the young wolf and the wolf sends back thoughts of anger and pain. Those mental sendings soon become images of cities, forests, fields, and a final image of a cage and Perrin looking down at him. Though by now Perrin is chasing Boundless over a body of water, the last vision so shocks him that he stops in his tracks and turns back into a human. He remembers that scene, that Moiraine had been with him, and he suddenly understands who Boundless is. He calls the wolf by his human name: "Noam." Boundless' mind vanishes, but Perrin now knows where to find him, and goes there; the place in the sending--a small village, barn and a cage. Once he arrives, they converse, Perrin as his human self, Noam as his wolf self. During that conversation, Perrin comes to realize that Noam chose the wolf dream over the waking world because his life was filled to bursting with pain. "The wolf is peace," Boundless/Noam says. Perrin realizes something about balance, for Elyas, for Noam, and for himself and he comes to an epiphany: the wolf dream will never take him. Oh, it has its own dangers when he loses control, but that fear he had been nurturing since the day he let Noam free, the fear that some day the wolf dream would overcome him, just as he thought it had done in Noam's case, was a false fear. He has found that final thing that he needed to understand. He is grateful for this new revelation. So grateful that he contrives as powerful a sending as he can make it, to Boundless, and then the rest of the wolf brothers who can hear him: himself as Perrin and himself as Young Bull, standing side by side on a hilltop, their scents the same, followed by a most humble, most profound and most sincere, "thank you." Just outside Caemlyn, in Mat's tent in the camp of the Band of the Red Hand, Olver plays a game of Snakes and Foxes with the non-attentive Talmanes Delovinde, who is more of a baby-sitter than companion. As Olver plays the game, the boy ruminates over a great many subjects, such as his father's death, what it means to be a warrior, and what Mat, Noal and Thom are really doing right now. At first, grudgingly and then with more acceptance, he realizes that he could not have been the third person to travel with them to the Tower of Ghenjei, Noal was a much better choice. But he also thinks of his future when he will make his own decisions. He then spends a moment sizing up Talmanes, whom he likes, but decides he is not someone with whom he would like to go drinking and hunting serving girls together, which Olver decides he should be able to start doing in about a year. He then thinks about his plan to find and then kill the Shaido who killed his father. In the meantime the game is played to its conclusion when both Olver and Talmanes are shocked to find that Olver actually wins "the game which cannot be won." Olver says aloud that he wishes Mat were back and Talmanes says that the errand Mat runs for the Queen should be done soon. Olver shakes his head because he knows that Mat is on no errand for the Queen, and makes his way to the other side of the tent where Mat has a stack of paperwork waiting for his return. He finds Verin's unopened letter. After rationalizing his actions as Mat's personal messenger, Olver opens the letter, reads enough of it to know it is important and takes it to Talmanes, who at first scolds Olver for opening it. But when Olver gets insistent Talmanes breaks down and at first hesitantly, but then with more dread, reads it, after which he drops the letter, and rushes from the tent cursing. Olver picks the letter back up, and reads it a second time, understanding it better. Verin had counted on Mat being curious and opening the letter within days of her leaving. She warns that an army of Trollocs and Myrddraal are using the Ways to enter Caemlyn through a Waygate everyone thinks is secure but is not, and if preparations are not made then Caemlyn would fall before the month is out. Since Mat never read the letter, this information never got out. Olver steps outside the tent and sees a harsh red glow over the city; Caemlyn is burning. Talmanes screams for his men to get ready for a fight and shouts something about saving the dragons "or we're all dead." Olver rushes back into Mat's tent to find his hidden knife. Never again would he be a coward. It was time, the boy concludes, to fight. Barriga the merchant, bleeding from a bandaged head wound flees stumbling, into the Blight. Kandor has fallen. Trollocs are raging everywhere to the south. He stumbles and falls and once again sees his caravan overrun by Trollocs. He decides he needs to make for Arafel, presuming that not all of the Borderlands could have fallen. Climbing up a hillside, he falls. As he grows faint from blood loss, three shadowy shapes appear in front of him. At first mistaking them for Myrddraal he is relieved to see the veils and short spears of the Aiel, men of the Dragon Reborn. As they come closer he wonders why these dark-eyed Aiel are wearing red veils. One of the Aiel loosens his veil to reveal a smiling face, filled with teeth sharpened to points. As the "Aiel" takes out a knife and gleefully goes for the kill, Barriga realizes that these weren't Aiel. They were something else. Something terrible. Point of view: Rand al'Thor Rand sits quietly within a dream that he controls, his own dream, not Tel'aran'rhiod; he is thinking of the morrow when he is to speak his demands to the monarchs of the world in exchange for his going to Shayol Ghul to face the Dark One and wonders what he would do if they say, "no." He is going to break the seals anyway no matter what Egwene says; that wasn't up for discussion. Still, it is going to be hard for them to say no, especially since he has a reputation for irrationality. He rests in the peace of his dream. Until he hears a scream in the distance and senses pain. He follows that screaming until he comes to a door, which he wrenches open and enters a room filled with blackness. He follows the wall of the room, noting that it is round like a skull. He finally sees a glimmer of light, a candle standing on a floor of black marble. Huddled there is a woman with silver hair wearing a thin white shift. She pleads with Rand for help, claiming that he knows her. At first Rand does not recognize her, but light figuratively dawns on him and he recognizes her as Mierin. At just about that point he reaches for her but she is dragged away into a pit. He freezes, confused and unable to find calm because of the emotions roiling about inside: hatred, concern, and viperous desire. The woman is Mierin Eronaile, whom Rand once called the Lady Selene, but most people knew her by a completely different name: Lanfear. Point of view: Lan Mandragoran Tarwin's Gap is home to Lan; yet it is now part of the Blight. Its wide pass is rocky, and dotted here and there with blighted scrub. Yet this is Malkier, his land, and he has come home for the last time. Trollocs are clustered on the other side of the pass, their numbers staggering; easily ten times the size of Lan's own army, twelve thousand strong and gathered as he marched through the countryside headed for this destination, this confrontation. Something has changed recently, something wonderful. He felt Nynaeve assuming the Warder bond, and though he regretted the pain she would feel when he died (which would be soon), the bond also gives him strength. Lan is flanked by two companions who discuss the current plan. They remind Lan that this is his land. And their words are like an elixir; he bellows defiance to the Shadow army waiting on the other side of the Gap, naming himself Lord of the Seven Towers, Defender of the Wall of First Fires, Bearer of the Sword of the Thousand Lakes, and then rejecting the title Aan'allein in favor of his true title: King of Malkier. He sends one last powerful sensation of love to his wife and starts the charge. He well believes that this day will be Malkier's last day, but it will be a day remembered with honor. His army is made up of Kandori, Arafellin, Shienaran, Saldaean and even Malkieri troops. And leading these twelve thousand men, they charge with shouts and raised swords through the pass toward an army of one hundred and fifty thousand waiting Shadowspawn. Background of the Dark ProphecyEdit The Dark Lord provides us with three informative paragraphs that come from His book of prophecies. The actual prophet is not cited in this quotation--we only know that the snippet comes from the Prophecies of the Shadow. The first deals with The Dark Lord conquering the world and laying waste to the nations, and promising that only He and those who serve Him will survive. The second deals with the demise of a person/people called the "Fallen Blacksmith" and the "Broken Wolf," metaphors that can refer to Perrin Aybara or Elyas Machera. The timing of when this "demise" will happen is stated to be after the "the One-Eyed Fool travels the halls of mourning, and the First Among Vermin lifts his hand to bring freedom to Him who will Destroy." The "One-Eyed Fool," and the "First Among Vermin," could refer to Matrim Cauthon and Rand al'Thor, respectively. "The halls of mourning" probably refers to the Tower of Ghenjei. "The First Among Vermin [...] bring[ing] freedom to Him who will Destroy" probably means Rand breaking the final seals on the Bore. The third and final paragraph deals with the arrival of the "Lord of the Evening." It is prophesied that He will take our eyes, skin and lips so that we will bow before Him, serve Him and praise him. The prophecy then says that the Lord of the Evening shall face the Broken Champion (who is probably Rand) and spill his blood and bring beautiful darkness. The prophecy closes with an encouragement for all followers of the shadow to beg for their destruction. CharactersEdit - Graendal - Shaidar Haran - Perrin Aybara - Rand al'Thor - Boundless / Noam - Olver - Talmanes - Barriga - Lan Mandragoran - Andere - Kaisel Noramaga Grandson of Queen Ethenielle Kirukon Materasu - Mandarb ReferencedEdit - Mesaana - Semirhage - Isam - Hopper - Faile Aybara - Egwene al'Vere - Moiraine Damodred - Elyas Machera - Mat Cauthon - Noal Charin - Thom Merrilin - Elayne Trakand - Setalle Anan - Lopin - Verin Mathwin - Bergevin quartermaster - Thum merchant or merchant guard - Yang merchant or merchant guard - Rebek merchant or merchant guard - Min Farshaw - Mierin Eronaile / Lanfear - Nynaeve al'Meara PlacesEdit ReferencedEdit

Have? On-page SEO factors are the elements that Google’s spider bot looks for when optimizing a website. The more elements it got, the more value it provides to that website in the search results. You probably already know that Google uses around 200 ranking factors in their algorithm to rank a website. Therefore, it is understood to get confused to pick the best on-page SEO elements from them. Let me tell you a secret… You don’t need to focus on all 200 on-page SEO factors. You can rank your website in the search results with a couple of important on-page SEO elements if implemented those right. In today’s post, you will learn about all those important on-page SEO factors that will get you more search engine traffic from every piece of content that you publish: 1. Make your URLs SEO-friendly Google’s Matt Cutts stated in an interview that keyword in URL “does help in ranking.” Use your target keyword in first 3-5 words for more exposure. In other words: Don’t create complicated URL: Or Avoid long URL like this: Instead keep it short and sweet. The reason to use a keyword in URL is, it sends a clear message to the users to what is the page about before even they click on it. 2. Use your target keyword in the Title A title is one of the most important SEO factors that Google gives attention. Every blog post or web page you create should contain your target keyword in it. The reason to do this, whenever someone searches for that keyword in the Google, it appears in the search results, and they know what the page about is. In short, the closer your keyword will be at the beginning of the title, the more attention it will get from Google. Here is how to do it: Wrong- How to use Twitter for business and build strategy that never fails Right – Twitter for Business: How To Build Strategy That Never Fails Pro Tip – Try to write your title within 65 characters. Google truncates characters that exceed more than 65. 3. Add Modifiers To Your Title Don’t get confused with word Modifiers it’s not new for you; you have already seen it thousands of times. In SEO, modifiers are the words like “best,” “offers,” “buy,” “cheap,” “2000-2017,” “reviews,” and more. The reason behind using modifiers are it quickly give users a clear idea what they are expecting from the search results. User loves to search their query in the search engines using modifiers. If your title contains those modifiers chance are you will get on their radar. For example- the following web page may have the title: Adjustable dumbells – Fitness Point Improve this further by including the modifier ‘cheap‘ and ‘Delhi.’ Cheap Adjustable dumbells in Delhi – Fitness Point You see the above title sends a clear message to the users that the page is about cheap adjustable dumbells and the location you can find them in Delhi. 4. Keyword in Headings (H1, H2…H6) Headings are important on-page SEO elements. As you know search bot can’t read the text, they can only read the text that written between the code. Heading helps them to understand what the page about is. The H1 tag is your “headline tag.” CMS’s (like WordPress) automatically add the H1 tag to your blog post title. If that’s the case, you’re good. But, if you’re using other blogging platforms then you have to add it in your backend manually. The code is pretty simple to write: <h1>Pinterest for business: The only guide you need</h1> Remember, your page can’t have more than one H1 tag. If you have multiple tags, use them as H2, H3 to H6. Here are some pieces of advice on how to use heading on a website or in a blog post: - Never forget to write an H1 tag - Use at least 2-3 H2 tags - Use your target keyword in the H1 tag 5. Fuel up your content with multimedia Writing informative post is good, but when it contain multimedia such as (relevant images, videos, and graphs) it become great. Using multimedia in your content can reduce bounce rate and increase audience engagement on your site at the same time. If you have ever visited Brian Dean and Neil Patel’s blog, you might have noticed they use lots of images and graphs in their content. And the result, their content gets plenty of shares and rank in search results. Multimedia makes your content visually appealing and breaks up boring pieces of text. It makes readers stay for a longer time and Google loves audience engagement on a website. 6. Write your target keywords in Meta Description The meta description in HTML tag is the 160 character snippet that appears in the search engine results after user input a particular query. It describes your page to search engines. Furthermore, it helps users to know what is the page about before even they land on that page. Though, Google does not consider keywords meta tag in web ranking. Despite that, you should use it to increase CTR (click through rate) from search engine results. Here are some tips to write an effective SEO meta description. - Meta description should be within 150 – 155 words. After exceeding it will cut down in the search results - Start writing with actionable words that encourage people to take action like “learn,” “discover” etc - Provide the searchers to reason to click your page by offering solution or answer to their query - Don’t dare to cheat Google with false promises in meta - Make it relevant to the title or headline 7. Introduce your target keyword in First 100 words The keyword you are trying to rank for in the search engines should appear in the first 100 words. By doing that you encourage search engine to know what it the page about as well as help users to understand the connection between content and title. Many bloggers make this silly mistake; they write a long and confusing introduction, that usually confuse readers to know what is the page about, and they leave that page without even complete reading. Pro Tip – For less valuable keyword synonyms use the second paragraph and so on. 8. Focus on Content length Content length is now an important ranking factor. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the chart below. SERPIQ found that the average page that ranked for a particular keyword had at least 2000 words or more. That clearly shows Google loves content rich websites. Google will award your site with ranking if your web page has a rich amount of quality content and it provides value to the users. Long length content helps you in two ways: First, it helps you ranking for your target keyword by targeting more long-tail keywords. Second, the more words you use, the better you can demonstrate that topic to the readers. 9. .htaccess File It is a small file which performs several specific functions. How does it help in SEO? 1. Blocking Users – If you don’t want your competitor knows about the keywords that you are targeting. You can use a .htaccess file to block them by domain name or their IP address. So, they won’t be able to access your website. 2. URLs Redirection – You might have seen a web page ranks with both “www” and “non-www.” What does that mean? Why search engine behave like they are two different websites while they are one? The answer is, the user was building backlinks for both www and non-www, instead of one. This type of action confuses search engines to understand that both pages are same, and its result search engines divide link juices between both “www” and “non-www” that isn’t good for SEO practice. Pro Tip – If you have the same “www” and “non-www” issue, redirect your URL to one location to get more SEO advantage. 10. Create XML Sitemap An XML sitemap is the best way to communicate with search engines, informing them about new or changed content, and ensure that they indexed them faster. WordPress has plugins that automatically creates and update XML sitemap for you. In case, if you are not using any CMS or WordPress, then you can create XML sitemap yourself using this tool xml-sitemaps.com. Once you have created XML sitemaps, you need to submit it to various search engines. Both Google and Bing webmaster supports to submit XML sitemap via Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. 11. Use Schema Markup on your website Adding schema markup code in your website’s HTML code enhance your web page presentation in the SERPs by showing more rich snippets that displayed beneath of your title. Schema tells the search engine what your data means not just what it looks. When a user searches a query in the search engine, he expects to get more qualified information for their query as much as possible. Schema markup does the same for him. It provides extra information regarding their query. When a website is using schema markup in place, users can see in SERPs that what is a website regarding? What they do, What are the cost of their product? And other valuable stuff. Schema markup lets your website rank higher for all kinds of content types. 12. Image Optimization Image optimization is one of the fundamental steps of on-page optimization. The image brings more traffic than you can imagine. In addition to getting that traffic, you’ll have to make sure your images are optimized with alt tags. What is the alt tag? The short answer is, it is the text that tells search engines about the image. To insert it, you need to add Alt=”image definition or alt text” in your image tag. For Example: <img src=”fun-toy.jpg” alt=”fun toy” /> If you are a WordPress user, you don’t need to add tag manually. The option to add alt text appears as you upload the image in the WordPress. Following are some key points your need keep in mind when optimizing images: - Small size images load faster make it under 100KB - Image file name should be descriptive - Image title should keep your primary keywords in it 13. Keyword Density Keyword density is the percentage of a keyword, or key phrases appear in a web page comparison the whole words. Nevertheless, there is no ideal % available for keyword density. But it is recommended that it should be 2-3% with the right mix of LSI keywords. Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a modern way of dealing with keyword density problem. Google uses this method to treat spammy results. So don’t forget to use LSI keywords when you write content for your website next time. Here is the best practice to keep keyword density natural and avoid keyword stuffing: First, use your target keyword once in the first paragraph. Second, use it in the last paragraph. You can also use it in the middle of content where it makes sense. Pro Tip – Don’t do keyword stuffing otherwise it won’t help in ranking but hurt. 14. Improve Dwell Time Dwell time is the actual time that a visitor spends on a page before returning to the SERPs. If a user lands on a website and leaves it immediately without spending much time, Google considers that page is low-quality and push that page to down in the search results. In other words, the longer is the dwell time, the better is for your ranking. By now you know dwell time a ranking factor, and you might want ways to increase your dwell time. Don’t you? I can read your mind. Just kidding, I can’t read your mind, but yes there are solutions to increase dwell time, and these are: The first job you need to do increase dwell time is, create better content. Most of all, no one would like to stick to read a low-quality content. Are they? Second, as you know that dwell time is the time-period that user takes to arriving at a page and returning to the SERPs. It makes sense to make him do the extra activity on your page. Relevant internal linking is the best ways to keep them engaging with your page as well as it reduces bounce rate. 15. Don’t publish regularly “Google loves fresh content.” This is the biggest lie; you have heard all the time. It doesn’t matter to Google if your site regularly updates or not until that content provides value to readers. A web page rank only when more people read and share not if it has fresh content. Brian Dean has only 33 blog post on his site Backlinko, despite that he manages to outrank some authority sites for high competitive keywords in the industry. You know what his secret is? He focuses on quality content and promotion instead of quantity. Google always favors web page that people take interest in. And, that can only happen when you promote that content to the right audience. 16. Build a perfect trap of internal linking Place links to related posts in your content wherever it makes sense. Wikipedia’s posts are a perfect example of internal linking. But I wouldn’t recommend you to follow them. You can add 4-5 links that will be safe and help improve ranking. Internal linking improve your website’s SEO because Google thinks that you are providing extra information to the users. Internal linking helps you in two more ways: First, it makes users stay more time on your web page as well as cut the bounce rate. Second, link juice passes to other pages of your site. When internal linking, don’t use generic words like: “click here” or “visit this link.”, etc. As an alternative use a keyword as the anchor text but don’t overuse it. 17. External linking Aside from linking your articles, link some other useful resources, also. It is an excellent way of white hat SEO strategy to get more traffic. It indicates Google that your page is source of quality information. But remember, don’t link unless it’s relevant to your post and provides the information that matters to your article. When linking outbound links, make sure the sources are trusted. If you have confusion about the popularity of those sites, you can add no follow tag. Doing so link juice won’t pass from your site to those potential low-quality websites. By default, your link looks like this: <a href=””>Grow With Web</a> To make it no follow, just add an attribute Nofollow to the link <a rel=”nofollow” href=””>Grow With Web</a> You don’t need to add any no follow tag if you’re damn sure the sites you are linking are trustworthy. Readers trust the information that comes from authority sites. 18. Mobile Friendly Websites Google released Mobilegeddon update to punish the website which was not mobile friendly. You might ask, why your website should be mobile friendly? The answer is, 48% people told that if they arrive on a website through mobile, and if that is not opening in mobile they consider it as an indication business is not caring. Having a mobile friendly website helps in SEO, it helps improve search ranking in mobile search. 19. Page load time Page load time matters when we talk about SEO. However, there were rumors that Google doesn’t consider page speed as a ranking factor. But that were the only rumor. If your page doesn’t load quickly, it won’t only force users to leave early, but also encourage search engines not to index your page. 47% users move to another website if it does not load within 2 seconds. Maybe not now, but soon, Google might consider page site speed as a ranking factor says Gary Illyes of Google. Google always appreciate those sites which load fast and has clean codes. Page load speed also improves the user experience for the visitors. 20. Use social share buttons I would be honest here; social shares have nothing to do with ranking, not even Google ever said anything about it. But still, I would recommend you to use social share buttons on your web page. However, it doesn’t direct help in ranking, though it attracts more views on your content. The more eyeballs your content get, the more chances someone will link to it. You may add some popular social sites buttons on your websites such as Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Now it’s Your Turn! To get high ranking in the search results, you should consider these important on-page SEO factors. Include these elements in your on-page SEO checklist to improve your on-page SEO. It will help you get your web page rank faster in the search results. Let me know what do you think about this post. What on-page SEO best practice you are going to follow? 33 thoughts on “On-Page SEO Factors: You Need To Rank On The First Page” Great post. Glad that I have been following most of these points on my blog. But still a lot to be done. Thanks for sharing these much needed seo tips. Aswani recently posted…Top Latest Digital Marketing Interview Questions 2017 Aswani, I am glad you are following most of them but to beat your competitors you need to follow others as well. Thanks, Umesh Singh Very informative. Wondered to see how fresh content doesn’t have any impact on SEO, quoting the backlinko example. Bharathi, fresh content only helps you if you promote that content enough in order to get maximum possible eye balls on it. At first I was very concerned when I read “15. Don’t publish regularly”, but then I realised you meant “don’t publish for the sake of publishing something”, make sure that when you publish something it really offers value, and make sure you can “push it online”. Yes Luciano, that was my real concern. I was surprised too when Brain Dean first told that don’t publish regularly. But when he demonstrated why he said that, it became clear to me. Thanks for reading and providing your valuable thoughts. – Umesh Singh Hey Umesh, On-page SEO is one of the factors every blogger need to focus on. The headline tags are important to craft a content worth reading. Use the alt text for all of your visual content. Even for videos. Keyword concept is a little bit tricky which needs some practice. Thanks for sharing the guide. Enjoy your week ahead. ~Ravi Thanks Ravi, I see blogger who still using useless SEO tactics that aren’t useful anymore. On-page SEO still matters if done right. Nice post. Good Article and really really helpful to me to know the how to do on-page to my websites. And really i did not get these type of information any other blog. You have described in a simple way anyone can understand easily… Lots of thanks …!!! Good Post , and you describe nice information about on-page SEO. I think to read this i would do right on-page to my website …thanks Hi Nitin, I am glad you found it useful. Keep visiting. 🙂 very detailed and useful article. I could never use the H1 H2 H3 tag as you mentioned. but now learned their benefits. Harish, Heading tags are important for SEO because search only can read those words. Their bot is not able to read your content. They understand what is the page about after looking heading tags. I hope from now you will use it. Thanks, Umesh Singh Hi Umesh great post, You almost mentioned every aspect od on page and off page optimization. At times it’s the small things we do ads up to become a big result. Getting high quality backlinks from authoritative sites is one best way to get rank on SERP. Thanks for sharing this article. Hi, I never tried that Schema, I didn’t know how to. All other tips are quiet nice, like to try on. Thank You for posting!! Hello Umesh, Great post on On-page SEO. You have mentioned the points that are really critical to On-page SEO from where the journey to SEO begins actually. Awesome content and covered all the points. Great work! Hi Pankaj, On-page SEO is still an important factor to rank a website on search results. But still, many people are using out dated SEO tactics that aren’t useful anymore. I hope they will learn how to use the right SEO tactics. – Umesh Singh I am using On Page SEO since from the first post. I want to tell you that I am a newbie and my website is new. On the page, SEO is working for me, but it’s very hard to stay motivated. Still not getting traffic. Hi Karan, I know how you feel. There are many guys who solely depends on only on-page SEO. But on-page SEO is not going to work unless you do some off page activities. Promote that content you have optimized and you will see the result soon. Thanks, Umesh Singh Hi dear, Actually, you doing a great job for newbies like me. Writing a post without perfect On Page SEO is looks like a car without a driver but in my opinion Off Page Seo is harder than On page. I really appreciated. Hi Agha, At some point I agree with you. Anything isn’t hard if you love to do that stuff and learn about that. Both )On-page and Off page SEO) are equally important to rank a website. All you need to learn what works and how? Thanks for the comment. Keep visiting. – Umesh Singh Very nice post .. Really such a useful article to know the trick to do the on page … !!! very useful article Hi Vineet, Thanks for visiting. On-page SEO is still a game changer in the search traffic if you know how to use it right. Hello Umesh, Wonderful piece of content about on-page SEO. Each and every point you mentioned here about on-page SEO. Here you said that maintain keyword density should be 2-3% but somewhere I read that maintain keyword density 0.5 to 1%. This concept is little bit tricky. I have to work on it. Thanks for sharing this awesome article. Swapnil Kharche recently posted…Android and iOS App Me Apne Instagram Post Par Comments Disable Kaise Kare Hi Swapnil, Keyword density, really is a tricky one exactly no one can tell the right percentage but as old school SEO which still works recommend it should be 2-3%. If you are using Yoast plugin they advice the same but the secret is you don’t need to repeat your keyword unnecessarily if that doesn’t make sense. But make sure use your keywords two times in the content and 1 time in any Heading tags. Use your keyword in first 100 words and last so Google understand what is the page about. As you already know Google can’t read the text but read headings. That’s why using keyword in heading make sense. I hope it would help you clarify your doubts. Thanks, Umesh Singh Great Post Mate! 🙂 It has all a Newbie needs! Keep Writing Such Impressive Content Umesh. Have a Good Day. Priyanshu Raj recently posted…Jio Tv For Pc: Download Jio Tv For Windows, Mac, Linux great post i love it, really helpful for me to do the on page to my all website … really very nice tips for on page SEO thanks Hi Umesh, I will follow all your tips while doing on-page of my new website. Thanks for sharing these tips on your website. Thanks Mohd Atif recently posted…50+ Funny Sarcastic Pics, Photos & Memes for Whatsapp Facebook Many bloggers doesn’t know what is s.e.o. But they still getting good traffic how ? Very impressive guide to learn a lot about SEO. All these very powerful to use and I have used few of some these steps on my blog, and I feel so excited about SEO result. Because these steps google uses to rank the best contents and so beginners, please follow this guide to your blog. After you will be such happy results. Arun Kumar recently posted…WordPress Tutorial In Tamil For Beginners And Bloggers Hi Umesh ji, Its rally rally good information you have not left single of point for get traffic and how to fix the website issue, i have one question for you please explain about it still am facing the same how to fix the issue for ex. and may i continue the same or how to fix it hope u understand and please help to fix the issue. Thank you. Hey, Great Share! I liked the idea of using the keyword in URL however, sometimes it happens unintentionally but now onwards I would use keywords within URLs wherever it is applicable. Worth reading. It will help me a lot. Thank you for sharing.

MAC Jeanius Collection for Spring 2011 Official Photos & Information MAC Jeanius Collection MAC Jeanius Collection Launch Date: March 3, 2011 for North America, March 2011 for International.. / can’t wait to check out the nail polish! Me tooo! Loved the white one…actually both! Same here…I’m a sucker for nail polishes! I know I want to get both. i wonder if the model is Tao Okamoto…..she’s a super cute Japanese model!! It’s definitely her! I haven’t bought anything from MAC in about a year, they really need to come up with some new ideas and colors ! I’m the same. I have so much now it needs to be something super original 🙂 Same for me :). But the nailpolishes look interesting. I agree.. all these new shades that they come out with look similar to something they’re already had before, or something u can dupe. the shades are either one shade lighter or one shade darker from the permanent collections or (something in between). plus the jeans look is so 1990’s No I see i’m not the alone on this Why is MAC doing this???Those eyeshadows are so whatever Since last spring summer collection(and that collection wasn’t amazing) i have missed all MAC collections Whose the artistic director? And the fact they’r releasing like every week collections is also making MAD, i know they earn the big bucks, but enough already Totally agree. It’s like they have a new collection every other day, they’ve become a gimmick. I will probably check out the blush and lipstick and see if I “need” any of those shades, but otherwise, not intrigued by this collection at all. The magenta blush looks identical to Her blooming cheek from the tartale collection, which I love by the way…. this looks really cool! can’t wait for the date to come sooner so we can get swatches 🙂 your amazing christine! can’t wait for you to get your hands on pics for wonder woman! I am also looking forward to wonder woman collection. Do you know where I can find out more? This looks very 80s to me. Don’t like it! Blue e/s in general is not my cup of tea. Guess my wallet will be happy. See, I think that’s why I like it.. very 80’s. Big hair, denim jackets with Poison & Metallica buttons! LOL But there’s only one blue es! Plus those lipsticks are super cute. However, if the glitter buttons are only an overspray I will not be getting any of the ES. Of course they’re only an overspray…lol 🙂 Motorhead and stove pipe sounds very interesting. Can’t wait for swatches! This is a total skip for me. Whew This all looks and sounds fantastic! I’m liking the lip colors and the lighter blue and the gray, though I wonder how it’ll compare to Glamora Castle. Just when the latest collection wasn’t grabbing my interest too! Whats Glamora castle, another MAc collection???? Glamora castle was an eyeshadow from the tartan tale collection. OMG! MAC is always launching a new collection… They’re unstoppable! Don’t get me wrong… That’s just great! I loooove make up. I’m just SO sad for my wallet! Those are some really neutral colors… Will they flatter a cool-skinned tone? (Sorry for the English mistakes!) Is it just me or has mac coming out with a new collection every ten minutes? We have mickey and the peacocky and wonderwoman now jeanuis, it’s really starting to be too much. LOL, and there about 10 others between now and May. HAhaha wow really! Mmm, about 10 others is perfect and that`s why i love Mac, so amazing and versatile! and i love u equally Christine for giving us so much info <3 Hey christine you should start a Poll asking everyone what was their favorite MAC collection from 2010. I think i liked In The Groove (eyeshadows) Dare To Wear (the lipglasses) And Stylishly Yours (lip products) We have one already scheduled, but thank you for the idea! 🙂 We do this every year. yea, I agree Emmaline. It gets old real quick and it appears that many are LE collections. It almost feels like they just pump out collection after collection but don’t have much regard for quality or variation of shades/textures. After awhile, I think the colors all start to look very similar. You can only do a nude shadow or gloss so many times. Yeah i agree about all the nude shades. But none of the permanent shades fit my skintone, (except Viva Glam 5, which cannot be taken bak to MAC) so the variety is actually a good thing, i think. I keep saying I wont buy anything from this collection, but i always still like to check them out in person for funnies. :O I think the fact that all the collections are generally different from one another its actually a nice way to have a wide variety. I can play with the permanent collection whenever. These launches keep MAC interesting for me haha. OMG I love everything about this collection!!!! Must have the nail polish but nothing else is a must. Must. Have. Nail lacquers!!!! That imprint looks so cool! Completely impractical of course haha. Mac really needs to stop pushing the penultimate liner, that thing sucks. As always, thanks for the info Christine! Omg, I totally agree, I think the penultimates are their worst product ever! What a waste of money, mine dried up after about a week of using it, just awful! I spoke to my mac counter about the drying also, they said everyone has the same problem so the reported back to hq, don’t expect any changes soon though!!!! maybe just the nail lacquers… ahhhh im psyched! I too look forward to the nailpolish! That frayed-to-order looks lovely!! Can’t wait to see swatches 🙂 OMG..yes finally MAC is actually releasing a collections that might be worth buying, I am loving everything… The polishes seem like a chanel pearl drop/black pearl knock off to me. Maybe the Pearl Drop, but Black Pearl is gray-green, not blue. So MAC is doing another set of single shadows like Tartan Tale ones…Did those even go over good? hmm This collection doesn’t grab me. My jaw dropped when I saw those eyeshadows. I don’t really need ny of those colors, but considering their design that might change… The concept of this collection is really cute, but the colors just seem so dull, especially since its a spring line… And I have been itching to find out what new collections MAC will be coming out with in 2011… oh well.. Oh… and this isn’t coming out until March…anything coming out in February this year? Maybe like has happened often, MAC might launch two collections at the same time that have totally different patterns. So maybe along with this one could come a “springy” colourful collection as well. (just like now Cham Pale vs Stylishly Yours). I think the wonderwoman collection is coming in February 🙂 now THAT I’m excited for. I’ll pass on this one lol How do u guys find out so early about these future collections??? Especially since christine hasn’t mentioned them yet. I’d like to see what else is coming in the future too. Temptalia can no longer release information that is very, very preliminary, because unfortunately, there are some who take what may be a rumor or incomplete information and disseminate it as 100% accurate, stone cold truth – so we have had to pull back. TAO!!! love her<3 nail polishes are mine! Hmm, I think the detail in the eyeshadows is great, but I’ll probably pass. Very 80s 🙂 The picture would look alot better without the “sewing lines” on her face 🙁 🙂 🙂 cant wait to see swatches. Really liking the lacquers, eyeshadows, even lip products 🙂 The eyeshadows are very cool but I won’t be buying them. I’ve got my eyes on the lipsticks and blushes 😀 even though the light pink isn’t very unique, I feel like I need it in my stash nothing for me in this collection -..- Could just be my monitor, but the white e/s seems very muted, much like unbasic white. Only thing that I’d like to check out is the burgandy l/s. Nothing here really shouts out to me (which is a good thing since money is so tight now) but I look forward to seeing swatches of the nail lacquers and Indigo Pink/Riveting Rose HMMM. these e/s look very similiar to the tartan tale pattern. cant wait to see what they look like swatched. whats funny is the little gold and silver button symbols onthe e/s looks like a kitty pooped on it. i want both nailpolishes. i hope het hot pink blush is not like the one that came out tartan tale and riveting collection- i want something different. This is the Spring collection? It seems a little small compared to Spring Colour Forecast from this year. Cool collection, I’ll probably just get the dark blue eyeshadow and blue nail polish I don’t like the look of those special shadows – too cutesy! The lipsticks could be nice, though, and perhaps the nail polish. Strangely, I’m drawn to the white eyeshadow and nail laquer. Most likely I’ll just get the nail laquer. I like the theming on this collection but not so much to want to buy most of it. Love the eyeshadows too cute I must have Frayed to Order!!! Still waiting to hear about Wonder Woman. Christine do you have any new information or know when any will be released?? I imagine a February launch, but no real information at this time. Most likely 2/9/11. They always come out the Thursday prior to Valentine’s Day. I asked a SA over at a MAC store and she said maybe March but we might begin to hear about it in Feb but that is all speculation. I’m just surprised we get to see Jeanius promos but WW has been in the talks since June of ’10! I’m dying over here! the blue polish is to die for! Loving the lip colours, but I do wish MAC would make more of them permanent, considering they’re putting out 6592763758 new ones this year. :/ Those eyeshadows are so cute! I looove that silver eye shadow and the pink lipstick, I hope this collection turns out to be good The eyeshadows are very pretty although I hope the pearled finish in the descriptions runs through the whole eyeshadow because I can’t see it in the pan, just that colour for the button if that makes sense? I’d love the dark blue one and maybe the black. The lighter blush looks pretty so might be worth a look and the nail polishes are nice, mainly the blue as I’ve never tried white polish but it might look great. i will only need the nail polishes from this one. will check out the eyeshadows too though. Fellow MAC lovers, please excuse my French, but Damn you MAC!!!!! I looove denim. Another collection to spend on. I am also interested in the Wonder Woman collection that is to be out in Spring 2011 also. I need another job!!! Make that two extra jobs to pay off this addiction I have. Thank you Christine for keeping us posted on all this amazing stuff. thanks god,nothing has catched my eye except indigo pink lipglass.my shopping list has already became too painful with other collections I am skipping on this only for the fact that it’s too smiliar to tartan tale the eyeshadows look great but I don’t think they swatch to well ,christine when you said theirs 10 more collections do you have any details on them or the wonderwoman collection? Because I was wondering what products they are and the colour themes of them Thanks okay i almost flipped out when i saw the first picture i love love blue and jeans on my off days this is so so great my collection finally!!! You’re amazing. I just discovered this next new collection from a French Mac-addict. I can’t stop thanking her for asking us to check your website the whoooole day…. So the lipglas —> Docile and Painted on, Lipstick —>Acide washed and Pretty Pleased, Eyeshadows —> Stove Pipe Black and Motorhead (not because I used to be a fan of this band but…), Nail polishes —> Biker Blue, Blushes —> Overdyed and Pink cult… that was my wish-list This was the perfect collection for some jens packages, but no. WY MAC?. And I was hoping a blue lipstick. Frayed-To-Order looks really interesting. Anyone know of a dupe?! There is going to be a porcelain colour in the upcoming Orly-spring collection, but it´s not duochrome I think. Other than that, I would assume that in spring-summer 2011, if the white is a new trend (as MAC is not the only one who matches colours to fashion) possibly there will be more such colours by other nailpolish brands. That blue nail polish is really cute! I feel like MAC polishes were like $10 last year… lol. Cute collection! 🙂 I’m surprised they did not include Bell Bottom Blue Pigment with this collection. Does anyone else feel that way? whoooaaaa. I love the stamped design on the eyeshadows!!! And I need that Biker Blue nail polish. I’m so digging these lipsticks & nail polish!! why does MAC’s collections not come in special packaging anymore? They could be so creative (cause they have in the past) yet they decide to go with the plain black every time. Come on MAC you have great products now you should have great packaging too! Sorry just a bit of a rant! I agree, part of the thrill of a new collection is the LE packaging “/ . Hopefully they’ll soon make up for the not so interesting recent collections. Hi, I can answer this because I work for MAC: The reason they have limited the production of the “deco” packaging is because the fancy designs and colors can not be “back to MAC’ed”. They came out with new rules regarding Back to MAC this year, and deco packaged products apparently can not be recycled as easily (the same for certain lip products, etc). The Blue nail polish … whooooa Love the jeans eyeshadow! That is so cool! yea!!! a collection to finally look forward to!!!! OMG… gotta have it all! LOVE this one!!! I’m still recovering from Tartan Tale… Whew! Those nail polishes look interesting! And I sort of love the way the eyeshadows are pressed. I’m definitely intrigued. Need to get both nail polishes!! Hey Christine, is it a good match (as a rule), to mix same lipglass with lipstick I.e: painted on with acid washed???? You can do that, but there’s no real rule about it! I’m not usually into MAC, but I really like those lipglass colours. I can’t wait to see the swatches! thanks for sharing cant wait for swatches this looks really cool : ) This collections seems so boring! hopefully the collection for summer 2011 will be better I am hearting the lipglasses and lipsticks!! Can’t wait for your review!! looks like someone’s copying bobbi brown’s denim collection! beautiful eyeshadows though. and those pink lipsticks are calling my name:) can’t wait for this one! i’m not surprised. they are under the same mother company after all. Biker Blue reminds me of Formidable! Which I happened to miss out on.. Totally getting these for sure. Motorhead eyeshadow? I am so there! \m/ This is a cute collection, love the eyeshadows ok well if MAC is going to make 10 ore collections between now and MAY then im going to skin out on buying this one. I wanna check out thoe nailpolishes though. I liked that purple lipstick in the photo but since I bought Style Curve (stylishly yours) I will skip that one too. Sorry for the typos!! I’m on a MAc Book and it auto-coorects my words.. and I said that I will SKIP out on this one since they’re making 10 more collections between now and may. Oh my God!!!!That promo picture reminds me of Johny Depp in Scissorhand by Tim Burton!!!What a moovie… OMG i want i want i want!!! i’m so not impressed by this! I was browsing another website & found this information. Not sure if it’s 100% accurate, but I figured I would share with you fellow MAC lovers. Christine, when you find out more information on whether or not these upcoming collections are legit then I will get excited. Thanks for the link Morgan – I have all the same information, but due to the amount of readers on Temptalia, I cannot post until I have more things confirmed/solidified, otherwise rumors and false information get spread like wildfire! Nail polishes look really sick! However, I’ll probably skip the rest. Mac is coming out with so many collections! I just cant wait for Wonder Woman <3 ! Ah that white nailpolish!! And i’m also very curious about the last blush that was posted. Love that colour at first sight whoa whoa whoaaa. i’ve never seen eyeshadows like that before.. kinda cool but kinda creepy.. Hey Christine! I hope you answer! Would they paint your nails at MAC or do you have to buy the polish and then go to a salon or do it at home? Thanks! You’d have to do it yourself! by descriptions, i’m only interested in two products: Docile lipglass & Pink Cult blush PASS! sorry mac but for me at least your 2011 collection so far are awful! there is not one thing i want which i guess is good and means i can save my money, where are the fun collections like ‘Hello Kitty’ or ‘Heatherette’ stop being so boring and in my opinion unimaginative 🙁 im not even big into nail polish but that’s what im looking forward to most, the white looks so unique! i wonder if its more sheer or opaque? either way, cant wait for them both. the blushes look nice as well. really excited to see whats in store at mac for spring! cant wait for wonder woman ! What about the Wonder Woman collection?? Is still in Spring? Does anybody know anything? The Wonder Woman collection is already out – it launched earlier this month. *facepalm* Way to read the date stamp, me. Good thing these are moderated. Docile lipglass and the Pink Cult blush! I don’t like this collection, it looks rather dull. I understand some people aren’t impressed with all the collections coming out OR impressed with a certain collection. That’s fine. Get off this website then. The people on this site are MAC-aholics and most of us are impressed and excited for the upcoming collections. If your not. Stop posting your disatisfaction for the company and collections. Seriously. Get help, get off and stop trying to bring the rest of us down cause it ain’t gonna work. Also, Christine is nice enough to post Q&A’s and yet most of you refuse to read and then ask her the questions she’s already answered. It’s annoying. Read. It’s not hard. Thank you. Well said Kim-Mary! There have been times I wasn’t too excited for a collection, but I would only say that it wasn’t for me. I wouldn’t bash MAC or the collection itself cause everybody’s taste in cosmetics & colors are different. You are so right. If you don’t like MAC or the collections they have out don’t come on a MAC website and bash them. Same with Christines question/answers. It makes you look like idiots cause you don’t read first. The nail polish, lipglosses, lipsticks and the one pink blush look good. The eye shadow kinda scares me lol I died an went to heaven with riveting rose lipstick! Oh my. I need those e/s and the blushes i’m surprised they didn’t rerelease bell-bottom blue from the naughty nauticals collection with this seeing as though the name fits in so well. I don’t think the eyeshadows look like something i HAVE to have. the lipsticks and lipglasses look nice though. I really love the nail polish colors, but i’m not such a fan of MAC nail polishes unfortunately :/ Hi Christine, Loving this collection, but do you think this is the main spring collection or do you know if there will be a bigger one similar to the Spring Color Forecasts in 2010? MAC usually does one with a few LE palettes. All of the information i have is posted. If I haven’t posted it, I do not have it. They have done it again, some cool eyeshadows but I wish they would have done more LE packaging. The don’t release different products that often in these collections and we get that, so why not give us the packaging which sets it apart and really makes it something LE or different. If not, isn’t it just a new shade release which every company does in the new season, only more frequently. I have been a fan for a long time but with the Tartan e/s, the Metal e/s and now these LE e/s, perhaps we could use some LE face products that are not repromotes. im really looking forward to this collection! The print on the eyeshadows is so awesome, but this collection just seems alright. I haven’t been that impressed with MAC collections lately. My two favourites have been Venomous Villains and Style Black. But as a lover of all things black and vampy I’ll probably check out Stove Pipe Black and Riveting Rose. Pink Cult intrigues me as well. Definitely a Skip! MAC needs to get more creative. loveee the packaging of the eyeshadows…i would never want to use them!! ahhh. might have to buy them anyway because that is just SO cute. Will probably get the blushes too since im a sucker for MAC blushes especially the LE ones… i like how the eyeshadows look but there is no originality in color! I wish Mac could understand that we love makeup but come on.. we would appreciate the collections they come up with more… if they wouldn’t come up with limited collections every second of the hour.. Its really upsetting that I can’t have everything in each collection because Im always saving for the next one. I would love to for the most part be able to get everything I really want from each collection without going bankrupt and feeling guilty every time I spend way too much on every 2 to 3 collections per month, it takes the fun out of my passion for cosmetics! Mac please listen to what we your consumers are saying. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS MONEY. IF YOU AND I WONT BUY IT, THEN SOMEONE ELSE WILL. ALL THE COLLECTIONS LOOK THE SAME. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE PUMPED INTO THAT COMPANY AND THEY SCREW THE CONSUMER ANY WAY THEY CAN. ONCE THE PACKAGE CHANGES, THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCT DECREASES, BUT THE PRICE STAYS THE SAME…. TAKE A LOOK AT THE PIGMENTS. Im from europe and in my mac counter it says this collection will be launched in february IT’S ALWAYS THE SAME COLORS THAT COME OUT, WITH A FUNNY DESIGN IN THE MIDDLE. MAC MAKES MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR, AND THATS ALL THEY CAN PULL OUT OF THERE… All the shadows seem dupable but I still like the color combos. I’d get at least the lipsticks or the glosses. As much as I like the packaging though, I’m passing on this. They need more originality. Are all of the lipsticks lustre formulas? Two of them dont say anything. I love how mac is doing complete lips- so they have 3 different sticks and glosses, but each one belongs with another of the exact (or similar) shade. way 2 go MAC only the eyeshadows and blushes are calling out to me 🙂 thank God! cute collection but pass…love the jeans design in the shadow;) I think MAC needs to revamp! Come on- everything is SO similar. How about a quad with a smokey charcoal, matte violet, shimmery teal, and a duo-chrome champagne/pink color. IDK, just something different! Can’t wait for the eyeshadows, but i wonder if the little button is just a spray-on like the blush from the to the beach collection? Acid Washed lipstick would sadly probably look like a disaster on me, but I may take a quick gander at it but the Painted On lipglass maybe I could do; maybe it could be a good replacement for my Flesh lipglass from the Mickey Contractor line once it runs out… The burgundy lipstick and lipglass look pretty too though. And Pretty Please lipstick is probably not that much different from Angel or Plink! or something like that. Pretty! I want those lipglasses! I THINK THIS COLLECTION REMINDS ME OF WET N WILD UGLIEST THING MAC HAS COME OUT WITH. i LOVE these! i’m a new MAC addict and look best in cool tones.. i love so many of these! although i can’t really tell what the eyeshadows look like quite yet. i can’t wait for you to swatch them 🙂 I am a sucker for anything “pearlescent” so I might check out that nail polish, as long as it’s not streaky.. 🙂 Speaking of pealescent, I really wish I could get my hands on the mac lustre drops in pink rebel, I can’t believe I missed it! Any idea when we will have swatches? Also any word on this Daisy collection that was mentioned awhile back? I am now hearing on Specktra.net it was only a working name & that may have now changed. Help! I ‘m looking forward to seeing your swatches of these , I ‘m very interested in this collestion SO freaking excited about this one!!! all of this looks lovely !i cannot wait for the shadows+polishes!! OMG! Im freaking out over this upcoming collection!! Ok so MAC doing a bit much with the collections I have found some pieces I like out of every one of them and this collection is kinda losing my interest I think they should give us a break to regroup and come with something hot for the summer just my opinion Any chance you are going to have an opportunity to swatch these before the official launch? Inquiring minds want to know so they can make critical budget decisions lol… I will do my best, but I can’t make any promises, sorry! I’m already lusting after the nail lacquers and a couple of the lippies. But I’m going to have to get Motorhead eyeshadow – Motörhead is pretty much my favorite band in the universe ^_^ I love MAC but I rarely get excited about the new collections (haha) but there’s something cool about this one that I’m definitely interested in! Pretty Please is my fav lipstick of all time, and probs the most (in my opinion) uinique shade of MAC’s, and it was the first i ever bought way back in the day, to now ive bought like at least 10+ i love it! everytime i go mac i tend to get one i love it… I cant wait to try the lipglass that compliments it xD im gonna do some face chart looks, like 20 dif looks u can do with the lipstick haha i love it that much xD I love the bright blush colour and the lipglasses actually from this collection but the e/s’s which ud think wud b the star of the collection are like lacklustre! im not a fan of this printed shadows, they cost too much aswell and the pattern disapears after abit and ur left with nothing but a plain colour u could have paid $3 for at a drugstore cos they aint special colours but… u never no xD *hopes up for this one mac* x I might check out a lipstick or lipglass, but not too sure. Can’t wait to see the reviews and swatches. Thanks Christine <3 I kinda like the dark lipstick. The rest can go hang although if I liked polish enough to pay the price the shades are nice. the only thing i Dont like about this collection is the eyeshadow… can’t wait for the lipstick, blush and nail polish!!! MAC’s promo people must have a specific photoshop brush for adding the speckles to polish and gloss. 😛 It always looks like that, then the product is always different. The lipsticks and glasses look like they fit right into the Felines collection. That blue nail polish is pretty and I don’t have anything like it so I may just get that because I’m a lacquer junkie. The eyeshadows do not look unique enough for $19.50. 🙁 The eyeshadows look cool and the lipsticks are pretty colors. It’s not that exciting of a collection though… I’m completely passing on this collection. There’s not one thing that really caught my eye :/ The eyeshadows are really interesting but of course, it sucks that the design was just an overlay. Thanks for your review Christine! I’m not getting anything from this collection. I don’t like it. it’s up for sale So new thinking, the way that the eyeshadows look, love it! loving the dark nail polish too 🙂 Where do you get these photos?? There is no source to be referred to and I’ve seen the exact same photos from Macy’s.com and Nordstrom.com. Can someone clarify the exact sources of the images, where they come from? Thanks! MAC sent them to me, so there is no source to cite. Hi dolls! Ok so I rushes to my local mac counter after beauty school this past Thursday with full intent to purchase the entire collection. With $200 cash in hand and a big grin on my face I ran to the counter, but to my dismay it was blah! The eyeshadows were “ok” and the blushes I felt like this had been done before. I know the eyeshadows look cool but the little rivet in the corner of pan weren’t even pressed through >:^• ya they look cool and would be a nice addition to my growing collection but but but it was a yawn. I felt like there were more exciting colors in the regular collection. What I did purchase from this collection was the lipglass in “painted on” and the lipstick in “acid washed” they left my lips looking quite “virgin-esk” there not ment to have a ton of pigment cuase there luster and that’s ok with me the total washed out look realy isn’t my thing. Any way in all I say leave it the new cream blushes and sheer creamy lipstick were much more interesting. Most brands, have made a “jeans” oriented make up collection. Cannot understand why as it doesn’t give you much inspiration… Anyway. The colours are nothing much, not impressive at all, rather boring. Sorry MAC, but nothing special this time! Wait to check them out though!

High School Exchange in Spain Student exchange in Spain: meet a volunteer Spanish host family eager to share with you their language and culture and improve your Spanish knowledge through a constant immersion into Spanish! You will go to school with your Spanish classmates and make new friends. Be an exchange student in Spain? Join a unique High School exchange in Spain specifically designed for native English speakers: international students are welcomed by a volunteer Spanish family looking for a deep cultural and language exchange. They host our exchange students voluntarily but expect in return to experience a real international exposure for themselves and their kids: you will learn Spanish from them but the exchange will also help them to improve their English skills! Exchange students in Spain attend regular classes in a Spanish public or private High School. This is a complete Spanish immersion program! Why learn Spanish? Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world: make the difference and become bilingual in Spain! The best way to achieve this is to experience an exchange program in Spain because a long term Spanish immersion will allow you to learn efficiently, and practise! After a few weeks, you will even dream in Spanish! Study in a High School in Spain! Students come for a full academic year in Spain from September to June (public or private school), a Semester or a Term (private school), and even for short term programs (a few weeks, in private schools only). Spanish students attend 10-12 subjects a week at High School level. The 10th grade mainly offers mandatory subjects (2 electives may be added), while 11th and 12th grade offer students to specialize into Science and Technology, Social Science or Humanities (as well as Arts in some schools). Grade 11 and 12 are dedicated to the preparation of the Bachillerato (16-18 years old). During their secondary school studies Spanish students usually attend classes from 8am to 2 or 3pm. Some schools also have lessons in the afternoon but this is not the majority of schools. If you have a lower Spanish level you may enroll in an intensive Spanish course before the academic year starts in September (extra cost, 16+ students only) and also have access to a totally free online Spanish e-learning platform that will help you to improve those areas that might need reinforcement (listening, speaking, and writing skills). Highlights of the High School exchange in Spain: - Best Immersion Experience in Spain: Students are living with a warm and welcoming Spanish host family while attending school like any other local student. - Guardianship and Support 24/7: Students receive full support from the host family, the local coordinator and our professional team. - Free online Spanish preparation course: Nacel provides you with a free e-learning platform for you to start practicing your Spanish before your arrival. - Credited program: Based on your academic performance you have the opportunity to receive transcripts at the end of the program and therefore earn credits back home (restrictions may apply, please contact our advisors for further information). - Competitive price: Our affordable prices open the doors for you to embark on an unforgettable academic and cultural experience in Spain. You may already know Spain as a tourist: its rich culture and history, its architecture, landscapes, costalines, beaches and food! We allow you to become BILINGUAL and BICULTURAL. You will not only gain a language: you will also become the best of yourself, and increase your level of international awareness, your intercultural skills, your maturity and independence. You will be ready to continue your journey into a multicultural world. Join the high school exchange in Spain! Accommodation Volunteer Host Families Within this high school exchange in Spain, students are hosted by volunteer families. Volunteer host families are carefully selected based on hosting conditions, motivations, expectations. We match a student with a host family based on the host family and the student's application form. Prepare your host family letter and your pictures very carefully: this will help us to make the best match! Spanish host families are known for being very welcoming and enthusiastic of getting to know the culture of our students. They also expect from their student to help them improve their English skills. This is thus a real exchange program in Spain. Staying with a Spanish host family: Students are required to integrate with the family activities such as trips and days out. It is also important that the student gets involved with housework responsibilities. Host families offer a full board accommodation and packed lunches during school days. International not only experience the life with the host family but also get to know the extended family: grandparents, cousins etc. The local coordinator is available anytime to support the host family or the student whenever needed during the high school exchange in Spain. High School exchange in Spain: How does it work? - You prepare your application form and tell us more about YOU: your age, your motivations, your expectations, your hobbies and interests - Knowing you better, we select the BEST Spanish host family to welcome you in their home: they do not only share their home with you, but their heart, their language and their culture. Find a new home and family abroad! - Get prepared: we guide you through all steps, including through the visa processes, departure arrangements and your Spanish and academic preparation. You never walk alone! - Welcome to Spain: YOUR host family is there to welcome you! YOUR local coordinator helps you settle in during the first days and stay in touch with you to check if everything goes smoothly! Enjoy your study abroad in Spain with Nacel. Looking for a placement in the South of Spain? Opt for the High School in Andalusia! Procedures Application Process: The application to your high school exchange in Spain is done in six stages: 1. An interview is carried out with you and your family to determine eligibility. 2. Once you complete the booking, we will send you the application forms that will need to be carefully filled out and must be sent back to us via email in a PDF file. 3. Once you are accepted in the program, we will issue the formal acceptance and start working on your placement. 4. Arrangements are made for your placement and communicated to you. 5. We assist you in applying for your visa if necessary; we will send you a Visa application guide. 6. You determine your travel arrangements and we organize your transfers upon your arrival. Contact us to learn more abut the Spanish school system and prepare yourself for a successful high school exchange in Spain! Prices High School exchange program in Spain (English native speakers) * Price in Euros per participant. ** Only available to native English speakers Not included : Application Fees (65 EUR) Price includes - Administration fees - Host school placement and local orientation - Host family accommodation with full board - Airport pick-up and transfers to host family, from the closest airport to the family - Support, assistance and 24 hour emergency phone number during the whole program - Medical, Liability and Emergency Repatriation Insurance Price does not include - International airfare - Travel insurance (luggage lost, flight delay etc.) - Visa, passport and medical exam fees - Private school extra fees, extra language courses - Books, lockers, laboratories, yearbook, class ring, letter jacket, student activities etc… - Local transportation from and to school - Extra activities such as sports, excursions, etc… - Airport pick-up and transfers outside the dates indicated or in another airport - Personal expenses and pocket money Eligibility Exchange students must be interviewed in their home country before being accepted for a High School exchange in Spain (preferably in Spanish). A minimum of two years of Spanish study and good academic results are required to study in Spain. Students must be English native speakers. Testimonials Ellen had a wonderful time. Thank you for all your help. Ellen’s mother. Hola Nacel! No te he olvidado durante mi año aquí en España, y estoy totalmente enamorada con Asturias. He estado estudiando para 5 meses, y como dice mi padre de aquí, "si estas comiendo 3 dedos, ya acabaste dos y solo queda uno." Pero estoy muy triste que en 4 meses hay que volver a mi país y tengo que dejar a mi familia española. Pero bueno, no pasa nada. Ahora mismo, estoy muy contenta. smile emoticon Estoy estudiando mucho porque en un mes, vamos a Cádiz para Semana Santa. ¡Tengo muchas ganas! Así que estoy estudiando, en los fines de semanas voy al cine con Celia y nos dormimos en la casa de mi abuela. Cocinamos mucho, que me encanta. Ahora, sé cómo se hace la tortilla española, fabada asturiana y lentejas. Otra vez, gracias por todo. Sin vosotros, este viaje no habría sido posible, y ha cambiado mi vida. Besos, Sophia We worked with Nacel for 6 months to prepare our 15-year old daughter for a year of high school abroad in Spain. The staff were very responsive, answering all of our questions and addressing our concerns immediately. Emails and phone calls were responded to quickly, and the staff were always available by phone. Additionally the Nacel staff went above and beyond their role to problem solve with us when we experienced challenges and confusion in the bureaucratic process of the embassy requirements. Our host family selection was done with thought and care for our daughter’s age and experience level. It is obvious that a positive student experience is paramount at Nacel. We felt at all times that we were working with individuals who cared for our daughter's well-being (and ours as parents, too.) At the time of departure, we felt fully prepared, knowing where our child would be going, what she would need for the school system and life abroad, and we were put in direct communication with our fantastic host family to guide us into a successful year abroad. Thank you to all the Nacel staff involved in making our daughter’s dream a reality. Thank you! Aidan is doing great and Marta is a sweetheart. He is very happy with his family. Marta and I talk back and forth she is doing wonderfully with her English. Thank you again for this amazing and life changing experience that you helped facilitate for Aidan. Brooke C. I spent two weeks in July 2015 in the Barcelona, Spain homestay program living in the Sabadell suburb area. I traveled to Spain from U.S. and was the only American student in this program. My homestay family was a very nice, retired lady, Anna, who was very kind and nurturing. My roommate was a French student who I became very close to and enjoyed my time with her. We got along very well and had many common interests. This homestay program provided me with a great exposure to the Spanish culture. I got to spend time with my host family, which included a grand daughter who also became a goodf riend. I continue to be in contact with all the new friends that I made this summer. …Overall, I would highly recommend this homestay program to students who want to experience life in Spain. I made many good friends on this trip and hope to continue to stay in touch with them, including my homestay family and tutor.

How can we teach young people about “white supremacy” within the constraints of a typical Sunday school? What are some of the theoretical considerations, and what are some practical considerations? One of my professional organizations, the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) has called on Unitarian Universalist religious educators to participate in a “white supremacy teach-in” in the coming weeks, to follow up on the denominational brouhaha which led to the resignation of Peter Morales from the presidency of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). This is a great call to action, but where do we come up with pedagogical strategies to teach children and teens about white supremacy? I’ll get to practical suggestions after a brief review of theoretical resources; although if you’re a hands-on educator you may want to go straight to practical suggestions, skipping over theoretical considerations which may seem pretty remote from actual children and teens. Theoretical resources Practical suggestions Let’s start with the obvious: with bell hooks and her book Teaching to Transgress, and with Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Both these books provide useful theoretical perspectives. However, in my experience these books are not very useful for children and young people since they focus on persons age 18 and up. Lev Vygotsky is another obvious source of pedagogical insight. Vygotsky’s theories provide us with such well-known concepts of “scaffold-and-fade,” and the zone of proximal development. For a helpful summary of zone of proximal development, I like Seth Chaiklin, “The Zone of Proximal Development in Vygotky’s Analysis of Learning and Instruction,” in Kozulin et al., Vygotsky’s Educational Theory and Practice in Cultural Context [Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003]). Chaiklin makes a number of points that might prove helpful. Chaiklin points out “the zone for a given age period is normative, in that it reflects the institutionalized demands and expectations that developed historically in a particular societal tradition of practice,” thus implying a strong connection between institutional demands and children’s development. Chaiklin also carefully defines the technical meaning of “imitation” in Vygotsky, and then points out that “the main focus for collaborative interventions is to find evidence for maturing psychological functions, with the assumption that the child could only take advantage of these interventions because the maturing function supports an ability to understand the significance of the support being offered”; thus, there are definite psychological and developmental limitations to the amount of learning that can take place within the child. And in a Unitarian Universalist context, I believe it’s helpful to connect Vygotsky’s collectivist understanding of learning and development with James Luther Adam’s theological conception of the congregation as a voluntary association in mass democracy. Adams’s conception of congregations as voluntary associations helps us understand that face-to-face and personal encounters within a congregation help prevent the atomization of the individual, which in turn can prevent mass democracies from hurtling towards totalitarianism. So Vygotsky teaches us that “a person is able to perform a certain number of tasks alone, while in collaboration, it is possible to perform a greater number of tasks”; and Adams’s work suggests not only that the congregation is a place where we can collaborate together to support a liberative and liberal democracy, but also that the congregation as a whole can support the developmental growth of children and teens towards healthy maturity. Another useful theological resources is William R. Jones’s essay Theism and Humanism: The Chasm Narrows. In this essay, Jones makes a very helpful connection between theism and the “left wing” of theism: both are humanocentric worldviews, in which it is up to humans to effect positive change. Jones help us see that we can’t wait around for some Daddy God to bail us out — for that matter, nor can we wait around for Big Daddy Science to bail us out — a humanocentric point of view acknowledges that it’s up to us humans to effect change. (Jones makes the same point in his book Is God a White Racist?) For theoretical resources specific to religious education, I’d turn to my other professional organization, the interfaith and international Religious Education Association (REA), which includes both scholars and practitioners. Over the years, the REA has published or presented interesting scholarship on how to teach liberation and social justice; the most notable recent instance is REA’s 2012 conference “Let Freedom Ring”: Religious Education at the Intersection of Social Justice, Liberation, and Civil/Human Rights. So REA conference proceedings and the REA journal Religious Education have plenty of theoretical material that would help in teaching about white supremacy. The problem with the REA publications is that you have to read through a great deal of material to find relevant articles, and even then you often have to do some translation from another cultural contexts (e.g., figuring out how an article outlining teaching peace to Israeli and Palestinian youth might translate to a U.S. context). Beyond REA publications, there are plenty of progressive religious educators who have written books that offer resources for this kind of endeavor. A couple of books that come immediately to mind are John Westerhof’s book Learning through Liturgy, and Robert Pazmino’s Foundational Issues in Christian Education; Westerhof’s book helps usnderstand how learning takes place in and through worship services; and I have found Bob’s book extremely helpful in confronting my own internal inclinations and biases. A few Unitarian Universalists with anti-Christian biases and prejudices might be repelled by these books; but I’d suggest that the exercise of tamping down anti-Christian biases long enough to find the good in those books could be a useful preparatory exercise for those who have a serious desire to teach against racial bias and prejudice. As an educator, I have been greatly inspired by Marcia Chatelaine’s workshop “Talking to Students about Ferguson,” given at Ferry Beach Conference Center in July, 2015. Chatelaine, a professor of history at Georgetown University, helped me understand how intersectionality could be a useful pedagogical strategy. Her workshop also helped me to understand how to get past the strong emotions elicited by Ferguson; she suggested addressing Ferguson from within one’s own area of disciplinary expertise. Thus, as a historian, she could talk about the history of Ferguson as a white-flight suburb, using her are of disciplinary expertise to generate insight. Finally, I would also turn to the works of educational philosopher Maxine Greene. In particular, I have found her short essay “Diversity and Inclusion: Towards a Curriculum for Human Beings” to be foundational for the kind of liberative religious education I hold us as an ideal. I’ll give one brief excerpt from this essay that might serve as an inspiration for a suitable pedagogic practice for teaching about white supremacy: “[T]here has been a prevalent conception of the self (grand or humble, master or slave) as predefined, fixed, separate. Today we are far more likely, in the mode of John Dewey and existentialist thinkers, to think of selves as always in the making. We perceive them creating meanings, becoming in an intersubjective world by means of dialogue and narrative. We perceive them telling their stories, shaping their stories, discovering purposes and possibilities for themselves, reaching out to pursue them. We are moved to provoke such beings to keep speaking, to keep articulating, to devise metaphors and images, as they feel their bodies moving, their feet making imprints as they move towards others, as they try to see through other’s eyes. Thinking of beings like that, may of those writing today and painting and dancing and composing no longer have single-focused, one-dimensional creatures in mind as models or as audiences. Rather, they think of human beings in terms of open possibility, in terms of freedom and the power to choose.” I wanted to end with that passage from Maxine Greene because it points the way to the kind of flexible, learner-focused teaching that I want to do. When I translate these (and other) theoretical resources into practical pedagogy for young people in a Unitarian Universalist Sunday school setting, here are some of the things I think about: 1. My teaching will be centered on activities that allow learners to be “selves in the making.” And, given my own strengths as a teacher, this means I’m going to use the arts; and knowing my limitations as a teacher, I’m going to do best with telling stories (I could see other people using dance, drama, etc., but those are not in my skill set). [This point inspired by Maxine Greene.] 2. My learners are going to be at various points in their development. I would love to be able to do some kind of formal pre-assessment, but that’s not realixtic in the context of an hour-long Sunday school session. Therefore, I’ll have to be a flexible teacher, willing to adjust my lesson plan to accommodate those who turn out to know very little, as well as those those who already know a lot. [See Bob Pazmino’s chapters on “Sociological Foundations” and “Curricular Foundations.”] 3. The educational goal of teaching about white supremacy is a BIG task. Since I have to be realistic about what can be taught (and learned) in a given limited time, I’m going to set realistic — and probably modest modest — educational objectives for one teach-in session. But for the long term, I will also continue the liberative educational praxis I’m already using and committed to. [See bell hooks about the realities of teaching.] 4. Anybody who has taught knows that teachers have to regulate the emotional temperature of a class. The phrase “white supremacy” will obviously generate strong emotions in many people; in fact, that’s the whole point of using that phrase. But I don’t want to limit my educational objective to merely eliciting emotions of shame, anger, guilt, and/or hatred, because from experience I know that too much of those emotions can stop the learning process temporarily (e.g., white people can shut down due to shame, non-white people can shut down due to anger, etc.). So I’ll need to balance how these emotions are elicited in the short-term, against a long-term goal of liberative educational praxis. 5. Oversimplification is always a temptation in teaching, and I think it’s a particularly strong temptation when teaching about white supremacy. To avoid oversimplification, I’m going to take inspiration from Marcia Chatelaine’s advice on teaching about Ferguson: use intersectionality. Intersectionality asks: how are different oppressions linked? (I suspect this will be an especially useful approach for adult Unitarian Universalists, because so many of them are already doing significant work and learning in sexism, classism, ablism, homophobia, etc.; thus intersectionality can connect what they’ve already accomplished and learned about to the topic of white supremacy.) [This point inspired by Marcia Chatelaine.] 6. Chatelaine also suggests: focus on an intellectual discipline or subject area you know well, and delve into that. The intellectual disciplines where I have some level of professional knowledge and expertise — philosophy, liberal theology, religious education — aren’t particularly well suited to teaching children and teens about white supremacy. So I tried to think of a subject area where, although I don’t have professional expertise, I have enough knowledge that I could teach something to children — and I thought of environmental justice, a topic I have already taught to children and teens, and a topic that lies at the center of social justice concern in our congregation. ——— The above are some preliminary considerations and practical ideas for implementing a one-shot “teach-in” on white supremacy. Note that what I am proposing does not necessarily conform to the teach-in called for by Black Lives of UUU. I’m specifically addressing the educational considerations of teaching young people in a Sunday school setting; Black Lives of UU has issued a broader call to include this topic in worship services, Sunday morning Forum, etc. Furthermore, my practical ideas grow out my own congregation, here in the very specific cultural context of the Bay Area — a region where Cesar Chavez started his career, a region where Chinese immigrants at times lived in virtual slavery, a region where Japanese Americans were illegally (and immorally) interned during the Second World War, a region where one police force (Oakland P.D.) was under federal control because of racial prejudice. I could also mention Oscar Grant. I could also mention to overt sexism and racism of Silicon Valley companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, etc., and of start-up culture, and of Silicon Valley venture capital firms. In terms of environmental justice, I might consider why it is that East Palo Alto, a historically black city, doesn’t have enough water supply to support the kind of development that could bring more jobs (and could also bring more gentrification that might drive out people of color). Bay Area racial history is complex, and your area will differ.

Richard Dolan has just published the big owl book project through his own publishing company. He has also been a unwavering supporter of this rather unconventional work. Any author will go through pangs of insecurity, and Rich has been there to encourage me to trust what I have tried to create. He also wrote the foreword to the book, and this is posted in its entirety below. ______________________________________________ Foreword to The Messengers by Richard M. Dolan You are about to read one of the most original books ever written on UFOs, one that will make any thoughtful person ask fundamental questions about the nature of reality itself. More than any work in recent memory, it successfully ties the UFO phenomenon not simply to possible extraterrestrial intelligences, but to synchronicities, ancient archetypes, dreams, shamanistic experiences, magic, personal transformation, and death. And owls. Because Mike Clelland has gathered together compelling and persuasive accounts from innumerable people who have had UFO sightings and apparent abduction experiences in conjunction with absolutely bizarre experiences with owls. Yes, real owls, not owls as screen memories of something else (although as anyone familiar with abduction research knows, this has been reported from time to time). The accounts of these people -- including those of Mike himself -- suggest undeniable synchronicities at work. That is, coincidences that are highly meaningful to the persons involved. So meaningful in some cases that they seem staged for that person, and usually in a manner that only that person could decipher. This is heady stuff for those of us raised in the standard western-based materialistic rendition of reality, one with a comprehensible cause and effect, and one in which there are no unseen intelligences at work playing us like characters in a video game. And yet, as one goes through account after account of meticulously documented experiences, it becomes hard to avoid thinking along these lines. read more below ______________________________________________________________ Some of the synchronicities in this book defy common sense. Mike writes about two women living only 43 miles apart from each other in Massachusetts with experiences so parallel, with such similarity in detail, that they seem like bookends. Both had a kind of mystical experience after a focused intention that had a profound effect on their lives. Both of them had this experience while lying on their outdoor hammock. For both of them, their event started while they were alone, and both were soon joined by their child and husband. They were even friends on Facebook, although unaware of each other’s hammock experience. They even look remarkably alike. For one of the women, the mystical encounter involved two owls; for the other, it was the sighting of a UFO. As Mike wrote, “it feels like the owl and UFO are, in many ways, playing the same metaphysical role in each story.” Even stranger perhaps, Mike happened to interview these two women one day apart from each other. Other stories included here suggest that owls play a role in a number of alien or UFO encounters. One witness stated that his contact experiences “were often preceded or followed by the sound of owls on top of my house hooting.” Others seem to have been directed to see UFOs because of actions by owls. In one case, a husband and wife were relaxing together on a dock when the hooting of an owl led directly to the couple seeing an inexplicable UFO high in the sky. I believe Mike Clelland has made several contributions toward understanding UFOs and the phenomenon of encounters with apparent alien beings. One of these is his notion of “the maybe people.” The idea of UFO abduction is fraught with preconceptions and baggage, and a very specific idea has emerged of what it is supposed to involve. There are certainly accounts that play out with all the harrowing details of getting plucked from a lonely road or a bedroom at night. But there is a more subtle gray zone, where large numbers of people have described many of the strange aspects relating to this mystery, yet without any UFO contact. Mike’s concept of “the maybe people” underscores the complexity of this phenomenon. But this is more than a UFO book. In these accounts, the presence of owls signify important personal and transformative events in a person’s life. Certainly, this can include a UFO encounter, but these owls are also serving as harbingers of other forms of spiritual awakening. And they are connected to death--the ultimate transformation. What’s interesting is that this is precisely how ancient people understood owls. It is in fact a restatement of their ancient archetype: their ability to peer into the darkness representing an ability to penetrate the many dark mysteries of existence. One of these stories concerns a woman who saw a large white owl outside her window as she was jolted out of a sound sleep. It sat on a bare branch, positioned perfectly for her to see it. The next morning, she again woke with a start. Just as she sat up in bed, the phone rang, informing her of the death of a family member. This woman also had multiple UFO sightings, a near-death experience, possessed psychic abilities, and had other strange events occur in her life. As Mike wrote, “it’s as if her lifetime of unusual experiences created an opening that morning for an owl to land on that bare branch. It could be that this owl was delivering a message, sad though it may have been, to someone with the life experiences that would allow her to receive it.” Another account described here concerns a man who was literally touched on the forehead by the wing of an owl that flew alongside his car as he drove. The owl and the man locked eyes in “some sort of hypnotic trance” before it glided off. Of course, this itself is practically unheard of, but several other elements make this event mysterious and profound. As Mike takes us into its progressively deeper layers, we see it intimately connecting to the man’s medical history, his psychic flashes, a close up UFO sighting from his front door, his long lost sibling, and much more. We discern the pattern of a transcendent intelligence. Among the most poignant stories in this book concerns a woman who’s suicide surely seems to have been prevented by the appearance of an owl at exactly the right moment. The manner in which this happened is, like so many stories in this book, uncanny. The encounter with the owl stunned her, and it triggered a deep realization to face her fears and recognize that life would get better. In this story, like all the others in this book, there are layers of meaning that are made clear as we go deeper into the experience. Something very odd is going on in our world. It is not simply the manifestation into our physical reality of things that western culture merely considers symbolic or archetypal. It is also that these manifestations appear in a bizarrely synchronistic manner. It is as if someone or some intelligence is pulling the strings of our reality, and doing so in order to tell us something. To teach us. So, what are these owls doing? Mike believes they are best seen as messengers, hence the title of this book. And what is the message? Somehow, it has to do with transformation, and the need to wake up and pay attention. Pay attention to what is going on in your life, and to the true nature of reality. As he puts it, “when someone is deeply asleep, whispering won’t wake them. Sometimes you have to really shake them. If that doesn’t work, send in the owls.” Although this book includes intriguing stories from so many people, the main journey here is that of the author himself. Mike Clelland has examined his life with a rare commitment to the truth. It isn’t that he planned to undertake this project. Rather, as he said, something triggered it. That something, as strange as it would seem, was owls. When he began exploring his own past with bravery and honesty, he found much more than he had ever imagined. During this process, he went through moments of great duress and even questioned his own sanity. He has now come to terms with his own alien encounters, which he describes here with great detail and power. Indeed, the event he aptly calls his “confirmation event,” is nothing short of mind-blowing. It’s refreshing, too, that he writes about all this not as a victim, nor as some sort of new age prophet. In telling his story, Mike simply strips away all pretense and dedicates himself to exposing the truth as best he can. As a result, his deeply personal journey is one that we can all relate to. His research itself was filled with oddities. During the writing of this book, he related to me how the stories themselves would arrive to his email in a synchronistic flurry. And while it is obvious that he has done a great deal of research in creating this wonderful book, he strongly believes that the core of it happened magically. We might well wonder if a guiding intelligence has simply used him as the conduit for making it happen. He seems to feel that way. Like all works of great originality, The Messengers is hard to describe because there are no clean and neat categories within which to place it. That is why writing about it has been a challenge. Perhaps the book that feels the most like this one is Whitley Strieber’s classic, Communion, another profound and personal journey that explores the high strangeness of alien encounters. Even so, The Messengers is something new. I believe Mike Clelland is taking the study of UFOs and what we loosely call the paranormal into a new and fresh direction. It is as if he has opened up a new vision of exploring our reality, a new vein in which to explore and dig further. Answers will be hard to come by. But the questions make it all worthwhile. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 2 comments: Mike - One can't get a better recommendation than one from Rich Dolan! Congratulations on the publication. I received my copy yesterday and finding it difficult to set down! At about 100 pages in - I'm a bit un-nerved but encouraged. Thank you AND Rich for laying this open! Best regards; Scott Hi Mike, Chris Hancock here. I met you at Experiencers Speak, with Debi Tripp. I'm excited about your book. Congrats on getting it out. Can't wait to receive it and dig in, especially since I've been experiencing an owl synchronicity of my own as of late. Hearing them all the time, in the oddest of places. Even seemingly "on command," i.e. I get a felt sense, I stop and... bam...I hear an owl. About 6 months ago or so one literally flew across the windshield of the car I was driving out of our street at home. My wife was in the passenger seat. Funny enough, she wasn't sure she saw it. Was it for me only? Not sure. But somethings up. Anyway, congrats again. Chris

Feb. 7, 1928, G. N. HEIN MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLUID OUTLET OF AMPULES Filed April 16, 1927 7 %7% 5 allow @H Patented Feb. 7; 1923. V I 1 UNITED STATES lATENT OFFICE. .enonen N. item, or sen rniinoisoo, ostrronnin. MEANS FUR CONTROLLING THE FLUID OUTLET OF AMPULES; Application filed April 16, 1927. Serial No. 184,198. The present invention relates to the moons filtering screen and provided with it yield controlling the transferring or discharge able cmiuiression vnlve. of third from the mitlet of mnuules and is Referrrn to the drmvln 's where n l-llifl 1 l7 7 r: m J adopted 4 s generally. ing parts, the numeral 1 designates n 0011- so he invention are to provide ventionol thin glass ampule preierehl vt or c trolling the discharge of pointed at its opposite ends as atfl, although the on, et oi ampules; to provide the same may he pointedonlv at one endnt filtering the discharged fluid 2-Fig. 4. Overone end of the oinpule admission into the barrel of a tightly fitted or stretched an elastic tubular 65 *ode c s e or other vhle reeepsleeve 8. The treeiend oi: the sleeve isnoren ondto provide or qnsi and positive inally closedhy a conjipressionvalve, illus means for sealing portinllyused ampules to tinted es comprising nyieldahle Wall 4, dispreclude the circulation of air therethrough. posed transversely of the end; ofthe sleeve With the above inentio? 2d and other ohzi -d provided with on elongatedislit 6, the 7 iects in view the invention co l the 1 0t which are normallyinmeeting relnand l n or ports tion to the slit, constituting a valve opening. ' F the nc- The Wall 4i may be integral with ore part out in separate from the sleeve so long: as it extends under transversely otthe sleeve and is provided i, pr Withnn opening capable of being distorted. t portion, size and minor trim The other end of. the enipuleinsy also he tion Within the scope oi ns may be pro ided With an elastic tubular sleeve 7 resorted to without departing from the detochnbly carrying at its "free endaii vo conispirit or sacrificing any of the advantages cnl iilteringscreenlh the hese'lO of which is t0 of the invention. 7 embraced by the end 8 of the sleeveeFigs. To more fully comprehend the invention, Qimd 3. or use in connection characters of reference indicate correspondit means prior to novel construction herein: or de l coni 'ienying d. swings n. the claims h v stood that various: chnn reference is directed to the accompanying The elastic sleeves after positioning on drawings, wherein oppos1te ends of the :nnpule gripped he- Fig. 1 is a iew in id l v tion of n tween the fingers and are given a slight lne he einpnle showing the tubular sleeve members eral movement W B sired to fracture in position on each pointed end thereof. the znnpule ends, as shown in 3, 4e and Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of n 5, thefracturing etlordine; the fl id i'lQ double end sinpnle, illustrating in longifrom the mnpnle by gravity whentippedon In; tudinnl section the sleeve members in postend d l i admitted i uppe 6 1d 0f 0 w :1 cap covering the filtering means the ends '5 s eeve 7, as shown in Fig. 3 closing the Fin, 5 is a. View inv side elevation of an W 5 is elite-1161861 lilo 1001111 3 :1 view in ii nil oi the sleeve carrying the 7 preferably over the other end, the ends oi: tion, one bein provided ith a filt i the :inipule. This sir admission iscontrolled screen, and the end oi? the other being pro- 136 5 31 the a H l ite t 1 1 vided wit it yieldeble compression valve. slit 6, HS Shown in 1f desired? A Sealf Fi 3 is a View Simflm to Fi 2 l i ing cap 11 may be fitted over the outer end f th 21111191118 ba t a g, end of sleeve 7 and sealing the unused. con- Fig. l: illustrates a single end ztrnpule with tents 01? said ilmlmle fewest P -EQ- the sleeve member in position emln'ncing its Figil ustletes a construction ivn fractured discharge end. the end oi the sleeve 3 he 'ond the slotted ole bulb 9 :nnpnle with the sleeve embracing its tapered rueture 12 provided with a l end, th 5199, at it outer d b i trolled air vent 13. This structure pan \Jidgd ith a i ld bl b lb h i a t ticulnrly adapted for i'forcing the fluid under therein. pressure "from the empule Where speed is re- Fj 6 i a i i d l ti f a sleeve quired or Where the density of the fluid conshowing the compression valve in its normal t n s of the empule is too greet to pass by or closed position. Y gravity through the filtering screen 9. Fig. 7 illustrates the compression valve in In p o With h ve 3 p sitioned its compressed or open position. Fig. 8 i over one end of the ampule, and the sleeve int ill) the ainpule are fractured; the slit Walls of sleeve 3 are compressed endvvise of the slit (5, asshown inFig. 7, opening the Slit thereby admitting air into the ampule, allowing the fluid to discharge by gravity from its opposite iraetured enthand it sleeve 7 is in position the fluid passes through the lilter- ,ingscreen 9 into any desired receptacle. Where the density ofthe thud too great to pass through the filtering means, the sleeve (Fig. 5) carrying thebulb structure 12 at its free end may be used. In this construction, the airvent 13 is closed by placing the linger thereover and the bulb compressed, which forces air through the slit (5 1n the Wall 5, thus forcing the fluid under pressure from the am pulse and through the filtering means. \Vhen the lingerie; removed from the air vent 13 and the same is opened to allow air to enter the bulb Stl'!l(lture, and pressure on the bull released the bulb assumes its normal position, the slit in the vall closes, tillttpl'GtfltltltE the ad mission of air into the ampule. a One end2 of the ampule may be fractured and removed prior to placing the sleeve 3 thereover, and when the opposite end is broken, the ampule contents rill be pre [cludedtrom flowing therefrom until such time as the slit 6 of the sleeve is opened, admitting air into the ampule. The sleeve 3 with the bulb structure 12 at its end may be used as previously described to force the fluid under compression from the ampule or the samemay be used in the same manner, as the sleeves 3, illus trated in Figs. 1 to i inclusive. When used to control the gravity flow of the ampule contents it is only necessary to compress the Wall 5 endwise of the slit 6, the necessary air to displace the fluid discharging from the ampule being admitted through thenormally open vent 13. p In Fig. 8 the sleeve 7 is illustrated as being providedintermediate of its ends with a transverse Wall 14 provided with a slit 15 adapted on endwise 0011'11')1'(3Ej.'-1l01] to open and close. i It to be understood that the screen or filtering member may be positioned on either side of the wall It in accordance with manufacturing advantages. With the sleeve T equipped as designated, it will be apparent that both slits (i closing the body inwardly from its open end said wall provided with a normally olosed vent adapted for distortion and opening on l'JtQSilll'Q being applied longitudinally of the we ll transveri'aely or the elastic body. In combination with a fluid eontainim. ampule having pointed ends; a pair otyieldable tubular members, one stretched over each of said ends; an elastic wall dispos wl transversely across the free end of one or" said tubular membersasaid elastic u'all pro vided with a slit adapted -J'or distortion to provide a vent; and means carried by the other n'ien'ibcr for filtering the discharged fluid. i 3. An elastic tubular member :tor stretching over one tapered end of a fragile fluid containingampule, said member comprising a tubular elastic body open at one end and provided with a compressible bulb at its other end; and a slit elastic Wall disposed transversely of said tubular member at a point between the compressible bulb and the open end of the body. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. GIEOIR G11) N. H hi I N, (I ll

By Claire Hastings, from Sheila Connolly's romantic suspense, Once She Knew I like the Christmas season. I teach at Sophia College in western Massachusetts, and December always brings the mass exodus of students, which is great. Not that I don't love them all—they're smart and they ask a lot of challenging questions, and they usually even do the work I ask for, more or less on time. But that means it takes a lot of energy on my part to keep ahead of them, so when they leave for winter break, I can relax, just for a while. Merry Christmas! Yes, I'm reading this post on Christmas Day. I just got home from work. It's snowing and truly beautiful outside-but the ride home was a bit slow. I adore your orchard series and can't wait for your County Cork one. I'm unfamiliar with your romantic suspense, so will have to check it out! Merry Christmas to you all! Yes, it is Christmas day already here in Holland, and I am awake, while my boyfriend is still sleeping. I'll surprise him with a nice brunch if he gets awake in time. So I took the time to read some of my favourite blogposts first. The book sounds good Sheila, goodluck and congrats! This is new to be,too. I'm sure this and the Cork County Mysteries will be favorites also. Hi Sheila. I do not own an e-reader as I like holding a book in my hands, but I would love to read this book. Merry Christmas to all. It's early Christmas morning in New England with very light snow. Perfect. Merry Christmas! What better way to spend those few early morning minutes than reading before all the craziness of Christmas begins. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and best wiahes for a safe and Happy New Year! What a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday! In a comfy chair with a great book, have a healthy, happy safe Christmas! And Merry Christmas to you and all you love! Lynn/MI Merry Christmas! I, too, am reading and posting on Christmas Day. My daughter is going to work, for a couple hours (home health care) and I'm going to cook. Will do "face time" with our daughter who lives in WAshington State while she opens gifts. She's alone this Christmas. Her husband has been deployed to Kurdistan. We're in Nebraska. Wishing a wonderful and safe Christmas to every one! Merry Christmas! There is never a time that I don't read at least for a little bit. Merry Christmas. I'm another Christmas day reader Happy Holidays! Thanks for having this contest. Would like the arc of Buried in a Bog! Merry Christmas!!! Merry Christmas! I always find time to read no matter what the time of day! Reading is my paasion and my great escape to take me away for awhile. Have a great day. Sorry, I meant passion (lol)! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas! I'm currently enjoying the apple orchard mysteries and looking forward to your new series. There's nothing better here in western Massachusetts in winter than curling up with a good book while the snow piles up outside - not that we've had more than a dusting so far, just enough for a white Christmas. Happy holidays! Merry Christmas from MN - where it's COLD! I enjoy the Orchard Mysteries and look forward to this new series. Happy Christmas Another Merry Christmas for MN--and yes, it's really cold here. We already finished our Christmas stuff Sunday & yesterday. Now I am waiting for texts from my far flung daughter and gson. It's not quite like being there, but I do 't have to wait months for news like in wagon train days. How did they stand it??? Anyway, your book sounds like something I'd like!!! I'd love to win an arc. Pen pmettert @ yahoo dot com My teenagers were ready at 5:30 this morning. I even had a little nap after the excitement of scratching lotter tickets. Pie is in the oven so I'm relaxing a bit now. Merry Christmas to all. Sandy 2012 Of course I'm reading this on Christmas day. I have time to use (NOT "waste") while things roast! It is Christmas Day, the visitors are gone, and I have gotten the dishwasher loaded....it is peaceful. And May God Bless Us Everyone. MerryMerry & a HappyHappy to all!!! thank you for the giveaway!!! Merry Christmas! It is Christmas day and I just got back from spending time with and riding my horse. Now I get to relax and curl up with a book. Hope the next book I read will be yours! Merry Christmas! It is Christmas day and I just got back from spending time with and riding my horse. Now I get to relax and curl up with a book. Hope the next book I read will be yours! Yes, I am also reading this on Christmas Day! I almost forgot to check out the blog today. Looking forward to further reading. I am spending most of the day reading until we have to go to my parent's for dinner. Merry Christmas to all. Merry Christmas to all ~ I hope you all got just what you wished for. I know Santa treated me very well this year! Even though my family has had a very rough year, I still feel very blessed. I love your Orchard series and I can't wait to read your new County Cork series! Merry Christmas! bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com Merry Christmas to you. IF i win i want buried in a bog cause i will stare at the cover and imagine myself living there. Merry Christmas! :) As our Christmas day has wrapped up and we're basking in the after-glow of the day's treats and events, I decided to hop on here knowing today was your day to post! I absolutely LOVE your Orchard Series and can't wait for the County Cork Series! I hope that you and your loved ones had a wonderful holiday :) Marie songbird1613 at yahoo dot com I need a new Nook book! Cara Dube [email protected] I want to start the County Cork series. SharonC [email protected] Merry Christmas! Yes I am reading this on Christmas Day, in a blanket with a fire and tea. I adore your orchard series and await the new series. I do not have a E Reader but to win a copy of this new book would be delightful.Mery Christmas Merry Christmas!! I would love to read BURIED IN A BOG thank you. Oh but I am reading this on Christmas Day...or Christmas late evening, LOL. Would love any of the prizes up for grabs. I read this earlier but have just gotten around to posting. As it's not my holiday I went witht the tradition of going to the movies and saw "The Hobbit" (again). This time I saw it in IMAX so I could see 9 minutes of the upcoming Star Trek movie. I am reading this Christmas evening. Hope your Christmas was nice. OK, I tried to post earlier, it didn't work. Hope you had a great Christmas. Merry Christmas and have a great 2013! Thank you for this opportunity. thesecretwriter1(at)gmail(dot)co(dot)uk Thank you for this opportunity. Have a wonderful New Year! thesecretwriter1(at)gmail(dot)com Merry Christmas! I read on Christmas Day too! Got started on 'Brain on Fire' By Susannah Cahalan and couldn't put it down. We got loads of snow too so not going anywhere. I love cozies! CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com Merry Christmas & a prosperous New Year. Great opportunity with thanks. May your New Year bring prosperity and health. Thank you for opportunity. Enjoyed reading the comments. The book sounds really interesting. If I win, I would like the book since I do not have an e-reader. JWIsley(at)aol(dot)com Had a wonderful Christmas and hope to be able to choose from your offerings as the winner. tbranco24 AT gmail DOT com Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is looking forward to the New Year. Thank you for a chance to win. Katie J. johnsonk133[at]yahoo[dot]com Happy Hoildays days to everyone. Happy Hoildays everyone. Great giveaway. Merry Christmas and a Happy Yule--would so love to read ARC pf Buried in a Bog! Happy days to all--would so love to win ARC of Buried in a Bog! keep trying to enter as I would so love to win-ARC of Buried in a BOg would really make me happy--happy winter days to all! LOVE these giveaways!! It's a great thing cuddling up with a good book (ARC or Kindle copy) in this cold weather....well, as cold as it really gets in Florida :) Have a wonderful and blessed New Year!! And a happy Third Day of Christmas to you all. How nice to include ebooks as give-aways. I'm so spoiled by my Kindle that I never never never try reading one of those paper monkeys with minds of their own and keep turning pages by themselves. But authors beware. Without all that paper stuff between you and me on a Kindle, I can read directly into your mind. Happy Third Day of Christmas. Best present yet--a neighbor shoveled my sidewalks. Now I can leave for hot muggy Florida where it never rains, much less snows, knowing the dog-walkers and school children in my neighborhood won't crack their hip in front of My house while I'm gone. How cool to include ebooks as give-aways. I never Never NEVER read those silly paper monkeys with minds of their own, determined to turn pages however the wind blows. But writers beware--without all that paper stuff between you and me when I'm reading on a Kindle, I can see directly into your mind! And I didn't read this on Christmas day. Son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters here for a few days, but they left yesterday - which is when we discovered our internet connection had also left. (Always happens over holidays, somehow.) Fortunately, it's now back with us, so I eagerly hopped on and read this. (And I read the raves previously.) Happy Holidays! I am really looking forward to Sheila's new series. I love how she ties historical elements into her cozies. It satisfies my genealogy & mystery reading passions all in one. Thanks for the giveaway!

Whether you work in a traditional office with a modern office design, on the road, or from a home office, the setup your workspace has, can impact your productivity either negatively or positively. Many small business owners understand what sharing a workspace feels like when too many persons are in a small area. A comfortable work environment is important if you want to keep your productivity levels high. That’s why exploring creative and efficient office design ideas for a small business can be so profitable. Is your small business office design conducive to your workers’ needs and objectives? Is your electric standing desk crowded so much that you are not able to function effectively? It would be wise to consider a new office interior design that could fix all your problems. Now, you may be wondering if a small business owner, such as yourself, can embark on this great task. How can you balance the scales between making the office feel like yours while considering the needs of your employees? Small Business Office Ideas Your office is more than just the place you show up on Mondays through to Fridays and clock in and out of. Of course, this default schedule doesn’t apply to everyone. In any case, the office represents you, your employees, your brand, and your positive work culture. Some insights, inspiration, and research can be extremely useful in transforming your current office space into the kind of work environment that allows employees to feel creative and productive. Thankfully, you do not need to hire an expensive interior decorator and spend a wealth of money to make your small office presentable. Some small corporate office design ideas are easy to implement and can transform everything, making the workspace more fun, creative, and professional. Here are 14 small corporate office design ideas to assist you in the decision-making process. 1. Embrace the Space as It Is: Work Together Having an open-plan office is an effective way to take full advantage of a small office area. It removes boundaries and fosters creative conversations and thinking among team members. You can achieve this design by pairing desks together and facing each other in groups of two or four. Team members can discuss thoughts and ideas freely, build closer and healthy work relationships, and feel unified. Ensure you have a clear path around and through the office floor, leave the main thoroughfares free from obstacles, and allow room between desks for each ergonomic office chair. Group like-minded co-workers, especially if they have similar roles. The boundaries of other design choices do more than just prevent free-flowing conversation and critical thinking. When the office space is too small, these boundaries use up valuable floor space, which means what was already a small area is made to feel even smaller. 2. Use Furniture to Free up Space Many of the best small corporate office design ideas focus on furniture, as furniture takes up the largest space in the office. Consider going simpler and smaller. Replace large and bulky furniture with standing furniture to maximize space and lessen clutter. Minimalist furniture can have a huge visual impact without using up all the space that its counterparts would. If you’re going to do a bulk office furniture order, pay attention to the furniture you’re choosing. Use geometric tables that offer the same number of seats as old-fashioned rectangle ones. Doing so brings team members closer and promotes better collaboration. Another option is to forego some of the standard office furniture. Here, you would be demolishing cubicles and getting rid of big filing cabinets by going paperless or moving them off-site. Having less furniture around gives employees more space to work and be productive. 3. Refrain from Using Labels in the Workplace Trying to keep the office flexible is a good idea for office design ideas for small businesses. If you only have a few employees working various hours in a small space, you can play around with a flexible design that makes individual workspaces more conducive to multiple tasks and activities. Having free chairs, desks, and spaces that are flexible means more potential areas for chats, meetings, and briefings. Convert boardrooms and conference rooms into a general area for meeting or into a lounge. Clear out storerooms and transform them into media rooms, private rooms to take calls, or whatever room or area works for the team and can stimulate high levels of productivity, job satisfaction, and equality. 4. Incorporate Nature Letting the natural sunlight in, having live office plants such as peace lilies, devil’s ivy, cactus, bamboo, palm, snake plants, and other natural elements can create a healthy environment for you and your employees. A biophilic design offers many benefits, including increased productivity and creativity levels, better personal well-being, and it even helps to brighten up the office. Adding a glass divider is an elegant yet simple way to create a space for meetings or work without forgoing the natural sunlight. Having panels that are portable offers flexibility for change. If you are in a beautiful area, it’s a great way to showcase the lake, trees, and breathtaking views. 5. Incorporate Employee Satisfaction Though you have a small workplace, employee personal space is important. Ensuring staff members have at least a single outlet. If space is there for more, that works even better. Even in a limited space, taking such an initiative speaks to the consideration of overall well-being productivity maintenance in the office. Transform space that is underutilized into safe office spaces, mediation corners, or even a gym. Updating or adding a kitchen area or lunchroom with a kettle, microwave, and coffee machine is also another splendid idea. Add a television, and you can even encourage healthy eating by having healthy food options. If it’s too much on the company budget to provide lunch options, then use posters and other methods to encourage healthier nutrition. Try adding a notice board for posting and bonding with jokes and riddles throughout the day. Employees display more attentiveness and work more efficiently when their inputs are considered and incorporated into the office design ideas for a small business. This goes double when they are made to feel like their holistic health and development are company priorities. 6. Décor Decorating your small office can go a long way in showcasing your personality. Imagine adding art to your workstation like walls filled with artwork and mounted accents break-ups. Hang light decorations from the ceilings to help with dimensions and introduce a few plants for a vibrant and natural look. Your decorations and fixtures can reinforce your brand. Using your company logo and colors in the office design is a creative way to represent your business. Doing so can drive employee pride and communicate to the wider public that you are here and here to stay. Décor does not have to be too dramatic or overwhelming. It requires nothing more than a subtle extension of the reputation you have built. Humans are visual creatures after all, which is why it is often said that a picture paints a thousand words. What kind of image are you painting with your office décor? 7. Get a Virtual Assistant Having a speech recognition virtual assistant is such an incredible idea for office design ideas for small businesses that everyone can use is such a modern steal. It is a wireless system that can schedule appointments, make calls, play music when requested, search for insights and respond to research questions, and it can even control the temperature. Amazon Echo comes highly recommended in this regard, and if you connect it to the company Amazon account, you can use it to order supplies and equipment for your new small business office ideas. 8. Brightening Dull Furniture Office furniture is known to be dull, depressing, and unappealing with colors of tan, gray, and black. Brightening your existing modern office furniture to match a vision of intriguing art and bright colorful walls is simple but effective. Any space can benefit from a statement cushion or pillow and a burst of color which are inexpensive ways to bring about vibrancy. Colors can be used to make your office a welcoming place by strategically stimulating creativity, healthily increasing the heart rate and productivity levels, and generating calmness. You may want to start by bringing more hues of blue into the mix. Blues are some of the most mentally stimulating colors around, which makes them perfect for an environment in which you want your employees to perform. 9. Use All the Office space There is no harm in using every inch of the space you are paying for. If there are empty forgotten areas and corners, think about ways to use them. Whether by acquiring a pair of silent electric bikes, a standing desk, a small library, or even an aquarium. Anything that works for the team can enhance employee morale and add personality. Also, remember that the space was small, to begin with. If you don’t effectively use it all, you feed into an illusion that the space is even smaller than it is. 10. Declutter Sometimes your office may appear a lot smaller than it is, and it’s not because you chose not to use some space. The real problem is that the usage allocation wasn’t the most effective, to begin with. This is the right time to declutter and rediscover the space you once had. You need only retain the furniture and office equipment that are needed and are used daily. Try storing some items off-site and shredding old documents and files that are no longer of use to your organization. Wherever you can, donate, dump, sell or recycle items. Even without repainting or over-the-top decorations, this is enough to give your small office a facelift, transforming the look and feel by making it appear clean and new. 11. Change the Status Quo Change can come even if you’re dealing with something that always worked or was normally done in a specific way. Your small business office design does not have to conform to the traditional office layout. You can change things to suit you and your employees better. In an era of technology, having one huge desk per person can just be overkill, depending on the type of business you are running. This principle also holds for having multiple cabinets and shelves of paper and files. Your office must conform and be in alignment with your objectives and goals and assist in achieving that. 12. Create Zones Depending on how things flow in your office, you may have areas with low and high activities. Discover ways to improve those areas for better transitions and flow for your office design ideas for a small business. Creating zones or switching up areas and converting the spaces can improve employee productivity and efficiency. Well-planned office layouts increase the overall workflow, add energy to the setting and reduce chaos. Bottlenecks are also a huge problem that small businesses contend with and creating zones can go a long way in helping you to fight against the issue. 13. Reevaluate Your Office Design Rearranging your furniture can have a significant impact on the dynamic of the business and necessary to consider when building office design ideas for small business. Walk through your office on a busy day and pay close attention to the flow of things to find out what works and what needs adjustments. Ask yourself a few questions, such as “do we need a reception desk?” “would the employees benefit from a communal workspace that can promote collaboration?” Find your answers and think of ways to implement the useful insights and eliminate the ones that fall on the less helpful side of the spectrum. Conclusion Do not allow a small office workspace to discourage you from having a successful one. While the walls cannot grow any wider, making the space bigger utilizing one or two of these ideas can have your office feeling bigger than ever. Feel free to take it beyond one or two if you wish, so you can bring numerous solutions and improvement into your company dynamic The possibilities for small business office ideas are plenty but the main guiding principle is to ensure the office design you create captures the business goals and vision. Unlocking the potential of your office boils down to the opportunities and your ability to make the most of what you have. From decorations and different seating arrangements to nature and color scheme, every part of it matters when space is restricted. Get exclusive rewards for your first Autonomous blog subscription. /) WRITTEN BYAutonomous We build office products to help you work smarter.

First off, I want to congratulate Barry and the Windows Ultimate team for finally stepping in the right direction after months of stalling and silence. The release of the final version of DreamScenes plus the content pack yesterday might not rejuvenate the Ultimate Extras excitement to its former shine, but progress is progress. I think the saying “better late than never” couldn’t be more true on this occasion. Whilst yesterday was as good as any, could Microsoft have released DreamScenes sooner? A lot sooner? Say, Thursday July 19, 2007? I hate to play devil’s advocate all the time but sometimes questions, even stupid ones like this, needs to be asked. Especially when tiny pieces of evidence suggests otherwise. Whilst 6.0.6000.16504 (vista_rtm(wmbla).070719-1641) might not make a lot of sense, it’s surprising meaningful. One of the neat things about Microsoft software is that every DLL and executable file released is tagged with an abundance of metadata describing what it is. One of those details is a build string. A build string identifies what major and minor revision is the compiled code, who is the owner of the code and when it was compiled. In this case it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the version of DreamScenes.dll that was distributed yesterday was compiled on the 19th of July, 2007. That’s 69 days ago. It means this version of DreamScenes hasn’t been modified since. The digital security certificated signed by Microsoft confirms the file was signed the day after. I’m no conspiracy theorist, neither do I think this is a conspiracy by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe this highlights the unnaturally long development cycle of Ultimate Extras and just how slow things are progressing. Taking into account for testing and documentation, 69 days between code compile and release is something of a concern if we are to expect more as promised again by the mighty Barry. Update: Since no changelog was provided to what actually changed between the beta and final release, the consensus at Channel9 shows the performance still sucks and multi-GPU support is even removed. How’s that for 6 months’ work. 47 insightful thoughts They don’t WANT to give any substantial. Plus! packs were replaced by Ultimate Extras, now they’re saying even Powertoys are replaced by the same. The XP PowerToys are replaced by language packs and a game?? Ridiculous. Where is TweakUI one year after Vista’s release? all because of sinofsky 😀 This is getting to be ridiculous. I think I’ll just stick to my bussiness edition of Vista, no point upgrading now. Glad you made my decision easy MS! lol and Long stirs up the Microsoft pot even more…. 😛 Or, may be they were hoping that the other Ultimate Extras would be ready by now and may be they wanted to do a big bang release (looking at the kind of extras they have on tap, this doesn’t deserve the ‘big bang’ theory!). I think Microsoft is stalling for time as far as extras are concerned. And they are taking everyone for a ride with their ‘we-are-so-honest, we-are-so-open’ blog posts about the extras. They released DreamScene to hide from the fact that they don’t have anything lined up. And they are BS’ing again on the extras blog about changing the Ultimate Extras text and how they are working of loads of great extras. When will they ever learn? Long, what app are you using to view file properties (on those first two screens)? Thanks. About performance – I think it`s impossible make HD playback process much better with CPU decoding. Hey! Users should learn physics, because of, seems like they really don`t understand, that it`s IMPOSSIBLE make playback without CPU usage whith no hardware decoding. I will quote my friend on the possible reasoning why it took so long to be released if it was ready from July 19th: Quote: “I’m guessing they were waiting on the language packs and release them together as stated in their blog post a while ago. The language packs slipped, but they didn’t see the need for a seperate release until speculation started about them dropping the extras.” It’s hard to nail Microsoft over CPU usage due to the new “DLL hell” that is codecs. For those with CPU usage concerns, download RadLight Filter Manager and ensure the merit on Windows Vista’s packaged MPEG2 decoder is higher than all the others. You may be surprised to find your favorite application XYZ decided to override the in-box decoder with its own slow garbage. I seem to remember the hold up being right-to-left languages. That’s why it took so long. What I do not understand is why you believe this is a new release?. I don’t really know. To me this is just an old compiled version different than the beta that was release just because. why? Because a lot of press was talking about Microsoft could not provide what they promised. Is so simple, MS release this version because of you the Internet guys like Neowin and other that were always watching Redmon and they’re Extras broken promises. Just my thoughts. I like the dreamscene, but when I try to play one of the videos it crashes I am using ATI Rad X1650 Pro and all I get is a bunch of small colored square all over my screen, has anyone come across that before? Well, I’ve commented on this saga before, so it was initally great to see the RTM. Clearly a despirate last minute panick “we have to put out something” reaction. And no, i didnt appreciate the ‘joke’ (ha ha so funny) about there being no summer in Seattle. Lame when you have frustrated customers the other end. That aside, today I installed the RTM version. And guess what; I just get a black screen when a video is selected. Black background. I’m SO glad all that testing, all 69 days of it, was so well done. The beta actaully worked (apart from the CPU issues…), what a farse. I’m still waiting for those “exclusive publications”. And i’m not installing SP1 and agreeing to the new EULA (where they will change their commitement) until the information of what I “will get” is fulfilled. I’m known among my friends as a miCrosoft fan. Indeed, I’m a Registered Partner, go to events, always defending Microsoft as company and telling people about the new products. This is, honestly, the first time I’ve been totally furious. I still don’t understand why none of the “Big” guys in the Press have not picked up on this. I had assumed that at WORST, we would get Plus! pack level of add-ons, but quite honestly, we’ve had less than that. Abysmal. And for anyone who says they are mere “extras” and shouldnt be considered as an added value proposition – for me, the proposed description WAS part of my purchase decision. William, Agreed. Everyday, as Microsoft digs themselves deeper and deeper, I wonder if someone will take this through the legal system… This is just wrong. Is this any real surprise? Save the .NET/Visual studio team, very little out of Redmond lately is quality. This is just another example of something that should have been a simple deliverable that turned into utter embarassment. I watched the Vista launch event, it was good humor, but during that the event the only “Wow” was DreamScene (which isnt saying much). It was promised to have little to now CPU impact, they even showed this. Where is it? Actually, that launch event should have been the first clue. WTF was that family on stage for, what possible clue could they have for propper OS design. “Ohh, we wanted a Burn button on the photo gallery”. Great input.. Shocking that IT NEEDED TO BE ASKED. MS should LEAD in OS design, not follow. Vista is a UI nightmare. I do not share Long’s opinion of the MSX team, perhaps they are more than what was delivered, but Vista is pretty hard on the eyes at times. It amazes me to this day how many clicks it takes to join a wireless network, Apple has this down to one. (Also doesnt have some half backed UI that shows me every possible connection under the sun, Apple has a wireless drop down menu that just freaking works). Then there is the trainwreck of the new Network and Sharing Center, I want the drugs the UI team was using when the designed that – everyone is simply confused by it. Plus – now more clicks to get to network adapters! Yay! MS needs one rock solid UI team, everything needs to pass through this team. Office 2007 look ok/good – but looks alien on XP and even on Vista. Apple isnt a model for consistancy either, but it is better, and it doesnt take multiyear dev cycle to crank out quality. oh my……more Ultimate Shame for Microsoft….makes me think about what they are really doing? and i agree as well….sounds like a class action law suit will be cooked up anytime now…. and i’ll bet money we will not see another “Extra” until after SP1….we’ll have to see about that though huh? peas cityboy Let no talk about vista because when ever I Saw this video I hate MS a lot. You’re totaly right Long Zheng, I tested DreamSence first beta and the bugs are still the same and nothing changed, I think this so-called “Ultimate Extra Team” just gave us something to shutup and stop talking about this Ultimate Con!!! Wow, you busted them! good work dude. Rafael: glad I’m not alone! I’ve never been one running to the Courts, but really, on this occasion it wouldn’t seem unmerited (although I am sure the current UALA gives Microsoft scope to do as much or as little as they want, and that text in explorer is purely ‘guidance’ or something vague!). The Ultimate Extas site doesnt allow comments – how very convienient. Funny though because, give credit where Microsoft deserves it; virtually every other blog Microsoft has DOES allow comments. Strangely convinient. RyanLM: At the end of the day Ultimate Extras was clearly concocted by Marketing, in order to sell more higher costing systems. And many of things that poroabably were planned to be included in Home Premium were pushed up to that as an “extra” (one of the games for example). I also think that Language packs, in this day and age where people travel for work / exchange programmes at school/college etc, should be included as a basic feature. Same goes for Office. Back back to the core of the arguement: They provided deception – a false sales arguement, at the time of purchase for many people. I am certain that sales people in stores will have been pushing less tech-savvy consumers to get Ultimate citing Extras. The Microsoft website has a page on them. Then there’s the category like us – reading tech blogs etc, who are in many cases, enthusiasts, resellers, OEMs, people who are most likely to buy Xbox’s, Zunes and generally good evangalists for Microsoft. Punching us like this is NOT a clever move. William Nehemoth: I’m sold. I’ll take that build of Longhorn please! Me too BenN, sadly this was just a dream. What really frustrates me is that the Ultimate Extras team, when they existed, was kick ass! Alex Kipman, Erik (long last name), and crew were always communicating with its testers, pushing out new dogfood builds and most importantly squashing bugs! The original team is not to blame for this! Blame the higher ups that decided the team should be no more! You’re right, partially. The file, DreamScenes.dll, may not be responsible for everything in dreamscene (don’t know exactly, just guessing), therefore some other files might have actully changed. The other thing – WMBLA is a team within MS releasing all versions of Windows: XP, Server, Vista. Take a look what they have in a calendar: Vista SP1, Server 2008, XP SP3 including minor milestones like betas and RC’s. Do you _really_ think they will drop these big projects and release vista’s toy DreamScene?? Gotta be kidding me… Hmm, wow, I have lots to say, but I’m not sure how much I actually will. I think I’ll keep it down to departments. I think that the two big products out of MS this year (Vista and Office) are overall decent products. Vista is unique because it’s not revolutionary by any means. It is, however, confusing. Had we got what was promised in Longhorn, I probably would have upgraded my laptop to it right away, when it came out, even if I were to be stuck on the more basic UI. Now there’s really no reason to upgrade. Anything I want to do I can do just fine on XP. Sure there’s some things I could do on Vista that’d be nice, but XP fulfills my needs. Office 2007, on the other hand, is quite revolutionary, in my opinion. It’s the first program(s) to offer that “Ribbon” UI. When I saw it, I immediately was impressed at how much better it appeared. I tested the public beta ever since Beta 2 was released, and received my free copy at a Launch Event in early February. At the time, we had OpenOffice.org 2.0 installed on both computers. It was time to get updated. Even if I hadn’t got it free, I would have purchased a copy, if only the Home and Student version. It’s interesting to see the digital multimedia platform (Expression and Silverlight). Stuff appears to be working there. There’s at least progress being made, with Expression Blend 2 previews, announcements about Silverlight on Linux, etc. Finally, Windows Live is a neat, open platform. Open is multi-meaning. Not only is it open as in open for developers to build off of (dev.live.com), but also open in forms of communication. You’d be hard pressed to find a Live team without a team blog. It’s amazing. Most of those welcome comments as well. I loved the style it was back in it’s early beta stages (late 2005 – about April 2006), fun and laid back. While lately, they’ve become a lot more professional, they hooked me at that time and so I stuck around. Microsoft has tons of potential (or should we say passion, as a pun on their old slogan), but they seem to be only half-delivering. I know many people here would love to see that change. Mike, As I blogged here (), the other files are even older! I’m a bit confused why you would claim someone is partially wrong yet not have the facts to back it up. Here are the other files: Dreamscene.dll (July 19, 2007) Dreamscene.dll.mui, all languages (July 19, 2007) themecpl.dll (March 14, 2007) themecpl.dll.mui, all languages (March 15, 2007) langcleanupsysprepaction.dll (March 14, 2007) lpksetup.exe (March 14, 2007) lpremove.exe (March 14, 2007) muilanguagecleanup.dll (March 14, 2007) mcbuilder.exe (March 14, 2007) What app are you using to view the properties? Does not seem be to Explorer. @Raiker & anonymous: I used Process Explorer to find the build strings in the files. think of this, if its taking along time then its got to be very good. theres no point of releasing something thats not to the superour of the public. Microsoft are just making tension, but at the same time causing upset but keeping the tension. Daniel, that makes no sense at all. Mike: Microsoft should deliver what they promise. If this involves hiring more people, so be it. If they don’t have the manpower to deliver pretty Extras alongside their most important projectproducts, they shouldn’t have *offered* it in the first place. Oh when will you all cry out and start suing microshaft?!?!?! I just want a class action suit so I can join in…i want my money back on my ultimate BS The build revision does not mean what you think it means. You can poke around in files and find numbers, but that doesn’t mean you understand what you’re looking at. In this case, you’ve got it all wrong. @whoever: Then please correct me. @whoever: would love to know too! Something did change between teh beta and the real thing (as the beta worked, and this one doesnt!), but details would be good. I really think that build is more stable than the old one… and reduce the CPU usage by stop the video playback while full screen app is running… It work much better than first seen Whether or not this an old version or a new version, the fact remains that it still does not work properly. The CPU usage is still far too high, explorer crashes terminating dreamscene far too often as well as dreamscene ‘pausing’ randomly even though it is still ‘running’ requiring you to restart it. Throw in the fact that the ‘bundled and extra scenes’ are few and far between with most being simply boring and what you are left with is a joke. An unfunny joke at the consumers expense. I was apparently under the mis-apprehension that MS was a large and wealthy company capable of hiring staff to fulfill customer expectations. It appears that they are actually a small and cash strapped company. Maybe I should send them a dollar? End User: “capable of hiring staff to fulfill customer expectations”. Of course, these arent just customer expectations, this is a case of not delivering what they said! IF they had not said “You will get” and then three catagories (including these so-far elusive publications, and that they didnt say “little to no hit” on the CPU for Dreamscene, I wouldnt be expecting much else. THEY set the bar high. And don’t get me started on the “Wow” stuff..! I love Vista (yes, for me it’s worked on the whole well) – but the Extras is just a discusting state of affairs. Sometimes – as you alude to – you’d think you were asking a cash-strapped start-up! A very unfunny joke, indeed. (If they ever try and joke about the weather again, i’ll fly over and punch them – this is not the time for chummy talk when you have irate customers on the recieving end)

How To Claim As A Passenger In A Car Accident? How Much Compensation Can I Claim? According to statistics released by the British Government, there were 182,560 injuries as the result of traffic accidents in 2016. Though this total had fallen from the previous year, the number of serious injuries had risen as a percentage amount. Of those road traffic accidents, a large number affected passengers. Injuries suffered while riding in a car as a passenger can be very serious. If you have suffered such an injury, you may be owed compensation. In car accident claims passenger injuries can play an important role. Often, the passenger has little control over the accident. Should they suffer debilitating injuries as a result, then these injuries may have been suffered as the result of another party’s negligence. These life-changing injuries can cost huge amounts, be it emotionally, physically, or financially. If you were a passenger who was in an accident, you have the right to file a passenger car accident claim and seek compensation for the injuries you have sustained. In this guide, you will find information helping you to get started in making such a claim. Select a section: - A guide to passenger accident claims. - Who is responsible for injuries to a passenger in a car accident? - Claiming as a passenger who sustained an injury in a car accident. - Claiming as a passenger who sustained an injury in a public transport accident. - What to do if you are involved in a car accident as a passenger? - How to begin a passenger injury claim. - Can I claim against foreign drivers? - Can my passenger sue me? - What can be claimed for after a car accident as a passenger? - What types of injuries do passengers sustain in car accidents? - How much compensation will I get for as a passenger after a car accident? - No win no fee passenger injury claims. - Why choose us as your claims service after as a passenger in a car accident claim? - Call for free advice and to start a claim. A Guide to Passenger Accident Claims Car Passenger Making a claim for compensation can be tough. If you were the passenger in an accident and became injured as a result, the myriad causes and consequences of the accident can lead to a huge amount of complicated legal wrangling. If you believe you might be owed compensation as a result of your accident, this guide can help you figure out how to get started on such a claim. Who is Responsible for Injuries to a Passenger in a Car Accident? One of the major issues discussed during any compensation claim is that of responsibility. Given the lack of influence or control a passenger likely has in any given situation, a claim can be a process of determining who was at fault for the accident or who acting negligently. In many cases, the following parties might be responsible: - The Driver of the vehicle causing the accident – The person driving the vehicle may have been acting recklessly or ignoring legal advice relating to driving. This could be either the driver of the vehicle the passenger is riding in, or the driver of another vehicle. - The Road – The conditions of the road can have an impact in vehicular accidents, whether it is a pothole or faulty street lighting. - The Vehicle Manufacturer – if the manufacturer of the vehicle you were travelling in failed in their duty to protect occupants of the vehicle, they may be at fault. There are many ways in which responsibility might be attributed and the above list is by no means exhaustive. For instance, the driver might be considered responsible if they were using their mobile phone while driving; if they had been consuming alcohol; if they had been deliberately contravening road safety advice; or if they failed to guarantee a passenger’s safety to a reasonable degree. All of these considerations might be relevant in your claim. When filing a claim as the passenger, it can help to seek legal advice. A complicated scenario with overlapping responsibilities can be clarified with the aid of experience and expertise. Contact our team if you are unsure of the potential negligence concerning your accident. Claiming as a Passenger Who Sustained an Injury in a Car Accident. Given the complexity of the situation, we find many clients are left wondering, how to claim on insurance after car accident being a passenger. In cases where a car accident has led to an injury, there are a number of parties who will be involved. As mentioned above, they will include the owner of the road (the local council), the owner/operator of the vehicle (the person driving the vehicle), and the manufacturer of the vehicle. The early stages of making a claim will likely be concerned with finding out which party was responsible. In many situations, a claim will be paid by an insurance operator. If for example, the driver is considered to be at fault, then their insurance could be the party who pays the final compensation total. In many cases, the passenger might be considered to have been something of an innocent bystander, unable to influence the course of events. As such, the passenger in accident insurance claim processes may have many reasons to claim compensation and, with the right support, can cover the costs of the injuries they have suffered. Claiming as a Passenger Who Sustained an Injury in a Public Transport Accident Not all accidents involve a car, however. In some situations, you might have been involved in an accident involving public transport. For example, an injury suffered when riding on a bus which has been involved in an accident could lead you to file a compensation claim. This can also include taxis, cabs, ferries, and many other forms of transportation which are open to the public. In many ways, the process of filing such a claim will differ from cases with accidents involving cars and other private road vehicles. The body considered responsible for the compensation payout might be the operator of the transportation network as a whole, rather than the individual driver. As such, when filing a claim against a public vehicle, you should remember to get all the vehicles and drivers information, as well as the details of the organisation which employs them. For example, if you were taking a taxi or a bus and you received an injury from an accident, you should gather as much information as you can. This could include number plate details, driver’s names, and the name of their employer. What to Do If You Are Involved in a Car Accident as a Passenger? For anyone involved in a car accident, the most pressing issue is to seek medical attention. If you have been injured, you should be sure that you have dealt with the injuries to the best of your ability before thinking about your next step. Once this is done, then you may be thinking of launching a claim for compensation. If you are considering a passenger car accident claim, for instance, what should you do next? - Discuss the matter with the authorities. If you have been involved in a road accident, then it is possible that the police were involved. If this is the case, then they might have details and reports which provide an overview of the events. This can be used as evidence and, if possible, you should try to obtain a copy. - Try to obtain as much evidence regarding the scene of the accident as possible. This might involve taking photographs of the area, as well as the vehicles involved and the damage inflicted upon them. In addition, photos of your injuries can help demonstrate their severity after they have begun to heal. - Try to document everything. This can include the date and time of the accident, details such as the weather, or your itinerary up to that point in the day, as well as anything you believe might be relevant to the case. - Gather together the contact details of anyone who might have been a witness to the accident. This can include fellow passengers, other road users, or even pedestrians. Anyone who might be able to corroborate your story. Taking their contact details can prove to be useful when mounting a claim. Taking the above steps can help to make your passenger car accident claim that much more viable. Rather than having to depend on a passenger claims road accident fund, you can ensure that you have a body of evidence which can form the basis of your claim. How to Begin a Passenger Injury Claim Whether making a passenger claim against driver or drivers, a vehicle manufacturer, or any other body, the steps outlined in the previous section can be incredibly useful. However, actually beginning the claim itself can be more difficult. After obtaining all the information you can gather, the next and most important step should be to seek out a solicitor who can help you unravel the complex legal situation. If you were to claim through our no win no fee service, for instance, we would be able to provide you with a free legal consultation. This is a free advice session in which we will look over the details of your case and chat to you about its potential success. This informed legal opinion can be incredibly useful in cutting through the irrelevant details and focusing the claim on successfully winning compensation. Following this session, should you decide to proceed with our legal team, you will be able to rely on our expertise and knowledge throughout the process. This includes gathering further evidence, arranging for you to meet with a local doctor, and even setting up a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement to preserve your financial security. Once this process is initiated, we’ll be able to handle the administrative details such as filing paperwork with the correct institutions. Can I Claim Against Foreign Drivers? Thus far in this guide, we have presumed that the parties involved would be British. With claims such as these already complicated, you might think that involving a foreign vehicle would be even more complex. This is not always the case. Thankfully, there is a system in place which can help those who have been injured in such crashes. In 1953, an arrangement was set up among a number of European countries called the Green Card system. Today, it covers 44 countries who have become members. It’s designed to help with the facilitation of vehicles across national borders thanks to a single document, which demonstrates that the owner has insurance in their home country. This proof is known as an International Insurance Card or a Green Card. Thanks to this proof, victims of accidents can seek compensation from insurance companies from another country in a relatively straightforward manner. If, for instance, you were involved in an accident in England involving a non-British vehicle, the Green Card system will come into effect. In due course, the Motor Insurers Bureau will become involved and take up the case, acting as an agent on the behalf of the non-British insurance company. Therefore, in cases involving a foreign vehicle, it is the Motor Insurers Bureau who will be likely to handle the case. Once they are involved, the claim can proceed in much the same way as a typical accident claim involving a passenger’s injury. If you would like more information, feel free to contact our team today and talk about the matter. Can my Passenger Sue Me? Up to this point, this guide has been designed to provide information for accident victims who were passengers in a vehicle. However, if you were a driver during an accident, you may well be asking yourself, “can my passenger sue me?” As ever, the situation can become quite complicated. Injured passenger For example, if your passenger wasn’t wearing their seat belt at the time of the accident, you might be responsible. In situations like this, it can be considered the driver’s responsibility for the passengers’ safety, which can include being sure that they are wearing their seat belt. As the driver of a vehicle, you can be considered responsible for a wide range of health and safety regulations regarding your passengers. Typically, in situations where a passenger has made a compensation claim against the driver, it will be the insurance company who compensates the passenger. Again, however, matters can become complicated. If you have become involved in an accident and are concerned about the potential legal implications, you may wish to seek dedicated legal advice right away. Talking to our team, for example, can help clarify your exact position and liability following an accident. What can be Claimed for after a Car Accident as a Passenger? If you have been injured as a passenger in a car accident, there are a number of costs and expenses which you may have encountered. When discussing compensation amounts, many members of the public are unaware of the full extent of the damages they can pursue. Whether it is a bus passenger accident claim, a taxi passenger accident claim, road traffic accident passenger claims, or any other passenger accident claims, the range of compensation you can be awarded might surprise you. Such damages can include: - General damages – this includes the injuries you have sustained. For instance, for the passenger in car accident whiplash can damage the neck and cause pain. General damages can compensate for the pain and suffering of injuries such as whiplash. - Care claim – this can involve the fees you may have spent on hiring a nurse to help you around the house and other care-related costs. In many vehicular accidents, people sustain life changing injuries which require them to seek dedicated care. The costs of this can be recovered. - Loss of earnings – this relates to the wages you might have earned, had it not been for the accident. For example, if you can no longer go to work because you have been injured, you may be reimbursed for these (plus any future) lost wages. - Travel Expenses – this covers any cost you may have had to pay after and during your accident in order to seek medical help. This could include the fuel costs of driving (or being driven) to a doctor’s appointment. - Medical Expenses – this can include your visits to a private healthcare facility, medication, or any medical equipment (crutches, wheelchair, etc.) required after the accident. As you can see, there are a range of costs associated with compensation claims. We will cover the calculation of such costs below. What is the average whiplash compensation amount for a passenger claim? The average whiplash compensation a passenger could receive is between £2,500 to £3,000 however depending on the injuries passengers can get a lot higher compensation amounts. The amounts will depend on a number of things including how long the pain lasted the areas of the pain and also your medical report. What types of injuries do passengers sustain in car accidents? Cars move with such speed and velocity that accidents on the road can inflict almost any injury. As such, the range of compensation claims we have seen has included everything from broken fingers to amputations. However, in trying to decide whether you might be owed compensation, it can help to know the most common injuries suffered in such accidents. You might have a claim if you have suffered any of the following: - Broken pelvis – breaking the pelvis can lead to a loss of mobility and can seriously affect your ability to work. - Spinal Injuries (that may later lead to paralysis) – among the most serious injuries, those affecting the spine can take the longest to heal and can cause issues for the rest of your life. - Neck Injuries – many vehicle safety features, such as airbags and headrests, are designed to protect the neck during an accident. However, they do not always work and this can cause serious health issues. - Face Injuries – bruising, scarring, and broken bones in your face can lead not only to pain, but to a loss of professional reputation. - Whiplash – one of the most common injuries during car accidents, whiplash can be caused by sudden braking. For passengers, this is often unexpected and the injuries can be much worse as a result. - Burns – whether caused by chemicals or fires, burns can affect the entire body and can be among the most painful injuries with the longest recovery times. - Head injuries – head injuries such as concussion are not uncommon in car accidents and can lead to dizziness, nausea, and discombobulation for extended periods of time. These injuries are among the most common for passengers injured in car accidents. In the next section, we will examine how the severity of these injuries can affect a payout amount. However, it’s important to remember that there are many more ways in which you can be injured. This is why we arrange for a local doctor to provide a thorough examination and determine any and all short and long term health issues resulting from the accident. How Much Compensation will I get for as a Passenger after a Car Accident? One common question we’re asked is, “how much money can a passenger in a car accident get?” The question can come in many forms, with people asking specific questions such as, “how much is the average payout for whiplash?” Answers to questions such as these can be difficult. Given the huge range of injuries you can endure and the types of accident you can be involved in, payouts vary. However, that does not mean we cannot provide an estimation. Below, you can see a table we have put together using average passenger in car accident settlement amounts. As illustrated above, a passenger in car accident claim is highly dependent on the severity of the injury. It is important that you get a medical exam after the accident and keeping a medical journal can be beneficial. Though the above table is only designed to provide an estimation of your potential compensation, you can talk to our team for a tailored estimation once we have heard the details of your case. No Win No Fee Passenger Injury Claims The whole ordeal of filing a claim can be very complicated and difficult. This is especially true if your accident and injury have led to reduced wages, time off work, and other medical outlays. If this is the case, you need a law firm who can protect your financial security. This is why we offer a ‘No Win No Fee’ policy. You will not have to pay anything if you do not receive any compensation for the injury you have sustained. Until your case is successful, you won’t have to pay anything. We take our fee from the final compensation amount. If you’re looking for the best way in which to pursue compensation, this Conditional Fee Agreement could be just right for you. Call us and ask more about our ‘No Win No Fee’ policy. Why Choose Us as Your Claims Service after as a Passenger in a Car Accident Claim? We offer a huge range of benefits for those who chose us as their Claims Service. We pride ourselves on our high success rate, our client satisfaction, and our integrity. We want to make your claims process as simple and as trouble free as possible, allowing you to focus on recovering from the injury while we do the hard work. As well as this, we can offer the following benefits: - Highly qualified representatives in every necessary field. - Representatives who all have years of experience in the legal trade. - We offer a free, no obligation consultancy session to discuss your claim. - We can arrange an appointment for you to visit a local doctor and ensure you’re correctly diagnosed. - We can offer a ‘No Win No Fee’ arrangement which helps keep down the costs when you’re filing for compensation. When you’re dealing with a difficult situation, such as the aftermath of an accident, your mind might be ablaze with questions. When you’re struggling to get a hold on your thoughts such as whether a car accident my fault can I claim personal injury might be the first question you ask. Call us today and find out what we can do for you. Call for Free Advice and To Start a Claim Being injured in a car accident can be difficult, especially if you are the passenger. However, there are ways in which you can seek compensation for your injury. When you are ready to file your claim, you can reach out to us to get your claim started. To do this, either call 0800 073 8804 or fill out the form on our website. You could be speaking to one of our representatives in no time at all. Helpful Links Whiplash Compensation Claim Amounts Find out how much you could claim for whiplash with this passenger whiplash claim calculator page. Whiplash injury is a type of neck injury and commonly happens in car accidents this link lets you know about the neck pain. Bus Accident Claims – Find out How Much Compensation? Was you a passenger on a bus? find out the compensation amounts you could receive as for a bus passenger injury. Taxi Accident Claims and Compensation Amounts Was you a Passenger in a taxi accident? Find out if you can make a claim for a taxi passenger injury claim today contact us.

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(. We will again be accepting credit cards. Chain O’ Lakes, and the opportunity to transfer permits among hunters, between dates and to other sites if dates are available. We will release 2, 3 or 4 birds per hunter, depending upon the type of permit each hunter holds. A second release is made prior to the afternoon hunt for those holding afternoon permits. Again this year we will have Special Hen Hunts at Chain O’ Lakes and Silver Springs featuring four hens for $44.00. Cocks can also be taken during these hunts, but only hens will be released. See site information for dates. You must use the Public/Private Controlled Pheasant Hunting Permit Internet application system accessible at or through the link at the IDNR web site to reserve permits for the public/private partnership areas operated by T. Miller, Inc. We no longer will accept mail-in or phone-in applications except as noted in the site specific regulations. Applications will be accepted beginning 1 July at 8:00 a.m. through 10 July at 12:00 midnight CDT for inclusion in the first random drawing. Applicants unsuccessful in the first drawing can apply from 11 July at 10:00 a.m. through 17 July at 12:00 midnight CDT for inclusion in the second random drawing. A third random drawing will begin on 18 July at 10:00 a.m. through 24 July at 12:00 midnight CDT for hunters wanting a first 25 July CDT until permit quotas are depleted or until 6 hours (48 hours at Ramsey and Horseshoe Lake) $33 per person per day or afternoon for Illinois residents for a 2-bird permit at all sites (See site information for the cost or availability of 2, 3 & 4-bird permits at that site, fees for 3 & 4-bird permits are the same for residents and non-residents.) Two-bird permits for non-resident hunters are $35.00 per person per day or afternoon. A permit holder is allowed to bring up to three hunting partners, and must be present in order for the party to hunt. A prorated transaction fee from $3.75 to $11.25 depending upon the number of birds and/or reservations requested will be assessed for each transaction. Credit cards will be billed for hunters successful in the drawings and for hunters successfully acquiring permits on 3 25 July 25 July. Hunters successful in a drawing or successfully completing a reservation on or after 25 July sites having afternoon hunts, or to an open date on another site operated by T. Miller, Inc. Transfers must be completed through the 2016/17 hunting permit reservation system. Permit transfers can be completed only between 10:00 a.m., 25 July and 6 hours (48 hours at Ramsey and Horseshoe Lake) before the hunt date. A transaction fee of $5.00 will be charged to your credit card each time you transfer a permit. Public/private partnership sites operated by T. Miller, Inc. will allow standby hunters if the daily quota at the site is not filled. Standby hunters acquire permits at the site hunter check station on the day of the hunt. No standby permits will be available for afternoon only hunters. permit and for Special Hen Hunt Permits; $55 per 4-bird pheasant permit. Two permits can be hunted at the site per day. Check-in time: 7:00-8:00 a.m., or 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for afternoon only hunters. Season dates: 2 November – 18 December 2016. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays and 12 November for the Youth Hunt, and 18-20 November for firearm deer season. We do not operate the Youth Pheasant Hunt, contact IDNR. Special Hen Hunts will be held on 3 November and 1 December. No either sex permits will be issued for these dates but cock pheasants may be harvested thought no cock birds will be released on those dates. second Friday of December, whichever comes first, through 30 January 2017. Closed: Mondays, Tuesdays, Christmas Day & New Years Day, and Wednesdays and Thursday’s until the end of the Central Zone Duck Season. Special Hunt Dates: To be announced. NOTE: This site will not be available for reservations until the opening day has been set. Ramsey Lake (Fayette County) – 1 mile North of Ramsey on US Rt. 51, then west 2 miles. Follow signs. Fee $33 per 2-bird pheasant permit for residents, $33 for standby hunters paying at the site; $35.00 per 2-bird pheasant permit for non-residents; $44 per 3-bird pheasant permit, $44 for standby hunters paying at the site; $55 per 4-bird pheasant permit, $55 for standby hunters paying at the site. Check-in Time: 8:00-8:30 a.m. Afternoon only permits not available. Season dates: 5 & 6, 12 & 13, 18 - 19 and 25 - 27 November; 3 - 4, 10-11, 17-18, 23 & 24, 29 & 30 December 2016; 7 & 8, 14-15, 21-22, 28 & 29 January 2017. Closed on dates not listed unless Special Hunts are being held. Special Hunt Dates: To be announced. Silver Springs (Kendall County) – Illinois Rt. 47 to Yorkville, then 5 miles west on Fox Road. Follow signs. Fee $33 per 2-bird pheasant permit for residents; $35.00 per 2-bird pheasant permit for non-residents; $44 per 3-bird pheasant permit and for Special Hen Hunt Permits; $55 per 4-bird pheasant permit. Check-in Time: 8:00-8:30 a.m., or 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. for afternoon only hunters. Season dates: 15 October 2016 – 8 January 2017. Closed: Mondays, Tuesdays, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Special Hen Hunt dates are 14 October and 8 November. No Either Sex permits will be issued for these dates but cock pheasants may be harvested though no cocks will be released on those dates. 1. Hunters with permits for Chain O’ Lakes and Horseshoe Lake are required to check in at the check station between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Hunters with permits for Ramsey Lake, or Silver Springs are required to check in at the check station between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Afternoon only hunters at Chain O’ Lakes and Silver Springs must check in between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. 2. When daily quotas are not filled, permits will be sold on a first-come first-served basis until the daily quota is reached, or until 9 a.m., whichever occurs first. Standby hunter fees for Chain O’Lakes and Silver Springs will be $38.00 for a two-bird permit. 3. Hunters are required to deposit their hunting license in the check station while hunting. Persons exempt by law from having a hunting license must deposit their Firearms Owners Identification Card (NOTE: Self check-out sites may waive these requirements.) If they are under 21 years of age and do not have a card they must be accompanied by an adult who has a valid card in possession. 4. Hunters must carry their permit while hunting. 5. Hunting hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Afternoon hunts are from 12 Noon to 4:00 p.m. 6. Hunters must stay within the assigned area for the first hour before they can move to another hunting area. 7. All hunting must be done with shotguns or bow and arrow. Only shot shells with a shot size of No. 5 lead or a nontoxic shot size ballistically equivalent to No. 5 lead or smaller may be used. NOTE: At Chain O'Lakes only nontoxic shot approved by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service may be possessed and only shot shells with a non-toxic shot size ballistically equivalent to No. 5 lead or smaller may be used or in possession. Flu flu arrows only may be used. 8. Hunters must unload and case shotguns before moving to a new area by vehicle. 9. Hunters are required to wear a blaze orange cap and upper outer garment of at least 400 square inches while hunting. 10. Back patches must be worn on the back of the hunting coat or cap. 11. Daily limits: Chain O’ Lakes State Park: 4 pheasants of either sex; 2 pheasants of either sex may be taken per permit with a maximum of 2 permits per hunter per day, or a 3 or 4-bird pheasant permit with a maximum of one of either of these permits per day. Horseshoe. On the first day of the controlled pheasant hunting season, each hunter will also be allowed to harvest 4 quail and 2 rabbits. Ramsey; 8 bobwhite quail and 4 rabbits.. 12.. 13. Non-hunters are not allowed in the field. 14. No fires or smoking allowed in the field. 15. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. 16. Hunters must dispose of trash properly in the trash receptacles provided or they must take trash home. 17. Hunters must check out before leaving the area. Note; some sites may be self-check out. 18. Hunters must bring pheasants to the check station for banding and return back patches and permits when checking out. 19. It is unlawful to take pheasants or quail when not flying. 20. Hunters must make sure the target background is safe before firing. 21. Hunters are expected to be careful and courteous while hunting by practicing gun safety and good sportsmanship.

- Research article - Open Access - Open Peer Review Analysis of association of MEF2C, SOST and JAG1 genes with bone mineral density in Mexican-Mestizo postmenopausal women © Velázquez-Cruz et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014 - Received: 19 August 2014 - Accepted: 24 November 2014 - Published: 28 November 2014 Abstract genes. Keywords - Association study - MEF2C - SOST - JAG1 - Genes - Mexican Women Background Osteoporosis (OP) is a common skeletal disease characterized by reduced bone mass, microarchitecture deterioration, and a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD), leading to increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture [1]. OP is a serious public health problem in Mexico causing up to 30,000 osteoporotic fractures a year, and an annual health service expenditure of about $97 million in 2006 [2]. While multiple risk factors influence the pathogenesis of osteoporosis, genetic factors play an important role in BMD variation. Heritability of this trait is high, as twin and family studies show that genetic factors account for approximately 50% to 85% of BMD [3]. Several candidate genes have been evaluated to assess their role in BMD variation and the etiology of osteoporosis, mainly in populations of European and Asian ancestry [4–6]. Research has focused on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which is known to play a major role in bone remodeling [7]. The SOST (sclerostin) gene encodes the sclerostin protein, which binds to LRP5/6 co-receptors and antagonizes Wnt/b-catenin signaling in both osteocytes and osteoblasts [8, 9]. Several SOST single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with BMD variation [6, 10–12]. Moreover, the MEF2C (myocyte enhancer factor 2C) gene, another member of the Wnt-signaling pathway [13], is known to play an important role in determining bone density and mediating inflammatory effects in bone [14] and Mef2C is the main transcriptional factor responsible for ECR5-dependent Sost expression in the adult skeleton of mice [15]. Within this gene, rs1366594 has been associated with Femoral Neck (FN) BMD in Europeans, and with Total Hip (TH) BMD in populations from East-Asia [4, 5]; while rs119510131, was found to be significantly associated with forearm BMD in the meta-analysis of 6,584 individuals of European and Mexican American descent [16]. In another pathway, Jagged-1 has been found to induce human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) osteoblast differentiation through canonical Notch signaling [17]. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) reported that the rs2273061 polymorphism within the JAG1 (jagged 1) gene was associated with low Lumbar Spine (LS) BMD, FN BMD, and with osteoporotic fractures in subjects of European and Asian descent [18]. To date, most studies examining the relationship of SOST, MEF2C and JAG1 polymorphisms with BMD variation have been performed in populations of European and Asian ancestry [4–6, 10–12, 18]. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible association of polymorphisms in these genes with BMD variation in Mexican-Mestizo postmenopausal women. Methods Study population The study group included only women born in Mexico whose parents and grandparents identified themselves as Mexican Mestizos. This study was performed as part of the third stage of a previously described, long-term cohort study [19, 20]. A total of 400 unrelated postmenopausal women over 45 years of age, without spontaneous menses for at least 1 year, attending the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) located in Cuernavaca, Morelos State, were recruited. Exclusion criteria were a history of bone, metabolic or endocrine disease, history of oophorectomy prior to 45 years of age, menopause prior to 40 years of age, or use of medication interfering with bone metabolism. Data on demographic characteristics and information regarding smoking status, menopausal status, estrogen use, medical history, and use of medication were obtained from self-administered questionnaires. The study was approved by the IMSS Research Ethics Committee and all participants provided signed informed consent. Blood samples were obtained and stored at 4°C until use. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of all participants, using a commercial isolation kit (QIAGEN systems Inc., Valencia, CA), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Measurement of bone mineral density BMD at the lumbar spine (L2-4), femoral neck, and total hip were assessed using a dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Lunar DPX NT instrument (Lunar Radiation Corp., Madison WI). BMD was calculated from bone mineral content (g) and bone area (cm2), and then expressed as g/cm2. Genotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism selection In an initial phase of the study, a GoldenGate platform with a total of 384 SNPs was used to test for associations with BMD, including twenty-five SOST and seven JAG1 SNPs [21]. These SNPs were selected using the following criteria: minor allele frequency (MAF) >5% in Caucasians, and polymorphisms previously associated with BMD in candidate gene association studies, genome wide association studies (GWAS) and meta-analyses [4, 6, 10–12, 18]. Genotype data were extracted for further analysis. In the present study, we extended the analysis to seek other possible associations between SNPs and BMD variation in another member of the Wnt signaling pathway, the MEF2C gene, analyzing three SNPs (rs12521522, rs11951031 and rs13665949). Furthermore, we genotyped five SOST SNPs (rs9911277, rs4793018, rs1983490, rs1881107 and rs4792909), and three JAG1 SNPs (rs2273061, rs6040061 and rs2235811) in 30% of randomly selected samples. Genotyping of these eleven SNPs was performed using commercial predesigned TaqMan Probes (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) in a StepOne Plus RT PCR system. Information on the parental frequencies and genotype data for a panel of 96 Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) was extracted from the initial phase genotypes, in order to control for the effect of false associations due to population stratification. Statistical analyses All data from the population in the study are showed as mean ± SD (standard deviation) for quantitative variables and absolute and relative frequencies for qualitative variables. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was tested for each SNP using the standard χ2 test. Linear regression analyses were used in order to test for associations between BMD and genotype using an additive genetic model adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI). Ancestry from principal component analysis (PCA) was estimated using the smartpca program in the Eigensoft 3.0 package [22], and ancestry estimates were included as confounding factors for correction of population stratification. All statistical analyses were performed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS 20.0; SPSS Inc.; Chicago, IL, USA). P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype frequencies were estimated using Haploview 4.2 [23]. Statistical power was calculated with Quanto 1.1 software, for a significance level of 0.05 and MAF of 5% in 400 postmenopausal women with a minimal power of 80% to detect differences in BMD, under an additive model. The significance threshold after multiple test correction for each gene was estimated using the single nucleotide spectral decomposition software (SNPSpD) [24]. This approach can be applied to obtain an effective number of independent marker loci (Meff). The application of SNPSpD to our nine SNP sample set gave a Meff of 5.48 SNPs, leading to a significance threshold of 0.05/5.48 = 0.009. Results The quality control (QC) criteria for subject and SNP genotyping for the initial phase have been previously described [21]. Briefly, data from 14 individuals whose DNA did not genotype successfully were excluded and 11 more participants were discarded from subsequent analysis because their African ancestry exceeded the mean reported for the Mexican mestizo population [25]. In the second phase, the overall genotype call rate was 98%, and the genotypes showed 100% reproducibility with those obtained in the initial phase. Two MEF2C SNPs (rs12521522 and rs11951031) were not observed in this sample of Mexican women, and were thus excluded from the analysis. Demographic characteristics and BMD of postmenopausal Mexican Mestizo women Information on the SNPs analyzed in this study Genotype/allele frequencies and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) P values for the analyzed SNPs Association of MEF2C, SOST and JAG1 polymorphisms with BMD in postmenopausal Mexican-women Location and pair-wise linkage disequilibrium values of SOST and JAG1 polymorphisms in Mexican postmenopausal women. Darker color indicates higher LD and lighter color indicates less LD. Values of the pair-wise (r2) are shown to SOST (a) and JAG1 (b) genes. Discussion OP constitutes a serious and increasing public health problem in the Mexican population [2]. To date, GWAS and candidate gene studies have revealed 70 genetic loci associated with BMD variation, but these studies have been performed mostly in populations of European and Asian ancestry [5, 6]. In the present study, we analyzed the association of polymorphisms of the MEF2C, SOST and JAG1 genes with BMD variation in postmenopausal Mexican-mestizo women. We found that SNPs of the SOST gene were associated with total hip and femoral neck, but not with lumbar spine BMD. These results are consistent with recent genome-wide association studies [4–6, 11], and may be explained at least partly by a lower heritability for BMD in the femoral neck site. This is supported by a previous study reporting that hip BMD of grandmothers is better predictor of hip BMD in mothers (beta = 0.46); while maternal LS BMD was less predictive of LS BMD in grandchildren (beta = 0.30) [19]. Together, our findings support the association of Wnt signaling pathway gene polymorphisms with BMD variation in the Mexican-mestizo population [21]. SOST is a known Wnt signaling inhibitor, which acts suppressing LRP function. In vitro, SOST inhibits osteoblast development and is expressed primarily in osteocytes [26]. SOST polymorphisms have been associated with BMD at different skeletal sites and with osteoporotic fractures in various populations [10–12]. Our present finding of a SOST-BMD association in the Mexican-mestizo population is in agreement with a similar association found by Estrada et al. [6] and Richards et al. [11] in postmenopausal women of European ancestry. The MAFs of SOST gene SNPs rs9911277, rs4793018, rs1983490, and rs1881107 observed in the present study were very similar to those reported in the HapMap in individuals of Mexican ancestry of Los Angeles (0.45 to 0.47), but were less frequent than in European populations (MAF: 0.35 to 0.38). On the other hand, the rs4792909 “G” allele, most widely reported and associated with fracture risk in a large meta-analysis, was less frequent in our population (0.53) than in Europeans (0.62) [6], but very similar to that observed in a Los Angeles population of Mexican ancestry (0.53), (). Conversely, we did not find the associations between specific MEF2C and JAG1 SNPs and BMD variation previously identified in populations of European and Asian ancestry [4, 5, 18]. The MEF2C rs1366594 “A” allele was not associated with BMD variation in the present study, and was less frequent in Mexican postmenopausal women (0.33) than in Europeans (0.55), East-Asians (0.42) and Han Chinese individuals (0.40) [4, 5, 27]. Moreover, the MEF2C rs11951031 previously associated with forearm BMD in Europeans and individuals of Mexican-American descent was not informative in this sample of Mexican menopausal women. This may be partially explained by our sample size being too small to detect a risk allele with a frequency of 0.06 [16]. Similarly, we failed to observe associations of JAG1 polymorphisms with BMD variation. JAG1 rs2273061 was initially found to be associated with BMD variation (LS and FN) in a GWAS performed in Hong Kong Chinese individuals, and this association was afterwards confirmed in several European populations [18]. However, this SNP was not associated with BMD variation in a Mexican-Mestizo cohort [28], in consistency with our present observations. Moreover, the JAG1 rs2273062 allelic and genotypic frequencies reported here are virtually identical to those described previously in Mexicans [28], and the “G” allele frequency (0.42) was similar to that reported in Europeans (0.40), but higher than in the population of Hong Kong (0.31) [18]. The rs2235811 and rs6040061 MAFs observed in Mexican postmenopausal women were similar to those published in the dbSNP database for a population of Asian descent (). However, it is notable that although Kung et al. reported that rs2273061, rs6040061 and rs2235811 are in high LD in individuals of both Chinese (r2 > 0.9) and European (r2 > 0.7, CEU) descent [18], in our population rs2273061 was clearly not in LD with the other JAG1 polymorphisms (Figure 1). This may explain why rs2273061 was not associated with BMD in this study. Further studies including other JAG1 SNPs will define whether this gene is associated with BMD or not in the Mexican population. The Mexican population is admixed and has a complex genetic structure including European, Native American and a small proportion of African genes [29, 30]. Spurious association signals produced by differences in ancestral background can be a confounding factor in genetic association studies [31, 32]. Since population stratification may be a source of spurious associations, we used the first and second principal component from PCA, described previously [21] to account for population stratification. Our results suggest that population stratification was most likely not a confounding factor in this study. Our study has some limitations. First, MEF2C, JAG1 and SOST SNPS were selected based on previous reports from European and Asian populations, and thus other SNPs within the same genes may contribute to BMD variation in Mexican-mestizos. Second, the failure to observe associations of MEF2C and JAG1 SNPs with BMD in our population may be due to the small sample size and reduced statistical power of the study [33]. Although our sample size (400 individuals) was large enough to identify the effect of SOST gene variants on BMD, in order to replicate the previously observed association of MEF2C rs1366594, considering a MAF of 0.33 and an effect size of 0.08 (in standard deviations of BMD), a total of 2,769 samples would be needed to achieve 80% statistical power to detect a significant association. The statistical power of the present study to find a significant association with this SNP was only 19%. Similarly, we would require 6,909 samples to obtain adequate statistical power to detect an association of JAG1 rs2273061 with BMD variation, considering a MAF of 0.42 and an effect size of 0.048 SDs. Thus, even the combined results of the present study with those of Rojano-Mejía et al., who genotyped the rs2273061 in 750 Mexican individuals, would not reach adequate statistical power to replicate the association of this SNP with BMD. These results should be interpreted with caution, and should be considered as uncertain rather than null associations. Additional studies in larger samples are required to understand the role of MEF2C and JAG1 gene variation in BMD variation in the Mexican population. Conclusions In conclusion, our results suggest that SOST polymorphisms contribute to total hip and femoral neck BMD variation in postmenopausal Mexican-mestizo women. Taken together, these and other previously reported findings in the Mexican population suggest that variation in genes located in the Wnt pathway may be important contributors to BMD variation in the Mexican-mestizo population. Further investigation is required to understand interactions of genes located in this pathway with other factors, such as hormones and nutrition. Declarations Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all the study participants for their participation in this study. 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>> Orlandas („SeaWorld-Convention Center“ centras), viešbutis Ramada Convention Center I-Drive yra netoli šių objektų: „Ripley's Believe It or Not“, Orange County konferencijų centras ir „Wet 'n' Wild“. Taip pat netoli yra „Sleuth's Mystery Dinner Show“ ir „Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf“. Viešbučio ypatybės..: baseinas lauke, skalbimo paslaugos ir kava 135 svečių kamb. Ramada Convention Center I-Drive patogumų yra: seifai ir nemokami laikraščiai. Televizijos turinys: papildomi kabelinės televizijos kanalai. Vonios kambariuose yra.. Pets are not allowed at the Ramada Convention Center I-Drive. *. Galimas maisto pristatymas į kambarius..žiūrėti visus Orlandas viešbučius . Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "need to upgrade" Furniture old and too big. Towels stiff. Electrical outlets did not work. Not enough parking.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas . Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas The room was clean and nice we only stayed there for 1 night but I would stay there again. Their breakfast was hot(eggs, bacon, and sausage) food they just need a bigger spot 4 the food but it was ok. They also had muffins, bagels, and cerealTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "close to all attractions" Had a nice stay, first room had no heat was moved to another and it was a better room. Dont stay in the100 rooms they are small and less atrractive. Overall good stayTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas .Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Roach motel" Seemed clean till we found the coackroach.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. "Staff was AWESOME!!!!!!" Staff was awesome!!!!!!! Hotel and romms were clean.Tikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai ).Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas My room had been slept in and the next room they gave me was uncomfortable as well. I recommend doing a overhaul of the place. It was nothing like the Ramada I have stayed at.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. Skaityti daugiauTikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai Ramada Convention Center I-Drive atsiliepimas.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Enjoyable stay" It was nice to have a real breakfast included with the room.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Excelent cleanliness of my roomTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepim. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "HORROR HOTEL FOR A FAMILY" I would not recomend this hotel to no one. VERY DISCUSTINGTikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai "alright" people were nice rooms were run down but for the price was okTikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "perfect location and great price" on the spot location, price excellent no complaintsTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Hotel in poor shape. Great location." Rooms were very dirty and very small. We were travelling with small children and did not want them to even walk on the stained carpets. We had to even change rooms once. The staff was overall very helpful especially the breakfast room staff.Tikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai Ramada Convention Center I-Drive atsiliepimas We are glad you chose our property during your stay in our area, and I apologize that you encountered unsatisfactory conditions in your guest room. We have addressed these concerns and instituted additional training with our housekeeping and engineering staffs to avoid these issues in the future and to ensure that our guests are surrounded by inspirational environments during their stays. We assure you that if you give us another opportunity, you will find the singular Ramada experience you deserve. "Details Matter" This property is relatively close to the Convention Center and Universal, approximately 1/2 way between the two, about a 20-minute walk to OCCC. The other reason I selected it was that I had stayed at Ramada previously and had a pleasant experience. This property, however, needs attention to its physical condition. The first room I was assigned had […] an air conditioner that was overly noisy. The second, while sufficient for my purpose, needed a thorough cleaning: the rug was filthy, and there seemed to be a problem with mold, causing my nose to stuff up. Also, the desk chair and television were worn and needed replacement. The bathroom had a build-up of dirt in the corners on the floor. I knew I would not spend a lot of time in my room during my stay, so I tolerated these deficiencies. The one bright spot was the substantial hot breakfast included in the price of the room. I did expect a better standard, however, from a Ramada hotel. Next time, I'll stay elsewhere. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Run Down" We found the staff at the hotel to be very nice and professional. The hotel itself is in need of a major make-over- it's very run down. ALthough our room appeared clean we found a balled up T shirt under the lounge chair in our room.Tikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "poor hotel" Poor room condition. Bag bed. The quality service of the staff was excellent.Tikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Ugggh!" This was the most dirtious hotel I ever stay in, very disappointing, for the rates it was horrible! The smell is unbearable! I would recommend this to anyone! please expedia take this hotel off the charts!Tikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai Šis svečias nekomentavoTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Ridiculous" This is my first review, felt like I had to write this review . My husband and I stayed there only one night so I didn't feel like changing rooms once we checked in. First of all when we tried to check in it took over 30 minutes, mind you no one was in front of us but the guy that was at the front desk kept answering the phone and making us wait. Second […] when we finally got checked in the room he gave us was a handicapped room,so the shower and toilet was very hard to use. It was just a really horrible experience. Never again. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Ramada Convention Center I-Drive atsiliepimas Thank you for your recent feedback. We appreciate your business. We apologize that your stay with us was less than perfect. Since it was a very busy night it took longer to check you in. We have made arrangements to add an extra Front Desk Agent during busy check in hours. I also apologize for the handicappe room that was offered to you but I must bring to your attention that we only offered you the room type that you requested while making your reservation with hotels.com. In future if you like to make reservations please feel free to reach out to me and I will be glad to make it for you directly. I thank you for your business and hope to see you again soon. Okay for the price. Grreat location, but it is showing its age!Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Knowing Orlando" Everything was good. But the Bathroom does not extractor and the Bath looks oxidated.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Good overall" Everything was good except a most Air conditioning. Housekeeping very attentive. Thank You Darina.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "good for a short stay" My stay at the hotel was good, was not at the room very much but good place to lay your head for a few hoursTikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai "great cheap hotel!!" the hotel was lovely. good air conditioning.near all the attractions. staff were pleasant and willing to help. room clean and tidy, maid service excellent.pool cleaned every day, even though it was hardly used. good free breakfast.Tikri „Expedia“ svečių atsiliepimai "Good" Really good location and very friendly stuffs.Tikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas Ramada Convention Center I-Drive atsiliepimas We at the Ramada are very thankful for your comment and are very happy that you enjoyed your stay with us. We thank you very much for your business and hope to see you again soon. "Don't Expect Much, but OK considering the price" The hotel is dated with cosmetic damages (i.e., stains on carpet, water damage, caulking falling apart). Friendly and helpful front desk staff. Breakfast included (waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage patties, bagels, toast, cereal/oatmeal, yogurt)...decent quality, but gets crowded with people the later time it is (as any other hotel). Location was great,...in […] the middle of I-drive so you are in between Seaworld/Convention Center and Universal/Wet N' Wild. Plenty of places to eat nearby. !! Do not use the hotel's recommended taxi service: it is cash only, and the driver adds on his own charges (i.e., pick up at 4am for airport). Also, during our stay furniture was moved out of and into our room without our knowledge. Which means that they moved our personal belongings (i.e., underwear, makeup) out of the old furniture and then placed them in the new furniture (mixing our belongings up). We should have been notified that this was going to happen, and then we could have also moved our belongings ourselves. Skaityti daugiauTikras „Hotels.com“ svečio atsiliepimas "Ramada Convention Center- Pleasant stay..." Overall, I had a nice stay at the Ramada, but the place has its pros and cons. The pros: location, being very close to all Orlando main attractions. Also, the included breakfast buffet, which was OK, but a plus for people with a budget. I was also satisfied with room cleanliness and housekeeping services. The cons: mainly the noise outside the room, […] which sounded kind of strange and had me a little worried the first 2 days. Also, the room included ammenities like microwave and a refrigerator, which was a good surprise, except for the fridge being VERY smelly, almost intolerable. The room looks like it could need an update, but nothing tragic considering it was all pretty clean..

Article Contents Xiaomi has an interesting history that I recommend you read up on if you don’t already know it. The company, while known to mostly enthusiasts here in the States, has a huge presence in its homeland China, as well as India and other parts of Southeast Asia. Despite a general decline in size and influence in the past year or two, Xiaomi continues to push the envelope of affordable, feature-packed phones. The Mi line represents the best that the manufacturer has to offer. For 2017, Xiaomi has created the Mi 6, a small phone full of the latest and greatest specs. As you will see below, the Mi 6 looks like a powerhouse on paper. Unfortunately, the stale, old MIUI 8 software really hamstrings the phone. Not only does it hold the Mi 6 back from being a stellar device, but it doesn’t fit with the phone's overall design and aesthetic. It feels completely outdated. So here we go on yet another familiar tale. Specs The Good The Not So Good Design I have to give credit where credit is due: the Mi 6 is quite the looker from the back. It is, by far, Xiaomi's nicest-looking device yet with its compact body, subtle curves, and smooth finish. And in keeping with the Mi tradition, Xiaomi left the 6 small this year. Thanks to the way the back glass melds into the stainless steel frame, it’s a super comfortable phone to hold and use. The glossy, reflective back certainly attracts fingerprints and gets nasty pretty quick, though. The Mi 6 can also be a bit slippery at times — it likes to slide off desks, tables, or any other perfectly flat surface. I received the plain black unit to review, which reminds me of both LG's dark finish on the G6 and Apple's Jet Black color on the more recent iPhones. All of that to say, it looks nice until you touch it. The front of the phone is a plain black face, with only the fingerprint sensor and capacitive keys (when lit up) underneath the 5.15" screen to break it up; you can barely see the front camera, earpiece, and sensors at the top in most circumstances. Along the back, you'll find the dual camera module, flash, and the Xiaomi logo (and pertinent information) near the bottom. Over on the right side of the shiny frame is the volume rocker, which sits right above the power button — a configuration that I've never been fond of. Neither of those feels good, with the rocker feeling sticky and the power button like there isn't enough travel distance to even click (they're also hard to see). On the other end is naught but the SIM tray. Lastly, the USB-C port and speaker sit along the bottom. In that mini tour of the Mi 6, you will likely have noticed that I failed to mention the location of the 3.5mm headphone jack. Well, Xiaomi decided that it would be best to leave that off of this year's Mi phone. The reason is anyone's guess, though I have my own (inconclusive) hypothesis which I will not share here. Regardless, this is the first decision made here that is a real downer. In my time with the Mi 6, I can recall multiple instances when I wanted to use a 3.5mm cable, but I did not have the included USB-C adapter. Whether or not you agree that it's time for the venerable audio port to be put to rest, a lot of the world is not ready yet. Bluetooth devices/connections are not as readily available or reliable as one might wish. My final major gripe with the Mi 6 externally is the fingerprint sensor. It's not as quick as something from Google, Huawei, or OnePlus, nor is it nearly as accurate. To put this into perspective, the phone would decline to accept either of my thumbprints at setup. It took a long time to get even one of my thumbs registered. Now, I realize that my hands and fingers are riddled with callouses and scars, which tend to throw off some sensors, but I've never had this much of an issue before. Also, Xiaomi elected to recess the fingerprint reader deep into the bottom bezel, which made setup and actual use of it even more difficult (I have thick fingers). In the end, I told the fingerprint sensor to sod off. Display Xiaomi has not made its name with great displays; the last time the company was praised for something screen-related was the Mi Mix. So when I approached the Mi 6 and my notes for writing this section, I did not expect anything wonderful. The best that I can say of the 5.15" 1080p IPS LCD display is that it's adequate. There's nothing to truly complain about, per se, but there is certainly nothing to commend or praise. The Mi 6's screen gets the job done. I am not bugged by the choice to go with an FHD resolution. At 5.15" diagonally, the pixels are smashed together making for a nice density (428 ppi). The rest of the screen itself is mediocre; it doesn't get as bright as I would like outdoors nor quite dim enough for nighttime use (a problem I have with a lot of LCD displays, even the one on the G6). The colors have a washed out look to them most of the time and the default calibration leans more toward the warmer side, so blues especially suffer. Thus far, the options you're given in the settings do very little to address these issues. I mean, moving the slider toward Cool in the settings helps with some of the blues looking awful. However, the viewing angles are excellent on the Mi 6, which I would expect for a flagship in 2017. At no point did I see light bleed or any gaps. It's only when your gaze is just barely shy of perfectly parallel do you start seeing some weirdness, and if you're using this phone like that, you have other problems to address. MIUI also comes with an automatic blue light filter for nighttime, if that's your thing (it's one of mine). Overall, I don't hate the Mi 6's display, but nor do I love it. Like I said, it gets the job done. I am not saying that a phone this size needs a higher resolution — it's plenty crisp as it is — but I think that the backlight is lacking and needs work. The outdoor performance was also pretty pathetic (versus some other phones I've used recently which were plenty usable in the sun). Audio Audio performance on the Mi 6 was what I expected. The bottom-firing speaker gets pretty loud with the expected distortion at high volume. Bass is completely lacking — again, as expected. Bluetooth 5.0 makes an appearance in this phone, but I don't have any accessories that could take advantage of the higher bandwidth. Sorry. Since the phone lacks a 3.5mm jack, I had to use the included USB-C adapter to test sound with wired headphones. I did not come away disappointed (like I have with previous phones). The audio performance on the Mi 6 is good. It will definitely do you well should you choose to use it as your gym media player or whatnot. Performance and battery life The Mi 6 is no slouch when it comes to raw performance. The Snapdragon 835 is a powerful SoC, especially when put to proper use. However, in this case, the benchmark numbers are quite impressive, but the overall user experience has felt restrained during my time with the Mi 6. I'll explain what I mean. Xiaomi, among other Chinese OEMs, is notorious for implementing hyper-aggressive RAM management in its software. So even though there's 6GB in this phone, the OS barely uses 3GB before it starts dumping apps from memory — including third-party launchers like Nova and Action. Even after disabling a lot of the "MIUI optimizations," more than half of the RAM is neglected. There are myriad of problems with MIUI, which I will discuss in its own section below, but this one in particular affects performance. This is what I meant when I said the UX feels restrained — there's a lot of latent power to be had here, but Xiaomi has opted to shackle it. For comparison, I've experienced much more consistent and sometimes better performance on the LG G6 that I'm currently using. Perhaps some patch down the line, or maybe even MIUI 9, will improve the RAM management and the overall feeling of being held back. But when it's behaving itself, the Mi 6 is blazing fast. Like the OnePlus 5, it lacks the buttery smoothness of the Pixel, but it makes up for that with sheer speed. There is hardly any lag or stutter and animations are very fluid. The Adreno 540 GPU is stellar for gaming, especially at 1080p, and withstood anything I threw at it. One of Xiaomi's long-time strengths has been battery life. Every Mi phone that I've used in recent years has been a champ when it comes to longevity. With my normal usage, I was able to squeeze about two days out of the Mi 6 with approximately eight hours of screen-on-time (at 50-60% brightness indoors). While its 3,350mAh cell certainly helps, it is well understood that the MIUI tomfoolery aids battery life significantly. Camera Hopping on board the dual-camera bandwagon, Xiaomi is really pushing the optics setup on the Mi 6 this year. We have two 12MP sensors here; one is wide-angle and the other is a 'telephoto' lens, allowing you to get a bit closer to your subject. Both of these fit smoothly into the svelte Mi 6 body (i.e. there's no camera bump). In well-lit conditions, especially outdoors, the Mi 6 takes good pictures. Color reproduction is accurate, the white balance is pretty good in auto mode, and none of my shots came out with exposure issues. Most of Xiaomi's cameras in the last year or two have done well with proper light... as any good camera should. Low-light performance is also decent on the rear cameras — the front one is a different story. The actual camera UI is fairly simple. Initially, you're presented with the viewfinder and the flash settings, Portrait Mode, and HDR toggle up top (or left). Along the bottom is the shutter button, the camera selector, filters, shooting modes, photographing/recording toggle, camera switcher, and gallery viewer. In order to access the settings, you need to go into the mode selector and tap the gear icon up top. It took me a little while to find it, which was irritating. In that menu, you will find a whole bunch of things to mess with. I recommend disabling the watermark, otherwise you will see "Shot on Mi 6 dual camera" in your photos (you can see some below). My impression of the Mi 6's camera is that it's a solid shooter. The average consumer will be very pleased with the outdoor performance (if they can see the damn screen) and even grabbing a quick photo at night will likely go better than previous Mi phones. Is it the be-all-end-all of cameras? No, but it sure does a good job, especially in this price bracket. Software. Value Now we come to the crux of Xiaomi's true strength: the value proposition. Starting at roughly $360 USD (for the 64GB/6GB model), the Mi 6 presents an outstanding bang-for-your-buck scenario on paper. Just go back and look at the spec sheet; now think about what you're getting for $360. It's ridiculous and makes even the OnePlus 5 look overpriced comparatively. But that's at first glance and price is not wholly indicative of the entire story. You just got done reading me ranting about the stale MIUI 8 and the issues I experienced. The fingerprint sensor is not the best and the 3.5mm jack is missing. There are plenty of issues with the Mi 6, but that then begs the question of whether we should expect such cut corners considering the MSRP. Would it have been better to save money on some of the overkill internal components to improve the other lacking areas? It's certainly a conundrum. However, with TWRP available for the Mi 6 and the inevitable flood of custom ROMs coming (hopefully), I daresay that this phone is one of the best values on the market — you know, other than not being able to buy it with a warranty most places in the world. Conclusion Software is the biggest problem with the Mi 6. MIUI is a bore and the biggest contributor to the feeling of blandness that surrounds the phone. But what if it could be replaced, thanks to custom recovery/ROM support? It's a question worth considering. Then you, as a prospective buyer, will only have to tangle with the hardware faults. Admittedly, most people don't have the same trouble with fingerprint sensors that I do (especially front-mounted ones). The lack of a 3.5mm jack is something that I will continue to criticize until we get to a point where it can be put to rest — Xiaomi should not have left it off of the Mi 6 (the official reason is that it was to make more room for the battery). I want to like this phone, but I don't. It's more focused on the spec race than actual UX. But unlike OnePlus, Xiaomi continues to fall flat on its face when it comes to software. Yes, it's impressive to stuff a Snapdragon 835, 6GB of RAM, up to 128GB of storage, two 12MP cameras, and a 3,350mAh battery into a phone with a 5.15" screen. Impressive technical accomplishments, however, do not make a great phone. User experience is a crucial element that doesn't show up in spec sheets or in marketing materials, and yet it's often a problem area for many OEMs. Even though the Mi 6 will likely have some good aftermarket support, I find it inappropriate to recommend a device with the caveat that you will likely need a custom ROM to resolve some or all of the software issues. That shouldn't be the case; we aren't in the early days of Android anymore where such a warning was usually a given. Frankly, MIUI needs a serious rethink - it's time for an overhaul. Try again, Xiaomi.

Contact Information Minot State University - Address: - 500 University Ave W Minot, North Dakota 58707 United States - Phone: - +1 (701) 858-3000 - [email protected] - Site: - Minot State University Famous Alumni Josh Duhamel Dale Brown Brynhild Haugland Joan Heckaman Gary Cederstrom Mary Sherman Morgan Mary Manross Ray Giacoletti Randy Hedberg Sean Ortiz Carly Boag Randy Schobinger Dustin Penner Marvin Nelson David O'Connell John Warner Lisa Wolf Douglas Kary Gregg Blikre David Drovdal Merle Boucher Bob Hunskor Sue Rintoul Lisa Dullum Tina Berndt Shawn Vedaa David Zeis Minot State University Alumni Skills Adobe Creative Suite, Event Planning, Corporate Events, Graphic Design, Photography, Floral Design, Administrative..., Sports Coaching, Technical Illustration, Historic Preservation, Public Relations >>IMAGE Skills Medical Devices, Market Development, Audiology, Development & delivery..., Product Launch, Hearing Aids, Aural Rehabilitation, Hearing Aid Dispensing, ISO 13485, Hearing Tests, Tinnitus, FDA, Audiometry, Training, Hardware Diagnostics, Capital Equipment, Clinical Research Skills Commercial Aviation, Flights, Airlines, Aviation, Aerospace, Aircraft, Airports, Flight Safety, Aeronautics, Helicopters, Flight Planning, Operations Management, Aviation Security, Piloting >>IMAGE Skills Higher Education, Teaching, Program Development, Grant Writing, Applied Research, Adult Education, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Design, Distance Learning, Instructional Design, E-Learning, Career Counseling, Program Evaluation, Resume Writing, Staff Development, Workshop Facilitation, Research >>IMAGE Skills CRM, ERP, Product Management, Requirements Analysis, Cross-functional Team..., Professional Services, Pre-sales, Management, Sales Process, Project Management, E-commerce, Sales Operations, Sales Management, SaaS, Enterprise Software >>IMAGE Skills CRM, Cross-functional Team..., ERP, Product Management, Professional Services, Requirements Analysis, Sales Process Skills Oilfield, Onshore, Stimulation, Supervisory Skills, Hydraulic Fracturing, Petroleum, Gas, Oil/Gas, Tubing, Oil, Energy Industry, Energy, Upstream, Completion, Drilling, Pressure, Natural Gas, Pumps, Safety Management..., Oil & Gas, Oil & Gas Industry >>IMAGE Skills Music, Music Production, Songwriting, Recording, Music Industry Linda Temple Toronto, Canada Area Speech Language Pathologist at Durham District School Board Education Management Education Minot State University 1982 — 1986 Masters, Speech Language Pathology Skills Clinical Research, Communication Disorders, Language Disorders, Apraxia, Public Speaking, Speech Therapy, Motor Speech Disorders, Early intervention, Teaching, Autism Spectrum..., Healthcare Skills Higher Education, Curriculum Development, Research, Adult Education, Student Affairs, Public Speaking, Program Development, Event Planning, Training Shanda Hunter-Trottier Toronto, Canada Area Owner, S. L. Hunter SpeechWorks Health, Wellness and Fitness Education Minot State University Experience S. L. Hunter SpeechWorks November 1995 - Present OSLA 2010 - 2013 Skills Rehabilitation, Pediatrics, Traumatic Brain Injury, Treatment, Healthcare, Speech Therapy, Autism Spectrum..., Dysphagia, Language Disorders, Home Care, Speech, Therapists, Clinical Research, Physical Therapy, Learning Disabilities, Early Intervention, Elder Care, Interventions, Cognition, Clinical Supervision, Adolescents, Mental Health, Group Therapy, Child Development, Developmental... >>IMAGE Skills Purchasing, Inventory Management, Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Negotiation, Team Leadership, Customer Service, Inventory Control, Team Building, Warehousing, Leadership, Change Management, Operations Management, SAP Valerie Faulkner Edmonton, Canada Area Secondary Educator at EIPS Higher Education Education Minot State University 1990 — 1994 >>IMAGE Skills Sellers, Real Estate, Listings, Selling, First Time Home Buyers, Relocation, Buyer Representation, Residential Homes, Condos, Single Family Homes, Buyers, Sales, New Home Sales, Customer Service, Referrals, Short Sales, Negotiation, Investment Properties, Management Skills Civil Litigation, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Personal Injury..., Automobile Accidents, Trial Practice, Litigation, Trials, Torts, Insurance Law, Jury Trials, Pleadings, Hearings, Depositions, Legal Issues, Litigation Management, Appellate Practice Skills Problem Solving, Training/Mentoring, Analysis, Negotiation, Dispute Resolution, Customer Relations, Teamwork, Customer Service, Mediation, Coaching, Team Leadership, Process Improvement, Mentoring, Critical Thinking, Troubleshooting, Alternative Dispute..., Insurance Claims, Investigation, Insurance, Claims, Team Building, Liability, General Liability, Legal Liability, Claim, Property & Casualty..., Product Liability, Property Damage, Claims Management, Litigation Management, Claim Investigation, Casualty, Commercial Lines, Property Claims, Subrogation, Commercial Insurance, Claims Resolution Allison Lindgren Cathay, North Dakota Freelance Writer Writing and Editing Education Minot State University 2005 — 2009 Bachelor of Science, Management Experience Raise Them Up March 2014 - Present Carrington Health Center December 2009 - April 2014 Call Solutions March 1995 - January 2004 Skills Human Resources, Research, Leadership, Customer Service, Training, Interviews, Cross Functional Team..., HR Policies, Sales Management, Employee Training, Coaching, Managment, Creative Writing, Report Writing, Blogging, Editing, Copywriting, Social Networking Skills Medical Devices, Cross-functional Team..., Process Improvement, Six Sigma, Healthcare, SAP, FDA, Project Management, DMAIC, Change Management, Strategic Planning, Team Building, Minitab, Leadership, Lean Manufacturing, Black Belt, Business Process..., Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, Process Engineering, Product Management, Quality Assurance, Strategy, Forecasting, Quality Management, Supply Chain Skills Family Therapy, Adolescents, Mental Health, Psychotherapy, Mental Health Counseling, Crisis Intervention, Group Therapy, CBT, Social Services Skills Customer Service, Training, Access, Accounts Payable, Advertising, Budgets, Event Management, Human Resources, Leadership Development, Management, Marketing, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, Outlook, Payroll, Policy, Recruiting, Sales, Team Building, Time Management Skills Video Editing, Studio Recording, Videography, Digital Photography, PowerPoint, Team Building, Post Production, Editing, Final Cut Pro, Creative Writing, Social Networking, Social Media, Photoshop, Event Planning, Video Production, Microsoft Word, After Effects, Merchandising, Retail, Event Management, Microsoft Excel, Photography, Mac, Public Speaking, Video, Time Management, Facebook, Copy Editing, Inventory Management, Customer Service, Microsoft Office, Team Leadership, Leadership, Marketing, Leadership Development, Screenwriting, Teaching, Customer Satisfaction, YouTube Skills Trusts, Wills, Estate Planning, Resume Writing, Career Counseling, Interview Preparation, Career Development, Human Resources, Public Speaking, Job Search, Training, Employment Law, Employee Relations, Job Coaching, Job Search Strategies, Vocational..., Temporary Placement, Career Assessment, Employee Training, Workshop Facilitation, Disabilities, Job Fairs, Mock Interviews, Cover Letters, Business Networking, Career Development..., Leadership Development, Resume, Career Management, Social Services, Workforce Development, Vocation, Enrichment Skills Piano, Classical, Music, Band, Pianist, Violin, Music Theory, Orchestral Music, Public Relations, Bands, Leadership, Worship Music, Bible Teaching Skills Attachment Parenting, Trust Based Relational..., Play Therapy, Post Traumatic Stress, Child Development, Mental Health, Mental Health Counseling, EMDR, Psychotherapy, Interventions, Trauma Therapy, Social Services, Behavioral Health, Family Therapy, TF-CBT, Mindfulness, Child Welfare, Crisis Intervention, CBT, Therapists Anita Copeland Florence, Alabama Area Account Executive at Custom Packaging Marketing and Advertising Education Minot State University 1981 — 1984 Associates, Accounting/Data Entry Colbert county high Experience Custom Packaging September 2006 - Present Skills Account Management, Packaging, B2B, Marketing, Trade Shows, Key Account Management, Direct Marketing, Advertising, Brand Development, Brand Management, Consumer Products, Corrugated, Direct Sales, Flexo, Integrated Marketing, Manufacturing, Market Planning, Marketing Strategy, Negotiation, Offset Printing, Order Fulfillment, POP Displays, Pricing, Product Development, Product Marketing, Retail Packaging, Sales, Sales Management, Sales Operations, Supply Chain >>IMAGE Skills Promotions, Advertising, Event Marketing, Merchandising, Entertainment, Sales Management, Conflict Resolution, Employee Hiring, Employee Tr, Event Planning, Marketing Strategy, Digital Media, Retail, Recruiting, Music Industry, Social Media Marketing, Management, Strategy, Music, Product Marketing, Event Management, Digital Marketing, Account Management, Marketing, Inventory Management, Sales, Leadership, Sales Operations, Training, CRM, Online Advertising, Hiring, Social Media, Social Networking, Customer Service, Strategic Planning, Online Marketing, Team Building Skills Healthcare, Gerontology, Healthcare Management, Home Care, Elder Care, Alzheimer's disease, Case Management, Medicare, Managed Care, Physician Relations, Nursing, Long-term Care, Patient Advocacy, Nursing Homes, FMLA, Team Leadership, Medicaid Skills Teaching, Organizational Learning, Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction, Feedback, Call Center, Outstanding Customer..., Critical Thinking, Long Distance, Network Services, Needs Analysis, Business Communications, Classroom Instruction, T1, Escalation, Customer Experience, CLEC, DS3, Staff Development, Billing, Coaching, Customer Retention, Problem Solving, Conflict Resolution, Call Centers, Microsoft Office, Time Management, Invoicing, Classroom, Management, Training, Leadership, Organizational..., Telecommunications, Human Resources, Change Management, Sales Operations, Public Speaking, Policy, Leadership Development, Team Building Skills Cross-functional Team..., Project Management, Budgets, Process Improvement, Vendor Management _34<< Skills Microsoft CRM, SharePoint, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL, Microsoft Office, Business Analysis, Windows, VMware, Microsoft Dynamics, SSRS, Integration, Troubleshooting, Research, Project Management, CSS, Java, Social Media, Customer Service, Active Directory, Vendor Management, Cloud Computing, System Administration, Databases, CRM Asim Awan Dallas/Fort Worth Area Financial Services Education Minot State University Experience VALIC August 2009 - Present Skills Strategic Financial..., Investments, Insurance, Alternative Investments, Budgets, Wealth Management, Retirement Planning, Investment Advisory, Mutual Funds, Financial Advisory, Series 7, Asset Managment, Portfolio Management, Asset Allocation, Securities, Finance, Financial Services, Fixed Annuities, Life Insurance, Retirement, Long-term Care, Strategy, Sales, Asset Management, Business Planning, Business Development, Start-ups, 401k, Leadership, Financial Planning _37<< Skills DoD, Agile Methodologies, Software Development..., Cross-functional Team..., Systems Engineering, Program Management, Defense, Military, Security Clearance, PMP, Integration, Special Operations, Aerospace, Testing, Intelligence, SIGINT, Air Force, C4ISR, UAV, Intelligence Analysis, Military Operations, Information Assurance, Process Improvement, Radar, Top Secret, Earned Value Management, Military Experience, National Security, Army, Engineering Management, Avionics, Troubleshooting, Government Contracting, Electronic Warfare, Project Management, Satellite Communications, Command, Afghanistan, Intelligence Community, Software Engineering, Configuration Management, Operational Planning _39<< Skills Process Improvement, Business Analysis, Data Analysis, Contract Negotiation, Call Center, Energy, Energy Markets, Visio, Forecasting, Analytics, Strategic Planning, Contract Management, Project Management, Risk Management, Analysis, Account Management, Quality Assurance, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Outlook, Dispute Resolution, Outlook, Call Centers, Customer Service, Operations Management, Sales, Access, Time Management, Accounting, Marketing Skills Mental Health First Aid, CPR Certified, First Aid Training, Certified Direct... Skills Agile Methodologies, JavaScript, Project Management, Ruby on Rails, Web Development, MVC, Git, Web Applications, Requirements Analysis, Object Oriented Design, Software Project..., Strategy, HTML, Blogging, Enterprise Software, Integration, Product Support, SEO, Management, Analysis, Team Leadership, Social Media, Help Desk Support, SQL, WordPress, Customer Service, Entrepreneurship, Salesforce.com, Public Speaking, SaaS, Troubleshooting, CRM, Sales Operations, Software Documentation, Bacon, Ruby, Scrum, Analytics, ExpressionEngine, Software Development..., Published Author, ExactTarget, Python, Facebook Marketing, Akamai, Twitter, Content Managed Websites, Apple Developer, CSS, Social Media Marketing Benny Demus Atlanta, Georgia DJ, Producer, Artist, Internationally Known Music Education University of Wyoming 1998 — 1998 Minot State University 1997 — 1997 None Experience Konvict Muzik January 2000 - Present Supervillain Beats 1995 - Present Skills DJ, Top Producer, Producers, Actors, Creative Writer, Rapper, CEOs, Film Production, Songwriting, Short Films, Fashion, Music Production, Record Labels, Music Industry, Rock, Sound, Music Skills Training, Military Skills Advertising, Marketing, Customer Service, Creative Direction, Training, Management, Newsletters, Troubleshooting, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Communications, Social Media Marketing, Graphics, Team Building, Human Resources, Email Marketing, Nonprofits, Leadership, Social Media, Fundraising Skills Sales Operations, Strategy, B2B, Sales Management, Account Management, Management, Consumer Electronics, Multi-channel Marketing, Cross-functional Team..., Marketing Strategy, Leadership, Sales, Project Management, Marketing, Pricing, New Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, Marketing Management, Training, Operations Management, Customer Service, Competitive Analysis, Strategic Planning, Contract Negotiation, Key Account Management, Sales Process, Forecasting, Direct Sales, Trade Shows, Market Planning, P&L Management, Budgets, Channel Partners, Selling, Market Analysis, Customer Relations, Financial Services, Solution Selling, Analysis, E-commerce, Merchandising, Retail, Brand Management, Business Development, Channel Marketing, Executive Management, Business Process..., Business Strategy _47<< Skills Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory, Security, Technical Support, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft DPM, Blackberry Enterprise..., Compellent, Exclaimer Mail..., Help Desk Support Skills Operations Management Skills Adobe Software, Layout Design, Time Management, Layout, Pre-press, Graphic Design, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Illustrator, Branding & Identity, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Mac OS X, Windows, Posters, Corporate Identity, Advertising, Newsletters, Business Cards, Web Design, Marketing, WordPress, Magazines, Flyers, Stationery, OS X Skills Weapons of Mass..., Enforcement, Homeland Security, CBRN, Intelligence Analysis, Special Operations, Intelligence, National Security, Counterterrorism, Preparedness, Public Safety, Police, Criminal Justice, Military, Force Protection, Command, Disaster Response, Emergency Management, NIMS, Defense, Tactics, Exercises, Rescue, DoD, Reconnaissance, Hazardous Materials, Army Skills Commercial Banking, consumer lending, Residential Mortgages, Commercial Lending, Call Center, Insurance, Credit, Strategic Planning, Consumer Lending, Banking, Loans, Mortgage Lending, Budgets, Customer Service, Financial Services, Finance, Real Estate, Small Business, Risk Management, Relationship Management, Executive Management, Management, Credit Unions, Call Centers, Financial Analysis, Leadership, Small Business Lending, Credit Cards, Underwriting, Loan Origination Skills Public Speaking, Community Outreach, Program Development, Leadership, Policy, Teaching, Training, Nonprofits, Microsoft Word, Social Services, Case Management, Crisis Intervention, Psychology, Group Therapy, Child Welfare, Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Networking, Manage Client..., Marketing Communications, Communication Skills, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Publisher, Outlook, Documentation, Maintaining Strong..., Strengthening Client..., Customer Service, Management, Marketing, Sales, Event Planning Skills Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Hospitality Management, Restaurants, Event Management, Menu Development, Event Planning, Hospitality Industry, Entertainment, Restaurant Management, Budgets, Team Building, Resorts, Supervisory Skills, Microsoft Office, Casino, Leadership, Management, Public Speaking, Training, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Team Leadership, Nightlife, Public Relations, Time Management, Marketing Skills Spanish translation, Team Leadership, Customer Relations, Broadcast, Leadership, Strategy, Production Planning, Diligent, Sociability, Management, Statistics, Organizational Structure, Security, Time Management, Microsoft Office, Workshop Facilitation, Research, PowerPoint, Social Media, Event Planning, Teamwork, Training, Microsoft Excel, Public Speaking, Spanish, Sales, Social Networking, Marketing, Forecasting, Coaching, Event Management, Public Relations, Social Media Marketing, Sports, Critical Thinking, Editing, Leadership Development, Advertising, Blogging, Staff Development, Outlook, Market Research, Analysis, Marketing Communications, Team Building, Data Analysis, Adobe Creative Suite, Photoshop, Web Design, English Skills Customer Service, Strategic Planning, Mutual Funds, Securities, Employee Benefits, Sales, Leadership, Wealth Management, Retirement Planning, Microsoft Excel, Strategic Financial..., Accounting, To learn more about my... Skills Program Management, Six Sigma, Integration, Business Intelligence, Quality Assurance, Project Management, Management, Process Improvement, CRM, Software Development, Databases, IT Management, Strategy, Data Analysis, Requirements Management, Business Development, Security, Requirements Analysis, Business Analysis, Analysis, Strategic Planning, Process Engineering, Change Management, Critical Chain Project..., Software Documentation, Project Planning, Disaster Recovery, Training, Cross-functional Team..., Vendor Management, SDLC, Risk Management, CMMI, Testing, Software Project..., Project Portfolio..., MS Project, Team Leadership, Systems Engineering, IT Strategy, Business Process..., Business Process, PMO, Process Management, Budgets, Troubleshooting, Consulting, Enterprise Architecture, Rational Team Concert, CM Synergy Skills Investments, Retirement Planning, Wealth Management, Series 7, Budgets, Strategic Planning, Series 63, English, Microsoft Office, Windows, Research, Series 65, Life Insurance Skills Advertising Sales, Direct Sales, Inside Sales, Cold Calling, Consultative Selling, Selling, Sales Presentations, Customer Service, Customer Relations, New Business Development, Transportation, Account Management, B2B, Customer Retention, Management, Marketing, Sales, Sales Operations, Sales Management, Human Resources, Time Management, Sales Process, Customer Satisfaction, Trade Shows, Salesforce.com, Leadership, Team Building, Lead Generation, Inventory Management, P&L Management, Market Planning, Forecasting, Business Development Skills Microsoft Office, Customer Service, Microsoft Excel, Management, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Public Speaking, Research, Project Management, Leadership, Community Outreach, Nonprofits, Event Planning, Volunteer Management, Program Development, Fundraising, Grant Writing, Social Services, Program Evaluation, Public Policy Skills Microsoft Excel, PeopleSoft, Business Objects, Hyperion Enterprise, Access, Bloomberg, OLAP, Financial Analysis, Banking, Financial Modeling, Accounting, Business Analysis, Analysis, Business Process, Finance, Forecasting Skills Software Engineering, Software Project..., Embedded Systems, Project Management, Process Improvement, Software Development, Agile Methodologies, Enterprise Software, Integration, C#, Cloud Computing, SaaS, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL, Server Architecture, Product Lifecycle..., Program Management, Agile Project Management, ERP, Architecture, Scrum, RTLS, Technical Product Sales, Healthcare Information..., Microsoft SQL, Business Intelligence, Embedded Software, Electronic Engineering, ERP Software, XML, C++, PMP, .NET, Web Services, System Architecture, Software Design, Requirements Analysis, SDLC, Testing, SharePoint, Pre-sales, Architectures Skills Technical Staff..., Culture Change, Organizational..., Organizational Culture, Staff Development, Organizational..., Business Intelligence, Program Management, Business Analysis, Analytics, SSIS, SSAS, SDLC, Project Management, Process Improvement, Microsoft SQL Server, Requirements Analysis, SharePoint, Data Warehousing, Software Development, Quality Management, Databases, Crystal Reports, Management, Tableau, Enterprise Software, Requirements Gathering, Aptify Skills Social Media, Web Design, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Digital Media, Digital Design, Photography, acrylic painting, Marketing Strategy, Creative Direction, Direct Sales, Brand Development, Instructing, Event Planning, Blogging, User Interface Design, Interior Design, Color Consulting, Adobe Creative Suite, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Creative Strategy, Creative Services, Crafts, Product Demonstration, Community Relations, Teaching, Teamwork, Banner Ads, Photo Editing, Typography, Creative Problem Solving, Direct Mail, Brochures, Graphics, Newsletters, Corporate Identity, Art Direction, Layout, Email Marketing, Branding & Identity, Community Development Carene Schroeder Edmonton, Canada Area Educational Assistant at Elk Island Public Schools Retail Education Minot State University 1993 — 1995 Education, Developmental Disabilities Experience Groupe Dynamite 1999 - 2001 Gymboree 1997 - 1999 Ricki's 1995 - 1997 Skills Accounting, Audit, Tax, Auditing, Internal Controls, Non-profits, Quickbooks, Strategic Planning, Financial Reporting, GAAP, Income Tax Skills Team Management, Agile & Waterfall..., Management, SDLC, Software Development, Microsoft SQL Server, .NET, Recruiting, TFS, C# 4.0, VB.NET, ASP.NET, SSRS, Web Applications, C#, ASP.NET MVC, IIS, Databases, Scrum, Software Project..., Visual Basic, WCF, Project Management, XML, Crystal Reports, MVC, C# 3.0, Enterprise Architecture, Android Development, VB6, Android, Job Coaching, Agile Methodologies, SQL, Visual Studio, Software Engineering, Requirements Analysis, Database Design, HTML, Web Services, T-SQL, Troubleshooting Skills DoD, Military, Security Clearance, Operational Planning, Navy, Military Experience, Command, National Security, Top Secret, Military Operations, Force Protection, Leadership Development, Military Training, Organizational..., Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Defense, Training, Program Management, Public Speaking, Experienced Speaker Skills Small Business Lending, Commercial Lending, Commercial Banking, Credit Analysis, Loans, Credit, Banking, Credit Risk, Mortgage Lending, Underwriting, Cash Management, Mortgage Banking, Banking Relationships, Branch Management, Business Development, Cash Flow Lending, Commercial Mortgages, Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Lending, Credit Cards, Finance, Financial Analysis, Financial Risk, Financial Services, Home Equity Lines of..., Insurance, Investments, Lines Of Credit, Loan Origination, Portfolio Management, Real Estate, Refinance, Relationship Management, Retail Banking, Risk Management, SBA, Sales, Small Business, Strategic Financial..., Residential Mortgages Skills Web Applications, Agile Methodologies, Web Services, Scrum, JavaScript, AJAX, SQL, REST, User Experience, Git, Scala, Java, C#, Software Development, Ruby on Rails, Spring, Spring Framework, MySQL Skills Medical Devices, Capital Equipment, Healthcare, FDA, Operating Room, Vascular, Market Development, Clinical Research, Sales Operations, Hospitals, Orthopedic, Neurology, Training, Cath Lab, Surgical Instruments, Urology, Interventional..., Cardiology, Medicine, Disposables, Interventional Radiology, Surgeons, Surgery, Catheters, Product Launch Skills Training, Customer Service, Sales Management, Cost Control, Energy Efficiency, Process Efficiency, Business Efficiency, Production Efficiency, Operational Efficiency, Team Building, Business Strategy, Business Development, Business Process..., Microsoft Word, Insurance, Life Insurance, Fixed Annuities, Process Improvement, Six Sigma, Operations Management, Continuous Improvement, Manufacturing, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, ISO, Supply Chain Management, Root Cause Analysis, Management, New Business Development, Inventory Management, Program Management, Strategic Planning _76<< Skills Customer Service, Retail Banking, Microsoft Excel, Budgets, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Sales, Outlook, Banking, Financial Analysis, Time Management, Finance Skills Product Development, Product Management, Online Advertising, Information Architecture, Web Development, Content Management, Project Management, Web Applications, Content Strategy, Team Leadership, Online Marketing, Dreamweaver, Email Marketing, Advertising, Website Development, HTML, WordPress, Digital Media, CMS, Web Design, Social Media, Multimedia, Strategy, Google Adwords, Flash, Publishing, Mobile Applications, SEO, Newspapers, User Experience, Web Analytics, Web Content Management, Digital Strategy, Google Analytics, Papermaking, E-commerce, Digital Marketing, Mobile Marketing Skills Databases, Web Development, JavaScript, T-SQL, VB.NET, ASP.NET, ASP, Programming, SEO, Crystal Reports, Web Applications, PHP, CSS, C#, Systems Analysis, SSRS, SQL Server 2005/2000, .NET, Unified Process, UML, Requirements Gathering, Use Case Analysis, Data Analysis, Database Design, Web Application Design, Data Modeling, Knowledge Management, Database Development, Agile, SQL Server Management..., Aptify, Laserfiche Skills Start-ups, Engineering, Product Development, Agile, Team Building, Scalability, Software Development, SaaS, Agile Methodologies, Business Intelligence, Databases, Analytics, Product Management, Scrum, CRM, Strategy Skills SQL Server, Customer Service, SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, T-SQL, Software Implementation, System Administration, Crystal Reports, Linux, IIS, SharePoint, Windows Server, Disaster Recovery, Networking, Citrix, SaaS, Technical Support, Databases, Software Development, SSRS, Business Analysis, Active Directory, Database Administration, Troubleshooting, VMware, Vendor Management, Software Documentation, .NET, VMware ESX, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Network Administration, Testing, Windows 7, Virtualization, Data Center, Software Project..., Integration Skills Phone Skills, Microsoft Office, iWork, Document Management, Data Entry, Record Keeping, Typing, Payroll, Assistance, Event Planning, Creative Problem Solving, Scheduling, Quickbooks, Blogging, Social Media, Adobe Creative Suite, FileMaker, Event Management, Telephone Skills, Bookkeeping, QuickBooks, Customer Service, Marketing, Proofreading, Microsoft Excel, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Salesforce.com, Sales, Social Networking >>IMAGE Skills Sales Management, New Business Development, Key Account Management Skills •Treasury/Cash Flow, •General Accounting, •Process improvement, •Financial Statement..., •Capital Investment..., •Management Reporting, •Acquisition Due..., •Variance Analysis, •Financial Modeling, •Budget Preparation, •Forecasting, •Tax / Regulatory..., •Bank Relations, •Internal Control..., •Debt Compliance /..., Variance Analysis, Financial Modeling, Process Improvement, Excel, Due Diligence, Word, Visio, Accounting, Microsoft Excel, Compliance, Auditing, Internal Controls, Management, Forecasting, Tax, Microsoft Word, Financial Statements, Risk Management, Financial Analysis, Budgets, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Internal Audit, Financial Risk, General Ledger, Strategic Planning, Analysis, Cash Flow, SEC filings, Enterprise Risk..., Sarbanes-Oxley, Cash Management, Fixed Assets, Financial Audits, Treasury, Financial Accounting Skills PACS, Informatics, EHR, Radiology, Healthcare Information..., Healthcare, DICOM, Medical Imaging, EMR, Hospitals, Epic Systems, RIS, CPOE, HIPAA, Mammography, Clinical Research, HL7, Healthcare Industry, Digital Imaging, Radiography, X-ray, Ambulatory, Customer Service, Cerner, Centricity, Powerscribe, Computed Tomography, Healthcare Consulting, ARRT, Health Information..., Cardiology, IHE, Cath Lab, Teleradiology, Project Management, End User Training, Physician Relations, System Administration, CVIS, Interventional Radiology, Radiologic Technology, Active Directory, CIIP, Cardiology PACS, GE ViewPoint, Synapse, Synapse CV, OIS, Imaging Informatics _86<< Skills Resume Writing, Public Speaking, Coaching, Job Search, Teaching, Mentoring, Higher Education, Interviews, Career Counseling, Training, Employee Training, Adult Education, PowerPoint, Curriculum Design, Leadership, Career Development, Curriculum Development, Staff Development, Management, Team Building, Conflict Resolution, Workshop Facilitation, Student Affairs, Leadership Development, Customer Service, Community Outreach Skills Active Directory, Windows Server, Servers, Network Administration, Microsoft Exchange, DNS, Windows, DHCP, Troubleshooting, Virtualization, Computer Hardware, System Administration, Windows 7, Microsoft Office, Network Security, XP, Hyper-V, ShoreTel, CBORD, Palo Alto, Microsoft Lync, Databases, Group Policy Skills Mitigation, Radon Measurement, Public Speaking >>IMAGE Skills Tax Preparation, Business Tax Planning, Personal Income Tax..., State Tax Planning, Payroll Taxes, Payroll, Sales Tax, Bookkeeping, Accounting for Small..., QuickBooks, Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Fixed Annuities, College Savings Plans, Retirement Savings, Military, Training, Leadership, Team Building, Financial Reporting, Risk Management, Risk Assessment, Ethics, Religion, Christianity, Insurance, Small Business, Tax, Financial Statements, IRS, Income Tax, Tax Returns, Accounting, Tax Law, Tax Advisory, Expenses, Tax Research, Tax Accounting, Retirement, Finance, Estate Planning, Financial Planners, 401k, Strategic Financial... Skills Transportation, Trucking, Truckload, Freight, Accounts Receivable, Finance, P&L, Accounting, LTL, Transportation..., Operations Management, Process Improvement, Budgets, Contract Negotiation, Inventory Management, Warehousing, Logistics, Pricing, Supply Chain, Team Building, Shipping, Auditing, Forecasting, Air Freight, QuickBooks, Fleet Leasing, Leasing, Vehicle Tracking, Vendor Management, Vehicle Specification, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy..., Quickbooks Enterprise, Microsoft Excel, Sustainable Agriculture, Agriculture, Import Export, 3PL, Financial Analysis, Strategic Planning, Management, Logistics Management, Negotiation Skills Windows Server, Windows, Active Directory, Microsoft Office, Networking, Computer Software..., Commitment to Customer..., IT Solutions, IT Strategy, Data Management, Software Installation, SharePoint, XP, Servers, Windows 7, Troubleshooting, Computer Hardware, System Administration, Windows 8, Information Technology, Help Desk Support, System Deployment, Integration, Antivirus, Printers, Laptops, Microsoft Technologies, IT Operations, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Certified..., HP, Wireless Networking, Server Administration, Firewalls, Network Administration, Citrix, Hardware, VPN, Group Policy, LAN-WAN, Backup Exec, Customer Service, Windows XP Deb Purcell Washington D.C. Metro Area Cost Data on Line (Richardson's Database) Civil Engineering Education Minot State University Skills Project Planning, Project Estimation, Project Management, Sage, Product Management, Program Management, MS Project, Software Implementation, Process Scheduler, Business Development, Business Analysis, Construction, Negotiation, Software Development, Building Relationships, Relationship Marketing, New Business Development, Analysis, CRM, Cloud Computing, Team Leadership, Process Improvement, Leadership, Change Management, Contract Negotiation, Strategic Planning, Estimates, SaaS, Software Documentation Skills Health Insurance, Insurance, Sales Management, Direct Sales, Sales, Marketing, Small Business, New Business Development, Employee Benefits, Disability Insurance, Term Life Insurance Skills Training Delivery, Leadership, Leadership Development, E-Learning, Training, Instructional Design, Adult Education, Higher Education, Public Speaking, Microsoft Office, Employee Training, Staff Development, Community Outreach, Curriculum Development, Organizational... Skills Crystal Reports, Troubleshooting, Laboratory, Training, Healthcare Information..., HL7, EHR, EMR, HIPAA, Software Documentation, SharePoint, Software Implementation >>IMAGE Skills Procurement, Creative Problem Solving, Highly resourceful, Information Processing, Business Communications, Analytical Skills, Leadership, Microsoft Operating..., Microsoft Office, Corel Office, Adobe Professional, CompTIA A+ Certification, Management, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Spreadsheets, Expenditure Control, Contract Management, Property Management, Budget Monitoring, Budget Reconciliation, GAAP, Code of Federal..., Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics, Tribal Government, Budgets, Customer Service, Fundraising, Program Management, Nonprofits, Public Relations, Public Speaking, Strategic Planning, Team Building, Event Management Skills Public Relations, Fundraising, Strategic Communications, Leadership, Political Campaigns, Marketing, Community Development, Government, Legislative Relations, Public Policy, Public Speaking, Policy, Political Consulting, Politics, Strategic Planning, Management, Policy Analysis, Media Relations, Crisis Communications, Advertising, Grassroots Organizing, Social Media, Customer Service, Crisis Management, Strategy, Sales, Team Building, Entrepreneurship, Training, Community Outreach, Nonprofits, Direct Marketing, Public Affairs Expert, Techniques of Alcohol..., Nightlife Consultant, Bar Consultant, Food & Beverage..., Political Campaign..., Real Estate Development, Real Estate Investment..., Energy Production..., Media & Entertainment, Reality TV, Documentaries, Commercial Real Estate, Industrial Real Estate, Trade Show Presentations, Grassroots Skills Time Management, Project Management, Quality Assurance, Agile Methodologies, Testing, Scrum, Test Planning, XML, Cross-functional Team..., SDLC, Product Management, E-commerce, SaaS, Databases, Mobile Applications, Software Quality..., User Experience, MySQL, Web Applications, Leadership, Software Development, Test Cases, Agile Project Management, SQL, Linux, Analysis, Microsoft SQL Server, AJAX, Software Project..., Web Development, Windows, Integration, Android, Web Services, Software Engineering, Usability Testing, Mobile Devices, Management, Product Design, Usability, QA Engineering, Functional Testing, Mobile Technology, User Acceptance Testing Skills Multilingual, Latin America, International Relations, Intercultural..., Marketing, Foreign Policy, Training, International Business, Sales Management, Microsoft Office, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Negotiation, International Law, Precision Agriculture, Latin American Studies, International..., Foreign Affairs, International Sales, Interpreting and..., Export-Import, International Logistics Skills Project Management, Purchasing, Project Oversight, Telecommunications, PMP, Program Management, Strategic Planning, Team Building, Business Analysis, Process Improvement, SharePoint, Microsoft Office, Management, Software Project..., Procurement, Public Speaking, Leadership, Training, Strategy, IT Management, Software Documentation Skills Student Development, Student Services, Program Development, Learning Abroad, Training Skills, Writing, Student Affairs, Academic Advising, Higher Education, Program Evaluation, Training, Microsoft Office, Spanish, Public Speaking Skills Case Management, At-risk Youth, Volunteer Management, Non-profits, Networking, Case Managment, At-risk, Community Outreach, Public Speaking, Budgets, Grant Writing, Leadership Development, Program Development, Community Development, Staff Development, Leadership, Recruiting, Project Planning, Fundraising, Management, Public Relations, Policy, Higher Education, Event Planning, Nonprofits, Research, Training, Strategic Planning, Team Building, Event Management, Youth Development, Organizational..., Grants, Supervisory Skills, Conflict Resolution, Coaching, Social Networking, Career Counseling, Career Development, Workshop Facilitation, Teaching, Employee Benefits, Time Management, Resume Writing, Interviews, Program Management, Workforce Development, Adult Education, Sales, Student Affairs Donette Peterson Fargo, North Dakota Area Director of Human Resources at Cetero Research Research Education Minot State University 1977 — 1980 Bachelor of Science, Criminal Justice Experience Cetero Research June 2008 - Present Skills Air Force, DoD, Military Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Logistics Management, Multimodal Logistics, Reverse Logistics, Cargo Security, RFID+, Transportation..., Air Transportation, Air Freight, Air Terminal Operations..., Intransit Visibility, Warehousing, Materials Handling, Hazmat training, Hazardous Materials..., Cargo and Passenger..., Airfield Operations, Shipping, Supply, Emergency Procedures, Crisis Communications, Supply Chain Security, Maritime Security, Risk Management, ISPS Code, SOLAS, Vessel Security, Ship Security Alert..., Ocean Transportation, Collaborative Problem..., Critical Thinking, Microsoft Office, Security, Military Operations, Multi-modal, Air, Logistics, Aviation, Security Management, Physical Security, Security Operations, Aircraft, Military, Airports, Force Protection, Military Experience, Intelligence Skills Real Estate, Advertising, Sales, Listings, Public Speaking, Sellers, Social Media, Brokerage, Adobe Creative Suite, Residential Homes, Marketing Strategy, Marketing, Referrals, Single Family Homes, First Time Home Buyers, Contract Negotiation, Selling, Investment Properties, Property, Relocation, Entrepreneurship, Property Management, Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate Transactions, Buyers, Leadership, Investors, Negotiation, Customer Service, Buyer Representation, Strategic Planning Skills Network Administration, Metrics, ITIL, Restructuring, Managed Services, Telecommunications, Customer Support, Firewalls, Troubleshooting, Project Management, Network Engineering, QoS, Computer Network..., Operations Management, Team Leadership JASON DUNHAM Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area Ignite Company Marketing and Advertising Education Minot State University 1995 — 1999 Bachelor of Science, Marketing and Business Administration Experience Ignite Company March 2013 - 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August 2004 - Present _128<<_129<< Skills Team Building, Direct Sales, Financial Services, Training, Public Speaking, Customer Service Similar Universities Alumnius.net is not an official network of, or affiliated with, Minot State University.

.” Guy admits that no matter how many Grammys he’s collected (eight) or invitations he’s had to the White House (four), no matter how many hours he has spent onstage and in recording studios (countless), he has always been burdened with insecurity. Before he steps onstage, he has a couple of shots of Cognac. The depth of the blues tradition makes him feel unworthy. “I’ve never made a record I liked,” he says. As far as his greater burden is concerned, he radiates no certainty that the blues will outlast him as anything other than a source of curatorial interest. Will the blues go the way of Dixieland or epic poetry, achievements firmly sealed in the past? “How can you ever know?” he says. Listen: David Remnick highlights some of his favorite Buddy Guy recordings. As he talks, he keeps his eyes fixed on the stage, where a young guitar player is strenuously performing an overstuffed solo on “Sweet Home Chicago.” In this club, you are as likely to hear that song as you are to hear “When the Saints Go Marching In” at Preservation Hall. The youngster is a reverent preservationist, playing the familiar licks and enacting the familiar exertions: the scrunched face, the eyes squeezed shut, the neck craned back, all the better to advertise emotional transport and the demands of technical virtuosity. It’s fair to say that Buddy Guy, having done much to invent these licks and these moves, is not impressed. The homage being paid seems only to embarrass him. He is generous to young musicians who earn his notice—he even brings them up onstage, giving them a chance to shine in his reflected prestige—but he does not grade on a curve. The tradition will not allow it. Guy turns away from the stage and takes another sip of his drink, Heineken diluted by a glass full of ice. “The young man might consider another song,” he says. Guy has always been a handsome presence: slick, fitted suits in the nineteen-sixties; Jheri curls in the eighties. These days, he is bald, twinkly, and preternaturally cool. He wears a powder-blue fedora and a long black leather jacket, a gift from Carlos Santana. He flashes two blocky rings, one with his initials and the other with the word “BLUES,” each spelled out in diamonds. His influence over time has been as outsized as his current sense of responsibility. In the sixties, when Jimi Hendrix went to hear him play at a blues workshop, Hendrix brought along a reel-to-reel recorder and shyly asked Guy if he could tape him; anyone with ears could hear Buddy Guy’s influence in Hendrix’s playing—in the overdrive distortion, the frenetic riffs high up on the neck of the guitar. Guy can mimic any of his forerunners and sometimes he will emulate B. B. King, interrupting a prolonged silence with a single heartbreaking note sustained with a vibrato as singular as a human voice. But more often he throws in as much as the listener can take: Guy is a putter-inner, not a taker-outer. His solos are a rich stew of everything-at-once-ness—all the groceries, all the spices thrown into the pot, notes and riffs smashing together and producing the combined effect of pain, endurance, ecstasy. All blues guitar players bend notes, altering the pitch by stretching the string across the fretboard; Guy will bend a note so far that he produces a feeling of uneasy disorientation, and then, when he has decided the moment is right, he’ll let the string settle into pitch and relieve the tension. Even on a night when he is coasting through a routine set list, it is hard to leave his show without a sense of joy. He cuts an extravagant figure onstage, wearing polka-dot shirts to match his polka-dot Fender Stratocaster. He is a superb singer, too, with a falsetto scream as expressive as James Brown’s.. .” That’s how Ralph Ellison defined it. Guy puts it more simply: “Funny thing about the blues—you play ’em ’cause you got ’em. But, when you play ’em, you lose ’em.” Three chords. The “one,” the “four,” and the “five.” Twelve bars, more or less. Guy’s devotion and sense of obligation to the blues form began long before the death of B. B. King. The story goes like this. The son of sharecroppers, George (Buddy) Guy was born in 1936, in the town of Lettsworth, Louisiana, not far from the Mississippi River. On September 25, 1957, he boarded a train and arrived in Chicago, another addition to the Great Migration, the northward exodus of black Southerners that began four decades earlier. But Guy hadn’t come to Chicago to work in the slaughterhouses or the steel mills; he came to play guitar in the blues clubs on the South Side and the West Side. He was twenty-one. He had served his musical apprenticeship in juke joints and roadhouses in and around Baton Rouge and knew the real action was in Chicago, in smoke-choked bars so cramped that the stage was often not much bigger than a tabletop. If all went well, Guy hoped to get a contract at Chess Records, the hot independent label run by Leonard and Phil Chess, Jewish immigrants from Poland who were assembling an astonishing stable of artists, including Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry. Most important, for Guy, Chess was the record label of the king of the Chicago bluesmen, McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters. In his first months in town, Guy found a place to crash, but he was hungry much of the time and he missed his family. He played as often as he could at blues hangouts like Theresa’s and the Squeeze Club, but it wasn’t easy to make an impression when there were so many topflight musicians around. And some nights could be scary. Guy was playing at the Squeeze when a man in the audience buried an icepick in a fellow-patron’s neck. “When the cops saw the dead man, they couldn’t have cared less,” Guy recalled years later. “Didn’t even investigate. To them it meant only one more dead nigger. In those days cops came around for their bribes and nothing else.” One evening, emboldened by a drink or three, Guy went to the 708 Club, a blues bar on Forty-seventh Street. The owner’s name was Ben Gold. Clubs along Forty-seventh Street weren’t so difficult to crack. They stayed open deep into the morning; workers coming off the night shift were ready to drink and hear some music. A guy like Ben Gold needed all the musical talent he could get to fill the hours, whether it was from stalwarts like Muddy Waters and Otis Rush or from a nervous newcomer from Louisiana. That night, Guy was feeling desperate, and he decided to perform “The Things That I Used to Do,” a hit by one of his idols, an eccentric, self-destructive musician named Guitar Slim. When Guy was fifteen or sixteen, he bought a fifty-cent ticket to see Slim at the Masonic Temple, in Baton Rouge. He wedged himself close to the stage, hoping to watch the man’s hands, to study his moves. He waited through the opening acts until, finally, the announcer declared, “Ladies and gentlemen, Guitar Slim!” When the band started into “The Things That I Used to Do,” you could hear Slim’s guitar—but where was he? “I thought they were all full of shit and all they were doing was playing the record,” Guy told me. It was only after a while that anyone could see Slim, his hair dyed. And, once he joined the band, Slim pulled every stunt imaginable, playing with the guitar between his legs, behind his back. He raised it to his face and plucked the strings with his teeth. Many years later, Jimi Hendrix would pull some of the same stunts to dazzle white kids from London to Monterey, but these tricks had been around since the beginning of the Delta blues. As Guy watched Guitar Slim, he made a decision: “I want to play like B. B. King, but I want to act like Guitar Slim.” That night at the 708 Club, Guy did his best to fulfill that teen-age ambition. He remembers playing “The Things That I Used to Do” as if “possessed”: “Maybe I knew my life depended on tearing up this little club until folks wouldn’t forget me.” When the set was over, Ben Gold came up to him and said, “The Mud wants you.” Guy did not quite understand. Gold explained that Muddy Waters had been in the club, watching. Now he was waiting for Guy on the street. Guy went outside, and spotted a cherry-red station wagon parked nearby. He saw his idol sitting in the back seat, his pompadour done up high and shiny. Muddy Waters rolled down the window and told him to get in. Waters said, “You like salami?” “I like anything,” Guy said. He hadn’t eaten for a few days. Waters knew the feeling. He produced a loaf of bread, a knife, and a thick package of sliced meat wrapped in butcher paper. “You won’t complain none about this salami,” he said. “Comes from a Jewish delicatessen where they cut it special for me. Have a taste.” As Guy recalls in his 2012 memoir, “When I Left Home,” written with David Ritz, he and Waters talked for a long time, about picking cotton in the Delta, about music, about the clubs on the South Side. Guy admitted that things had been tough. Lonely, broke, and frustrated, he was thinking of heading back to Lettsworth. Muddy waved that off. Look at me, he said. He’d grown up on the Stovall Plantation, near Clarksdale, Mississippi. He played blues for nickels and dimes, and figured that he’d have to make his livelihood in the fields. But he kept at his music and developed a local reputation. In the summer of 1941, two outsiders, Alan Lomax, representing the Library of Congress, and John Work, a music scholar from Fisk University, came to Coahoma County with a portable disk recorder. Lomax asked folks where he could find a singer he’d been hearing about, Robert Johnson. He was told that Johnson was dead, but that a young fellow named Muddy Waters was just as good. Lomax and Work set up the recording equipment at the commissary of the Stovall Plantation and persuaded Waters to come around. Muddy knew all kinds of songs, including Gene Autry’s “Missouri Waltz” and pop hits like “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” but Lomax and Work didn’t want the whole jukebox. They wanted the local stuff, and recorded Waters singing “Country Blues.” When Waters heard the recording, he had a realization. “I can do it,” he said. “I can do it.” He headed North, in 1943, to make a life in the blues. In his early days in Chicago, Waters played for change alongside the pushcarts in “Jewtown,” a bustling commercial district on Maxwell Street. Some nights, he played in bars. There were a few good acts around—Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie, Memphis Slim, Eddie Boyd—but it was a dispiriting scene. “There was nothing happening,” he said at the time. You couldn’t play the country blues and expect to make a living at it. Waters made his living driving a truck. But once he’d armed himself with an electric guitar, a gift from his uncle, in 1947, Waters went about inventing a new form, an urban blues, the Chicago blues, and this caught the attention of the Chess brothers. In 1950, Chess put out a Muddy Waters original, “Rollin’ Stone,” and sold tens of thousands of records. And look at him now. “I got enough salami for the two of us,” he told his new protégé. Guy still didn’t see how he could compete in Chicago. But Muddy assured him that Ben Gold would give him gigs. Gold had seen how Guy’s performance worked up the crowd, and, he said, when patrons get all “hot and bothered,” they drink more, the owner gets paid, and, usually, so does the band. “Funny, ’cause tonight was the night I almost called my daddy for a ticket home,” Guy said. “Tonight, you found a new home,” Muddy Waters told him. Over the next generation, Buddy Guy crossed paths with Muddy Waters countless times. He recorded with him, he performed with him, he went drinking with him and heard all the lore. Along with the other top blues performers in town—Junior Wells (who played harmonica alongside Buddy for years), Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, Mama Yancey, James Cotton, Otis Rush, Koko Taylor, and Magic Sam—they played the clubs. But never for much money. Well into his forties, Buddy Guy was often making just a few bucks a night. In the seventies and eighties, Guy ran a club of his own on the South Side, the Checkerboard Lounge. After a stadium gig, in 1981, the Stones dropped by to play with Muddy Waters and Buddy. Guy remembered it as his one chance to make some money on the club, but the Stones entourage was so large, and the room so small, that there were almost no paying customers. He didn’t make a dime. In 1983, Ray Allison, Waters’s drummer, came by to say, “Old man is kinda sick.” Waters was dying of lung cancer, and was frightened of what lay ahead. “Don’t let them goddam blues die on me, all right?” he told Guy. A few days later, he was gone. When my father was in his fifties, he developed a tremor in his right hand, the onset of early Parkinson’s disease. He was a dentist and it must have terrified him, but, for a while at least, he somehow steadied his hand as he gripped a dental instrument. He kept his sickness a secret as long as he could. His living, his family’s well-being, depended on it. A Parkinsonian dentist—it was like a premise for a dark Buster Keaton film, the drill, waggling in the air, inching toward the helpless, cotton-wadded patient. The patients peeled away. Soon he was retired and in a wheelchair. There were nightmares and hallucinations, butterflies flitting in front of his face. He’d spoken very little of his life. When he told me some detail of his past—hearing Sidney Bechet at a club in Paris when he was in the Army—it seemed almost illicit. The singular joy he allowed himself was music, and music was the way I could talk most easily with my father. His recommendations—Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan—seemed to come from a happier time. I’m sure that he was the only dentist in North Jersey who abandoned Muzak for “I Got My Mojo Working.”. Hunter, who was a contemporary of Bessie Smith’s, was the Memphis-born daughter of a Pullman porter. As a girl, she ran off to Chicago to sing the blues, and she became friends with Armstrong, Ma Rainey, Sophie Tucker, and King Oliver. She co-wrote “Downhearted Blues” with Lovie Austin: Trouble, trouble, I’ve had it all my days. After Hunter’s mother died, in 1954, she spent the next couple of decades working as a registered nurse at a hospital on Roosevelt Island. Now that she had retired from nursing, Hunter decided that she would sing again. My father had led me once more to the blues, to one of the originals, in her last years. Hunter, that night at the Cookery, was bawdy, fearless, magnificently alive. At my father’s funeral, we set up a boom box and played his favorite music. People left the synagogue to the strains of “Downhearted Blues.” Buddy Guy doesn’t get back to Lettsworth much. In December, though, he flew down from Chicago to collect what he thought of as the honor of his life. The Louisiana legislature had voted unanimously to name a piece of Highway 418 in Pointe Coupee Parish “Buddy Guy Way.” The celebration began on a Friday at Louisiana State University, where Guy had worked as a handyman and a driver. The next day, after a gumbo-and-catfish lunch at a place called Hot Tails, Guy and a small group of friends travelled the fifty miles from Baton Rouge to Lettsworth on a chartered bus. It was cold and rainy. Very few people live in Lettsworth these days. “It’s a ghost town now,” Guy says. Some of the wooden shacks have long since been abandoned by sharecropper families who went North. But today people came out to wave from their porches. Guy looked sharp, in the Carlos Santana leather coat. The honors themselves weren’t unusual—speeches, a plaque—but it all struck deep. Guy’s mother never saw him perform. “Getting honored at the Kennedy Center and now this, it’s hard to say which one is better,” he told me. Guy invoked the words of a Big Maceo song: “You got a man in the East, and a man in the West / Just sittin’ here wondering who you love the best.” Guy grew up in one of those shacks in Lettsworth. No electricity, no indoor plumbing, no glass windows. A white family, the Feduccias, owned the land and lived in a big house; black sharecroppers, like the Guys, picked pecans and cotton. The Feduccias took half of the proceeds. Guy’s parents had a third-grade education. His mother cooked in the big house. His father worked in the fields. As a child, Buddy went to a segregated school and early mornings and evenings he’d pick cotton, two dollars and fifty cents for a hundred pounds. “My father worked all day cutting wood with a crosscut saw,” Guy told me. “If that ain’t exercise, I don’t know what is. I look at those gyms with all those machines and I figure, fuck that. You can’t sell me on that shit. If my father hadn’t done all that ‘exercise,’ he’d still be living.” There were hardly any holidays. The reliable exception was Christmas. Someone would butcher a pig, and there were greens from the garden—a feast. “I never heard of other holidays,” he says. “We didn’t get no fuckin’ Fourth of July. On Labor Day, we labored.” One friend who came around on Christmas was an odd cat named Henry (Coot) Smith. Coot carried a guitar, and, after playing a few songs and having a couple of drinks, he’d take a short nap before going on to the next house. While Coot slept, Buddy picked up that guitar and strummed it; it seemed like something magical, something he had to master. Much of the music he heard in those days was gospel music from church. On jukeboxes, he liked the bluesmen especially: Arthur Crudup, who wrote “That’s All Right,” Elvis Presley’s first hit, and John Lee Hooker, a Mississippi plantation worker, who went North to work as a janitor in a Detroit Ford factory and, in 1948, recorded a droning, spooky hit called “Boogie Chillen.” This was the first electrified blues Guy had ever heard, and he wanted to play just like that. He crafted his first instrument by stripping strands of wire out of the shack’s mosquito screens and stringing them tightly between two cans. At the general store, Guy played the jukebox, listening to other black kids who had taken the train North and become stars. He started dreaming. Eventually, for two dollars, he got a less primitive instrument, and his favorite thing to do was to wander outside and play, all by himself. “There was nothing to stop that sound,” he says. “I’d go sit on top of the levees and bang away with my guitar, and you could really hear it. . . . That’s just how country sound is. A little wind would carry it even better.” As a teen-ager, Guy quit pumping gas and learned his craft in roadhouses around Baton Rouge. He never took a lesson. He listened. He watched. He had tremendous stage fright. Cheap wine, known as “schoolboy scotch,” was the remedy. “Nobody ever sat me down and said here’s B-flat and here’s F-sharp,” he says. “I had to figure that out myself after I started playing with a band. I’m eighty-two years old..” On his valedictory trip to Lettsworth, people shyly approached him. As Guy got off the bus, a white man in his sixties said that his father had grown up with Guy. They couldn’t play together or go to the same school, but they knew each other. He talked of how proud everyone was of Guy. Guy was getting tired, but he hung in there. Some nights at Legends, when he’s been posing for cell-phone pictures for a little too long, he gets irritable and wonders how it can take so goddam long to push the button. But now he was ready to stay as long as anyone liked. “My mother told me, ‘If you’ve got flowers to give me, give ’em to me now,’ ” he said. “ ‘I won’t smell them when I’m gone.’ I was glad to get this honor now.” In the sixties, just as Guy was reaching a certain stature in the blues world, something curious began to happen. White people happened—white blues fans and white blues musicians. For its first half century, the blues was popular entertainment for, and of, black people. Not completely, but almost. Guy told me that, when he played clubs in Chicago during the late fifties, “if you saw a white face, it was almost always a cop.” With time, it became clear that some white kids, including Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, were in the audience, watching Guy the way he’d once watched Guitar Slim. At the same time, the best of the British Invasion expressed a kind of community awe toward the American urban blues. When Guy first toured Great Britain, in 1965, all the white English guitar heroes—Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton—flocked backstage to ask him how he did this and how he did that. Guy had spent so much of his recording career backing up other musicians that he was shocked that people knew his name, much less the nuances of his work. But they did. As a young singer, Rod Stewart was so in thrall to Guy that he asked to carry his guitars. “Our aim was to turn people on to the blues,” Keith Richards, who had formed a friendship with Mick Jagger by trading Chess blues records, has said of the early days of the Rolling Stones. “If we could turn them on to Muddy and Jimmy Reed and Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker, then our job was done.” When the Stones were invited to play on the American television show “Shindig!,” they insisted on appearing alongside Howlin’ Wolf, who had never received that kind of exposure. They invited Ike and Tina Turner, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and B. B. King to open for them. And yet there was something unsettling about the spectacle of the Stones or Eric Clapton playing turbocharged versions of Robert Johnson, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Muddy Waters to fifty thousand white kids a night, most of them oblivious of the black origins of those songs. Clapton, for one, experienced a measure of guilt and, eventually, acted on it. “I felt like I was stealing music and got caught at it,” he told the music critic Donald E. Wilcock. “It’s one of the reasons Cream broke up, because I thought we were getting away with murder, and people were lapping it up. Doing those long, extended bullshit solos which would just go off into overindulgence. And people thought it was just marvelous.” In 1976, Clapton went on a drunken, racist rant onstage, in Birmingham—an incident, he later said in an elaborate apology, that “sabotaged everything.” Clapton never stopped playing the blues. In 2004, he put out an entire album covering Robert Johnson songs; it sold two million copies. Some critics, notably the poet and playwright LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), found the prospect of white blues players making a fortune enraging. In “Black Music,” he wrote, “They take from us all the way up the line. Finally, what is the difference between Beatles, Stones, etc., and Minstrelsy. Minstrels never convinced anyone they were Black either.” Black performers almost never echoed that sentiment publicly; Waters and Guy were usually quick to express friendship with the Stones, Clapton, and the rest. Yet hints of their disappointment came through. “It seems to me,” Guy said in the nineteen-seventies to an interviewer for the magazine Living Blues, “all you have to do is be white and just play a guitar—you don’t have to have the soul—you gets farther than the black man.” It also hurt that black audiences, particularly younger black audiences, were moving away from the Chicago blues. B. B. King told Guy that he cried after he was booed by such an audience. “He said that his own people looked on him like he was a farmer wearing overalls and smoking a corncob pipe,” Guy recounted in his memoir. “They saw him as a grandfather playing their grandfather’s music.” As late as 1967, Guy drove a tow truck during the day and played the clubs at night. The hours were punishing, and high blood pressure and divorce followed. (Guy married twice and divorced twice; he has eight adult children.) In Germany, he played at the American Folk Blues Festival, but he got booed, he said, because the audience thought he “looked too young, dressed too slick, and my hair was up in a do. Someone said he was also disappointed that I didn’t carry no whiskey bottle with me onstage. They thought bluesmen needed to be raggedy, old, and drink.” Expectations placed constraints on his recordings, too. As sympathetic as the Chess brothers were to black musicians, and as shrewd as they’d been in marketing their work, they had been reluctant to have Guy unleash the wildness in his playing. As the singer-songwriter Dr. John said of Guy’s early records, “You feel a guy in there trying to burst out, and he’s jammed into a little bitty part of himself that ain’t him.” Elijah Wald, a historian of the blues who has written biographies of Josh White and Robert Johnson, told me, “I feel like Buddy Guy is somebody who, due to American racism, never quite reached his potential. He could have been a major figure, but he was pigeonholed as a museum piece, even in 1965. . . . Nobody from Warner Bros. was coming to Buddy Guy and saying, ‘Here’s a million dollars, what can you do?’ ” Bruce Iglauer, the owner of Alligator Records, a blues label in Chicago, agrees. Buddy Guy was one of a small handful of “giants,” he said, who helped define the blues but never got the chance to become household names: “The door was never open to them at the time when they were most likely to walk through. By the time the doors were opened by Eric Clapton and the Stones, these guys were already in their thirties and forties.” In the late nineteen-sixties, Guy recounts, Leonard Chess called him into his office. “I’ve always thought that I knew what I was doing,” he told Guy. “But when it came to you, I was wrong. . . . I held you back. I said you were playing too much. I thought you were too wild in your style.” Then Chess said, “I’m gonna bend over so you can kick my ass. Because you’ve been trying to play this ever since you got here, and I was too fucking dumb to listen.” Chess’s failure could have stayed with Guy as a bitter memory. But he has turned the episode into a tidy, triumphant anecdote. He refuses any hint of resentment: “My mother always said, ‘What’s for you, you gonna get it. What’s not for you, don’t look for it.’ ” There is no indisputable geography of the blues and its beginnings, but the best way to think of the story is as an accretion of influences. Robert Palmer, in his book “Deep Blues,” writes of griots in Senegambia, on the West Coast of Africa, singing songs of praise, of Yoruba drumming, of the African origins of the “blue notes,” the flatted thirds and sevenths, that are so distinctive in early Southern work songs and later blues. There are countless studies on the influence of the black church and whooping preachers; of field hollers and work songs sung under the lash in the cotton fields of Parchman Farm, the oldest penitentiary in Mississippi; of boogie-woogie piano players in the lumber and turpentine camps of Texas. The Delta blues, the kind of music that would one day galvanize Chicago, originated, at least in part, on Will Dockery’s plantation, a cotton farm and sawmill on the Sunflower River, in Mississippi, where black farmers lived in the old slave quarters. Charley Patton and Howlin’ Wolf were residents. So was Roebuck (Pops) Staples, the paterfamilias of the Staple Singers. Accompanying themselves on guitar, they sang songs of work, heartbreak, the road, the rails, the fragility of everything. “The blues contain multitudes,” Kevin Young, the poet and essayist (and this magazine’s poetry editor), writes. .” The richness of a form, however, does not guarantee its continued development or popularity. Guy didn’t begin to make real money until the early nineteen-nineties, when he was nearing sixty. Like Sonny Rollins in jazz, Buddy Guy was now in the business of being a legend, an enduring giant in a dwindling realm. In 1991, “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues,” an album on the British label Silvertone, sold well and won a Grammy; not long afterward, two more albums of his, “Feels Like Rain” and “Slippin’ In,” also won Grammys. He began playing bigger halls around the world. His most recent album is titled, almost imploringly, “The Blues Is Alive and Well,” and one of the cuts is “A Few Good Years”: I been mighty lucky I travel everywhere Made a ton of money Spent it like I don’t care A few good years Is all I need right now Please, please, lord Send a few good years on down Guy still performs at least a hundred and thirty nights a year, including a “residency” at his club every January. Last spring, I called my elder son and asked him to go with me to see Guy at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill, in Times Square. The place opened in 2000, and a lot of great acts had performed there—James Brown, Chuck Berry, George Clinton, Aretha Franklin, Jay-Z—but the rents kept increasing, and now it was going out of business. Guy was there to close his old friend’s club. I’d be lying if I said it was a transcendent night. It was a routine night. He opened with “Damn Right,” which has become a kind of theme song, and then launched into a series of tributes. He played Muddy Waters (“Hoochie Coochie Man”), B. B. King (“Sweet Sixteen”), Eric Clapton (“Strange Brew”), Jimi Hendrix (“Voodoo Child”). He did his Guitar Slim thing, walking through the crowd while playing. He did his Charley Patton thing, cradling the guitar, playing with his teeth. He did his act, and we walked out happy to have been there. I was talking to Bruce Iglauer, the Alligator Records man, who said that he, too, has seen many routine sets, but also some extraordinary ones. He walked into Legends not long ago and, by chance, Guy was onstage, singing “Drowning on Dry Land,” an Albert King hit from 1969: A cloud of dust just came over me, I think I’m drowning on dry land. The music was fresh and spare. “And the singing!” Iglauer said. “He was singing like the high tenor of a gospel quartet. Guy has said he doesn’t like his own voice, but when he immerses himself in his music his voice makes you cry, the pitch bending and the vibrato, and all at the top of his register, just about to crack. For ten minutes, he was the greatest blues singer on earth. People who can reach down and reach the depths of their soul and hand that to an audience—soul-to-soul communication? It’s what you hope for.” Buddy Guy lives in Orland Park, a suburb twenty-five miles south of Chicago. His house, set back from the main road, is vast and airy, and sits on fourteen wooded acres. There’s a collection of vintage cars outside: a ’58 Edsel, a ’55 T-Bird, a Ferrari. The house became a possibility only after “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues.” Guy gets up somewhere between 3 and 5 a.m., the lingering habit of country life. Mornings, he likes to putter around, shop, run errands. Then there is a long “siesta,” from one to seven, before the evening begins at Legends or on tour. (Even on the road, the morning after a late gig, Guy expects the band to be on the bus by four or five—“ready to go or left behind.”) He lives alone. There is an indoor pool, but, he said, “I ain’t never been in it.” He has reduced the failure of his two marriages to epigrammatic scale: “They weren’t happy when I wasn’t doing good, and when I was doing good they wasn’t happy because I was on the road all the time.” Both of his ex-wives and his extended family came for Thanksgiving. Guy did all the cooking. He loves to cook. When I came by late on a Sunday morning, he was in the kitchen making a big pot of gumbo. Much of the animal and vegetable kingdoms simmered in his pot: crab, chicken, pork sausage, sun-dried shrimp, okra, bell pepper, onion, celery. Dressed in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt, Guy was hunched over the gumbo, adding just the right measure of hot sauce and, at the end, Tony Chachere’s Famous Creole Cuisine gumbo filé. He did this with the concentration he might apply to a particularly tricky riff. A pot of Zatarain’s New Orleans-style rice simmered nearby. Guy took me around the house to give the flavors, as he said, time to “get acquainted.” There were countless photographs on the walls: all the musicians one could imagine, family photographs from Louisiana, grip-and-grin pictures from when he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.” As we looked at a row of black-and-white photographs, it was clear that the shadows of Guy’s elders in the blues never leave his mind. “I hope to keep the blues alive and well as long as I am able to play a few notes,” he told me. “I want to keep it so that if you accidentally walk in on me you say, ‘Wow, I don’t hear that on radio anymore.’ I want to keep that alive, and hope it can get picked up and carry it on. “But who knows?” he continued. “The blues might just fade away. Even jazz, which was so popular when I first got here—all of that disappeared.” We were sitting at the dining-room table. When I returned to the subject of whether the blues would survive as a living form, Guy thought awhile. He recalled the nightly ritual at Legends, when the m.c. does a cheesy-seeming thing and asks audience members where they’re from. The nightly census usually reveals tourists from out of town, new to Chicago and, often enough, to this music. When Guy hears that, he said, “I can’t help thinking: Somebody forgot us, forgot the blues.” Well, not entirely. There are still some extraordinary musicians around who play and sing the blues with the sort of richness that Guy admires: Robert Cray, Gary Clark, Jr., Bonnie Raitt, Adia Victoria, Keb’ Mo’, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Shemekia Copeland. Guy has even coached a couple of teen-age guitar prodigies: Christone (Kingfish) Ingram, who comes from the Delta, and Quinn Sullivan, who first performed onstage with Guy when he was seven. But as Copeland, a singer and the daughter of the guitarist Johnny Copeland, told me, “The blues as Buddy knows it, as he does it, really will be gone when he is gone.” In fact, she went on, “there are some artists now who think that if they call themselves blues artists it’s like saying, ‘I have herpes.’ Like it’s some terrible thing.” Among African-American audiences, and for so many around the world, the dominant music has long been hip-hop. What’s the link, if any, between the blues and hip-hop? Willie Dixon, who created some of the most famous blues songs in the Chess catalogue, wrote in his memoir, “The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits.” In some of the earliest proto-hip-hop performers, those roots were easy to hear. The Last Poets, the Watts Prophets, Gil Scott-Heron, and others called on blues lines and blues chord changes. Beyoncé, a dominant figure in pop and hip-hop, is fluent in the blues, a musical and emotional strain that’s especially pronounced on a song like “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” on “Lemonade,” or when she performs as Etta James in the film “Cadillac Records.” But as beats, electronics, and the like began to dominate the form, the connection between root and branch, between blues and hip-hop, became more attenuated. Guy’s daughter Rashawnna, born to his second wife, grew up in Chicago’s hip-hop world. She knows Kanye West and Chance the Rapper. Performing as Shawnna, she was a featured presence on “What’s Your Fantasy,” a hit for Ludacris. She had a hit of her own called “Gettin’ Some Head,” which sampled Too Short’s “Blowjob Betty.” “When I first started listening to it I was tapping my feet and my ex-wife said, ‘You hear what she’s saying?’ ” Guy recalled. When Guy admitted that he loved the beat but could not quite keep up with the pace of the lyrics, his ex-wife just said, “Sit down.” Guy recalls, “My daughter told me, ‘This is your music and we just take it a step further.’ It’s like when the electric guitar came up on Lightnin’ Hopkins. Leo Fender and Les Paul turned the old blues into folk music.” Rashawnna, who now works part time at Legends, said that, if blues is often about the journey, hip-hop is about the conditions of the street. “I believe the connection is through the lyrics and the expression,” she went on. “The blues came from being down and out, and making the best of it. Hip-hop is an explanation of growing up in the ghetto, telling our story, making the best of things.” She worries that her father wears too heavily his sense of duty to the blues and to bluesmen lost. “We worry about him, but he’s happy to keep his promise to Muddy Waters and B. B. King. That’s why he won’t stop touring.” Her father just smiles. Can’t stop, won’t stop. Every night onstage is in the service of what he loves best, and the rest was mapped out from the start. “Death is a part of life,” Buddy Guy says. “My mother would tell us as children, ‘If you don’t want to leave here, you better not come here.’ Sure as hell you come, sure as hell you go.” ♦ An earlier version of this article misstated the name of an award received by Buddy Guy.

PATENTS IN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY Wesley M. Cohen and Stephen A. Merrill,, Task Order 103, between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Center8636-1 (Book) International Standard Book Number 0-309-50941-6 (PDF) Limited copies are available from: Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy National Research Council 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 Phone: 202-334-2200 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, D.C. 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, Copyright 2003 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy National Research Council Richard Levin (Co-chair) President Yale University Mark Myers (Co-chair) Visiting Executive Professor of Management The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania John Barton George E. Osborne Professor of Law Stanford University Dreyfuss Pauline Newman Professor of Law New York University Bronwyn Hall Professor of Economics University of California, Berkeley Eugene Lynch Judge (retired) Federal District Court of Northern California Daniel McCurdy President & CEO ThinkFire, Ltd. Gerald J. Mossinghoff Senior Counsel Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C. Gail Naughton Dean, School of Business San Diego State University Richard Nelson George Blumenthal Professor of International and Public Affairs Columbia University James Pooley Partner Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP William Raduchel Great Falls, Virginia Pamela Samuelson Professor of Law and Information Management University of California, Berkeley LIAISONS WITH OTHER NRC PROGRAMS Science, Technology, and Law Program David Korn Senior Vice President for Biomedical and Health Science Commerce Science and Technology Fellow (until September 2001) Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy National Research Council Chairman Dale Jorgenson Samuel W. Morris University Professor Harvard University Vice Chairman Bill Spencer Chairman Emeritus International Sematech M. Kathy Behrens Managing Partner RS Investmentsgenthaler Founding Partner Morgenthaler Ventures Mark Myers Visiting Executive Professor of Management The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania Roger Noll Morris M. Doyle Centennial Professor of Economics and Director, Public Policy Program Stanford University Edward E. Penhoet Director, Science and Higher Education Programs Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation William Raduchel Great Falls, Virginia Alan Wm. Wolff Managing Partner Dewey Ballantine, DC Staff Stephen A. Merrill Executive Director Charles Wessner Deputy Director Russell Moy Senior Program Officer Sujai Shivakumar Program Officer Craig Schultz Research Associate Tabitha Benney Program Associate David Dierksheide Program Associate Chris Hayter Program Associate Preface Over the past 25 years a series of court decisions, legislative and administrative actions, and international agreements has extended and strengthened intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the United States and elsewhere. In turn these policy changes contributed to more zealous acquisition and vigorous exercise and defense of IPRs. Curiosity about the effects of these developments on innovation and economic performance led the National Academies’ Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) in 2000 to embark on an extended inquiry that encompassed workshops, conferences, commissioned research, and committee deliberations focused on the operation of the patent system, especially in two areas, information technology (IT) and biotechnology. The need for specialized legal and technical expertise to carry out a study leading to policy recommendations in these areas led the STEP Board to propose to the Academies the creation of the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy, composed of economists specializing in intellectual property and technology development, legal scholars, practitioners from corporations and private law practice, a former federal judge and a former Commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), biomedical scientists, and managers of research and business development in the IT sector. We were asked to co-chair this committee, whose report, A Patent System for the 21st Century, accompanies this volume. At the same time the need for additional analysis and data to inform recommendations in these areas led the STEP Board to commission eight research projects. With one additional chapter, the results of this work comprise this volume, edited by Wesley Cohen, professor of economics and management at Duke and a member of the study committee, and Stephen Merrill, executive director of the STEP program and director of the project. The process of selecting the topics and authors of this collection was unusual for STEP and for the Academies. We decided to solicit proposals via a formal request for proposals that in March 2000 was widely circulated to the academic, consulting, and legal communities. The solicitation specified four policy-related areas of interest—the patent examination process and its bearing on patent quality, the incidence of patent litigation and its costs, and patent acquisition and use in two technologies—software and biotechnology. It further stipulated that the work involve original empirical research or data analysis, that it fall within a narrow range of costs, and that it be completed within approximately12 months. We received more than 80 proposals, necessitating a more elaborate review and selection process than we had originally planned. After an initial screening by staff we recruited a group of economists and legal scholars to help review more than 60 proposals. The reviewers included Bronwyn Hall, Berkeley economist and member of the STEP Board, Wesley Cohen, then at Carnegie Mellon University; John Barton, Stanford professor of law; and Robert Merges, professor of intellectual property law at Boalt Hall, Berkeley. Each proposal was read by at least one economist and one legal scholar. Three reviewers recused themselves from considering proposals on which they were listed as principal or co-investigator. The evaluation criteria included 1) policy relevance and conformity to the issues discussed in the request for proposals, 2) quality of issue framing and methodology, and 3) feasibility of the research. As co-leaders of the project for the STEP Board, we assumed responsibility for the final selection from among 25 highly ranked proposals. Although the final selection included proposals by Hall and Cohen, other proposals by these two investigators were not selected. Negotiations with individuals and their institutions consumed several weeks so that the work commenced in the late summer of 2000. Preliminary results were presented at a Washington conference in October 2001, where attorneys, judges and former PTO officials, and corporate managers were able to comment on the methodology and the findings. Audio tracks, slide presentations, and transcripts of this and two other STEP conferences are available on a CD accompanying this volume. Following the meeting, papers were reviewed by the editors and in most cases by the external reviewers listed below and were in all cases revised before publication in this volume. In the meantime they were available at various stages on the project website and to the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy. The Committee has found them useful and in a few cases directly relevant to its findings and recommendations but in no way has been constrained from considering other research and commentary. The generosity of two foundations made the research element of the project possible. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported the February 2000 STEP conference, Intellectual Property Rights: How Far Should They Be Extended?, at which many of these ideas germinated as well as the subsequent preparation of the papers and their publication. In addition to supporting the research, The Center for the Public Domain enabled us to develop a dedicated website that has been indispensable to our efforts to keep a wide community of interested people informed of our progress and enabled them to express their views. Naturally, most of the contributions to this volume represent parts of larger and longer research projects supported by other sources, including the National Science Foundation, Brookings Institution, and the Wharton School’s Reginald H. Jones Center for Management Policy, Strategy, and Organization. These organizations’ sponsorship of work in this important area deserves to be highlighted and commended. Two contributions to this volume received no funding from the STEP Board. Jonathan King’s chapter, although selected as a result of the solicitation and review described above, is part of important ongoing analytical work on intellectual property policy at the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We are grateful to the Service for making it available to us. The chapter exploring the theoretical benefits of a patent opposition process by Rich-ard Levin and Jonathan Levin evolved independently of the STEP project but is included here because of its close relevance to the empirical comparison of European oppositions and U.S. patent re-examinations by Graham, Harhoff, Hall, and Mowery. Both papers were nevertheless subject to the Academy review process. Individual chapters in this volume have been reviewed in draft form by people chosen for: Mildred Cho, Stanford University; Robert Cook-Deegan, Duke University; Jeffrey Kushan, Sidley, Austin, Brown, and Wood LLC; Joshua Lerner, Harvard Business School; Arti Rai, University of Pennsylvania Law School; F.M Scherer, Harvard University (emeritus); and Brian Wright, University of California, Berkeley. Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the papers. Responsibility for the final content of the papers rests with the authors, and statements made in them do not necessarily represent positions of the National Research Council or the Committee. Finally, we want to thank all of the authors and the editors, who worked successfully to produce these results under rather severe constraints of time and limited budgets. Their collective work not only aided the Committee but, more importantly, advances our common knowledge of the patent system and demonstrates the value of continuing efforts to understand its operation and effects. We

ony, Sara and Corey talk it up in the studio this week. James Robinson was unable to make but that won't stop the comic talk. Secrets will be revealed this episode. Be prepared. Great new podcast!! I am so far behind on these, I still have not listened to all the August ones. Aw. :( P.S. Sara, Brazil isn't Hispanic, but is a Latin Country. /cry no James! He's my favorite recurring guest! darn you iTunes, update! POP POP! You guys are KILLING me with your pronunciations. Fantastic podcast I enjoyed the podcast. I like them this long. I don't think the issue with the cape. Having the cape being indestructible is kind of stupid. It's just an excuse to explain why artists don't do clothes damage. Tony is getting more aggressive in his teasing of Sara. Not that I'm complaining. Here's the thing about Green Lanterns. Supposedly, the rungs are drawn to whoever is the most worthy person on the planet. So, when someone from Earth is chosen by the ring after Hal Jordan, is that person then actually revealed to be the second most worthy person? I completely disagree with the idea that Superman's problem is that he's too nice. Making a character darker and angst-ridden doesn't make them interesting. Batman is more interesting becasue he's vulnerable, and he actually has a goal. I liked Sara's rap. It was creative and made me laugh. Wouldn't it be incestuous if Hippolyta is the daughter of Ares then Diana is the daughter of Zeus? That would mean Zeus had a child with his grand-daughter? Just becasue an Arab woman could be a Green Lantern, she's not necessarily could to be wearing Islamic garb. Though, where in the rules does it say that a Green Lantern must wear a skintight outfit? Don't they basically create their own outfits? She could just be in an outfit like Dust but green. Also, there are Islamic women who compete in the Olympics. They just wear head coverings. Wow, Tony read my question making it sound so aggressive and confrontational. That tone wasn't intended. I can agree that Shadowcat is moving too fast, but Sara mentioned last week it was the age difference that bothered her. I just wanted to point out that age differences in comics doesn't make much difference when you have Wolverine being a couple hundred years older than most women he hooks up with. I've actually been surprised how often manga questions have been coming up in the podcast these past few weeks. You have manga on the site, but no one is covering them at all. Originally, you had Anime Vice to cover manga, but now the site's aren't associated. Manga are comics. They are comics from Japan. In fact, on the Japanese Amazon website labels manga as コミック (Komikku). The only thing that separates them is the language they're written in. Aren't comics still comics when translated in other languages? I think a Comic Vine shirt would look good in green. I have some complaints with the Big Live Show, but that's a separate issues that doesn't need going into here. @FanofUltraman said: Do you really feel the need to tell someone of Brazilian origins what the country counts as? By the way, I thought people called Sara "Jasmine" in college. I would like to add that Sara's name in Japanese would be pronounced the same way it is in Brazil. Said it before, I'll say it again. You need to change the rating system if you want less flack and a better approximation of your enjoyment of an issue. Think if there were grades in high school: 5/5 = 100 A+ 4/5= 80 or a B- 3/5= 60 D- Anything below is a failing grade. Did Sara mean for the deadpool issue to get a D-? I don't think so. IGN does a scale of 1-10 with tenths, CBR does 5 stars but at least offers half stars. You need to expand the range in with you are grading Good stuff as usual guys. Loved the podcast this week, listened to it while I was packing up to move to my new apartment. I'm loving the length of it, feel free to keep them a couple of hours long. Also, I'd love to get a Green Comicvine shirt, I'm not a fan of solid black or solid white shirts. Talking about "family friendly" comics in the New 52, Static Shock felt like they were kinda trying to make it for younger teenagers, but that was terrible and is now cancelled. Regarding Bruce Banner automatically transforming into the Hulk when shot, hurt, etc, there is some support for this theory. In Marvel's Ultimate universe, in Ultimates 2 Banner was executed by nuclear strike, but transformed into the Hulk just prior to being hit by the missile, even though he was heavily sedated and unconscious. Furthermore, in The Avengers movie, while not canon it is based off the Ultimates series somewhat, Banner talks about trying to shoot himself in the head but ending up spitting the bullet out as Hulk the second he pulled the trigger. Speaking of The Amazing Spider-Man, as someone who's never read it, how can I get into it? What issue or volume or trade should I start with? Thanks for answering my questions guys! Hopefully James can answer my questions next time, one of the answers I really wanted to hear. I do like these long podcasts guys. Keep up the great work :) I'm such an idiot. I knew there was a comic with a diabetic. Joe the Barbarin by Grant Morroson and Sean Murphy. I even did a spotlight on the hardcover. Duh. Well I sure feel dumb for asking a question this week. I guess I should have figured I would get the patented "it depends" answer but I just thought the Trinity would appreciate a question that isn't: "Who's your favorite blah-blah character?' or 'What do you think about blah-blah-blah New 52/ Marvel Now?" Guess I'll have to get a little more creative next time. As much as I gripe I am still thoroughly enjoying the podcast. I actually had no idea that Clancy Brown was Mr. Krabs but now it seems like the most obvious thing in the world. I hope Mr. Robinson can make it next week during the hectic BLLSL stuff. Until then thanks and keep up the great work. Non superhero comics.. duuuddeeess The Manhattan Projects, the best Image series right now IMO Proper Arabic IS "Ra" as in the Sun God, G-Man. And that's the enunciation that Oneil/Adams intended. @FoxxFireArt: At lease mine was to the point and not some rant about all things wrong with the podcast. You might as well make a separate podcast deconstructing this podcast. I didn't say Brazil is a Hispanic country. I would know, I was born there after all. @FanofUltraman: There's nothing that says I can't give my thoughts on the discussion at hand. It's not a rant. I really enjoy their discussions. I have only started listening to this podcast the last 3 weeks but I must say that I am really digging the feel of the shows and the overall length. I have been listening to the episodes in parts, usually in the car to and from work, then a little bit at night before bed. Keep up the good work guys, you have a great mix of opinions which makes for some great listening. Anybody notice that Corey has a nervous laugh after he makes a point? I love that. @G-Man Whoever the gentleman was that had the theory on how Superman's impervious skin worked was genius. @Fastblender: You don't understand how the 5 star rating system works if you really think that a 5/5 translates to a 100 or a 4/5 to an 80. Just to pop in and say that Ares has in fact been in Azarello's Wonder Woman. He's the old man in a white suit, often ankle-deep in blood. Superman was so widely accepted, I think, because he was so new and during that time period there was a lot of corruption and Superman burst on the scene and fought that. He attacked abusive husbands, crooked landlords, and politicians. He would grab a guy out of a helicopter and throw him the length of two football fields (to his death) and not bat an eye. He was much more aggressive. But he also represented what most powerless people felt at that time, they wanted to stop the bad guys like that. He was also so new a different, there was nothing to compare it to. It wasn't like someone could say back then that they liked Spider-Man better because he had feet of clay. And as Clark Kent he was sort of the everyman, appealing to kids because they could feel like inside them was greatness too. It was only Superman back then. Later they came up with Batman, who was sort of the opposite of Superman. He was human, had no powers, and in his day to day life he wasn't an average guy, he was a rich guy. Then the Wortham trials came, Superman was seen as too reckless and able to do whatever he wanted without repercussions for him. So Superman was changed to work more with the police. And to act more like a moral compass for everyone. Lois was seen, like Wonder Woman, to be bad examples for girls so she was made love sick over Superman. I think comics, after the Wortham trials, were written more for children and less for adults. Horror was dropped and I think the stories became simpler for kids (or am I wrong). It wasn't until Stan Lee and his comics that characters were given more human characters with feet of clay and emotions and problems. I think that might be why its hard to write Superman. For so very long, the beginning of comics in the 30s till the 60s/70s Superman was sort of written as this very moral character with very little character and no flaws. And its hard to get around that now that its sort of ingrained or something. I agree the best stories are where they show that Superman's greatest power and his greatest weakness are his emotions. He cares for every man, woman, child, and animal, on alive. He is like Spider-Man (with the Great Power and Great Responsibility) to the extreme. He has so much power that he feels so much responsibility. I think there is a small part of it where some people don't even bother with Superman because they have known him since his creation as this perfect man who has no physical weaknesses and never makes a mistake, and never gets angry. And they see him as this big boyscout in a real world where so much bad stuff can happen, and this fictional character (seen as perfect) just doesn't fit in the real imperfect world. Also, in terms of Batman v. Superman, Superman is first an alien with incredibly unrealistic powers. Batman is a human who, if you really trained, could maybe one day become. Batman also allows readers to get the justice they want rather than Superman who has to be more restrained with his actions. Batman can grab a guy and throw him down a flight of stairs breaking his leg in the process but I don't think Superman can do that. Maybe because he is so powerful he doesn't have to get that deep into things. Also its not exactly within Superman's character to get that aggressive either. Again, in our real world things can be really sad, upsetting, and violent, and Batman can fit into that sort of and go after such evils. Maybe that has something to do with it. There might also be the fact that when you set something up that is so evil the reader wants to feel the bad guy gets whats coming to him and maybe Batman does that more than Superman because he gets more aggressive or something. And maybe, because of his lack of powers, Batman acts in a way we could if it was us in that situation. Instead of Superman who can fly, has super strength, bullet proof skin, etc. I don't know. Just some thoughts. I may just be rambling but those are some of my thoughts about Superman. Maybe in the 700th issue of Spider-Man Dan Slott is going to have Peter and MJ officially get back together. And the reason people will be mad is because Marvel made a huge deal about breaking them up to only now bring them back together. Not exactly about the sounding like your race thing, but my family came from Ireland around my great grandparents generation. I was born here and have never been there ever, and my brother likes to point out when I slip into an Irish accent on accident. Its strange because I have never been there, I was born in America and so were my parents. Hrm. Back during the Death of Superman they had summits where they would all get together to plan stuff. And I heard that the whole industry does similar stuff to that. They map out that OK, Wolverine must be married to Lady Viper by October of this year, whatever else happens that must happen by that time. I think they do that with all the stuff, like Spider-Man becomes an Avengers in that month and so after that he should be seen in the other Avengers comics, etc. So I imagine that they still do that. They probably just are worried that people would get mad, like you guys said, if they knew all the details about the reboots. But wouldn't that make a great book, the blueprints for the New 52, waves 1-whatever and all that happened before the New 52 and all that (now) didn't. A big encyclopedia about the whole thing would be AWESOME I LOVED 52. It was such an epic undertaking by DC. No Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, or Green Lantern. Only B,C,and D, level characters. Booster Gold, Steel, the Metal Men, Batwoman and Question. Plus in the back of each issue (in the book) they show some behind the scenes stuff like character designs, page layouts, and why they did what they did each issue. Plus they put an issue out every week for 52 weeks, and it spanned the entire DC universe and had some climactic changes to characters. I loved the effort and the comic was good, I don't see why some people are down on it. I love Corey's laugh. He always sounds like hes having a great time Did I already miss the BIG LIVE LIVE SHOW LIVE? And If I didn't will it be youtube accessible? Because if its not I can't watch. But if I can't maybe I should just get to work on my art. PS, I don't wear black shirts so I guess I can't wear yours. sorry. Loved Sara's rap, i had no idea it even existed before Tony started playing it on the podcast ^_^ Superman was created by nerds to be an insperation. While many characters were created for money (not that Superman wasn't) there was more of an underlying desire by Jerry and Joe to be like this god who wasn't ever pushed around. Also, where is the new podcast? Good ep, fun, and nice to see more Image/indie books covered. And of course, Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose getting a shoutout is always nice to see. Ha though I will say, while I haven't seen and have no opinion on the "Sara looks angry in GiantBomb vids" thing... her saying "maybe they don't talk to girls" about those commenters. Yeah... that's a weird thing to say. Hi Tony, Sara, Corey, I hope the below responce helps the person who lives in Ireland. I used to live in Ireland, both Northen Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Both capitals have a good comic book stores, Forbidden Planet. In Belfast it is in city centre and in Dublin it is in the Temple Bar area right next to the Liffey River. When I live there 3 years ago Dublin used to have a great but very small comic con. One year both Jim Lee and Mark Millar were there and only a couple hundred of attendees. I sat at the bar for 10 minutes with Mark Millar talking about Scotland and Jim Lee was sketching for free! I don't think it still happens. If you take votes I would vote to provide all information and spoil any plots. If a listener doesn't want to hear about a issue they can play the podcast later until they can read the issue they are worried about. I can't read a lot of comics so I appreciate learning about what is going on in other books. Please spoil! Keep up the great work! Speckins just listened to my first comicvine podcast i love it i went right to itunes and subscribed @Jonny_Anonymous: No, the term "Hispanic" only applies to lands which were once under the dominion of Spain. Brazil was colonized by Portugal. @Jonny_Anonymous: Separate definition. Use your keyboard! Log in to comment

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Clipa Theater was founded in 1995 by actor and musician Dmitry Tyulpanov (Russia, 1966-2015), and dancer, director and choreographer Idit Herman (Israel, 1971). The two performers created a unique performative language, combining theater, dance, design and music: a brilliant duet resulting in a Total Theater; characterized by having complete control over all aspects of a show: movement, use of space, set design, costumes, sound, lighting and direction – all of which are fundamental artistic tools of expression, combined with the performing artist’s abilities. Clipa Theater can be defined in many different ways. Its name (meaning “shell”, “peel”) tells of a husk, wrapped around several identities, creators and theatrical experiences. Each of the creators’ shows is its own world, and no show is like the other. Out of awareness to the international field of performance, Clipa carries on canonical traditions, while pushing the limits concerning aesthetics and the familiar language. Simultaneously, it constantly responds the political and social status in Israel. Clipa changes its skin to fit the zeitgeist, and is always up-to-date with the ever-changing world of performing arts. This is a futuristic theater, that will not stop examining the new and intriguing trends in its field, and will attempt to invent new ones. The Clipa theater changes the viewer’s experience, pushes the boundaries of what can be called “a show” and calls for action – on stage and off. It’s impossible to talk about Clipa without mentioning the importance of imagination. Whether it be twisted, extravagant or simply wild – it’s always intended to provoke thought, to bewilder us and to change the way we perceive the world. Clipa has contributed much to the development of visual theater in Israel, and is considered the leader in its field. Over the course of its existence, Clipa created dozens of shows, and has cooperated with numerous major cultural institutes and figures in Israel and the rest of the world. Awards: 1996 – Sternfeld award for theater, for the show “Clipa” 1997 – First place, “Gvanim” dance festival, for the show “Angel” 1999 – Best fringe show, Israel’s theater awards, for the show “Wanted” 2001 – Most important theatrical event of the year, according to “Yediot Aharonot” readers, for the show “Deus Ex” 2003 – Rosenblum award for theater, for the group’s accomplishments in the field 2003-2006 – The excellence in culture fund’s choice award 2008 – Most important street theater performance of the year, polish “Theater” magazine, for the show “Salto Mortalle” 2009 – Landau Prize of the Israeli Lottery Culture Council – Theater Director category 2012 – Winner of the competition for contemporary choreography plan of the Korean cultural ministry. We appreciate the honesty of movement, rather than that of the spoken word. We think performing is the ultimate lie. We believe that our time on stage is closer to reality than any other time. The art of performing is the sense, the moment, the magic – the “thing” which happens between a performer and viewer. It occurs in a time and place, and in relation to the two. It emphasizes the way the performer acts, moves and creates visual imagery in front of the crowd. The performing arts are free from the boundaries of a plot, and is best understood as a poem. It applies to all senses. It is always a one-time-only event. The Clipa ensemble believes in a “Total Theater” experience, and in original creation of all aspects of each show. The audience’s experience begins with entering the theater, which is a part of the show. We believe that a performing artist must master a few different crafts. The actors in the ensemble are actors and dancers, and some are also composers and players. They specialize in different crafts and create the sets, props and costumes for the shows. Work ethics in the ensemble is characterized by complete creative freedom, alongside personal discipline and awareness. The actors believe in creating as a way to grow and personally develop themselves, and in the power art has to change our reality. The artists of Clips are in constant search for the balance between their own personal creation and being a part of a group. We think the stage has lost the ability to represent the reality we face each day. We choose to give new meaning to difficult topics, and push and blur the boundaries between performance and reality, or even personal truth. We explore and challenge the part of the beholder, and the crowd’s involvement in each show. As Israeli artists, we constantly face the question regarding the artist’s place in society. That is why we choose to offer imagery of the current state of events, revealing questions and alternatives. Clipa theater aspired to create using a unique language and a method. Both of which are always changing. Our way of working and creating is characterized by “peeling” the established method. The ensemble’s way, is that of change. Clipa Theater invites you, artists and creators of all fields, to create and work in out large, comfy sutdios: The Stage – 90 sqm, air-conditioned and well-lit. Price: 65 NIS per hour, 50 NIS for a rental of 10 or more hours. Dance Studio: 65 sqm, air-conditioned, parquet floor, large balcony. Price: 60NIS per hour, 50 NIS for a rental of 10 or more hours. Our guests will enjoy our expansive, pleasant garden, restrooms, showers, kitchenette and coffee station, the familiy-like atmosphere and rolling paper if you ever run out. Rooms may be reserved between 09:00-17:00. Rooms reserved for 17:00-21:00 will be priced at 75 NIS an hour. Sound equipment must be brought with you. We do not provide a sound system. To reserve a rehearsal space, Click Here. Additionally, it’s possible to rent the stage for private shows, private and business events, lectures, workshops etc. For details concerning such needs, contact us: 03-6879219 *** In 2005 Clipa Theater moved to its current home in Tel Aviv. The theater is located in a renovated industrial three story building, which holds an initimate black-box stage and theater, two multifaceted studios, kitchen and garden, all in the shade of an ancient Ficus tree. Clipa Theater opens its gates to those interested in private and business events, workshops, lectures and more. The theater offers all its top-quality facilities to host your event in a uniquely designed environment and atmosphere. Clipa offers in addition the possibility to rent its top-notch sound and light systems. There is also a possibility of adding to your event live music, art-bar, visual theater installations, workshops and more. For more details, please call 972-3-6879219, or Email [email protected] Phone: 03-6879219 Or leave your details, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Dmitry Tyulpanov | (1966-2015) Born in Leningrad. Studied sculpting in the Leningrad school of arts, while also studying acting and music in the city’s university. After his graduation, he was recruited to the red army as a trumpet player. In 1998, using skills one can only acquire in the red army, he joined the rock band “AVIA”, which later formed the renowned russian theater group “DEREVO”, lead by Anton Adasinsky. Dimitry created and performed with the group until 1995. in 1994, he met Idit Herman, and the two began working on collaborative works. After a year, they founded Clipa Theater in Tel-Aviv. Aside from creating, directing and performing in most of Clipa’s shows, as well as composing original music for them, Dimitry invented, designed and built the sets, props and accessories used in all of the shows. Dima passed away in February 2015, during Clipa’s tour of India. In 2017, Clipa built a dedicated website in memory of Dima Idit Herman | (1971) Born in Israel Studied dance from a young age, and later on choreography. Between 1989-1991 danced with the Bat-Sheva dance group. She later created and danced in various projects in Belgium and Holland, where she met Dimitry Tyulpanov. After two years of working together, the two founded Clipa Theater in Tel-Aviv. Under the theater, they co-created dozens of shows, which received critical acclaim worldwide. Along with the rest of the ensemble, they created a unique theatrical language. Idit founded and managed the international theater festival “Clipa Aduma”. Under her management, the theater has won several awards in Israel and the rest of the world, among them are the Sternfeld Award for Theater, the Rosenblum Award and the Israeli Theater’s Award for Best Fringe Show. Today Idit is Clipa’s artistic director. She directs and designs most of the group’s shows, and participated in some of them. Among her notable works are “Orpheus of Suburbia”, “Paradize” and the performances “Forever/Never”, “Facility 27” and “Culture in the Periphery”. Ariel Bronz | (1984) Born in Odessa. Immigrated to Israel in 1990. Studied theater in the Yoram Levinshtein Drama school. Studied art and philosophy in Minshar art school. Graduated from the Nissan Nativ Drama school in Tel-Aviv. Founded “The Bronz-Belt” company with director and choreographer Marina Beltov. performances of the company has been touring Israel and festivals around the globe. The company has received its inspiration from the absurd theater, surrealism, DADA, physical theater, and mostly deals with exposing the mechanism of corruption in the Israeli society. In 2015 Bronz started working with Idit Herman, artistic director of Clipa Theater. Together they created the powerful piece “Facility 27”. Notable shows include the performance “Who wants to ride on a camel?” and the solo “Love the juice”. The latter made a big impact after performing in an Israeli culture convention and being brutally kicked off stage for debasing symbols of the state. The incident made the Israeli Minister of Culture press charges and made Bronz an official enemy of Israel. Ariel created and directed “Midsummernightsdream” (an adaptation of Shakespear’s classic), and the performances “Somebody’s Home” and “Culture in the Periphery”. Michal Herman | (1974) Born in Israel. An indipendant creator for festivals in Israel and abroad, teaches dance, performer and creator in Clipa theater. Graduated from Thelma Yellin school of arts (dance), and from Seminar Hakibutzim’s teaching course. Michal participated in several shows for the Cameri and Habima theaters, and danced for Bat-Sheva ensemble. She also danced for Liat Dror and Nir Ben-Gal’s group, Noa Dar, Itzik Galili and others. Michal won the Minister of Culture and Science’s award in 2003, 2007 and 2012. Since the founding of Clipa theater, Michal worked as rehearsal-coordinator, dancer, actress, administrator and house-choreographer. Her works in the field of dance were shown in many festivals, including “Haramat Masach”, “Colors in Dance” and “Intimadance”. in Clipa, she performed in the international festival “Clipa Aduma” between 2007 and 2011, created the choreography for the shows “What’s Up With Shabtai” and “Lola’s Song”, acted in the performance “Forever\Never” and brought all of her original shows to Clipa’s stage. She founded “Gufyia”, a training course working inside of Clipa and concentrates on body, performance, creation and inspiration. Under “Gufyia”, Michal also runs a summer day camp for children. In September 2015, Michal debuted her latest show in Clipa: “The Hostess”, in which she invites different key people from her life to an open conversation and duet in front of an audience. Artour Astman | (1982) Born in Russia. Choreographer, dancer, painter, actor and artist. Artour began dancing at the age of 4. In 1999, he graduated from the school of ballet in Voronij, and moved to Israel. He studied in the academy for music and dance in Jerusalem for two years. In 2002 he joined the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Group, where he danced and created for 6 years. In 2008 Artour participated in the reality TV show “Born to Dance” 3, and won the 2nd place. Along the years, Artour has worked with the Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Group, Barak Marshall, Suzanne Dellal Institute, Maya Donsky, Clipa Theater and many other musicians, directors, painters and photographers. Between 2009-2015 Artour worker with Maria Kong’s international group of artists. There he created, danced and designed the costumes for the group. Since 2015, Artour is a part of Clipa Theater, responsible for the choreography in the ensemble’s shows. That same year he debuted his first solo performance in Clipa: “Afternoon + Evening with Faun”. He is also a guest choreographer in the russian reality show “ТАНЦЫ на ТНТ”. Additionally, Artour is a painter, and his works are displayed in galleries in Israel and around the world. Rafael K. Haugas | (1984) Born in Ukraine. Raised and educated in Ashdod, Israel. As a teenager, he studied theater, fencing, stage combat and dance, and even participated in many productions. Later, he studied in the Nissan Nativ acting studio in Tel-Aviv. During his time in the studio, he co-created the show “Tenant Haimovitch”, in which he also performed. It was first performed in his third year in the studio. The show was successful, and went on to perform in festivals in Israel and the rest of the world. Since then, Rafael played in several fringe shows, was an actor of a russian-speaking theater and was recently cast as the lead in a russian feature-film. Rafael joined Clipa theater in 2012. In the theater he performed in the “Clipa Aduma 6” international festival. He was a performer in Clipa’s “Forever/Never”, which was featured in the Israel Festival in Jerusalem. He plays in the shows “What’s Up with Shabtai” and “Paradize” as Adam. Besides being an actor in Clipa, Rafael is also the theater’s tech-guy, and operated the sound and lighting for Clipa and other theaters in Israel. Zvi Petrovski | (1980) Born in Israel. Zvi and Dartanian (Jack-Russel Terrier, 9), Joined Clipa Theater in 2009. For years, Zvi studied music and today he teached and plays the guitar, ukulele, accordion, banjo and harmonica. In 2006, he created the band “Zvi and the Escorts” in which we wrote, composed and performed the songs. The band’s songs combine french shansons, cabaret, blues, rock and traditional russian music. Zvi is also a confectioner and ex-restaurateur, and was the owner of a restaurant and a bakery for five years, while simultaneously performing his songs in bars and coffee-shops. He came to Clipa Theater by accident: A theater student from Haifa saw him play the accordion and asked if he’s from Clipa. Zvi, who didn’t know what Clipa was, became intrigued, and joined one of the theater’s classes. He is an actor in the ensemble ever since. The chances of catching vi without Dartanian are slim, and you can see them together in the show “Paradize”, as well as on street performances. Zvi performed in Clipa’s “Kafka”, “What’s Up With Shabtai”, “Lola’s Song”, the performance “Forever\Never” and recently in the show “Somebody Home”. Additionally, you can see Zvi in his street show “Toy Band” or with his new band “The Billhillies”. Oded Zadok | (1974) Born in Israel. Studied acting in the Yoram Levinstein studio. Upon his graduation, Oded began dancing for several well-known choreographers such as Yael Oreni, Sally-Anne Friedland, Michal Herman and others. Over the years, he has mastered many different arts, in the world of acting: Bufoonery, physical-theater, buto, acting with masks, acting for camera, design and more. Oded played in many theater shows, including “The Rite of Spring”, “Four Seasons”, “A Dog’s Heart” and “K’s Show”. Oded has worked in the Cameri theater and was part of many projects in TV and cinema. Over the last decade, Oded has been working in Clipa, participating in the performance “Forever/Never”,and in the show “Paradize”. He created the children’s show “Tales of the Magical Forest” and “This is How We Do It”. Additionally, oded performed in Clipa’s “Facility 27”, “Culture in the Periphery” and recently created the children’s show “Good Night Hillel”. Oryan Yohanan | (1985) Born in Israel Multi-disciplinary artist, rehearsal manager and dance teacher. Started dancing ballet at the age of 6 and graduated from The Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance High School in 2003. Won the first prize at the “Mia Arbatova Ballet Competition 2002”. Danced in Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (2006-2010). In 2010-2011 she danced in “The Project” company of the Israeli Opera House and Suzanne Dellal as main dancer, in pieces by William Forsythe, Emanuel Gat, Jacopo Godani, Idan Sharabi and others. Since 2011 Oryan works as a freelance dancer with choreographers such as Sahar Azimi, Idit Herman, Gili Navot and many others. In 2014 Oryan was awarded with the Ministry of Culture and Sport’s award for performing dancer. In summer 2017, Oryan became a reality star as she performed at the successful TV show “Move It Israel”. Among her pieces are – “Missis” (2007), “Sea-Land” (2013), “The War Room” (2013), “No Blood Relation.ever” (2014), “The Being Herd” (2015), “I-Dare-U” (2016) and “More or Less is More” (2016). Her latest creation will be premiered at the “Curtain Up festival” this November. She teaches Ballet, contemporary, improvisation, floor work and repertoire for schools such as the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance High School, Thelma Yellin School of Arts, Yoram Loewenstein Acting School, Bikurey Haetim and others. Dror Liberman | (1988) Born in Israel As a child in Be’er Sheva, Dror practiced different and versatile physical-movement techniques, including judo, parkour, acrobatics, classical ballet, contemporary dance and rock climbing. He has worked with various choreographers, including Nimrod Freed, Sharona Florshaim, Noa Dar, Nir De Volff and Maya Briner. At the age of 25, he came to Clipa Theater with his performance “The Lowest Spot in Tel-Aviv”. Following the show’s success, he was a part of Clipa’s performance “Forever/Never”. He later went on to create a total of 7 works. In 2015, he created his solo show “Neither Soft Nor Light”, an autobiographical piece that combines performance and dance. The show saw great success in Israel, and is traveling the world since its debut. Kazuyo Shionoiri | (1984) Born in Tokyo. Choreographer, performer, artist and creator. Graduated with a Masters of Arts from the Department of Dance and Sports in the Women’s College for Physical Education in Japan. Shortly after her graduation, she has received awards such as the “Japanese-Government Overseas Study Programme For Artist” (2010) and “Pola Art Foundation” (2012) for her unique and promising voice as a choreographer. Since joining Clipa, Kazuyo participated in the children’s show “What’s Up With Shabtai”, created “Take-Down” with Dror Liberman and “This is How We Do It” with Oded Zadok. Her shows have been performed world-wide, receiving critical acclaim in places like Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Norway, Japan and many others. Kazuyo currently lives in Tel-Aviv. Anael Blumental | (1985) Born in Israel. Graduated from the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio. A physical actress, acrobalance artist, singer and dancer. Anal was a part of “Odd-Birdz” ensemble, and in the repertory theater she played for the Cameri theater in “Macbeth” and “Dag Mussar”. Anael performed in shows in the Acco Festival for different theater (“Let’s Play”, “Diamedia”), in which she combined acting with pantomime and acrobalance. In 2014, she took part in the Venice Mask Festival, in the performance “Pyromania” held at the Passi Palace. In television, Anael appeared in the shows “Alenbi”, “Lo Hivtachti Lach” and more. She was in the movies “Truth” by Yaron Alush and “Bird in the Room” by Ari Davidovich. Recently, she played in the show “Hakeves Hashisha-Asar” in the National Youth Theater. In Clipa Theater, Anael originally came for a performance and dance-theater workshop. She now participates in the performance “Forever/Never”, in the children’s show “What’s Up with Shabtai” and in “Somebody’s Home”. Additionally, Anael directs, creates choreography for the theater, is dubbing for TV and is a professional makeup artist. Adi Paz | (1983) Born in Israel. Actress, dancer, choreographer, indipendant creator and a teacher of dance-theater. Graduated from the school of dance-theater in Seminar Hakibutzim, with a degree in dance-theater instruction. Studied choreography in the “Kelim” school. As a choreographer and performer, she has created six shows so far: “Premiere”, “Personal Bandage”, “Man, Woman, Earth”, “Polianot”, “Post-it” and “Waiting List”. in Clipa theater, Adi plays in the children’s show “Lola’s Song” and in the show “Somebody’s Home”. Besides her work in the theater, Adi teaches dance-theater for all ages, and teached movement courses for actors and dancers. She has choreographed many shows in Israel, and today she mostly teaches movement in different places around the country, and performs as an actress and dancer in the “Tozeret-Bait” ensemble. Rotem Nachmani | (1984) Born in Israel. Physical actress, singer and creator, bachelor’s degree in directing and theater teaching. At the age of 8 began taking the stage in Ramat-Hagolan. She studied theater in the Arts Youth Center, where she met the members of Clipa for the first time. At 21, she began studying acting in Eyal Cohen and Rotie Dyches’ studio. Upon graduation, she signed up for physical-theater training with Thierry Morel and Nelly Amar (founder of Haguf Theater). Since then, she played in the shows “Grandma” and “Bus 92” in Hasimta Theater, “Idilia” in the suzanne dellal institute and in many children’s shows and dance-theater performances. Participated as a singer in Ariel Cohen’s “Nerves” with Ido Tadmor, and was nominated Best Actress in the fringe award “Kipod Hazahav”. Rotem teaches theater and movement for children and youth in the Orna Porat Theater and in Bimat Hanoar. In 2014 she officially joined Clipa. She participated in the performance “Forever/Never”, “Facility 27” and “Culture in the Periphery”, and in the children’s show “Lola’s Song”. In 2016 she won the “Kipod Hazahav” award for best supporting actress in the show “Don prelimplin”. Marijn Alders Braz | (1979) Born in The Netherlands Marijn is in charge of Clipa’s performances and collaborations abroad. Marijn graduated from the Academy of Journalism & Communication in Utrecht and studied political science at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. She worked as a reporter and photojournalist in The Netherlands and in Israel since 2002. Marijn completed her studies in financial administration and joined SPRING Performing Arts Festival in 2015 as their bureau manager and financial assistant, and further specialized as an administrator for cultural and non-profit organisations. In 2016, Marijn moved to Israel, where she worked for Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company before joining Clipa Theater. Marijn is in charge of Clipa’s performances and collaborations abroad. She is also an editor for Kunstenisrael, a non-profit organisation supporting the presentation of Israeli art in The Netherlands. Zoya Bronshteyn | (1989) Born in Odessa. Studied in “Habustan” school of arts in Netania. Graduated from the honors program for arts and humanities in Tel-Aviv University. She Joined Clipa theater in 2014 as production manager. Aside for the technical role in Clipa, Zoya is also a performer and drag-artist. She performs as a character called “The Artist Formerly Known As Anton”. Alongside managing Clipa’s production, and taking responsibility for everything happening on stage and off, Zoya is a beginner master of Spoken-Word, and performs as a drag queen\king. She participates in several of the group’s shows, such as the performance “Forever/Never” and “What’s Up With Shabtai”. She was also a part of the site-specific performance “Facility 27”. Yoni Tal | (1984) Born in Israel. Musician, sound designer, programmer, tech-manager and performer upon request. Yoni began playing the piano at the age of 7, and from classical music moved on to jazz. After his military service, Yoni studied sound and music production in the BPM school in Tel-Aviv, where he discovered the electronic music, and merged it into his creations. Upon graduation, he began working as a sound and lighting technician in various theaters, while simultaneously creating original music for them. In 2011 Yoni joined Clipa theater as a cashier. Since then, he moved between every technical position in the theater, while composing original music for the group. In 2016 he first appeared as a guest actor in the group’s shows. Played, composed and designed in the productions “Orpheus of Suburbia”, “Lola’s Song”, “Atom”, “This is How We Do It”, “Love the Juice”, “Somebody Home” and more. Gabrielle Neuhaus | (????) Born in Switzerland. Dancer, actress and performance artist. After a long career as a dancer in Brussels, London, Geneva, Paris, Zurich and Basel, Gabriel came To Israel. Gabriel has created interdisciplinary works, collaborating with artists from different areas of expertise. Among those artists are vocalist Anat Pik, plastic artist Anat Michaelis-Levi and poet Anat Zecharia. Her works has been shown in various galleries, theaters and festivals. She participated in the “Clipa Aduma” festival in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014 as well as in Intimadance festival in 2012 and 2013. She joined Clipa in 2011, and is a part of the ensemble’s performances ever since. Her solo show “The Woman Who Would Not Come Down” debuted in Clipa in 2012, and is since performing worldwide. in 2015, she presented a new solo in Clipa, called “Up and Down and Away With It”, performed in “Facility 27” and participated in “LAVASH”, a first-ever co-production with artists from Armania. In 2016, she took part in a residency program in Italy, by the Bogliasco foundation New-York, created the social project “Street Poetry” and co-created the children’s show “Good Night Hillel” with Oded Zadok. Gabriel designs and creates all of the costumes for her shows. She usually works with unconventional raw materials, such as paper or bicycle tires to create unique and intriguing costumes. She currently plays in the show “Violin” in Tmuna theater and in Clipa’s “What’s Up With Shabtai”. Amit Bar-Am | (1980) Born in Israel. While living in the kibbutz, was discovered by a head-hunter during his Bar-Mitzva show. He left for the big city of Tel-Aviv to study in Thelma Yelling high-school for arts. He later served in the army for 5 years in a submarine. After being discharged, Amit studied for a year in a theater workshop in London, and came back to Israel to study in Nissan Nativ acting studio in Tel-Aviv. He created “Ra’ayon” theater, performing solo shows for children. Amit plays in fringe shows, produces, directs and teaches youth. in Clipa, he plays in the show “Paradize”, in the performances “Forever/Never”, “Facility 27” and in the children’s show “What Up With Shabtai?”. He created the solo “Old Man and the Sea” under the festival “Clipa Aduma” 7, and the show “Ubon” with Kazuyo Shionori in honor of Dima Tyulpanov. Michal Kazir | (1985) Born in Israel. Instead of her final year in high-school, Michal studied acting in Beit-Zvi. At the end of the first year, she was drafted to the army. After her military service, michal flew to Barcelona, where she discovered street-theater and the circus, which made her stay for 4 years. In 2011 she began studying in Yoram Levinstein’s acting studio, for one year. She then went on to study in Amir Oryan’s theater, “Hacheder”, from which she graduated. Shortly after graduating, Michal came to Clipa, and stayed ever since. Since then, Michal played the lead role in a musical, performed at the movie festival (2013), in a feature movie by Israel Winkler and Eldad Bogenheim, and in the movie “Storm”, played in the cinematheque in 2014. In Clipa, she participated in the performance “Forever/Never”, which still performs worldwide. In 2015, She created an evening of “Women’s Dance” in Clipa. Besides impressive physical abilities, Michal is a percussionist. She plays the Cajón and the Hang. She’s a singer, writer and composer, practices buffoonery, juggling and more. She’s also a diving instructor and horse backriding instructor. Rivka Hermamn | (1974) Born in Egypt Born in Cairo, Egypt. In 1949 she immigrated to Israel with her parents, brothers and sisters to Holon. She gave birth to Idit (1971) and Michal (1974). In 1998, with Idit and Dima, she helped found Clipa Theater. Since 2014, Rivka works in the theater regularly. In that same year, she was also appointed the theater’s CEO. She is known for her nicknames “The Puppet Master”, “The Final Say” and “The Queen”.

PART 15 ANGEL Angel parked up again, got out of the car and headed for the elevator. If Fred had been around to see him now she would have been seriously worried, he walked like an old man. His head heavy and steps slow, even just lifting up an arm to press the button looked like it took tremendous effort. Once inside it he leaned back against the rear of the mirrored cage and watched the doors close with dark and unseeing eyes. Without meaning to he slid down until he was sitting on the floor of it with his head in his hands. The doors opened with a soft ping on arriving at his apartment, so lost in thought he didn’t even notice and the doors shut again, with him still inside. A few minutes later he walked out of the elevator and headed directly for the drinks cabinet, sliding off his coat he dumped it on a chair and slid into another one, a glass and bottle in his hands. He opened it with a sharp twist of the cap and poured the first of many in the search for oblivion. CORDY Cordy gave up trying to sleep and flung back the covers; she was too filled with anger and bitterness to even think about sleep right now. She got up and paced the rooms that had been his, hating him at that moment but also hating the fact that doing so hurt her too. “How could he do that to me”? That question crossed her mind at least two dozen times an hour and it was driving her crazy. “I love you Cordy, he says, yeah right and I believed him”, the sarcasm was almost savage in intensity and her pacing increased along with the agitation. “He would never have done that to her, or tried to tell her what to do”, she spun again and nearly tripped in the edge of the rug covering that part of the floor. That just made her angrier as if the rug was his fault too. “Well OK I’m not Buffy but I never tried to be, I’m me and if he can’t deal with that, tough” Talking out loud was not exactly a sign of mental health but she had to spill it or go mad. “I hate him and I’m never going to even speak to him again, that’s it we’re through”, she spat the words out filled with venom and a hint of tears. Her face scrunched up a moment before she forcefully smoothed it out, tears till sparkled in her hazel eyes but she was damned if she was going to let them fall. She took a deep breath and forced it out slowly, her mind whirling in different directions. “This is way too coincidental coming on top of everything else, someone else is behind this and I’m going find out who”, her first thought was Eve and making an impulsive decision she stalked over to the closet to get dressed. She was even upset over the fact that she’d bothered to put stuff in the closet, but just a few short hours ago she’d been planning to persuade him to let her stay in the hotel, like that was gonna happen now. A little while later she found herself outside Eve’s apartment door, memories of the last time flitted through her mind but she shrugged them off too angry to really care. Her second round of knocking still produced no results and she nearly screamed in frustration. A door opened a little along the hall and she turned to see a nerdy looking guy with glasses and a pale complexion blinking at her. “She’s gone” the little man said before she could even ask and shut the door again. She debated with herself for a moment and then knocked very gently on his door. He opened it with a startled look on his face. It was late and he didn’t know her, so she gave him a forced smile and tried to look apologetic for disturbing him, “Thanks for telling me that, you wouldn’t know where she’s gone would you”? She used her most inviting voice and followed it up with a brighter smile. “No she didn’t say, just took off with a few things and that’s it”, he still looked scared, “When was this”? Last question and then she was finished; he looked desperate to shut the door and go back to whatever nerdy stuff he had to do, probably hacking a bank or something. “Two days I think, yeah that’s about right”. She nodded her thanks and walked back down the hallway. ANGEL Angel was lying crossways on the bed, only half undressed, his naked back gleamed in the starlight, thick arms were wrapped around a pillow, clutched tightly as he slept. He groaned and turned his head the other way still dreaming and his arms tightened on the pillow before in a sudden burst of movement flinging it across the room. He rolled on his back and lifted his hands to press into his eyes, his muscular torso arching as he dug his heels in, he rolled onto his side with a deep sigh and opened burning eyes to stare out of the window next to his bed. The curtains were open and he could see the stars but didn’t care; all he cared about was trying to forget what had happened with Cordy, particularly the acrid smell of fear. He’d done it deliberately but it still had the power to hurt; Cordy had been afraid of him and he couldn’t stop hearing her ask if that was what he’d wanted; God no, he didn’t, how could he when he loved her. Would she ever understand why and forgive him? Just thinking about her dying froze him inside, he knew he couldn’t bear to go through that again and even if it meant she hated him he wouldn’t let her come that close to it ever again. But heaven help him it hurt so much. He stood up and walked back over to the pillow to pick it up and lifting it to his face, breathed in her scent. CORDY She was insane! There was no other explanation for what she was doing here in a demon bar at the dead of night, standing in the door waiting for them to notice her. It didn’t take long and the silence that followed was unnerving, but she stiffened her spine and walked fully inside. She just hadn’t been able to face going back to the hotel having failed to get anywhere with finding out who was determined to ruin her life, plus it felt like admitting defeat and that would mean that Angel was right and she might as well give up now, not going to happen she had thought fiercely. She knew a large part of why she had chosen this as the next lead was to spite him and she was exhilarated at the thought. Let him try and tell her what to do, NOT. “Do any of you know who I am”? She asked the silent and wary patrons, all ugly ass demons with no two looking the same, except for some vamps at a table by themselves. She stood by the bar so that she could see most of them at once and she’d come unarmed, keeping her hands in the pockets of her denim jacket. It was a really grungy and smelly place but she managed to keep her face calm and expressionless as she waited for someone to speak up. “Yeah we know who you are girl, whatcha doin here”? It was the bartender who answered her; he looked nervously at the door on their left as if he expected her to have company. She didn’t turn around but moved sideways so that he was in her line of sight when she replied “I want information on whoever was behind the attack on me a few days ago”. There were murmurings then and a few of the demons shuffled around, some even moving back like she was going to attack them or something. “He already killed them all” Said one of the vamps, his voice ringing out across the room and his companions all male, nodded enthusiastically. “I’m not talking about the lackeys” Answered Cordy, ignoring the reference to Angel, “I want the people behind it; the one’s who sicced Drusilla on me in the first place”. There were a lot more confused murmurings now and one or two of the demons sidled out of the exit and away, not wanting to have anything to do with her or whatever she was mixed up in now. “Well I dunno but I heard there was some woman from that law firm involved in the beginning but then she just, ya know disappeared” Said one of the other vamps. Cordy decided they were obviously the best source of information so walked over to their table; they did not look pleased at the prospect of her joining them. She pulled up a chair anyway and sat down. They all looked at her as if unsure what to do or say now, looking at one another and back to her; their yellow eyes wary and even afraid, wow he must have done a real job on them she thought, then quashed it, don’t go there she told herself. “I’m not going anywhere even if I have to stay here all night, until someone tells me where I can find this woman, someone in here must know where she went considering the amount of demon stuff she’s mixed up in”, it was a statement of intent, declared in a loud and determined voice and they believed her. EVE Eve was sitting in front of the TV, the curtains were shut but the glow from the screen was more than adequate light for reading the letter she’d heard pushed through the motel room door, hand delivered at 3 am. She still had one more shot and then she was shit outta luck, the package had been delivered now and the results of that should make things around here a bit more interesting. “I’m a firm believer that a girl needs to make a choice and to do that well she needs a few choices”, she smirked at the thought, coming to life a bit. She ran her hands through her hair and stretched like a cat, coming out of the stupor she’d fallen into. “I’ll have to stop taking the tranqs”. She’d started taking them after she’d heard about Dru, but she needed her wits about her now. She also needed to get in character again, just in case he got here earlier than she expected. She imagined what the reaction would be to the video and giggled. Those images were not going to be well received at all. She’d even sent a note with it suggesting that Ms Chase had not been a willing participant; that should certainly light a fire under his ass. There was a knock on the door and she stiffened, who the hell was knocking on her door halfway through the night, this couldn’t be good. She stayed silent and hoped whoever it was would just go away. “Eve if you don’t open the door in the next twenty seconds then I’m going to start picking the lock, so open up”, Cordy demanded from the other side of the door. Eve gaped when she heard that voice, this was unbelievable -and she panicked thinking Angel must be with her. She dived for the window at the back of the room and started to climb out, but was dumbfounded when she was confronted by Cordelia Chase all on her lonesome, except for a very sharp knife which was pressed to the skin of her throat, so close it drew blood. “I want to know all about your little trysts with Dru and why the hell you’ve been coming after me like a bitch in heat” snarled Cordy face to face with Eve; she pressed the knife harder into skin. THE HYPERION HOTEL – CATHY (MORNING AFTER) Cathy sighed and carefully turned on her side, she could hear Cordelia moving around in her room and she almost got out of bed to go and try and comfort her, No, better to wait until a little later. “Men, they’re all the same and he’s worse than the rest; 250 years old and he still hasn’t learnt how to deal when a woman tells him no”, she muttered angrily to herself. How the hell am I going to fix this? she thought groaning at the prospect. Giving up the idea of getting comfortable she faced the ceiling again, she understood the need to protect the people you love; it was actually quite an admirable trait. He was also right in that Cordy wouldn’t last long on her own and that was why she had been careful on the ‘cases’ she found, nothing too dangerous but then of course she hadn’t planned on so much interference from the outside. It was obvious that Cordy needed Angel because of his ruthlessness and capacity for violence, but even more than that, Angel needed Cordy for her compassion and perception, things that he sadly lacked at times. Certainly the others were important; but after the last year it was even more obvious that this whole mess had to be fixed or risk losing what had turned out to be a very effective defence against the darkness and the beings that thrived in it. Wesley was a good man and friend but the vampire needed to love, it was as if the soul once starved now craved it, something else she understood very well. Fred was a darling but nowhere near in Cordy’s league and as for Gunn well, he had his own twisty tunnel to pass through before he could be counted on again. There was nothing else for it, she was just going to have to find a way to bring these two stubborn characters together again. She raised her eyes upwards and scowled with frustration “A little help here would be sooo appreciated”, but she knew she was on her own, like always. Aah well that’s what you get for being a ‘fixer upper’, except somehow she hadn’t been expecting to have to play cupid. Did it help that she had come to love Cordelia Chase as a friend and not just someone in need of help? She liked to think so; it was so much better to actually care about what you where doing. She’d been burned so many times in the past that she’d stopped letting herself care but with Cordelia it just couldn’t be helped. Well she was just going to have to start breaking a few rules, starting now. MEETING ROOM – WOLFRAM & HART They had just finished the daily case progress meeting, all department heads were present including Wesley, Fred and Lorne along with numerous others and Angel. Gunn had been called out with an emergency to do with the surveillance on Eve, but was due to report in later. Once everyone else had left but himself, Fred and Lorne, Wesley looked at Angel at the head of the table, leaning back in his chair looking out of the window at the bright and sunny day, lost in thought. “So are you going to tell us what happened after you left my apartment”? Asked Wesley; watching as Angel tensed and look back at him with unreadable eyes. “I went after the rest of the vamps, killed them and made sure the message got out that nothing like it had better happen again”. “Oh I heard that” said Lorne with an affected shudder, “According to my messages you’d gone and started a bloodbath, what they thought I could do about is anyone’s guess” He gave the vampire a penetrating look. “So I’ve got to admit Angelface it’s good to see you looking fairly sane today”. “What about Cordelia, how is she”? Asked Fred concern evident in her voice and earnestly pretty face. “Cordelia’s OK” Replied Angel shortly not meeting anyone’s eyes; “Do we know anymore about this woman she’s with, Cathy”? He asked Wesley, who looked at Lorne. “Nothing more than what Cordelia told us, nothing matches her abilities and appearance on the demon database, healing rarely does and the fact that she looks and smells like a human” He trailed off, they were all thinking about Jasmine. “I did a test on the blood Wesley brought me from the bandage, looks pretty normal to me and I got it checked for a second opinion, human it is” Said Fred, relieved to be able to report that much at least. “Lorne” prompted Angel “I got nada, nothing on the wind or coming in from my various sources, although I gotta admit most of them were intrigued by what I was asking so I had to play it safe and be discreet”. “Keep looking all of you, I want to know more about her and how she met Cordelia” Instructed Angel to the group as a whole. “Can’t you just ask Cordy” Said Fred surprised he hadn’t thought of that, “I know she was reserved with Wesley but you’re …….. erm different”, she nearly stopped when she saw his face. Angel slumped back in his chair and fiddled with his pen, he looked up at Fred when an uncomfortable silence fell over the table, “No I can’t talk to Cordy about it” was all he said in reply. “Did you speak to Cordy about not telling you Drusilla had threatened her”? Wesley asked Angel. “I told her she wasn’t doing anymore demon hunting” Angel finally replied uncomfortably and picking up a report from in front of him, he flicking through it trying to look absorbed. He looked back up to find three sceptical and expectant gazes on his face. “Did you fight”? Asked Fred, boy she had no idea just how literal that was, thought Angel with a wince, before looking towards the double doors just as they were both slammed open and Gunn came in saying “You guys are not gonna believe this”. Angel’s heart sank as he looked into Gunn’s dark and excited eyes, “What”? he asked shortly. “Our very own Cordelia Chase has just run little Evie outta town at knifepoint”, he chuckled with laughter and then saw Angel’s face and stopped with a choke. “Cordelia went to see Eve again?” Asked Angel quietly and slowly as if trying to make sure he understood exactly what he was being told. “Yup”, Uh oh; better not mention the other thing. “How did she find out where Eve had gone”? Asked Fred her brow creased in confusion. Gunn had to stifle an urge to shift from foot to foot as they all looked at him waiting for him to answer. THE HYPERION HOTEL – CORDY Cordy was covered in sweat and tossing and turning on the bed, moaning in pain and wishing she could wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!! She shot up wild eyed, looking around the room trying to get her bearings and waiting for her heart to stop racing and her breathing to slow down. “Oh God, Oh god it’s over it was just a dream”, she shook her head and pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, tears threatened but she blinked them away as reality finally sunk in. She looked at the clock beside the bed and groaned it was nearly 11am. She got out of the bed and stood beside it for a moment trying to still her trembling knees, what an awful nightmare. She entered the bathroom and ran the cold tap over her wrists, glad for once that the room didn’t have a mirror. She was sure that she must look as bad as she felt. Sitting down on the edge of the bath she crossed her hands on her knees and took deep calming breaths. “What the hell was that”? She asked herself; she had never had a dream like it before. She had expected to have a nightmare or two about nearly dying and Dru and all but not like that, she had dreamt the whole thing not as her seeing it, but Angel, every thought and feeling she had felt was his. If it was even a little bit true, she could almost understand…. “Oh no you don’t” she suddenly snapped, angry with herself “That is not gonna happen; there will be no forgiving or forgetting”. Cathy was already downstairs and had explored a bit, found the coffee-maker and coffee and started it going, not surprising considering she was a self confessed caffeine addict. “Hey, how are you” she asked when she saw Cordy coming down the stairs. It was redundant question really as Cordy’s tight and angry face gave her away. But asking the question gave an opportunity for venting. “Fine” said Cordy shortly, irritable and dog tired, she flopped onto one of the puff chairs, deliberately avoiding ‘that’ couch. Cathy just looked at her over the mug she was holding, “Go on” she prompted when Cordy didn’t elaborate. “What” asked Cordy Defensively? “You may as well tell me and get it over with” said Cathy, she could see it brewing away in there and knew the sooner she got it out the better. Cordy stood up and started to pace around the lobby, different areas in the big space seemed to make her angrier when her eyes touched on them before jerking away again. “Men are complete bastards” she got out at last, muttering under her breath something about vampires. “Uh huh” no disagreement from me there, thought Cathy “I hate him” “Fair enough”, sure you do “I don’t want to talk about it”; she was as upset as Cathy had ever seen her. “Later then” Cathy conceded. “Maybe” said Cordy unwillingly The conversation was cut short by a knock on the glass panes of the door and it being opened by a slight young woman with dark hair and glasses. “Hi Fred” said Cordy really, really glad of the distraction. “What’s up”? “Wow the hotel looks good! You wouldn’t think it had been empty so long,” she exclaimed as she came down the steps, looking around happily and with some nostalgia. “Well yeah, that’s because you got it cleaned,” said Cordy confused now. “I know but still it looks lived in, so you’re staying here now” said Fred with a pleased smile. “Er no, we’re going home today” Replied Cordy with a scowl, there was no way she was asking Angel for anything and he could just stay the hell away from her. “That’s not what…..Oh erm, yeah OK” Fred faltered in the middle and then finished with the last words tapering off in embarrassment. “That’s not what you, what”? Asked Cordy suspiciously “Well that is..” Fred looked at her feet torn; “Fred” said Cordy losing patience. “Angel said you would be staying here now” she finally blurted out, watching Cordy’s reaction, she knew something had gone wrong between Cordy and Angel in the last few days, something more than just the near death experience. Angel had gone into simmering mode when he’d heard about the demon bar and ordered a 24 hour surveillance to be put on her, based from the hotel. “Angel said that”? Asked Cordy in utter disbelief, was she hearing this right, what happened to making things difficult for her? Why was he giving her what she wanted? – not that he knew that of course because she hadn’t got to mention it, but still there was something up with this picture somewhere, she narrowed her eyes at Fred. “Yeah” said Fred with a bright but uneasy smile. “Fred why don’t I introduce you to Cathy, my friend and then we all go for a late lunch and have a nice chat” suggested Cordy with a wave towards Cathy. Fred confused and a little perplexed; agreed absently and then remembering her manners smiled and waved at Cathy trying not to look like she was a little freaked out by what Wesley had told her about this woman but also relieved that this was going better than she’d thought; she felt a pang of guilt for Angel but hey fair was fair right? ANGEL’S APARTMENT Angel had gone back to his office to work, but after snapping twice at the same woman who’d made the mistake of interrupting him in full brood and then nearly knocking some poor guy over the balcony and down to the foyer below, just because he hadn’t been paying attention to where he’d been going and bumped into him, he decided he needed to be alone if he was going to stay out of trouble. Back upstairs he paced around the apartment, going outside was impossible until the sun went down and the tunnels and sewer systems would drive him crazy at the moment, he needed space. He felt as if he needed to burn off all the energy that was pumping through him and enclosed spaces wouldn’t help him. “I can’t believe she did something so stupid and dangerous” He ranted, knowing she’d done it to prove a point to him, more than anything else. “Well she won’t do it again”, He’d arranged for her to be watched, every move she made, he was going to know about and if there was any danger it would be headed off before she got there. She was going to hate that but it was the only way he could protect her and she was just going to have to get used to the idea. “What if she leaves LA again, to get away from you” He thought and had to shut it down because it was too painful to think of. She wouldn’t leave, “that would be admitting defeat and she’d rather stake me than do that“ He hoped that was true; he needed her nearby even if he couldn’t be with her, he needed to know he could at least see her occasionally even if she didn’t love him anymore; that would have to be enough for him, to love her from a distance was better than feeling nothing and hoping for nothing. He wanted to see her now, “Bad idea“, impossible and he knew it, they both needed to calm down and he didn’t want to push her into thinking she had to leave LA. after all “I won’t let her” He felt the rise of emotion inside and cut the thought again, he had to get a grip on his own possessive nature now or he’d end up driving himself crazy and going out of control, “Like that hasn’t happened before“. His friends were worried about him and if he was honest they had reason to be, he knew he was slipping backwards when it came to his humanity. It couldn’t have been helped, with everything that had happened last year, losing Cordy and Connor; he’d had to pull back into himself just to be able to carry on. Being inside Wolfram & Hart wasn’t exactly therapeutic either and there were times recently when he felt as if all the progress he’d made in the last few years was nothing but an illusion. That he was still just an outsider, unable to relate to anything or anyone around him, unless it involved death and violence. “You were too rough with her“. His conscience smote at him “It was necessary”; he muttered with a sort of desperate need to convince his inner self. “It never used to be, why didn’t you just ask her to join in here“ “I don’t want her mixed up with this place”. That was true enough “Oh right but scaring her is OK, well you certainly did that didn’t you, did you smell it“ “Shut up, I had to try, it’s better than her dying and losing her completely” “You think you haven’t anyway“? That was it, he had to get these thoughts out of his head and stop thinking about her constantly; obsessing about her was bad and getting him nowhere. He yanked off his black knitted shirt and then undid his zipper before reaching into the closet and pulling out a pair of loose drawing string pants. He needed to empty his head and the only thing that had worked in the past was meditating, it was time for some tai chi. “What are you trying to prove Angel, that I should be afraid of them or of you“? Her voice echoed in his head. BACK AT THE HYPERION “Surveillance, I just do not believe this guy, he is insane” Cordy’s shouting must have been heard from at least two blocks away, Cathy winced at the volume. She felt a hell of a lot of admiration for Cordy’s restraint; that had been bottled up for at least an hour, ever since Fred had spilled the beans. They were back now though and the need for restraint was gone. “We are leaving here immediately”; snapped Cordy running for the stairs to gather the few things she’d brought here. “Wait” said Cathy, “Don’t be so hasty” “Hasty” the volume was still at mega watt, as Cordy whirled round to stand with hands on hips “That stupid sh… Dork has set a bunch of mindless morons to watch me”. Fury was evident in every word, not to mention what she’d almost called him. “Exactly, stupid morons that we can run rings around, like that”; Cathy snapped her fingers and grinned at Cordy and then waited for the possibilities to filter through the anger, it didn’t take long. “You mean…” said Cordy with an intrigued look on her face, Cathy’s grin just got bigger “Oh yeah”. “Won’t that piss him off” Cordy grinned back her; her nimble mind running through all of the scenarios that could be, all of which ended up with Angel having egg on his handsome face. “This hotel has hundred of rooms, numerous exits and you know them all like the back of your hand, what better place can you think of”? Asked Cathy. “There is none, you’re right and Angel will think he’s got me exactly where he wants me, but he’s sooo going to find out different”. She was getting excited now, this was actually good news. “No one uses me like that and gets away with it” Said Cordy, damn she hadn’t meant to say that out-loud but it was too late, she saw Cathy focus on her. “Just because his wits went A.W.O.L. overreacting to you nearly dying in front of him doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you” Said Cathy with quiet conviction. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter” replied Cordy turning her face away, but Cathy wasn’t finished. “Cordy” she waited until she turned back “He does love you, don’t let anger kid you into fooling yourself otherwise, would he have gone so ballistic if he didn’t”? Cordelia remembered the dream she’d had and didn’t brush it away this time, had he really felt that bad? Even if he had was it really any excuse for the way he’d acted; was love a good enough excuse? She didn’t know what to think anymore, Cathy sounded so certain and even if she shouldn’t let it, it did knock away at the foundation of her anger with him. “I’ll worry about that later, for now we have a business to finish getting started”. She would focus on that for now and see what fell out of the woodwork; she was too confused and angry at the moment to think rationally about her abortive relationship with Angel or lack of one.

Since we are practically together every minute of everyday and he is my best friend, I started getting suspicious. After he left to "run an errand", a huge smile came across my face. Awwww, he is buying me a present! I joke that my love language is gift-RECEIVING. ;) It is not Tim's love language so gifts are few and far between and it really stresses him out. That is for sure what he is up to!! How fun!! What could it be? Something romantic? earrings? maybe this time he will even get it wrapped in beautiful paper with a huge bow? oooh... maybe its a new mini-van since ours is on its last leg, is DEFILED, and lets out a glass-shattering scream that lasts for 5 minutes while I back out of the driveway (waving to the neighbors acting like I don't hear the noise and while the boys have their fingers in their ears). That's it! He is surprising me with a new van! F-U-N! I can't wait.." ** Tim and I used to love to water ski. We had a boat before we had kids. I loved wake boarding and and skiing. But sometimes we would see snakes swimming in the water. So, when I fell, I would panic. The boat seemed like it would never get back to pick me up and every time my life jacket strap would touch me, (I am not kidding) I would try to run on top of the water knowing it was a snake. I HATE THEM!! So, the next day while Tim was at work, I went to go survey the scene and look where he told me it was. There is a creek in our back yard and often, snakes will climb up on the bank or on a rock and sit in the sun. YUCK!! So, I courageously peeked over to see if I could see a snake and YEP, there was a nasty big snake sitting a couple feet away from where my boys play. THIS MEANS WAR. I called Tim at work and told him to come home and blow its brains out with his new pellet gun (he didn't think the golfers on the hole behind our house would appreciate the shot gun I wanted him to shoot it with). While I was in the check out line to buy more snake repellent paraphernalia, the lady at Ace hardware giggled and said, "That snake may laugh at your husband, grab the pellet gun and shoot him!". Tim got home and grabbed his 'air rifle' (that is what he calls the pellet gun- I think he feels more manly calling it that) but the snake was no where to be found. Tim got home and grabbed his 'air rifle' (that is what he calls the pellet gun- I think he feels more manly calling it that) but the snake was no where to be found. I have always heard that moth balls are good for keeping snakes away so I bought 3 stinky boxes today and poured them all around our fence and where I have seen it lurking. If any of my neighbors are reading this, I am so sorry your back deck and back yard now smell like your grandmother's basement. Today in homeschool, the boys and I talked about how prayer is like our 'spiritual mothballs' and that the enemy flees because of the power of Prayer and the Word of God. That God has given us weapons to protect us from danger. So we sent up some moth balls for my health, daddy's arm (still not healing- find out soon if he has to have surgery) and for our family to shine like a sparkler in this dark world proclaiming the love of Christ. I will keep you updated on the snake. You may want to be cautious if you play golf in our neighborhood. You may get hit with a pellet when momma gets the gun! This has been a BAD week for me. It is still like a bad dream that all of this is really happening. I used to be so healthy, happy and capable. Life changed drastically July 6, 2005 when I got sick. I don't have many answers as this trial really blind-sided me. I was happy at home with my 2 baby boys, leading Bible Studies with Tim for college students on purity and marriage and just in love with the Lord and life. I had piles of energy and usually jogged every day and was working out 5 days a week. My daily struggles were like every other mom's but life was predictable and easy. Now, almost 4 years later, it is a different story except that I am still in love with the Lord-- or no, I would say my relationship with Christ has changed too as He has taught me His Word and proven Himself faithful in the storms. Yesterday, I was so sick, light-headed and out-of-it that when I put Lake down for a nap, I put a movie on the boys and told them I had to lay down for a few minutes. The movie ended and the boys tried to wake me up but I couldn't wake up. They watched their movie again and mommy still couldn't wake up. Something was wrong. I finally got the energy to get up and just cried to Tim that something is wrong. More than wrong... terrifyingly wrong. I don't really know what is going on. I have been on medicine strong enough to kill a horse for about 3 1/2 years now. Sometimes I think my body is just tired of everything. I came off the medicine even though the dr in NY says 'stay the course'. I just can't. I have to have a break. I won't know about my blood work for a day or so. We really don't know what to do. We have tried everything from homeopathy/herbal doctors to the best MDs in the nation for this. But, I have learned to live with pain and God has given me many breaks from the intensity of it all. ********* Here are a few things that encourage me... I love it how you can learn spiritual truths in the most mundane things. Lately, when Lake wakes up in the mornings, he takes his jammies off and his diaper off before I know what he is doing. Most of the time, I get there before he pee pees everywhere but sometimes it is too late. The other day, I was too late. I had to take all of his favorite sleeping things out of his bed to wash them... 3 blankets, 1 Elmo, 1 Monkey and his favorite Dog Jammies. He flipped out. He cried and screamed and boo-hoo'd as I carried all of his favorite things to the washing machine and tossed them in. I don't think I have ever seen him this upset. I kept telling him that it was ok, that I just had to wash them but he didn't understand. After I turned the washing machine on, he tried to climb into the washing machine to get his favorite things out... looking at me like "HOW COULD YOU??? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME??". I think he thought he would never seen them again or that the washing machine was a monster that I was feeding his beloved treasures to. I am not sure but I do know HE SIMPLY COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING. Tim took his picture. This actually really ministered to my heart as I have the same tendency in my trial... to look up at God and cry, "how could you do this to me? Why are You taking things away from me that I love?". And then it hit me, I SIMPLY CAN NOT UNDERSTAND what is really happening. BUT, I know that my heavenly Father loves me and has promised GOOD things to me. So, this trial is for my good. Period. He said it and I believe His Word. Period. For example, the other day I was planting flowers and showing the boys their roots. I told them that they need water to grow and keep them alive. It started to rain today and Bubba disappeared. I asked Reece where Bubba was and Reece said, "Outside watching the flowers grow". He stayed out there a long time watching as the rain came down. He never saw the flowers grow but knew it was true because I told him. I know this suffering will be used for good and God's glory even if I can't see it BECAUSE HE TOLD ME SO. I may not understand until heaven... and that is ok. Re-united with his clean loves. It makes me think of Jesus' nearness to me, how I am His little girl... who He LOVES. "The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor (*worship) him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11 *************************** Another thing that makes me happy is my group of girls on the Sunday night calls. We dig into God's Word together every week. If you put both groups together, there are about 50 of them. My heart for this group of amazing girls is based Luke 8:8... "Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” That God would plant seeds in them during this study and then after it is over use them to produce a crop 100 times greater. I am in a constant state of shock over what God is doing in the lives of these women and how He is using them and growing them. WOW! You girls bless me so much. I call them my Good Soil Girls because of the verse. I giggled while I was planting my Spring flowers when I looked at my potting soil. Miracle Grow Potting Soil. I think that is what some of the girls have in their hunger for God's Word and to be used by Him. It is just plain EXCITING to be a part of. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of what God is doing in your lives. ***************************************************************** Thank you for continuing to read, care, and pray without even really knowing me. I have been so humbled and challenged by your compassion. Who knows maybe God will heal me tonight? I don't know what is going to happen next but because I am KEPT by Christ and loved by Him, I know I will be ok... More than ok.... Adored, Held and Protected as I walk through this valley. Please keep praying for a miracle. (Lake cracks me up. He is trying to do what Bubba does when he pulls his lips to make a crazy face for the camera. He is a smart little stinker. God has given me so much joy along side of suffering.) "Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 63:7 14 comments: I just want to tell you what a strong "purpose" your suffering has had in my life. I stumbled upon your blog about a week ago, and you have blessed me beyond measure! I am the mother of four boys, so I already feel a connection with you. I have had a horrible year this past year, the worst of my life. It has been unbearable suffering of an emotional and spiritual kind. I have lived my life for Jesus Christ ever since I can remember. Your words on your blog remind me so much of the deep love and deep relationship I once had with the Lord. It's still there, it's just battered by the events of this past year. I've doubted God, been angry,and felt hopeless. Your blog is resurrecting hope in me. The scriptures you have posted are like medicine to my hurting heart. I have a long way to go, but please say a prayer for me. I will pray for you everyday. Bless you, bless you, bless you. And those sweet, sweet little boys! Oh, I just want to hug that Traci from the previous post. Girl, you would have died on our last camping trip. Snakes. and more snakes. You were cracking me up just thinking about you with that pellet gu. You would have crackin up so much, he would have slithered away. And oh the moth balls, and Lake's naked hiney...so funny. I wish I like down the block so I could just take those boys and have some good ol creek fun...I know you have a ton of support and love, just know I stinkin' love the mess out of you Blackisons! You are His. Sometimes, that is all I can pray. what a blessing you are Stephanie! reading the comment above from a sweet reader! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the picture of Bubba reunited with his loveys!!! You can see the joy in his eyes! and I totally feel you with the life jacket strap touching you and thinking it's a snake...eek!!!! oops, i mean Lake :0 Oh, Steph, that was an amazingly, wonderful post. I know you are suffering, and you are TIRED. OF. IT. But God is using you so much through all of it. Off to find some tissues.... Stephanie, I have been a Christian most of my life but you my friend have brought me closer to Jesus. You have taught me to pray feverently and to pray BELIEVING what I am praying will happen in God's time NOT our time.I hope you know what an impact you have on so many people's lives.I hope that you are feeling better soon and never quit posting on your blog, I enjoy it everytime I read! Have a great weekend! Erica Love you Steph, your post touched my heart. I am praying so hard for you. For His will and your strength and of course, a miracle. God Bless you sweet friend. I'm so sorry to hear about your health. I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you in a while. I've tried calling but no one answers. I was going to tell you about the huge sale at mini boden (that would certainly cheer you up)!! Chad and I almost ran over your poor husband Tuesday night. We got home at about 9pm from our date and didn't see Tim running in front of our driveway..Oops. Please tell him we're sorry. Andrew does the same thing with the washing machine. I wash his 3 blankies and 2 lovies after school days and he stands in the laundry room having a fit the entire time. Please know I'm thinking about you and call when you're feeling better. I'm here if you need anything (even a babysitter)! Hey honey! I'm sorry that we didn't get to talk more on the phone today about how you are feeling/the drugs etc. I would love to connect about that anytime. On a lighter note I think that you should write a book about all the funny things that mamas go through raising babies. You are such a good writer and make me laugh out loud at some of the boys stories. I love you girl. Talk to you Sunday night!! :-) Hey Tim!! Go Get Steph that Mini Van!!! Praying so hard for you Steph...I have no words, just know I don't want you to suffer anymore, and you know I love you!!!! You are right, Life if Hard, But God is Good!!! I love the satan/snake & prayer/mothball analogy...really good! :) What a SWEET family you have...your boys are ADORABLE!! I am continuing to lift you up in prayer! AMEN! Steph, your words just reach out from the page and touch us! Your have such a wonderful way with words! They make me laugh, they make me cry, they inspire me. And your photographs: Priceless! Just precious! I hope you received answers today. May The Lord bless you and keep you, Steph.. . . May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. I've been praying for you! :) The next time you see that snake, you can call me. I need a black snake in my backyard to eat the chipmunks that are digging too many holes! I'm deathly afraid of spiders (even the itty bitty ones), but snakes have never bothered me. Isn't that strange? :) Black snakes aren't posionous...they're way more afraid of you than you are of them. Just fyi ;) Leslie- PLEASE COME TAKE AS MANY SNAKES AS YOU WANT!!! They aren't black snakes though. Tim has seen a rattle snake on this golf course before. He shot one of the snakes this afternoon. We don't know if it died though because it fell into the water. Thank you for praying for me. Steph

Black Angus Steakhouse - Buena Park 人気のタグ: エクスペリエンス Prime & Mud Wednesday 複数の日付でご予約可能!お一人様$29.99 May 18〜Sep 複数の日付でご予約可能Every Wednesday is Wine Wednesday. Half off all bottles of wine. Available exclusively at any Black Angus location. Reservations recommended, walk-ins accepted. オファー BullsEye Bar Happier Hours Return! 複数の日付でご予約可能 Mon〜Thu 3:00 PM〜6:00 PM, Fri 3:00 PM〜8:45 PMEnjoy $4 Drinks and 50% off Full-Size Steakhouse Starters. Monday-Friday from 3pm-6pm in the BullsEye bar area 評価・口コミ (8) Ribeye Steak* Well-marbled, making this cut tender, juicy and extremely flavorful 評価・口コミ (1) New York Steak Sandwich* Hand-cut, flame-grilled, sliced New York Strip with sautéed onions, mayo and Bleu cheese crumbles 評価・口コミ (1) The food and service at Black Angus was great as always! I always leave so full, but also so happy and satisfied! A solid meal for a decent price. We went after a day at Knotts I was not expecting much, especially in the way of meat quality, but even a diner cooks its steaks properly. If I ask for medium rare, don’t give me well done. The rest of the food was even worse…either overcooked and greasy (potatoes au gratin) or unseasoned and barely cooked (broccoli). We had a great meal .. All was enjoyable and the waiter was awesome 🤩 This locations was excellent. It is easy to make reservations. The food is always good and the service was top quality. Our server Francisco was very attentive, courteous, efficient and in general very professional. We will come to see him again I dont like the fact that we bought a dinner for $66.00 and the next day on my laptop I see an add for the same meal for two for $49.98 Very rude server named Shaun A. We came there with my 88yo mom who just got out of the hosp couple of days ago to meet our 37 yo priest. When we arrived, i saw a water circle mark on the table & politely asked to wipe it. He responded w/ an attitude saying its wet bec he just wiped it. I repeated again to just wipe that small area. Another server wiped it and apologized to me. When its our time to order, he didnt have patience at all. We asked what are the sidekicks options and he mentioned broccoli and asked us to look at the menu. Our friend priest just said 2 sides of broccoli to finish it up bec we saw he was in a hurry. Then i showed my priest friend the choices, he changed the broccoli to steak soup and garden salad. He showed us how IRRITATED he was for changing the order. He SHOOK his head and erased what he wrote down fiercefully and said he has other customers to attend to, he was starring at us as if we did a VERY BIG CRIME. He talked to the other table (theyre not even asking for him at that time) and said to wait for him. He just want to show us how disappointed he was for changing the side order. Very very rude!! We were so embarassed to our friend priest, it was his first time to dine in Blk Angus! When Shaun left, our friend said he really got offended with the rudeness and he didnt even do a BIG mistake. He cant believe that these things can happen when you only want to eat out. Often times he gets invitations to dine out with other parishioners at other restaurants but never had this same experience. It was normal to change orders especially when he dines with seniors who keeps changing their minds and servers are understanding and patient to take the orders. Never will go back to this place again. Came here for the first time and had a great meal. My husband and I got the dinner for two campfire special and got an appetizer, two sides each, one entree each, and one dessert each. All for something like $70. I've been to lots of steakhouses and honestly expected Black Angus to be mediocre. I was quite impressed with the quality of the steaks and how well they were cooked for the price. The service was slow at times. I was given very bad service from beginning to end. did not want to accept Gift Card and coupon. Gift card is Money in a plastic form. At the end, she said management approved. I said, It is ok to use both at the same time. Servers need to be trained on payment form and their values. My husband and I enjoyed ourselves I had my bogo birthday coupon and the food was very yummy and good this has become my favorite restaurant Overall we had a hood experience. We like that they still have nice booths vs tables in the middle of the room like the Black Angus in Lakewood. My medium rare prime rib came out rare, but they replaced it and it was tasty. I was disappointed though, that the brined pork chop was not offered on the menu. I would recommend this location to others and would go back again. went here with my dad, had his medical alert dog with us, had her seated on his handicap scooter and was told we had to put her on the floor, told her no we did not, she is allowed to sit on our scooter, but not on their seats, she is diabetic alert and heart attack alert, she must be in a certain distance to detect the signs of these conditions, if we put her on the floor she has been stepped on by servers, she is small, only 5 pounds and most people to not look where they are walking, my dad felt angry for her to confront him that way and she let it go "this time" Always a pleasure dining at the Buena Park location. Prime Rib was very good. Service was lacking. Took 10 to 15 minutes for a sever to show up, and he wasn't for our section he just noticed nobody bothered to stop by! Whwn the server for our section finally did show, I think she didn't really care for her job. Server was excellent he was on point. He refilled our drinks as soon as empty and he removed our used plates as soon as we pushed them to being completed. They had us wait in the beginning about five minutes than sat us to assure our table and seats were sanitized and clean. Thank you for doing a great job. Overall it was good. Will come back again. Was just ok. Service was ok...food was OK. Didn't get seated in the bar area like I requested. Just not worth the money. Black is always so good, and rarely disappoints my husband and I. My boyfriend and I went in and we ordered the campfire feast for 2 , we got our food before our appetizer and our waiter forgot to ask us which desert we wanted since it’s included so I mentioned it to him and told him we wanted the cowboy cookie to go and we waited and waited and he brought our check we paid , waited and never received it. I was so upset that I didn’t care to ask anymore. He also rushed us out saying he had to leave already. The service was horrible we waited for 30 minutes before we could even order, server keep forgetting about us! The food was cold and under cooked! To pay $160 and such horrible services was such a disappointment!!! They don't seem to be familiar with social distancing at this location. Even though this is a large restaurant and there were only about 6 groups of diners when we were there, twice the hostess sat new parties in tables adjoining ours even though there were at least 15 other tables in our seating area. The first time we moved, the second time I asked the hostess not to seat people right next to us. Can't believe I had to even mention it. We were seated at a table that was dirty. We had to ask the waiter to have someone wipe it down for us. Waiter was not attentive and even got a part of my order wrong. I had asked for rice and instead got mac and cheese. Not that big of a deal. so I didn't say anything. Next time I'd rather order to-go than have to deal with that kind of service. Everything would have been perfect if they had bought my husband the correct steak. He ordered a 16oz but, we received a 12oz and was told it would take 30minutes to correct the issue. It was father's day and he was pretty bummed. Even this morning my husband was commenting that our son's steak was correct and that he really wanted that 16oz. It was not the server's fault it was the cooks fault. Terrible service. It was busy but no one ever checked up on us. Took 30 mins to at least get our drinks. One of our salads got croutons and the other didnt. The man who cleaned the tables was much faster getting us our bread than our actual server. Food was terrible, food was definitely rushed. Been here before and Fathers Day was by far the worst day to visit. Our waitress was impolite and rude. But the waiter who covered her Break Salvador was amazing. Overall I’d visit on a non popular day to get the best experience The wait was too long and the food was horrible..messed up on my orderEven though they took it off my bill the sad part is I didn’t get to eat with my father on Father’s Day because my steak came out after everybody was done eating they had to make it twice and still didn’t get it right the second time Very good food, just a little trouble ordering, due to confusion Fathers Day. Only took reservations so it was not slow or over crowed for a holiday. 10x more organized than the Lakewood Black Angus! Enjoyed it a lot. Our service was fast. Good good! Father’s Day lunch . Food was amazing, server was great very nice and always on top of everything! Father’s Day My Sister had to send her food back twice as it was made incorrectly. For the money they dont give you enough food. On Fathers day they had a fathers day menu but neglected to tell us we could order from the regular menu and we saw people with ribs which was what we really wanted but it was not on the menu and no one told us.. the waiter was nice but we hardly saw him until the check came he kept constantly rushing us asking if we wanted a box like 6 times Food tasted good but small portions at very high prices. We understand that things are now getting back to speed due to lesser covid restrictions, but we noticed the quality of food was not as good as before. Also, I had to send the white wine back, I think it was a bad batch. The fish was slightly undercooked, but otherwise delicious. The table server was very nice and attentive, but the servers need to say upfront that "toppers" on steak/fish will cost extra. and to ask for size of beer (unless it's just one size). I'm sure it will become the Black Angus it once was. Amazing dining experience. From the greet, sequence of service to the chef bringing our food personally. It was my first time and wow am I impressed. I felt very rushed. Didn’t even get my cocktail and appetizer was served. Had asked for extra cucumber dip when ordering and had to ask busboy to get it for me and some water. Then salad came out before I got through with appetizers. And did even get to start my salad when entrees were served. They offered to keep warm which I declined as I didn’t want food to try out and over cook. Then the ribeye was over cooked anyway. I had said on the app that we were celebrating birthday and told the server who forgot. They did refire my steak. The busboy was excellent and I tipped him. It was a great experience. Everyone was very nice from the person at the door, water, busboy and even the cook who came by. Food was excellent, order came quickly, and great vAlue for the price a lot of food for the price. Great place highly recommend it. It was excellent. Hopefully they’ll be able to open for lunch everyday again.Great lunch menu! Worst prime rib ever . Very disappointed. No one ask how my meal was. Fatty, a lot of gristle and it was a challenge to cut and chew. Very disappointed Our server Dave was outstanding as well as other members Even though we were seated outside, the atmosphere was pleasant and the food was amazing. Everything from the taste to plating was superbly done. よくある質問 Black Angus Steakhouse - Buena。Black Angus Steakhouse - Buena Parkはテイクアウトにも対応しています。テイクアウトはお電話（(714) 670-2012）でご注文ください。 OpenTable ダイナー1030名によるBlack Angus Steakhouse - Buena Park。

Abstract. 1. Introduction Estimating particle position and/or motion from images or time-lapse image sequences is widely used in biology for imaging proteins [1–3] or live cells [3–5] and in fluid-flow applications [6,7]. In live-cell imaging, the need to minimize photo-damage to the specimen leads to a requirement for efficient flux collection, and thus to the use of high numerical aperture (NA) objectives, with consequently shallow depth of field. When combined with wide-field imaging requirements, this approach leads to high-quality, in-focus images only over a relatively thin specimen layer. Layers above and below this in-focus specimen slice are defocused, and thus recorded with a blurred point-spread function (PSF). The reduced contrast in these out-of-focus images leads to poorer signal to noise and to an impaired capability to track particles having out-of-plane motion within the specimen. Approaches used to recover this lost out-of-plane tracking include a through-focal series or z-stack [8], modelling the out-of-focus image in order to estimate the depth of point sources [9], the use of multiple objectives imaging the specimen simultaneously from both above and below [10–12] or using two different-focus images obtained by incorporating a beam splitter within the imaging system [2,3,13–16], parallax [17], scanning [18], anamorphic imaging [13,19,20], the unique double-helix PSF [21] and holography, in-line [22] or off-axis [23]. The z-stack has the principal disadvantage that it is time consuming, and the live specimen changes during the recording sequence, leading to a loss of information concerning rapid motion and different fluorophore-bleaching or quantum-dot blinking effects in each image. The image-modelling approach requires a good knowledge of the optical system and has poor sensitivity close to in-focus image conditions. The multiple-objective approach has the advantage that flux emitted by the specimen in two or more directions can be collected and imaged, but the images obtained may need to be inverted, rotated and scaled in both intensity and magnification before analysis of the fused dataset can be robust and efficient. Interferometric-based techniques using opposing objectives [11,12] are susceptible to vibration-induced errors typical of non-common path optics, and the novel objective and specimen mounting may inhibit use under standard microscopy laboratory conditions. Scanning techniques can achieve a good resolution while limiting specimen photo-damage, but, in wide-field applications, the scanning sequence required to deliver three-dimensional information can take longer than a z-stack sequence, although localized imaging could be achieved at high speed. A holographic approach can compromise real-time image interpretation. Here, we use a diffractive optical element (DOE) to achieve simultaneous in-focus images of multiple specimen layers, recorded through a single objective lens, at equal magnifications, on a single camera and with fixed position registration between the in-focus layers. The simple and inexpensive attachment required can be interposed between a standard microscope and the user's favourite camera, and can be used reliably under standard laboratory conditions (e.g. no temperature control, no vibration isolation, room lights on). We show that using these multi-focal images with a simple metric (image sharpness) and a maximum-likelihood algorithm gives robust depth determination at nanometric resolution when applied to images of unresolved sources that are not background limited (i.e. good contrast). The method is intended for three-dimensional tracking of faint sources in biology. In this paper, we will describe our methodology and show, using experimental data, simulated data and analytical methods, how our multi-focal image-sharpness approach delivers very high depth resolution with potentially real-time results. The experimental measurements are confined to bright sources, and show that the previous table-top optics [24] can be reduced to a modest-sized and low-cost microscope attachment without sacrificing the particle-tracking accuracy. Like Aguet et al. [9], we use a maximum-likelihood estimation and develop an analytical formula that can be used to assess likely performance for this method at flux levels that are more appropriate to biological measurements, and test that analytical formulation through numerical simulation. 2. Implementation on a standard microscope (olympus ix71) The DOEs and the optical system used to achieve simultaneous in-focus images of multiple z-planes have been described before [25], as have the modifications required to make the system work under ‘white light’ conditions [26] and to ensure that the images of all z-planes have equal magnification and well-defined spacing of the in-focus planes [27]. The resulting microscope attachment has been used experimentally on both upright and inverted commercial microscope systems, with a range of objective lenses, to deliver between two and nine simultaneous, in-focus image planes on a single charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. In this paper, a microscope attachment delivering three in-focus image planes, to a single CCD and on an inverted microscope, is intended unless otherwise stated. Briefly, a DOE in the form of an off-axis Fresnel lens has a different focal length in each diffraction order. If this DOE is combined carefully with a lens of high optical power, the system focal length in each diffraction order can be arranged to deliver in-focus and spatially separated images in which the image in each diffraction order is equivalent to an image that could have been recorded in a z-stack sequence. The etch depth (thus phase modulation) of the DOE determines the relative brightness of the images in the various diffraction orders. The lateral resolution, depth of focus and depth of field of the image in each diffraction order is equal to the performance that would have been achieved from the equivalent image in a sequential z-stack. Used as a simple three-dimensional snapshot system, the technique delivers images of the sort shown in figure 1; see also [28]. The DOE combines the function of the beamsplitter and defocus lens in other multi-focus techniques (e.g. [16]). A fly (Drosophila melanogaster) egg chamber expressing a green fluorescence-tagged protein and imaged using epifluorescence, a 0.7NA dry 20× objective and the DOE-based attachment with 7.3 µm separation between the in-focus planes. Left to right the three images show: the surface of the egg chamber within the egg chamber; the far side of the oocyte and nurse cells deeper within the egg chamber. Scale bar, 20 µm. For three-dimensional tracking tests, we used a nano-hole, illuminated from above with a laser, to represent a single unresolved and self-luminous ‘particle’. This particle, imaged through the microscope plus the DOE system described above, yields three images, each corresponding to a PSF that would have been recorded in a z-stack sequence and with about one-third of the detected flux in each image. If the total measurement time is equal to that required for the equivalent three-image z-stack, the flux in each of the three images is equal whether the DOE system or a z-stack is used. This system is illustrated schematically in figure 2, together with example out-of-focus particle images from a simultaneous three-image snapshot. The snapshot was recorded using a 100 × 1.4NA oil-immersion objective lens (UPLSAPO100XO/1.4), with an off-axis Fresnel lens of focal length 0.94 m in a unit magnification optical relay from the microscope focus to the CCD camera employing an achromatic compound lens of focal length 76.2 mm. The source is a nominally 210 nm diameter hole in an NiCr/Al/NiCr film approximately 90 nm thick, illuminated by a laser at 532 nm wavelength and mounted on a precision Mad City Labs (NanoView PDQ375/M) translation stage that provides z-displacement of the source under computer control (Micromanager) with sub-nanometre level accuracy and repeatability. Schematic of the DOE-based three-dimensional imaging attachment. An off-axis Fresnel lens positioned at a distance of one focal length from the secondary principal plane of an imaging system produces three images, each focused on a different specimen plane and all recorded with equal magnification. The in-focus plane separation increases with increasing curvature of the lines in the DOE. Crossing two such gratings delivers nine different in-focus z-planes. Inserts show the DOE structure and images of a nano-hole from three DOE diffraction orders (inverted contrast and saturated to show image structure when the nano-hole is positioned well away from focus, at z = −2.1 µm in figure 3a). The schematic represents a unit-magnification relay system attached to the microscope camera port. The microscope camera would normally be located at the position of the letter B on the left-hand side of the figure. An aperture or slit is located at B to prevent overlap of the images of the different z-planes on the camera, which is now located on the right-hand side. The microscope was focused to give a best focus in the in-focus zero-order (i.e. central) image and the exposure adjusted to give a peak of approximately 75 per cent of the 12-bit dynamic range available from the Qimaging Retiga SRV CCD camera. Using the camera's QCapturePro software, a series of 50 images was recorded at each of 100 computer-controlled z-positions with nominally equal source flux and unit camera gain. A total of eight separate datasets were recorded over an eight-day elapse period. For each dataset described here, the acquisition procedure was: (i) reset focus (by eye) in the zero-order image at the centre of the translation range, (ii) translate the source to the minimum z-position, and (iii) to scan in z recording all 50 data frames at each z-position before moving to the next z-position. Examination of the recorded z-scan data shows that the position of best focus in the zero order (determined by peak sharpness) varies by ±1 µm from the nominal position. Drifts in laser brightness during measurements meant that two sets contained saturated images and were rejected. Thus, all images analysed are unsaturated under the imaging conditions used. The 6.45 µm CCD pixel spacing provides a slight oversampling of the images. Assessment of the in-focus images obtained when the source is translated in z revealed no significant degradation of the in-focus image quality between the DOE diffraction orders [24]. The algorithm used here exploits image sharpness [29], a measurement originally proposed for high-resolution astronomy, but abandoned in that application as it provides a metric reaching a global maximum when diffraction-limited imaging conditions prevail but does not indicate what corrections to the optical system will achieve that optimum. The image sharpness is the integral of the square of the image intensity. Experimentally, each CCD data frame from our microscope attachment contains three images of the same particles. From each data frame three normalized image sharpness values, S, are evaluated by selecting three subregions of the same shape and roughly centred on each of the three particle images. The subregion size is chosen to include all significant flux from the particle studied, but to exclude flux from neighbouring particles. For each of these three images of the particle, the pixel values are background subtracted, squared, summed over the subregion and divided by the square of the total flux in the appropriate subregion, giving three flux-independent, normalized, sharpness-based measures of image quality. Here S is evaluated a posteriori using digitized CCD frames that have been stored in a computer, but it is noted that using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector technology would allow S to be calculated on-chip and, with suitable windowing and calibration, delivered as the detector readout in real time. 3. The maximum-likelihood sharpness algorithm For a given source position, z, a set of repeated S-measurements made in each diffraction order can be used as calibration data to estimate probability density functions (PDFs) for the experimental sharpness measurements in each diffraction order when the source is at z. These experimentally determined PDFs subsume all errors owing to photon flux, background noise, instrumental drift, optical defects, etc., over the duration of the calibration measurements. If the diffraction orders are denoted using the subscript j, we can express the probability for any given S measurement in the form of a conditional probability P(Sj|z). With z given, the sharpness estimations in the different diffraction orders are independent, so the probability for the subset of M sharpness measurements in all diffraction orders when a particle is located at z may be expressed 3.1where L is the likelihood for the subset of sharpness measurements {S1, S2, … , SM} and M is the number of diffraction orders in which images are simultaneously recorded. The maximum-likelihood (ML) estimator of the source depth,, is the value of z for which L is maximized given an actual data subset {S1, S2, …, SM} and the calibration PDFs, P(Sj|z). To estimate P(Sj|z) from calibration data, curves were fitted to the measured mean sharpness value, determined from the cubic-spline fit and variance determined by the Gaussian fit to the measured variance values. Note that the variance is flux dependent and needs either to be estimated from images at several flux levels or adjusted using the Poisson flux statistics. Details of the method for estimating P(Sj|z) from calibration data are provided in the electronic supplementary material. 4. Experimental test results The source z-position is estimated from the measured sharpness values using an ML algorithm. Figure 3 shows the experimentally determined standard deviation for the ML-estimated z-position of a source using a dataset obtained from the IX71 (figure 3a) and earlier data from an optical-bench assembled ‘microscope’ (figure 3b) [24]. In the background, in each plot, the calibration curves of S versus source z-position for each diffraction order are shown (the position indicated by the translation stage is taken as ‘ground truth’). Each curve represents an average of 50 measurements at each of 100 source z-positions. Each complete 5000-image dataset took about 1 h to acquire on the IX71. Neither temperature-control nor vibration-isolation precautions were implemented. The microscope focus relies on the standard mechanical and unstabilized objective-focus control. Thus, we believe that such measurements are achievable in almost any laboratory. Root-mean-square error (points) in ML point-source depth estimation, using the standard deviation between the ML estimate of z and taking the translation stage position (z) as ground truth. The points thus show the depth-measurement accuracy achieved. The curves show experimental sharpness-calibration measurements in each of the three images (arb. units), (a) data recorded using an Olympus IX71, (b) data recorded using our optical-bench assembled microscope [24]. Particularly in (b) note that the accuracy is generally lower for z-values corresponding to the sharpness peak in any diffraction order and that the accuracy decreases for z-values significantly outside the volume between the extreme in-focus image planes. Objective NA was 1.4 for (a) and 1.3 for (b). The wider sharpness curves in (a) appear to be due to directional ‘beaming’ from the nano-hole source, leading to underfilling the objective. The sample was damaged while trying to make AFM measurements to verify that conclusion. The peak value for S in each diffraction order occurs close to the position in which the source should be in focus in that diffraction order (allowing for aberrations and refractive indices), and decreases as the source position moves away from this location in either direction. Thus, the measurement of S in a single image plane yields the source z-position to within a twofold ambiguity. It is clear that, under the imaging conditions used here, all S-curves show only a single maximum within the depth range of interest. Thus, the simultaneous measurement of S under two or more different focal conditions provides a unique determination of the source z-position. Because the calibration and data inversion use the same optics, neither the z-spacing between the three image planes nor the optical efficiency associated with the diffraction orders needs to be precisely known, an advantage when using real systems. The analysis of experimental data with M = 3 demonstrates between 7 and 14 nm level accuracy across the five unsaturated datasets available; see example in figure 3a. Different data recorded 12 months earlier on our optical-bench-assembled microscope (figure 3b) yielded 12 nm r.m.s. depth resolution [24], even though those data suffered significant spherical aberration, suggesting that approximately 10 nm is a realistic accuracy limit for high-flux measurements using a CCD with 12-bit well depth. We find that datasets recorded at different times can give-curves that differ by more than the standard deviations within individual datasets and attribute this to focus drift, because returning the z-stage to the start position did not give good focus in the particle images in the zero diffraction order. Small amounts of drift can affect calibration and, to identify circumstances where such instabilities degrade the reliability of the z determinations, the ML algorithm reports any data frames for which the ML-estimated z corresponds to a likelihood significantly lower than average, so that such data can be examined in detail. We found that this alarm successfully identified suspect calibrations and that, if one does not wish to repeat the calibration, increasing the estimated variance would eliminate the alarm at the penalty of a modest increase in the uncertainty of the depth measurements. 5. Analysis of the maximum-likelihood algorithm Having established experimentally that the ML-sharpness algorithm can deliver accurate source-position estimations that are easily computed from the high-flux three-dimensional snapshot images captured using the DOE-based imaging system, it is interesting to consider how the precision achieved will depend on the details of the experimental situation, especially source flux available, number and separation of diffraction orders used in the dataset, detector efficiency, etc. This section will develop an analytical solution for the minimum variance bound (MVB [30]; also known as the Cramer–Rao lower bound) in order to assess the accuracy obtainable in a particular experimental situation and thus to optimize instrument design for particular measurement requirements. We will also consider how to scale the calibration variance to allow for different particle fluxes when estimating P(Sj|z). We assume that the DOE introduces no differential aberrations that affect image formation in different diffraction orders, justified on the basis of earlier experimental results [24], and model all aberrations and apertures affecting the images as cylindrically symmetric with respect to the optical axes. Thus, a theoretical image sharpness, 5.1where r is the radial distance in the image plane measured from the axial position associated with the jth DOE diffraction order, ρ is the radial coordinate in the objective lens pupil plane measured from the optical axis, Δj is the DOE-introduced focus change in the jth diffraction order and expressed in wavelength units, z is the focus change measured in waves, induced by the particle axial position relative to a reference plane in which Δ = 0 (assuming, without loss of generality, that Δ0 = 0), k = 2π/λ, φ(ρ) represents other optical defects (e.g. spherical aberration) and A is the disc |ρ|2 ≤ 1, restricting the area of integration to the transparent region of the lens pupil. Thus, a focus change Δ = 1 corresponds to one wave of sag in the objective pupil and z = 1 corresponds to an axial source displacement of 2λ/NA2 (or four times depth of field). Numerical evaluation of equation (5.1) indicates that falls to half its peak value for Δj + z ∼ 0.34, showing that sharpness is a sensitive indicator of focus. For any estimator, the MVB provides a greatest lower bound for the variance of the estimation, irrespective of the algorithm used to invert the data. Thus, the MVB provides a measure of the ability of the data model to discriminate between different values of the parameter to be estimated from data described by that model. The MVB for our problem can be expressed 5.2where the ensemble average is to be taken over data subsets {S1, S2, … , SM} folding in all statistical processes (notably the photon-counting statistics associated with the imaging process considered here) that need to be included in the description of the signal detection and processing. The data vector {S1, S2, … , SM} represents all of the information extracted from the data that will be used in data inversion. Equation (5.2) thus represents the sensitivity of the data {S1, S2, … , SM} to the particle depth—i.e. to the parameter to be estimated. When using an idealized photon-counting detector, the detection model is a Poisson process where μk, the intensity in detector pixel k, may be expressed as the mean photon count rate per data frame. Under these circumstances, it is known [31] that the value of S determined by squaring and summing the detector output is biased but that the bias is easily eliminated, while improving the signal to noise, by subtracting the photon count in each pixel from the square of that count. This bias subtraction ensures that only pixels containing two or more photons contribute to the sharpness (otherwise the sharpness has a floor determined by the mean photon count in the image, irrespective of the severity of aberration). In our system, the DOE acts as both a beam splitter and a focus-changing element, and the relative strength and number of diffraction orders produced (thus number of in-focus planes) depend on the DOE structure. Our DOEs have a single etch depth (thus phase modulation) in a fused-silica substrate, selected such that the energy diffracted into the 0 and ±1 diffraction orders is balanced and equal to approximately 28 per cent of the incident flux (the remaining 16% is lost into higher diffraction orders). Thus, approximately 84 per cent of the incident flux is available in the three diffraction orders used in data analysis. Higher photometric efficiency is achievable through the use of more than a single etch depth (thus for greater expense), and hereafter it will be assumed that the source flux is divided between all diffraction orders without loss. Under these assumptions, each diffraction order contains M−1 of the source flux collected by the objective lens. For a Poisson detection process and pixel means μk, the ensemble-average sharpness from summing the pixel count squared minus the pixel count provides an unbiased estimate of the sharpness associated with the mean image intensity. The variance on the measured S is found to be ([31]; see also the electronic supplementary material) 5.3where n is the total detected flux in all M images and q is the number of detector pixels in each image. The DOE reduces the flux, and thus the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the sharpness measurement per image, but increases the number of images available for measurement, each giving a different S curve as a function of z (see background curves in figure 3). When the flux per image, n/M, is large, the leading term will dominate in equation (5.3). However, the image intensity is normalized, the second term will dominate. The flux at which the contribution from these two terms matches is dependent on the image intensity distribution—at any flux level, there will always be a degree of image defocus beyond which the second term will dominate. From numerical evaluation of equation (5.3) we find that, in the regimes of interest here, for images suffering only defocus aberration, the leading term dominates when more than about 100 photons per image are recorded. Numerical solution of equations (5.1) and (5.3) suggests that, over the depth ranges of interest and at low flux, both S and 5.4 The assumption of gamma-distributed statistics ensures that the modelled sharpness never takes physically impossible negative values. The constant, α, estimated from numerical evaluation of has a value of approximately 2.9. A Gaussian, rather than a gamma distribution, was used in the reduction of experimental data. A Gaussian model leads to an expression equivalent to equation (5.4) with α ⇒1 for n/M ≫ 1, but implies physically impossible negative sharpness values, albeit with low probability. The central-limit theorem suggests that a Gaussian PDF will be valid at high flux, but here we are principally interested in photon-counting measurements at modest flux levels and an intermediate value, α = 2, is adopted hereafter. Equation (5.4) may be used for experiment design to determine, for a given particle flux n per data frame and objective described by a (the z-shift that produces a 0.34 λ change in curvature of the spherical wavefront across the objective aperture), the optimum choices of M and δ, the parameters that determine the DOE design. The derivation of equation (5.4) involves some heuristically justified assumptions (e.g. use of the gamma distribution, use of a Lorentzian shape function), so comparison with experiment, simulation and prior work is useful to provide confidence in its application. Firstly, if a single image plane is chosen (M = 1), the variance on the z-measurement becomes infinite (is singular) when the particle is in focus, z = δ1. This is consistent with prior work, where the source depth is estimated using a parametric fit to the image PSF [9,15]. In essence, the turning point at maximum sharpness, when the image is in focus, provides no depth sensitivity in the measurement. Even away from focus, a single sharpness measure gives a twofold ambiguity in depth estimation unless it is known a priori that the best focus is outside the sample volume. Using more than one in-focus plane resolves the singularity and provides a unique estimation of the depth of the source. Figure 4 shows the MVB estimated from equation (5.4) for three in-focus image planes (M = 3), α = 2 and mean flux of 768 photons (approx. 256 in each image). Note that the curve in figure 4 shows qualitative agreement with the high-flux experimental results in figure 3, in particular the variance minima correspond with the cross-over points in the sharpness curves and the local variance maxima correspond to the positions of the in-focus image planes. The line shows the MVB for sharpness ranging on a point source emitting an average of 768 detected photons distributed between the DOE diffraction orders and evaluated using equation (5.4) with α = 2. The axis labels in micrometres are correct for an objective of NA = 1.26 and wavelength 500 nm. The spacing of the in-focus planes is 0.6 µm and the Lorentzian half-width a = 0.334 µm. The MVB suggests that for the specimen volume between the outermost in-focus planes a measurement uncertainty of approximately 14 nm is obtainable with this level of detected flux. The local peaks in measurement uncertainty correspond accurately with the positions of the in-focus planes. The accuracy will scale inversely with the square of the numerical aperture, so the flux requirements will fall by about 20% for NA = 1.4. The crosses and dots represent r.m.s. errors (as in figure 3) for results from numerical simulations; the dots are taken from the movie data shown in figure 5. Interestingly, provided that one restricts δ ≈ 2a (thus separation between the in-focus planes is comparable to the sharpness full-width half maximum), the mean MVB as expressed by equation (5.4) for z-values within the volume enclosed by the extreme in-focus planes is almost independent of the number of images used. This result may be understood by considering that, although the SNR on each individual sharpness value scales as (n/M)0.5, the number of independent sharpness estimates increases at a rate that compensates for that fall in SNR, provided that all measurements remain within the high-flux regime (more than 100 photons per image). As the available photon flux falls, reducing the image-plane separation to δ approximately a, i.e. close to the depth of field in value, helps to concentrate the available photons and thus to maintain depth-measurement accuracy at the expense of the total depth over which the measurements can be made. Reducing the image-plane separation further offers no useful gain in concentration of the photon flux, reduces sensitivity and reduces the z-range over which measurements are useful. The MVB indicated by equation (5.4) is marginally lower than that indicated by numerical analysis by Ram et al. [15], and processing of the images to obtain sharpness values cannot add extra information. However, the MVB is indicative of the least variance that the inversion of the data can yield, based on a model of the sensitivity of that data to changes in the parameter to be estimated. Differences in the model details used for evaluation of the MVB are potentially important here. However, the benefit of a formula that is easily evaluated for different experimental designs is substantial compared with a need to re-evaluate the MVB through numerical integration for each different case, provided that that formula gives satisfactory results. 6. Numerical simulations The approximations used above deliver a simple formula for the MVB, but the validity of several of the approximations used has been justified only on heuristic grounds. For this reason, a series of simulations based on the numerically calculated intensity distribution in the images has been used to test the fidelity of equation (5.4). This is important to establish that the results of equation (5.4) can be used to optimize experimental systems for real-world compromises. The numerical simulations were based on a diffraction-limited optical system in which the integral in equation (5.1) was evaluated to give the image intensity as a function of distance from the image centre. This intensity distribution was interpolated onto a Nyquist-sampled rectangular grid and the resulting ‘pixel intensities’ were used as the mean for the Poisson process associated with the photon count in each detector pixel. The total number of photons counted in any given ‘frame’ was also Poisson distributed. Simulated calibration data, in the form of 50 statistically independent ‘data frames’ generated with the same mean flux levels, were used to estimate for ML algorithm PDF variation with source depth (details in the electronic supplementary material). The algorithm implemented to determine z from {S1, S2, S3} is the same as that used to analyse the experimental data. The ML solutions are shown as points and crosses in figure 4 for 768 detected photons distributed over the three images in each data frame and may be compared with the MVB estimations, from equation (5.4), with α = 2, in that figure. Finally, as a test of the interpolations between calibration points in the ML algorithm, a ‘movie’ of an unresolved particle was simulated to provide ‘data frames’ corresponding to a smoothed pseudo-random motion in z over the range −0.33 µm < z < 0.44 µm. For each particle position, the image PSF was recalculated from equation (5.1), interpolated onto the detector pixel grid and the appropriate mean photon count per pixel evaluated. A series of 50 ‘movies’ was generated using these mean values to determine the photon count per pixel in each movie data frame. These data were provided blind to the individual (H.I.C.D.) doing the data inversion. The results for the ML estimation of the particle position in z are shown in figure 5, together with the true solution. No smoothing was applied to the frame-by-frame (i.e. time history) solutions from these movies, so the grey area is indicative of the instantaneous uncertainty in the z-estimate when only a single frame can be recorded on a fast-moving particle. The z-solution variance from these simulated measurements is 5 × 10−4 µm2 (s.d. 22 nm) compared with a prediction from equation (5.4) of 2 × 10−4 µm2 (10 nm). Smoothing over several data frames can improve the accuracy [3]. Actual position (line) and ML solution spread to the 1σ level (grey area) for a simulated movie of a particle on a smoothed random trajectory. The ‘time’ axis represents 100 simulated frames of data with an average of 768 detected photons per frame distributed between the three in-focus images (approx. 256 per image). A total of 50 movies were simulated and no smoothing has been applied to the solutions, so the grey area represents the scatter on the ML z estimates obtained from single data frames. In real measurements, and in the smoothed trajectory used in the simulation, the particle depth in consecutive frames must be correlated at some level, thus smoothing the time sequence of z estimates could have been used to reduce the spread in solutions. The unsmoothed variance from these movies is shown by the dots in figure 4. 7. Results and discussion The particle-tracking technique presented here has been developed with the objective of tracking objects such as vesicles [32] and single proteins [33] in live-cell microscopy. The algorithm requires two or more simultaneous images of the specimen that are focused on different depths within the specimen, and a simple, inexpensive optical attachment to capture three such images simultaneously from a standard biological microscope has been demonstrated. Experimental results (figure 3) indicate that a depth accuracy of approximately 10 nm has been achieved on an IX71 microscope, using high flux levels with a monochromatic signal and a standard 12-bit CCD. These results, the MVB analysis and the numerical simulations presented here all indicate that the multi-focus sharpness technique can give depth resolution of 20 nm or better in samples greater than 4 µm thick, with realistic flux levels and with an experimentally simple system. Flux levels used in the experimental measurements are unknown but are probably greater than 106 photons per image; however, the accuracy of depth reconstruction from these data is limited by the CCD bit depth. The resolutions obtained by this and similar techniques greatly exceed conventional resolution limits, but all such techniques exploit a priori information, and it has long been understood that this allows one to exceed conventional resolution criteria if a good SNR is available [34]. According to equation (5.4) a detected photon flux of approximately 3000 photons is required to deliver the 5 nm accuracy shown in vesicle tracking [3] and approximately 107 detected photons is required to achieve the approximately 0.1 nm accuracy needed to resolve a base pair in molecular studies. This flux is easily compatible with that available in laser-tweezing measurements [35] and, for a given experimental requirement, there are four free parameters that can be manipulated to optimize the measurement system (detected flux, number and separation of the in-focus planes, NA of the objective). However, fluorescent tags in live-cell biology generally provide strictly limited photon flux in order to minimize phototoxicity effects. Equation (5.4) suggests that approximately 10 nm accuracy can be achieved with count rates of approximately 1000 detected photons, indicating that the method will work with faint sources. These accuracies are comparable to those shown by Aguet et al. [9] and Ram et al. [15]; however, no detailed model of the imaging PSF is required in our approach. Interferometric techniques [11,12] by iPALM (interferometric photo-activated localization microscopy) offer a somewhat better accuracy, but the physically separate optical paths between specimen and interferometric beam combination mean that such techniques are challenging to implement without careful environmental control, including vibration isolation, and are probably not suitable for most microscopy laboratories. By comparison, the method discussed here, like [3,13,21], uses a simple system suitable for use with existing microscopes and cameras, not requiring stabilization and costing less than $5000 to build (most of which is the cost of packaging to exclude stray light—the DOEs cost $125 each). In the case of the double-helix method [21], a simple DOE can replace the more expensive spatial-light modulator and in many respects that optical scheme and the one described here differ principally in the DOE design. The DOE multi-focus technique described has already been realized using spatial light modulators [36]. Sharpness tracking does not depend on the use of a DOE to achieve multi-focus imaging—a system employing beam splitters or other approaches is equally capable of delivering the requisite multi-focus data with magnification or amplitude-splitting errors subsumed within the experimental calibration. For application to depth measurement in image fields containing many particles, one must recognize that most techniques will have degraded performance if particle images overlap. Methods where this is an issue include PALM-based techniques [1,2,11], two-colour fluorescence in the context of single-molecule detection [37], the double-helix PSF [21] and the method described here. For all of these methods, the implications of the density of particles need to be considered. Image overlap might appear to be more of a problem with the deliberately defocused images used here, but, in most cases, at least two of the images are quite compact and the third image contributes relatively little to the z-determination but contributes to the depth range over which measurements can be made. In respect of the method described here, reducing the image-plane separation to the depth of field, i.e. δ approximately a, makes the images compact, virtually eliminates any overlap not already present in a diffraction-limited image of the specimen and extends the flux range over which the high-flux noise term dominates in equation (5.3)—these benefits are obtained at the expense of the range over which the particle depth may be accurately tracked. Reducing the image-plane separation below this value does not assist in controlling image overlap and sacrifices both accuracy and range for depth determination. The specific consequences of such compromises can be assessed using equation (5.4). It may also be noted that the experimental data in figure 3 show unequal sharpness maxima in the different diffraction orders (background curves). The highest sharpness peak is consistently found to be associated with the in-focus image plane that is physically closest to the objective lens and the detected flux falls for sources positioned at greater depth. We thus attribute the variation in peak height principally to varying amounts of spherical aberration as a result of the immersion of the source in different depths of fluid. This highlights a particularly useful feature of the sharpness-based approach—one does not require a precise model of the optical system, the data reduction can be calibrated from experimental data, as was the case with the measurements presented here. Equation (5.3) provides a power law for scaling flux-dependent calibration PDF variance and it has been shown that this variance can be pragmatically tuned to accommodate instrumental drifts in order to obtain useful, if less accurate, depth tracking. As noted elsewhere [15], few algorithms achieve the MVB, and we believe that further refinements in the probability models (e.g. to include both terms in equation (5.3)) will improve the depth accuracy shown in figures 3–5. In particular, such refinements may be expected significantly to improve algorithm performance at low flux and in the regions where the second term in equation (5.3) begins to dominate the noise. We believe that such improvements will ensure that the algorithm effectively achieves the calculated MVB. To achieve optimum results will require the use of spatially resolving photon-counting cameras such as those developed within the Megaframe project ( (accessed on 18 December 2009)) and the use of such a CMOS camera offers the opportunity to subsume the sharpness calculation into the camera electronics for real-time application. Finally, we note that the sharpness-ranging concept should be valid for application to extended incoherent source fields, either by collecting calibration data from similar-sized objects or by convolution of calibration data acquired on unresolved particles. In this respect, we note that the method shares a wavefront-sensing background with the ‘quantitative phase imaging’ approach ( (accessed on 18 December 2009)). Acknowledgements We acknowledge Kirsten Lillie's assistance in testing prototype instruments with biological specimens. The MCL translation stage was on loan from Optophase SA (Lyon, France) for assessment purposes. We are grateful for constructive referee comments. This work has been funded by the UK Science and Technologies Facilities Council. Mathematical discussion with G.J.G. was supported by an interdisciplinary ‘Bridging the Gaps’ grant from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. - Received September 16, 2010. - Accepted December 7, 2010. - This Journal is © 2011 The Royal Society This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Luke 18 English Standard Version The Parable of the Persistent Widow 1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. (Lu 11:5; Lu 21:36; Ro 12:12; 2Co 4:1; 2Co 4:16; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; 1Th 5:17; 2Th 3:13)(Lu 11:5; Lu 21:36; Ro 12:12; 2Co 4:1; 2Co 4:16; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; 1Th 5:17; 2Th 3:13) 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. (2Co 8:21)(2Co 8:21) 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, (Lu 11:8)(Lu 11:8)? (Ps 88:1; Isa 63:4; Mr 13:20; Ro 8:33; Col 3:12; Tit 1:1; Jas 5:7; 2Pe 3:9; Re 6:10)(Ps 88:1; Isa 63:4; Mr 13:20; Ro 8:33; Col 3:12; Tit 1:1; Jas 5:7; 2Pe 3:9; Re 6:10) 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Mt 24:12; Lu 17:26; Heb 10:37)(Mt 24:12; Lu 17:26; Heb 10:37)The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: (Pr 30:12; Isa 65:5; Mt 5:20; Lu 16:15; Joh 7:48; 2Co 1:9)(Pr 30:12; Isa 65:5; Mt 5:20; Lu 16:15; Joh 7:48; 2Co 1:9) 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. (2Ki 20:5; 2Ki 20:8; Lu 18:14; Ac 3:1)(2Ki 20:5; 2Ki 20:8; Lu 18:14; Ac 3:1) 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[1] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. (Mt 6:5; Mr 11:25; Re 3:17)(Mt 6:5; Mr 11:25; Re 3:17) 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ (Mt 9:14; Lu 11:42)(Mt 9:14; Lu 11:42) 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Ezr 9:6; Ps 79:9; Eze 16:63; Da 9:19; Lu 18:11; Lu 23:48)(Ezr 9:6; Ps 79:9; Eze 16:63; Da 9:19; Lu 18:11; Lu 23:48) 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lu 14:11)(Lu 14:11)Let the Children Come to Me 15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (Mt 19:13; Mr 10:13; Lu 18:39)(Mt 19:13; Mr 10:13; Lu 18:39) 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (Mt 18:3; Mr 9:39)(Mt 18:3; Mr 9:39) 17)The Rich Ruler 18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mt 19:16; Mt 25:34; Mr 10:17; Lu 10:25)(Mt 19:16; Mt 25:34; Mr 10:17; Lu 10:25) 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” (Ex 20:12; De 5:16; Mt 5:21; Mt 5:27; Ro 13:9)(Ex 20:12; De 5:16; Mt 5:21; Mt 5:27; Ro 13:9) 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” (Php 3:6)(Php 3:6) 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mt 6:19; Lu 12:33; Lu 16:9; Lu 19:8; Ac 2:45; Ac 4:34; 1Ti 6:18)(Mt 6:19; Lu 12:33; Lu 16:9; Lu 19:8; Ac 2:45; Ac 4:34; 1Ti 6:18) 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. (Eze 33:31)(Eze 33:31) 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! (Mt 12:28; Mt 13:22; 1Co 1:26)(Mt 12:28; Mt 13:22; 1Co 1:26) 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Lu 18:24)(Lu 18:24) 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Ge 18:14; Job 42:2; Jer 32:17; Jer 32:27; Lu 1:37)(Ge 18:14; Job 42:2; Jer 32:17; Jer 32:27; Lu 1:37) 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” (Mt 4:20; Mt 4:22; Mr 1:18; Mr 1:20)(Mt 4:20; Mt 4:22; Mr 1:18; Mr 1:20) 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers[2] or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, (Lu 14:26)(Lu 14:26) 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Job 42:10; Mt 6:33; Mt 12:32; Lu 20:35; Eph 1:21)(Job 42:10; Mt 6:33; Mt 12:32; Lu 20:35; Eph 1:21)Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time 31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. (Mt 1:22; Mt 20:17; Mt 26:24; Mr 10:32; Lu 9:51)(Mt 1:22; Mt 20:17; Mt 26:24; Mr 10:32; Lu 9:51) 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. (Mt 26:67; Mt 27:2; Mt 27:26; Mr 14:65; Mr 15:19; Joh 18:30; Ac 2:23; Ac 3:13; Ac 4:27; Ac 21:11)(Mt 26:67; Mt 27:2; Mt 27:26; Mr 14:65; Mr 15:19; Joh 18:30; Ac 2:23; Ac 3:13; Ac 4:27; Ac 21:11) 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” (Lu 9:22)(Lu 9:22) 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. (Mr 9:32; Lu 9:45; Lu 24:16)(Mr 9:32; Lu 9:45; Lu 24:16)Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. (Mt 20:29; Mr 10:46; Joh 9:1; Joh 9:8)(Mt 20:29; Mr 10:46; Joh 9:1; Joh 9:8) 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” (Mt 2:23)(Mt 2:23) 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mt 1:1; Mt 9:27)(Mt 1:1; Mt 9:27) 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Lu 18:15)(Lu 18:15) 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” (Mr 10:36)(Mr 10:36) 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” (Mt 9:22; Mr 5:34; Lu 7:3; Lu 7:50; Lu 8:36; Lu 8:48; Lu 8:50; Lu 17:19)(Mt 9:22; Mr 5:34; Lu 7:3; Lu 7:50; Lu 8:36; Lu 8:48; Lu 8:50; Lu 17:19) 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Lu 7:16; Lu 13:13; Lu 19:37)(Lu 7:16; Lu 13:13; Lu 19:37)

Friday, April 30, 2010 Nnenna Lynch: 1993 NCAA Woman of the Year, Rhodes Scholar, NCAA Champion Click on image to read the article from People magazine in 1994. Posted by BC at 11:05 AM Thursday, April 29, 2010 Curtis & Blincoe in Loaded 10,000 at Stanford Here is the start list for the top section of the 10,000 meters at this weekend's Payton Jordan meet at Stanford. Bobby Curtis has a 10,000 PR of 28:06.74 from 2008, while Adrian Blincoe (the New Zealand national record holder at 5000 meters) has yet to run a high profile 10,000. Jen Rhines has also declared in both the 1500 and 10,000 on the woman's side. Event 21 Men 10000 Meter Run Kim McDonald ====================================================== Name Year School ====================================================== 1 202 Mike Aish Melbourne Tr 2 300 Simon Bairu Nike/Kimbia 3 20 Scott Bauhs Adidas 4 336 Shadrack Biwott Otc 5 203 Adrian Blincoe Melbourne Tr 6 184 Boaz Cheboiywo Kimbia 7 192 Sam Chelanga Liberty 8 17 Alistair Cragg adidas 9 204 Robert Curtis Melbourne Tr 10 441 Anthony Famiglietti Saucony 11 205 Shawn Forrest Melbourne Tr 12 21 Brett Gotcher Adidas 13 301 Jason Hartmann Nike/Kimbia 14 706 David Jankowski Zap Fitness 15 651 Mark Kenneally Unattached 16 175 Takeshi Makabe Kanebo 17 654 Brian Medigovich Unattached 18 528 Josh Moen Team Usa Mn/ 19 302 Tim Nelson Nike/Kimbia 20 356 Sean Quigley Puma/Kimbia 21 659 Galen Rupp Unattached 22 720 Daniel Salel Kenya 23 294 Patrick Smyth Nike 24 662 Chris Solinsky Nike/Kimbia 25 379 Kensuke Takezawa S&B 26 339 Chris Thompson OTC 27 303 Brent Vaughn Nike/Kimbia 28 22 Andy Vernon Adidas Posted by BC at 8:21 PM Happy Birthday Jim Ryun Today. Posted by BC at 8:44 AM Monday, April 26, 2010 Sean Tully Close to Breaking 4:00 in OD Mile Posted by BC at 11:25 AM Rhines 5th at Brutus Hamilton 3000 Jen Posted by BC at 11:03 AM Labels: video Friday, April 23, 2010 Villanova Men 2nd in DMR The Posted by BC at 4:23 PM Posted by BC at 4:12 PM Posted by BC at 8:54 PM Lipari Beats Cuffe over 3000 meters at Penn Vill Posted by BC at 7:41 PM VU Women 3rd in Penn Relays DMR At the NCAA Indoor Championships, it was Tennessee -- Oregon -- Georgetown -- Villanova; today at the Penn Relays DMR, Villanova moved up to 3rd, but Tennessee and Oregon were 1-2 again. The race was over after Phoebe Wright's 2:02 800 leg. Tennessee's time was the #8 DMR of all time: The all-time world list in the women's distance medley 10:48.38 Villanova 4/28/88 10:50.51 Tennessee 4/24/08 10:50.98i Tennessee 3/13/09 10:53.27 Villanova 4/26/84 10:53.37 Villanova 4/29/89 10:54.08 Tennessee 4/26/90 10:54.34i Villanova 1/30/88 10:54.65 Tennessee 4/22/10 10:55.46 Villanova 4/23/87 10:56.19i North Carolina 3/13/09 College Women's Distance Medley Championship of America Event 61 Thursday 5:35 PM Records NR Villanova 10:48.38 1988 Kathy Franey (3:21.0), Michelle Bennett (52.8), Celeste Halliday (2:04.7), Vicki Huber (4:29.9) AR Villanova 10:48.38 1988 Kathy Franey (3:21.0), Michelle Bennett (52.8), Celeste Halliday (2:04.7), Vicki Huber (4:29.9) PR Villanova 10:48.38 1988 Kathy Franey (3:21.0), Michelle Bennett (52.8), Celeste Halliday (2:04.7), Vicki Huber (4:29.9) FF Villanova 10:48.38 1988 Kathy Franey (3:21.0), Michelle Bennett (52.8), Celeste Halliday (2:04.7), Vicki Huber (4:29.9) Results PL School/Affiliation Mark Athletes ID 1 Tennessee 10:54.65 Brittany Sheffey (3:21.63), Ellen Wortham (52.64), Phoebe Wright (2:02.12), Jackie Areson (4:38.26) AA 2 Oregon 11:02.85 Jordan Hasay (3:23.32), Keshia Baker (51.25), Anne Kesselring (2:06.21), Nicole Blood (4:42.07) AB 3 Villanova 11:07.42 Nicole Schappert (3:22.68), Christie Verdier (55.46), Ellen Dougherty (2:09.18), Sheila Reid (4:40.10) AC 4 Wake Forest 11:13.56 Anna Nosenko (3:28.56), Gwen Ricco (57.08), Molly Binder (2:10.32), Dina Nosenko (4:37.60) AK 5 Duke 11:14.13 Esther Vermeer (3:30.15), Cydney Ross (54.73), Devotia Moore (2:10.68), Kate Van Buskirk (4:38.57) AJ 6 Boston College 11:16.02 Jillian King (3:29.88), Anna Cioffredi (57.52), Caitlin Bailey (2:08.79), Caroline King (4:39.83) AG 7 Indiana 11:16.17 Molly Beckwith (3:21.03), Lindsey Hartman (55.82), Arianne Raby (2:12.58), Chelsea Blanchard (4:46.74) AH 8 Arkansas 11:17.94 Stephanie Brown (3:26.29), Karen Thomas (53.45), Samantha Learch (2:09.76), Kristen Gillespie (4:48.44) AF 9 Georgetown 11:19.27 Avril Ogrodnick (3:30.38), Abigail Johnson (54.44), Rachel Schneider (2:08.49), Christine Whalen (4:45.96) AD 10 Columbia 11:19.47 Jackie Drouin (3:27.36), Sharay Hale (52.77), Serita Lachesis (2:08.85), Caroline McDonough (4:50.49) AN 11 Penn State 11:26.54 Bridget Franek (3:25.60), Megan Duncan (55.32), Caitlin Lane (2:09.98), Cheryl Spring (4:55.64) AI 12 Maine 11:36.67 Jordan Daniel (3:33.59), Cearha Miller (56.76), Vanessa Letourneau (2:15.50), Corey Conner (4:50.82) AM 13 UConn 11:40.61 Leah Andrianos (3:27.78), Brigitte Mania (57.72), Heather Wilson (2:10.53), Christine Vogel (5:04.58) Track and Field Videos on Flotrack Posted by BC at 6:00 PM Wednesday, April 21, 2010 Bobby Curtis Featured on HS Alumni Magazine Cover Click above on this post's title to read the Bobby Curtis article in the current issue of his high school's alumni magazine. Posted by BC at 10:36 AM Villanova Schedule of Events at Penn Relays SCHEDULED EVENTS FOR VILLANOVA ATHLETES: 2010 PENN RELAYS College Men's 4x400 Heats Event 155 Friday, 4:40 PM College Men's 4x800 Championship of America Event 254 Saturday, 4:20 PM College Men's 4xMile Championship of America Event 225 Saturday, 1:00 PM College Men's Distance Medley Championship of America Event 151 Friday, 4:00 PM College Men's 3000m Steeplechase Championship Event 70 Thursday, 7:45 PM Hugo Beamish (20) College Men's 5000m Championship Event 79 Thursday, 9:35 PM Hugo Beamish (20) Brian Long (44) Matthew Kane (46) Daniel Lewis (48) Robert Papazian (75) Keith Capecci (78) College Men's 400m Hurdles Championship Event 86 Friday, 9:00 AM Stefan Goodridge (39) Nicoy Hines (57) College Men's High Jump Eastern Event 291 Friday, 10:00 AM Albert Darling (51) College Men's Triple Jump Eastern Event 312 Saturday, 9:00 AM Robert Sainvil (65) College Women's 4x100 Heats Event 12 Thursday, 1:05 PM College Women's 4x400 Heats Event 63 Thursday, 6:05 PM College Women's 4x800 Championship of America Event 234 Saturday, 1:55 PM College Women's 4x1500 Championship of America Event 126 Friday, 1:30 PM College Women's Distance Medley Championship of America Event 61 Thursday, 5:35 PM College Women's 3000m Championship Event 76 Thursday, 8:45 PM Alison Smith (2) Sarah Morrison (32) College Women's 5000m Championship Event 77 Thursday, 8:55 PM Amanda Marino (15) Kaitlyn Tallman (33) College Women's 100m Hurdles Heats Event 138 Friday, 3:50 PM Shericka Ward (22) College Women's 400m Hurdles Championship Event 3 Thursday, 10:00 AM Kristen Mahon (41) College Women's High Jump Eastern Event 269 Thursday, 10:00 AM Audrey Gariepy-Bogui (59) College Women's Pole Vault Championship Event 284 Thursday, 3:00 PM Ashlyn Llerandi (7) Posted by BC at 9:28 AM VU-Bound Bohi to Run 400 IH at Penn Relays B." Posted by BC at 9:15 AM Monday, April 19, 2010 Preview of the Women's Distance Relays at Penn Relays PHIL). Posted by BC at 9:40 PM Muncan & Koons Run Well at BAA Mile Running on a 500 meter loop in Boston, ex-Cats Marina Muncan and Frances Koons ran well at the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) mile. Conditions were wet and the times for both the men's and women's races were slow (as evidence, Andy Baddeley won the men's mile in 4:08). Here are the results of the women's race: BAA Invitational Mile 1 Uceny, Morgan USA 4:43.0 2 Hall, Sara USA 4:43.7 3 Muncan, Marina SBR 4:44.8 4 Donohue, Erin USA 4:46.6 5 Koons, Frances USA 4:47.1 6 McGettigan, Roisin IRL 4:59.3 Posted by BC at 12:24 AM Sunday, April 18, 2010 Princeton's Larry Ellis Meet Produces PRs Plenty. Posted by BC at 12:28 PM Labels: Meet Report VU Men at Penn Relays Considering. Posted by BC at 11:48 AM Saturday, April 17, 2010 Bobby Curtis after 13:31 at Mt SAC 5000 Bobby led for much of the latter portion of the race, until being passed in the the final 150 meters. The winner ran 13:24, with Curtis finishing tenth in 13:31.50. Here are the race video and the official results: Track and Field Videos on Flotrack 1 Dan Huling Reebok 13:24.72 2 Brent Vaughn Nike 13:26.05 3 Diego Alberto Borrego Mexico 13:27.26 4 Brandon Bethke Arizona State 13:27.83 5 Andy Vernon adidas 13:28.60 6 Brian Medigovich Unattached 13:29.16 7 Scott Bauhs adidas 13:29.18 8 Elliott Heath Stanford 13:29.75 9 Yuta Takahashi S&B TC Japan 13:31.37 10 Robert Curtis Melbourne TC 13:31.50 11 Lee Emanuel New Mexico 13:31.56 12 Chris Derrick Stanford 13:31.67 13 Tiidrek Nurme Estonia 13:31.87 14 Kyle Perry New Balance 13:34.86 15 Brian Olinger Reebok 13:35.03 16 Jeremy Johnson Brooks Team 13:35.13 17 Samuel Kosgei Lamar 13:35.75 18 Chris Barnicle New Mexico 13:36.02 19 Kevin Chelimo OTC 13:37.55 20 Justin Tyner Air Force 13:37.66 21 John Beattie Tulsa 13:42.03 22 John Kosgei Oklahoma State 13:42.17 23 Colby Lowe Oklahoma State 13:42.60 24 Philipp Bandi Unattached 13:44.75 25 Jason Hartmann Nike 13:46.00 26 Diego Estrada Northern Arizona 13:49.35 27 Christopher Clark NYAC/PUMA 13:51.21 28 Joe Macdonald Butler 13:52.07 29 Jordan Fife Brooks Team 13:54.05 30 Reuben Mwei Adams State 13:54.26 31 Scott Smith UC Santa Barbara 13:56.72 32 Mike Sayenko Strands 13:57.43 33 Michael Skinner Great Britain 14:04.47 34 Patrick Mellea Bryn Mawr Ru 14:30.71 -- Sean Houseworth U.S. Air Force DNF -- Boaz Cheboiywo Nike DNF Posted by BC at 7:58 AM Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Jen Rhines & Bobby Curtis to run Mt Sac Elite 5000 On Friday in Walnut, California ex-NCAA 5000 champions for Villanova Jen Rhines and Bobby Curtis will compete in the elite invitational 5000 meter races at the Mt. Sac Relays. Both the men's and women's races are stacked with talent and, if history is repeated, the races will produce some fast times. Curtis has a 5000 meter PR of 13:25.66 (2008), and Rhines PR'd in 2006 in 14:54.29. Posted by BC at 10:06 PM Men's Performance Lists to Date Here is where the men sit currently on the NCAA descending order lists. There is not much to show since very few of the top men have run at their competitive distances. 400 meter hurdles national leader = 49.52 52. Stefan Goodridge 52.37 Here are the top Villanova marks by event: 100m: Lynch, Michael SR-4 10.99 200m: Lynch, Michael SR-4 21.70 400m: Bowers, Carlton FR-1 48.62 800m: Apwah, Jason JR-3 1:53.43 1,500m: Harper, Cody JR-3 3:53.12 5,000m: Long, Brian JR-3 14:29.39 400m H: Goodridge, Stefan JR-3 52.37 3,000m Steeple: Lewis, Daniel SR-4 8:56.00 4 x 400m: Relay: Kroner, Hines, Kearney, Bowers 3:12.67 High Jump: Darling, Albert FR-1 2.01m Long Jump: Tiant, Lazaro FR-1 6.46m Triple Jump: Sainvil, Robert JR-3 14.52m Shot Put: Anuszewski, Frank SO-2 13.85m Discus Throw: Ratigan, Matt SR-4 37.80m Hammer Throw: Anuszewski, Frank SO-2 45.78m Javelin: Anuszewski, Frank SO-2 46.27m Posted by BC at 1:32 PM Women's Performance Lists to Date Here is where the Villanova women stand today on the NCAA outdoor descending order lists: 100 meter hurdles national leader = 12.65 17. Shericka Ward 13:39 200 meters national leader = 22.92 28. Shericka Ward 23.74 400 meter hurdles national leader = 56:06 71. Kristen Mahon 1:00.84 1500 meters national leader = 4:12.80 22. Sheila Reid 4:20.68 45. Bogdana Mimic 4:24.36 53. Ariann Neutts 4:25.36 54. Nicole Schappert 4:25.44 61. Brooke Simpson 4:26.01 93. Ali Smith 4:28.70 3000 meters national leader = 9:18.29 17. Amanda Marino 9:45.08 43. Kaitlyn Tallman 9:57.20 3000 meter steeple national leader = 10:03.81 21. Ali Smith 10:34.34 5000 meters national leader = 15:51.56 14. Bogdana Mimic 16:22.81 Here are the top women's marks per event: 100m: Ray, Leah FR-1 12.57 200m: Ward, Shericka SO-2 23.74 400m: Verdier, Christie SO-2 55.97 800m: Reid, Sheila SO-2 2:10.89 1,500m: Reid, Sheila SO-2 4:20.68 3,000m: Marino, Amanda JR-3 9:45.08 5,000m: Mimic, Bogdana FR-1 16:22.81 100m H: Ward, Shericka SO-2 13.39 400m H: Mahon, Kristen JR-3 1:00.84 3,000m Steeple: Smith, Alison JR-3 10:34.34 4 x 400m Relay: Mahon, Verdier, Browne, Dunbar 3:49.56 High Jump: Gariepy-Bogui, Audrey JR-3 1.72m Pole Vault: Llerandi, Ashlyn JR-3 4.00m Long Jump: Reijula, Erica JR-3 5.60m Triple Jump: Minasi, Marie FR-1 11.29m Hammer Throw: Arduini, Julia SO-2 34.00m Javelin: Arduini, Julia SO-2 42.33m Posted by BC at 1:21 PM Penn Relays Looming Posted by BC at 11:17 AM Wednesday, April 7, 2010 DMR World Record 1976 On February 7, 1976 the Villanova DMR team of Mark Belger, Glenn Bogue, Phil "Tiny" Kane, and Eamonn Coghlan set a world record in the distance medley relay, running 9:38.4 at the Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville, Kentucky. The main competition in the race came from the Florida Track Club quartet of Steve Foster, Reggie Clark, Jim Redd, and Byron Dyce. The photo above is from the 1977 Mason-Dixon Games program and shows Dyce and Coghlan starting their mile leg (the race was competed in yards, not meters) in a virtual tie. Despite getting beaten by the Villanova squad, the FTC team also dipped under the existing world record. At the NCAA indoor meet that year, Coghlan would win his second national indoor title in the mile and Mark Belger would win over 1000 yards. Belger would take the 880 yards titles in both 1977 and 1978. Posted by BC at 2:08 PM Monday, April 5, 2010 New Baby Rejuvenates Carrie Tollefson Pregnancy Rejuvenates Olympian Carrie Tollefson By: Kristine Smith, Running USA wire Three-time national champion eyes 2012 Olympics as a new mother After frustrating injuries, and her first drop from a race in 2009, Olympian Carrie Tollefson and her husband Charlie Peterson decided the "off year" was the right time for her body to take on a new challenge. They are expecting their first baby in early April [editor's note: daughter Ruby Anne Peterson was born Thursday, April 1], and Tollefson said of her pregnancy "My body has never felt better, my mind is rejuvenated, and we have the most wonderful thing happening to us." Tollefson said in a recent interview her pace on the roads is slower, but her work on the underwater treadmill, the increased rest and land training that includes lifting two to three times per week, agility training and 3-6 mile "jogs" on a regular treadmill are keeping her pregnancy healthy, and building her fitness as she works toward her goal to make the 2012 Olympic team. "I know this [baby] is going to change my life in a big way, but it doesn't change my passion for the sport. I have always been one who loves the challenge and think having this addition in my life will only make me focus and appreciate it more," she said. "I run probably four days a week in addition to my other workouts. I am very in tune with my heart rate and, most importantly, my body temperature. From everyone [medical and training experts] that I have talked with, and who has studied training during pregnancy, the most important thing is not to overheat." The new mom already spends time with kids each summer. The Carrie Tollefson Training Camp is a running camp geared toward 7-12th grade students, held at St. Catherine University, in St. Paul, Minnesota, July 8-11. Post-delivery, Tollefson, 33, says she will figure out the balance it takes to be a great parent and an athlete. "If that means running at 5:00am and 7:00pm, I will do it. I am so inspired by all of the runners that get it done while having kids...one can never give up and we have to 'get after it' both on the track and off. That is what I am going to do again now after the baby...enjoy every minute of becoming a mom and I have every intention of getting back on top of my game." In 1999, Tollefson was named NCAA Indoor track athlete of the year and was the first person in NCAA history to win both the 3000 and 5000 meters in the same year. Now an Olympian and three-time national champion, she lives and trains in her home state of Minnesota, where she and husband Charlie look forward to raising their first baby. Posted by BC at 9:58 PM Sunday, April 4, 2010 Curtis Photos from World Cross in Poland Posted by BC at 3:36 PM Saturday, April 3, 2010 Colonial Relays @ William & Mary At the Colonial Relays hosted by the College of William & Mary, several Wildcats posted impressive times. Bogdana Mimic (pictured above) won the 5000 meters by 33 seconds in 16:22.81, the 9th fastest time in the NCAA so far this outdoor season. Her teammate Ariann Neutts pictured below), known primarily as an 800 meter specialist, moved up to 1500 and won in an impressive 4:25.36, the 12th best outdoor time in the NCAA. Two Villanova women set meet and stadium records. Ali Smith won the 3000 meter steeple in 10:34.34, placing hert 12th on the NCAA performance list. Vaulter Ashlyn Llerandi, VU's school record holder, got over a 4.00 meter bar and won the event. Other noteworthy results: Brooke Simpson was 4th in the 1500 in 4:2.75, Sarah Morrison, Kaitlin O'Sullivan, and Meaghan Smith went 5-9-10 in the 3000 meter steeple. The 4 x 800 teams of Browne-Mimic-Simpson-Neutts came second narrowly. On th e men's side, Dan Lewis was second in the 3000 steeple, in 8:56.00. Posted by BC at 3:42 PM Thursday, April 1, 2010 Sean Tully has Olympic Dreams Sean Tully: Back on Track and Hungry for The Olympics former Syosset High track star has found balance, and with that, success By Josh Stewart March 31, 2010 Villanova taught Sean Tully how to be an engineer, but his greatest lesson on structural wear and tear didn't take place in a classroom. The former Syosset High School track star can look back now and see where he went wrong. But a professional career that could culminate at the 2012 Olympic Games almost ended before it started, until he realized that even for the most dedicated among us, sometimes less is more. "I ran really, really well my sophomore year, [surpassed personal records] by a lot and all of a sudden I thought, 'I'm going to be going places,'" Tully says of his time with the Wildcats. When a person turns getting cut from the high school basketball team as a sophomore into teaming to set a national record in the 4x800 relay as a senior, why not aim high? (The mammoth 2005 Penn Relays plaque and accompanying photo of Tully, his twin brother Dan, Adam Lampert, Chris Howell and Coach Bart Sessa is the highlight of the Syosset High trophy display.) "I got way too excited about it," Tully says of the early college success, drawing out the "way" for a couple of seconds to make a point. "And that summer in my base training, I basically was just destroying myself running way too hard on all of my runs." He couldn't stop running, even as he was running himself into the ground. Tully even competed in a couple of cross country meets for Villanova, which he now understands doesn't translate into track success. "Running under six-minute miles on a 12-mile run on what's supposed to be an easy day, that's going to come back to get you," Tully says with a chuckle. The result was a wasted junior year and a totally different strategy as a senior, which included more chilling and less charging during the summer. A sixth-placed finish in the '09 NCAA Championships in the 800m followed by a 12th at the U.S. Nationals confirmed that he was literally back on track. Emboldened by that performance and curious where he would have been had he not lost so much momentum his junior year, he has put aside his engineering career to go the route of a fledging professional runner. He doesn't make Usain Bolt money, but is sponsored by the New York Athletic Club. And he admits he's lucky to be able to work a few months a year for his dad and uncles' company, Tully Construction, before going back to Villanova to work out with his college coach, Marcus O'Sullivan. ("There's not many jobs you can come to in September and say, 'Hey, I'm going to up and leave in January.'") Nothing's getting him down right now--not even the meet trip to Nigeria where the athletes had their passports collected, and their promised visas hadn't shown up nearly three days later. "If someone wanted to ask for my papers, I didn't know what would have happened," Tully says. Maybe in a few years his face will be a little more recognizable. Posted by BC at 7:53 PM Footage from World Cross No pun intended. Curtis visible in first portion. Posted by BC at 12:58 PM Posts (Atom)

Suicide: it is the act of killings oneself. With suicide being the leading cause of violent death in the United States and, “data-based projections suggest that the number of self-inflicted deaths will increase by as much as 50 percent from 2002 to 2030,” (Nock et al., 2008) society can no longer afford to remain silent about suicide. Yet, even with such alarming predictions indicated by these statistics, it seems suicide is a topic that seems only to reluctantly capture the public’s attention and only when a police wellness check[1] goes awry or the suicide happens concurrently with a homicide. Then discussions on prevention and intervention may briefly find their way into news segments or public service announcements, but action rarely occurs before the topic loses interest and abandoned, suicide does not come up again until the next incident occurs and so the cycle continues. Although in America suicide bears a mark of shame, its role in other cultures has complex roots that must be studied in their own right before there can be cross-cultural comparisons. To this end, the focus here is upon aspects of suicide as they relate to American culture, and contemplation of the act itself focuses on suicide because of impulsivity. Therefore, death with dignity and issues of doctor-assisted suicide are not a focus of this discussion. Examination of concepts, beliefs, and traditions that define how society regards suicide, cultural effects of stigma, and a compendium of the various methods employed by society to address suicidal behavior shall be set forth, and implications for improving upon these methods discussed in conclusion. In American culture where stigma complicates the question of seeking support for suicide, a person who may be contemplating taking his or her life not only faces the difficulty of resisting fatal urges to die, but he or she must likewise weigh the consequences of asking for help. The caveat is that the potential that there will be aversive instances of judgment, criticism, and shaming at some point down the line of care is such that provides a powerful argument to suicidal persons for not seeking assistance in the event of a suicidal crisis. This tendency to avoid help-seeking is highlighted in a recent study of college students whom were asked about whether they would seek help if they had suicidal thoughts and/or actions the overall message was one of, “ambivalence about treatment need or effectiveness, stigma,” (Arria et al., 2011). The lack of compassion and validation that would encourage persons to seek assistance for suicidal thoughts within the system of care must shift if this is to change. Society must come to understand that by shaming or condemning those who attempt suicide it drives the person toward rather than away from the behavior. To give an example of how firmly ingrained stigma is within the American culture. Let us look at a podcast recently viewed on ITunes University where an emergency room medical doctor gives medical students a lecture on suicide. Since emergency responders are likely to be on the front end of caring for suicidal persons, it is disconcerting to say the least the degree of irreverence, humor, and apparent lack of concern expressed over the course of the half-hour lecture. Suicidal persons are described as selfish, made light of, and while there was discussion related to determining whether or not to believe whether a person claiming to be suicidal is serious or not, there was virtually no information offered to students on how to appropriately interact with such persons. Furthermore, the lecturer shares with the class his first incident on the job as a new doctor; where he witnessed a suicidal person engage in suicidal behavior. He describes how when presented with a person holding a sharp implement up to his neck threatening orderlies not to come closer the attending physician shrugged nonchalantly and told the suicidal person to “go ahead, we’ll just sew you back up again,” (Reiser 2011) to which the suicidal person responded by proceeding to stab himself in the neck, to which medical staff responded to by physical restraint and the doctor set about stitching the person back up again. This example shows how ambivalence toward person’s suffering antagonizes patients and can actually serve to ensure escalation of suicidal actions. Therefore, it is critical for emergency responders to receive appropriate training to understand the mechanism of interpersonal relations as it relates to suicidal behavior. Dealing with persons already in an aroused state toward self-violence, requires intervention that is mindful in choosing words, tone of voice, body posture. Any perceived criticism on part of the patient, may lead to interpretations that upset the suicidal individual further. Generally, interveners need to communicate without judgment, condescension, sarcasm, or marked ambivalence. Marsha Linehan, one of contemporary clinical psychology’s foremost experts in the area of treating suicidal behavior explains. Reinforcement of patients’ behavior is one of the most powerful means of shaping and strengthening skilled behavior in borderline[1] and suicidal patients. Frequently, these patients have lived in environments that overuse punishment. They often expect negative punishing feedback from the world in general and their therapists in particular, and apply self-punishing strategies almost exclusively in trying to shape their own behavior (Linehan 1993). What appears to be the disconnect from the perspective of first responders is that they are trained to respond to physical ailments where interaction with patients on an interpersonal level is generally restricted to efforts of gathering facts related to the source of injury. Suicidal action is unique in that the quality of interacting with suicidal persons plays a role in how severe the injury turns out to be in the end. By giving medical professionals some simple training that would give them an idea of how suicidal persons may perceive and respond to different communication strategies, the chance for escalating suicidal action once in medical care reduces. Now, in order to more clearly identify what stigma is and how it functions let us consider how society generally regards those whose source of ailment is visibly apparent compared to those whose ailments are not visible as is the case with most mental disorders. While people battling cancer may find labels that describe them as brave, strong, fearless, determined, etc., people who have suicidal crises are often seen as being clingy, needy, and attention-seeking, which likewise precipitates withdrawal of support from loved ones as well as the system of care. Add to that the fact that most mental disorders have yet to be defined in anatomical terms, which would provide a descriptive map of how signals in the brain lead to suicidal behavior, it becomes apparent the means to convince and thus satisfy skeptical, discriminating minds are meager at best. The fact that suicides are continuing to be on the rise the world over suggests that suicide is not characteristic of the individual but is an urgent issue affecting public health and needing immediate action. As such, questions of suicide require examination from as many angles as possible, looking at factors from more scientific over anecdotal and case study perspectives is imperative. There must likewise be agreement that the, “suicidal patient is not receiving adequate care unless he or she is provided with a psychotherapeutic relationship that offers support, accessibility, investigation of the patient’s current life impasse, and close monitoring of the patient’s mood shifts” (Maris, Berman, Maltzberger, & Yufit, eds. 1992). The problem is getting from where suicide intervention is today, a haphazard process of medication, emergency room visits and brief hospitalization with referral to psychotherapy that would address suicidal behavior in a more comprehensive manner being restricted to a few sessions to check in with the patient after which the case is essentially dropped. Even if patients were referred to psychotherapy, the quality of such therapy is not necessarily apparent without simply submitting to trial and error since current suicide research remains mostly focused on assessing and predicting suicide, analyzing statistics, and testing experimental drugs, and while looking for academic literature that would offer research data supporting the diverse methods employed in preventing or treating suicidal behavior, it seems assessment and prediction studies outnumber treatment research as much as 10 to 1. The good news is that there is exciting work underway in the field of neuroscience thanks to the profound advancements in brain imaging technology, over the last twenty years. While the data gathered will certainly lead to a greater understanding of the biological processes that occur in tandem with suicidal action, it will still take some time to come to any sort of reasonable conclusions as to what all the data collected means. Since science has yet some time to offer information about the brain that could capture public attention enough to initiate change in minds by scientific measure, advocates must do what they can to fight stigma at the local level even if it means changing one mind at a time through conversations in casual settings, social networking, organizing community events, etc., There are three areas from the perspective of reform that require consideration. First, there needs to be a priority on a) treating the dysfunctional behavior from within the social environment by way of advocacy, awareness, and educational campaigns led by people who have lost loved ones to suicide or attempted suicide and that can provide a model of compassion that is more accessible, generally, than statistical data b) increase research funding and provide more scholarship opportunities that would give students incentive to pursue degrees in the mental health field c) define a clear chain of command where those building evidenced-based research are direct advisors to legislation, reform projects, external quality assurance reviews, etc. d) Finally, there needs to be a clear process outlined for bringing treatments out of the lab to train professionals so that they may be put into practice in the real world. One particular myth that is prevalent and needs dispelling is the idea that suicide attempts are manipulative acts expressly intended to get others to respond accordingly. The problem here is that suicidal people are typically acting in response to intense emotions that they do not have the skills to label accurately, experience, and modulate effectively Despite popular belief, “most individuals do not want to die; they just want the pain to go away” (Leenaars, 2004). To the person who may engage in suicidal behavior, the possibility of death represents an immediate solution to a temporary state of emotional suffering the person does not believe he or she can otherwise effectively alleviate. It seems that the combined factors of emotional reactivity, tendency to think he or she is bad and deserving of punishment/death, and lack of skillful means to counteract intense emotions overwhelms the person so they become desperate and want immediate relief, which is what death appears to be. However, while Death is certainly immediate, whether it leads to relief remains unknown. Furthermore, there is little debate that “prevention should address all levels that influence suicide: individual, relationship, community, and society” (Barnes, Golden, and Peterson). The problem with statements like these is that instead of producing comprehensive strategies that outline steps which may lead to intelligible solutions, the result of government delegated committees, task forces, and organizational allies claiming to be working hard to address suicide are usually long-winded documents that restate the problem of suicide, the goals toward reducing it and why it is so important that society acts immediately to address the problem. When looking closely at these reports, references to authors responsible for composing the documents are simply omitted in favor of simply listing the name of the department or agency. References to literature are usually restricted to other government reports rather than academic research if there be any references at all, and formats for papers generally reflect what is available from Microsoft templates rather than following any formal pattern of technical writing. When we look at comprehensive treatments addressing suicide outside the realm of brief intervention, it seems that, “Dialectical Behavior Therapy is the only treatment with published manuals to date…” As to disseminating evidence-based treatments, “for suicidal individuals [DBT] is also the only treatment for which training is currently available” (Comtois & Linehan, 2006). So in addition to increasing funding toward research aimed at treating suicidal behavior there must likewise be a definitive organizational structure that requires and defines a chain of authority where researchers have the final word, are compulsory in advising legislative bodies, and where laws call for organizations to have external reviews or internal processes that monitor quality assurance. What is more, assigning mental health agencies the responsibility for monitoring the quality of their own services creates a conflict of interest that allows agencies to follow their own choice of rules and weakens the rights of clients who are dissatisfied with the services received. It is unreasonable to assume that asking a business whose interest is to serve its own needs above all is going to ensure that it places the best interests of patients first is like asking a known thief to guard an unsecured diamond and then never bothering to check on the diamond again. One way to determine if self-monitoring is effective in quality assurance is to look over county community mental health records who have been monitoring themselves for a number of years and see how many instances there are of an internally monitored mental health agency reporting itself to the appropriate governing board for violating its patient’s rights or reporting itself to the state for allowing employees to act in positions without appropriate professional license. Unfortunately, it seems, consistent records are not necessarily convenient to locate where there is a request for public information. Is it too much to ask for a few qualified mental health inspectors to come around once a year and hold agencies that do not provide in-ho0use services accountable to their legal obligations? It seems the biggest challenge to create a similar process for mental health agencies is employing experts not necessarily influenced by money. An answer to this problem would be to have governing authorities team up with academic institutions in evaluating mental health agencies rather than employing government contracted providers that act under the advisement of those they are professed to objectively evaluate and there are financial motives, which may serve prejudice assessors. By incorporating colleges into the process there is not only the benefit of educational opportunity for students interested in formulating research in real-world settings but with college/government collaboration, financial compensation could benefit the college as a whole rather than paying the individuals who happen to be responsible for reviewing agencies. Furthermore, since the individuals engaged in carrying out work would be continuously rotating as students graduate nepotism and concentration of power would be less a concern than it is where there is a long history of cooperation between a governing body providing suicide crisis services and a contractor who reviews them annually. This process or some other similar strategy are imperative as the current honor system is not sufficient to ensure that patient rights are upheld where Medicaid is the funding source or that agencies are necessarily operating legally and according to its proclaimed standards. It is clear that current suicide intervention strategies employ a variety of methods, many of them have become standard practice, but few rigorously tested by scientific standards. What is more, professionals most often given the responsibility of intervening in suicidal behavior are not necessarily appropriately qualified or a logical choice where the goal is to create a context of support. For example, police receive little to no training in responding to suicidal crises or psychological crises in general, yet they routinely deal with such situations in the line of duty. It does not make sense to think that police would be effective in encouraging a suicidal person to reconsider life, especially, when the police are trained to be defensive and ready to shoot, and if necessary, kill at any moment. Little if any research exists that would prove one way or the other whether police intervention in suicidal crises is an effective strategy. However, there are many instances where unarmed persons claiming to be suicidal end up dead at the hands of police. From a common sense point of view it seems that bringing a person who has a loaded gun and a license to kill, is increasing the risk of violence to all parties involved. The less opportunity there is to access objects that could inflict harm, the less opportunity there is for the suicidal person to act upon his or her impulses. Therefore, it is never wise to bring a gun within the vicinity of one expressing suicidal urges and in a state of hyper arousal. To offer an example of how subtle and critical interpersonal interaction is in responding to suicidal crises let us imagine the goal is to convince a person that she should live by using arguments of persuasion alone. How the intervener approaches the person is critical in determining whether the interaction turns out to be effective or harmful. An effective way to interact might be to ask the suicidal person what brings her joy, love, and connectedness to this world, what would she miss if she died, this approach facilitates an interaction that functions by impressing upon the suicidal person that the intervener cares. Whereas asking a suicidal person if she has children and who would take care of them or how she thinks they will feel if she kills herself facilitates a sense that intervener is judging and any compliance elicited by this way of guilt is likely to be brief and backfire once the suicidal person realizes the argument provides her more evidence that she deserves punishment or to die. In addition to the lack of training and evidence based research guiding service delivery methods and oversight of organizations providing services to suicidal persons, few are appropriately aware of the weighty legal consequences that lay ahead for the suicidal person who speeds away in the back of an ambulance and is brought to an emergency room where he is labeled as being a threat to self or others. Although such a person may be somewhat disoriented, he may firmly refuse suggestions that he be committed to psychiatric care. His wife being frightened and wanting to ensure her loved one’s safety acts with little if any question when informed that she has options that would force him into psychiatric care. The term for the procedure where a person is labeled as potentially harmful to his/herself and said person agrees to enter psychiatric care and forfeit his/her power of attorney to a designated person is called civil commitment. Involuntary commitment refers to a person identified as being a danger to his/herself and/or others and whom refuses recommendation to psychiatric care and so is held against one’s will at the pleasure of the state. There are several problems with this means of suicidal prevention/intervention. First civil commitment is a strategy that refers strictly to matters of law and does not employ clinical expertise to address the delivery system, which would be ideal. In fact, such experts largely are employees working for state and county departments and may have little more than an arbitrary certificate that attests to the fact that they attended a two-day to one week training created by other employees who may be but typically, are not legally qualified and/or licensed mental health professionals. The most alarming and disregarded fact of civil commitment is that it is a procedure, which essentially deprives individuals of life and liberty as defined by the United States Constitution. With a simple claim that a person might be a danger to his or herself individuals are sent to a hospital that is more like a prison since individuals are under 24 hour watch and their movement is restricted to a ward with minimal if any time outdoors. What is more, civil commitment procedures are not standards assessed, measured, and decided by qualified clinicians, but by judges, lawyers, and officers of law whose training conditions them toward purposeful skepticism, unemotional objectivity, solutions that value protocol over process, and rely on isolated events to define absolute judgments of character.[3] These factors of style in communication challenges the wisdom in putting legal professionals in charge of suicide treatment/intervention programs. For this reason, civil commitment is by far the most questionable means of suicide intervention as it involves forcing a person to do something against his or her will, which is a violation of our most fundamental right to liberty. Despite a loved one’s best intensions to protect the suicidal person, the fact it is civil commitment is a legal process that effectively denies individuals their constitutional rights defined in amendment v, which state that no citizen shall, “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” Amendment VI further defines due process. … [t]he accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime[4]].” (Bill of Rights Transcript Text, 1789) The effect upon the suicidal person accused of being potentially dangerous to his or herself and/or others is a system that essentially imprisons individuals without the civil liberties enjoyed by those accused of crimes so that people may spend years locked up in a psychiatric institution without any protective measures to counterbalance powers of authority. The XIV Amendment expressly forbids governance that would “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (Bill of Rights Transcript Text, 1866) Unfortunately, in the case of mental health law, any legislative measure enacted to protect patient rights and/or safety, is essentially useless to patients since they have no power to uphold the laws that would protect them. Meanwhile agencies continue to experiment with court-as-treatment models like that of Multnomah County’s Mental Health Court, which provides distinct powers of authority to the court where a person is convicted of a crime and also has one or more of the following diagnoses, Bi-polar disorder, Schizo-affective disorder, Schizophrenia, or Major depression, (which are each well-known to be disorders that carry a higher risk for suicide than the general population.) The courts use this power to force individuals to use particular drugs related to his or her mental health diagnoses, to increase legal authority to search, seize, and monitor individuals of interest to criminal investigations. Again, it is unreasonable to put legal professionals in charge of people’s mental health. It seems the shift toward letting jails be responsible for people with chronic mental disorders makes as much sense as creating a cancer court or H.I.V. court. The association between mental health and the justice system is a relationship formed not for practical purpose but is a consequence of stigma. Although courts may describe mental health court in terms of opportunity to reduce probationary timelines, little research would provide evidence that such methods are effective or if they truly do reduce the time a person stays sick. In addition, “because the control of deviance involves basic values, and because most of those who are involved in the process as potential patients are relatively powerless, the formal protections of law are all the more important.” (Levine, 1981) So while it seems the emergency response system combined with the forces of legal authority may be effective in creating physical barriers that prevent/discourage suicide in the short term, these social contexts are inadequately qualified at best and harmful at worst to those it intends to serve. The last two areas discussed relate to gatekeepers who look for indicators of suicide before persons make an attempt and suicide hotlines. In the case of gatekeeping, persons employed, typically hold positions with a degree of administrative authority, but rarely hold equal professional qualifications. The term gatekeeper itself refers to the fact that the strategy aims at the front end of health care service delivery system (Evans & Farberow, 1988). The primary environment where gatekeepers operate is schools and the hope is that by identifying individuals who may be at risk, responders may act preemptively so that intervention comes before crisis (in theory), thereby preventing suicide. Again, these professionals are not typically qualified to practice psychology. Instead, such persons tend to receive minimal training, again, usually consisting of 1 or 2 workdays with each program devising trainings according to the preference of its particular service delivery environment. The final mode of suicide prevention/intervention discussed is suicide hotlines. In this service design, prevention measures are not in the context of a government function or legal process, but typically operate as non-profit organizations ran by volunteers who have themselves attempted suicide or lost someone to suicide. Therefore, as one might expect, communication strategies of this nature are more likely to be comprised of individuals working in the capacity of empathy, concern, and genuine care than those formerly discussed. This is the strength of suicide hotlines. However, research testing the effectiveness of suicide hotlines is largely non-existent. As such, the actual usefulness of hotlines in suicide prevention has yet to be determined. It seems that the major issue in providing supportive services to suicidal persons is not whether there is a need for support; it is garnering the will necessary at the operational level to bring about a change in public attitudes so that the stigma currently preventing those in crises from seeking help can be eradicated and people in crises can feel comfortable instead of ashamed for asking for help. While legislative action has attempted to reform mental health service systems o ver the past couple of years, there has been little will within governing bodies to implement these laws. Further, while, “suicidologists have argued that therapy with the suicidal patient requires distinctive competencies, such as the ability to conduct an ongoing assessment of lethality, the capacity to intervene directively and forcefully, and the skill to mobilize the social support available in the client’s natural environment” (Neimeyer & Pfeiffer, 1994), However, as treatment accessibility/efficacy remains tentative at best, and it continues to be a slow and difficult process engaging the public in discussions about suicide that would spark national concern more than political debate, it seems that a primary obstacle to defining a process of appropriate care, is that stigma operates within social institutions where change is slow and resistant to incorporating new ideas. It seems that in treating suicidal behavior the overall message from a practical stand-point appears to be that saving lives is going to require us to turn our concerns from continuing to create physical barriers (like putting up a fences around Portland, Oregon’s Vista Bridge, to stop people from jumping off of it or forcing individuals into locked psychiatric wards to protect the person as well as the public.) and, rather shift focus toward identifying factors that may effectively remove social barriers that reinforce suicide behaviors. Therefore, not only must we commit to challenge prejudice in others, we must challenge prejudice in ourselves so that people who are contemplating suicide can stop being afraid to seek help. We must likewise commit to researching and developing evidence-based treatments that incorporate training elements that are articulated in treatment manuals and designed for dissemination to professionals who work with suicidal persons. Once the stigma and taboo associated with suicidal behavior and mental disorders in general is overcome, psychology may finally be in a position to not only usher in a new era of innovative and enlightened approaches to treating suicidal behavior but perhaps it may finally catch up to the wealth of technological advancements that have revolutionized modern life in most other fields of science. In terms of defining the biology of suicidal behavior, it appears that the brain is the final frontier, the last place within the human body that still casts an aura of mystery, fear, and suspicion of mental disorders that will not stop until neuroscientists present us with a physical model of depression and other disorders of the brain which still largely exists in the realm of theory. It is true that brain-imaging technology is leading to a wealth of new data. However, process for analyzing such data meaningfully is yet to remain seen in the future. At last, while it may seem a daunting if not insurmountable mission to change the culture surrounding suicide, still, as long as there are people who continue to speak up and work toward changing attitudes surrounding the issue of suicide, it is certain that awareness will lead to acceptance and change will lead to hope and ultimately save lives. Endnotes [1] A wellness check is when a party requests the police to check on someone who may have mental and/or other health problems that cause significant impairment and where the concerned party has not been able to otherwise reach such person. [2] Borderline refers to people who have borderline personality disorder, which are known particularly for engaging in self-injurious and/or suicidal behavior. [3] For example, judges routinely favor police officers over civilians testimony in proceedings where there is conflicting statements and/or lack of further evidence, which implies without reason that the fact of one’s employment is enough to determine a person’s degree of honesty and reliability. Further reinforcing this myth is the good guy/bad guy dichotomy that defines the U.S. system of crime and punishment. [4] In the context of civil commitment, individuals do not necessarily commit a crime. Instead, at there is a presumption of danger. References Arria, A. M., Ph.D., Winick, E. R., B.A., Garnier-Dykstra, L. M., M.A., Vincent, K. B., M.A., Caldeira, K. M., M.S., Wilcox, H. C., Ph.D., & O’Grady, K. E., Ph.D. (2011). Help seeking and mental health service utilization among college students with a history of suicide ideation. Psychiatric Services, 62(12), 1510-1513. Retrieved October 6, 2013, from Barnes, D. H., Golden, R. N., & Peterson, F. L. (2010). The truth about suicide. New York, NY: Facts on File. Cohn, D., Taylor, P., Lopez, M. H., Gallagher, C. A., Parker, K., & Maass, K. T. (2013). Gun homicide rate down 49% since 1993 peak; public unaware. Pew Research Social & Demographic Trends Project. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from Comtois, K. A., & Linehan, M. M. (2006). Psychosocial treatments of suicidal behaviors: A practice-friendly review. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 161-170. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20220. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection Evans, G., & Farberow, N. L. (1988). The encyclopedia of suicide. New York, NY: Facts on File. Leenaars, A. A. (2004). Psychotherapy with suicidal people: A person-centred approach. Chichester, West Sussex, Eng.: John Wiley & Sons. Levine, M. (1981). The history and politics of community mental health. New York: Oxford University Press. Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder (p. 61, 63). New York: Guilford Press. Maris, R. W., Berman, A. L., Maltzberger, J. T., & Yufit, R. I. (Eds.). (1992). Assessment and prediction of suicide. New York: Guilford Press. Neimeyer, R. A., & Pfeiffer, A. M. (1994). Evaluation of suicide intervention effectiveness. Death Studies, 18(2), 131-166. doi: 10.1080/07481189408252648 Nock, M. K., Borges, G., Bromet, E. J., Cha, C. B., Kessler, R. C., & Lee, S. (2008). Suicide and suicidal behavior. Epidemiologic Reviews, 30(1), 133-154. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxn002 Reiser, Robert, MD. “Suicide Lecture.” Lecture. Emergency Medicine. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. 08 Nov. 2013. ITunes: A Lifetime of Learning on Tap. Apple, 08 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. United States, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. (1789). Bill of rights transcript text. New York, NY. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from

Changes: Solar Cookers International Network (Home) View source Back to page Revision as of 19:04, December 11, 2012 (view source)Paul Hedrick (Talk | contribs) (→December 2012)← Older edit Latest revision as of 03:45, March 7, 2014 (view source)Tom Sponheim (Talk | contribs) m (Added links) (475 <!--;">Welcome to the Solar Cookers World Network</td><td align=rightSponsored by [ Solar Cookers International]</td></tr><tr><td align="left" valign="middle">[[:Category:Countries|112 Countries]] '''·''' [[:Category:NGOs|500 NGOs]] '''·''' [[:Category:Individuals|537 Individuals]] '''·''' [[Manufacturers and vendors|173 Manufacturers]] '''·''' [[:Category:Solar cooker designs|344 Designs]] '''·''' [[:Category:Solar cooker plans|66 Plans]]</td> <td align="right" style="font-size:130%;margin-left:400px;"><table><tr><td align="right"> − > <p style="margin-bottom:0px;">{{GoogleTranslateLinks}}< =='''Solar cooking news from around the world'''== + ==March 2014== − ==December 2012== + [[File:Renewable_Energy_for_Cooking_Resource_Center,_Uganda,_3-3-14.jpg|thumb|300px|Renewable Energy Cooking Resource Center, Biharwe, [[Uganda]]]] − *''...] + *[ Renewable Energy Cooking Resource Center under construction in Biharwe, Uganda] − *'' cooker]]s will be needed to provide every family in the region with a cooker. The cookers to be used are an improved version of the [[Cookit]] solar cooker made from [[Plastic fluteboard|plastic fluteboard]] and manufactured by [[Matthew Rollins]]. The cost of each cooker will be £15, including transportation and administrative expenses. Total project cost will therefore amount to £105,000.00. [ More information...] + ==February 2014== + *[ School in Ladakh, India saves $23,000 USD in annual fuel costs with solar cookers] − ==November 2012== + *[[Darwin Curtis#Recent news and developments|Darwin Curtis receives SCI Order of Excellence 2013]] − *'' ([[Events). It is financially supported by WISIONS, an initiative of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy to foster practical sustainable energy projects. − [[File:Louise_Meyer_and_Regina_Benjaminto_2,_SHE,_11-21-12.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Louise Meyer]], of [[Solar Household Energy]], demonstrates solar cooking to the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjaminto.]] − *'''Global advocate for solar cooking increases awareness''' - [[Solar Household Energy]] (SHE)...] − *'''The latest issue of Solar Cooker Review is now available online''' + *[[Friends of the Old#Recent news and developments|Friends of the Old in Kenya continues to distribute 100 safe water packages each month]] − <table><tr> + [[File:French_solar_food_cart,_2-10-14.jpg|188px|thumb|See [[Sun and Ice#News and recent developments|Sun and Ice]].]] − <td style="width:50px"> </td> + *''.] − <td> − [[File:Scr_nov12.jpg|none|border|175px]] − </td> − <td style="font-size:125%"> Read the [ latest issue]</td></tr></table> + * [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI) is proud to sponsor and fund the SCInet Wiki. Read SCI’s current [[Media:SCI_Annual_Report_2012-2013.pdf|Annual Report]]. − * ''. + ==January 2014== + [[File:SunFocus_hybrid_cooker_2,_1-29-14.jpg|thumb|200px, {{state|New York}}, [[USA]]. − *''. + [[File:MiniSun12H_rechargable_lamp,_1-24-14.jpg|thumb|300px]. − [[File:EmeraldPlanet - Paving the Way to 2050 (Future Earth 4) Technologies; Services; & Products|right|300px]] + *''.). <b>Update: new deadline of offers to be submitted by Friday 28th February 2014</b>. Interested parties will find more information here: [[Media:Invitation-to-Tender_Solar_Ovens.pdf|Invitation to Tender For Solar Bakery Project, Burundi]]. The scale of the project may be rather small, but the funding and implementation is coming from world leaders in the field of economic and environmental relief. − *''. − ==October 2012== + [:Solar Cooked Snowbank Chicken Soup-0|right|300px]] + [[File:Suryakumbh_2014.png|thumb|300px|3,484 children from 80+ schools participated in the world's largest solar cooking class in Mumbai. [ Read more...]]] − *''...] − [[File:Jeff_Waalkes_Afghan_woman,_10-18-12.jpg|right|300px]] + *The January 2014 issue of [[Solar Cooker Review]] is now available online. − *'' cooker] [[Global_Hope_Network_International#News_and_recent_developments|photos of the delivery]]. + ::<imagemap>Image:Scr_jan14.jpg|140px|none|border − + default [[Media:Scr_jan14.pdf]] − *''...] + desc none − + </imagemap> − ==May 2012== − *'''Pat McArdle describes the top ten solar cooking projects''' - [[Media:Ten most significant solar cooking projects-McArdle-2012.pdf|Read the document]]. − − [[File:16-brick_rocket_stove_Mexico_2012.jpg|thumb|Sixteen-brick [[Rocket Stove]]]] − *'' Methodit]]s.. [[Media:Tapachula Centenario - Fresno Rotary 2012.pdf|Read more...]] − − *'''Deutsche Welle covers the work of [[ADES]] in [[Madagascar]]''' − :[[File:Solar Cookers - Saving Madagascar's Forests Global 3000|thumb|400px|none|thumb|Deutsche Welle covers the work of [[ADES]] in [[Madagascar]]]] − − ==April 2012== − * '''Solar Cookers World Network Facebook group reaches 500 members''' - [ Join the discussion]. − − [[File:Making Solar Cookers and more in Vietnam (Danang) .wmv|260px|right]] − *'' solar cooker|parabolic]] and [[Solar box cookers|box]] solar cookers. −]] − − [[Image:Solar_Oven_Partners_March_2008_2.jpg|thumb|200px|Five {{state|South Dakota}} State University football players volunteered to help [[Haiti Solar Oven Partners]] load a container with 1000 unassembled solar box cookers destined for Haiti.]] − *''. − *'', [[South Korea]. − *'''Solar Cooker Review''' - The March 2012 issue is now [ available online]. − *'']]. − [[File:Sol Solidari panaramic workshop, 2-25-12.jpg|650px|thumb|center|[[Sol Solidari]] solar cooking workshop]] − {{clr}} Line 48: Line 48: => − '''See all...''' − *[[:Category:Countries|Countries]] − *[[:Category:NGOs|Non-governmental organizations]] − *[[:Category:Individuals|Individuals]] − *[[:Category:Manufacturers and vendors|Manufacturers and vendors]] − *[[:Category:Solar cooker designs|Designs]] − *[[:Category:Solar cooker plans|Plans]] − *[[:Category:Browse|Categories]] − *[[Supplies]] − *[[Calendar of events|Events]] − − '''Solar Cooking in Depth''' − *[[:Category:Solar_cooker_designs|Solar cooker designs]] − *[[:Category:Materials|Pots, reflectors, etc.]] − *[[What you can do to promote solar cooking|What you can do]] − *[[Testing|Testing solar cookers]] − *[[Solar tracking|Tracking the sun]] − *[[Health and safety]] − *[[Patents]] − *[[Topics needing research|Research topics]] − − '''Teaching and Promotion''' − *[[Promoting solar cooking]] − *[[Integrated Cooking Method]] − *[[Refugee camps]] − *[[Income generation|Income generation by sales]] − *[[Raising funds through grants and donations|Income generation by grants]] − *[[Promoting_solar_cooking#Project_Experiences_-_Evaluations|Project evaluations]] − *[[:Category:High-resolution photographs|High-resolution photographs]] − *[[Calling All Solar Cookers|Interviews with promoters]] − *[[Classroom resources]] − − '''Related Technologies''' − *[[Non-cooking uses]] − *[[Heat-retention cooking]] − *[[Water pasteurization]] − *[[:Category:Solar food processing|Solar food processing]] − *[[Solar food drying]] − *[[Autoclave]] − *[[Canning]] − *[[Rocket Stove]]s − − '''Foreign-language versions''' − *[[w:c:fr.solarcooking|Réseau Mondial de Cuisson Solaire]] − *[[w:c:es.solarcooking|Red Global Sobre la Cocina Solar]] + {. More than a quarter million pages are consulted on this site each month as people seek in-depth information on these topics. The site offers a global platform for information sharing. Learn about solar cooking field projects, research and design, promotion, and advocacy. People and groups directly involved with solar cooking, through advocacy, manufacture, design, research, or program management, are invited to join SCInet and become a contributor and be represented on this wiki resource. For more information, contact [email protected]. March 2014EditRenewable Energy Cooking Resource Center, Biharwe, UgandaAdded by Paul Hedrick Renewable Energy Cooking Resource Center under construction in Biharwe, Uganda February 2014Edit sponsor and fund the SCInet Wiki. Read SCI’s current Annual Report. January 2014EditThe SunFocus Solar OvenAdded by Paul Hedrick.The MiniSun12H lamp recharges in sunlight.Added by Paul Hedrick.Recently constructed solar box cookers in Ovalle, Chile.Added by Paul Hedrick. For older news, please see Solar cooking news archive. ContactEdit For questions and comments about the Solar Cookers International Network (SCInet) or its website (this wiki), contact [email protected].

The System IS Going To Collapse, Says Ron Paul… “You know, the day before, the month before, the year before, if someone would have said, ‘Oh,, like the Soviets in ’87, in two years they were gone…” Just think how quickly the Soviet system disappeared. (Almost) nobody saw it coming. Former congressman Ron Paul recently spoke the words quoted above, and said he sees the “bust coming soon.” “They’re not going to work their way out of it, so it’s just going to collapse,” “I think we should anticipate that, you know, in the future… in the next several years, you’re going to see a big, big collapse,” “It’s hard to predict the timing,” Paul said, “but I think I agree…… -Ron Paul interviewing with infowars.com The big event could occur next week, it could occur in five years from now, but especially whenever the dollar is no longer credible as a reserve – or primary – currency. People are losing faith in their government… They’re seeing the 2-party system for what it really is (two sides of the same coin.) They’re seeing the manipulated economic numbers which don’t make sense with what they are really experiencing at home. They see the government lying to them, and spying on them. They’re seeing an increased police state. They’re seeing more and more rights being attacked by the government, especially those related to privacy, freedom of speech, and firearms. They see other nation blocks establishing their own currency trade and moving away from the dollar for goods and transactions (China-Russia-Brazil-Iran, and many more.) They see the many tens of billions of dollars being printed into (debt) existence each month just to keep the system afloat. They are seeing the writing on the wall, and they (we) instinctively know that this ship is going down… Even Ron Paul, an ex-congressman, see’s the end coming. This collapse is NOT going to be smooth. You folks need to start preparing for the social upheaval that will surely follow, and to get your ducks lined up in a row… Let me play devils advocate for a second. But before I do, let me say that I agree with things not going in the right direction. That said, I keep hearing phrases like “we’re kicking the can down the road” and “we can’t keep this up forever”. My question is simple; why not? It’s true that we are printing money with no bounds and it’s true that the US dollar is the world reserve currency currently and many think that it is the reason we have not collapsed (fully). And what is currently holding that power as the reserve currency? Two things, the fact that nothing better exists and the might of the US military. As long as we continue to print money and use a huge amount of it to maintain military superiority, the US can continue doing exactly what it’s doing right now INDEFINITELY. Sure, prices will go up, the average US citizen will be squeezed, but the fact is this can go on like this (kicking the can) for a long time. A very long time. So the second item – because nothing else better exists yet. I’ve heard many people say China. I’d argue against that as well for the simple reason that their economy is so corrupt. The other nations around the world know this and understand that it would take them decades to fix the corruption in their country. They aren’t going to rely on a currency that is so manipulated that no one’s even sure what’s real. would see the SHTF in the form of war, or EMP (via war) before our economy collapses. Cheers. do agree with you in that (in my opinion), this may actually lead to WWIII. Currency wars lead to World Wars. At the end of the day, it’s about military might. There are things which could bend this, but one way or another, this is not leading to a good place, IMO. Thanks for your comment. IMHO, its not about currency. It is now, and has been for at least 40 years, all about ENERGY. As the nazis found out, it is hard to fight a war without fuel. The last nation state standing with surplus energy wins. That is why the ME and now Africa in toto is in the crosshairs of Russia, China and the US/NATO. That is an interesting observation, and is VERY rational. ENERGY makes the world go round… The Germans were making synthetic fuel. When the U.S. finally bombed the plants into oblivion then that was it for Germany. Albert Speer, (Hitler’s architect) was the procurement minister. He was a genius at improvisation and getting things done with very little. He was the one keeping the German synthetic fuel on line. He also did a outstanding job of keeping the German armies re-armed. If he had been assassinated in 1944 the war in Europe might have ended a lot faster. The Japanese were just incompetent when it came to obtaining fuel supplies. Their main obsession was capturing the oil production of the Dutch East Indies (Now Indonesia) It was essential they capture the oilfields, refineries and the staff who knew how to run these. The Dutch managed to sabotage many of the oilfield installations and the Japanese didn’t have the technical know how to be able to reopen and run them. Every country in the history of the world that has had a fiat currency system has had its currency go to zero. Search the history yourself to see if you can find even one country during history that had a fiat financial system currency that didn’t fail. When you are unable to, you’ve answered your question. Printing fiat money to infinity always causes small, large, and then hyperinflation. Quantitative Easing only works up to a point. As each $85 Billion gets printed it’s effectiveness gets less and less. The next round of Q.E will be of a bigger value and then an escalating amount. When the Fed ends up owing the majority of U.S. Treasuries no one else will want to buy them unless interest rates are raised. When interest rates go up it will be financial Armageddon staring you in the face. My guess is a black swan before this though. Fukashima will bring down the Japanese economy or the Japanese economy might just collapse under it’s own version of Q.E. Israel doing something about Iran might also be a trigger. The anticipated cost of fixing the Fukashima mess is around 14 Trillion dollars. You just made that number up or got it from someone who made it up. The truth is, you could raise your family and garden in the worst contaminated areas in Japan and only see your probabilistic cancer rates increase by 0.2%. Someone send that nuclear engineer some Fukushima Sushi and some salad made from greens grown nearby. or how about some glow in the dark tuna ??? now if you’ll excuse me I have to jet gotta go check out some nice vacation property I got for cheap just outside someplace called Chernobyl You first… GWTW… I agree to some degree with you… we can kick that can for a long time…. which is why its so hard to guess if or when this collapse will come. However, our economy is very fragile. its a fragile balancing act. and at this point it wouldnt take much to knock us down. Im sure you are prepared. Our entire system is designed that nothing can go wrong or the house of cards will fall down. snowball effects can take place to destroy this country. Like the Author said… The Soviets probably didnt see it coming either. NOT to mention all the enemies the USA has. China needs us to buy their crap so I dont think they want to see a total collapse but others would love it. Good Luck and God bless all! Let’s not forget that the U.S.S.R was also a “superpower” when it fell, without being militarily defeated. Why not indefinitely? Here’s why not…. Because our ability to print and use our dollar is completely dependent upon someone else needing to actually accept that dollar. In addition to that right now the world recognizes the USA as the worlds reserve currency…the world can just as easily decide to remove that privilege. I have to disagree with the US needing to be defeated completely. Over the last 600 years the world has experienced the following reserve currency nations: Portugal, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Britain, and the United States. While each was a military might in its time (though The Netherlands was more of a merchant nation) each lost its status. Many faced military defeat (France) or punishing victory (Britain) but none were so destroyed (minus maybe France) that they ceased to have an effective military. Many things could change the US status as a reserve currency. Personally I think the primary actors will be in the bond market, specifically non-state, corporate actors. The start, I believe, won’t be for malicious purposes but because no one lends money at a loss and that is what is happening with US Treasuries. (Though I know the Fed buys many of these bonds – but I’ll get into that) Additionally, the US flips over a tremendous amount of short-term debt per year because the interest rates are so low on short-term bills. The Fed does not have the control over the short-term market that it does the long term (10y and 30y). We say this with 30 day bills shooting up during the debt ceiling “debate.” While it may not sound like a lot to have 0.05% interest, this is up from 0.00% only a few weeks before. Any additional interest payments only drive the deficit higher, only driving (in a world where fundamentals mean something) interest rates up… only driving borrowing and thus interest rates… But remember the point to a reserve currency, its to provide a stable trading medium. The riots and revolutions we have seen across the Middle East were started because of runaway inflation. Why? Because the US has printed so much money, but the devaluation has been outsourced across the globe to a much greater effect. This isn’t about one or two countries turning on the US dollar, its about all of them. Some “back of the napkin math” and quick googling… In 2010, half of tax filers earned less than $30,000. Only 13% earned over 100,000 (this includes couples filing jointly). How is the average price of a new car is $30,748 (2013) and median home price is $254,600 (August 2013)? We know its credit expansion. Not only is this unsustainable but we’re probably past (or close to) the point right now. This would put the median mortgage of a home bought in August at around $1250 a month and the average car loan at $540 (no down payment on either because who has time for that?! Plus a 3.5% down payment on a house will have you underwater right away – or very close in many cases – with closing costs and fees.) So median mortgage and average new car loan (plus lets throw in another car loan at $300 a month because not many households have their cars paid off) and you have $2090 a month in expenses before you get to insurance, food, gas, healthcare, etc. The median US household income as of Sept 17 2013 was only $51,017 – or $4,251 before taxes. Let’s say 30% of that income goes to taxes or fees to the government in some way or another (income tax, property tax, car registration fees, etc.) the average family is now left with $888 a month for everything else! (Again, insurance, food, gas, healthcare, cell phone(s), cable/internet, etc.) Let’s look at health insurance alone, now if you were a family who needed to buy your own healthcare because your employer didnt provide it… Only 61% (2009) of companies offered employer-funded healthcare. The average family healthcare plan in 2013 costs $13,375 which puts the average family over their $888 monthly balance. Or, look at the growth of student loan payments (average class of 2013 graduate has $35,200 in student loan debt) and rent, or even credit card debt. The average credit card debt of a graduating college senior is over $3,000. (Again, class of 2013) I could go on but you get the point. At some point when your minimum payments exceed your entire income you are bankrupt. I realize not every household making $51k is buying a home at $254k, however, its important to note that the drastic differences between average household income and housing/transportation/healthcare in particular are unsustainable. A few years ago I never saw 72 month car loans, now its the default on many car sites. Why? Because people can’t afford the product because of asset inflation. Its not just the government that’s over leveraged but our entire nation. (PAY DOWN PERSONAL DEBT) Would you lend to our nation? (Sorry for anyone reading this site that is from outside the US) I would sure be hesitant in the short-term and wouldn’t in the long-term. If I were other world leaders I’d be looking at the real catalysts of the Arab Spring and switching off the dollar as fast as I could. *This is not a perfect model but it gets the point across that the country is over-leveraged and prices are inflated way out of hand. That is sobering, or at least it should be to anyone who is drunk on dillusion that everything is okay out there. The federal debt is growing at a compound rate. If you take the historic data since 1900, the rate of growth is 8.3% compounded annually. If you start with 1964 when silver was removed from the money supply, the rate of growth is only slightly higher coming in at 8.6% compounded annually. If you start with 2007, the beginning of the current monetary crisis, the rate is an astounding 12.3% compounded annually. They now have the borrowing pedal to the metal. Whatever the precise rate you want to use to estimate the future, the rate of growth in the debt is an exponential function. All exponential functions accelerate with the passage of time, i.e., the amount added for each unit of time is larger than in the previous unit of time, even though the rate of change may remain constant. As this continues, the growth curve steepens, looking like a hockey stick, becomes unstable, and collapses. When you are talking about debt, collapse means default. Depending on which of the rates of growth you think is most probable, in 2020, the debt which is now ~$16 trillion will be either ~$30.4 trillion, ~$31.0 trillion, or ~$40.5 trillion The same numbers in 2030 will be ~$67.4 trillion, ~$70.5 trillion, or ~$128.9 trillion. This is a mathematical function, that describes real world forces; it is not an opinion; it is a scientific way to describe what is occurring, and to predict the future. This bonded debt collapse is in addition to the massive problem with unfunded liabilities like government pensions, social security and medicare which are about 8 times larger than the official government bonded debt, and also are growing exponentially. And this does not begin to address the huge problem of State government debts, both bonded and unfunded, nor does it address the huge private debts of the public. Imagine yourself being maxed out on credit, your income stagnant or falling, not being able to control your spending, and doubling your debt in 7 or 8 years just to survive. It really is a disaster in the making. There is no way that the economy can grow fast enough to keep up even with the lowest rate of federal debt growth in the above analysis. In fact there is significant evidence to indicate that the economy will not grow at all, or even will shrink under the weight of increasing energy acquisition costs which follows a compound growth rate itself. The federal government probably will not survive because of unavoidable default on its debts and promises. For those of you who think they can simply print the money to pay their bills, I point out that this is a form of default because what they give you would be just as worthless as the debts they can’t pay. This developing financial collapse will continue to have a terrible effect on the real economy, driving us into a very deep depression. Political collapse and societal collapse surely will follow. It will be interesting to watch if you are an observer, but horrifying if you are a participant. The timetable will be driven by the increasing spread between the rapid growth of the debts and the stagnation or shrinkage of the economy, and 2030 I think will be an outside limit, with revolution probably earlier. Nobody will be friendly to the government that creates this kind of pain; even the collectivists will be demanding a new government, just one the opposite of what freedom loving people will demand. There was a reason that the Founding Fathers in the Constitution authorized Congress to COIN money, and prohibited the States from making anything but gold and silver COINS legal tender. They knew about paper promises failing. Too bad these political clowns that now rule us didn’t obey the Constitution. It is fractional reserve banking and the monopoly granted to banks to create money out of thin air by the Federal Reserve Act that is our enemy. We are so screwed. As both an observer and a participant, I concur with your assessment completely. You sir have nailed it !! There is not a damn thing we can do to fix this. We no longer have a problem, we have a predicament which we must brace for. It is what U2 ‘s song lyrics said wars are fought about gold and oil,if you have the gold you control the economy,if you got the oil you control the world everyone and every country needs oil to survive in the type of world we live in at this time.If access to this oil is stopped we will see WW3 unless another event causes WW3.Ron Paul used to be in the loop I believe he knows about what he is saying.Things just keep going downhill,a little faster everyday.Yes it could be possible to keep the world economy going as it is now,but there are other nations that want to take us out,China for good reason wants to so they can supposedly come in and take what they want to have their payment of the debt that we have with them,but they are not the only ones,in that list of most of the nations that want to get rid of the dollar as the reserve currency we owe them also,so it appears that they might want to cut up the pie for repayment.Be prepared and ready.Keep your powder dry. Very interesting discussion. I see things going down a little bit differently than most. Not because I have some special insight or prescience, but because I have been an ardent consumer of all news financial and economic since the beginning of the RE bubble. China is indeed well placed to simply walk in and take whatever they want and there is little we can do about it. I mean that figuratively of course. To explain, China is really the only developed nation on earth that has no debt. That is to say that they hold enormous foreign reserves, a significant portion of which are US notes. China has been forging deals with major trading partners for a while now that allow them to transact in their own currencies and the currencies of their partner nations, effectively stopping out the dollar. These nations no longer have the burden of purchasing dollars, paying the associated fees, then giving dollars to china. this is a very big deal. Recently, a huge deal was struck with the EU, allowing yuan transactions. In addition to this, China has been traveling the globe buying up the planets natural resources like a plague of locusts, and they are doing so with their dollar reserves. Remember folks, America plans only for the next election cycle, while China plans for the next hundred years, or for the next ‘dynasty’ if you will. They are a very patient people, willing to wait for what they want. Do the following Google search: “China Gold Imports – domestic production Estimate”. Not only have they been importing massive quantities of gold from abroad, they do not sell any of their domestic production at all. They publicly admit to reserves of about 1,100 – 1,200 tons of gold, but some estimates are ten to fifteen times that. If china were to tie the yuan to gold, then announce they would no longer accept dollars in transactions for goods or services, they will have destroyed this nation without having fired a single bullet. The simple answer to those who believe we can keep “kicking the can down the road” is; “You can ignore reality, but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality”. If the government continues to undercut the value of a dollar by printing it then producers of goods cannot ignore the reality and must charge more for the goods they produce. If government borrowing increases interest rates and creates inflationary pressures then the price of everything will go up. The problem with this in a nutshell is that there is no way to stop the spiral once you are in it. Everything the government does to stop the inevitable spiral (including kicking the can down the road) makes it worse. Expect them to mandate wage and price controls. Expect two inflation numbers (argueably we already have this) the real one and the official one. How will this happen? With a bang not a whimper. One long holiday weekend the government will close the banks and declare a bank holiday and when they open back up there will be new money printed: Obama dollars. One new Obama dollar will be worth ten old dollars (not really it simply means you will have to trade in ten of your dollars for one Obama dollar). For your cnvenience the government will automatically convert all money that is in private accounts and investments. You will be allowed to convert your old dollars to new Obama dollars at a 10: 1 rate of course. But you will be limited on how many dollars you can convert. Having a stash of old dollars greater then a yet to be determined amount will put you in legal trouble. It will be illegal to own gold and probably silver as well. You will have one legal path to convert this to cash and that will be to sell it to the government at a rate they will determine. Look at Argentina’s economic collapse in 1999 to see how a modern democracy deals with this situation. Your experience may differ but your outcome and our countries outcome will essentially be the same. What we are doing is little different then trying to defy gravity and gravity is a bitch. Sooner or later this house of cards will collapse and kicking the can down the road may have allowed us to build the house of cards higher but that only insures that the collapse will be greater. Every smart politician has an escape plan (because when this happens history shows the peasants go after the leaders). Chris Dodd bought a home and citizenship in Ireland. What do you want to bet half of the Senate has dual citzenship or if not at least a “safe house” in another country. When this happens your worst nightmare of zombies will come true. The president has a couple hundred secret service to protect him. What do you have? Ken wrote: They’re seeing an increased police state. I posted this to another Blog: How Stupid Are These People – They’re Brain Dead It just shows the Brain Dead mentality of occupants in this country. I don’t dare call them US Citizens because that requires knowledge of how a free people operate. None of these ocupants know what a free people should know. I think “E” is their news channel of choice. No, that would be insulting the “E” Channel. The Soviet Union collapsed when people didn’t have enough food. The protests in the Middle East began when food became a problem. Maybe the food stamp cutbacks are a start in that direction. The plan seems to be to print money until it becomes worthless. If the definition of inflation is “an increase in the money supply” and prices are a secondary effect, the inflation has already occurred. The secondary effect of prices rising is already showing up in the higher ranges of commodity prices. Most commodities are ranging at levels that are 3x higher. Corn has fallen to maybe 2x the old range but ran up to 4x. Corn had gotten to the price of wheat which was unsustainable. Gold at 3x would be closer to $1000/oz. At the same time, we are in a depression. So, instead of commodity prices diving as in the 1930s, they are doing the same thing in terms of gold. It’s all so complicated that everyone is confused. “If you can’t convince them, confuse them.” All the Fed is doing is making prices go up through financing wars and deflating the value of money. Bankers are getting rich I guess. They should probably triple the food stamps instead of cutting back if they want to keep this party going. It’s one shitty party isn’t it.

While top-seeded Peruvian Diego Elias progressed comfortably into the last 16 round of the Men’s WSF World Junior Squash Championship, Egypt’s title-holder Karim El Hammamy crashed out of the World Squash Federation event being staged for the first time in Namibia at the Wanderers Sports Club in the country’s capital Windhoek. Elias, the 17-year-old from Lima bidding to become his country’s first ever world squash champion, first took the scalp ofJames Evans (both pictured above) from England, winning in straight games, 11-3 11-6 11-4, before dismantling Colombia’s Andres Felipe Herrera - also in straight games – 11-5, 11-2, 11-2. “Elias, in both matches, was supreme with tricky shots and at times classy to the delight of the spectators who gathered in numbers at the new all-glass court – a first for Namibia,” said event spokesman Corry Ihuhua. The Peruvian teenager now faces 13/16 seed Mohd Syafiq Kamal for a place in the quarter-finals. The 18-year-old Malaysian earned his place in the fourth round after beating Argentina’s Juan Segundo Barreyro 11-3, 11-4, 11-5. It was a domestic battle which saw second seed El Hammamy end his bid to become the fourth Egyptian to win the title twice in succession. The 18-year-old 2013 champion from Cairo took the first two games against Youssef Aboul-Makarim - but the unseeded 18-year-old, also from Cairo, soon regained the upper hand before closing out the match 10-12, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7. Aboul-Makarim now faces a further fellow Egyptian Youssef Soliman, a 13/16 seed, in the fourth round. South African Laurence Kuhn survived two tough encounters to earn a surprise place in the last 16. The unseeded 18-year-old first upset Israel’s 5/8 seed Daniel Poleshchuk 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 before edging out Spaniard Iker Pajares Bernabeu 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5. Lynette Vai, the only player from Papua New Guinea and at 16 one of the youngest players in the event, made an impressive start in the women’s competition when she beat Lida-Marie Calitz of Namibia 11-1 11-0 11-3. The Malaysia-based youngster will now line up against Habiba Mohamed Ahmed, a 5/8 seed from Egypt, in the second round. Full World Juniors Coverage RESULTS: WSF World Junior Squash Championships, Windhoek, Namibia Men’s 2nd round: [1] Diego Elias (PER) bt James Evans (ENG) 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 Andres Felipe Herrera (COL) bt Vijay Meena (IND) 11-1, 9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8 Juan Segundo Barreyro (ARG) bt Cillian Dunne (IRL) 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 [13/16] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt Max D Reed (USA) 7-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-5 [9/12] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt Enzo Corigliano (FRA) 11-5, 11-5, 13-11 Dairo Sandoval (COL) bt Miko Aijanen (FIN) 11-6, 11-5, 4-11, 13-11 Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 11-9, 11-4, 5-11, 8-11, 12-10 [5/8] Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY) bt Runyararo Kadyautumbe (ZIM) 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 [5/8] George Parker (ENG) bt Ivan Caucich (ARG) 11-2, 11-2, 11-7 Khaled Al-Jenaidel (KUW) bt Dylan Marc Spencer (NAM) 11-3, 11-3, 11-1 Saadeldin Ehab Abouaish (EGY) bt Qaini Bonilla (GUA) 11-2, 11-4, 11-2 [9/12] David Ryan (IRL) bt David Baillargeon (CAN) 11-8, 8-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-3 [13/16] Michael Craig (IRL) bt Derek Hsue (USA) 11-3, 11-8, 6-11, 6-11, 11-5 Darren Chan (MAS) bt Scott Galloway (NZL) 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 Edmon Lopez Moller (ESP) bt Roee Avraham (ISR) 11-7, 10-12, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7 [3/4] Kush Kumar (IND) bt Luke Michael Mannion (ZIM) 11-0, 11-7, 11-4 [3/4] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt Jarryd Osborne (CAN) 11-2, 11-7, 11-9 Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) 11-4, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7 Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Santiago Orozco (COL) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 [13/16] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Mohammad Alterki (KUW) 11-2, 13-11, 11-7 [9/12] Omar Elatmas (EGY) bt Timothy Robert Brownell (USA) 9-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-2, 11-3 Federico Cioffi (ARG) bt Santiago Camargo (COL) 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 Kristian Rautiainen (FIN) bt Wayne Sithole (RSA) 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 [5/8] Lyell Fuller (ENG) bt Ong Sai Hung (MAS) 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 Laurence Kuhn (RSA) bt [5/8] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt David Yacobucci (USA) 11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 11-3 Lucas Wirths (GER) bt Michael Thompson (CAN) 13-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9 [9/12] Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari (PAK) bt Jami Aijanen (FIN) 5-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 [13/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Nicolas Valderrama (COL) 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 Madhav Dhingra (IND) bt Callum Lawton (ZIM) 11-7, 11-6, 11-2 Youssef Aboul-Makarim (EGY) bt Abdulrahaman Yusuf (NGR) w/o [2] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) bt Franco Andres Romiglio (ARG) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 3rd round: [1] Diego Elias (PER) bt Andres Felipe Herrera (COL) 11-5, 11-2, 11-2 [13/16] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt Juan Segundo Barreyro (ARG) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 [9/12] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bt Dairo Sandoval (COL) 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 [5/8] Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY) bt Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8 [5/8] George Parker (ENG) bt Khaled Al-Jenaidel (KUW) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 Saadeldin Ehab Abouaish (EGY) bt [9/12] David Ryan (IRL) 5-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 Darren Chan (MAS) bt [13/16] Michael Craig (IRL) 6-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 [3/4] Kush Kumar (IND) bt Edmon Lopez Moller (ESP) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 [3/4] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 11-6, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8 [13/16] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 [9/12] Omar Elatmas (EGY) bt Federico Cioffi (ARG) 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 Kristian Rautiainen (FIN) bt [5/8] Lyell Fuller (ENG) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 Laurence Kuhn (RSA) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5 [9/12] Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari (PAK) bt Lucas Wirths (GER) 11-7, 11-1, 11-7 [13/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Madhav Dhingra (IND) 11-1, 11-4, 11-2 Youssef Aboul-Makarim (EGY) bt [2] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 10-12, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 Women’s 1st round: Amelia Henley (ENG) bt Casey Sheyeong Wong (USA) 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-7 Nhadia Maria Gustavo (NAM) bt Anandita Gupta (IND) w/o Saskia Beinhard (GER) bt Adebayo Kehinde (NGR) w/o Lynette Vai (PNG) bt Lida-Marie Calizt (NAM) 11-1, 11-0, 11-3 Sivasangari Subramanian (MAS) bt Titiloayo Akinyele (NGR) w/o Alison Thomson (ENG) bt Kayley Leonard (USA) 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-7 Linnea Gronlund Bengsson (SWE) bt Funke Okikiola Oladunni (NGR) w/o Sara Vallejo (COL) bt Makgosi Peloakgosi (RSA) 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9 Nadia Pfister (SUI) bt Elsje van der Merwe (NAM) 11-2, 11-2, 11-5 Carley Kate Barton (ZIM) bt Sunday Veronica (NGR) w/o Madlen Shea O’Connor (CAN) bt Linnea Wallsten (SWE) 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 Nele Hatschek (GER) bt Daniela Scriba (NAM) 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 Oludamnilola Oluwafemi (NGR) bt Alyssa Cummings (NAM) 11-7, 15-13, 9-11, 11-2 Full World Juniors Coverage

Contents Intelligent Services Gateway (ISG) is a Cisco IOS software feature set that provides a structured framework in which edge devices can deliver flexible and scalable services to subscribers. This document provides information about what ISG is, the benefits of ISG, and how to begin implementing. Intelligent Services Gateway (ISG) is a structured framework in which edge access devices deliver flexible and scalable services to subscribers. ISG handles the following key aspects of subscriber management: In addition, ISG introduces a dynamic element to the provisioning and activation of services through control policies and Change of Authorization (CoA) extensions to the RADIUS protocol. An ISG-enabled device may be deployed at the access edge and service edge of a network and is applicable to a range of subscriber network environments, such as digital subscriber line (DSL), public wireless LAN (PWLAN), and mobile wireless network. Moreover, ISG has been designed to accommodate a flexible distribution of subscriber and service information within a given solution. The figure below illustrates a typical DSL deployment for which service profile data may be stored in an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) database and retrieved and cached on demand. It is also possible to define services directly on an ISG. In all cases, service activation may be triggered as a result of a locally defined control policy, user profile associations, or CoA commands from an external policy server or portal application. Fundamental to the ISG architecture is the provisioning of a common session layer at which the management of generic subscriber sessions is decoupled from the technology that is used to provide access to the edge device. Within this session management layer, common methods are provided for the extraction of subscriber identity information and the determination and activation of services. These methods are described in the following sections: An ISG subscriber session is a generic system context that is created for every subscriber who interacts with the edge device. A subscriber session is created on first interaction so that policies may be applied as early as possible. Such policies may facilitate the retrieval of subscriber identity information. All subscriber sessions are assigned a locally unique identifier that may subsequently be used to reference the session. The session context is the basis for common handling at the session management layer, but the type of traffic that is encompassed in a session context may vary. Broadly, session types may be categorized as Layer 2 or Layer 3, depending on the packet types that are being handled by the session. For instance, a PPP session is a Layer 2 session in that it includes all packets transferred over a link that was established using PPP negotiation. An IP session is Layer 3 because it includes all IP packets exchanged with a subscriber device at a single IP address. Whether a session is Layer 2 or Layer 3 will, to some extent, determine the type of polices that may be activated for the session. ISG also provides flexibility in terms of how an IP session is defined for an interface. For example, on a particular interface, ISG can be provisioned to classify IP sessions on the basis of a single address (an IP session), a subnet (an IP subnet session), or the interface itself (an IP interface session), wherein all IP packets transferred over the interface are encompassed by the same session. In a network deployment, ISG session types should be provisioned to represent individual subscriber entities. For example, a particular ISG interface may be directly connected to a subscriber household in which several subscriber devices with individual IP addresses are attached to a household LAN. If the plan is to model each LAN-attached device as a separate subscriber and apply different policies and services to each, the interface should be provisioned to expect IP sessions. However, if the household represents a single subscriber account, and common handling is required for all packets exchanged, the interface should be provisioned as an IP interface or subnet session. Under ISG, the provisioning and handling of specific access media and protocols is decoupled as far as possible from the functionality that is applicable to all session types. This model has the following benefits: A subscriber session is created when the first control protocol packet is received from the subscriber device. The control protocol will vary depending on the session type. If there is no control protocol, the session is signaled by the first data packet from the subscriber. At session start, certain identity information is available, although typically not enough to completely identify the subscriber. Through the use of control policies, the identity information available at session start can be used to drive the extraction of further identity from the subscriber and determine new policy for the session. The following examples illustrate how an ISG might handle subscriber identity: An ISG service is a collection of policies applicable to a subscriber session. When a service is activated on a session, all policies contained within that service are activated on the session. Likewise, when a service is deactivated, all policies that are contained within the service are deactivated or removed from the session. Services are useful for handling fixed policy combinations that are applicable to a number of subscribers. This application reduces duplication of persistent data and allows a group of policies to be activated with a single action and a single reference. A service may be defined on the edge device directly, through the command-line interface (CLI), or in an external repository and downloaded as required. A downloaded service definition is cached on the device for as long as it is active on one or more sessions. A service may be activated in one of the following ways: Services primarily contain traffic policies. There are some restrictions regarding the policies that may be combined in a given service; for example, a service may not contain two traffic policies that specify a different nondefault traffic class unless they apply to different traffic directions (inbound versus outbound). Where a service contains a network-forwarding policy, it is known as a primary service . Only one primary service may be active for a given session at any point in time; that is, primary services are mutually exclusive. ISG introduces support for two basic policy types: Traffic policies define the handling of data packets and consist of a traffic class, which defines the packet-based criteria for which the policy is applicable, and one or more traffic actions, which are functional instances that perform specific operations on a data stream and are often referred to as features . The traffic actions configured within a traffic policy are invoked for data packets that meet the criteria defined by the traffic class. Network-forwarding policies are a specific type of traffic policy, for which the action is a network-forwarding action, such as to route packets using a specific virtual routing and forwarding instance (VRF) or to forward packets over a Layer 2 connection. Network-forwarding policies are "classless" in that it is not possible to refine the criteria for which the forwarding action is applicable. Control policies define the handling of system events and consist of one or more control policy rules and a decision strategy that governs how the constituent policy rules are evaluated. A control policy rule consists of a control class (a flexible condition clause), an event for which the condition is evaluated, and one or more control actions. Control actions are general system functions, such as "authenticate" or "activate a service." Control policies may be activated on various targets, such as interfaces or ATM virtual circuits (VCs), and typically control the extraction and authentication of subscriber identity and the activation of services on sessions. Traffic policies may be activated only on sessions and are typically (though not always) applied through service activation. Control policies are a structured replacement for feature-specific configuration commands and allow configurable functionality to be expressed in terms of an event, a condition, and an action. Control policies represent an intuitive and extensible framework for specifying system behavior. As additional functionality is added to the system, an administrator just has to learn what new events and actions can be included in a control policy, not a completely new set of configuration commands. Traditionally, subscriber policy has been determined at one point only, at session establishment time, once the principal identity of a subscriber has been authenticated. ISG introduces a dynamic policy model in which session policy may be altered at any time. Session policy is evaluated at session start and may be reassessed whenever additional identity or service selection information is gleaned from the subscriber via the access protocol. In addition, policy may be updated for a session through the activation of control policies or by means of CoA commands from an external application. In the latter case, the external application may update policy as a result of administrator activity, back-end processing, or subscriber activity (such as service selection at a web portal). ISG provides the following benefits: ISG is very flexible and supports a wide variety of functionality. Before you begin to configure ISG, you should plan your system carefully. The following sections describe some of the important aspects of your system that you should consider: Trust levels are determined by the security needs of a particular application domain and the inherent security afforded by the subscriber network. In the following situations, it may not be necessary to authenticate subscriber identity: Whether or not subscribers must be authenticated will influence the choice of access protocol. When authentication is not required, control policies may be used to determine authorization and other session policy on the basis of subscriber identity. Where authentication is considered necessary, the authenticated identity may be trusted: For complete security, cryptographic methods may be used to secure the session (to the edge) following authentication, obviating the need for reauthentication. However, there are administrative and performance overheads associated with this practice. The trust model will, to a large extent, determine the choice of access protocol. However, the access model will also depend on other factors such as the underlying media (for example, ATM versus Ethernet), type of endpoint (for example, PC, cell phone, PDA), mobility requirements, the system's ability to influence the software installed on a subscriber device, and scalability requirements. Where a subscriber will have access to services provided by other devices in the administrative domain of the access or service provider, is an additional authentication required, or should the identity of the subscriber be trusted? It may be necessary for the latter device to query the access device to collect additional subscriber identity information and ascertain whether the subscriber has already been authenticated by the access device. The single sign-on facility is provided through the "session query" capability of CoA. How should subscribers be given access to network services? Network forwarding options include the following: How should subscriber policies be organized into services, if at all? Some considerations for service packaging include the following: How should subscribers be billed for service usage? Billing options include the following: Related Topic Document Title ISG commands Cisco IOS Intelligent Services Gateway:Session: Auth: Single Sign-on 12.2(28)SB 12.2(33)SRC 15.0(1)S Single sign-on eliminates the need to authenticate a session more than once when a subscriber has access to services provided by other devices in the administrative domain of the access or service provider..

2. (n.) The place occupied by anything, or where any person or thing is situated, resides, or abides; a site; an abode, a station; a post; a situation. 3. (n.) That part of a thing on which a person sits; as, the seat of a chair or saddle; the seat of a pair of pantaloons. 4. (n.) A sitting; a right to sit; regular or appropriate place of sitting; as, a seat in a church; a seat for the season in the opera house. 5. (n.) Posture, or way of sitting, on horseback. 6. (n.) A part or surface on which another part or surface rests; as, a valve seat. 7. (v. t.) To place on a seat; to cause to sit down; as, to seat one's self. 8. (v. t.) To cause to occupy a post, site, situation, or the like; to station; to establish; to fix; to settle. 9. (v. t.) To assign a seat to, or the seats of; to give a sitting to; as, to seat a church, or persons in a church. 10. (v. t.) To fix; to set firm. 11. (v. t.) To settle; to plant with inhabitants; as to seat a country. 12. (v. t.) To put a seat or bottom in; as, to seat a chair. 13. (v. i.) To rest; to lie down. . SEAT set: This word is used to translate the Hebrew words (moshabh, shebheth, kicce', and tekhunah), once (Job 23:3). It translates the Greek word (kathedra) (Matthew 21:12; Matthew 23:2 Mark 11:15), and "chief seat" translates the compound word (protokathedria) (Matthew 23:6 Mark 12:39 Luke 20:46). In the King James Version it translates (thronos) (Luke 1:52 Revelation 2:13; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 11:16; Revelation 13:2; Revelationm 1:1).Jesse L. Cotton 2523. kathizo -- to make to sit down, to sit down ... Origin another form of kathezomai Definition to make to sit down, to sit down NASB Word Usage appoint (1), rested (1), sat (5), sat down (15), seat (1), seated ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2523.htm - 7k 2362. thronos -- a throne ... a throne. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: thronos Phonetic Spelling: (thron'-os) Short Definition: a throne, seat Definition: a (king's) throne ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2362.htm - 2435. hilasterion -- propitiatory ... See also 2434 (). Word Origin from hilasterios; from hilaskomai Definition propitiatory NASB Word Usage mercy seat (1), propitiation (1). mercy seat. ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2435.htm - 7k 1476. hedraios -- sitting, steadfast ... 1476 (an adjective, derived from , "a seat or base") -- properly, (solidly-based, well-seated); (figuratlively) steadfast (firm), ; firm in purpose (mind ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1476.htm - 6k 2922. kriterion -- a law court ... a law court, tribunal. Neuter of a presumed derivative of krites; a rule of judging ("criterion"), ie (by implication) a tribunal -- to judge, judgment (seat). ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2922.htm - 6k 4776. sugkathizo -- to make to sit together, to sit together ... sit down together. From sun and kathizo; to give (or take) a seat in company with -- (make) sit (down) together. see GREEK sun. see GREEK kathizo. ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4776.htm - 6k 5590. psuche -- breath, the soul ... psoo-khay') Short Definition: the soul, life, self Definition: (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5590.htm - 8k 4186. moshab -- a seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling ...... a seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling, dwellers. Transliteration: moshab or moshab Phonetic Spelling: (mo-shawb') Short Definition: dwellings. ... /hebrew/4186.htm - 6k 7675. shebeth -- seat, dwelling, place... 7674, 7675. shebeth. 7676 . seat, dwelling, place. Transliteration: shebeth Phonetic Spelling: (sheh'-beth) Short Definition: place. ... /hebrew/7675.htm - 6k 3429. Yosheb Bashshebeth -- "sitting in the seat," one of David's ...Yosheb Bashshebeth. 3428, 3429. Yosheb Bashshebeth. 3430 . "sitting in the seat," one of David's heroes. Transliteration: Yosheb Bashshebeth Phonetic Spelling ... /hebrew/3429.htm - 6k 4817. merkab -- a chariot, riding seat... 4816, 4817. merkab. 4818 . a chariot, riding seat. Transliteration: merkab Phonetic Spelling: (mer-kawb') Short Definition: chariots. ... /hebrew/4817 3428. Yeshebab -- "seat of (his) father," a Levite... 3427, 3428. Yeshebab. 3429 . "seat of (his) father," a Levite. Transliteration: Yeshebab Phonetic Spelling: (yeh-sheb-awb') Short Definition: Jeshebeab. ... /hebrew/3428.htm - 6k 8351. sheth -- seat (of the body), buttocks... 8350, 8351. sheth. 8352 . seat (of the body), buttocks. Transliteration: sheth Phonetic Spelling: (shayth) Short Definition: buttocks. ... /hebrew/8351.htm - 6k 3427. yashab -- to sit, remain, dwell... 1), remain (21), remained (27), remaining (1), reposed (1), resettle (1), residents (1), retire (1), rule (1), sat (42), sat down (21), seat (2), seated (3 ... /hebrew/3427.htm - 7k 3727. kapporeth -- propitiatory... 3726, 3727. kapporeth. 3728 . propitiatory. Transliteration: kapporeth Phonetic Spelling: (kap-po'-reth) Short Definition: seat. ... mercy seat. ... /hebrew/3727.htm - 6k The Mercy-Seat. ... DEVOUT EXERCISES. 452. " The Mercy-seat. 452. LM Stowell. The Mercy-seat. 1 From every stormy wind that blows, From every swelling ... /.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/452 the mercy-seat.htm For a Garden-Seat, or Summer-House. ... IV. CREATION. Hymn 96 For a garden-seat, or summer-house. John Newton 8,6,8,6. For a garden-seat, or summer-house. A Shelter from the rain or wind, Isa 32:2. ... //christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 96 for a garden-seat.htm Of the Mind and Its Seat. ... Chap. XVI."Of the Mind and Its Seat. That the nature ... divine works. Some would have it, that the seat of the mind is in the breast. But ... /.../lactantius/on the workmanship of god/chap xvi of the mind and.htm Invitation to the Mercy-Seat. ... MOURNING AND CONSOLATION. 575. " Invitation to the Mercy-seat. 575. 11s. & 10s. M. Spiritual Songs. Invitation to the Mercy-seat. ... /.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/575 invitation to the.htm The Proper Seat of Charity is the Superior Will... ... TOUCHING CERTAIN SPECIAL MORTIFICATIONS OF THE PASSIONS, ETC. CHAPTER III. The proper seat of charity is the superior will� Sec. Sec. ... /.../chapter iii the proper seat.htm Necessity of Contemplating the Judgment-Seat of God, in Order to ... ... CHAPTER 12. NECESSITY OF CONTEMPLATING THE JUDGMENT-SEAT OF GOD, IN ORDER TO BE SERIOUSLY CONVINCED OF THE DOCTRINE OF GRATUITOUS JUSTIFICATION. ... /.../chapter 12 necessity of contemplating.htm Approach, My Soul, the Mercy-Seat ... The Treasury of Sacred Song. Book First CCXXV Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat. Where JESUS answers prayer; There humbly fall before His feet,. ... /.../palgrave/the treasury of sacred song/ccxxv approach my soul the.htm Petilianus Said: "If You Wretched Men Claim for Yourselves a Seat. ... ... Chapter 51. " 117. Petilianus said: "If you wretched men claim for yourselves a seat� "117. ... Why do you call the apostolic chair a seat of the scornful? ... /.../chapter 51 117 petilian Judgment-seat (10 Occurrences)Judgment-seat. Judgments, Judgment-seat. Judgment-seats . Multi-Version Concordance Judgment-seat (10 Occurrences). .../j/judgment-seat.htm - 9k Mercy-seat (23 Occurrences)Mercy-seat. Mercyseat, Mercy-seat. Merdiful . Easton's Bible Dictionary (Hebrews kapporeth, a "covering;" LXX. and NT, hilasterion .../m/mercy-seat.htm - 16k Judgement-seat (1 Occurrence)Judgement-seat. Judgements, Judgement-seat. Judges . Multi-Version Concordance Judgement-seat (1 Occurrence). 2 Corinthians .../j/judgement-seat Cherubs (52 Occurrences)... (WEB YLT). Exodus 25:18 and thou hast made two cherubs of gold, beaten work dost thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat; (YLT). .../c/cherubs.htm - 22k Propitiation (4 Occurrences)... sinners. In Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5 (AV, "mercy-seat") the Greek word hilasterion is used. It is the word employed by the LXX. .../p/propitiation.htm - 15k Judge's (8 Occurrences)... Matthew 27:19 And while he was on the judge's seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Have nothing to do with that upright man, for I have had much trouble this .../j/judge's.htm - 8k Mercyseat (1 Occurrence)... 17; 30:6; 31:7). It is compared to the throne of grace (Hebrews 9:5; Ephesians 2:6). The holy of holies is called the "place of the mercy-seat" (1 Chronicles 28 .../m/mercyseat.htm - 9k Cherub (21 Occurrences)... animals. Two cherubim were placed on the mercy-seat of the ark; two of colossal size overshadowed it in Solomon's temple. Ezekiel .../c/cherub.htm - 18k) NAS). (B. 17.(BBE)) Seat Judgment-seat (10 Occurrences) Mercy-seat (23 Occurrences) Judgement-seat (1 Occurrence) Ark-cover (21 Occurrences) Cherubs (52 Occurrences) Propitiation (4 Occurrences) Judge's (8 Occurrences) Mercyseat (1 Occurrence) Cherub (21 Occurrences) Chair (6 Occurrences) Bench (1 Occurrence) Stool (6 Occurrences) Faces (158 Occurrences) Wings (81 Occurrences) Upward (74 Occurrences) Tribunal (11 Occurrences) Screening (3 Occurrences) Soul (554 Occurrences) See (8256 Occurrences) Spreading (74 Occurrences) Ends (108 Occurrences) Vail (44 Occurrences) Covering (191 Occurrences) Cherubim (63 Occurrences) Sit (216 Occurrences) Arch (24 Occurrences) Gallio (3 Occurrences) Reins (15 Occurrences) Poles (58 Occurrences) Bank (28 Occurrences) Saddle (7 Occurrences) Siege (63 Occurrences) Seats (40 Occurrences) Furniture (24 Occurrences) Enthroned (25 Occurrences) Seated (252 Occurrences) Curtain (60 Occurrences) Staffs (47 Occurrences) Supporting (31 Occurrences) Seating (10 Occurrences) Dieth (192 Occurrences) Sprinkle (37 Occurrences) Builder (33 Occurrences) Carriages (34 Occurrences) Rulers (310 Occurrences) Roof (55 Occurrences) On (40792 Occurrences) Cover (254 Occurrences) Mount (311 Occurrences) Eli (36 Occurrences) Staves (50 Occurrences) Bull (114 Occurrences) Veil (67 Occurrences) Sitteth (74 Occurrences) Babel (3 Occurrences) Sitting (201 Occurrences) Vessel (118 Occurrences) Usual (13 Occurrences) Overturned (41 Occurrences) Jabneel (2 Occurrences) Request (248 Occurrences) Lod (4 Occurrences) Lydda (3 Occurrences) Loins (72 Occurrences) Living-place (83 Occurrences) Gerar (10 Occurrences) Giver (21 Occurrences) Gabbatha (1 Occurrence) Inward (43 Occurrences) Footstool (16 Occurrences) Form (153 Occurrences) Mercy (467 Occurrences) Dais (3 Occurrences) Motion (8 Occurrences) Philadelphia (2 Occurrences) Plated (29 Occurrences) Pavement (9 Occurrences) Belly (62 Occurrences) Breast (71 Occurrences)

ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer Motherboard Review Overview Whilst James was beavering away with his review of the new ASRock Z97X Killer motherboard, I managed to persuade him to let me have a look at another in the ASRock Killer series, the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer (better yet, no beer bribery was involved! ). With a slightly different PCB layout which drops SLI, but retains CrossFire and gains the addition of Thunderbolt, how will this compare to the recently reviewed board that also happens to be one of only a select few that has received the rare and prestigious pcG Platinum award? Or in brief by ASRock. The ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer sports the new Z97 chipset supporting the latest Haswell refresh CPUs and of course Devils Canyon. The ASRock Z97 Killer motherboard arrived well packaged in a cool looking box much like the Fatal1ty Z97X, with a huge Fatal1ty logo in the background (Johnathen Wendel would be proud). To be fair it is busy, but looks great, so instead of listing everything I’m going to let you take a closer look yourselves. Then when you flip over of the box, the back is so feature packed it is difficult to know where to start (mind blown!). The back of the box is plastered in features of Z97 Killer (luckily the board doesn’t seem to have any additional features, or they’d need a much bigger box!). The key highlights of which include: FEATURES - Killer E2200 Game Networking - ASRock App Shop - Purity Sound 2 - XSplit - M.2 Socket - ASRock Cloud (Orbweb ME) - Key Master - Fatal1ty Mouse Port - F-Secure - HDD Saver Opening the box we can see that the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ships with a plethora of accessories and guides. Rather nicely ASRock have also gone that ‘extra mile’ with the packaging. As you can see, not only is the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer shipped in an anti static bag, but it’s also cable tied in four corners to a soft-cell foam tray (should help to prevent any damage from THAT haphazard delivery man!). The box contects include: ACCESSORIES - ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer Motherboard - 4 x Serial ATA (SATA) Data Cables (2 x straight and 2 x right angled) - I/O Panel Shield - Driver and Utilities disk - Screw for M.2 SSD (NGFF) Socket 3 - Quick Installation Guide - Software Setup Guide - ASRock Cloud (Orbweb ME) Setup Guide Sadly at the time of writing, many vendors aren’t currently listing the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer, but it can be found on Amazon retailing for approximately £110 and comes with a 3 year warranty. Specifications/Features * Additional details available here First Impressions As you can see from our previous review for the ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional and by looking at the Z87 range, ASRock have had a huge shuffle in re-design. Gone are a multitude of different heat sinks for the north and south bridge, in comes a more generic heat sink style with a rather lovely anodized finish to seperate the the motherboard classes (yellow for OC Formula, blue for Extreme and red for Fatal1ty). Could this be a small move to reduce production costs? Possibly. Does it cheapen or lessen the look of the motherboards? Hell no! Just look at it! The bright red and simple styling of both the north and south bridge heat sinks look great, even more so against the sapphire black PCB. Better yet, given the size and simplicity of the southbridge, you’ll even be able to see it with a GPU or two installed! Maybe it’s because it’s new or maybe I’m getting a little tired of all the gimmicky designs from other motherboard manufacturers, but I think this is best looking motherboard I’ve seen in a while. If you take a quick look under the northbridge, you’ll also notice two two 3 pin fan headers. Strange placement you may think? Not really, this is ideal for anyone with a 120/140mm AIO mounted at the case exhaust port wanting to use push/pull fan config. Taking a quick glance over the board in a clockwise direction, starting in the top left. We see the Fatal1ty Mouse Port (exclusive to the Fatal1ty range). This is conjunction with F-Stream (included on the utilities disk) will allow the user to adjust the polling rate of their chosen mouse (adjustable from 125Hz to 100Hz, or you could cgo for Fatal1ty’s choice of 500Hz). Then we have the bit and beautiful northbridge heat sink, 8 pin power socket, PWR FAN, CPU FAN2, CPU FAN1 headers (CPU1 is also a 4 pin PWM header) and of course the 1150 socket. Looking to the left we see the four DIMM slots, two red and two black (not just aesthetic, they also pair up with your dual channel DDR3 sticks), theses support up to 32GB of up to 3200MHz+(OC) DDR3, +24 pin power socket and USB 3.0 (USB 3_4_5) header. Down to the lower right is the big red ASRock Fatal1ty southbridge heat sink (it’s worth noting that the lettering on both sinks are of a mirror finish metal of some sort, we all like shiny things), beneath which lives six SATA 3 sockets (the two dark grey two are shared by the SATA Express and M.2 socket) all of which are controlled by an Intel Chipset, then the CHA FAN1 (4 pin PWM header). To the lower left lives the two USB 2.0 sockets, front IO panel header, PLED1 (for cases with 3 pin POWERLED cables or even some third party LED), Internal Speaker, COM1 and HD audio header. Just above the last of which a not too widely used Thunderbolt AIC connector is also situated. Also down in the left corner (in case you hadn’t noticed ) are a variety. Which may also seem a little odd as if your going to be using the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer in a CrossFire setup, because the secondary GPU slot only uses four lanes. & 1100 (given my recent history with motherboards this is certainly not a bad thing). So if you do have a BIOS issue you can simply switch to the secondary BIOS, break either or both and you can simply swap out the chip/s. Brilliant idea for heavy handed people like me! You may have also noticed the Killer name liberally spread across the back end of the mobo. That’d be because the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer Motherboard uses the increasingly popular Killer E2200 (hence the motherboard name), both of which should help provide a better bass level and a little more noise. Then moving to the rear of the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer motherboard and the IO panel, we have the following inputs/outputs. On the dark side of the motherboard (the back bit you’ll never see), there’s not a lot to see, but it does allow us to see the rather nice Sapphire black PCB. The IO shield is clearly marked with colour coding (red for Fatal1ty mouse port, grey for USB 2.0, blue for USB3.0). Hardware Installation A new build was put together to house the ASRock Fatal1ty Z). * The latest BIOS version (1.3) was downloaded and installed . This was done via ASRock’s internet Flash utility accessed directly within the UEFI. It worked like a dream, and this is the first time I have seen this feature work so well. Drivers installed: - Intel Chipset Driver (INF driver ver: 10.0.13.PC) - Realtek High Definition Audio Driver (v7004) - LAN (Atheros) (1.1.42.1291) - ASMedia USB3.0 Driver (1.16.15.0) - AMD Catalyst 14.6 (9.14.10.01044) During testing the following tools/benchmarks & games were used/played: Hardware Performance For this review instead of using the usual Cooler Master HAF XB test case to house the Test Rig, I’m using the BitFenix Neos (effectively killing two birds with one stone) for testing purposes. The ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 didn’t power up first time as being in a hurry/stupid I’d hooked up the case IO cables to the motherboard header in the wrong order………… After putting my ‘user error’ right, the board fired up without a hitch. So first up was the easy task of updating the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 BIOS using the ASRock Internet Flash facility within the UEFI (this was surprisingly fast and I didn’t even have a chance to make a cuppa!), of course you’ll need an internet connection to do it this way, or you can go down the tried and tested USB memory stick approach. Having gotten perhaps a little too over familiar with Click BIOS 4 on our test motherboard the MSI Z87-G45 GAMING , the ASRock UEFI BIOS interface took a little while to get used to. It is easy enough to navigate and looks clean (it’s also fully viewable on a 1080p tv when used in combination with an AMD GPU, something that can’t be said for the MSI board). The default setting for Intel I5 4670k is a typical stock speed of 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) and for the HyperX Beast 1333MHz. Of course we wouldn’t be happy with just that would we? . - Benchmark Results (CPU @ 3.4GHz (1.0367v) : RAM @ 1333MHz) with MSI R9 290 GAMING 4G So after a few select benchmarks it’s back to BIOS time for a little overclock. Firstly by switching the HyperX Beast up to its recognised speed of 2400MHz by selecting XMP profile 1, then by playing around with the UEFI optimized CPU settings. Each of the five settings step the Turbo up by 0.2GHz, the lowest setting being 4.0GHz and the highest 4.8GHz, all of these work fine, but also knock a lot of volts through the CPU which of course also means more heat (at 4.8GHz the profile uses 1.378v and a 15 minute run on Prime95 gave me a toasty 93°, not exactly ideal for day to day use). So I settled on an easily attainable 4.5GHz and dropped the volts to 1.229v (the results are shown below). - Benchmark Results (CPU @ 4.5GHz (1.229v) : RAM @ 2400MHz) with MSI R9 290 GAMING 4G As you can see, there is a performance increase even if only small. Is the benefit really worthwhile? That’s something you’ll have to judge for yourselves. - Additional Software/Features Of course being Fatal1ty branded, the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer is packed full of many features for Gamers, let’s take a look at some of them now. SOFTWARE The ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer Motherboard also provides a Killer utilities suite in the form of the F-Stream Utility. This not only allows you to monitor and overclock your system whilst in windows, but also. There really is so much that you could do a review on the software alone!… Verdict Please Share, Like & Comment below, we really value your thoughts and opinions… Many thanks to ASRock for providing this sample for review

- slide 1 of 15 Finding the Best Digital Video Editing Software Video editing is essentially a means by which you can take what has been shot in various forms and craft it into a final project. This means that the video editing software that you need is going to have to give you the features you are after as well as provide an interface that will facilitate creativity and ease of use. The non-linear video editing model is fairly standard, but there are still a number of different video editing programs that offer different benefits and detractions. Here is a list of the top 10 video editing software applications out there, both professional and costly and free digital video editing software. - slide 2 of 15 1. Final Cut Pro The first, and most obvious choice, on our list of the top 10 video editing software applications is going to be Apple's watershed Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro continues the non-linear video editing revolution that began with Avid and ran with it.. With Final Cut Pro, you work in the accepted "Timeline" format where you cut and arrange different clips, add video effects and transitions, and have the general kind of image and audio control you would need to be entirely creative in your editing. Final Cut Pro is quickly becoming the industry standard and the first place for those who want to become professional level video editors to go. - slide 3 of 15 2. iMovie iMovie comes standard on Mac computers as part of the iLife package and is often considered the best of the simple video editing programs. iMovie actually works much different than the Timeline format of programs like Final Cut Pro or Avid, but has made video editing accessible to almost everyone with a Mac computer. What iMovie has done, in essence, is changed the workflow for home videos where now they can easily be transferred from their raw format into one that can be cut together and spruced up with a very easy video post-production program. Everything is included in iMovie, from the ability to add text and make edits to the addition of video effects, but simplicity is the name of the game instead of features. The workflow allows for easy import and export, and with other iLife programs like iDVD you can easily go into DVD authoring. iMovie is essentially a free digital video editing software program as it comes along with your Mac computer. - slide 4 of 15 3. Windows Movie Maker Windows Movie Maker is also a free video editing software program in the same way that iMovie is, except that it comes with Windows PCs instead of Mac computers. Windows Movie Maker is built a little more around the Timeline model, except that you can arrange clips in an even easier Storyboard mode. Windows Movie Maker is mostly designed to keep simplicity at play and this means that the options are few, but it is a great place to start for those that have never jumped onto a video editing program like this one and who just need simple tasks. You will also be able to include things like video effects, video transitions, text, and export options, but they will be few and non-adjustable in most cases. This is fine in that what Windows Movie Maker brings to the table is a basic way to crunch together edited videos when time is short. Remember, this free video editing software program is only going to be available for Windows computers. - slide 5 of 15 Please continue on to the next page to see what other programs have made the list of the top 10 video editing software applications. - slide 6 of 15 From the list of the top 10 video editing software applications, here are some of the best digital video editing software programs that you can use for your project, both paid and free. - slide 7 of 15 4. VirtualDub Next on our list of the best digital video editing software programs is VirtualDub. This is one of the most interesting free video editing programs on this list as it is barely considered a video editing program as it lacks most of the features that have made Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer the standards. Instead, it really functions as a program for capturing and processing video, but does allow for some very basic functions and will serve as the most basic and quick of all of these programs. Try it out when you are trying to work with video in the quickest way possible. - slide 8 of 15 5. Avid Media Composer Avid Media Composer is the grand emperor of non-linear video editing programs. Not only was Avid the first to release a non-linear system, it has remained the film industry standard and the most complete out of all professional video editing programs. For those who are intending to work in industry led post-production, Avid Media Composer is going to be a must as it is still used in most of the feature industry, though Final Cut Pro is challenging its superiority at all levels. Though most lower level video editors may not have used Avid, it still stands out as being the most complete system out there. Avid is known for having a huge list of tools and a package of third party programs that come with it to create a complete system, and there is even a set of Avid specific hardware that you can use along with it in a way that is similar to Pro Tools. This is partially why many computers are Avid specific and there are Avid systems used in post-production houses, often times with Avid software used for server and media sharing. Avid Media Composer is not, however, practical for many users as the price ranges from about $2,300 to $2,500. Avid is actively trying to gain back many of the Final Cut Pro users, especially those that have started to learn video editing through Final Cut Pro, so you can see that it is only going to increase the fight between the two leaders in professional film editing. - slide 9 of 15 6. Wax Wax is an interesting choice among free digital video editing software programs and is one that is much more involved than iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. You are going to get most of the features that you have come to expect from full service non-linear video editing programs, but not near as much as you would end up with something like the Final Cut Studio. Still you will actually benefit from Wax's inclusion of unlimited video and audio tracks, which is a feature that you are not normally going to be allowed. Top down compositing is also allowed, though you would likely save upper level compositing for Shake or After Effects. Try out Wax, or even try to use it as a general plug-in for another video editing program. - slide 10 of 15 Please continue on to the final page of this article to see the remaining programs that make our list of the top 10 video editing software applications. - slide 11 of 15 Here are the final programs that make the list of the top 10 video editing software applications; all of which are great options for your digital video project. Discover which is the best digital video editing software program for your needs. - slide 12 of 15 7. Adobe Premiere Adobe Premiere comes behind software like Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer, but is still a great option and can bridge the prosumer and professional video editing worlds. Adobe Premiere is still used in the professional video production field and you will find that visually it is a leap from Final Cut Pro, but since the non-linear video editing principles remain the same the learning curve should not be too dramatic. What is especially great with Adobe Premiere is how great it works with other programs in the Adobe Create Suite. Adobe Flash, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator are all leaders in their specific functionality, and you are going to be using all of them in your post-production work whether or not you are using Adobe Premiere. If you do use Adobe Premiere you will then be able to tap into them easily, not to mention Adobe Encore for DVD authoring. - slide 13 of 15 8. Zwei-Stein Zwei-Stein is going to be an interesting choice in free digital video editing software, but will work perfectly for some people. It sets a clip use limit at 256, but that may be perfect for the type of video editing projects you want out of Zwei-Stein. You will also find that the interface is very specific and can be kind of hard, which may not be what you are looking for out of a software that is essentially built around simple edits. Try out Zwei-Stein and see if it is going to be for you, but what you will find is that it is a very unique free video editing program and may fit the way you work during post-production perfectly. - slide 14 of 15 9. Sony Vegas Pro Sony Vegas Pro was Sony's answer to Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Adobe Premiere. It is a full service non-linear video editing program that provides professional features, though is not used near as much professionally. You will also find that it is somewhat cheaper than the other big three, yet this does not mean that it is going to be inexpensive by any means. Try out Sony Vegas Pro and see if it flows a little better than the rest, but because of its lack of popularity there is a great likelihood that there will be less development for it. Sony Vegas Pro is the more professional version of Sony's video editing software, but they also have Sony Vegas Movie Studio that is more in line with Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. - slide 15 of 15 10. Roxio Creator The final program on our list of the top 10 video editing software applications is Roxio Creator. Thia is one of the industry's great cheap deals. Roxio Creator is a video editing program that is not in line with the professional expectations of Avid Media Composer but certainly outdoes the vapid simplicity of Windows Movie Maker. Roxio Creator is going to be perfect for home video editors as you can easily capture video directly from your digital video camera and it is clearly designed with the ability to export video in a variety of different formats, which is needed for the diversification in today's media consumption. The Timeline format is fairly standardized, though somewhat simplified from the prosumer model. Once you get to know where everything is in Roxio Creator you are going to find a great option for quick video editing, and for $79.99 it is a steal. Read this Roxio Creator 2010 review to learn more about what this software has to offer.

computer programs FXD-CSD-GUI: a graphical user interface for the X-ray-diffraction-based determination of crystallite size distributions aGZG Crystallography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 1, Göttingen, 37077, Germany *Correspondence e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Bragg intensities can be used to analyse crystal size distributions in a method called FXD-CSD, which is based on the fast measurement of many Bragg spots using two-dimensional detectors. This work presents the Python-based software and its graphical user interface FXD-CSD-GUI. The GUI enables user-friendly data handling and processing and provides both graphical and numerical crystal size distribution results. Keywords: FXD-CSD; X-ray diffraction; Bragg intensities; crystal size distribution; two-dimensional detectors. 1. FXD-CSD method Fast X-ray diffraction crystal size distribution analysis, FXD-CSD (Neher et al., 2018 ), is a reference-material-based X-ray diffraction method to derive volume-based CSDs for polycrystalline materials and powders. FXD-CSD uses the ratio of the integrated diffraction intensity of a reference to its irradiated crystal volume as a scaling factor (S1); the sample and reference do not need to be composed of the same substance. With this scaling factor, the volume CSD of an unknown sample is deduced. To obtain the integrated intensities of the sample and reference, stepwise rotation diffraction measurements have to be carried out for both. These measurements are performed with a diffractometer equipped with an area detector. To carry out the subsequent FXD-CSD analysis, the crystallographic structures (the structure factors and unit-cell volume) of the sample and reference have to be known. For intensity scaling, the CSD information of the measured reference material should be available, e.g. as measured with scanning electron microscopy and extracted by image analysis. If no full CSD is available, the mean value can be used instead as a point of reference. Stepwise rotation measurements, as used in FXD-CSD, produce large data sets in a short time. These data are reduced by extracting the individual integrated intensities of the Bragg spots detected. All extracted intensities are corrected for geometric effects (i.e. Lorentz correction) and scaled with the scattering power of the corresponding hkl plane (i.e. the structure factor F2hkl). This data reduction and scaling process is quite time intensive and therefore can only be carried out routinely with custom-built software, the Python module fxdcsd. Its graphical user interface, FXD-CSD-GUI, is presented in the following. 2. Graphical user interface: FXD-CSD-GUI To facilitate the use of the fxdcsd Python module for uninitiated users, a graphical user interface, FXD-CSD-GUI, is provided and made available as part of the fxdcsd Python module. FXD-CSD-GUI allows the user to perform all necessary steps for a complete FXD-CSD analysis. Here we summarize the tools and information needed before an FXD-CSD analysis can be undertaken; for more details, we refer to Neher et al. (2018 ) and the user manual available at and as supporting information for this article. The following items are needed to perform a CSD analysis: (i) A diffractometer with a two-dimensional detector and at least one sample rotation axis. (ii) A reference powder with known CSD in the lower µm range (∼0.5–100 µm). The CSD should ideally be available as an individual crystal volume information data set. At least the characteristic numerical values (e.g. mean value and distribution spread from a histogram fit) of the CSD histogram are needed. (iii) Stepwise rotation measurement data sets (consecutive frames, e.g. Bruker .sfrm or .tif files) from the reference and sample acquired under the same conditions. (iv) The crystal structure of the reference material and the sample material to be investigated. This information is needed to calculate the structure factors and the cell volumes, which are necessary for a correct intensity scaling. The structure factor and cell volume calculations are not carried out using FXD-CSD-GUI. For this purpose we suggest, for example, PowderCell (Kraus & Nolze, 1996 ) or Mercury (Macrae et al., 2008 ). During the analysis with FXD-CSD-GUI, the following steps are performed; the flow diagram in Fig. 1 illustrates these steps, and details of the software tasks are provided by Neher et al. (2018 ): (i) Initiating the analysis by loading the detector frames and picking the hkl rings that are to be analysed (carried out for the reference material and sample). For this task, we recommend having a plotted and indexed powder pattern at hand. Reference and sample are abbreviated as REF and SAMP within the GUI. (ii) Providing the required structure factor and unit-cell size information for both the reference and the sample and for each ring. (iii) Testing and final application of the pickpeaks function. In this step, the program detects the diffraction peaks by an intensity threshold operation. The threshold defines the intensity value used to separate the background intensity from the diffraction spot intensity. The threshold intensity level is set by the user. During testing, each parameter can be tuned manually. Most important here is the already mentioned threshold and the ring_width parameter, which is the width of the ring-shaped area of interest. Running the pickpeaks function can take, depending on frame size and frame number as well as the computer power, up to several hours. (iv) Running the intextract function, which first allocates the diffraction spots detected in adjacent frames and then integrates the diffraction spot intensities. (v) Conditioning the REF and SAMP data. The integrated intensities are corrected for the Lorentz–polarization factor and are scaled with their structure factors with respect to one user-chosen hkl ring. The ratio between the structure factors, normalized to their unit-cell volumes, of the two chosen hkl rings (reference and sample) is called the S2 scaling factor [see Neher et al. (2018 ), Section 3.1]. All parameters can be manipulated by the user and one can choose which hkl rings will be included in the final CSD analysis. The results are shown as intensity histograms. (vi) Determining the S1 scaling factor between the mean of the measured reference intensity histogram and the mean value of its volume distribution – measured independently [e.g. via light scattering or scanning electron microscopy; see Neher et al. (2018 ), Section 4]. The used mean values are determined via automated distribution fitting. The user can choose between a lognormal, Gaussian or skewed-Gaussian model. In addition, it is possible to add a custom model (see the user manual). The volume distribution either can be loaded as a csv file with comma-separated single-crystallite volume (nm3) values or can be provided as numerical values (e.g. average crystallite size and distribution spread). In the case of numerical values, the input is used for plotting a lognormal distribution (see the user manual). In our experience, a lognormal distribution is the most likely distribution shape when the reference material is produced via mechanical crushing of larger single crystals and crystal size fractions are separated from it [see Neher et al. (2018 ), Section 4 and Section S4 of the supporting information]. During the analysis, all necessary numerical inputs are explained within the interface and highlighted according to their state of input, e.g. mandatory input parameters are highlighted red when missing and turn green when they are provided consistently. The results are provided numerically and are shown graphically. The graphics can be exported in various formats (.png, .jpeg, .svg or .pdf). 3. Software and hardware implementation The program has been tested on 64 bit Windows (7 and 10) and Ubuntu Linux (16.4) machines but should also run on macOS. It is written in Python 2.7 using the default Tkinter (Lundh, 2005 ) module for GUI programming. The plotting and frame visualization are done with the Matplotlib (Hunter, 2007 ) module. Reading the diffractometer frames is done with fabIO (Knudsen et al., 2013 ), which is capable of reading most of the common detector file formats. For array processing, NumPy (Oliphant, 2006 ;) is used. The fitting is performed using lmfit (Newville et al., 2014 ). 4. Documentation and availability The program is released under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence, either version 3 of the licence or any later version, and is available at. We only request that, for any published use, reference is made to the present publication. A user manual and test data are also provided at this address. Supporting information User manual. DOI: Acknowledgements We thank Dr M. Chaouachi and Dr A. Falenty (GZG Crystallography, University of Göttingen) for fruitful discussions on the FXD-CSD method development and the software implementation. We also acknowledge Thien An Pham (University of Göttingen) for testing the software and providing helpful feedback. We thank Leonard Wentzky und Paul Rübsamen-von Döhren (both University of Göttingen) for assistance while debugging the GUI. Funding information The following funding is acknowledged: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant No. KU920/20-1 to WFK); Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (grant No. 03G0856B). References Hunter, J. D. (2007). Comput. Sci. Eng. 9, 99–104. Web of Science CrossRef Google Scholar Knudsen, E. B., Sørensen, H. O., Wright, J. P., Goret, G. & Kieffer, J. (2013). J. Appl. Cryst. 46, 537–539. Web of Science CrossRef CAS IUCr Journals Google Scholar Kraus, W. & Nolze, G. (1996). J. Appl. Cryst. 29, 301–303. CrossRef CAS Web of Science IUCr Journals Google Scholar Lundh, F. (2005). An Introduction to Tkinter,. Neher, S. H., Klein, H. & Kuhs, W. F. (2018). J. Appl. Cryst. 51, 1352–1371. Web of Science CrossRef CAS IUCr Journals Google Scholar Newville, M., Stensitzki, T., Allen, D. B. & Ingargiola, A. (2014). LMFIT: Non-Linear Least-Square Minimization and Curve-Fitting for Python,. Google Scholar Oliphant, T. E. (2006). A Guide to NumPy. Trelgol Publishing. Google Scholar This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are cited.

The. By Sujjawal Ahmad (Pakistan based writer. Sujjawal did his Masters degree in Molecular Biology from Quaid-i Azam University Pakistan. He writes on philosophical traditions of the world religions, more specifically on Ismaili Philosophy and Theology. Contact via email: [email protected]) The community of believers need at all times and contexts an existential and spiritual map that provides lucid means to achieve highest goals of engaged surrender to God. In Islam that path is Sharia. Sharia in Arabic means ‘path’, a terminology that holds more significance than law or ‘fiqh’. During lifetime of the Prophet, that map was provided by the Prophet himself. In early years of Islam, the Sunna became frame of reference for the ideal of Islamic life and civilization, thus paving way to the development of shari‘a. A pluralistic culture of intellectual engagement that was formed by Muslim authorities in later centuries welcomed most advanced social as well as economic systems of their times. This lead to the development of erudite philosophical, moral and ethical traditions of an intellectually vibrant society of the Muslims. Since with time context changes as historical and cultural location of the believers changes, there is thus a compelling need to reinterpret the existential vision in an innovative way that responds approximately to the changing historical, cultural and social horizons. Sunni Muslims have sought solution to this in the form of Ijtehād and Ijmā. But for Shia Muslims, as Azim Nanji notes: .” The Islamic society of early years derived its inspiration from the Shari‘a as framework of problem solving methodology of governance. The role of the individual and the community was that of agents who invested in moral underpinnings of the message of the Prophet. It was only in 13th and 14th centuries when gate of reasoning ( ijtehad) was closed and the world of Islam became static to its effervescence to intellectual inquiry. Muslims of later periods seem to have incomplete understanding of the broad nature of Sharia. The broader purpose of Sharia to enhance life of the society lost its power, limiting it to a mere set of laws and modes of religious duties which very well equates it to fiqh. The primary sources for the Shari’a are the Quranic revelation and the episodes of the Prophet’s life, his words and practice (Sunna). As in the example of Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him and his progeny), the system of governance that he established was underpinned by a moral order that valued kindness, forgiveness and mercy. The reforms that he brought in early Islamic state were informed by an inherent spirituality and supported by divine revelations. As demonstrated by deep concern of the Prophet for the elderly, the poor, the weak and the sick, the Sunna not only serves as a timeless pattern for daily life but it also reflects clear attention to improving the well-being of the Muslim society as a whole. “The eternal values of Islam are such that whether the man lived a hundred years ago or lives a hundred years from now, he is always in his correct position. There is no conflict. So in terms of the humanistic, permanent values of a faith, I would say that obviously Islam puts an individual in a very privileged position.” Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, Pakistan Television Corporation Interview (Karachi, Pakistan), 12 November 1985 The Sunna serves as a paradigm of modes for establishing – what Mowlana Hazar Imam calls ‘an enabling environment’– where the needy should work to become self-reliant and others should assist them in achieving this. Shari‘a when defined through the framework set by the holy Prophet’s biography (sirat), provides a body of exemplary policies of governance that had nurtured the material as well as the spiritual enhancements of the habitat where Muslims formed communities in early periods. From the Qur’anic perspective, the believers are encouraged to have strong social conscience, to uphold the dignity of human beings and to show compassion for all creatures. This forms what we call ‘Islamic Ethics’ and ultimately an approach to development. Since actions in material world are seen not separate from the context of faith, building a world, therefore, that is spiritually empty would do nothing good for its inhabitants. A harmony and balance between din and dunya is imperative in fostering a society based on Islamic principles laid in the life and teachings of the Prophet. The Shari’a – when seen such as this, is more than a body of laws or legal norms which form only a part of it. The Sharia, when treated as a medium of organic and enabling resource to development, leads to good Quality of Life as well as spiritual renaissance in the society as we find its rich expression in the plenitude of virtually a millennium-and-a-half of historical experience. Twentieth century, as Basheer M. Nafi notes, has witnessed intellectual changes of wider range that can be related to three aspects. Firstly it is related to Muslim’s views of the primary Islamic texts, the Qur’an and hadith, their role in addressing the challenges faced by world of Islam, and their relation to subsequent Islamic traditions; the second is related to understanding and evaluating the prevalent Islamic intellectual modes and their connotations to the living conditions of the Muslims; and finally it is related to defining the external, that is, the western challenge, the nature of this challenge and the search for possible intellectual avenues for an Islamic- Western composite. [2] Shari‘a should guide every aspect of life, but at the same time it must be able to deal with the challenges faced by the new world in a realistic way. The idea of Ijtehad calls for reforms in interpreting Shari‘a responding to the circumstances of modern age. So there have been many calls over the last century to re-institute Ijtehad. The last part of nineteenth century seems to have witnessed some fundamental changes in Islamic thought. The Islamic intellectual arena of modern age has somehow its roots in the discussion of reform and revival that started in late nineteenth century. Attempts to recalibrate and reconstruct Islamic thought for an emerging modern worldview, thus, not seems unabated in Islamic world. A construction that is in adherence to basic Islamic principles, a metamorphosis into a coherent worldview need to be addressed to meet the problems of Muslim adjustment to modernity. A few states have, disseminated a comprehensive approach to influence interpretation of the Islamic practice of their citizens that aligns with the broader perspectives of the Sharia. The role of civil society remains plausible in this regard. ‘Civil society’ means private, non-state, non-economic zone having an empirical point of reference that define its goal. It includes non-state organizations that carry out activities to sustain and enhance the lives of individuals and the community. Overall, the role of civil society is a complimentary one, as it gives moral and practical support to states to accomplish needs of the public sphere. These non-state organizations when operate can enhance Islamic values in public sectors of health, education, housing and law. In this way it can help the Islamic world to find a chance to govern itself within an Islamic view of life. In Shia Islam the primary ethical corpus is derived from the Quranic and prophetic direction as well as the guidance of designated Imams in the progeny of the Prophet: Within Shi‘i Islam, it is the mandate of each hereditary Imam from the Prophet’s progeny, as the legatee of the Prophet’s authority, to seek to realise that paradigm through an institutional and social order which befits the circumstances of time and place. In the world of flux, the Imam gives leadership in the maintenance of balance between the spiritual and the material in the harmonious context of the ethics of the faith, of which he is the guardian. Amyn B. Sajoo, Muslim Ethics: Emerging Vistas From the Ismaili Muslim perspective, it is of profound importance to engage with the horizontal relationship of man with his society in addition to their vertical relation with God. This has led Ismaili Imamat to initiate thousands of social and economic development projects – most of them are modest and grassroot efforts such as schools, healthcare campaigns, and environmental projects – around the world. .” -Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, Address to the International Press Institute, 54th General Assembly, 22 May 2005 “Islam, therefore, guides man not only in his spiritual relationship with God, it also guides man in his relationship with his fellow men and his relationship with the material world around him.” -Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, Speech at the Ismaili Centre Foundation Stone Ceremony (Burnaby, Canada), 26 July 1982 Present Ismaili Imam has been engaged with civil society work since when he became Imam in 1957. He has concerned himself in three broad avenues of cultural, economic and social development of Muslims and the developing world. He has extended multitude of programs and institutions to serve the Ismaili community. Ismaili Imamat has established a broad network of development agencies, generally referred to as Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The AKDN has adopted a wider position articulated in an international framework of largest array of agencies and institutions of the world where Muslims live in majority or in minority, and it helps the government’s structures for poverty alleviation and improving Quality of Life. The Network spans mainly in South and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Europe and North America. An outline of these development agencies is depicted in the chart below: The agencies operate at a transnational level in social, economic and cultural sectors. Operating in more than 30 countries of developing world, it employs more than 80,000 people. Its agencies are concerned with industrial promotion, tourism, finance, aviation, media in addition to its major role in education and health sector. In area of higher education, initiatives of AKDN include the Aga Khan University, University of Central Asia, and Institute of Ismaili Studies. The Ismaili Imam has also devoted his resources to promoting better understanding of Islam as a major world civilization. An institution founded in this regard is known as Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). The mandate of this institution covers preserving social, intellectual and cultural traditions of Muslims. The Isma’ili principle is a good example in order to show that religious ethic can line up with modern, secular ethics of pluralism, tolerance, and equality. Isma’ilism is a model of Muslim religion that adapts and adjusts its basic ideas to modernity while maintaining its unique religious identity. This shows how the Eurocentric view on Islam often fails to recognize the complexities of Muslim communities by emphasizing on Islam ‟ as incompatible with” modernity. The role of the Aga Khan IV in the Isma’ili Imamate ‘Authority without Territory’? Linda Hewit The Islamic ideals of compassion and inclusiveness, and more importantly the ethical dimension when presented as the bridge between din and dunya, is manifested in Ismaili Imamat’s humanistic work.‘ One of the central elements of Islamic faith’, as the Aga Khan said before Evangelical audience on 20th May 2006, ‘is the inseparable nature of faith and world. The two are so deeply intertwined that one cannot imagine their separation. They constitute a “Way of Life”’. “The. Improving the quality of life of people, as Ismaili Imam put it, in June 1985 in his interview to Independent Television London, “is a fundamental Islamic concept”. He said: “Making them self-sufficient and helping weaker sections of a country or a community. That is fundamental, right from the revelation of Islam — the way Prophet Muhammad lived himself — it is a fundamental Islamic concept. ” Ismaili Imamat is a supranational office, that transcends need to govern any state. For Ismaili Muslims, since Imam is the temporal and spiritual successor of Prophet Muhammad, he holds absolute interpretative authority (ta’lim) and exegetical-hermeneutical authority (tawil) to define the fundamental principles of Islam and adjust its traditions to conform to principles according to the changing contexts and needs of the Jamat. Although the charter of AKDN does not mention Shari’a, but it defines the network’s aim to ‘realise the social conscience of Islam through institutional action’. .” Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV, India Today Interview (1st), Aroon Purie (India) Although the mandate of AKDN in essence ascribes to the ‘social conscience of Islam’, but it serves to a wider interest to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The relief provided by this initiative, its charitable and educational activities have played an important role in development of the Ismaili community and areas where they live. Although religious teachings in relation to society at large must change to fit the needs of the times, there are certain fundamental moral and ethical teachings that are common to all “Earth’s great faiths”. The Aga Khan has, thus, urged modern society to adopt what he calls a “cosmopolitan ethic” which, he says, is “an ethic for all peoples.” The scope of the consensus for defining cosmopolitan ethic, however, should be limited to the ethical framework prescribed by those faiths, and in particular, in his case, Islam. Significantly, the Holy Prophet’s own life and the Quran provides the basic ethical framework which clearly outlines the mandate of AKDN: -. [3] The mandate of the AKDN is NOT completely a charity work, since it is based on the idea to make people self-sufficient, to create, what Ismaili Imam would call “an enabling environment” that helps to improve social conditions of the people without respect to faith, caste, or color. “What Muslim Society is to be in times to come? Earlier, in Pakistan, on March 12, 1976, in his presidential address to International Sirat Conference, the Aga Khan highlighted one aspect where Muslims can live in the years ahead in a greater peace, greater prosperity within an ‘Islamic ethos’ — and the sole way to it, in the words of Aga Khan, to be sought “in the Holy Qur’an and in the example of Allah’s last and final Prophet.” As.” What we see in the core of Prophet Muhammad’s mission of bringing social reform is certainly articulated in the Quranic message of achieving a moral order through a ‘mediating community’. 2:143 . One example of translating the ethics of ‘giving’ into a permanent trust, is reflected in what earlier Muslims established through an institutional framework a system of awqaf. The Quran and the Sunna both make it obligatory, through institutionalizing the duty of Zakat and other means, making a Muslim’s moral imperative to develop a social conscience and to share individual and communal resources with the less privileged of the society. The Ismaili Imamat’s mandate thus appears to meet the end purpose of Shari’a, i.e., enhancing quality of life, helping weaker sections of the society to become self-sufficient, and all in all, sustaining and enhancing human existence. References: - Azim Nanji, Islamic Ethics - The Rise of the Islamic Reformist Thought and its Challenge to Traditional Islam Basheer M. Nafi, Islamic thought in the Twentieth Century, P29 - Visit official website of AKDN Further Readings: One thought

! DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "" > From global to regional to national: building operational climate services Building support for climate services at the national level The Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) has already succeeded in building effective partnerships at the global level. Governments, with support from United Nations and other international organizations, are collaborating to advance the concept of climate services, attract funding and launch projects. The next step is to make the GFCS a reality at the national and local levels in order to bring it closer to the end-users of climate predictions, information and advice. This can best be achieved through country dialogues and frameworks that lead to operational climate services. The GFCS seeks to advance this process through a series of regional workshops on climate services at the national level. Regional workshops allow experts to meet with their counterparts from neighbouring countries to debate shared problems and needs. By ensuring a critical mass of experts from such diverse sectors as meteorology, climate research, public health, disaster risk, water resource management and agriculture, they can produce highly enriching discussions. These discussions pave the way for the next critical step: national dialogues that lead directly to demand-driven operational services. The first regional workshop on climate services at the national level was held in Bangkok in October 2012. This event focused on the least developed countries in Asia and was sponsored by WMO, the Asian Development Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, and the Thai Meteorological Department. Over 50 experts from nine countries and from regional and global organizations participated. The second regional workshop was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, in May 2013 and attracted some 70 participants from the provider and user communities in 20 countries. It was also organized by the WMO, this time in conjunction with the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with financial support from FAO, the State Meteorological Agency of Spain (AEMET) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The next workshops will be organized for the Latin American and South Pacific regions. Shared issues and concerns The Bangkok and Port of Spain workshops highlighted a number of issues that are probably relevant to all regions. To start with, credible climate services must be underpinned by good science and research. Thanks to intensive scientific research, remarkable advances have been made in seasonal forecasting for many regions (particularly the tropics), and there is growing confidence in long-term climate change predictions. To advance seasonal forecasting and build regional capacity, WMO is promoting the establishment of Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs). Given the limited resources of developing countries, the forums focus mostly on applied research. RCOFs serve two main purposes: they strengthen networking amongst regional climate experts as well as the users of climate forecasts (if the users cannot understand or apply the forecasts, they have little value), and over time they will improve the accuracy of regional seasonal forecasts. RCOFs have now been established in over 10 regions, including the Caribbean, south-eastern Europe and Southern Africa. They are a critical component of the GFCS and to the development of operational climate services. Research depends on data, and concerns about the quantity and quality of data are universal. Obtaining, managing and disseminating data can be expensive. It may be necessary to identify useful datasets that need to be rescued from loss and decay. Data issues can be usefully discussed at the regional level. The question of how to maximize limited resources may also lend itself to regional solutions. Centres of excellence, for example, may be more easily supported at the regional level than at the national level. Regional coordination could also be useful for ensuring that the GFCS is aligned with the many other global frameworks and structures that the UN and others have established to support sustainable development. Regional workshops allow participants to explore gaps, capacity development and strategies for engaging stakeholders. They offer the opportunity to share good practices and success stories for providing and using climate services. They can explore how National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and other climate service providers can best communicate highly technical information to experts in fields that are equally technical and have their own highly specialized vocabularies. Workshop participants can also exchange ideas on how to engage high-level government officials, potential funders, the press and other audiences with compelling messages and stories that raise awareness about how climate services can contribute to sustainable development (see box). Communicating GFCS and climate services National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) communicate regularly about weather and extreme events; as a result, they have increased visilibity and widespread public awareness of the value of weather services. Climate service providers will want to duplicate this success in the domain of climate variability and change. The challenges to achieving this are many: climate services are not as mature as weather services; climate is experienced less directly than weather; climate predictions are more complex than weather predictions; and climate tends to involve longer term strategic responses that can be more difficult to evaluate. Communications and outreach are therefore vital for raising climate literacy and convincing people of the many benefits provided by climate services. The communications strategy for the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) seeks to engage governments, UN agencies and other partners in building a cross-cutting, multidisciplinary framework. It also aims to inform the potential users of climate services about the impressive progress in climate science, the operational services and products made possible by this progress, and the benefits that communities and socio-economic sectors are already reaping from climate information, predictions and advice. WMO and others actively promote the GFCS via the web, workshops, presentations, publications, articles, press outreach and social media. In October 2012 the Extraordinary Session of the World Meteorological Congress adopted the communications strategy, which can be found on the GFCS website. The GFCS brand Branding is a useful tool for ensuring a strategic and coherent approach to outreach. A brand can be defined as how people perceive or respond to a product, service or organization – they trust it, or they do not; they want to use it, or they do not. In the case of the GFCS, the brand, or identity, is the sum of all the Framework’s attributes. This includes the visual identity – the logo and the common look and feel of the GFCS website and publications. More important is the perceived added value or attributes of the GFCS brand that differentiate it and make it unique from all others. The GFCS is a government driven, UN-wide, interdisciplinary partnership that provides access to state-of-the-art science and applications, responds to both climate variability and change, supports national priorities, assists governments to build national and regional climate services, and empowers users to apply climate services to solve real problems. These are the values that attract people to the GFCS brand. Compelling stories and messages are essential for bringing the GFCS brand to life. The GFCS Office has already collected a number of case studies from governments and organizations and presented them in “Climate ExChange,” a 250-page book with over 100 authors, published by WMO and Tudor Rose in October 2012. As climate services mature it should be possible to tell better and better “human interest stories” about how specific services are helping particular people or communities to address urgent problems. Gathering and sharing stories that convey the human impact of climate and climate services is important for the entire GFCS community. National outreach While the outreach activities for the GFCS started with engaging governments and organizations at the international level, they must increasingly focus on reaching out at the regional and national levels. It is now vital to engage partners in national frameworks and to energize the end-users of climate services. The aim should be to promote climate literacy and a general understanding of climate services, including amongst politicians, high-level officials responsible for national budgets and development, and potential funders. In this way, NMHSs can open the door to dialogues for defining the specific service needs of users in priority sectors. Plan ahead To be effective, national outreach should not be treated as an add-on or an after-thought. Instead, communications should be integrated from the start into all activities that support climate services. Preparing a written plan in advance is a useful way to think through the brand, messages and stories that should be promoted. Priority audiences (such as private- and public-sector end users, the media, potential partners, funders) should be identified and multiple communications tools and channels (web, press, etc.) should be exploited. Generic messages could include: climate science and prediction are now mature enough to support operational services; climate services provide actionable information and predictions; climate-smart decision-making will improve lives and livelihoods, etc. To the extent possible, messages at the national level should be more specific and targeted. Other considerations for effective outreach include: recognize that many potential users may not be familiar with the basics of climate variability and change, let alone what is meant by “climate services;” messages and stories should be simple, positive, relevant to daily life and expressed in non-technical language; and climate services should be linked when possible to other government priorities and campaigns and to current events (storms, droughts, launches of the IPCC assessment reports, etc.). As these brief suggestions demonstrate, outreach is rather simple – even if it is not always easy. A key challenge is having the capacity, staff skills, time and funding to pursue effective outreach. While an upfront investment is clearly required, the pay-off in terms of attracting political and financial support and educating users ensures that outreach will more than pay for itself. Climate-smart health services in the Caribbean Regional workshops can also explore sector-specific climate services in greater detail. Participants can complete a survey of currently available and used climate services and make a list of the additional ones that are needed. They can identify specific gaps, capacity development needs, institutional arrangements, priorities, and next steps. For example, at the Caribbean workshop climate and health experts brainstormed about issues that many said they had never before addressed. They identified dengue as a common regional concern. Dengue is prevalent throughout the Caribbean in the rainy season. Effective early warning systems are needed to advise vulnerable populations about the behaviour they should adopt to minimize the risks of a pending outbreak. The health authorities need climate services that combine seasonal rainfall, temperature and humidity forecasts in order to predict a dengue outbreak. This information needs to be communicated well in advance so that health officials can roll out an appropriate outreach campaign. Other Caribbean priorities areas for climate services to support public health are respiratory track infections, diarrhea and gastroenteritis, and injuries from natural disasters. In addition to the three climate parameters already cited, these three areas will require, respectively, the provision of information on dust transported from the Sahara Desert; climate change information, for example, on ocean warming; and data and forecasts on extreme events. Continued research is vital to a better understanding of the link between climate and these various public health concerns. Long-term historical meteorological and climate data from the NMHSs – preferably computerized, in a format that health experts can understand, and transmitted in a timely manner – are also vital for mapping health risks. To achieve all this, a regular dialogue between health ministries and NMHSs is essential. Even with the best will in the world, initiating and sustaining such a dialogue can be a challenge. People are absorbed by their day-to-day work and have limited resources. Ideally, a person or organization will be tasked with facilitating the dialogue and coordinating the sharing of data and information between national agencies. (The intervention of policy-makers may sometimes be required to improve data sharing.) Other issues that could be addressed through a national framework could include the translation of research papers and data products from other languages used in the region. The end result of the dialogue should be the mainstreaming of climate services into operational health services. A road map for national action The Asian and Caribbean regional dialogues have already proven their value. The next step towards national frameworks for operational climate services will be to organize national dialogues that bring together experts from climate-sensitive sectors. These dialogues will develop national coordination mechanisms for nurturing partnerships and networks of climate service users and providers. The resulting climate services should be designed to address each country’s specific challenges and user needs. They should be action oriented and should solve real problems. The national dialogues will help users to define their needs so that service providers can respond to them. National consultations will also enable the participating institutions and partners to agree on their respective roles and mandates. Effective governance mechanisms for the national frameworks will ensure that all partners work towards shared goals and avoid unwanted overlaps and gaps. They will also make it possible to identify capacity development needs and a common approach to international funders. In addition to involving experts from relevant sectors, these national dialogues can start to engage the high-level political officials who make decisions on resources and budgets. To do this, the promoters of climate services may need to translate climate impacts into financial and development impacts – to speak the language of development planners. They must convince the politicians that ignoring climate risks will damage key economic sectors, such as tourism, agriculture or coastal development, and thus the overall national economy. A sign of their success in creating this new paradigm will be the day when the Finance Ministry reviews the Water Ministry’s strategic plan and without prompting asks: how does your plan address climate risks?

Lazarus IDE Tools Deutsch (de) | English (en) | Español (es) | Suomi (fi) | Français (fr) | 日本語 (ja) | 한국어 (ko) | Nederlands (nl) | Português (pt) | Русский (ru) | Slovenčina (sk) | 中文(中国大陆) (zh_CN) Overview The IDE uses a library of Pascal source parsing and editing tools, called the "codetools". These tools provide features like Find Declaration, Code Completion, Extraction, Moving Inserting and Beautifying Pascal sources. These functions can save you a lot of time and duplicated work. They are customizable, and every feature is available via shortcuts (see Editor Options). Because they work solely on Pascal sources and understand FPC, Delphi and Kylix code, they don't require compiled units or an installed Borland/Embarcadero compiler. You can edit Delphi and FPC code at the same time. You can even work with several Delphi and FPC versions at the same time. This makes porting Delphi code to FPC/Lazarus much easier. Summary Table of IDE shortcuts Method Jumping To jump between a procedure body (begin..end) and the procedure definition (procedure Name;) use Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↑. For example: interface procedure DoSomething; // procedure definition implementation procedure DoSomething; // procedure body begin end; If the cursor is on the procedure body and you press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↑, the cursor will jump to the definition. Pressing Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↑ again will jump to the body, after 'begin'. This works between methods (procedures in classes) as well. Hints: 'Method Jumping' jumps to the same procedure with the same name and parameter list. If there is no exact procedure, it jumps to the best candidate and positions the cursor on the first difference. (For Delphians: Delphi can not do this). For example a procedure with different parameter types: interface procedure DoSomething(p: char); // procedure definition implementation procedure DoSomething(p: string); // procedure body begin end; Jumping from the definition to the body will position the cursor at the 'string' keyword. This can be used for renaming methods and/or changing the parameters. For example: You renamed 'DoSomething' to 'MakeIt': interface procedure MakeIt; // procedure definition implementation procedure DoSomething; // procedure body begin end; Then you jump from MakeIt to the body. The IDE searches for a fitting body, does not find one, and hence searches for a candidate. Since you renamed only one procedure there is exactly one body without definition (DoSomething) and so it will jump to DoSomething and position the cursor right on 'DoSomething'. Then you can simply rename it there too. This works for parameters as well. Include Files Include files are files inserted into sources with the {$I filename} or {$INCLUDE filename} compiler directive. Lazarus and FPC often uses include files to reduce redundancy and avoid unreadable {$IFDEF} constructs needed to support different platforms. Contrary to Delphi, the Lazarus IDE has full support for include files. You can for example jump from the method in the .pas file to the method body in the include file. All codetools like code completion consider include files as special bounds. For instance: When code completion adds a new method body behind another method body, it keeps them both in the same file. This way you can put whole class implementations in include files, as the LCL does for nearly all controls. But there is a trap for newbies: If you open an include file for the first time and try method jumping or find declaration you will get an error. The IDE does not yet know to which unit the include file belongs. You must open the unit first. As soon as the IDE parses the unit, it will parse the include directives there and the IDE will remember this relationship. It saves this information on exit and on project save to ~/.lazarus/includelinks.xml. The next time you open this include file and jump or do a find declaration, the IDE will internally open the unit and the jump will work. You can also hint the IDE by putting {%mainunit yourunit.pas} at the top of yourinclude.inc. Of course this mechanism has limits. Some include files are included twice or more. For example: lcl/include/winapih.inc. How you will jump from the procedure/method definitions in this include file to their bodies will depend on your last action. If you worked on lcl/lclintf.pp the IDE will jump to winapi.inc. If you worked on lcl/interfacebase.pp, then it will jump to lcl/include/interfacebase.inc (or one of the other include files). If you are working on both, then you can get confused. ;) Code Templates Code Templates converts an identifier into a text or code fragment. Code Templates default short cut is Ctrl+J. You can type an identifier, press Ctrl+J and the identifier is replaced by the text defined for the identifier. Code Templates can be defined in Tools -> Options -> CodeTools. Example: Write the identifier 'classf', leave the cursor right behind the 'f' and press Ctrl+J. The 'classf' will be replaced by T = class(T) private public constructor Create; destructor Destroy; override; end; and the cursor is behind the 'T'. You can get the list of templates by positioning the cursor on space (not on an identifier) and pressing Ctrl+J. The list of code templates will pop up. Use the cursor keys or type some chars to choose one. Return creates the selected template and Escape closes the pop up. The biggest time savers are templates 'b'+Ctrl+J for begin..end. Parameter Hints Parameter Hints shows a hint box with the parameter declarations for the current parameter list. For example Canvas.FillRect(|); Place the cursor in the brackets and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+space. A hint box will show up showing the parameters of FillRect. Since 0.9.31 there is a button to the right of each declaration to insert the missing parameters.This will copy the parameter names from the chosen declaration to the cursor position. Hint: Use the Variable Declaration Completion to declare the variables. Incremental Search Incremental Search changes the statusbar of the source editor. Type some characters and the editor will search and highlight immediately all occurrences in the text. Shortcut is Ctrl+e. - For example pressing e will search and highlight all occurrences of 'e'. - Then pressing t will search and highlight all occurrences of 'et' and so forth. - You can jump to the next with F3 (or Ctrl+e while in search) and the previous with ⇧ Shift+F3. - Backspace deletes the last character - return stops the search without adding a new line in the editor. - You can resume the last search by pressing Ctrl+e a second time, immediately after you started incr-search with Ctrl+e. that is while the search term is still empty. - Paste Ctrl+V will append the text from the clipboard to the current search text (since lazarus 0.9.27 r19824). Hint: Quick searching an identifier with incremental search - Place text cursor on identifier (do not select anything) - Press Ctrl+C. The source editor will select the identifier and copy it to the clipboard - Press Ctrl+E to start incremental search - Press Ctrl+V to search for the identifier (since 0.9.27) - Use F3 and ⇧ Shift+F3 to quickly jump to next/previous. - Use any key (for example cursor left or right) to end the search Syncro Edit Syncro Edit allows you to edit all occurrences of a word at the same time (synchronized). You simple edit the word in one place, and as you type, all other occurrences of the word are updated too. Syncro Edit works on all words in a selected area: - Select a block of text - press Ctrl+J or click the icon in the gutter. (This only works, if there are any words that occur more than once in the selection. - use the Tab ⇆ key to select the word you want to edit (if several different words occurred more than once) - Edit the word - Press Esc to finish See an animated example here Find next / previous word occurrence The two functions can be found in the popup menu of the source editor - Source editor / popup menu / Find / Find next word occurrence - Source editor / popup menu / Find / Find previous word occurrence And you can assign them shortcuts in the editor options. Code Completion Code Completion can be found in the IDE menu Edit -> Complete Code and has as standard short cut Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C. For Delphians: Delphi calls "code completion" the function showing the list of identifiers at the current source position (Ctrl+Space). Under Lazarus this is called "Identifier completion". Code Completion combines several powerful functions. Examples: - Class Completion: completes properties, adds/updates method bodies, add private variables and private access methods - Forward Procedure Completion: adds procedure bodies - Event Assignment Completion: completes event assignments and adds method definition and body - Variable Declaration Completion: adds local variable definitions - Procedure Call Completion: adds a new procedure - Reversed procedure completion: adds procedure declarations for procedure/function bodies - Reversed Class Completion: adds method declarations for method bodies Which function is used, depends on the cursor position in the editor and will be explained below. Code Completion can be found in the IDE menu Edit -> Complete Code and has as standard short cut Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C. Class Completion The most powerful code completion feature is "Class Completion". You write a class, add the methods and properties and Code Completion will add the method bodies, the property access methods/variables and the private variables. For example: Create a class (see Code Templates to save you some type work): TExample = class(TObject) public constructor Create; destructor Destroy; override; end; Position the cursor somewhere in the class and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C. This will create the method missing bodies and move the cursor to the first created method body, so you can just start writing the class code: { TExample } constructor TExample.Create; begin | end; destructor TExample.Destroy; begin inherited Destroy; end; Hint: You can jump between a method and its body with Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↑. You can see, that the IDE added the 'inherited Destroy' call too. This is done, if there is an 'override' keyword in the class definition. Now add a method DoSomething: TExample = class(TObject) public constructor Create; procedure DoSomething(i: integer); destructor Destroy; override; end; Then press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C and the IDE will add procedure TExample.DoSomething(i: integer); begin | end; You can see, that the new method body is inserted between Create and Destroy, exactly as in the class definition. This way the bodies keep the same logical ordering as you define. You can define the insertion policy in Tools > Options -> Codetools -> Code Creation. Complete Properties Add a property AnInteger: TExample = class(TObject) public constructor Create; procedure DoSomething(i: integer); destructor Destroy; override; property AnInteger: Integer; end; Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C and you will get: procedure TExample.SetAnInteger(const AValue: integer); begin |if FAnInteger=AValue then exit; FAnInteger:=AValue; end; The code completion has added a Write access modifier and added some common code. Jump to the class with Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↑ to see the new class: TExample = class(TObject) private FAnInteger: integer; procedure SetAnInteger(const AValue: integer); public constructor Create; procedure DoSomething(i: integer); destructor Destroy; override; property AnInteger: integer read FAnInteger write SetAnInteger; end; The property was extended by a Read and Write access modifier. The class got the new section 'private' with a Variable 'FAnInteger' and the method 'SetAnInteger'. It is a common Delphi style rule to prepend private variables with an 'F' and the write method with a 'Set'. If you don't like that, you can change this in Tools -> Options > Codetools -> Code Creation. Creating a read only property: property PropName: PropType read; Will be expanded to property PropName: PropType read FPropName; Creating a write only property: property PropName: PropType write; Will be expanded to property PropName: PropType write SetPropName; Creating a read only property with a Read method: property PropName: PropType read GetPropName; Will be kept and a GetPropName function will be added: function GetpropName: PropType; Creating a property with a stored modifier: property PropName: PropType stored; Will be expanded to property PropName: PropType read FPropName write SetPropName stored PropNameIsStored; Because stored is used for streaming read and write modifiers are automatically added as well. Hint: Identifier completion also recognizes incomplete properties and will suggest the default names. For example: property PropName: PropType read |; Place the cursor one space behind the 'read' keyword and press Ctrl+Space for the identifier completion. It will present you the variable 'FPropName' and the procedure 'SetPropName'. Forward Procedure Completion "Forward Procedure Completion" is part of the Code Completion and adds missing procedure bodies. It is invoked, when the cursor is on a forward defined procedure. For example: Add a new procedure to the interface section: procedure DoSomething; Place the cursor on it and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion. It will create in the implementation section: procedure DoSomething; begin | end; Hint: You can jump between a procedure definition and its body with Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↑. The new procedure body will be added in front of the class methods. If there are already some procedures in the interface the IDE tries to keep the ordering. For example: procedure Proc1; procedure Proc2; // new proc procedure Proc3; If the bodies of Proc1 and Proc3 already exists, then the Proc2 body will be inserted between the bodies of Proc1 and Proc3. This behaviour can be setup in Tools -> Options -> Codetools -> Code Creation. Multiple procedures: procedure Proc1_Old; // body exists procedure Proc2_New; // body does not exists procedure Proc3_New; // " procedure Proc4_New; // " procedure Proc5_Old; // body exists Code Completion will add all 3 procedure bodies (Proc2_New, Proc3_New, Proc4_New). Why calling it "Forward Procedure Completion"? Because it does not only work for procedures defined in the interface, but for procedures with the "forward" modifier as well. And because the codetools treats procedures in the interface as having an implicit 'forward' modifier. Event Assignment Completion "Event Assignment Completion" is part of the Code Completion and completes a single Event:=| statement. It is invoked, when the cursor is behind an assignment to an event. For example: In a method, say the FormCreate event, add a line 'OnPaint:=': procedure TForm1.Form1Create(Sender: TObject); begin OnPaint:=| end; The '|' is the cursor and should not be typed. Then press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion. The statement will be completed to OnPaint:=@Form1Paint; A new method Form1Paint will be added to the TForm1 class. Then class completion is started and you get: procedure TForm1.Form1Paint(Sender: TObject); begin | end; This works just like adding methods in the object inspector. Note: You must place the cursor behind the ':=' assignment operator. If you place the cursor on the identifier (e.g. OnPaint) code completion will invoke "Local Variable Completion", which fails, because OnPaint is already defined. Hint: You can define the new method name by yourself. For example: OnPaint:=@ThePaintMethod; Since 0.9.31 Lazarus completes procedure parameters. For example procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); var List: TList; begin List:=TList.Create; List.Sort(@MySortFunction|); end; Place the cursor on 'MySortFunction' and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion. You get a new procedure: function MySortFunction(Item1, Item2: Pointer): Integer; begin | end; procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); var List: TList; begin List:=TList.Create; List.Sort(@MySortFunction); end; Variable Declaration Completion "Variable Declaration Completion" is part of the Code Completion and adds a local variable definition for a Identifier:=Term; statement. It is invoked, when the cursor is on the identifier of an assignment or a parameter. For example: procedure TForm1.Form1Create(Sender: TObject); begin i:=3; end; Place the cursor on the 'i' or just behind it. Then press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion and you will get: procedure TForm1.Form1Create(Sender: TObject); var i: Integer; begin i:=3; end; The codetools first checks, if the identifier 'i' is already defined and if not it will add the declaration 'var i: integer;'. The type of the identifier is guessed from the term right to the assignment ':=' operator. Numbers like the 3 defaults to Integer. Another example: type TWhere = (Behind, Middle, InFront); procedure TForm1.Form1Create(Sender: TObject); var a: array[TWhere] of char; begin for Where:=Low(a) to High(a) do writeln(a[Where]); end; Place the cursor on 'Where' and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion. You get: procedure TForm1.Form1Create(Sender: TObject); var a: array[TWhere] of char; Where: TWhere; begin for Where:=Low(a) to High(a) do writeln(a[Where]); end; Since 0.9.11 Lazarus also completes parameters. For example procedure TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject); begin with Canvas do begin Line(x1,y1,x2,y2); end; end; Place the cursor on 'x1' and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion. You get: procedure TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject); var x1: integer; begin with Canvas do begin Line(x1,y1,x2,y2); end; end; Since 0.9.31 Lazarus completes pointer parameters. For example procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); begin CreateIconIndirect(@IconInfo); end; Place the cursor on 'IconInfo' and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C for code completion. You get: procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); var IconInfo: TIconInfo; begin CreateIconIndirect(@IconInfo); end; Procedure Call Completion Code completion can create a new procedure from a call statement itself.; It does not yet create functions nor methods. Reversed Class Completion "Reversed Class Completion" is part of the Code Completion and adds a private method declaration for the current method body. It is invoked, when the cursor is in a method body, not yet defined in the class. This feature is available since Lazarus 0.9.21. For example: procedure TForm1.DoSomething(Sender: TObject); begin end; The method DoSomething is not yet declared in TForm1. Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C and the IDE will add "procedure DoSomething(Sender: TObject);" to the private methods of TForm1. For Delphians: Class completion works under Lazarus always in one way: From class interface to implementation or backwards/reversed from class implementation to interface. Delphi always invokes both directions. The Delphi way has the disadvantage, that if a typo will easily create a new method stub without noticing. Code completion tries to keep comments where they belong. For example: FList: TList; // list of TComponent FInt: integer; When inserting a new variable between FList and FInt, the comment is kept in the FList line. Same is true for FList: TList; { list of TComponent This is a comment over several lines, starting in the FList line, so codetools assumes it belongs to the FLIst line and will not break this relationship. Code is inserted behind the comment. } FInt: integer; If the comment starts in the next line, then it will be treated as if it belongs to the code below. For example: FList: TList; // list of TComponent { This comment belongs to the statement below. New code is inserted above this comment and behind the comment of the FList line. } FInt: integer; Method update Normally class completion will add all missing method bodies. (Since 0.9.27) But if exactly one method differ between class and bodies then the method body is updated. For example: You have a method DoSomething. public procedure DoSomething; end; procedure TForm.DoSomething; begin end; Now add a parameter: public procedure DoSomething(i: integer); end; and invoke Code Completion (Ctrl+⇧ Shift+C). The method body will be updated and the new parameter will be copied: procedure TForm.DoSomething(i: integer); begin end; Refactoring Invert Assignments - Abstract - : "Invert Assignments" takes some selected pascal statements and inverts all assignments from this code. This tool is usefull for transforming a "save" code to a "load" one and inverse operation. Example: procedure DoSomething; begin AValueStudio:= BValueStudio; AValueAppartment :=BValueAppartment; AValueHouse:=BValueHouse; end; Select the lines with assignments (between begin and end) and do Invert Assignments. All assignments will be inverted and identation will be add automatically. For example: Result: procedure DoSomething; begin BValueStudio := AValueStudio; BValueAppartment := AValueAppartment; BValueHouse := AValueHouse; end; Enclose Selection Select some text and invoke it. A dialog will popup where you can select if the selection should be enclosed into try..finally or many other common blocks. Rename Identifier Place the cursor on an identifier and invoke it. A dialog will appear, where you can setup the search scope and the new name. - It will rename all occurences and only those that actually use this declaration. That means it does not rename declarations with the same name. - And it will first check for name conflicts. - Limits: It only works on pascal sources, does not yet rename files nor adapt lfm/lrs files nor lazdoc files. Find Identifier References Place the cursor on an identifier and invoke it. A dialog will appear, where you can setup the search scope. The IDE will then search for all occurences and only those that actually use this declaration. That means it does not show other declarations with the same name. Show abstract methods This feature lists and auto completes virtual, abstracts methods that need to be implemented. Place the cursor on a class declaration and invoke it. If there are missing abstract methods a dialog will appear listing them. Select the methods to implement and the IDE creates the method stubs. Extract Procedure Find Declaration Position the cursor on an identifier and do 'Find Declaration'. Then it will search the declaration of this identifier, open the file and jump to it. If the cursor is already at a declaration it will jump to the previous declaration with the same name. This allows to find redefinitions and overrides. Every find declaration sets a Jump Point. That means you jump with find declaration to the declaration and easily jump back with Search -> Jump back. There are some differences to Delphi: The codetools work on sources following the normal pascal rules, instead of using the compiler output. The compiler returns the final type. The codetools see the sources and all steps in between. For example: The Visible property is first defined in TControl (controls.pp), then redefined in TCustomForm and finally redefined in TForm. Invoking find declaration on Visible will you first bring to Visible in TForm. Then you can invoke Find Declaration again to jump to Visible in TCustomForm and again to jump to Visible in TControl. Same is true for types like TColor. For the compiler it is simply a 'longint'. But in the sources it is defined as TGraphicsColor = -$7FFFFFFF-1..$7FFFFFFF; TColor = TGraphicsColor; And the same for forward defined classes: For instance in TControl, there is a private variable FHostDockSite: TWinControl; Find declaration on TWinControl jumps to the forward definition TWinControl = class; And invoking it again jumps to the real implementation TWinControl = class(TControl) This way you can track down every identifier and find every overload. Hints: - You can jump back with Ctrl+H. - You can view/navigate all visited locations via Menu: View -> "jump history" - With a 5 button Mouse you can use the 2 extra buttons to go forward/backward between the visited points - (you can remap the buttons using advanced mouse options) Identifier Completion "Identifier Completion" is invoked by Ctrl+space. It shows all identifiers in scope. For example: procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); begin | end; Place the cursor between begin and end and press Ctrl+space. The IDE/CodeTools will now parse all reachable code and present you a list of all found identifiers. The CodeTools cache the results, so invoking it a second time will be much faster. Some identifiers like 'Write', 'ReadLn', 'Low', 'SetLength', 'Self', 'Result', 'Copy' are built into the compiler and are not defined anywhere in source. The identifier completion has a lot of these things built in as well. If you find one missing, just create a feature request in the bug tracker. Identifier completion does not complete all keywords. So you can not use it to complete 'repe' to 'repeat'. For these things use Ctrl+W Word Completion or Ctrl+J Code Templates. Since 0.9.27 identifier completion completes some keywords. Identifier completion shows even those identifiers, that are not compatible. Matching only the first part of a word You can invoke identifier completion only on the first few characters in a word. Position the cursor within a word. Only characters to the left of the cursor will be used to look up identifiers. For example: procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); begin Ca|ption end; The box will show you only identifiers beginning with 'Ca' ( | indicates the cursor position). Keys - Letter or number: add the character to the source editor and the current prefix. This will update the list. - Backspace: remove the last character from source editor and prefix. Updates the list. - Return: replace the whole word at cursor with the selected identifier and close the popup window. - Shift+Return: as Return, but replaces only the prefix (left part) of the word at the cursor. - Up/Down: move selection - Escape: close popup without change - Tab: completes the prefix to next choice. For example: The current prefix is 'But' and the identifier completion only shows 'Button1' and 'Button1Click'. Then pressing Tab will complete the prefix to 'Button1'. - Else: as Return and add the character to the source editor Methods When cursor is in a class definition and you identifier complete a method defined in an ancestor class the parameters and the override keyword will be added automatically. For example: TMainForm = class(TForm) protected mous| end; Completing MouseDown gives: TMainForm = class(TForm) protected procedure MouseDown(Button: TMouseButton; Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer); override; end; Properties property MyInt: integer read |; Identifier completion will show FMyInt and GetMyInt. property MyInt: integer write |; Identifier completion will show FMyInt and SetMyInt. Uses section / Unit names In uses sections the identifier completion will show the filenames of all units in the search path. These will show all lowercase (e.g. avl_tree), because most units have lowercase filenames. On completion it will insert the nice case of the unit (e.g. AVL_Tree). Statements procedure TMainForm.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); begin ModalRe|; end; becomes: procedure TMainForm.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); begin ModalResult:=|; end; Word Completion "Word Completion" is invoked by Ctrl+W. It shows all words of all currently open editors and can therefore be used in non pascal sources, in comments and for keywords. Otherwise it works the same as identifier completion. Goto Include Directive "Goto Include Directive" in the search menu of the IDE jumps to {$I filename} statement where the current include file is used. can contain". Note: Since version 0.9.13 there is a new Project Option that allows you to store session information in a seperate file from the normal .lpi file. This new file ends with the .lps extension and only contains session information, which will leave your .lpi file much cleaner. In the dialog you can setup a filter to include and exclude certain files; with the command after you can compress the output into one archive. Hints from comments At several places the IDE shows hints for an identifier. For example when moving the mouse over an identifier in the source editor and waiting a few seconds. When the IDE shows a hints for an identifier it searches the declaration and all its ancestors and looks for comments and fpdoc files. There are many coding styles and many commenting styles. In order to support many of the common comment styles the IDE uses the following heuristics: Comments in front of a declaration, without empty line and not starting with the < sign: var {Comment} Identifier: integer; var identifier, // Comment other, var identifier: char; // Comment An example for < sign: const a = 1; //< comment for a b = 2; // comment for c c = 3; All three comment types are supported: {Comment}(*Comment*)//Comment c = 1; Comments in front separated with an empty line are treated as not specific to the following identifier. For example the following class header comment is not shown in the hint: type { TMyClass } TMyClass = class The class header comments are created on class completion. You can turn this off in the Options / Codetools / Class completion / Header comment for class. If you want to show the header comment in the hint, just remove the empty line. The following comment will be shown for GL_TRUE, but not for GL_FALSE: // Boolean GL_TRUE = 1; GL_FALSE = 0;

Master Plan Investigation in 2017 Learn more about the comprehensive consultation with the community undrtaken by Council in 2017. Hill road is the only north – south access road in and out of Wentworth Point, a suburb which also has limited public transport options. Buses form the main mode of public transport, but this comes with a number of pedestrian safety concerns. Help Council create an overall plan of prioritised and staged upgrades that can occur in the future. Council is now seeking the community's feedback on the draft Master Plan for Hill Road as a part of the formal exhibition. Explore the draft Master Plan below and give your feedback. In addition to the full Master Plan document, a summary is available in the Exhibition Material section of this page. Take a journey through the draft Master Plan concept and help us improve it by sharing your views. Council is now inviting formal submissions of feedback for the exhibition of the draft Hill Road Master Plan. We highly recommend that all community member review the draft Master Plan before providing feedback. 의견 제출과 관련 Place Services Team 전화 1300 617 058번 또는 이메일 [email protected] . 如果您在提意见时需要协助，请联系社区参与团队，电话：1300 617 058；电邮：[email protected] The opportunity for feedback closes 5:00PM on Monday 12 April 2021. Online Submissions Use the form below to submit your feedback online and upload any documents to support your submission (optional). ↓ Other ways to make a submission: Written comments can be emailed to [email protected] Subject: Submission on draft Hill Road Master Plan Exhibition City of Parramatta Council Attention: Place Services Team Subject: Submission on draft Hill Road Master Plan Exhibition PO Box 32, Parramatta NSW 2124 Please ensure that you clearly state your position (support/oppose) on the submission, your full name, contact details and address. 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sjnewton - Upcoming.org ArchiveThe Upcoming.org Archivessjnewton #151875August 3, 2007The Innocent Village Fete 2007 at Regent's ParkAugust 17, 2007London Flickr Meetups Trip to Brighton at BrightonSeptember 14, 2007The Mayor’s Thames Festival 2007 at South BankSeptember 14, 2007Open House London 2007 at London UKNovember 11, 2007Lord Mayor Show at St Paul's CathedralJanuary 5, 2008London Flickr Meetup: All Night Shoot at Ye Olde Cheshire CheeseJanuary 8, 2008BETT 2008 at Olympia Exhibition CentreJanuary 13, 2008Russian Winter Festival at Trafalger SquareJanuary 14, 2008Destination Mars: An Evening with the Stars at Royal Observatory, GreenwichJanuary 15, 2008Launchpad for Grown-ups...No kids allowed at Dana CentreJanuary 18, 2008London Flickr Meet at the Temple Open Weekend at TempleJanuary 23, 2008[email protected]: Fun and Games at Dana CentreJanuary 25, 2008January Late Night @ Natural History Museum: Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition 2007 at Natural History MuseumFebruary 3, 2008Clown's Service at Holy Trinity Church, DalstonFebruary 9, 2008Chinese New Year at Trafalger Square 3, 2008Flamenco Fetival '08 at Sadlers WellsMarch 4, 2008Digital Astrophotography at Royal Observatory, GreenwichMarch 7, 2008Saturn and its rings at Royal Observatory, GreenwichMarch 7, 2008London Transport Museum Depot open weekend at London Transport Museum DepotMarch 15, 2008Head of the River Race at Head of the River RaceMarch 16, 2008St Patrick's Day Meetup at Park LaneMarch 22, 2008Colchester Zoo *CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER* at Liverpool Street StationMarch 28, 2008Moore at Night at Kew GardensMarch 29, 2008London Rollergirls vs Glasgow Roller Girls: Riots of Spring at Tottenham Green Leisure CentreApril 3, 2008Olé - 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Read this in: Nederlands Read this article in: Dutch A mummy that had been preserved for a couple of thousand years in the high desert of Chile was discovered upon X-ray examination to have a very large oxalate stone in the kidney, about the size of a golf ball. The discovery of this ancient sufferer is testimony to the fact that kidney stones and oxalate toxicity have afflicted humans for a very long time. Oxalates (the salt form of oxalic acid) are extremely painful when deposited in the body. About eighty percent of kidney stones are caused by oxalates and they are by far the most common factor in kidney stone formation. There is also a large degree of genetic variability in the ability to detoxify the chemicals that produce oxalates. Perhaps twenty percent of the population has a genetic variance that increases their likelihood of producing oxalates, even when not consuming a high-oxalate diet. THE KIDNEYS. Star-shaped kidney stones can cause great pain in the kidneys and bladder. Typical stag-horn shaped kidney stone. A kidney stone resembling glass embedded in the kidney. Oxalate stones resembling glass embedded in the heart.. The OH component readily attaches to minerals like calcium, zinc and mercury, forming oxalates. Oxalates in the body come from food, can be formed in the gut by yeasts and fungi, or can result from an interruption in the glycolate pathway. Nutritional deficiencies and inborn errors of metabolism cause the formation of oxalates rather than the protein glycine. causes superficial and deep sensory loss; sensory ataxia, which means not feeling a sense of balance; and functional impairment. OXALATES IN FOOD.. Cooking may reduce the oxalates in foods as they precipitate into the cooking water, and if you discard that water you are likely reducing the oxalates remaining in the food. If you drink that pot liquor, however, you will absorb the full amount. Peppercorns are very high in oxalates, but not many people eat a pound of black pepper every day.. If you have a genetic deficiency in the enzyme AGXT, the glyoxylate primarily forms oxalate because reduced amounts of AGXT do not function adequately to override this process. One in five people in the population has this genetic variant in which they cannot detoxify this compound. Instead it predominantly forms oxal This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Spring 2010. Read this in: Nederlands document Hello, I really like your article, but I need sited documentation. I am having a debate with a person who is vegan and she brought up this link, We are debating over is it safe to reuse the water from our steamed or boiled veggies, like broccoli, spinach,or oxalate cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and kale also release toxins into their cooking water. etc. I told her that it isn’t a good idea because of the oxalic acid or oxalate in the water. I’ve heard that most synthetic vitamins are not good for you. How does B6 fit into this synthetic scenario? What is it made from? Does the Weston A Price foundation support B6 supplementation? Annie’s Secret Spot I find the author’s recommendation to supplement with various laboratory produced vitamins and minerals to be at odds with the philosophy of the Weston A. Price Foundation and it’s president Sally Fallon. Perhaps the reasoning behind publishing this article was to demonstrate yet another danger of soy. Nonetheless, it flies in the face of the basic premise of the organization; to nourish and heal ourselves with whole, unadulterated foodstuffs grown in nutrient dense soils and prepared thoughtfully and carefully in our own kitchens according to the wise traditions of our ancestors. Where does “Let FOOD be thy medicine…” come into play in this article? I am surprised and dismayed that an article such as this would be published by this organization. I fear it will cause much in the way of confusion and disappointment for those looking to the foundation for information and support in their attempt to implement a diet in line with research and conclusions of Dr. Price. When did WAPF become a sounding board for the supplement industry? Those with the goal of healing from disorders caused by a deviation from these wise food traditions (including the disorders highlighted in the above article) will find little in the way of wisdom here. Sometimes people do have family histories and genetic conditions that have more to do with a person’s body ability to break down certain food and lacking specific enzymes that trace back 100’s of years. And, it doesn’t matter if it is organic or not. So, I for one appreciate this article because my spouse’s family is has alot of kidney stone issues and I would say several of the family members have spectrum disorders. These people are in their 50’s and 80’s now, so this was all before GMO’s really started coming into the forefront like today. Thus, if avoiding too much sugar, cocoa, soy, peanuts, spinach and etc will help to prevent these stones, I think many would like to know. If you have ever passed a kidney stone, they are terribly painful. Right on Annie Dru! I agree, Ralph Havens Supplements In response to Annie Dru, I agree supplements are not the best choice, but in many situations, it is the only solution. By example, in Canada raw dairy from grass fed cows cannot be found, so Green Pastures oil from butter made from milk is the only available solution. When reading all the articles I wonder how I can properly feed myself ! A year has passed since the publication of this article. As a mother of an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) child, I think it is important that we keep up-to-date on the latest information. The idea that we are to avoid oxalate foods, and ingest synthetic “nutrients” goes against current research. Research – solid research – has shown that oxalate production occurs in the body when antibiotics destroy a very important probiotic bacteria – O. formiegenes. ASD children are known to have digestive and bowel issues – for which mainstream “health” care practitioners regularly prescribe antibiotics (ABX). While ABX may provide a short-term relief, they destroy O. formiegenes in the “gut”, giving free-reign to oxalate-producing fungi. Please update your information, as this type of information may put ASD chidren at-risk for bladder and kidney stones, as well as increasing Candida yeast infections. O. formiegenes populates a child’s “gut” when the child is allowed to crawl in the grass, on the soil. O. formiegenes is common to cows, available to them through the soil, through the grass, as it is to humans. Antibiotics wipe O. formiegenes from our system, and they need to be repopulated with a supplement. There are less than a handful of companies creating a reliable supplement. I will not post the names I know as I haven’t thoroughly researched them, but any good ND should be aware of them. When O. formiegenes is destroyed by ABX, Candida increases. O. formiegenes is one of the “limiters” of Candida bacteria, and without it, they have free reign in our bodies. S. Kathleen Mills I am thrilled that this article summarizes for me information that has taken me years of trial and error (and lots of testing) to discover as a person with Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, kidney pain and blood in my urine but other wise “normal” tests. I have painful lumps and swelling all over my body, and realized that when I did the veggie smoothies, everything got much more painful for me, and I actually gained weight while eating less calories. I am very magnetically sensitive and I wonder if the metal deposition from oxalate binding has something to do with it. If I fail to take Calcium Citrate or Magnesium Citrate in the proper doses, my pain and body functions deteriorate. I am eagerly awaiting the day that the probiotic companies are able to reproduce O. formiegenes so many people can get well again. Only by inheriting the bacteria or by “eating the right dirt” are people able to acquire it. “O. formiegenes populates a child’s “gut” when the child is allowed to crawl in the grass, on the soil. O. formiegenes is common to cows, available to them through the soil, through the grass, as it is to humans. ” Reference please? Susan Owens says that formiogenes is an anerobic bacteria, so that it could not possibly survive in an oxygenated environment, i.e., in the soil, or especially on grasses and vegetation. And note please that there is NO mention of endogenous oxalate production in this article. A glaring error. Have you read the article? It is said “intravenous” antibiotics, the ones that bypass GI. The articles does not suggest avoiding all oxalate foods, only soy and spinach (in large quantities and daily). The article does not advocate artificial vitamins, only vitamins. You can find vitamins derived from food. What is your goal? To devalue the article or to make use of its information for the benefits of your child? Ultimately, high oxalates indicate heavy metal toxicity and autims and heavy metal poisoning has been proven by research. Check tennantinstitute (google dr tennant and autism) Any port in a storm I am willing to bet that those who are speaking so vehemently against the notion of taking supplements have never dealt with the “worse than labor” pain of kidney stones. If one is a stone sufferer and against supplements the article still contains a wealth of info on the underlying causes and a little research could provide dietary versions of Ca, Mg, Zinc, or B6 enhancement along with the oxalate avoidance. As for me, I am more than happy to “cheat” that little bit to avoid another incident. I’ve understood that about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice will provide as much citric acid as what is found in a calcium citrate supplement providing 300-350 mg of calcium. Calcium can of course be found in many other foods such as cheese – which I believe is okay for autistic children once their GI tract is somewhat healed (cf “the specific carbohydrate diet”). I should add that spinach provides numerous important nutrients, so overall perhaps these advantages far outweights the disadvantages, even for autistich children. 100 gram spinach provides also 100 mg of calcium and 100 mg magnesium (which perhaps prevents the oxalic acid problem in the first place), but it provides a lot components that is not so well know. A 100 gram serving provides a whopping 550 mg betaine. One study showed that: “Compared to those consuming 360 mg per day of betaine had, on average: 10% lower concentrations of homocysteine, 19% lower concentrations of C-reactive protein, 12% lower concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha” (source). I believe many autistic children get too little betaine (and choline). Spinach is also one of the richest sources of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll could be a very beneficial nutrient for autistic children to detoxify toxic buildup in their systems. Furthermore, according to: ).” It is obvious that you do not have a problem with oxalates. I do. When I eat spinach it takes me many days to recover form it. I began to hurt all over and get terrible brain fog. I get crust stuff on my eyes when i get up in the morning and have trouble urinating and much more.. Please do your research before you think you have the answers! It takes me weeks to recover, so I totally understand Sheila. I have it in my eyes and it is so painful. Praying for you all that have this Misunderstood problem with our bodies. moderation Just noticing that the problem is when people make something like spinach a main dietary staple. I bet that having some spinach dip or spinach in with your mixed greens is not a problem… Yes, it actually is a problem with people who are severely affected by this monster… Wow, so many reommendations in the sidebar. These articles are interesting but they always lead to a so many recommendations for supplements that you end up going broke. It’s an indication that we don’t really know what really helps. Also, Kidny stone pain can last for a few hours. Last night my Kidney Stone pain lasted 3 hourse before I went to Emergency to receive Morphine. The pain lasted another because it was noticeable after I got back from radiology. Anyone out there who has Kidney Stones. Don’t let the ER staff and Physician pressure you into a CT scan. A KUB x-ray has less radiation but try to avoid that as well. No matter what the results of imaging the rule is to send KS sufferers home. They do not admit for pain management. The article says that kidney stones ahve been around for thousands of years. Autism, as we know it today, is a recent phenomenon. How does the author reconcile this fact? Mercury and vaccines are the cause of “Autism” The symptoms and traits of mercury poisoning are identical to “autism” All these theories about oxalates and Gluten only serve to obfuscate the real cause, HEAVY METALS YOU GO GIRL! Thanks for stating this. Dr. A. Kalcker, an expert in healing the symptoms known as autism explains, that it is the parasites in the GI tracts of autistic children that produce the oxalates. (There are a few mentioned here, but the large worms really put out them along with drug like substances causing many of the autistic like behaviors. In his protocol for healing he includes an gentle herb Chanra Pietra, or ‘Stonebreaker’ formula to clear out the oxalates. After a vaccine the immune system is virtually destroyed by the heavy metals and other neurotoxins and injected bacteria, virus, and foreign DNA. We don’t even know what these vaccines are contaminated with (whatever disease that monkey,dog, cow, chicken, aborted fetus had you are giving when you jab a child with a vaccine.. The producers have NO LIABILITY and no incentive to make them safe. INSANITY Actually, parasites are not the bad guys. Sure, some parasites are, but when they’re systematically wiped out by insane things like chlorine dioxide and other anti-parasiticals, then 10-20 years down the line, the patient is overwhelmed with allergies. Researchers are finding the helminth (parasite) therapy — giving specific ‘friendly’ parasites to chronically ill patients, including those with autism — are sometimes resulting in recoveries and/or remissions. They’re definitely also helping with food intolerance, including oxalates. Think ‘hygiene hypothesis’ and go a step further. Non of these chronic illnesses existed 100 years ago, and it’s not because of shorter life spans. We’ve become too ‘clean’. Too many antibiotics, hand sanitizers, bleach, too little playing in the dirt, eating barely washed organic vegetables, like they do in non-industrialized countries where these conditions almost don’t exist. A google search will turn up more info on helminth therapy. Fermentation? Hello,does fermenting foods that are high in oxalates significantly reduce the oxalate levels? My experience is no, they actually made me more sick. What foods? Hi, Debbie. Re your post of June 24/12. What particular high oxalate foods did you have in mind to ferment (or purchase already fermented)? If you mean soybean miso, well, nobody consumes pounds & pounds of this. It’s used about 2 tsp. at a time in soup or salad dressing or sauce. While I really appreciate Dr. Shaw’s hard work and his article and his great knowledge, I really think that sometimes we need to just go traditional. Not ignore science, mind you, but look at what they did a long time ago. Spinach, wild lambs quarters, swiss chard, etc. – all these ‘nasty’ high oxalate greens, were, I read in a nutrition book, prepared with dairy product. That’s good enough for me. what fungal treatment was used? In the paragraph headed with A FUNGAL ORIGIN as i believe that i have an infection stemming from aspergillus or another fungus, and had to cut out citrus, and now i have kidney stones, well, i would like to get the medicine that helped the woman become cured of the fungus and also the oxalic crystals. thank you, sandy i really appreciate this article. it brings to light many things. for those dismayed by the use of supplements, sometimes therapeutics are necessary for those that have manifestation of a disease. diet can achieve a great deal, but sometimes extra help is needed. personally, if there is a supplement treatment that could help me escape conventional treatment, i would jump on supplement ship in a dash! i think anyone with the ailments listed would too. thanks, william, for the contribution of the in depth knowledge on oxalates. I really liked this article a great deal. The autistic suffer from high oxalates, high mercury, a porphyria, and low vitamin D levels. The autistic are also low in glutathione which is natures way to get rid of mercury in the body as it chelates or binds mercury. Glutathione is controlled by vitamin D as glutamyl-cysteine ligase gets made at higher vitamin D levels for this reason mercury and oxalates combine and precipitate. Citrate can chelate a kidney stone thus combining a higher level of vitamin D. The result may be the way to remove the highly insoluble mercury oxalate Thank you for your article. Very informative! I just found out an article or two back that the spinach I’ve been eating practically religiously every morning to heal my condition may very well have been making it worse! I wish dietary supplement companies were aware of this. It’s hard to believe they’re not, but every mineral compound on the shelf, even if iron-free, includes copper. The trace mineral drops I just purchased contain traces of both. Perhaps it’s difficult in a compound to separate them. In any case. Much appreciation. Yesterday I didn’t know what oxalates are, “today I are one.” (Hopefully tomorrow less so.) I am all in favor of going back to our roots and eating real traditional food but often we need therapeutic levels of nutrients to do the initial healing and to support those of us who have genetic predispositions to certain things, been exposed to mercury, have candida etc. Great article Dr. Shaw – this is a very important topic and oxalates are not to be taken lightly! Removing high oxalate foods from my diet completely eliminated my excruciating foot pain – it was like walking on hot coals mixed with shards of glass! Thanks to Julie Matthews, author of “Nourishing Hope for Autism” for helping me figure this out. A number of my clients are also seeing benefits on low oxalate diets. Now to get to the root cause – candida, mercury etc – so nutrient dense leafy greens, berries and nuts can be reincorporated. Thanks for posting that Trudy — that’s encouraging. I’m not sure if I have salicylate issues (although I’m pretty certain), but do wonder if oxalates are a problem too. I agree with what someone else said above, that ABX use can wreak havoc on the microblome, and worsen the problem, or even cause it. And yes, then there’s metals, environmental toxins (including those with sals/phenols), pesticide and fungicide use, and on and on and on… I just had kidney stones crushed they were the high oxalate and one of my granddon is autism so I want to no if there is a superfood that I can do to help us. Most interesting article. I am suffering from cfd and epstein bar, and only recently showed a recovery in iGa levels after taking beriglobin injection regularly. Start celiac diet 6 weeks ago and still on it. But, I am living on farm with sandstone water woth extremely low ph, AND chloride I. Water is also rel high. My husband is a geologist and said that you do get sandstone with chloride in them (although not sure in what form and if it leaches into the fountain water somehow). We do have a natural grassland that is suppose to filter the water higher up, but somehow I think the low ph of the water hampers it. What influence will this water have on human consumption. No-one in RSA not even at bemlabs could give me any answers on my questions. I am afraid this will have neg impact on human metabolism, since I had this ebv in acute form for the last 6 months and active for the last 5 – 6 years. There is a possibility the the celiac had also an influence on my health and if one sees how delicate one’s bodily systems are, especially when you are non-secretor, it worries me a lot when my drinking water is not healthy. Water is such a given, that people never really questions it enough (due to it being colourless and almost tasteless). Can you tell me more on low acid fountain water and effect on human health. WOuld washing the spinach leaves a bunch of times take care of the mold substances or will it wash away the nutrients as well? I believe it is an error to assume that oxalates cause autism (“If you have problems with any of conditions caused by oxalates — kidney stones, autism or vulvodynia.”) Rather, if there is a relationship, autism may lead to a predisposition that allows oxalates to form kidney stones. Oxalates are not the cause but the effect. James, I have no idea. this is new to me. After reading this however, I started wondering, why the spike in autism? Might this be a result of so much antibiotic usage, increase in sugar intake, increase in phosphoric acid intake, etc. If we could find some timeline data, we might find cause and effect after all. Mark Oxalates in the blood lower blood calcium levels and calcium is important for proper neuron function. This may explain why it helps autism to be on a low oxalate diet. I have experienced kidney stones since I was 12 years old if not sooner. My jaw is still attempting to close from shock. I went through hell trying to find out what I could do to prevent stones, find a dr. That knew what they were doing, and what to eat and or not to eat. I am 37 year old and can say these stones always showed up when I was in the middle of accomplishing seething good or very important in my life and caused so many issues. Anyways, nobody could give me answers because we know they are genetic and told these types of stones are passed down and are pretty much unpreventable. Is this true or can a low oxalate diet prevent them? Plus, I have always suffered from chronic fatigue and thought it was depression but when I was younger knew I was more fatigued than normal. Please send me info in this My doctor talked to me about oxalates. I was making green smoothies with high oxalate veggies. Lots of kidney pain but didn’t have the extreme pain associated with stones. He is putting all his patients on the low oxalate diet and getting great results. He treats people with chronic fatigue and arthritis. After dumping oxalates on the low oxalate diet, I feel much better. Check out the Trying Low Oxalate group on Facebook. I have had kidney stones and have taken Chanca piedra for relief with the last three. Chanca piedra works for me. I usually pass them or they dissolve with in a weeks time of taking it. I can tell an improvement with in a day. If I feel anything that resembles a kidney stone, I take it for a month. Once the pain hits hard, you will try anything to get relief. Please check this out: I took alot of oral pennicillin between ages of 5&6 for toncillitis. At 30 I was diagnosed with Pernicious anemia which didnt appear to be genetic in source. I have taken b12 injections for over 35 years as I am now 67. For the past 6 months I have craved kale salads & have practically lived on them. My blood now shows I am not anemic, have plenty of B12 but my red cells are enlarged , and Im tired & achy for last several months. Could the oxalates in kale be the cause & how can I get rid of them? Any help please? Are you meant to take mag citrate with meals or before? The article says to take it with meals, especially if eating high oxalate foods. Also, I take it on an empty stomach with no problems. Taking 325 mg mag citrate twice daily has helped tremendously with relieving muscle tension, reducing stress/anxiety, improving bowel movements, and helping me sleep. I’m thrilled to know now that it can help reduce oxalates too! Last year I had knee replacement surgery and my body reacted with sever inflammation probably Gout, that put me in the ICU for four days. After that I changed my diet to exclude high Purine foods and began taking Allopurinal to reduce uric acid. My Uric Acid level came way down, below average levels. Still I was having very painful “flareups”. My own research led me to High Oxalates, and I realized the Oxalate crystals deposited in my joints had the same painful inflammatory effects as the Purine crystals. I then realized that in order to have a low-Purine diet AND a low Oxalate diet was tricky because often a low Purine food is also a high Oxalate food, and vice-versa. However, once I came up with a diet both low in Purine and low in Oxalates, I also added B6, Calcium Citrate, selinium and Magnesium supplements. The results were dramatic, I was amazed: within a few months all my inflammation problems that had plagued me for most of my life simply went away. And I was able to begin reducing some of the medications like NSAID’s Meloxicam and Colchicine that can have severe long-term side effects including heart problems. My body has also responded by giving me more energy and increased muscle mass with the same amount of exercise. I realize some people don’t want to get involved with supplements but as another comment noted, get the calcium citrate, magnesium, zinc, selinium, etc. from wherever you like. I m interested to know about oxalate and autism,schizophrenia,,,asthma Thanks Be careful of high B6 supplementation (100 mg of B6 is the upper limit in the US) because it causes nerve damage! P5P won’t cause the nerve damage from what I understand. It may be that some people can’t process the pyridoxine B6 form.

But when his chance finally comes, doctors discover his heart can't withstand the Earth's atmosphere. The stadium currently has a capacity of 15,000 people, but has the ability to be expanded to hold 23,000 people. I need the RB flexibility. While 10 of their teammates scrimmaged, World … GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Tough guard Darren Shahlavi. Genealogy profile for Thomas Robinson Thomas Robinson (1643 - 1652) - Genealogy Genealogy for Thomas Robinson (1643 - 1652) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Thomas Robinson is a child actor, who appears in American movies. More importantly, it’s a wholly original sci-fi that manages to be both savvy and deeply uncynical, offering a bright, white alternative to the dusty, rusty dystopias that plague multiplex screens every summer. Cyber Monday game deals: see all the best offers right now! It was a trip down memory lane for former Kansas standout Thomas Robinson. Robinson acquired a considerable number of shares in Ranelagh Gardens, and became the director of the entertainments, when his knowledge of the fashionable world proved of use. The “Thomas Robinson Beyond Basketball Performance Program” is for boys and girls 8 through 17. The best result we found for your search is Thomas W Robison age 60s in Stilwell, KS. The stadium is also the home of the NCAA Division I College Football (American football) bowl game the Bahamas Bowl.The stadium is named after Thomas A. On a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. They have also lived in Bronx, NY and New York, NY plus 4 other locations. In truth though, they couldn’t have found a better man for the job.. Clooney and Robertson (literally) soar, the madcap action always feels grounded and Bird’s world is bursting with visual invention. None of which takes away from the gleeful, heartfelt, old-fashioned spirit of adventure that keeps your head spinning in a good way. Thomas Robinson b. When a ruthless mastermind known as Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) declares a one-man war on the Federation Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the daring crew of the U.S.S. Brad Bird does old-fashioned sci-fi the new-fangled way and makes the future fun again. Ekeler is the wildcard, he should be back in a week or two. Budding inventor Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) meets a creepy girl (Raffey Cassidy) and follows her into Disney’s terminally annoying slow boat ride, It’s A Small World, triggering a … World Religions: A Guide to the Essentials by Thomas A. Robinson and Hillary P. Rodrigues is a well-organized, easily accessible journey through the histories and beliefs of the world’s major beliefs both past and present. 12A Certificate ... Young Frank Walker Thomas Robinson. After the summer flops of the much-hyped John Carter and The Lone Ranger, Tomorrowland is a big gamble for Disney. She's at her best when she’s out of her depth; the film spikes with a series of set pieces that throw her headfirst into ridiculous survival situations. I have my reservations something is not right with him, beyond the injuries IMHO. Receive news and offers from our other brands? Per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, the Maine Red Claws are expected to claim former fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson off of waivers on Sunday. The third result is Thomas V Robinson age 80+. It will be run in person by Robinson, 29, … Can't you just... Be amazed?". Enterprise will embark on the greatest manhunt in history. He was born in Billings, Montana, the oldest of four children, on Nov. 9, 1946, to Thomas … I like Thielin over Thomas going forward. Is it the other way around? Tomorrowland transports you on an inspiring and magical journey of wonder and adventure to a place where if you can dream it, you can do it. This Bird's-eye-view teeters on sensory overkill, but is so well-intentioned – and so much fun – that you want to watch again just to savour all the background details. Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Robinson was mistakenly awarded to the Red Claws on Saturday evening, 24 hours prior to when players are eligible to be claimed after signing a NBA G League contract. Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). The fact that you leave Tomorrowland: A World Beyond with more questions than answers is sort of the whole point. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. Get the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about forward By purchasing this item, you are transacting with Google Payments and agreeing to the Google Payments. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Thomas Robinson - Career stats, game logs, leaderboard appearances, awards, and achievements for international club and tournament play Get the best gaming deals, reviews, product advice, competitions, unmissable gaming news and more! Eager to find his father, Gardner and Tulsa escape on a cross-country race against time to unravel the mysteries of how he came to be and where he belongs in the universe. New York, You will receive a verification email shortly. So is it all about Disneyland? New Maine Red Claw Thomas Robinson is eager for another shot in the NBA The Celtics still have an open roster spot.. Title: World Religions, Second edition: A Guide to the Essentials By: Thomas A. Robinson, Hillary P. Rodrigues Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 368 Vendor: Baker Academic Publication Date: 2014 Dimensions: 9.25 X 7.00 (inches) Weight: 1 pound 7 ounces ISBN: 0801049717 ISBN-13: 9780801049712 Stock No: WW049712 James Thomas Robinson, 73, passed away peacefully with his loving family by his side on Nov. 1, 2020. Directed by Brad Bird. Director Brad Bird. Err... in response to all the above, yes and no. Part Jules Verne, part Apple Store, Bird’s vision of the future is everything you hoped you’d live long enough to see when you were a kid. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone - tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. Tomorrowland: a World Beyond Brad Bird (2015) 124min. see more. Please refresh the page and try again. Skip to story strand number two and troubled teenager Casey (Britt Robertson) meets the same creepy girl, this time hopping back to the future via a magic badge. Was sie dort tun müssen, verändert die Welt – und sie – für immer. Gary Oldman and Carla Gugino also star in this heartfelt and inspiring romantic adventure about how far one person can go for love. "it's a small world" is an indoor, boat attraction that premiered at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and currently operates at almost every Disney Park. Rentals are not eligible. Indeed, if you’re willing to let a few things slide, this is one of the best family blockbusters in years. Select this result to view Thomas W Robison's phone number, address, and more. Thomas Robinson Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.It is currently used mostly for soccer matches. Following up his live-action debut Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Pixar veteran Brad Bird's sci-fi opus buzzes with fresh ideas. J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS is the best-reviewed blockbuster of the year. Is it all really about Disneyland? Buckle your seatbelt as the director of The Incredibles takes your family on an action-packed thrill ride! Do we find out why George Clooney has an exploding bathtub? Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski, played by George Clooney. We pick the film's first story strand at the 1964 World's Fair. Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a … Clooney makes a great grizzled tour guide, and Hugh Laurie’s on form as the token dastardly Brit, but it’s Robertson (fresh from TV’s Under The Dome and dropping a fair few years to play a teenager) who really holds things together with spirit and smarts way beyond the plot knots. If it doesn’t stick, throw another anyway. Attempting to bring optimism back into style, making a strong argument against the kind of future we usually offer our kids, suggesting that we’re never going to live like The Jetsons unless we really want to... Tomorrowland has plenty of moral messages to offer, but they're not the kind that stick in the teeth. 1610 England d. 23 Mar 1665 Massachusetts: Geneagraphie - Families all over the world Robinson, who played for the Jayhawks between 2009-12, walked around Allen Fieldhouse about 8 p.m. Sunday night. He's always longed to see Earth to find the father he's never known and to meet a beautiful street-smart girl named Tulsa he's become friends with online. © - ( Original Title - The Space Between Us ). But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space. I hate giving up Robinson, but Hunt is comparable even with Chubb coming back. Mom Judy Greer. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. NY 10036. Taking the warm ’60s nostalgia of The Iron Giant, the quick-fire pace and ’toon energy of The Incredibles and the elaborate yet taut action of Ghost Protocol, Bird blends everything into a thoroughly modern slice of vintage Disney. It will take all of their skills and teamwork to defend Earth and eliminate Khan's threat in thissleek thrilling epic.ť (Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly). He shot to fame with his performance in the film ' The Switch Click to look into! Sixteen-year-old Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) has lived his whole life with a team of scientists on Mars. >> Read More... ' (2010), directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, starring Jennifer Aniston She became a household name in 1994 as she appeare >> Read More... from the TV show Friends, Jason Bateman Jason Bateman, born on 14th of January, … Thomas is related to Lorraine Robinson and Gerald Robinson as well as 3 additional people. Dreamers Wanted… Disney invites you to an incredible world of epic imagination where anything is possible. Genealogy profile for George Thomas Robinson George Thomas Robinson (deceased) - Genealogy Genealogy for George Thomas Robinson (deceased) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. But after the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and resolves to avenge his kind, pitting him against the Colonel in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species...and the future of the planet. As the Lakers wrapped up practice Monday, veteran forwards Metta World Peace and Thomas Robinson stood next to each other on the sideline. Thomas Robinson profile page, biographical information, injury history and news If one sticks, throw another. "it's a small world" is an indoor, boat attraction that premiered at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and currently operates at almost every Disney Park. Learn more. Thank you for signing up to GamesRadar+. True, Tomorrowland does occasionally bog down in its own mad science; requiring a slightly higher knowledge of Tachyonic Field Technology than most average eight-year-olds possess, the last act feels more like Interstellar than Escape To Witch Mountain. Eligible if purchased with select payment methods.. Through his new camp, dubbed The Thomas Robinson Beyond Basketball Performance Program, the former KU forward plans to introduce young athletes in the area to all aspects of the game, from education and nutrition to drill work and film study. The inclusion of a discussion on ancient religions provides a welcome context in which to view the more contemporary religious practices of our time. Is Uncle Walt in it? Visit our corporate site. Durch ein gemeinsames Schicksal verbunden, gehen der einstige Wunderknabe Frank (Clooney), desillusioniert und abgestumpft, und Casey (Britt Robertson), ein aufgeweckter, optimistischer Teenager voller Forscherdrang, auf eine gefährliche Mission, um die Geheimnisse eines rätselhaften Ortes namens Tomorrowland irgendwo in Zeit und Raum zu lüften. There was a problem. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth...and any chance for rescue. But Thomas could suddenly revert to his world beater status. Does it have anything to do with that weird box of clues on Twitter? By the time strand one meets strand two (around the time we meet Clooney and his exploding bathtub), we’re already knee-deep in jet packs, alternate time dimensions and audio-animatronic terminator kids – not to mention story strands. Latest Thomas ROBINSON News 19 FEB 2014 Feature The Bahamas’ athletics tradition: small country, great athletes Cookies help us deliver our services. Select this result to view Thomas V Robinson's phone number, address, and more. Tomorrowland: a World Beyond review – a “true voyage of discovery” ... George Clooney is the one-time whizz-kid Frank (played by Thomas Robinson in … Thomas is related to Daniel Robison and Stephanie A Robison as well as 2 additional people. Budding inventor Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) meets a creepy girl (Raffey Cassidy) and follows her into Disney’s terminally annoying slow boat ride, It’s A Small World, triggering a secret passage and popping up in a dazzling future metropolis. So all credit to the Mouse House for letting Bird throw his ideas at the screen like socks at a bedroom wall. Just shut up and be amazed. Jet packs, giant robots and George Clooney – what more could you want from your blockbuster? Casting Tomorrowland - A World Beyond A great big beautiful Scoring-Session Animated Short - The origins of plus-Ultra Brad Bird production diaries - The first day - NASA - Blast fom the past Commercial Deleted Scenes with Filmmaker intros The World of Tomorrow Science-Hour - … Thomas Robinson is one of those household names along the likes of Joe Clarke, Jake Stone, Chris James and a whole bunch more that were up-and-comers in the not too distant past.", "Britt Robertson","George Clooney","Hugh Laurie","Thomas Robinson","Raffey Cassidy". A shoot-out in a comic-book store (featuring a 12-year-old attacking Kathryn Hahn with R2-D2) builds to a Looney Tunes home invasion and ends with a titanic wormhole battle that eclipses everything else in the film, even if it doesn’t make much sense. Set to Michael Giacchino’s rollocking matinee score, it’s an Emerald City for the retro-digital age: glass towers push through white clouds, rollercoaster rocket ships pick up the morning commute, giant robots build loop the loop monorails and swimmers dive through pools of water suspended above the street. So is it really just a kids film dressed up as retro adult sci-fi? With George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy. By Thomas Robinson • February 12, 2020 ... but also for the future of mass timber in the U.S. and beyond. Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, They have also lived in Los Alamos, NM and Leawood, KS. Then again, as a grumpy Walker says to Casey around the mid-point, “Why do you have to keep asking so many questions? 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Electricity Sparks Inside Of Me eBook .Buy @ Dreamspinner Extended Excerpt Jack pushed open the door to the club and stopped just inside, looking around the dark and crowded space. A DJ bopped his head behind the turntable, and moving bodies filled the dance floor. He hesitated for a moment; he’d never been in a gay club, but it was his first week in a new city, the first week of his new life, and he wanted to mark the occasion by doing something he’d always wanted to do. He walked in and headed toward the bar, pushing his way past a few guys who were standing in his path, murmuring “Excuse me” as they turned to get a look at him. He finally got to the bar and stood with his foot on the rail, leaning against the top and waiting for the bartender to notice him. He thought it might be a long wait, seeing as the bartender was dancing along to the music in between pouring drinks and chatting with a guy at the end. Jack glanced over, checking him out. What he saw had Jack taking a second look: the guy was tall, seriously tall, and he had a great body, and his pants…. Jack couldn’t help dropping his eyes to where the guy’s skintight pants were showing off his considerable assets. He hastily raised his eyes, embarrassed to be outright ogling some guy’s cock just minutes after he’d gotten in the bar. Okay, the guy also had a nice face, and twinkly earrings, and an amazing smile. In fact, this guy seemed genuinely happy to be alive, his laugh booming out at something the bartender said to him as he doubled over from what looked like pure glee. His happiness was like some kind of force field, because Jack felt totally drawn to him. He certainly had never seen anyone like him in Little Rock. (People in Arkansas didn’t glitter, as a rule.) He was startled when the guy caught his eye and nodded at him, and he nodded back, feeling his face grow warm. Then the guy leaned over and said something to the bartender, who finally looked at Jack and headed his way. “Hi, there. Sorry I kept you waiting. What’ll it be?” “Uh, a beer? Whatever’s good that you have on tap.” “Coming right up.” Jack glanced over, and the guy was still looking his way, a small smile playing on his face. The bartender pulled the tap, and beer foamed into the glass, but when Jack reached into his pocket, he shook his head. “Oh no. This is on that gentleman over there,” he said, jerking his head toward the guy at the end of the bar, and then he moved away to wait on someone else. Jack looked over at the guy and nodded, giving him a smile. It was the least he could do in the face of such friendliness. “Thanks,” he mouthed and wasn’t surprised when the guy flashed a huge grin, picked up his drink, and sauntered over to him. He wasn’t surprised, but he was more than a little nervous. He suddenly realized that being “friends with benefits” with his college roommate for two years hadn’t prepared him in the least for a gay pickup scene. Especially not with a guy who looked like that. “You’re welcome,” the guy said in a surprisingly light and musical voice. Jack’s mouth opened when he got a look at him close-up, he was that good-looking. The guy was staring back at him with an alarming amount of interest, and Jack found his eyes oddly mesmerizing, with their gray-blue color ringed by smoky eyeliner. Yeah, Jack had definitely never seen anyone like him in Little Rock. “I’m Evan, by the way,” the guy said and extended a hand covered with rings. Jack took his hand and felt a jolt of energy. Fuck, this guy was so alive he practically crackled. He looked up into Evan’s smiling face as he towered over him and felt something akin to falling for just a second before the world righted itself and he got a hold of himself again. “Jack,” he said. Evan showed no signs of letting go of his hand, and Jack was okay with that. He reckoned he could hold Evan’s hand and look at his face for a long time before he got tired of it. “Jack,” repeated Evan in a thoughtful tone. “How come I’ve never seen you in here before? I’m sure I would’ve noticed you.” Warmed by the admiration in his glance, Jack said, “Oh, uh, probably because I’m new to town.” Evan let go of his hand to pick up his drink. “New? Oh, well, welcome to Washington, DC. I hope you’ll like it here.” “Do you like it?” Jack wasn’t usually this direct right off the bat, but something about Evan inspired him. “Hmmm,” said Evan, staring off into space while Jack admired his profile. “I like a lot of it. The traffic sucks, and it’s humid as hell in the summer, and everyone’s a workaholic. But there’s good nightlife and cultural stuff, the museums are to die for, and there’s a pretty substantial gay community. And I guess I like the fact that most people here are up to something with their lives. They live here because they want to make a difference, and I like that.” Jack took in Evan’s torrent of words, grateful that he was so chatty. There was something generous about him, Jack decided, studying the freckles on his bottom lip. “But what about you?” Evan asked. “Where did you move from? You sound Southern.” Jack shook himself from his lip reverie. “Yep. I’m from Arkansas.” Evan’s face lit up. “Wow, a true Southern boy.” Huh. Why was that so exciting? But Evan was talking again, and he forced himself to focus. “What brings you to the big city?” Evan’s friendly interest had Jack relax, and he found himself chatting as if to an old friend, telling him about recently graduating with a major in music education, and his plans to start teaching high school orchestra. Evan listened intently, even while being continually interrupted by people greeting him as they went by. He seemed to be as popular as he was good-looking, and Jack kept expecting him to run off, but he appeared content to stick by Jack’s side. “What?” Jack realized Evan had asked him something, which he had missed in his daze. “I said do you want to dance?” Without waiting for an answer, Evan grabbed his hand and steered him onto the dance floor. Okay, Jack wasn’t confident about this, having never been known for his dancing ability, but what the hell. He watched Evan gyrate through a series of moves, admiring his lithe body and doing his best to follow suit as Evan laughed at his attempts and he laughed back, somehow not offended. The music changed to a slow number, and Evan pulled him in, circling his waist with one arm and putting his other hand in his hair. He rested his cheek against Evan’s chest, breathing in his scent of vanilla and leather, and snaked his arm around his back. Evan was big and warm, his body vibrating with life, and Jack snuggled in without even thinking about it, then smiled as he felt Evan’s gentle chuckle. Now this was something he could get used to, he thought dreamily. Evan’s hand strayed downward until it cupped his ass, and Jack tightened his hold around Evan’s body, drinking in the warmth, the feeling of being held and surrounded. He could feel Evan’s hard cock pressing against him, and he pressed into it, which caused Evan to shudder and then pull him in even tighter, his hand now kneading his ass, his lips ghosting along his temple. God, he’s huge. The thought darted into Jack’s mind amid a storm of pleasurable sensations. So turned on he could barely think, Jack tried to take a breath. He’d never come close to being this sexual on a dance floor before. Actually, he’d never been on a dance floor with a man before, so that probably had something to do with it. In a fit of daring, he put his hand on Evan’s ass, and Evan hummed and ground himself against him. They were barely moving now, just hands on asses, grinding into each other, and Jack suppressed a moan, feeling like he could come just like this. Evan moved his mouth to his ear, his breath warm as he whispered, “Fuck, Jack, I…. Can I kiss you?” A thrill moved through his body, and Jack nodded, raising his face as Evan’s lips came down on his, warm and insistent. He opened his mouth to let Evan in and ran his hand up Evan’s chest to rest on his cheek, allowing Evan to control the kiss, his knees almost giving out as Evan ran his tongue along his bottom lip, then sucked it gently into his mouth. Evan made a pleased noise and slipped his fingers under Jack’s shirt; Jack shivered at the feeling of Evan’s hand on his skin, caressing the small of his back. Jack forgot he was in the middle of a club and let go completely, losing himself in the sensation of Evan’s mouth on his, his tongue dancing with Evan’s, while Evan moved his hand down inside his briefs to the top of his crack, their cocks rocking together. Buzz. He came to with a start at the vibrating of his cell phone in his front pocket and broke away with a groan. “Shit,” he gasped, hating to let go of Evan. “I’m sorry, but I just have to check—” He looked down at the phone and cursed inwardly. “I—I’m so sorry, but I have to take this call. Don’t… don’t go away, okay?” Looking kind of stunned, Evan nodded and stepped back from Jack. Tightening his jaw, Jack pushed his way outside and pressed Send. The sound of sobbing greeted his ear. “Shelly?” More sobbing and a few gasps. “Shelly, what’s going on?” Jack walked around in a circle, trying to curb his impatience, looking in through the window of the club to see if he could still see Evan. “Sorry.” Shelly’s voice wobbled. “I had to talk to you. I just can’t go on, Jack. It’s too hard.” Jack’s heart sank. If all signs were correct, this was not going to be a short phone call, but Evan…. Telling Shelly to hold on, he went back into the club and walked through the dance floor, looking for Evan. He finally spied him dancing in a small group of guys near the bar, then breaking away, laughing, and leaning over to talk to the bartender. Jack walked all the way up to him, the noise prohibiting him from being heard, and touched his shoulder. Evan turned around and looked at him, then glanced down at the phone in his hand and raised his eyebrows. “I’m really sorry,” Jack stammered out, “but I really need to talk to this person, and it may take a while. Um… I….” “No problem,” Evan said breezily. “Nice to meet you, Jack. Good luck with everything, and welcome to DC.” Jack hesitated. That was it? Feeling foolish, he nodded and turned away, then turned back, but Evan was already back on the dance floor, and another guy was moving in to put his hands on Evan’s shoulders. Oh. This Evan guy was obviously a player. Forget him, Jack told himself and put the phone back to his ear as he pushed open the door.

By Cadence K. Woodland Ever since my husband had sat bolt upright in bed and exclaimed, “It’s seven-thirty! We’ve got to go!” my morning had been a whirlwind. Showering, scribbling on makeup, and banging my elbows into walls, I had scrambled into my clothes and taken less than five minutes, and we’d miraculously gotten to campus on time. Any second now it would be eight o’clock, and I would have to go in. I’m lucky to have this job. I’m grateful. I have health care. I have great coworkers. I shoved the door open, repeating my mantra to myself and shoving aside the little voice that said, Yes, but . . . _____ “Kelly’s home with cramps,” someone screeched across the office as I logged in to my computer. A couple of hovering officers flinched in masculine disapproval and darted off lest the conversation turn further down the road of gynecology. We secretaries had learned long ago that the quickest way to clear out underfoot police officers was to invoke their fear of the feminine mystique. It wasn’t fair play, but it let us trick ourselves into thinking we still had some power between eight and five. Andrea followed me in and was greeted by a quip from one of the departing officers: “That boyfriend proposed to you yet?” She stiffened, almost imperceptibly, and we exchanged looks. “No,” she said with false cheerfulness, “not yet.” _____ Twenty minutes later, another officer wandered into the department, laughing hysterically, and dropped a stack of paperwork on my desk. “You’ll never guess what I just had to do,” he crowed, and the office ground to a halt. Any excuse. “Ducks in a drain and a valiant rescue,” I volunteered. “Someone riding a skateboard on campus, the punk,” Andrea called from her cubicle where she had retreated to file her nails and let her phone go straight to voicemail. “Dignitary protection,” the head secretary said solemnly, glaring in Andrea’s general direction. The administrators were contractually obligated to disapprove of flippancy. Those of us further down the ranks usually needed it to get through the day. “Nope,” the officer said with unholy glee, “But the ducks are close. A few got into the dorms and caused a panic. Rode the elevator up and actually made it into a girls’ dorm bathroom. The screams made me deaf in one ear.” He tapped the folders on my desk meaningfully and, still chuckling, headed back to his office. I like paperwork. Ducks getting into things are cute, not annoying. _____ I flipped open the first file and got to work. It was the usual post-weekend damage. Half a dozen traffic accidents, three dry-ice bombs set off in the dorms, one guy in a chicken suit who had harassed students walking home, two feral kittens turned in to us soaking and shivering, and a couple of fire alarms set off as pranks. I finished the paperwork by nine, which was lucky because it was about the time that one of our regular stalkers showed up and had to be escorted off campus. In handcuffs, yet polite and cheerful. I don’t mind stalkers. Or thieves. Or the criminally insane. By lunch I’d restocked the supply closet, shredded approximately forty million files, and tripped on the same tear in the carpet twice. All was typical. I was just gathering up some scattered forms after the second of these plummets when the phone rang, and I had to make a mad dash for my desk. Putting on a helpful, pleasant voice, I picked up the receiver and chirruped, “How can I help you?” “Hello, miss,” came a desperate staccato from the other end, “I’m wondering what it would take to get a parking permit for a horse on campus.” _____ I felt everything stutter and stop. My eyes darted to the phone interface hoping it was a prank call. No such luck—it was athletic recruiting. “I’m going to need a bit of background info on that question, sir…” I stammered, trying to sound as professional as possible, given the circumstances. “Well, we’re trying to recruit this guy for a school team and he loves his horses. So I told him we could get him a parking permit so he could ride his horse to campus, and he really seemed interested. We really need this kid to come here—our team needs him. Can I get him a permit to park his horse, or what do I need to do?” “Sir, you can’t park a horse anywhere.” Heads popped up like meerkats all over the office. A couple of the clerks scampered over to my desk and leaned over the partition to listen in. “Can’t he just tie it to a tree or something? All we need is the permit,” the recruiter begged. “Sir, I’m positive that no one, absolutely no one, not here or anywhere, can issue you a motor vehicle permit for a horse,” I said, slapping a co-worker’s fingers away from the speakerphone button. “No, no, no, no,” he whimpered under his breath. “We need him. Isn’t there anything you can do?” I felt the familiar bite of powerlessness sting across me, but answered him in the negative. “I want you to check with your supervisor, right now,” he continued. “I’m sure something like this has been done before.” Not bloody likely. “Of course, sir.” _____ As I put him on hold, Andrea shooed her customer out the door and darted around the corner to join the feeding frenzy, and the duty officer at the front counter swung around mouthing, What the hell?! I shrugged helplessly and rang Henry’s phone. After half a dozen rings, he picked up. “Yeah? Yeah, I’m here.” He sounded tired and exhaustingly busy. “Hey, Henry, I have a gentleman from recruiting on the phone who would like to park a horse on campus.” There was a long pause while Henry did whatever it is supervisors do when confronted with livestock before his response boomed into my ear, “I beg your pardon!” “Just what I said. Please tell me the answer is no so I can relay the message,” I asked. “Of course it’s no!” he exclaimed. “We don’t have the place for it. Who would clean up after it?” “Really?” I asked incredulously. “That’s the question we’re asking in this situation?” “Horse poop is a fairly pressing problem,” he gave a rare laugh. “Or tell him we just don’t have the facilities for it. What’s he want it for, anyway?” “He’s trying to convince an athlete to attend here.” Henry gave a low whistle of sympathy. No one wanted to be responsible for losing a potential golden recruit. “Sorry,” he said, “we can’t.” _____ I disconnected from Henry and stared guiltily at the remorseless blinking “On Hold” button. Andrea gestured impatiently at the phone for me to pick up the call again. In an office completely run by instances of the bizarre or heartbreaking, no one was allowed to let guilt stand in the way of quality entertainment. “Sir, I spoke with the lieutenant, and the answer is most definitely no.” “But why not?” he demanded. “Because we don’t have an equestrian program here, which means we don’t have the facilities, equipment, tack, food, or pasturing for it,” I extemporized, leaving manure out of the equation. I heard the faint sound of his knuckles rapping quickly on his desk as he racked his brains for thought. “There must be a solution. What if he tied it to a bike rack?” Andrea, who was practically ear to ear with me trying to get both sides of the conversation, snorted into her hand. Even I felt hysterical giggles rising, but I clamped them down and said in a very firm voice, “Tying a living animal to a bike rack for hours at a time in the desert summer or the winter blizzards is not an option, sir. Apart from animal cruelty, what if it kicked someone? That’s one mother of a potential lawsuit.” “Look I know you’re just messing with me,” he grasped. “I’ve seen horses on campus before!” “We do bring a single pony onto campus one day a year for a demonstration in equine therapy: as I recall it’s about knee high. And you may have seen police on horseback for holiday parades or football games, but that isn’t with our department.” “So no horse?” “Absolutely no horse, sir.” “So what am I supposed to tell our recruit?” he finally asked, which I knew actually meant, “What am I supposed to tell the coaches?” There was a long pause. “I truly have no idea, sir.” “Thanks for nothing,” he said bitterly. Click. Thunk. My head dropped to my desk as Andrea burst out laughing. “It’s not funny,” I said, desperately trying to swallow my own titters. “Why not?” “Because!” I said, waving a stack of forms at her. “You deal with parking tickets and horrible, angry people. I deal with people’s bungled personal lives and livestock.” “Kinky.” “No,” I said shortly. “Not nearly as fun as it sounds.” Henry, dashing out on his way to another meeting, poked his head around the corner and hissed, “We just got a call from the dorms. Couple of freshman want to report a stolen Mr. Potato Head.” That did it. The giggles spilled from my mouth so fast I nearly choked. Then, suddenly, I couldn’t stop. I could barely breathe. Andrea collapsed, laughing so hard she had to grab my chair to stay upright, an almost ugly kind of laugh that I’d never heard from her before. My own eyes were pricking and I finally came face to face with the feelings that I kept hidden and did my best to ignore day to day. _____ It was impotence—and anger. It was every anxiety and frustration I had stifled since graduating. That I had majored in European History and the only work I could find was in law enforcement. A job that required a college degree to man phones, write memos, and fetch people’s laundry. The fact that I had been prepared to move home to England when my then-boyfriend proposed. That my now-husband still had two years left in school, when I was ready to move on and away from university life. That I was too terrified of broken legs, cavities, and unplanned pregnancies to give up my health insurance by finding another job. That I was stuck. _____ “I hate this,” I gasped, trying to get a hold of myself. “It’s okay,” she said, flashing me a smile before she schooled her face into blankness. “You’re entitled.”

Macroptilium bracteatum Macroptilium bracteatum Terminal leaflet with or without basal lobe either side; lateral leaflets mostly with single basal lobe Line illustration. A, Habit; B, bract; C, calyx; D, corolla; E, keel with stamens; F, stamens; G, pistil; H, pod; I, seeds Macroptilium bracteatum (Nees & Mart.) Maréchal & Baudet Basionym: Phaseolus bracteatus Nees & Mart. Family: Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae) subfamily: Faboideae tribe: Phaseoleae subtribe: Phaseolinae. Erect and somewhat trailing herbaceous perennial with pubescent stems to 100 cm tall; strong woody taproot. Leaves trifoliolate with stipules oval, 5–7.5 × 2.7–3.5 mm, petiole 1–4 cm long; leaflets 2.5–6 cm long and 1.7–3.8 cm wide, pubescent both sides; terminal leaflet symmetrical, somewhat pandurate with or without basal lobe either side; lateral leaflets ovate, assymetrical with single basal lobe, apex rounded, base obtuse. Peduncle glabrous, 10–15 cm long, and with a whorl of bracts close to the base; flowers in the upper third of the raceme, purplish-red in colour with small bracts at the base of each flower; calyx pubescent ca. 5 mm long, with 5 unequal teeth. Pod linear, 4–9 × 0.5–0.7cm with 9–19 seeds. Seeds 2.5–4 mm long and 3–4 mm in diameter, upper edge straight to concave, lower edge convex, brown, black or tan in colour, almost always mottled black, About 170,000 seeds per kg. M. bracteatum: whorl of bracts at the base of the peduncle. M. atropurpureum: no whorl of bracts at the base of the peduncle. English: burgundy bean Latin America: feijão-de-rola (Brazil) Native: South America: Argentina (Salta, Jujuy, Formosa), Bolivia (La Paz, Santa Cruz), Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo), Paraguay (Alto Paraguay, Amambay, Boquerón, Central, Chaco, Presidente Hayes), Peru (La Libertad), Venezuela (Anzoátegui). Cultivated: Australasia: Australia M. bracteatum was selected for use as a short-term pasture plant on heavy textured alkaline soils in the subtropics. It replaces the more tropically adapted Clitoria ternatea in subtropical regions because of its greater tolerance of cooler temperatures. It is also an alternative to Medicago sativa in the subtropics. It is largely used in ley systems to improve soil organic matter and improve the soil nitrogen status in preparation for subsequent grain crops. M. bracteatum inhabits high deciduous forest and disturbed vegetation within deciduous forest on limestone, caatinga and capoeira. It has been mostly collected from light to medium textured soils of near neutral pH, but with outliers of 4.5 and 8.5. Despite the range of light textured soils at the point of collection, M. bracteatum was selected for use on heavy textured soils which are invariably alkaline at and near the surface. Seed production in Queensland is conducted on moderately acid, duplex soils of granitic origin. Collected in areas with annual rainfall from 400 to 1,400 mm but is being used in subtropical environments with summer-dominant rainfall between 600 and 1,000 mm. Very drought tolerant and has persisted for at least 3 years on shallow clay soils with extreme mid-season droughts. M. bracteatum occurs over a wide temperature range having been collected between about 10 and 27°S , and 9 and 13° N, with average annual temperature extremes of 17.5 °C ( 1,260 m asl, 24° S) to 25 °C (270 m asl, 9° N). ºC). Mostly grown in full sun.. M. bracteatum is extremely palatable and preferentially grazed. Consequently, grazing management in pastures with a high percentage of burgundy bean. No information available. Guidelines for establishment and management of sown forages. M. bracteatum may 1717 (Australia). Recommended planting rate for uncoated seed is 2–5 kg/ha and 4–8 kg/ha for coated seed. Applications of 10–20 kg/ha P at sowing improve performance on old cropping soils. Molybdenum and sulphur may also be necessary in some situations. forages. The rapid growth and establishment of burgundy bean means that it can be used in combination with C. ternatea, which is comparatively low yielding in its first year but can persist for much longer. Grasses: Bothriochloa insculpta, Dichanthium aristatum, Megathyrsus maximus, Panicum coloratum. Legumes: Clitoria ternatea, Stylosanthes seabrana.. Has the ability to spread through pod dehiscence and high seed yields but high palatability results in little spread outside of sown paddock. Unlikely to have weed potential despite high seed yields. Hard seed breaks down far more rapidly than many other tropical and subtropical legumes, and the species is very palatable at all stages of maturity. had 19.8% protein, less than the levels for lucerne (M. sativa), 22% and butterfly pea 24.5%. Extremely palatable and selectively grazed. None recorded. Burgundy bean does not cause bloat. C. ternatea, Stylosanthes seabrana and Medicago sativa, all of which have considerably lower first year yields. and 0.52 kg/hd/day respectively. Annual liveweight production per unit area for burgundy bean has been recorded as between 60 and 170 kg/ha. 2n = 22. Primarily self-pollinating with low level of outcrossing. Variety improvement has been through selection among wild types.. Imazethapyr (Spinnaker®) can be used as pre-sowing/pre-emergent, post-sowing/pre-emergent or post-emergent herbicide (first or second trifoliate leaf). Pre-emergent application may have some effect on germination and post-emergent application may have some slight effect on seedlings. Bell, L.W., Lawrence, J., Johnson, B. and Whitbread, A.M. (2012) Exploring short-term ley legumes in subtropical grain systems: production, water-use, water-use efficiency and economics of tropical and temperate options. Crop and Pasture Science 63:819–832. doi.org/10.1071/CP12190 Drewes, S.I. (1997) El género Macroptilium (Fabaceae) en la flora argentina. Boletin de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 32(2‒3):195‒216. Pengelly, B.C. and Conway, M.J. (2000) Pastures on cropping soils: Which tropical pasture legume to use? Tropical Grasslands 34:162–168. bit.ly/2yb8n6B Pott, A. (2016) Macroptilium bracteatum (Feijão-de-rola).45‒549. Whitbread, A.M., Hall, C.A. and Pengelly, B.C. (2009) A novel approach to planting grass-legume pastures in the mixed farming zone of southern inland Queensland, Australia. Crop & Pasture Science 60(12):1147–1155. doi.org/10.1071/CP09058 Whitbread, A.M., Pengelly, B.C. and Smith, B.R. (2005) An evaluation of three tropical ley legumes for use in mixed farming systems on clay soils in southern in land Queensland, Australia. Tropical Grasslands 39:9–21. bit.ly/2UtHB2d 'B1' See 'Cadarga' and 'Juanita' below. ‘Cadarga’ (CPI 55769) Released in Australia (2000). Origin Brazil. An erect form; consistently high yielding in the first and second years on clay soils in the sub-humid subtropics. Although the highest yielding of lines tested at most evaluation sites, it can be affected by bean mosaic virus in wet years. It was proposed at the time that both ‘Cadarga’ and ‘Juanita’ be released and marketed as a composite. This composite is now being marketed as 'B1'. 'Garnet' F6 selection from a cross between Brazilian accessions 'MEF3544" and CPI 38732. This Australian cultivar was selected for having greater persistence than either 'Cadarga' or 'Juanita'. ‘Juanita’ (CPI 68892) Released in Australia (2000). Origin Minas Gerais, Brazil (19°26' S, 890 m asl, rainfall 1,500 mm). A decumbent form, relatively high yielding although not evaluated over as many sites as ‘Cadarga’. Does not appear to be affected by bean mosaic virus, and is more persistent than ‘Cadarga’. It was proposed at the time of release that both ‘Cadarga’ and ‘Juanita’ be released and marketed as a composite. This composite is now being marketed as 'B1'. 'Presto' A second F6 selection from a cross between Brazilian accessions 'MEF3544" and CPI 38732 (same parents as 'Garnet'). This Australian cultivar was selected for having greater persistence than either 'Cadarga' or 'Juanita'. In addition to its greater persistence, 'Presto' is an earlier maturing cultivar selected for environments with a shorted growing season. CPI 27404, CPI 55756, CPI 55758, CPI 93100 Selected in Australia. These accessions, like 'Juanita', were collected in Brazil, and are similar to 'Juanita' being relatively persistent and trailing types rather than erect.

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Questioning for Learning Pages 30-35 Cris Tovani To promote deep learning, remember that students' questions matter most. Early in the school year, I pull up next to Tomás for a quick conference. He is reading Tim O'Brien's book The Things They Carried. I start my conference in the usual way. "How's your reading going?" I ask. With eyes down at his desk he says, "OK." "So what have you figured out?" Abruptly, Tomás raises his head and says, "Miss, I'm not so good at answering questions. I don't know a lot." "What do you mean you don't know a lot?" I ask. Quietly, he replies, "Whenever teachers ask me questions, I can't answer them." "Well," I said, "let's switch things around. Why don't you ask the questions?" "Me," he says incredulously. "What do you mean?" "Yes, you," I say. "What questions do you have about your reading?" Almost immediately, Tomás starts firing off things he's wondering about. "I'm confused," he says. "Sometimes the book is about the narrator being at war, and then it switches to when he is old. It's like a flashback. Are all these chapters connected, or are they like short stories?" I smile at Tomás and say, "I think you know a lot. Maybe you've been so busy answering other people's questions that you haven't had time to work on your own." Tomás smiles and together we start to figure out how O'Brien uses time to structure The Things They Carried. Thinking about my conference with Tomás, I have to wonder how his belief that he doesn't know very much affects him as a reader. Does it prevent him from asking his own questions? Does it make him more passive and encourage him to wait for the teacher to tell him what the book is about? Does it discourage him from thinking critically? cure cancer by repeating some fact that the experts already know. It will be a researcher's question that leads to a new discovery. As literature researchers, what is your question?" Instead of spending time honing our questioning skills, it's time we help students hone theirs. Giving students opportunities to practice questioning will help them way beyond the classroom. People who wonder set a purpose for themselves. They know asking questions will propel them to continue reading and learning. Questions give learners a tool for picking same old questions over and over again. If I'm bored with my instruction, most likely students are bored, too. Recently, after observing one of my classes, a colleague said, "It must be nice to not have any discipline problems so you can teach." Although students occasionally act out in my room, I rarely have long-term discipline issues. It's not because I have a no-fail classroom management plan. My secret, I think, is focusing on my students' questions. I taught elementary school for years before becoming a high school teacher. The younger the grade, the more questions I got. Little ones are naturally curious. By the time kids reach adolescence, the love of questioning is sometimes gone. But I know that curiosity still exists inside my high school students. I just have to reawaken it. I think the main reason older students don't ask question is fear that they may look wrong or dumb or too excited about school. Years ago, I attended a summer workshop in Denver at which Ralph Fletcher delivered a keynote about honoring the risks our students take. He said, "If the first troops that hit the beach get mowed down, no one will follow. Be careful how you respond to the first troops." For teenagers, school can be scary and asking questions is risky, especially if you're working really hard to be cool. To avoid "mowing down" the first question askers in my room, I must respond to questions in a way that honors their risk. I have to work hard to make it safe for all questions and all questioners. Here are a few of my strategies: a sociologist. I share a couple of events from the book and analyze whether the outcome of the event is an effect of the character's DNA or of his environment. As students read, I encourage them to jot down both their questions and their analysis regarding nature and nurture on their "think sheets," handouts I've provided for students to record their thinking as they read. I can use these sheets to give, 'I. Adriana writes, "What if jailbird Wes had gone to a military school? Would he have turned out better?" I write back to her, "I'm not sure. I think it affected him, but we'll need to keep reading to see." Now she can think about this question as she continues reading. Angelica, a firm believer that nature can't be changed, loves this topic and the book. She wonders where author Wes's mom got the money to pay for military school. This question propels her to keep reading. Angelica then asks, "Does the mom really believe Wes can change? Was his mom a bad kid that went to this school? Does this school eventually help him?" Angelica's questions tell me that she doesn't have a lot of knowledge about military schools. I can quickly let her know the next day that there were typically no girls at these schools when Wes's mom was young. I could also tell her what Wes's mom was like, but I won't. Instead, I will redirect her to the sections at the beginning of the book that describe author Wes's mom. I'm humbled by my students' questions. Often, they are better than mine. I'm also thankful for their questions because they give me insight on how to differentiate instruction. If students were all answering the same teacher-generated question, I wouldn't be able to tell who got it and who copied. My students' questions matter most because they give me insight into what the students know and need. However, that doesn't mean I never get to ask any questions. With the help of my instructional coach, Samantha Bennett, I've discovered a pattern in the questions I tend to ask. Usually, my questions fall under one of two categories: questions that create awareness and questions that inform my instruction. When my friend Marci says, "Did you notice how many biblical references there are in Toni Morrison's Beloved? What do you think that's all about?" I don't have a quick answer. But that evening when I'm reading the novel, I pay attention. And in the next book I pick up, I look for allusions and ask myself about those as well. When I ask students these kinds of questions, I don't expect one right answer. My goal is to spark a conversation that will expand the way students examine text. Here are a few of my favorites: Sometimes when I ask students questions like these, they don't have a lot to say because they need time to read with the question in mind. So I may ask them which question intrigues them most and what they want to look for as they read. This gives students ownership. It's important that I write down what intrigues them so I can touch base with them the next day by simply asking, "Hey, Tomás, what did you figure out about O'Brien's use of time?" When I want to find out what students know and need, I have to ask questions that give them multiple ways to respond. Their responses are entry points into their thinking and understanding. Questions like these work well: In A More Beautiful Question, author Warren Berger (2014) invites us all—teachers, students, business leaders, innovators, and parents—to ignite learning by asking more beautiful questions. He writes, "In searching for common denominators among [the world's] brilliant change-makers, one thing I kept finding was that many of them were exceptionally good at asking questions" (p. 1). So I challenge you to allow students to ask questions more often. If you must be the question asker, I challenge you to pose this single, simple, beautiful question to your students—no matter the content, no matter the learning goal—"What are you wondering?" My students complete daily "activators." These questions, at the start of class, prepare students for the day's lesson by activating prior knowledge and encouraging them to make connections. During our unit on The Outsiders, I had students read an article about author S. E. Hinton's use of Twitter. The activator question was "Should the book be updated to include technology, and how would technology change the story?" They came up with great ideas: Would the characters smoke e-cigarettes? Would the Socs film the drowning and post it online? Would most of the harassment take place online and lead to fewer physical fights? They all agreed that Darry would sacrifice to get Ponyboy a computer, not only to help with his schoolwork, but also so Darry could take online college classes. These types of activities and questions demonstrate student higher-level thinking and show how well they have embraced the characterizations by the author. I often use the articles and questions to incorporate nonfiction with fiction, to tie in the Common Core State Standards. —Kelley Nosel, English/language arts teacher, Wachusett Regional School District, Holden, Massachusetts For more great questions suggested by our readers, see our "Tell Me About" column. Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question. New York: Bloomsbury. Black, S. (2001). Ask me a question: How teachers use inquiry in the classroom. American School Board Journal, 188(5), 43–45. Tovani, C. (2011). So what do they really know? Assessment that informs teaching and learning. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. Vogler, K. (2008). Asking good questions. Educational Leadership, 65(9). Cris Tovani teaches English at Adams City High School in Commerce City, Colorado. She is the author of So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning (Stenhouse, 2011). Educational Leadership magazine and save up to 51% OFF the cover price. Tweets by ELmagazine

For many connected devices, the user experience is determined as much by the characteristics of the service behind that device as on the device itself. Here we explore how the “shape” of that service affects its performance and cost, and thus your customers’ experience and value for money. Messages Connected devices are usually configured to exchange periodic messages with the cloud service that supports them, for purposes which include: - Sending back application data, e.g. a temperature sensor sends back periodic temperature readings. The values are usually stored in the cloud, may have analytics performed on them, and are ultimately delivered to the end-user, usually through some value-adding application. - Receiving instructions, for example to turn off a local switch, or upgrade to a new software version. Sometimes it is necessary for the edge device to “long poll”, i.e. repeatedly ask the server “is there anything for me?” and perhaps wait a long time for an answer. This is needed to penetrate so-called "stateful" firewalls (which allow only connections initiated by the device, prohibiting spontaneous messages in the return direction). - Keep-alive heartbeats. These demonstrate that the device is still functioning and that the communications link is “up”. They may also contain status information such as battery level, heap size etc. Bandwidth “Big data begins with little data” as CTO of ARM plc Mike Muller likes to say. The payload of each message is typically tiny – often just a few bytes – but they add-up, because in most cases they are sent continuously. A device sending one message every 30 seconds (24/7) will over a year send one million messages. And of course a million such devices will over a year send a trillion messages. Big numbers. Once embedded in verbose communications and security protocols such as HTTPS, each message may expand to kilobytes in length. Licensed cellular communications is paid for by-the-byte, and to fit within monthly budgets of typically a few dollars or less, total traffic must be limited to a few Gigabytes. Unlicensed spectrum is, ironically, typically even more precious, as the space-bandwidth available is extremely limited. Software uploads are the obvious big “budget breaker”, though patching schemes (partial uploads) can keep this under control. Intelligent throttling of telemetry can send data only when it has changed. And of course data can be tightly bit-packed if necessary. Storage When the data arrives in the cloud, it will probably at least be persisted (the most-recent value kept). And quite possibly all the readings received over time will also be stored, creating a so-called “time-series”. There will be debates about whether to “de-res” or even discard old data after a certain amount of time. At my previous company AlertMe we build a connected-home platform, and one of its functions was to store video from in-home cameras. Everyone knows that video takes huge amounts of storage, though we only stored it when something interesting happened in the home. We also stored all the tiny messages from myriad small sensors around the home – temperature, occupancy and so forth, typically once every couple of minutes. The interesting thing was that the absolute amount of storage required for the sensors was over time quite similar to that required for the video. All those little messages do add up. Storage roughly halves in cost every 14 months.1) So if your live device numbers don't grow, your costs will fall over time 2) If your number of live devices increases by around x1.7 every year, then falling storage costs will keep your bills about level. 3) And if your device estate grows even faster, such as x5 per year (we sustained this at AlertMe over 7 years) then the cost of storing historical data is always fairly negligible. Getting at that data efficiently is quite a different matter, which we’ll cover below. Write load As this IoT data appears in your service, it must be dealt with in a timely fashion. The high sustained write load of Connected Device applications make the shape of an IoT service quite different from classic web server applications where underlying data rarely changes. Total service write load is a product of how often each device writes, multiplied by the number of devices. All parts of a connected device service must tolerate failure in all other parts, and this especially applies to communications links. So it is typical for devices to buffer data if (when) they temporarily cannot contact the server. Some “gotcha” areas worth paying attention to include: - Connection session setup: Setting-up a reliable Internet connection (e.g. TCP) requires a significant amount of message exchange. Establishing a secure connection (e.g. SSL/TLS) adds even greater overhead, in calculation as well as bandwidth. Therefore it is often a good idea to preserve existing connections rather than treat each new message as a new connection. - A classic failure-pattern for services with high sustained write load is that - whilst they cope fine with average load - they fail to cope with worst-case load. When the service falls-over and has to be restarted from cold (which it will), it then experiences the worst-case, as all the devices try to connect simultaneously and dump their buffered data, and may fail to start. Because loads grow gradually, this danger area is entered without any warning. It can be important to ensure that devices back-off gracefully. - Data can suddenly change in historical records as devices which have been offline for a long time suddenly come online again and provide their buffered data. This can challenge business processes (e.g. billing) which assume that the past is immutable. Well-designed services typically “scale out” as the write load grows, i.e. adding more servers allows more load to be handled. Read load Whilst the write load is typically high, constant, predictable and to some extent controllable (if you’re in charge of the device code too), read load is anything-but. It reflects the more classic web-server pattern, e.g. at midnight there may be almost no load, but at other times the load may be very much higher - completely at the whim of your users. You can’t control the user load directly (except by throttling, which may make your users unhappy). But you can constrain the questions that your users can ask – in essence, your application is a constrained view into the data. Therefore the principle technique to address read load is to ensure that the answers to the questions you know your users will ask are already waiting. Google doesn’t search the entire web each time you type in a query, because it constrains in advance what kinds of query a user can make, allowing it to build data structures ahead of time which can answer them efficiently. This can done by pre-calculating the answers as data is written, or done in some offline batch process (e.g. once a day), or even done on-demand and then cached. The pre-calculation may be done within the service’s database (using e.g. indexes, aggregations and materialised views) or by the application itself. Transactional reliability is another consideration – is it absolutely essential that all device messages are reliably stored ? Even through service outages? Whilst this is entirely possible (as in the banking world) it places much higher burden on your service, as data must be written to persistent storage before being acknowledged to the device. Often it is acceptable for status messages to be dropped on rare occasions, as another one will come along shortly. Latency is another consideration which can affect architectural design – how before an update written from a device becomes included in a read from the service? An answer of “seconds” requires a very different architecture from “hours”. Rollups I mentioned above the idea of pre-calculating the answers to the questions allowed by your application, and a classic IoT example is aggregation-over-time. For example, say a sensor measures energy consumption every second and sends it for storage in the service, and then the application allows questions like “how much energy did I use last year?”. Naively, this requires fetching 31 million values from a database and summing them, which is unlikely to happen quickly-enough for an impatient user (web services aim to have response times of hundreds of milliseconds, as Google achieves). However whilst writing the data we can aggregate it into buckets reflecting time-periods that the user will want. So for example, when each 60th per-second reading is received, we roll-up the 60 readings from the past minute (which is quite a trivial query) and write a new entry to a “minute” series. And so on with hours, days, weeks etc. So then when we want an answer to our “year” question, we’re just pulling a single value out of the database - super-quick. Cross-series aggregation The above is an example of “in-series aggregation” – the optimisation is happening entirely within each data series. Things get more complex if we want to perform aggregations across series. To continue the above example, imagine that we now want to ask “how much energy did all users of type X use?”. The most challenging aspect of this is that there may be arbitrary ways to select groups of users, so there is no way to pre-calculate the result. This takes us firmly into the realm of Big Data Analytics, and typically outside the realm of real-time response. Security Security is almost always an essential consideration, and will cause big problems later if it is not given enough thought early-on. Security of communications is one thing, but you might also like to give thought to questions such as: - Are you handling “personal data”, which comes with more stringent legal requirements? - How do you control/audit access to customer data from your personnel, to prevent one bad apple from causing huge damage? - Do you need to encode your data at rest, in case your service is breached (e.g. personal video data would be a good candidate)? Availability As mentioned above, no service is perfect, and perfection like all good qualities comes at a cost. So it is important to understand how good your service needs to be, so you can design something that is just good-enough, and is therefore good value. It is common in the telco world to talk about “nines”, so for example “five nines availability” means that your service is working 99.999% of the time. This represents very high availability which any service is unlikely to achieve without very significant engineering effort, as unreliability is a function of service software (bugs causing outages), operations management (e.g. disk-space running-out) and the performance of the underlying components (e.g. servers, whether virtual or not). From a user’s perspective it also of course includes the performance of the connected device and its connectivity. As the end-to-end chain of functions supporting most IoT applications often includes some fairly unreliable components (e.g. wireless or broadband connections), then an availabilty figure of even "two nines" might prove quite challenging to achieve in practice. Service availability metrics also need to quote a timescale too, because for example a single 5-minute outage might violate a service-level-agreement defined as “per-day”, but not one defined as “per-month”. Testing Like any other kind of technology, until you’ve tested it, your service will not work. This is true at the level of individual unit-tests for code, but it’s also true for your service as a whole. You will need two types of service-level tests: - Continuous performance metrics: is your live service actually delivering the service that you claim? Will you be the first to know if it doesn’t? - Stress-testing at say an order of magnitude (10x) of performance above what you’re currently delivering, as your developers prepare for that future with 10x more devices. To achieve this you may well need to build virtual devices in software which can be instantiated for a short while on a cloud service, to drive load against a test instance of your service to prove that it does work at the intended scale. Conclusion In this paper I’ve considered some of the major factors which will determine the “shape” of your connected device service, and therefore how much it costs to run, how well it delivers your proposition to your users - and therefore how happy they are! Of course technology never stays still. One area of rapid change at the moment is the rise of powerful SaaS services (especially databases-as-a-service) able to underpin your service to provide potentially easier scaling and even dynamic elasticity. These often come with their own new dynamics too though, so it’s not a free lunch. Another interesting, longer-term change is the rise of so-called “edge computing” or “fog-computing”, recognising that often a cloud-centric view of the world creates a performance pinch-point and single point of failure which can be actively unhelpful. Peer-to-peer solutions can avoid bottlenecks - though some degree of centralisation is still needed for management. We might expect frameworks to arise to facilitate moving pieces of application logic seamlessly between the edge and the centre, allowing you to change the shape of your service even after you’ve design and deployed it..

Salut / Prost / Santé / Skål / Saúde / Cheers … To You I looked around the dinner table and took note: England, Canada, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, the United States. Every person sitting here is from a different country. Every person sitting here came alone. This group feels like some sort of family to me and I struggle to stop my brain from completing this thought: “this moment will never exist again” because, well… that’s just depressing. I’ve had countless moments like this over my two months of travel. You meet incredible people in the strangest places. You spend three days as best friends. You say goodbye and someone new is assigned to their bed. It’s quicker than you can imagine but the weight of these relationships can’t be valued based on sheer time spent together. You’re connecting with people in a fleeting moment in which you happened to be in the same country, in the same place, in the same moment in time. It’s vulnerable, it’s magical, it’s absolutely unique. So much of traveling is the social aspect that comes with it. At this point, I’ve experienced a whole range of new types of relationships. I’ve met people like me, who are traveling for many months, as well as people just taking a week’s vacation. At the moment, staying in the same small hostel are both an eighty year old man who speaks no English and spends hours silently looking at maps and a twenty-two year old girl who is only here to take a break from months of Couchsurfing. You really never know who is going to walk in the door. I have found that within five minutes of meeting them, my instincts give me a clear indication about whether I want to befriend a person or not. Sometimes for no apparent reason, my gut just says, “Nope! Not them.” Later on, a reason will reveal itself. And if I do decide I’d like to steer clear of someone, there’s only so much distance that can be created when we’re staying in the same place for days. I certainly don’t want to be rude, but I have felt less and less bad about deciding I don’t really want to be associated with certain people. Who are they? Generally it’s the really opinionated people who talk over others, “the one-uppers”, the people who are super-flirtatious (both male and female), immature kids, shady dudes, and anyone who naturally seems to lack a level of respect for their peers and the culture they’re in. There are always going to be a couple of these people around, but they don’t matter. You ignore them and the good people completely outshine any negativity in the environment. If you have a positive attitude and an open mind, you will have friends whenever you want them. The fleeting relationships in this situation naturally take on certain familiar roles. The people I’ve met stick with me and inspire me everyday. I wanted to share a snippet about some of the standouts. My first travel best friend is Marketa, who I referred to in a previous post as “a beautiful, tall blonde from the Czech Republic.” She took me in on my first night in Baleal and became the person to gossip with, vent to, late night snack alongside, contemplate life with, or silently observe next to. She has the kind of positive energy that infects everyone around her and I can’t wait to see how she uses it. I will meet up with Marketa in Prague before I head over to Asia. My travel brother is Tom. We learned to surf together over two weeks. I publicized his 31st birthday celebration around camp our first week and he publicized my 29th in the second. We poked fun at each other constantly, but he has a heart of gold and was a great person to talk to, dance with, or surf alongside. Someday we will meet up again! My travel sisters are Elsie and Michelle. Coincidentally they each had a week sleeping on the bottom bunk directly below me. Elsie is the most mature, well-adjusted nineteen year old I’ve ever met. She had this quiet courage that somehow took her through five months of round-the-world travel without an ounce of drama or self-centeredness. In the weeks we spent together, she taught me about the kind of traveler I want to be. I put her in a cab the morning she was heading back to Australia and have been trying to keep up her travel mantra on my own trip: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” I’ll be meeting up with her Down Under. Michelle is a spark-plug from New Zealand. She has a youthful energy and a contagious laugh. She’s a seasoned world traveler and is going on her current trip solo, like me. I’ll meet up with her in Southeast Asia somewhere! My escape is Mike. He’s the kind of person who will hand you his own jar of Nutella and a spoon and won’t be mad when you finish it (and won’t judge you for eating Nutella with a spoon). People wanted to be mad at him because he is such a good surfer, but couldn’t muster up the energy because he is also a great guy to his very core. We’re meeting up for a road trip across Ireland in the near future. Many leprechauns will be found and photographed. My awesome couple friends are Charlie and Becca. I met these two on a shuttle bus and was immediately drawn to their gung-ho attitude about surf camp, something I don’t think many couples can have together. I’m always impressed when a couple can maintain their individual identities as well bring out the best in each other. I am also impressed when couples have choreographed dances with each other. Congratulations on the upcoming wedding, my friends! My favorite wingman is Will. He will stay out late with you to make sure you don’t walk home alone, cook an amazing dinner for you wanting nothing in return, and almost miss his flight home, spending the night in the hospital with you (not me, the general you). He is, without a doubt, one of the most generous people I’ve ever met. I wish I could visit him in Switzerland, but won’t make it this trip! My resident bros are Kieran and Regan. These two met on a bus in Brazil traveling alone and have been friends ever since. They are surfing around Europe and South America together. Kieran, 28, has essentially the exact same story as I do – quitting his corporate job and prioritizing travel. It was so nice to talk to someone who had the same perspective, even though we’re from different countries. I hope we’ll meet up somewhere along my route and these two can make me a stronger surfer. The friend who got away is Catherine. She’s a super-cool Melbourne dweller who I only got to spend one day with. It was not nearly enough. I will meet you in Vietnam, Cat! My amazing travel companion is Chuck. He’s been a family friend for years and has been living abroad in Brussels for work. When I decided to come to Europe, he invited me to join him for a week exploring Southern Spain. We had the best week jumping from Cordoba to Granada to Sevilla. We toured, siesta’ed, and tapas’ed our way around these amazing cities. I saw a burro yesterday and thought of you, Chuck! My saviors are Brian and Oscar. After showing up in Barcelona alone, I realized I knew no one. My friend from home put me in touch with her boyfriend, Brian, who is studying law abroad this semester. Brian generously took me under his wing and introduced me to his roommate Oscar. The three of us sampled the best of Barcelona and almost got killed by a tower of people on the National Day of Catalonia. These people are just a handful of memorable characters from the past two months. It’s been hard to leave them all and to keep moving, but goodbyes are the nature of this lifestyle. Luckily, nowadays with Facebook, email, Instagram, Whatsapp, FaceTime, Skype, and all the other options for keeping in touch, I am still connected to them. I only wonder who is on deck! 10 Comments Char, I’m not sure why but this post brought tears to my eyes. It’s, once again, so well written and real and touching in many ways. I envy you. Thanks for continuing to write such thoughtful pieces. You sound so great, by the way. Love, Steve > Thank you for that, Steve. I have been trying to figure out how to explain the social aspect here and it has been simmering in my brain for a few weeks. I’m glad you felt what I hoped would come across. Such a wonderful read. I miss Portugal now. Thank yoU! Thank you Miles! I do too! LikeLiked by 1 person You’re welcome! […] start talking to whomever is in that bed all over again. I totally love it, and as I explained in past posts, the relationships are really special and very real. But damn, it’s a […] […] if I do move back to Boston and settle back into a similar lifestyle to what I had before my trip, I will still be missing these new friends. It is a reality of travel, I suppose. You can never have […] […] I had met in Barcelona back in month one of my trip (Brian and his roommate Oscar are mentioned in past posts). It felt like we were old friends and I kept forgetting that we hadn’t actually known each […] […] I made a great friend in Portugal named Michelle, a Kiwi with spunk and a big heart. Michelle was also traveling in Southeast Asia, but she started a month before I did. The idea of seeing a person who, at this point, felt like an old friend as well as a seasoned SE Asia traveler was a comfort. So we decided to meet up in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand. […] […]. […]

Hello, everybody. Welcome to this post. Hopefully, all of you will be good and happy and enjoying your health with the blessings and grace of Almighty Allah. Today, I am here to present the homework post for Task 8 of the fixed introductory courses of the Season 4 of Steemit Crypto Academy. So, let's start our task without any wastage of time. There are three tasks given by the professor and we have to explain only one of them. So, I am going to explain task number 2. Question Look for 2 similar dApps and do a detailed fundamental analysis and compare the two dApps and explain the results of your analysis. (Screenshots required). In this task, the professor has asked to explain the details of two similar Decentralized Applications. Before discussing them, it is necessary to have a brief knowledge of decentralized applications. So, first of all, we will discuss decentralized applications. As we know that this is the era of blockchain technology and blockchain technology is developing day-by-day. So, decentralized applications or simply dApps are the products of blockchain technology. Decentralized Applications are those applications that are based on the decentralized system. A decentralized system is a system that is independent of any central authority or the controlling unit. Decentralized applications are those applications that exist or work without the involvement of any central authority or the central controlling unit. All the activities related to the applications are carried without seeking permission from any central authority. Users of the dApps are free to use the services that are available in those apps. These applications are based on a peer-to-peer system and all the users of these apps work together to run the app. So, now, I am going to discuss two similar decentralized applications that are basically decentralized exchanges (DEXs). One of them is JustSwap and the second one is the DODO exchange. So, have a look at both of them separately. JustSwap Introduction: JustSwap is a decentralized swap exchange platform that is based on the TRON ecosystem. This decentralized exchange was developed in August 2020, about a year ago. But it is one of the most popular decentralized exchanges of the time. As this exchange platform is based on the Tron blockchain so the tokens that are available in this platform are mostly of TRC-20 standard. The tokens found in the JustSwap platform are basically divided into two lists. The first list is named the JustSwap Default list which contains 19 tokens. The second list is named the Tron Alliance list which contains 53 tokens. There are also liquidity pools in this exchange platform and users can also take part in these liquidity pools by providing the tokens. The participants of the liquidity pools are rewarded with TRON cryptocurrency. It has also compatibility with different wrapped tokens like WTRX, WBTC, WBTT, WETH, etc. A number of minds are attracted by these wrapped tokens. CoinMarketCap Details: On exploring the decentralized exchanges (DEX) menu in the CoinMarketCap, I found some basic information about JustSwap decentralized exchange. These pieces of information are as follows. All the information that is taken from exploring CoinMarketCap can also be expressed in the form of tabular data. So, have a look at the following table. Working of JustSwap: The JustSwap decentralized exchange, like most DEXs, is also based on the Automated Market Maker (AMM) algorithm. The tokens are created and their prices are set on the basis of the AMM algorithm. The JustSwap platform allows the trading and exchange of the tokens with low costs as compared to the ETH. The market volume of this platform is reached a great level of $1.6B. Features: Some important features that are found in the JustSwap exchange platform are as follows. - Swap:- The Swap feature can be used to swap different tokens with other tokens. The efficient, cheap, and secure exchange of the TRC20 tokens can be done from this amazing feature. The transaction fee will be in the form of native currency (TRX). - Pool:- This feature can be accessed by the users to take part in the liquidity pools of the platform by participating with their tokens. This is really a superb feature of this platform. - LP Pools:- The LP Pool option is available to allow the users of the platform to earn the liquid tokens in the form of Tron tokens by taking part in the liquidity pools. The number of users present in a stake also affects the profit percentage of the users that are taking part in the LP Pool. - SUN Swap:- This is a newly introduced feature in the JustSwap platform. This feature was introduced after the redenomination of the SUNOLD token into the new SUN token. The SUNOLD tokens are exchanged with the new SUN token here with the 1:1000 standard. It means that if a person has 1 SUNOLD token then he can get 1000 new SUN tokens by exchanging them from here. Connecting a Wallet: We can connect our TronLink wallet to this platform as this platform is based on the Tron ecosystem. The steps to connect the wallet are as follows. - First of all, open the JustSwap platform and click on the Connect a Wallet option located at the top left corner of the homepage. - Now, choose the TronLink Wallet option. - Click on the Connect option that appeared in the TronLink extension window. - The TronLink Wallet will be connected to the JustSwap exchange. As you can see in the below screenshot. DODO BSC Introduction: One of the most popular DEXs based on the Binance Smart Chain is the DODO decentralized exchange. When it was developed, its base was upon the Ethereum network but after the progress of the DeFi products and the increase in the number of its users, it was linked with the BSC(Binance Smart Chain) and some other popular exchanges. The DODO exchange was developed in 2020 and has become one of the top Decentralized exchanges based on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). It is in the top decentralized exchanges of the BSC with a great 24 hours volume of about $4M. CoinMarketCap Details: On exploring the decentralized exchanges (DEX) menu in the CoinMarketCap, I found some basic information about DODO BSC decentralized exchange. These pieces of information are as follows. The information that is taken from CoinMarketCap can be expressed in the form of a table, as follows. Working of DODO BSC: Most of the decentralized exchanges used the algorithm named AMM (Automated Market Maker) but the DODO exchange used the Proactive Market Maker (PMM) algorithm which is more effective than the AMM. The involvement of the PMM algorithm in the DODO exchange improves the purchasing price of the assets in the exchanges. The prices of the tokens are set on the basis of the PMM algorithm. Features: Some great features that are found in this decentralized exchange are as follow. - Exchange:- The most important function of this platform is that we can easily exchange different tokens here. The exchange of cryptocurrencies can be done efficiently and cheaply. - Liquidity Pools:- The users of this platform can access this feature to provide liquidity to different coin pairs found in the exchange and they will be rewarded with the DODO token for this act. In this way, the users can manage their earnings. - Tools:- There is a tools option in this platform where the users can create their token, add the liquidity to the existing pairs, participate in the Crowdpooling, and create their own liquidity pools. This is a great feature in fact. Crowdpooling is the feature that allows the producer of the token to reduce the prices of the tokens so that the traders can be able to manage large capitals with low prices. - Bridge Feature:- The Bridge option cal allows the users to access different popular exchanges like the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Bridge, Arbitrum Bridge, Celer Network Bridge (cBridge), Polygon Bridge, etc. By collaborating with these amazing exchanges, the users can enhance their trading experiences. - Governance:- The users who are part of the governance of the DODO platform can take part in the decision-making of the platform. They can vote for the proposals and also express their own proposals from the Governance option. Connecting a Wallet: We can connect a BSC-based wallet with this platform as this platform is based on the Binance Smart Chain. So, we have to follow these steps. - First of all, open the official website of DODO and click on the Connect to a wallet option on the homepage. - Now, agree on the terms and conditions, click on Binance and click on the MetaMask option. - Now, click on the Next option in the MetaMask extension window. - Now, click on the Connect option to connect the MetaMask with the DODO exchange. The MetaMask wallet will be connected with the DODO exchange platform. Comparison Final Words (My Analysis) Decentralized Applications are the applications that are not controlled or under the influence of any central authority or the central controlling unit. Users are free to enjoy the services in the dApps. DODO exchange is a decentralized exchange based on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) where a number of tokens can be exchanged. JustSwap is a swap exchange that is based on the Tron network. A number of TRC20 tokens and other tokens can be swapped easily and efficiently. So, that's all about the Task 8 of the Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4. Hopefully, all of you will like this post. Special Mentions @dilchamo. Thanks to all of you for stopping by ... Created By : @steemdoctor1 (Crypto Student) Hello @steemdoctor1, Thank you for participating in the #08 Fixed course for Newcomers in the Steemit Crypto Academy. Your grade on this assignment is as follows: Homework task:9/10Feedback and Suggestions : Okay mam. Thanks a lot for your appreciations.

SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation 10.0 for SAP Netweaver is delivered with a brand new reporting toolcalled SAP BusinessObjects EPM Solutions Add-in for Microsoft Office 10.0, which offers a new user experience.This exercise is built to help you familiarize with this new tool and to demonstrate you how to use some former BPCfeatures inside it. 10. Then, available environments and models will be retrieved. Select BPCP_XX environment and Planning model.11. Click Generate Connection Name to have a generic connection name being displayed in the Connection Name field. 12. You can of course manually change this connection name if you would like. 14. The new connection will be created and displayed in the EPM – Connection Manager window. Click the Set as Default button.Use this newly created connection to create your report. 3. A new blank excel spreadsheet is created, and the EPM context bar is displayed on the top, as well as the EPM Pane on the right.4. You can decide to display the context bar (formerly named Current View in BPC 7.5) inside the EPM Pane on the right. For this, click the arrow on the right of the Options button and choose User Options. 5. Under the Others tab, tick the option named Display Context inside EPM Pane. 6. Click the OK button, and notice the context has now been merged with the EPM Pane on the right. 7. Click the arrow on the right of the ACCOUNT dimension in the context, and choose Select Other Members… option on the dimension drop-down. 8. In the displayed EPM – Member Selector window, first choose to display ID – Description in the Select member names to display drop-down. 14. Drag and drop Account dimension in Rows, Time dimension in Columns, and CATEGORY, ENTITY, PRODLINE, RPTCURRENCY and MEASURES in Page Axis, and verify that cell B8 is defined as being the first data range cell.15. Click the Account link in the Row Axis Dimensions area. This will open the Member Selector window. 16. On the Member Selector window, select the Member names to display icon, and choose ID - Description. 17. First remove the Context (BS000 – Balance Sheet) selected member on the right side, by selecting it (1) and clicking the left arrow button (2). 1 2 18. Then, select PL600 account member in the Dimension Members area (1), and Member and Descendants in the Selection Relationship drop-down (2), and move it to the Selected Members window, by clicking the right arrow button (3), and click OK (4). 19. On the EPM – Report Editor screen, click the Time link in the Column Axis Dimensions area.20. On the Member Selector window, select the Member names to display icon, and choose ID. 21. Remove the Context (2010.TOTAL) selected member on the right side, by selecting it (1) and clicking the left arrow button (2). 1 2 22. Then, select 2010.12 time member in the Dimension Members area (1), and Member Only in the Selection Relationship drop-down (2), and move it to the Selected Members window, by clicking the right arrow button (3). 3 23. Now we would like our report to not only show 2010.12, but also 2010.12 + 1 year, and 2010.12 + 2 year (current year, next year, and current year + 2). 24. To perform that, select 2010.12 time member once again (1), in the Dimension Members area, and Member Offset in the Selection Relationship drop-down, with an offset of 12 (2), and move it to the Selected Members window, by clicking the right arrow button (3). FYI, the Member Offset option works like the former EVTIM function in BPC 7.5. 3 25. Finally, select 2010.12 time member, once again, in the Dimension Members area (1), and Member Offset in the Selection Relationship drop-down, with an offset of 24 (2), and move it to the Selected Members window, by clicking the right arrow button (3). 226. Your Member Selector window should now look like below, and then click the OK button on the EPM – Member Selector screen. 30. Access the Options tab, and verify here that the Inherit Sheet Options checkbox is checked. Then click OK.31. On the EPM tab, click the arrow near the Options button and select Sheet Options link. 32. On the General tab, select Hide from the drop-down for Empty Rows in the Empty Data Behavior section and set Totals Placement to Top and Left by selecting the radio buttons.33. On the Refresh tab of the Sheet Options, check the Refresh Data in the Whole File when Opening it option. Note: In our case, checking this option has no impact on performance as the report is quite small, but we don’t recommend checking this radio box in the case where the report is very large with multiple worksheets. Note: PL999 account, which was null, has been hidden in row 22. Besides that, all parent members in the rows have been moved to the top of the report.37. Finally, access the User Options (Options – User Options) and check the Automatic Refresh on Context Changes option on the Navigation tab. This will allow your report to retrieve data after each context changes (same options than in BPC 7.5 workbook options). 39. Save your report by clicking the Save button inside the EPM tab and choose the link Save to Server Root Folder. 40. Then select the Company tab, and save this report with the name Addin_LAB1.xlsx under the Reports folder. 1. Click the Open button inside the EPM tab and select Open Server Root Folder. 2. Then select the Company tab, and open the report with the name Addin_LAB1.xlsx under the Reports folder by clicking the Open button. 4. Check the option Use as Input Form, and set the Empty Data Behavior back to Keep.5. Click OK. 7. You can now notice that the Save Data button has been enabled. 8. Now, click on the Account dimension in the row axis, on the EPM Pane. 9. Remove the PL600 – Net Income - Member and Descendants relationship from the Select Members window, by clicking on the left arrow (highlight the member and click on the arrow). Then click on the Filter members by properties icon.10. Choose Account type in the Property field, = in the Operator field, and INC in the Values field (1). On the second line, choose Account type in the Property field, = in the Operator field, and EXP in the Values field (2). And finally, on the third line, choose Calc member flag in the Property field, = in the Operator field, and N in the Values field (3). Then, click the Add Dynamic Filter button (4) to move your selection to the Selected Members window (5). 1 2 5 3 Note: According to the expansion definition based on account properties, our input form displays only non- calculated members, also flagged as being Net Income accounts (INC or EXP). 13. Now double-click cell A3, which contains APL – All Product Lines, and select SPT - Sports member in the member selector window.14. Then, click OK. The figures in your input form are updated accordingly. 15. Now, input following values in time period 2012.12, as shown in the figure. 16. Click the Save Data button. By default, the Save Data button is linked to Save and Refresh Worksheet Data option, but clicking on the Save Data arrow will display all other saving options available. 19. You can choose here not to display this summary window by checking the Do not show this message again option. 20. At any time, you can also enable/disable this Save Results window under User Options – Others tab and check the option called Display Warning when Saving Data or Comment. Note: You might want to disable that message, to improve the performance in the cases where many users send the data at the same time. The disadvantage is that you won’t have any information about rejected of approved records.21. Save your input form by clicking the Save button inside the EPM tab and choose the link Save to Server Root Folder. 22. Then select the Company tab, and save this input form with the name Addin_LAB2.xlsx under the Input Schedules folder. 1. Click the Open button inside the EPM tab select Open Server Root Folder. 2. Then select the Company tab, and open the report with the name Addin_LAB1.xlsx under the Reports folder. 4. Now select column B, right-click and choose Insert. This will insert a blank column in column B. 5. Your report should look like this after the column insertion.6. Then, access the Sheet Options. 7. Make sure that the Activate Local Member Recognition under General tab is checked and click OK. 9. After clicking Enter, you can notice that the formula has been expanded down, and the ACCTYPE property is displayed for all your account in rows. 10. This process has automatically created a local member for the report. You can access and edit it under the Edit Report button and then Local Members tab. (Once you select the LocalMember000 on the left side, then fields on the right side get populated). 11. Here you can decide to Enable/Disable the local member, as well as changing the description and the location. For example, we’ll just change its description and write Account type in the description field, instead of (fn) ACCOUNT. Please change the description and click the OK button.12. Report should look like as shown in the figure. 13. Save your report by clicking the Save button inside the EPM tab and choose the link Save to Server Root Folder. 14. Then select the Company tab, and save this report with the name Addin_LAB3.xlsx under Reports folder. 1. Open a blank excel worksheet, by clicking the Office button, and choose New. 4. On the General tab, check the option Use as Input Form and Activate Member Recognition.5. You can also activate the member recognition by default by accessing the User Options – Others tab, and check the option Activate Member Recognition by Default. 6. Click OK. 7. In cell B10, type-in Land and type Enter. You can notice the display of a green background in that cell during a fraction of seconds. That means the member recognition has recognized one member matching the Land string and displays Land & Building in cell B10. 8. In case of confusion, the EPM - Ambiguous Name window is displayed with a list of members matching your criteria. For example, first clear cell B10, and then type-in Lan in it, instead of Land. The EPM – Ambiguous Name window pops-up. 9. Here you can select the member that best matches your choice. Select Balance Sheet.TotalAssets.Fixed Assets.Land & Buildings. Then, same as in step 5, the value Land & Buildings is displayed in cell B10. 11. In cell B12, type-in Long (it will display Long Term Debt). 13. Now we will build the page axis. Type-in Actual in cell B2. 18. The report has been built, and you can notice the EPM Pane has been updated accordingly. Use the scroll-up and scroll-down arrows to see all dimensions in page axis. 19. Now input some data in cells C10, C11, and C12. For example 1 in C10, 2 in C11 and 3 in C12.20. Click the Save Data button. 22. Save your input form by clicking the Save button inside the EPM tab and choose the link Save to Server Root Folder. 23. Then select the Company tab, and save this input form with the name Addin_LAB4.xlsx under the Input Schedules folder. In Planning and Consolidation 10.0 for NetWeaver platform, in order to activate the “Comments” button on theEPM add-in side, you need to enable the Comment input from the Administration Web Interface. 1. Open the Web client by clicking the Planning shortcut on your desktop. 2. Once Windows Security window appears, select ELITEUSER certificate and click OK. 4. In the right section called Launch, click the Planning and Consolidation Administration link.5. A new Administration tab is opened. Under the Dimensions and Models section, click the Models link. 6. Highlight the line where Planning model is displayed and click the Edit button. 7. Under Features Used with the Model section, check the Enable Comments option. 8. Click the Save button. A message will tell you the status of the saving. And then click the Close button. 9. Finally close Internet Explorer interface. 10. If not already done, please also close the existing Excel session. 11. Due to a bug in BPC 10 SP04 (SAP note 1640488 – Comment related reports fail), we have to update the BPC_SERVICE user with an additional profile name, so that you’ll be able to retrieve comments using the Find Comments functionality during the next steps. 12. To do so, double-click the SAP GUI icon and connect to NW 7.3. 13. Enter BPC_XX as user and Welcome! as password on the log on screen. 15. Enter BPC_SERVICE in the User field and click the Change button.16. On the Profiles tab, add SAP_ALL profile and press Enter. 18. Close SAP GUI and select Yes on the Log Off pop-up window. 19. Open a new Excel session by clicking the Microsoft Office Excel 2007 shortcut on the desktop.20. Select the EPM tab and click the Log On button. 22. A new blank worksheet is displayed and you can notice that the Comments button, under the EPM tab, has been activated. 23. Click the Open button and choose Open Server Root Folder link. 24. Under the Input Schedules section, choose the already saved input form named Addin_LAB2.xlsx and click Open.25. Select cell D8 where value 8000 is retrieved. 26. Click the Comments button and choose Add Comment link. 27. The EPM – Add Comment window pops-up. Enter following values and click the Save button: Priority: Medium Comment: Third party sales have been increased by 1000 Keyword: Third Party Context of Comment: Active Cell28. The Save Results window appears. Click OK. 30. Enter one new comment, but on a different Context that time. So, enter following information and click the Save button: Priority: High Comment: No Third party sales for year 2011 Keyword: Third Party Context of Comment: Custom context as follow:31. The Save Results window appears. Click OK. 32. Now click the Comments button and choose Find Comments link. 34. Check Medium and High radio boxes under the Priority section and click the Custom Context radio button and choose following context (be particularly aware of choosing ALL option for the Time dimension). Finally, click the Find button.35. A new Internet Explorer window blinks. The Manage Comments tab opens in the BPC for Web page and displays both comments you created in steps 19 and 22. Your comment table should look as follow. 36. Close that Manage Comments tab and access the Home tab. 37. Here click the Audit link in the navigation bar, and click the Comments link on the General section.38. The web page displayed here provides the same search functionalities than from the EPM Add-in side. Here select Planning in the Model field and click on the Display Report button. 39. The generated report displays all posted comments, according to your selection.© 2010 by SAP AG.All rights reserved. SAP, R/3, SAP NetWeaver, Duet, PartnerEdge, ByDesign, SAP Business ByDesign, and other SAP products and servicesmentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered tradem arks of SAP AG in Germany and other countries. Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Crystal Decisions, Web Intelligence, Xcelsius, and otherBusiness Objects products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered tradem arks of BusinessObjects S.A. in the United States and in other countries. Business Objects is an SAP company. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Data contained in this document servesinformational purposes only. National product specifications may vary. These materials are subject to change without notice. These materials are provided by SAP AG and its affiliated companies ("SAP Group") forinformational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect tothe materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statementsaccompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. 44

In a perfect world, if someone had a psychological problem, I’d be able to tell them all about the rich peer-reviewed psychological literature that has to do with specifically their problem, all of which has effect sizes of a billion and definitely and certainly applies to everyone. Unfortunately, we live in this world. For the past decade or so, the social sciences (particularly psychology) and medicine have been going through the replication crisis. Basically, when you repeat social scientific and medical experiments, many of the effects that existed the first time you did the experiment disappear. Some projects suggest that fewer than half of psychological studies show a reproducible effect. Why is this a problem? Imagine if, when we repeated the experiment of dropping a feather and a bowling ball in a vacuum chamber, sometimes they fell at the same rate, but sometimes the feather fell faster, sometimes the bowling ball fell faster, and sometimes the bowling ball fell up and hit the experimenter in the face. It would be pretty clear that we don’t know anything about how gravity works, and all the physics that built on the idea that feathers and bowling balls fall at the same rate in a vacuum chamber was totally wrong. It would also bring up the question of how nobody noticed that sometimes bowling balls fall up before. The answer for psychology is that many psychologists use questionable research practices: one survey suggests that more than half of psychologists have. Many psychologists check whether the data shows an effect; if it is, they publish, and if it isn’t, they recruit fifty more participants to see if it will show an effect. Other psychologists will write a paper that includes multiple studies and only report studies that showed an effect, even though they conducted other studies that showed no effect. Still other psychologists will decide whether or not to leave out outliers depending on which way shows an effect as existing. There are lots of other questionable research practices, many of which require more statistics to explain, but I hope that gives a sense of what people are doing. The other problem is that humans behave much more inconsistently than bowling balls do. You’d expect that if you drop a bowling ball in a vacuum chamber, it’ll be exactly the same as every other bowling ball in every other vacuum chamber around the globe. You only need to drop one bowling ball in a vacuum chamber to find out how bowling balls in vacuum chambers work everywhere. But if you do a study with a hundred and fifty people, you might have happened to find a hundred and fifty really weird people. Even if the effect is real within your sample, it might not apply to any other group of a hundred and fifty people, because people are weird. It is hard to overstate the implications of the replication crisis. I would go so far as to say that you should not read quantitative psychological research, because it will make you actively stupider and have more inaccurate beliefs. You should view quantitative social scientific research more generally with grave suspicion. (Qualitative social science research wasn’t ever really supposed to replicate in the first place; ethnographies are still likely to provide an accurate insight into what it’s like to be a person very different from you, although you might be well-advised to skip the chapter about the generalizable implications.) Now, you might think we’re in a complete state of epistemic helplessness, unable to know what facts about people are true and what facts are false. But that’s not true. People are actually very good at figuring out whether psychological results are true or false. I’d cite the research on this but I just finished explaining why that’s bad, so instead I’ll direct you to 80,000 Hours’s psychology replication quiz. If you don’t get better than half, I will write you a drabble on the subject of your choice. Consider priming, one of the results that has most completely and utterly failed to replicate. It turns out that doing a bunch of anagrams of words related to old people does not actually make you walk slower, imagining doing something morally wrong does not make you want to buy cleaning products, and reading the word ‘stupid’ does not make you assume people you’re talking to are less intelligent. Ask yourself: have I ever in my life experienced reading a bunch of words related to old people and then walking more slowly? Have you ever been like “sorry I’m so slow walking, I was helping out at the nursing home this morning”? No? Most people spend much of their time thinking about other people. The human brain is in many ways optimizing for understanding other people. (Compare the abilities of your laptop computer and a five-year-old child with regards to comforting you when you’re sad, then compare their abilities with regards to quantum physics.) We are, ourselves, people. We have natural expertise and tons of information about the subject. We can outperform science. A lot of people think of knowledge as coming from science, and science as coming from people in white labcoats doing complicated things with numbers and publishing peer-reviewed journal articles. But science is just a particular kind of empiricism. Empiricism means going out into the world, looking at things, coming up with an idea about how they might work, trying it out, and seeing if you’re right. You do empiricism all the time– when you try a new recipe, when you see if a good night’s sleep will make you feel better, when you check whether this movie reviewer has any clue what she’s talking about. And you can do empiricism about your own psychological problems. There are a bunch of meta-analyses that suggest that SSRIs, in general, are just barely better than placebo. There are also a lot of people who take an antidepressant, go off their antidepressant, get depressed, get back on their antidepressant, stop being depressed, go off their antidepressant, get depressed, get back on their antidepressant, stop being depressed, go off their antidepressant, etc. If you are in that group of people, what should you expect to happen if you go off your antidepressant? You should expect to be depressed. In a certain sense, this is totally ignoring science– you’re looking at that peer-reviewed meta-analysis with a bunch of complicated statistics and a sample size larger than one and going “…nah.” In another sense, this is doing science of the sort that is most closely connected to the question. The thing you care about is what will happen if you go off your antidepressant, you have empirically investigated it, and the answer is that you will be depressed. At this point I should take a moment to discuss the placebo effect. Unfortunately, many people use the phrase “placebo effect” in a sloppy way. In a broad sense, the placebo effect refers to the ways a disease or condition changes if you take a sugar pill instead of a pill with an active ingredient, or talk to a kind intelligent person with no therapeutic training instead of a therapist, or whatever. In a narrow sense, the placebo effect refers to a particular source of these effects: the mind-body effect where if you do something at all to help the condition then you feel better. (More precisely, the former is called the “placebo response” and the latter is called the “placebo effect.”) Actually, there are lots of causes of the placebo response. For example, a lot of conditions like depression fluctuate: you feel worse for a time, then you feel better, then you feel worse, then you feel better again. People tend to seek out treatment when they feel really bad and stop treatment when they feel better, so it looks like the treatment works, but it’s actually just the natural course of the disease. Similarly, some diseases are time-limited: whether or not you drink orange juice, your cold is going to take about a week to get better. Another example is that some people feel bad that people have put all this effort into giving them medicine and then they don’t feel better, so they rate themselves as feeling better even though they really don’t. Ideally, you would do a placebo-controlled study on yourself. The process is fairly simple for medications you expect to work within one day, and I think more people should consider doing it. However, there are lots of situations where placebo-controlled studies don’t work at all: it is very difficult to do, say, placebo self-therapy or placebo exercise, and many medications such as SSRIs have to be taken for weeks to work properly. A more promising strategy is to think about whether your experiences are consistent with the response being a placebo response. For example, if you’ve been depressed for years, you can rule out “it was just the sort of thing that would get better in a week anyway” as an explanation. If you typically miss your antidepressant because of a snafu with the pharmacy, that suggests your post-antidepressant depression is a real effect; if you typically miss your antidepressant because you’re too sad to take it, that suggests it may be a placebo response. If you’ve tried six antidepressants and only the seventh worked (despite them all being similar-looking little pills with similar side effects), it’s unlikely to be a placebo response, since there’s no reason to believe pill #7 would have a placebo response the others didn’t. How do you choose things to experiment with? I offer the following guidelines: - Good safety profile; few to no side effects. SSRIs are widely used and if they caused sudden horrible death we would probably know. It is difficult to imagine pomodoros or Facebook blockers having health effects one way or the other. Exercise actually makes you live longer. Conversely, taking random research chemicals off Longecity has all kinds of possible horrible side effects, and antipsychotics are routinely rated as “the only thing worse than psychosis” or “actually, no, I think I would rather be psychotic”. - Easy to figure out if it works. If an intervention promises to help you get more work done or be less anxious, it is easy to figure out whether your to-do list has fewer items on it or you’re able to talk to strangers instead of hiding in the corner out of fright. If an intervention promises to help you reach enlightenment, this is harder to determine. - Easy to do. Installing Facebook-blocking software or using a pomodoro tracker is very easy; anyone can do it in about one minute. Exercise, dietary changes, meditating for an hour a day, and so on are very difficult. - Quick to test. It takes one afternoon to check whether pomodoros work for you: if you didn’t get more work done that afternoon, it probably didn’t. It can take months or years of work to find out whether meditation works for you. The former is a better thing to experiment with. - Explanation makes sense. Ask the person why it works. If the explanation is something like “when you do something you’re scared of and it isn’t a disaster you’re likely to be less scared,” then the thing is more likely to really work. If the explanation involves unscrambling anagrams about old people making you walk slower, then maybe don’t try that one. - Good reviews. If it worked for someone else, maybe it’s worth trying. You can ask your friends, but it’s also worth mining historical figures for ideas (maybe Marcus Aurelius has some good tips) or, sigh, reading the psychological literature. For explanations that make sense, watch out for whether the explanation actually matches the thing you experience. I had the ‘likely to be less [anxious]’ explained to me a lot, and it took me a while to realize that the explanation that actually matched what was happening was ‘when you do something and it is in fact super unpleasant, you are going to continue to become less likely to do it’. LikeLiked by 1 person Yeah, for exposure-therapy-type stuff it crucially matters what the outcome of doing the scary thing is. If it’s as bad or worse than your brain expected, you’ll be as scared or more scared of it in the future. (This is why the best advice is to try smaller, safer versions of the thing you’re scared of.) I think one should be very careful about applying this to domains where one cares a lot about getting certain results, e.g. in politics or in psychological domains where the correct answer may have large effects on one’s personal status. People are great at lying to themselves, so if you apply it to these domains you just end up with “the outgroup is bad and the ingroup is always right”, which… isn’t exactly great. SSRIs have been known to have nasty withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly. I like this, and obviously it is good for lots of things besides scrupulosity. For me, virtually nothing is in the “easy to figure out if it works” category. One problem is that my mental state naturally fluctuates roughly every few days, so it’s almost never obvious whether a given change is due to some intervention or just part of that pattern. (This also means that nothing that doesn’t have a very short-term or very dramatic effect is going to be in the “quick to test” category.) Another problem is that while I do limit myself to trying one primary intervention (e.g. a new medication) at a time, I don’t live in a vacuum and there’s always going to be variation in e.g. what I eat, who I talk to, what the weather is like, what tasks I need to get done, what productivity tools I use, etc.; this adds extra difficulty to tracing causality. A third problem is that apparently I’m just not very good at noticing and remembering details of my experience. This was a surprise to me when I started trying psych meds – I do a lot of introspection, and I would have thought I was pretty in touch with my feelings, but in fact it seems that (a) sometimes when things are bad it’s really hard for me to pin down the details of that beyond “generalized shitty feeling”, (b) I experience variants of “generalized shitty feeling” often enough that to make things bearable I’ll often need to tune out the details and go “shrug, this sucks, oh well”, which gets in the way of introspection (c) my memory of feelings and experiences is super fallible and it’s really hard for me to compare present feelings to past ones, let alone different past feelings to each other, and also I can never remember things like exactly which nights I had trouble sleeping (and therefore it’s hard to check whether that lined up with e.g. a new medication). I’ve been fixing this with some success by doing a lot of tracking. I have at least seven apps on my phone for tracking various things, in addition to spreadsheets for tracking more stuff and analyzing my logs. Some that I’ve found particularly useful are: – Daylio: mood tracking. I have it ask me a few times a day how I’m feeling, and also record any other notable moods that occur at other times, and then I have graphs of this information over time. (I think you have to pay it a bit of money to get it to give you more than one reminder a day; I find this worth it.) Daylio’s own graph/analysis functions are pretty insufficient – for example, you can only look at a graph of one month at a time, which is pretty unhelpful for figuring out long-term trends – but you can export your data and then play with it in a spreadsheet. Doing this was extremely helpful for me – I made a graph of my average mood per week and was able to discover that while I very regularly cycle between one- or two-week up- and downswings, the mean around which my mood cycles notably changed when I started a new antidepressant, but did not change when I increased my dose, which was good evidence that I should be taking the lower dose (and also looking for something that would improve or eliminate the downswings, as those are still pretty disabling). – SleepBot: sleep tracking. (however, I think this might currently be unavailable for new users due to GDPR issues) – Timesheet: time/productivity tracking. (important for me as one of the things that both varies a lot for me and is a big problem is ability to do work) – KeepTrack: EVERYTHING tracking. This app is pretty great; you can create trackers to track anything you want in one of many formats; you can set goals for each tracker in more or less any format; you can combine graphs to see how different pieces of data move against each other. (Though I haven’t yet looked into how to e.g. graph the things I track there against the things I track in other apps.) However, I’ve been finding that even this is not enough, because sometimes symptoms happen that are not things I have already thought to start tracking, and then I don’t track them anywhere and forget about them or can’t correlate them with anything. I’ve gone and bought a little notebook for tracking things in a more free-form format; I now spend a bunch of time writing down possibly-relevant-to-experimentation details of my experience, which is certainly a cost, but I think it’s probably worth it for being able to actually know what I was experiencing when so that I can better trace causality and make decisions. LikeLiked by 1 person

- Band: - Broken Hope - Relase date: - September 30, 2013 - Label: - Century Media - Production/Genre: - Death Metal - Media: - Album Omen of Disease tracks 1. Septic Premonitions (Intro) 2. Womb of Horrors 3. Ghastly 4. The) 14. Pitbull Grin (Live in San Francisco) 1. 25 Years of Sickness: The Broken Hope Story Lyrics 1. SEPTIC PREMONITIONS (INTRO) (No lyrics available) 2. WOMB OF HORRORS When we met, the bitch said that she had crabs, But this fact didn't faze my sex drive at all, But it wasn't her snatch that held these parasites, Her gut hosted clutches of sinister crablets. A uterus packed with horrors, crab-things in the making. Her considerable gut, undulated and rippled, Too horny to fucking care I ignored this odd detail, I fucked her pregnant hole deeply from behind, Her distended belly grew bigger as I thrusted. Swollen womb held unnatural broods that shouldn't be, Sperm injected to fertilize monstrosities, Crustacean kin are birthed they devour me. Evolutionary fuck up made these monsters, Woman impregnated with crustacean babies, The hatchlings pop upon contact with my spunk. A uterus packed with horrors, crab-things in the making. Protruding optical stalks that possess their father's eyes, First feast is a man, as I'm their daddy and their prey, Human faces, exoskeletons, eight legs, armored chelae, Ravenous mouths and razored teeth cut me down to size. Swollen womb held unnatural broods that shouldn't be, Sperm injected to fertilize monstrosities, A uterus packed with horrors, they swarm and devour me. 3. GHASTLY A distorted freak, extremely ugly, ill made by perverted gods, Repugnant blemished colonize my corrupted flesh, Ghastly - a horrid blight upon the eyes, External covering of rocky barnacles, and obscene pustules, A tumor laden fungus, replaced my skin, Ghastly - a horrid blight upon the eyes. Pimply boiled covered face A gash and polypus, filled mask of repulsion. Ghastly - I could turn Gorgons into stone, Hideous down to the marrow in my bone, Ghastly - a horrid blight upon the eyes, Look and see where beauty up and dies, Ghastly - I could turn Gorgons into stone, Hideous down to the marrow in my bone. My toad - like cankered tongue, Moistens rows of jagged and rotting teeth, Putrid pores leak foul fluids, Contaminate everything around me, Ghastly - a horrid blight upon the eyes. I am the epitome of uglified, and the impure definition of nauseating, Revolting dorsal bumps, bulging carbuncles flesh rising from my back, Diseased and flawed, swollen furuncles erupt with pus. 4. THE FLESH MECHANIC Some writhe in the flesh, as I work in it deep, Grim is the labor for my macabre and creative dreams, I remake the dead until I'm hellishly satisfied, Reworked anatomy expresses my morbid imagination.. Gutted, rebuilt, and preserved, they deter decomposition, Manipulated pieces, exposed parts I shape and fashion. Vulgar aesthetics, I turn natural features into horror, Clinical dissection, bodies disfigured by my skills, My vision dubbed obscene, but my point of view is art, First see what you are, then what you will become.. 5. RENDERED INTO LARD A human beef-ring in a community of ghouls, Outsiders trapped to feed a bloodthirsty group, Processing people into numerous forms of meat, The carnivorous throng eats up every bloody scrap. Human livestock butchered and rendered into lard. Butchers segment, cube, and parcel for all to share, Fillets, ribs and sausage, to strip of fat and grease, None of the flesh is wasted as cutters do their worst, Meat dressed and cooked, prepared for unholy meals. Human livestock butchered and rendered into lard. Liver and eyeball pate appetizers before the main course. The captives are all fattened in their farmyard cells of doom, A micro-society of carnivorism reveals the gluttons of gore, Man-knuckles and lady-rump to mincemeat, roast, or chuck, Gnawed, gulped, devoured and digested into sick gastrology. Human livestock butchered and rendered into lard, Ground up for consumption and converted into shit, All shall eat as meat packers distribute every fleshy bit. 6. OMEN OF DISEASE Infected blood rains down with frogs, An amphibious, crimson deluge, Black clouds of locusts and flies, Choke every molecule of impure air. Skies darken - a prelude to pandemic, Infected precursors - oblivion septicemic. Rotting livestock, poisoned water, Witness dark and inauspicious signs, Boils and cankers eat human skin, Pestilence delivered, ravages us all.. Black death and leprosy, Upstarts to morbidity, Ebola's hemorrhagic quickness, Harbingers of eternal sickness. Omen of disease... Omen of disease... A reaping coming for us all, Mortal flesh heir to necrosis, Premonitory offerings of sepsis, Apocalyptic pyorrhea bile.. Horrific threats and warnings, yet eyes refuse to see, Impending plagues and cankered gods wield lividity, Super virus contagions, we're already dead. Omen... I am the omen of disease. 7. THE DOCKING DEAD The docking dead... My advances in foreskin restoration, Unleashed the zombie apocalypse, A pair of deceased morgue males, Their urethra meatus's converged, An erect rigor-mortis penis inserted Into another cadaver' rotten foreskin, My chemical re-agents are injected, Viable penile tissue from the dead. The docking dead... Scrotal skin is stretched and grafted, Wrapping connected penile shafts, Resurrection chems is residual skin Dead man-meat now reawakened My foreskin restoration processes, Also brought the dead back to life. Encumbered by their conjoined pud, Two zombies hunger for my brains. Corrupted corpses united at the cock, Wipe dead genital cheese upon my lab smock, Farming decayed foreskin two dead guys now revived, My experiment damned man. The docking dead... Funerary foreskins sexually stimulate Docked dead awake cannibalistically Expired men's linked privates rising, Intertwined cum-pumps begin to rip, Putrefied pingas tear from the hosts, Immolated foreskins are disconnected 8. GIVE ME THE BOTTOM HALF Above her waist, there's nothing worth defiling, The head arms and breasts are all wasted and buried, Girlie bits below the hips captivate and seduce me, Her lovely legs compliment holes I contaminate. I ravage only one of two equal parts; I have that I need, My glass half-full with her lower trunk, A pair of loosened orifices in this post mortem wreck, My cock eases in like a hot blade through butter... Give me the bottom half, the only part I crave. The taint connects the targets of my appetite, The gluteal-cleft divides and orgiastic smorgasbord, I grip the fleshy tatters of her butchered pelvis and rum Again and again I violently plunge into my fuck toy Give me the bottom half, the only part I crave. Give me the bottom half – to rape, wreck, and ruin 9. PREDACIOUS POLTERGEIST Entity from the afterlife enters our living world, A powerful hunger to rape unsuspecting mortals, The malevolent ghosts usurps with unholy desire, An unearthly attacker assaults from the afterlife. A sadistic spirit haunting holes, Paranormal cock penetrates souls, A spectral phallus drills to orgasm, Defiles with lubricating ectoplasm. It debauches and abuses and you never see it, A terrifying, formless being preys on the living, An evil ghost possessed with sick perversions, Invisible, yet the violating hardness is no dream. A sadistic spirit haunting holes, Paranormal cock penetrates souls, Disembodied wraith takes and makes resistant orifices yield. Living beings open wide like an invisible speculum was at work, Supernatural, lustful spectre, from shadows plunges into flesh, Violated cunts and assholes gape free from nothing perceptible. Victims bitten and beaten from out of nowhere, Vicious attacks a prelude to spooky stupration, Unseen hands restrain to spread the vulnerable, A phantasmic erection manifests to sodomize. A sadistic spirit haunting holes, Paranormal cock penetrates souls. 10. BLOOD GULLET A planet covered with three quarters water, Oceans and seas hold primeval terror, Nightmare eating machines inhabit the deep, Denizens below the surface, hunger for us all, The jaws crush, sever, shred and ruin, The mouth devours, gulps and swallows, Ragged body parts, packed deep inside, Lapidated remains, digest in a blood gullet... Born to ingest meat, shark pups eat siblings, Intrauterine cannibalism, a first taste of flesh. The jaws crush, sever, shred and ruin, The mouth devours, gulps and swallows, Ragged body parts, packed deep inside, Lapidated remains, digest in a blood gullet... Created to kill and it always wants more, It masticates on you as the oceans slick with gore. The feeding frenzy dismembers and mutilates, Ungodly carnage from teeth that won't chew. 11. CARNAGE GENESIS I was spawned by man's blood - thirst design, An impetuous birth into a culture of violence. Carnage is my name – I'm hardwired to kill, Plunging forever into glorious heaps of gore, Carnage is my name – seas of blood i spill, The reaper of mankind / hear me fucking roar. Murderous purpose to eradicate my species, Indiscriminate mass murder in my days work. Carnage is my name – I'm hardwired to kill, Plunging forever into glorious heaps of gore, Carnage is my name – seas of blood i spill, The reaper of mankind / hear me fucking roar. Unextinguished avarice to slay the human race, I'm apocalypse incarnate and internecine defined. Massacre by my hand no one will live, Slaughter is the gift i give. Just imagine our planet soaked red with blood, And the mountains of corpses piled to the sky. Carnage is my name – I'm hardwired to kill, Plunging forever into glorious heaps of gore, Carnage is my name – seas of blood i spill, The reaper of mankind / hear me fucking roar. 12. CHOKED OUT AND CASTRATED A Japanese geisha of gore with a penchant for rough sex, Forced into hard prostitution and a world of bloody brothels, She dines on desire and ate rape and syphilis for breakfast, A slut whore and caponizer-of-cock who all men should fear. Around his neck, she wraps her obi sash, Choking him out while fingering her gash, Ligatures add pleasure to erotic asphyxia, A killing and castration aroused paraphilia. He came for the last time the moment he strangled to death, His brain received no oxygen and genital blood flow ceased, But the insane bitch took her prize with a sharp kitchen knife, Traveling around for days with a severed penis and scrotum. Around his neck, she wraps her obi sash, Choking him out while fingering her gash, Sada the psycho queen of guru-nansensu, Ruler of some erotic-grotesque-nonsense genre, Carving her name into the flesh of a gelded man, Blood words before stealing his member and balls. She strangled her paramour and kept his most intimate parts, Only she could selfishly enjoy these slain reproductive organs, But his bloodless, amputated prick sustained erectile problems, The impotent, truncated organ, soft inside her mouth and cunt. Ligatures add pleasure to erotic asphyxia, Death and castration aroused a paraphilia. 13. INCINERATED (2013 REDUX) Fire surrounds, searing flames lick, skin and hair bum, human flesh burning sweet, now sautéed meat, cooked alive [Chorus] [Chorus] Bones and teeth nothing but ash, Dental identification gone in a flash, Grilled, burnt and black as you burn, Cremated, you now belong in a urn Organs to cinders, internal gasses ignite, Combusting within, singing intestines gristled stiff, Fat burns like Crisco-napalm, burning globs, Smoldering cadaver, the end result a putrid pyre. [Chorus] 14. GRINDBOX (LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO) (No lyrics available) 15. HE WAS RAPED (LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO) (No lyrics available)

Metabolic syndrome deserves serious attention, for one out of five adult Americans and one out of eight school-age children has it. This dangerous pandemic pushes millions down the slippery slope to heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and early death. Profile Of Metabolic Syndrome What’s involved in the complex mix of unhealthful conditions that make up metabolic syndrome, or MetS, for short? - Insulin resistance - Obesity - High blood cholesterol - Hypertension If an individual has any three of the above four unhealthful conditions, a doctor can confirm the diagnosis. Significance? Three of these conditions can double one’s risk of heart attack or stroke! And compared to those who have none of these conditions, the risk is tripled! Obviously MetS warrants concern. Because understanding a disease is vital to preventing, curing, or managing it, let’s begin by learning more about the nature and causes of MetS. Other physiologists would include a pro-inflammatory condition, a pro-coagulant state that encourages undesirable clotting and sympathetic nervous system overdrive. Routine blood work would not necessarily indicate these. All persons with MetS should be evaluated on these parameters. Insulin Resistance Insulin resistance is the most common of the four major risk factors. This condition results when more insulin than normal is required to do the same job of glucose control in the body. Although more factors may be involved, this impairment of the body’s ability to properly manage blood glucose is the primary feature of insulin resistance. Obesity If you are a lady, and your waist is over 35 inches, or if you are a man, and your waist is over 40 inches—watch out! Excess visceral fat which is stored over the abdominal organs, better known as “potbelly fat” or “apple-shaped fat,” is the most dangerous type. Adipocytes (fat cells) release free fatty acids, the increased number of which interferes with cellular ability to metabolize glucose and damage the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas as well as substances that promote inflammation through out the body. Cholesterol The level at which total cholesterol is considered normal has been dropping for years. First, it was 240 then—oops!—it was 220, 200, and then 180. So… average is not normal! Two hundred is too high. High Blood Pressure Though high blood pressure is not always a pillar of metabolic syndrome, it is still significantly dangerous on its own. Again, what was considered “normal” 10 years ago is no longer normal.. According to the latest consensus, if your systolic reading is 130, you have early hypertension. Actually, we start paying a physiological price at 125 systolic. The old “feel good—feel safe” philosophy is passé. Truth is wiser and much safer! What Company Does This Syndrome Keep? As comments our science editor, Dr. Bernell Baldwin, “This new metabolic syndrome is a gang, not a committee!” The more MetS is studied, the wider the ramifications. This would also include psychological, sociological, and even economic aspects. Complications? You Name It! If left untreated, MetS will indeed prove deadly, for it affects virtually every system of the body. Not only does it increase the risk of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease, but it also is an independent risk factor in the development of deep vein thrombosis. Heart, lung, kidney, and liver function decline. For example, with MetS, the liver can become sick, as in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. And unless lifestyle interventions are adopted to reverse the disease process, it can progress into nonalcoholic cirrhosis. MetS also contributes to ovarian or erectile dysfunction. In older individuals it predicts cognitive decline and increases the risk of falling. If obesity and elevated blood sugar are both present, the risk for colorectal cancer is increased. With MetS, the risk for prostate and recurrence of breast cancer also rises. Unavoidable Risk Factors Some risk factors for MetS are uncontrollable, including a family history of type II diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, bipolar disorders, and aging. Hispanics and Asians seem to be at greater risk than are other races. Women with fibromyalgia are 5.56 times more likely than healthy controls to have metabolic syndrome. A pregnant woman’s metabolic state has a powerful influence on whether her child (either male or female) will develop obesity, hyperinsulinemia (elevated insulin), and related conditions. Early studies suggest that children of parents with MetS have higher levels of inflammatory markers which could make their children more susceptible to developing atherosclerosis later. Modifiable Risk Factors Lifestyle factors that contribute to MetS include obesity, overeating, snacking, consumption of refined and sugary carbohydrates, and sedentary lifestyle. “The metabolic syndrome is present in about 5 percent of people with normal body weight, 22 percent of those who are overweight, and 60 percent of those considered obese. Adults who continue to gain five or more pounds per year raise their risk of developing metabolic syndrome up to 45 percent. The Couch Potato Syndrome Research also shows a strong inverse association between physical activity and MetS. Low cardiovascular status is an important risk factor for metabolic syndrome. In Australia, researchers studied 6,241 adults aged 35 years or above who were free from diagnosed diabetes mellitus and self-reported ischemic heart disease. These participants were not taking any lipid-lowering or anti-hypertensive drugs. In women who watched more than 14 hours of TV a week, MetS was twice as prevalent compared to women who watched TV 7 hours or less. The incidence of MetS increased 48 percent for men who watched TV more than 14 hours per week compared with those who watched it less than 7 hours per week. Women who were active 2.5 hours or more per week, had 28 percent less risk of developing MetS. Men who were as active dropped their risk for MetS by 45 percent. Why? Physical inactivity causes the muscle cells to become less sensitive to insulin, and damages the glucose transport in the cells. The number of power plants (mitochondria) in muscle cells also decline; as a result, glucose and fats are not burned as efficiently. An encouraging bit of news is that those who are physically fit, even if overweight, have less risk of developing MetS, than those who are not. Overeating Overeating generates both free radical damage and damage to the tissue proteins. It can elevate blood glucose and lipid levels, thus compromising the ability of insulin to bind to its receptors on cells. When this happens, the blood sugar increases. Overeating also increases the size and number of fat cells. Obesity And Poor Nutrition Contribute To MetS! Ninety five percent of individuals who have MetS are overweight or obese. The Framingham study showed that women who were obese and/or had the pattern of consuming empty calories were substantially at risk for developing MetS. It is interesting to note that both the dietary pattern of consuming empty calories and obesity increased the risk of developing MetS whether or not cardiovascular risk factors were present.(5) The Framingham authors concluded that, while the disease traits in MetS can exist independently of the metabolic syndrome, many of them are the results of it and would be nonexistent without it. Furthermore, suitable amounts of the right diet, particularly a high-fiber diet that emphasizes and almost exclusively consists of fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables, would prevent the syndrome in most individuals. Might it not even render it essentially obsolete? Let’s look further at how the typical Western diet and obesity prepare individuals to succumb to this deadly syndrome. Understanding Insulin Resistance When we eat carbohydrate foods, they are either broken down into glucose or another simple sugar that is converted into glucose. Glucose then enters the blood. Glucose provides the fuel for which the cells, especially the brain cells, make energy. In order for this process to take place, the pancreas produces insulin, a hormone which facilitates the entry of glucose into the cells. Insulin must bind to its receptor sites on cells. To simplify, one could imagine insulin as a key which unlocks the cells’ doors (insulin receptors) so that the glucose can then enter the cell. Normal insulin sensitivity results when the insulin receptors are working optimally and glucose is delivered and utilized effectively. Both obesity and a high-fat diet damage insulin receptors by impairing their ability to respond to normal amounts of insulin. As a result, blood sugar levels remain high. If this continues, the pancreas is “tricked” into making more insulin in an effort to bring blood glucose within normal range. As long as the pancreas is able to produce enough extra insulin to overcome this problem, blood glucose levels can remain normal. This condition is known as “insulin resistance.” As insulin resistance continues to builds up, increasingly less glucose is able to enter the cells, and the blood sugar level is again elevated. If not corrected, type 2 diabetes often develops once the overworked pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin, and the blood glucose continues to rise. Even before diabetes 2 occurs or even if it doesn’t occur, high levels of insulin injure the body by encouraging the development of atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides (blood fats), abnormal activation of the sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight”), and increased inflammation throughout the body. Obesity And Poor Diet Encourage High Blood Pressure Although many people who develop high blood pressure are not obese, the fact remains that obesity reduces the ability of the blood vessels to dilate and makes the arteries more subject to constriction. Both obesity and overeating increase sympathetic nerve activity, which makes our arteries constrict and our heart rates speed up. This directly contributes to hypertension. Obesity Promotes Inflammation Excessive abdominal fat is an arsenal of many pro-inflammatory and pro-atherogenic agents that fuel chronic disease. Inflammation often contributes to insulin resistance, and insulin resistance can trigger inflammation in a vicious cycle. Please note that both weight and percentage of body fat are important. Women who are within their normal weight range, but whose fat mass is greater than 30 percent of the total body weight, have elevated markers for inflammation. Weight alone isn’t enough; the fat percent must be considered as well. Obesity Promotes Cardiovascular Events Obesity, overeating, and junk food all increase low-density lipoprotein (the “bad” cholesterol abbreviated as LDL) that, if elevated, significantly increases the risk of stroke and heart disease. Individuals with MetS often have elevated levels of LDL, small dense LDL, and triglycerides (TGs), but depressed levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the “good” cholesterol). Even obese children have more small dense LDL particles, which are especially dangerous because these penetrate the lining of arteries faster and linger longer. Appropriate weight loss and aerobic exercise improve the HDL level while lowering the small dense LDL level. Obesity, saturated fats, and empty calories also elevate TGs. This is bad news because even one meal high in saturated fat increases TGs and consequently impairs the ability of the blood vessels to dilate. If these detriments weren’t enough, high TGs also cause the red blood cells to clump, reducing their combined surface area, and thereby decreasing their ability to deliver oxygen. Furthermore, clumped red blood cells have more difficulty squeezing through tiny arteries, and it is impossible for them to squeeze through capillaries. Clots Ahead To make matters even worse, MetS increases the cascade of the body’s agents to form undesirable clots that obstruct blood flow, but decreases the ability of the body to break apart tiny clots. Solutions! To successfully treat MetS, one must identify the lifestyle habits that fuel it and its complications and then treat the specific disease traits of that person—obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, elevated lipids, hypertension, inflammation, increased risk of undesirable clotting, and sympathetic overdrive. The combination of problems can vary from one person to another. The good news is that incorporating physiologically- sound principles substantially help to reduce and many times reverse the disease processes underlying MetS. Nutrition Factors That Speed Recovery 1. Emphasize Plant Foods Studies show that dietary patterns high in fruit and vegetable content are generally found to be associated with lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome, as well as reduced incidence of inflammation. Minimally-processed foods and whole grains are also associated with decreased risk of MetS and type 2 diabetes. Diets high in whole grains, fruits, nuts, and green leafy vegetables have been shown to reduce homocysteine levels and several significant inflammatory markers. This is significant because individuals with MetS tend to have elevated homocysteine, which contributes to cardiovascular and inflammatory problems and cognitive decline. 2. A Vegetarian Diet Is Even Better Research clearly demonstrates that a long-term vegetarian diet is associated with markedly higher fasting plasma antioxidants, and lower levels of triglycerides, uric acid, and inflammatory markers. Long-term vegetarians have a better antioxidant status and coronary heart disease risk profile than do apparently healthy omnivores. Vegetarians generally also have lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Further studies demonstrate that vegetarians generally have lower glucose, lower insulin levels, and improved insulin sensitivity than do omnivores. However, strict vegetarians should be sure to eat foods fortified with vitamin B-12 or take a modest amount of vitamin B-12 in supplemental form. Both B-12 and folic acid decrease insulin resistance, improve the ability of the blood vessels to dilate, and keep homocysteine levels normal in patients with MetS. 3. Easy On The Salt! Because MetS individuals either have hypertension or are at risk for developing it, they should seriously limit their total salt intake to one teaspoon of salt per day. Too much salt predisposes the arteries to vasoconstriction, stiffens the cerebral arteries, and promotes fluid retention—all of which can contribute to hypertension. Severe salt restriction is seldom needed and in most cases actually increases blood pressure. Keep in mind that 80 percent of our salt intake comes from processed foods. So read labels and choose wisely! 4. The Truth About Carbohydrates The carbohydrates found in whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and whole fruits contain benefical fiber, which studies show helps to protect against MetS. A high-fiber diet also reduces cholesterol and triglyceride levels, improves insulin sensitivity, reduces some inflammatory markers, helps to control appetite, and is associated with lower incidence of hypertension. However, simple sugars, candy, pastries, soft drinks, juices, and refined grains should be severely restricted, if not altogether eliminated. Processed, refined sugar encourages inflammation and depletes the body of the minerals magnesium and chromium, both of which improve insulin sensitivity. Interestingly, a high-fructose diet can rapidly cause MetS in rats, and also raise uric acid (a byproduct of protein metabolism). Lowering uric acid in fructose-fed rats prevents features of MetS. Elevated uric acid levels are associated with new cases of recent onset essential hypertension in children and predict non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese children. Beware, then, of soft drinks containing fructose-derived corn syrup! 5. Moderation Does It With Protein While we certainly do need sufficient protein, there is danger in getting too much. Even though a high-protein diet can promote weight loss, excessive amounts of protein damage the nephrons in the kidneys. These nephrons not only make urine, but also balance the body’s delicate chemistry by eliminating excesses of chemicals and ions that we don’t need, and conserving what we do need. Obesity, hypertension, and high blood glucose all cause damage to the kidneys. So why should those with MetS add insult to injury? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh also found that over a period of six years, men who originally had baselines of elevated uric acid in the blood had an 80 percent excess risk for incident hypertension compared with those who did not. This, too, is unfortunate because a high level of uric acid can also accelerate kidney disease. 6. Avoid Harmful Fats; Enjoy The Good! Saturated fats (found in most animal products and cheese) and trans fat (found in hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils) are seriously implicated in the development of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The preformed omega-3 gamma linolenic fatty acid, found in nuts and leafy greens, shifts the balance in favor of local hormones that combat inflammation. Nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados contain mono-unsaturated fats that help to reduce elevated triglycerides. A randomized study showed that MetS individuals who increased their consumption of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and foods rich in monounsaturated fats for two years, and were more physically active, lost more weight, had fewer inflammatory markers, and developed less insulin resistance than the controlled group. Researchers at Columbia University found, even while controlling for other risk factors, that frequent nut and seed consumption was associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers, which may partially explain the inverse association of nut consumption with risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Nuts contain ellagic acid, a phytochemical that protects the pancreas from inflammation and fibrosis. However, because too much fat can reduce the ability of skeletal muscles to transport glucose, moderation is the way to go. Exercise—Preventive and Curative Regular aerobic exercise improves the elasticity of arteries, slows the resting heart rate, makes the arteries less sensitive to vasoconstriction, and improves insulin sensitivity of the muscles. Even in previously sedentary persons with MetS and elevated triglycerides, mild-to-moderate exercise lowers elevated TGs and improves insulin sensitivity. Mitochrondria are the cells’ power plants that generate energy by burning glucose and fatty acids. In obesity and diabetes, these powerhouses are smaller than normal in skeletal muscles. A study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine demonstrated that a combination of weight loss and physical exercise increased both the number and volume of mitochondria in skeletal muscles of previously obese individuals. The more power plants, the greater energy production, more efficient burning of fuel, and needful weight loss. Moderate long-term exercise, especially if accompanied by appropriate, slow, steady weight loss, decreases elevated inflammatory agents but increases adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory protein that reduces cardiovascular risk and improves insulin sensitivity. Long-term exercise also reduces the risk of developing MetS in persons who have cardiovascular problems. Because MetS is a serious medical problem, individuals who have it should consult with their physicians about what program to pursue. Generally, those with MetS should not engage in competitive or exhaustive exercise, as these contribute to oxygen debt, constrict the arteries, and promote undesirable clotting and increases stress hormones. Water Dehydration can prove deadly to an individual with MetS. For one thing, dehydration increases the risk of developing undesirable clots. Drinking adequate amounts of water can reduce the incidence of heart attack between 40 to 50 percent. The MetS individual who has elevated blood sugar, or triglycerides, or obesity is already at risk for unhealthful clot formation. If accompanied by obesity (especially visceral fat), MetS compromises lung and kidney function. Specifically, dehydration increases damage to the nephrons. Sufficient hydration improves the ability of oxygen to permeate cell membranes. This is important because oxygen is needed to release energy, thus adequate water intake aids in increasing energy expenditure. So drink seven glasses of water per day. Eight to ten is better yet, depending on your weight and activity level. Healing Sunshine As mentioned before, metabolic syndrome significantly increases the risk for type 2 diabetes. Italian researchers found that individuals with diabetes had a higher rate of vitamin D deficiency than non-diabetics. Participants with diabetes and low levels of vitamin D had a marked increase in common carotid intima-medial thickness (an early sign of atherosclerosis) when compared with their vitamin D-sufficient counterparts. These individuals also had significantly higher hemoglobin A1C (a marker for diabetes,) fibrinogen (a proclotting, pro-inflammatory protein) and C-reactive protein (hs-CRP, an inflammatory marker) concentrations. Nutrition epidemiologists estimate that 50 percent of the populations in North America and Europe are vitamin D deficient! Adequate amounts of vitamin D can reduce complications of MetS, such as reducing the risks for colon cancer and inflammatory processes. It should be noted that exposure to sunlight increases vitamin D-2 synthesis, and both obesity and kidney disease compromise the ability of the body to convert vitamin D-2 into its active hormone form. Therefore, a select group of individuals with vitamin D deficiency and chronic kidney disease require vitamin D-3 supplementation. Temperance Temperance, the habitual avoidance of that which is harmful, and moderation in all that is good, is another key to preventing or overcoming MetS. - Appetite control is essential for preventing, correcting, and hopefully reversing MetS and its components. Wise calorie restriction improves the balance between the parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nerves help to mobilize us to action in times of stress. Blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar increase while digestive processes slow down. The parasympathetic nerves slow the heart rate, stimulate the digestive process, and help us to take care of our daily needs. We actually need a balance of both systems. However, excessive sympathetic tone and decreased parasympathetic tone can contribute to high blood pressure, diabetes, and electrical disturbances of the heart’s rate and rhythm. - Fasting, as in eliminating the last meal of the day, improves melatonin production. Melatonin is an anti-oxidant, immune-bolstering, cardiovascular-protective hormone synthesized in the pineal gland. It improves the production of growth hormone, a hormone synthesized in and released from the pituitary gland, which encourages the burning up of fat. A short fast can also reduce sympathetic nervous system activity. However, total fasts that last longer than 48 to 72 hours can actually have adverse effects on the liver, and increase cortisol levels. This extra cortisol inhibits protein synthesis in the body and elevates blood sugar. Yes indeed, slow, gradual, but permanent weight loss, if one is overweight or obese, improves HDL levels and reduces sympathetic nervous system activity, triglycerides, pro-clotting, and pro-inflammatory agents. - Avoid caffeine. Caffeine seems to enhance the mood and is often incorporated into over-the-counter pills for weight loss because it increases metabolism. However, caffeine magnifies the actions of the sympathetic nervous system, which is already a problem in MetS. Caffeine also increases both glucose and insulin levels. Preliminary animal studies indicate that chronic caffeine consumption has an adverse effect on the kidneys. (14) This is a definite concern, as MetS already significantly increases the risk of kidney damage. - Refrain from alcohol. It is true that some studies show that light-to-moderate drinking affords some protection from cardiovascular diseases.* However, alcohol damages the brain, liver, and pancreas. Insulin resistance, which many MetS individuals have, provides a metabolic pathway to chronic liver diseases. Chronic alcohol consumption damages the heart muscle and elevates triglycerides. Alcohol also depletes the body of magnesium and the B vitamins needed to combat MetS. Rest Research shows that sleep-deprived people typically increase their caloric consumption by as much as 15 percent. Chronic loss of sleep may increase the risk of diabetes because the insulin secretion can be impaired by up to 30 percent. A study involving 28,000 children and 15,000 adults showed that sleep deprivation doubles the risk of obesity in both children and adults. Lack of sleep increases the hormone grehlin, which stimulates the appetite, and reduces leptin, a hormone that promotes satiety, reduces appetite, and helps us to burn up the calories we eat. Another adverse effect of sleep deprivation is that of reduced growth hormone production. This critical substance not only assists in the repair of our bodies, but also in the burning up of fat. “Chronic sleep deprivation in young healthy volunteers has been reported to increase appetite and energy expenditure, increase levels of proinflammatory chemicals, decrease parasympathetic and increase sympathetic tone, increase blood pressure, and increase evening cortisol levels, as well as elevate insulin and blood glucose.” Mental Influences Mental factors should not be overlooked in MetS. If obesity, insulin resistance, or hypertension is present, the sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive. The “flight or fight” response can promote a state of insulin resistance both in the liver and skeletal muscles. Together, excess insulin and excess cortisol encourage this extra energy to be stored in visceral fat. Chronic activation of stress causes the suppression of the regulation of growth and thyroid hormones that are involved in burning up of fat. Major depression and anxiety disorders increase inflammation within the body. By increasing the ability of the blood to clot, making the heart more susceptible to arrhythmias, and increasing sympathetic activity, depression also increases the risk of developing heart disease. Stress management and power to cope successfully with life’s problems are vital components of any therapeutic plan for overcoming MetS. A daily quiet time with God will work wonders! In summary, Dr. Baldwin provides a winning strategy: - Recognize that metabolic syndrome is a growing set of unhealthful dangerous conditions. - Get a serious in-depth diagnosis. It saves lives. - Each unhealthful condition should be changed. Other people around you, who are sliding into heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes are not your criteria, models, or standards. If you are too fat around the middle, get Divine and human help to eat less and exercise more. If you can’t do this at home, go to a lifestyle center and deal with the issues. The later in life you get serious the harder it will be to stop, turn around, and start living in health instead of presumption. - Bad habits can kill; good habits are pillars of the abundant life. Learn them. Survival is no accident. The will is the governing power in our natures. Arise and use it. Choose to live and not die. - Cooperate with your Creator and with nature to help you. The crutch of drugs won’t build power of self-control to solve your problems. Serious regular prayer builds personal power over bad habits. Find, write down, and use promises, “…exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye may be partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” - The results of years of violations won’t evaporate. Re-establish right living, eating, working, and resting habits that can help restore a normal weight, good insulin sensitivity, normal lipid levels, normal blood pressures and risk factors, so that you can face the future in faith. - Be of good courage. Continual, faithful effort make for an easy habit, and doing what one should do is its own reward. efforts to expel impurities, and to re-establish right conditions in the system.” Could wiser counsel be found? Let’s follow it, and reap the Giver’s blessed rewards! Bibliography - Baxter, A.J., et al., Dietary Patterns and Metabolic Syndrome—A Review of Epidemiological Evidence, Asia Pac J Clin Nutri, 15(2):134-142, 2006. - Crillo, P, et al., Uric Acid, Metabolic Syndrome, and Renal Disease. J Am Soc Nephrol, 17(12 Suppl 3):S165-8, 2006. - De Lorenso, A., et al., Normal-weight obese syndrome: early inflammation? Am J Clin Nutr, 85(1):40-5, 2007. - Dunstan, W., et al., Lipids Online, Watching television risk factor for metabolic syndrome. Public Health,121: 83-91, 2007 - Esposito, K., et al., Effect of a Mediterranean-style diet on endothelial dysfunction and markers of vascular inflammation in the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial. JAMA, 22;292(12):1440-6, 2004. - Feig, D.I, et al., The role of uric acid in pediatric hypertension. J Ren Nutr, 17(1):79-83, 2007. - Gill, Colleen, Medicine Net.com, Metabolic Syndrome, Denver and Health Sciences Center. - Krishnan, E., et al, Hyperuricemia and incidence of hypertension among men without metabolic syndrome. Hypertension, 49(2):298-303, 2007; Epub 2006 Dec 26. - Loevinger, B.L., et al., Metabolic syndrome in women with chronic pain. Metabolism, 56(1):87-93, 2007. - McEwen, B.S, Sleep deprivation as a neurobiologic and physiologic stressor: Allostasis and allostatic load. Metabolism, 55(10 Suppl 2):S20-3, Review, 2006 - Setoli, E, et al, Insulin resistance and endothelial function are improved after folate and vitamin B12 therapy in patients with metabolic syndrome: relationship between homocysteine levels and hyperinsulinemia. Eur J Endocrinol, 151(4):483-9, 2004 - St-Onge, M., et. al., Metabolic Syndrome in Normal-Weight Americans. Diabetes Care, 27(9):2222-2228, 2004. - Tofovic, S.P., Long-term caffeine consumption exacerbates renal failure in obese, diabetic, ZSF1 (fa-fa(cp) rats.Kidney Int, 61(4):1433-44, 2002. - Zang, J.O., Effect of exercise on postprandial lipemia in men with hypertriglyceridemia. Eur J Appl Physiol, 98(6):575-82, 2006. Ref: Newstart.com

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This is my comprehensive list of authors I stan and purchase no matter what. It’s longer than I thought, to be honest. The more I listed, the more I remembered I love. Ya’ll knew this was coming. Don’t act like you don’t know my love for Tiana and everything she writes. I’m currently reading an ARC of her newest book and it’s so much different from Ice Massacre but it’s SO GOOD. I can’t wait to shove it at everyone. I also feel silly not knowing Ice Massacre ISN’T her debut novel, so I’m gonna go find it and read it because duh. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads I have loved Libba’s work since I was a teenager. I’ve read A Great and Terrible Beauty more times than I can count, and I know I can rely on Libba to keep me hooked though the entire book (even if it’s 900 pages and the middle is a little tedious, I’m looking at you, The Sweet Far Thing). She always comes through in the end and I love her for it. The only one I wasn’t into was Going Bovine, but that doesn’t change anything. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads Zoraida knows what I need. I need gay girls, I need witches, I need magic, but I also need recognizable settings and modern banter. I absolutely love both Labyrinth Lost and Bruja Born. I can’t wait to see how the series ends but I’m also excited to see what else Zoraida bring to the table. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads Rin came to me in the form of The Bone Witch and I was surprised to see how much I enjoyed it. Obviously, it’s not her first rodeo, but it’s so wonderfully crafted and beautiful. Now, I’ve gotten the privilege to read The Shadow Glass before release and she destroyed me. I’ve now gone back to read The Girl from the Well and was not disappointed. I feel so ahead of the game because I’ve already read The Shadow Glass and I just want a new book, but I have to wait! Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads Oh, Mr. Tremblay. How did you get so good and creepy? I know our dear Stephen King is like the king of horror, but Paul is right on his tail. A Head Full of Ghosts is still my favorite horror novel, though I’m still searching. The Cabin at the End of the World is amazingly suspenseful and unsettling. It took me like A WEEK to get my hands on it because my bookstore hadn’t gotten it off the truck yet. I went literally every day, harassing them about it. When’s the next one, Paul, huh?! Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads We got a debut on our hands, and one of the most amazing debut fantasy books I’ve ever read. The Poppy War is raw and gripping and so full of atmosphere you can almost smell the village Rin comes from. I’m definitely excited for the sequel, but also for what comes after from Rebecca. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads If you don’t know by now, I LOVE The Hate U Give and I currently own all but ONE printed edition. I promised myself I’m done buying them now and will only buy them as gifts but… there’s a hardback I don’t have… Gotta resist. I feel like a sham because I still haven’t seen the movie since I had no one to go with me. It’s out on DVD now, so I should be able to see it soon. I’m really looking forward to On the Come Up, but I don’t anticipate filling my shelves with all of the editions again. Angie is one of the few authors I will read contemporary from because it’s not usually my style. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads Let’s get the whole accusing-Nora-Roberts thing out of the way first. I’m not on the train of cancelling people for making one (very stupid) mistake. Even after proving she talked to Nora Roberts and worked the whole thing out, I saw people basically trashing her and anything new from her, and I think that’s a little harsh. I really really enjoyed Children of Blood and Bone and I’m very excited about Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I got CoBaB on release day and I plan to do the same for the sequel. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads TIFFANY, I LOVE YOU. I was on a roll with contemporary when I first read Allegedly and holy shit, that book messed me up. And guess what, she did it again with Monday’s Not Coming! I was a wreck for days after finishing Monday and I will immediately buy anything she releases because she just keeps getting better and better. Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads Dawn is KILLER. Seriously, she writes some of the spookiest stuff with such amazing atmosphere, I’m surprised I can sleep at night. And the Trees Crept In is one of my top horror novels because it’s just so unsettling and creepy and there’s plot twists, I just can’t deal. Her new one, Teeth in the Mist is on my anxiously-awaiting list. I’m so ready for more spooks! Website ∴ Twitter ∴ Instagram ∴ Goodreads Visit me: Book Club ∴ Blog Server (NEW) ∴ Goodreads ∴ Instagram ∴ Twitter 34 thoughts on “Allie’s Insta-Buy List” Awesome post :) So many of these are on my TBR. I’m especially excited for The Diviners series and Labyrinth Lost! Thank you! They’re really great, I hope you like them! I probably always buy books that draws my attention. I never buy instantly a book, I just cant. I think the closest to buying all books was Court of Thrones and Roses from back then. That’s why I have a select few (read: 10) xD Oh I love this! Our lists are sooo different. I’m not a fan of witch books so I’d never read a few of the authors you mentioned – but then you also love Tomi so maybe I should trust your taste! Sadly I’ve DNF’ed every Libba Bray book I’ve tried to read, but I’m so glad she’s one of your favourites! Would you be okay with me writing my own post with my Insta Buy authors? 💕 Oh of course! It makes me sad that Libba has failed for you, but that’s okay! Let me know if you read and like anything! I’m tempted to give Libba another try now!! I haven’t tried her Lair of Dreams ones, and those seem like my kind of book c: Diviners, Lair of Dreams, and Before the Devil Breaks You is a trilogy. I haven’t finished it yet because they’re SO LONG but I own them. One Day (TM) Okay! I’ll check out Diviners then. Did they have a recent cover rebrand? Or am I thinking of something else? They’ve had 3 so far (drives me bonkers). The most recent, they look like neon signs kind of. It’s so great to have auto-buy authors who put out a good body of work! I’m so happy that Brandon Sanderson is as prolific as he is. Then again I also consider Emma Cline to be an auto buy author and I’m still waiting for her to write a second book…. Isabelle | Amy Harmon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare are some of my Insta Buy authors. I think Holly Black could be an honorable mention. I’ve yet to be let down by her. Yes!! I love Cassanda Clare’s books 😁 Great post! :) Mine are: Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J.Maas, Marie Lu, Becky Albertalli, Stephen King, James Patterson, Stuart MacBride, Mo Hayder, Mary Higgins Clark, Pierce Brown, Christina Lauren, Cassandra Clare and I think I forgot other important ones but that would be the main list. I’m definitely interested in reading books by Rin, especially Bone Witch! It’s so great! I hope you like it when you get to it! I buy a lot a fantasy and I buy all of Cassandra Clare’s books. When I’m on a book buying ban my only exception of Cassandra Clare’s books 😁 Oh I’ve not heard of so many of these! I will have to check them out. I think my insta buys are Leigh Bardugo, Jay Kristoff and Neal Shusterman. Riiiiiiiiiin ❤️ There’s so many other authors listed here too that I really need to read but haven’t gotten around to yet I can’t leave my girl out! She has invaded my heart I love Libba Bray. For me, Laini Taylor is one of my auto-buy authors. Suzanne Collins would also be on that list as well, however, there hasn’t been any new books recently! Angie and Tomi are a couple of my instabuy authors too! I would also instabuy any Lauren James or Alyssa Sheinmel books! I’m always jealous of people who can come up with lists of authors (or even books) that they really like, because as soon as I start trying to compile one I start doubting how much I actually enjoy them 😅 I’m also super super picky about what I read, so even my favorite authors (Maggie Stiefvater being my go-to, but I also love Sarah Dessen and Catherynne M. Valente and lots of others) aren’t a guarantee that I’ll love the new release? (me @ me: why are you like this why can’t we just enjoy things) but this is a great list, and I’m so happy for you that you have so many auto-buy authors to follow and enjoy! RIN CHUPECOOOOOOOOOO. I’ve yet to read The Girl from the Well and The Suffering, so while I wait for her next book, I’m running around and getting my dose of Rin Chupeco, LOL. I read The Girl From the Well and really liked it but didn’t finish The Suffering. I’ll definitely get back to it soon, but I just wasn’t in the mood when I was reading it the first time. I’ve never read any Libba Bray but I feel like I need to soon! I also have some Paul Tremblay books but surprise, I haven’t read any of them! Having them and not reading them is such a huge mood xD I hope you like them when you get to them :D It’s the whole story of my life 😂 I have the diviner’s but that’s it! I definitely understand why Angie Thomas is on your list! I also would love to get to The Poppy War one day. My auto-buy authors are definitely Leigh Bardugo, Becky Chambers and Victoria Schwab. I’ve read some from Libba Bray and I loved it, and I can’t believe I am about to remedy my lack of Rin Chupeco books read so soon! I have all of Angie Thomas and Tomi Adeyemi’s books so far and would probably by the rest! Marissa Meyer would be on my list too :) I totally agree with Libba Bray! Mackenzi Lee is my automatic buy author 😊

>>IMAGE Nutrition Coach at "Wow! I have had the pleasure in working with Jaime 4x in the past 6 weeks and it has been such an incredibly meaningful experience! I had been stressing and internalizing a great deal of angst about recent rate increases and price objections I had been hearing from potential clients. Jaime created a supportive, nurturing environment in which to share many memories I had from my childhood and beyond.. the amount of time working together I was able to have a record income month of 35K+ !! I am forever grateful and cannot wait to continue in working together" Cynthia Thurlow, Functional Nutritionist and Certified Wellness Coach at >>IMAGE "After just one Chakra Balancing and Alignment Session with Jaime I felt and observed truly surprising results.. Much to my surprise I also started reliving painful moments from my childhood. Its like the memories were creating the physical tension and when the tension was released the painful memory could be let go. Whilst I was at times uncomfortable, I was strangely relaxed. I started to feel energy flow much freely through me. After the session had finished it was like I felt the weight of a healing blanket over me. I lay there for some time until I felt it was time to move. I left the session feeling balanced and grounded. Jaime was able to give me detailed feedback on what she had found which made sense of my own experience, for example why during the session I felt pain in my ovaries on the left side then pain in my liver. I was surprised how she is able to identify physical and emotional issues decisively and clear them immediately. Mentor and Health Educator at so grateful the work that Jaime did with me.” Savana Suniga, Fitness Coach, Massage Therapist & Yogi "Within 30 seconds of hearing Jaime's voice, I felt completely at ease, as my fears morphed into faith. A feeling came over me assuring me that this was going to be a success. I was amazed at how easy it was to open up to a complete stranger and over the phone. Jaime asked questions and guided me into a meditation. Answers appeared before me, tears flowed, as we were able to crack something that had been holding me back for 20+ years. It was gentle, amazing and intense all at the same time. I could not have done this without Jaime's guidance and her profound connection to spirit. This energy session was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was like a powerful magic to me. She is very professional, kind and works without judgment. I now feel so light and alive. I had no idea what a weight I had been carrying all these years." Beth Spraggs, Artist "Jaime's energy radiates through time and space. Before our session I was nervous, anxious, and unsure if I made the "right" decision to schedule a session. From the second I hopped on the call Jaime made me feel immediately at ease. She is a genuine healer and all around great person. She has the ability to make you feel like best friends even though you just met her. I cannot even begin to describe the incredible shifts that have occurred from working with Jaime. She pulled things out of me no one else has been able to do. Her intuition and psychic sense is extremely accurate. She communicates her messages with such love and precision. I believe everyone would benefit from working with her." Brianna Rose, Brand + Copy Stylist at "I've worked with many healers and never experienced such a massive shift in a short period of time. I lacked clarity on where to focus my energy to be truly fulfilled in my life and Jaime was able to laser in on what I truly desired but wasn't allowing myself to have. Our session caused a massive shift in my relationship with myself and my marriage. I feel a greater sense of trust and knowing that I have not felt in quite a long time." Jordan Duvall, Brand Specialist at "It’s hard to put into words how special Jaime is. I wholeheartedly believe she has a gift that is unique and meant to be shared with the world. I met Jaime at a mastermind event and was immediately drawn to her energy. She was calm, compassionate and grounded. I had a session with her after feeling an intense call from the universe to let go of some major things that had been holding me back recently, but really all my life. I sat down with Jaime in the session and she said just enough that allowed me to feel completely comfortable to open up and tell her everything that was weighing on my heart. She was quickly able to pick up on the fact that something had happened to me when I was really young that I blocked from my memory but didn’t need to know what it was but it needed to be cleared. I was anxious, but ready and trusted she would take care of me. None of what Jaime does feels out of touch, or on a spiritual level that isn’t relatable - she’s seriously so kind and makes you feel like you’re just sitting with a best friend. When we began the clearing I felt really trusting of Jaime. I’ve worked with healers before and this just felt different, and more genuine. I just gotten engaged and I know she could see me light up when I talked about my fiancé, so she told me to think of him on our wedding day and picture our happy life together as husband and wife and me being a mom- which is something I really want. So when we began I had a really intense happy cry thinking about my life with my future husband. My subconscious beliefs kept trying to sabotage my future happy life, but something just kept bringing me back to the moment and an assurance that no, we will grow old together and that was such a pure, calming feeling. Then I started to see different imagery. There was one instance where I saw a car crash and felt in shock and very scared. Jaime told me later that, it coincided with another a huge cry and release I had. When we finished the clearing, I told Jaime everything that I saw and felt and she explained in detail what she did, saw and felt as well. It was all incredibly interesting and of course I had a million questions, but Jaime reiterated to me that I was healed. That traumatic event that happened was cleared. It may sound far off but I do feel that she cleared that trauma I had experienced as a young girl. She told me to repeat the mantra, “I am healed” and to continue to think of my life with my future husband. It’s been a week since our session and I have to say I feel happier, clearer and more hopeful. I feel grounded and less anxious, almost like I’ve stepped out from under a dark cloud. Jaime creates a space for understanding and transformation and I honestly feel so fortunate I was able to work with her. She’s incredibly special." Chelsea Gross, Nutrition Coach at "I am amazed with the results from my 90-min session with Jaime! She instantly made me feel comfortable and safe, and I shared the things blocking me from moving forward. We figured out I am a huge empath, and I take things personally from people way too much. Jaime came up with a strategy for me to put a white light around me and my daughter to protect our energy, and IT WORKS! I have been using this strategy consistently since we talked, and I have seen incredible results. I feel more confident and way less affected by others. I had some emotional releases after talking with Jaime too. In our call, we also explored where in my body I might be storing my blocked energy, and we worked on releasing them. She gave me a nice affirmation for me to continue removing blocks. I got SO MUCH VALUE out of just 90 minutes with Jaime. She is smart, so kind, accepting, encouraging, and is just amazing at what she does. I am so impressed!" Amanda Koppanna, Health Coach "Jaime is magical! She is extremely easy to talk to and has a huge heart. I worked with Jaime in her Personal Concierge package when I was going through one of the most difficult times in my life. Not only was I going through an emotionally challenging time, but my body was suffering physically and my energy was very low. I was pouring everything I had into my two sons and my clients and I was depleted. And during that time, Jaime poured into me - she listened, she performed her healing magic, she sent tokens of love in the mail. I could feel how much she truly cares about her clients and their individual wellbeing. She doesn’t have a cookie cutter approach - she’s going to provide exactly what you need during the session. She also taught me how to create protection when working with clients so that I didn’t take on their energy as well. Working with Jaime during that time and having the support that I needed was invaluable! Rachel Burch, Life and Wellness Coach at "I cannot recommend Jaime enough. I’ve had three energy sessions with her, and each one has been better than the last. She genuinely cares about your individual energy and will provide EXACTLY what you need during each session. Outside of general healing and getting my energy flowing properly, there are a couple of truly powerful, transformative things Jaime has helped me with during our second and third sessions. I was struggling with an unwanted, unnecessary emotional connection with someone (and a related situation) in my life. I just couldn't shake the wave of anxiety and stress that came over me whenever I saw or heard about this person. Jaime performed a cord cutting with this person/situation's energy, and whenever I see this person I felt 100% normal again. No jittery stomach or nausea, no overwhelming anxiety - nothing. The cord cutting she did helped me forgive this person and FINALLY move past the situation. A couple of months later, I decided that I wanted to venture down the spiritual awakening path, and turned to Jaime for help with doing so. During our third session, she encountered a powerful negative energy that was NOT MINE. I'd been feeling a little weighed down the week prior to our session and couldn't figure out why. She used her incredible gifts to channel my guides and rid me of that negative presence. I immediately felt lighter and continued to feel that way for days afterward. Since then, I've been able to go SO MUCH deeper into meditation, which is crucial for me in developing my spiritual awareness and gifts. If you’re on the fence about working with Jaime, take the plunge! You absolutely will not regret it." Kailyn Lander

Wood-Mode Launches Integrated Lighting Do you remember last year, when everything was this beautiful, muted, pinkish burgundy, and everyone kept tossing around the word “marsala”? You can thank Pantone for that. Pantone is a company began as a printing company in the 1950s, but they have since moved into the larger world of design—they produce those fanned books of color samples with corresponding numbers. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Color of the Year, as well. You may not have realized, however, that there is a summit every year to determine what color will best represent the spirit of the upcoming year. This color works its way into every aspect of design: clothing, jewelry, marketing, makeup, interior design, etc. 2016 has been a bit strange in that there have actually been two Color(s) of the Year. The first is dusty pink called Rose Quartz, and the second is a muted, light grey-blue called Serenity. They’re not the undecided baby nursery that they sound like, though: in reality, the two create a very subtle, calming, smoky effect. Maybe you’re moved by the current of trends, or maybe you just discovered your new favorite color. Either way, National Kitchen and Bath designer Ashleigh Schroeder has three ideas on how to incorporate these two gorgeous shades into your new kitchen or bath design. Serenity makes a stunning color for kitchen cabinets, Schroeder says. Be sure to tend toward doors cut more simply, though: “You don’t want it to look 90’s country,” she warns. If you’re more the flight-of-fancy type, maybe try out one of these colors as a wall color for a while, says Schroeder. Of the two, Serenity has broader applicability in the world of design. Rose Quartz doesn’t have to be reserved just for a little girl’s room: the hue adds a beautiful accent to a neutral design, particularly with grey, Schroeder says. Alternatively, Rose Quartz likes copper metallics with it, which adds a glamorous, shiny effect to your design. Picture 1 courtesy of Wood-Mode; Pictures 2 and 3 courtesy of Pantone. Here at National Kitchen and Bath, we understand better than most the outsized thrill that a shiny new kitchen brings—the feeling of Christmas in the air when we redesigned our showroom recently was palpable—but we also know that it’s not always a short process. A beautiful, state-of-the-art kitchen takes time to design, and all those lovely elements without which your kitchen wouldn’t be complete sometimes need to be ordered in. And then there’s the actual building itself. So we understand, too, the itchy impatience those renovations bring, too. How many days can you really be expected to stare at that ugly old kitchen now that you’ve seen the light of your new design? Don’t go full sledgehammer on it just yet, though! We have some ways for you to tide yourself over until the Christmas morning of interior design brings your new, fully functioning kitchen to you. Chances are those white 1990’s monstrosities are going out with a vengeance when you remodel, so why not defray the cost of the renovation and start investing in new appliances now? Counter-depth refrigerators and six-burner gas stoves are very popular right now. No gas line? Consider having one run; it’ll open up your options to a much higher caliber of stoves and ovens. It’s okay to not know the difference between modern and contemporary, or what “craftsman” and “Quaker” and “distressed” all mean. Do some research, print some pictures, and come show our team of designers what stood out to you. The design process goes much faster when consultations don’t sound like a failing game of 20 Questions. With your new style in mind, start shopping around for new decor. If you’re the type to hang paintings, look for new ones that will reflect your new style. If you’re more a knick-knack type, shop for a few of those. Just be careful not to clutter up your semi-new space too much. And who knows? Maybe one of those new items will be the thing you bring in to us and say, “Design everything around this.” Decades past had a real love for heavy window hangings, but the current style trends more toward light window accoutrements and bright natural light. If you still have big dark curtains on your windows, trade them out for a sheer variety. If you have vertical blinds across your sliding glass door that are forever turned shut, take them down and let in the light! (Actually, take your vertical blinds down whether they’re usually shut or not. Those things are unfortunate.) You’d be amazed what a little sunshine can do for a space, and it’s completely free. Clutter is the arch-nemesis of good design. If your stuff is strewn everywhere, the design, no matter how fantastic the designer, will always look like a teenage boy with a destructive streak got a hold of it. Clear your kids’ homework and permission slips off the table in favor of a simple centerpiece. Put as many appliances away as you can (except, of course, the coffee maker). Clear the wedding invitations off the refrigerator, maybe relegating them instead to a cork board affixed to the side. Even if it’s something you grab all the time, like the lamely clipped-shut bag of potato chips, it isn’t that much more difficult to open a cabinet for it. We know the wait is long and fraught with the itching desire to break out the sledgehammer. But don’t worry: your patience will pay off, and eventually our guys will be there to smash it to bits for you. You may have noticed, on your latest trip to the hardware store for “paint… faucet… things,” that backsplashes are definitely having a moment. While they’ve been a fairly typical kitchen accoutrement for a long time, lately backsplashes have been used to give you a unique opportunity to pull interest into your kitchen in ways that the floor, countertop, or walls just can’t do. It’s just short of — and sometimes well above — eye level, making it one of the first things guests notice when they enter the space. Think beyond your standard three-inch square white ceramic tiles. The time of boring has passed and has rung in a new age of clean and simple lines, bright colors, distinct shapes, and new textures. Spanish tile? Sure! Stainless steel sheets or squares? Go crazy. Sea glass? Let’s do this. National Kitchen & Bath designer Ashleigh Schroeder shared some broader trends she’s noticed recently in the ever-changing world of kitchen design. Marble stick backsplashes This style of backsplash affords a lot of room for creativity in patterns, but also looks amazing as is. Herringbone patterns made of white marble create a clean but still complex look. Run it vertical to draw the eye upward. Speaking of… Vertical backsplash Especially when you want to run backsplash all the way to the ceiling, running it vertically has been a very popular way to go as it naturally draws the eye up (which can also serve to highlight tall ceilings). Contrasting grout Contrasting grout is a small way to add a lot of interest to your space. Typically, the style has been to choose a grout color that complements the tile, but now the tide is turning toward this more dramatic option. (To really stun and surprise, look into colored grout options, like this.) PICK-A-PREMIUM PROMOTION (Design Groups 42-84 only) *** Pick One of the Following Pick 100% OFF the Door/Drawer Style Premium (Stainless Steel & Back painted Glass Door Styles will receive 50% off) OR Pick 50% OFF the Wood Species Premium OR Pick 50% OFF the Finish Premium Effective September 1st through December 30th, 2016 Kitchen organization befuddles even the best of us. Some people are overcome by the mystical kitchen magic that is soft-close drawers. Others have been marveling at the wonder of lazy Susans and pull-out spice drawers since the 1980s. Still others continue to be shocked by the wizardry that is garbage can cabinets and cabinet-front appliances. Those people ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Some of us — an elite few — have been guided through the secret wardrobe that is the Narnia of kitchen hideaways. Don’t know where to put that stock pot you use to make enough chili to feed an entire nation? What about that beautiful Kitchenaid stand mixer that really only ever sees the light of day for holiday cookies? And what about the unmentionables of every kitchen, the grimy scrub brushes and the packaged detergent pods? Follow me, you poor little lambs, to the kitchen design promise land. Stock pot. Crock pot. Dutch oven. Wok. Paella pan. Roasting pan. These all have one important thing in common: the only sensible place to store them is in a ridiculously deep drawer such as this. The dividers definitely help, too, for smaller cookware like asparagus pots, sauce pans, skillets… What is this voodoo? Not only is this a tidy, tucked-away drawer for all those unfortunate kitchen necessities, but it has a handle so you can take the chemicals straight to the unfortunate? Voodoo, indeed. If you thought such ingenious storage solutions were only the stuff of genius tiny house builder’s dreams, you had another beautiful thing coming. Dog food bags and bowls don’t make for attractive design elements, and this drawer allows for them to be stylishly tucked away. Now just teach Spot how to pull it open on his own. Baygents Company of Kirkwood, MO., in business for over 100 years, closed its doors in February of 2015. However, after 34 years of friendly competition, Jim Baygents has joined our design team here at National Kitchen and Bath. We have long admired his keen sense of design and business savvy. We are so proud and excited to bring Jim into the NKB family, and we look forward to working together for many years to come. Thursday, JUNE 9 between 11:00am to 1:00pm AT&T will be upgrading systems in the area. During this 2 hours span NKB will experience 45-60 minutes (maximum) with no phone, fax or internet. Please be patient with our outage! Thank you! Despite the snow, spring has finally arrived, bringing with it promises of backyard barbecues, gardening afternoons, and days spent lazing by the pool. Why not take your spring cleaning to the next level and get your kitchen, bathroom, pantry, home office, or just about anything else exactly the way you want it so summer can be spent the way you deserve to spend it: relaxing in your clean new space? Come visit us and talk with our designers — Kim, Ashleigh, and Jim — about your extensive options from Woodmode, Brookhaven, and more. Let us worry about your space so you can worry about the important stuff: is this part of the garden too shady for my petunias, and will this rub be good on a rib-eye?

We’ve had another action packed week of football, with the start of the Champions League, bringing with it a few pieces of late drama for some of the Premier League teams. It will also bring a short turnaround, with only a few days rest before the start of Gameweek 6 for those teams involved. There’s no rest for the team at PlayON either, with daily fantasy offerings available for both the Champions League and Premier League games. To help you with the latter, I have gone through this weekend’s matchups and picked out my best options, starting with a massive eight games on Saturday. Ignoring the first nine games in Gameweek 5, I hit form for the Monday fixture, with all of Murray, Ings and Højbjerg firing for DFS owners. Hopefully I can bring that form into this week’s picks and help your teams into the prize places. Fulham v Watford Kicking us off this week sees two sides who suffered losses to the Manchester clubs last round. A first defeat of the season for Watford, who have flown out the blocks! Fulham’s problem is conceding. They ship over two a game so far and are yet to register a clean sheet. Forwards for the away team then? Gun With two goals and an assist so far, Troy Deeney (£9.2m) is about half way to his return for last season in about 20% of the time. Always a physical presence, and likely to be on penalty duties, the skipper has every chance of being involved in any Hornets’ goal. Value Pick Within both sides, there are a couple of mid-rangers who have started well. But the one who stands out for me is Jean Michael Seri (£8.6m). Just one goal and assist so far, but he has still racked up an impressive PlayON average of over 1300. With by far the most passes made so far across both teams, he is sure to get involved again in this one. POD Pick With the second most passes across the two sides, Kevin McDonald is basement price at £6m. Nothing to note by means of an attacking stat yet, but a DFS average of 650 is pretty good for that cheap. Job security increases with Cairney out and the money saved can be spent elsewhere whilst still getting a solid return here. Burnley v Bournemouth A fourth loss on the trot for Burnley last week sees them occupy the bottom spot on the table. Bournemouth registered a third win in five with a 4-2 victory over Leicester, boosting their average goals per game to two. Both sides conceding a couple along the way, with just one clean sheet each. In their last five meetings, both sides have scored and there have been at least three goals, so you would be looking at the attacking-minded picks for this one. Gun One of the Cherries’ best last year, Ryan Fraser (£9.2m) has started this season in the same form. An ever-present, he has three goals and two assists so far, including two and one in the last fixture, leading to a 3600 score. He is pushing must have territory when matched against the basement side. Value Pick In a side that has lost all but one game, Joe Hart (£7.7m) has averaged over 1200. That is largely thanks to the 26 saves he has made along the way, including some crackers last week. With the potential to be tested again this week, the potential is there for a few more saves, and points, to be made. Cardiff v Man City 3-0 winners last out, an unbeaten start and nearly three scored a game on average. City’s start is a sharp contrast to the hosts, who are yet to win and have managed about a goal every two games. The limited Premier League history for this fixture is big on goals, with a 4-2 City and 3-2 Cardiff win in the 2013/14 season. This time though, with current form, I could see a big City win with a clean sheet, so would be loading up on players from the visitors. Gun Two-in-two now for Raheem Sterling (£15.4m) and three already for the season. His perceived poor World Cup showing doesn’t appear to have halted his momentum after a breakout season last term and he could really punish the Bluebirds if he keeps going as he has. Another 2000+ DFS score would not be a huge surprise in this one. Value Pick Scoring his second of the season against Fulham and playing all but one minute in the last three, David Silva (£9.1m) is worth his weight in gold, particularly when you look at his average of 1600 for the price, when you would need to spend over £15m for the marginally-higher averages of Aguero and Sterling. Steal! POD Pick Potentially one to fly under the radar due to a low average, Leroy Sane (£12.5m) returned to the side last week after the birth of his child. He was immediately given a full 90 minutes, found the back of the net and scored a cool 2100 for PlayON owners. Do not be one of those put off by the 630 average from limited minutes in the first few games, especially with De Bruyne still missing. Crystal Palace v Newcastle The dire start for the Magpies continued with a 2-1 loss to Arsenal. The fact these losses are by narrow margins becoming less of a consolation as time goes by, without points coming on the board. Palace grabbed a second win of the season against Huddersfield and will fancy a third in this. Both sides are hardly free-scoring so far, finding the net less than once a game each. That, and the fact there have been four goals across the last three meetings, mean defenders could come into play for this one. Gun He is continually flagged as the gun for Palace games but Wilfried Zaha (£11m) is their talisman. Palace have scored four this season and he has three of them. Although he has no assists yet this season, the last two have seen him set up almost as many as he has scored. So if somebody else in the Eagles’ side starts scoring, there’s every chance he will be the one providing. Value Pick Back into the side last week for a second clean sheet in three appearances, James Tomkins (£6.6m) is a good play for such a low price. Especially with a home game against a low scoring side. There is always the chance of the odd goal from him as well (three a season the past two terms) which would bring his value well above his asking price. POD Pick An out the box pick here, and definitely one to wait for teamsheets to jump on. The last three games have seen zero minutes for Jonjo Shelvey (£8.1m). My gut feel is that was a tactical play for the tough games to put out a more defensive-minded holding mid to align to the tactics. As this is a game Newcastle, will see as winnable, there is a high chance they set up a lot more offensively. This increases the chance of Shelvey seeing game time and he has an average over 1000 when he has featured. Leicester v Huddersfield Two losses on the bounce for the Foxes while the Terriers are still searching for their first win of the season. What the home side have managed to do is find the net (over 1.5 a game so far), whilst conceding a few as well (1.8 per game). You would expect an open game then, until you look at the fact that the visitors score about 0.4 per game and lost this one 3-0 last time. Foxes players all round. Gun With Vardy missing a couple of games suspended, James Maddison (£9.8m) has stepped up to the plate as the Foxes’ main goal threat. His two for the season is the most of any player on either side. The large amount of game time he has been getting is another plus. The lad is only 21 as well, so plenty of development to come even in the coming games. Value Pick A goal last week to go with an assist already this season, Marc Albrighton (£7.7m) continues to show the potential to pop up with the odd attacking stat. Eight assists and a couple of goals last season, when he gets a chance he generally delivers. Time is the big issue though, with limited minutes so far. Even last week’s goal came in a 30 -minute cameo. Wait for the final teams before you make the jump and hope that his goal last out earns him a recall to the starting side. Liverpool v Southampton Something of a homecoming for Liverpool’s squad, given the frequency with which they raid the Southampton ranks. 100% record so far, but come up against aside who are unbeaten in their last two. In the last four meetings between the sides, the Reds have not conceded and have won the last two. They will come in with some confidence after seeing off PSG midweek too, so I would be looking at their players for my sides. Gun Even without an attacking stat last week, Sadio Mane (£14m) still managed a DFS score of 1350. Couple that with an average of nearly 1900 (behind only Richarlison and Hazard overall) and he becomes close to the first name on your team sheet most weeks. But definitely this week, with a winnable home game. Value Pick Mr. Reliable makes an appearance in the preview again. Liverpool skipper James Milner (£8.3m) has played 90 minutes in all but one game so far and already has a goal and two assists. Constant work rate, both offensively and defensively (in these two teams, he sits top two for assists, passes and tackles) continues to lead to solid PlayON scores. POD Pick He was sent off in his first game, but then Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (£7.1m) has scored two in two for an average of 1760. Admittedly, picking him is a risk when the Saints have not scored in this fixture for four games. But if everyone thinks like that and he does net one, he could set you apart in the PlayON standings. Man United v Wolves This is a matchup between two sides who on paper should not be one place apart on the table. The fact that they are is a combination of a shaky United start and quite a good Wolves one. Both come into this two-from-two and will be confident. The last time the sides met at this level was in 2011/12, where United won both games 5-0 and 4-1. This is a stronger Wolves side though, and they will look to exploit the limited recovery for the Red Devil’s after a Wednesday European game. Potential to be an open game, with defenders on either side low down on my shopping list. Gun Lukaku is among the goals this season, but given a nearly £4m discount and two midweek goals, I will be opting for Paul Pogba (£11.8). A season average of around 1450 and an 1125 last time even without a goal or assist. Backing him in for something here and a few DFS points to come with it. Value Pick In what could be an open attacking game, attackers on both sides become a premium. The fact, then, that you can get an average of 1350 for £8.4m is reason enough to bring Raúl Jiménez into your side. The added confidence from another goal last week is just another reason to jump on. Brighton v Tottenham After starting three-from-three, Spurs have lost their last two. Brighton had a good win over United in round two, but it is their only one so far. Just the one clean sheet between the two sides so far. If either are to get one here, my money would be on the visitors, but I am not rushing to bring any defenders in from this. At least not for their defensive skills. Gun Notwithstanding the array of talent in the Spurs squad, you have to admire the goalscoring instincts of Glenn Murray (£10.3m). Proving his 12 last season was no fluke, he already has four in five this term and shows no signs of slowing down even at 34! He faces a Spurs side in a little bit of a rut. That, and a home game, make him a good chance of another goal or two here. Value Pick A quieter game last time against Liverpool, Lucas Moura still has a DFS average of 1480, which is a steal for his £9.8m cost. Three goals and an assist so far, and continued 90 minutes runs in the side. There is a lot to like here. POD Pick Anthony Knockaert (£8.1m) came into the Premier League with a bit of a reputation from the Championship. One that he largely failed to live up to last season. He has started well this year though, with three assists already (two more than all of last season!) and an average daily fantasy score of 1150. If he keeps performing, he will be in a lot more teams soon, so jump on him while he is a true POD. Eight games in the day is a lot to take in. Once you have, and you think you have the magic line up, make your way to the Games Lobby to enter your teams for the day and sit back and enjoy the action. Then head back here Sunday to check out the picks for the last two games. Good luck!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind "Like bubbles on the sea of matter borne, they rise, they break, and to that sea return." – Alexander Pope Last week,. Still, be careful about what you do with information about valuations. If overvaluation was sufficient to halt a market advance, we would never have observed valuations like 1929, 2000, and today, because those advances would have ended at lesser extremes. It’s common to imagine that if valuations have pushed to extreme levels without a collapse, there must be something wrong with the valuation measures. But that’s not how valuations work. The central fact of full-cycle investing is that when investors have the speculative bit in their teeth, valuations can mean very little for extended segments of the market cycle. In our own discipline, we infer that psychological inclination of investors from the uniformity or divergence of market action across thousands of securities, including debt securities of varying creditworthiness. We don’t disclose our own measures of market internals, but the key idea is that when investors are inclined to speculate, they tend to be indiscriminate about it. In contrast, when speculation becomes increasingly selective and narrow, it suggests growing risk-aversion among investors. That’s when extreme valuations suddenly become important, and the market becomes vulnerable to collapse. In previous market cycles across history, there was one fairly rare exception. Once sufficiently extreme “overvalued, overbought, overbullish” conditions developed, the market would typically break lower regardless of whether market internals were favorable or not. These combinations of overvaluation, extreme sentiment, and overextended conditions placed a fairly reliable limit on further market advances. That’s why I warned on July 16, 2007, just 1% shy of the 2007 pre-crisis peak, that market conditions had joined a set of conditions that I called a “Who’s Who” of awful times to invest. Our measures of market internals deteriorated two weeks later, and the subsequent collapse went on to inflict a loss of more than -55% in the S&P 500. One of the best indications of the speculative willingness of investors is the ‘uniformity’ of positive market action across a broad range of internals. Probably the most important aspect of last week’s decline was the decisive negative shift in these measures. Now, it also happens that once the market reaches overvalued, overbought, overbullish conditions, stocks have historically lagged Treasury bills, on average, even when those internals have been positive (a fact which kept us hedged). Still, the favorable internals did tell us that investors were willing to speculate, however abruptly that willingness might end. – John P. Hussman, Ph.D., July 30, 2007 In recent quarters, I’ve detailed how the advancing half-cycle since 2009 was legitimately different than previous cycles across history. The difference was simple in hindsight, but so difficult to accept in the face of a century of market evidence to the contrary that it became my Achilles Heel. History had taught that sufficiently extreme conditions placed a “limit” on speculation. Once interest rates hit zero, that belief proved to be dead wrong. Worse, even after interest rates moved above zero, overextended syndromes continued to be useless. What was required, and the way we ultimately adapted, was to refrain from adopting negative market outlook – regardless of how extreme “overvalued, overbought, overbullish” conditions became – until our measures of market internals deteriorated explicitly. That deterioration occurred most recently on February 2nd of this year. Our measures of market internals remain unfavorable here, largely because of narrowing leadership, divergent market action among individual stocks, and weakness in corporate bonds. It’s important to emphasize that improvement in our measures of market internals would shift our immediate market outlook to a neutral and possibly even constructive view (with a strong safety net), regardless of valuations that I view as obscene. At this point in the cycle, it should be no surprise that we insist on a safety net in any event, but even that will change as market conditions do. The strongest market return/risk profiles emerge when a material retreat in valuations is joined by an early improvement in our measures of market action. I fully expect to adopt a constructive or aggressive market view in response to that eventuality. Despite my inadvertent “permabear” label, I’ve actually adopted a constructive or aggressive investment stance after every bear market in over three decades as a professional investor, though my 2009 insistence on stress-testing our methods against Depression-era data admittedly truncated the constructive shift I adopted in late-October 2008. Generally speaking, the hallmark of trend uniformity is ‘lack of negative divergence.’ We don’t measure the extent or duration of an advance – rather, we measure the quality of market action in terms of its agreement over a wide range of indices, industries, and security types (both stocks and bonds). Last month, the stock market recruited enough ‘trend uniformity’ to shift the Market Climate to a favorable condition. This is the first comprehensive shift in trend uniformity since it turned decisively unfavorable on September 1st, 2000. Since then, the S&P 500 has lost over 40% of its value. – John P. Hussman, Ph.D., May 12, 2003 Here and now, my sense is that many investors have dismissed the violently negative conditions that are presently in place. The chart below highlights the essential facts. While we’ve observed nearly perpetual “overvalued, overbought, overbullish” syndromes for years during the recent half-cycle, the current extreme is combined with unfavorable market internals, which indicates a subtle shift of investor psychology toward risk-aversion, and opens up a trap door below the market. Equally important, many yield-seeking speculators were drawn to a dividend yield on the S&P 500 that exceeded Treasury bill rates in recent years. That is also no longer the case (as it was even at the January peak). We always have to allow for the possibility that market internals could improve, indicating that investors had taken an indiscriminate speculative bit in their teeth again. Favorable internals would encourage us to adopt a more neutral or constructive (with a safety net) near-term outlook. But faced with the same conditions we observe at present, investors have historically found nothing but trouble. Valuation review The chart below shows our Margin-Adjusted CAPE, which improves the reliability of Robert Shiller’s cyclically-adjusted P/E by adjusting for the embedded profit margin. Last week’s market advance brought this measure to a fresh record high, easily eclipsing both the 1929 and 2000 market peaks.. The next chart shows the Margin-Adjusted CAPE on an inverted log scale (left), along with actual subsequent S&P 500 average annual nominal total returns over the subsequent 12-year period. At present, our estimate for S&P 500 12-year total returns is clearly negative. Remember that the way to generate strong past returns is to drive valuations far beyond their norms, which in turn sets up the likelihood of dismal future returns. We saw the same process at play at the 2000 and 2007 highs, when the 12-year return of the S&P 500 exceeded, temporarily, the return that one would have projected on the basis of valuations. In my view, the exodus of investors toward passive investment strategies is largely a form of performance-chasing. The mantra of passive investors that “even if the market drops, it will come back over time” is quite valid when market valuations are reasonable, but it becomes a very long-term proposition when valuations are extreme. In my view, the prospect of negative total returns for the S&P 500 over the coming 12-year period isn’t a worst-case scenario. It’s a completely run-of-the-mill, historically probable expectation given present extremes. Not wanting to accept these prospects, we observe some investors arguing that the Federal Reserve could easily bail investors out and generate higher nominal returns by generating high inflation. The problem here is that investors predictably respond to higher inflation by crushing market valuations. That tendency, in data since 1947, is illustrated in the chart below. Even today’s relatively low rate of inflation would be perfectly consistent with valuations less than half of current levels. But give investors a material amount of inflation, and investors could easily drive current valuation extremes down by three-quarters (which would bring them closer to what we observed, for example, in 1974 and 1982). Cut valuations by three quarters, and it would take a quadrupling in the CPI to offset the negative effect on nominal returns. So yes, if one wishes to envision the U.S. becoming Argentina, where the inflation rate recently hit 30%, one could expect a sufficiently extended period of inflation to produce positive nominal returns. But real returns would still suffer by virtue of contracting valuations, which require prices either to decline, or to grow slower than nominal fundamentals. At very depressed valuations, central bank actions can have an effect on market outcomes by encouraging yield-seeking speculation, provided that investors are inclined to embrace risk. Recall, however, that the Fed eased persistently and aggressively throughout the 2000-2002 and 2007-2009 collapses, with little effect. That’s because when investors are risk-averse, safe liquidity is a desirable asset rather than an “inferior” one, so creating more of the stuff doesn’t drive investors to chase riskier assets. In my view, investors are grasping at straws if they are relying on the Fed to prevent the damage from an increasingly likely market collapse. Not that the Fed won’t try, but remember that the effect of Fed actions on market outcomes, like the impact of valuations, is entirely dependent on the psychological inclination of investors toward speculation or risk-aversion. That’s why the information we extract from the uniformity or divergence of market internals is so important to our market outlook. Investors should understand that extreme valuations go hand-in-hand with extreme losses over the completion of the market cycle. The chart below illustrates this relationship. At left is the ratio of nonfinancial market capitalization to corporate gross value-added (our most reliable valuation measure, which I introduced in 2015). The left axis is an inverted log-scale, truncated at 0.90, which is near the long-term norm for MarketCap/GVA. The zero line therefore reflects normal valuations, and lower levels on the blue line correspond to more extreme overvaluation. The red shading shows the deepest subsequent loss of the S&P 500 over the following 3-year period. Notice that approaching the 2000 and 2007 peak, the blue line plunged for quite a while, with the corresponding market losses in red showing up later. That nicely illustrates the fact that rich valuations can persist for some time, without consequence, as long as investors remain inclined toward speculation. But as we saw in 2000, and 2007, and as I expect to see today, once market internals deteriorate, steep valuations become extremely dangerous, and are also extremely informative about the size of likely market losses over the completion of the cycle. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind In August 2007, shortly before the global financial crisis unfolded, I observed that ‘lonely raging bull’ comment in the L.A. Times)..” Last week, consumer confidence pressed to a fresh cyclical high. As Tavi Costa at Crescat Capital observed, similar extremes in consumer confidence have regularly preceded substantial market losses. If market internals were favorable here, indicating a continued inclination of investors to speculate, I would view the extremes in confidence, valuations, sentiment, and price action with a much more neutral eye. But until investor psychology shifts away from risk aversion, as evidenced by uniform market internals, the market remains vulnerable to severe losses. Consumer confidence provides a striking illustration of how temporary psychological factors interact with the long-term and full-cycle effects of market valuation. Despite my error in believing that historically well-defined limits to speculation would survive the Federal Reserve’s deranged experiment with quantitative easing and zero interest rates, I’ve argued for decades that valuations drive long-term and full-cycle market outcomes, while shorter term psychology controls outcomes over shorter segments of the market cycle. Recall that reliable valuation measures like our Margin-Adjusted CAPE and MarketCap/GVA are tightly correlated with actual subsequent market outcomes across history. But if you look closely, you’ll also notice that there are points like 2000, 2007, and today where the actual total return of the S&P 500 over the most recent 12-year period was higher than the return that one would have predicted 12-years earlier, based on valuations at the time. What should we conclude from this? At each extreme, investors argued that valuations were no longer relevant, and had stopped “working.” Those investors were ultimately punished for that belief. If you look closer, you’ll discover what’s really going on. The blue line in the chart below shows the “errors” in our 12-year return projections for the S&P 500. Specifically, it shows the actual 12-year total return for the S&P 500, minus the 12-year total return that one would have projected based on the valuations that prevailed 12 years earlier. The largest positive “errors” correspond to points of historical overvaluation. That’s no surprise. The way the market produces outsized returns is by driving valuations to breathtaking extremes. Now notice the red line. That’s consumer confidence (h/t Mark Louis for observing this relationship). Although valuations drive long-term and full-cycle returns, it’s clear that temporary, cyclical fluctuations in psychology, both positive and negative, are the main reason that “errors” sometimes emerge over shorter segments of the market cycle. In an ideal world, we would know both the starting level of valuation, and also the temporary, cyclical level of consumer confidence 12-years into the future. Unfortunately, we don’t know what future confidence levels will be. But we do know that variations in consumer confidence are impermanent, and at extremes like today, that’s a critical piece of knowledge. Look carefully at the above chart. Over the past 12 years, as stocks have moved to bubble valuations, the S&P 500 has gained about 4.7% annually in excess of what one would have expected it to gain on the basis of 2006 valuations. That outcome has emerged hand-in-hand with the current, temporary exuberance in sentiment. There’s most likely a feedback here – the strong performance of the market may help to boost consumer confidence, and strong consumer confidence may help to support the market. The feedback may be self-reinforcing over short periods, but mean-reversion clearly dominates over the economic cycle, as investors fluctuate between extremes of optimism and extremes of pessimism. Notice that the zero level on “errors” is associated with a level of about 90 on consumer confidence, well above the range of 30-60 that has typically been observed during recessions. This implies that even a rather minor cyclical deterioration in consumer confidence would probably be associated with a complete elimination of that 4.7% annual “error,” implying a likely market loss of roughly -43%.. Very deep market losses are likely, even in the absence of a recession. Stocks, bonds, and the option value of cash One of the questions we often hear is, “If you had to choose stocks or bonds for a T-year investment horizon, and you couldn’t change your position, which would you choose?” Presumably, the requirement that you can’t change your position implicitly says that the question is about expected return, not potential volatility. Historically speaking, the answer has generally been “stocks,” particularly when T is greater than 3 years or so. But once valuations move into the top 20%, the answer generally favors bonds, especially in periods where market internals have deteriorated. Moreover, if the yield-curve is rather flat (so you don’t earn much extra return for extending your maturity), cash actually becomes the preferred asset. If one allows for the possibility of changing the investment position in response to market fluctuations, cash becomes even more dominant. That’s because when valuations are high and market internals are unfavorable, the ability to respond to steep market declines by shifting from cash to stocks can be enormously useful. Novice investors, and sadly some professionals, seem imagine that it is the birthright of stocks to generate a pleasant average expected return, such as 10% annually, regardless of valuations. This ignores the drivers of investment returns. The 10% figure is an average outcome that was historically driven by a combination of nominal growth in earnings, revenues, dividends, and other fundamentals averaging just over 6% annually, plus an average dividend yield of just under 4% annually. The problem is that a striking proportion of market returns in recent years has been driven by a spike in valuations to bubble extremes, while the underlying fundamental drivers have languished. Indeed, over the past decade, annual S&P 500 earnings growth has averaged less than 3% annually, largely as the result of expanding profit margins, while S&P 500 revenue growth has averaged less than 2% annually. Both figures include the impact of stock buybacks. Meanwhile, the dividend yield of the S&P 500 is now less than 2%. Add that yield to the growth rate, and even permanently elevated valuations would only be associated with expected nominal total returns of about 4-5% annually from these levels. Here’s a little math. Given that our best measures of valuation are nearly three times their historical norms, suppose that fundamentals grow at 4% annually, and valuations eventually decline to half of current levels – still elevated relative to history, but less extremely so. How many years of growth would be required in order to leave stock prices unchanged? The answer is ln(2.0)/ln(1.04) = 17.7 years. Think about that carefully. The dividend yield on the S&P 500 is presently below the Treasury bill yield of 2%. From current valuation extremes, even a retreat of valuations to levels 50% above their historical norms would leave stock market investors behind the lowly return on Treasury bills for easily more a decade. That shouldn’t be a surprise, of course. By the end of the 2000-2002 market decline, the total return of the S&P 500 had fallen behind risk-free Treasury bills all the way back to May 1996. By the end of the 2007-2009 market decline, the total return of the S&P 500 had fallen behind risk-free Treasury bills all the way back to June 1995. I continue to expect the completion of the current market cycle to wipe out the entire total return of the S&P 500 since 2000, and to put it behind Treasury bills all the way back to late-1997. The reason investors imagine that growth is running so much higher than 2-3% annually is that Wall Street and financial news gurgles about quarterly figures and year-over-year comparisons without placing them into a longer-term perspective. The chart below may be helpful in that regard. Notice in particular that despite the impact of stock buybacks, we’re observing the same slowdown in corporate fundamentals as we observe in structural GDP growth, which I’ve discussed in prior comments. As a side note, recall that the “structural” component of GDP growth is driven by average annual productivity growth (about 0.8%) plus labor force growth (about 0.6%). The remainder of GDP growth is driven by “cyclical” changes in the unemployment rate. The way to “reconcile” the likely 1.4% structural growth rate of GDP with the 4% second quarter growth rate of real GDP is to observe that one is an expected multi-year average and the other is the annualized figure for a single quarter, where a good portion of that figure was driven by soybean exports in anticipation of tariffs. So yes, historically the total return on stocks has exceeded the total return on bonds. But that has not been true starting from elevated valuations. Meanwhile, though many investors imagine that low bond yields somehow “justify” elevated equity valuations, this assumes that the trajectory of future cash flows is held constant. When interest rates are low because growth rates are low, stocks deserve no valuation premium at all, yet even “normal” valuations generate below-average stock market returns, via the lower growth rate. The chart below provides the most extended perspective on the matter that I can offer. Emphatically, I expect the S&P 500 to underperform even the depressed yield on Treasury bonds over the coming 12-year period. Finally, the chart below draws together our estimates of prospective returns on a passive 60/40/10 mix of the S&P 500, Treasury bonds, and Treasury bills. From current valuations, we expect that the total return from passive investment strategies will average less than 1% annually over the coming 12 years. The popularity of passive strategies is simply a form of performance-chasing, encouraged by an ascent to abominably high valuations, and wholly ignorant of the dismal prospective returns associated with those valuations. Again, given current valuation extremes in stocks, unfavorable market internals, and a relatively flat yield curve in bonds, I believe that lowly, humble cash has substantial option value, because it offers the opportunity to respond to potentially deep market losses. The strongest estimated market return/risk prospects emerge when a material retreat in valuations is joined by an early improvement in our measures of market action. Read more commentaries by Hussman Funds Sponsored Content Upcoming Webinars View All

The, they asked the various contributors to consider their experience writing about the songwriting process, and whether it had any effect on their actual songwriting. Here is Rosanne Cash‘s response, titled “Longing.” New releases for the week of April 21, 2009 include: Bearfoot – Doors & Windows Amazon | iTunes Betse Ellis – Don’t You Want To Go Amazon | iTunes The Boxmasters – Modbilly Amazon | iTunes | MySpace Charlie McCoy – Classic Country Hymns Amazon | iTunes Dale Watson – The Truckin’ Sessions: Volume Two Amazon ($5.99) | iTunes | MySpace Dean Seltzer – Lady Luck Amazon | iTunes | MySpace Drew Nelson – Dusty Road To Beulah Land Amazon | MySpace Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears Amazon | iTunes | MySpace The Greencards – Fascination Amazon | iTunes | MySpace Kelly Carmichael – Queen Fareena Amazon | MySpace Kyle Bennett Band – Grey Sunrise Amazon | MySpace Matt Flinner Trio – Music du Jour Amazon | iTunes | MySpace Slaid Cleaves – Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away Amazon | iTunes | MySpace Tommy Webb – Heartland Amazon | MySpace Wayne Hancock – Viper of Melody Amazon | MySpace Let me know if these lists of new releases interest you or not, and if so, would you rather they be broken out into a separate post? - Watch Jamey Johnson perform “In Color” and “High Cost of Living” in the studio for iHeartMusic.com’s Stripped series. (via reader email) - Want to dive into Reba McEntire’s back catalog, but don’t know where to start? Country Universe’s Kevin J. Coyne has you covered with ten songs he considers essential. - Josh Turner, Marty Stuart, Jack Clement and Curb Records owner Mike Curb were among the inductees who earned a spot on the Music City Walk of Fame on Sunday. - Ed Crowell gave a brief three-day rundown of Old Settler’s Music Fest. - The Zac Brown Band and Jamey Johnson both earned official RIAA gold certification for surpassing sales of 500,000 copies of their latest albums. - Listen to Dierks Bentley perform songs from his newest album on Mountain Stage. - The CMT Music Video Evaluation Team published videos of Rodney Carrington‘s “If I’m the Only One,” Dierks Bentley‘s “Sideways,” Holly Williams‘ “Keep the Change,” Jesse Lee‘s “It’s a Girl Thing” and Old Crow Medicine Show‘s “Caroline.” - Farce the Music published a satirical version of Josh Turner‘s bus rules. - New Jersey radio station WFMU started a new project called the Free Music Archive, which they describe as an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads. They don’t have a whole lot as far as country goes at the moment, but I did notice tracks from Bobby Bare Jr., Justin Townes Earle and Chatham County Line. (via American Songwriter) - Watch video of Chuck Mead performing “Natchez Trail” from his his Music Fog set at SX … 34 Comments RSS for comments on this post April 21, 2009 at 11:47 am Nice review of the Old Settler’s festival, but it’s funny to see a dobro called a “slide steel guitar.” April 21, 2009 at 11:47 am I like the new releases post… that is all. April 21, 2009 at 12:17 pm Huckleberry and Jasper? Those crazy West Virginians… April 21, 2009 at 12:29 pm I bet the whole neighborhood around Jimmy Dean’s house smelled like sausages last night. April 21, 2009 at 12:34 pm Yeah, who’d have thought he would name his kids after songs by Toby Keith and Trisha Yearwood. Weird! April 21, 2009 at 12:35 pm …or rather a song and an album. April 21, 2009 at 12:44 pm I like knowing about new releases too. April 21, 2009 at 12:52 pm Thanks for the link. That list is based on an allegedly real bus rules list that caused a buzz around Nashville a couple years ago. On another note, the Slaid Cleaves album is really enthralling me this far. April 21, 2009 at 3:28 pm I think it’s good to have the new releases right in the news roundups every Tuesday too. I’ve bought several albums you’ve listed. I am little surprised at the gold certification for Zac Brown, not so much surprised for Jamey Johnson considering all the press and TV time he’s gotten lately. I’m stoked for him. And man, do I love Rosanne Cash … she gives us a new reason to every time she puts pen to paper. April 21, 2009 at 4:21 pm Another score for Farce the Music! Hilarious. April 21, 2009 at 4:46 pm Please keep the “New Releases” list coming April 21, 2009 at 4:56 pm I got to hear Slaid perform a lot of the new songs a few months ago at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica and they were all fine compositions. I can understand the enthusiasm for his new album based upon that experience. So Dale Watson and Wayne Hancock are releasing new albums on the same day! Talk about positive Texas Style Country Music Karma! So how will these albums do on the Texas Regional Chart anyway? I hear the Boxmasters’ new album title was originally “Moody Billy Bob Psycho” but was shortened somewhere along the way. What will Brad Paisley name him next son? I’d say its been narrowed down to Goober, Gomer, or maybe Opie! Sheesh. April 21, 2009 at 6:28 pm Music City Walk of Fame..Josh Turner? Already? I mean I love the guy’s music..well, on second thought, looks like most stuff is coming earlier these days.. April 21, 2009 at 7:59 pm Off Topic: Did anyone catch Chuck Wicks friskiness on Dancing With The Stars last night? I don’t watch the show but our ABC news at 11 PM featured the segment where he lifted her up from one move by grabbing Julianne’s bust rather than a little lower! It appears Chuck has also been copping a feel of Cinderella! (lol) April 21, 2009 at 8:11 pm Yanno I saw him do that last night while watching the program and thought OMG! But then…I don’t know..they all seem close to grabbing parts they shouldn’t. He explained it saying it was a slip but…mmmmmm…I bet he thanks his lucky stars for that slip. April 21, 2009 at 8:23 pm I feel almost embarrassed to say this, but Bearfoot are one of my Myspace friends. They are really good. I spend my cd allowance for the week on The Greencards, but I think I’ll be getting them next week. April 21, 2009 at 8:26 pm Stormy, Glad that’s where you spent your music allowance. April 21, 2009 at 8:33 pm Why be embarrassed, Stormy? That’s two good bands you’re talking about. You know, I really liked Annalisa’s singing a lot with Bearfoot, but Odessa has done a great job of jumping in. By the way, if your taste extends beyond country music, you really ought to check out Megan McCormick, who’s got a new album out. I disremember whether she was ever officially in Bearfoot, but she’s been tight with them for a while, they do a couple of songs that she co-wrote on the new album, and she’s one of my favorites – in fact, she played guitar on a couple of tracks on my album. April 21, 2009 at 8:45 pm It just sounds s high school to say “they’re my myspace friend.” April 21, 2009 at 8:49 pm Leeann April 21, 2009 at 8:26 pm Permalink Stormy, Glad that’s where you spent your music allowance. I’d love to buy more cds but I have this stupid need for food. Also, the really cute striped fabric that will look awesome as the cute short version of Project Runway’s Uli dress that Simplicty has in its pattern book, I saw at Jo Ann’s a couple weeks ago will be on sale for 40 percent off this week. If it stays in my fabric budget I can get also-on-sale linen look white fabric and brown gross grain ribbon and make a really cute short sleeved jacket to go with it. Stupd, stupid need for food. April 21, 2009 at 9:06 pm Stormy, it appears Bearfoot is also short of funds as they’ve let the domain name for their website expire! Sheesh…. April 21, 2009 at 9:33 pm They probably did like a lot of other indie bands and just made their Myspace their website. April 21, 2009 at 9:56 pm I’ll have to check out this other band. I really like the Greencards album. April 21, 2009 at 10:06 pm I love the new Greencards album. I was a little nervous when I heard Facination because I was afraid that Jay was going to take it in a huge Duhks direction (which is good for The Duhks but not good for The Greencards). But it is just a funkier version of the Greencards. April 21, 2009 at 10:42 pm Actually, Bearfoot’s website () is operational, but they’re a little behind in revamping it to reflect the current lineup, new album, etc. Stormy, the Greencards’ choice of a producer reflected where they were already going rather than moved them in a new direction. April 21, 2009 at 11:21 pm It’s just one of those albums where there’s a lot to take in. It’s cool. I tend to love Sugar Hill releases, anyway. I’m glad Bill wrote the review for it at CU, because I’d have no idea how to describe it. Even now, he says it was a really hard review to write. April 22, 2009 at 10:14 am Bearfoot has an interesting sound. A little like Crooked Still. I’m not sure imo they are bluegrass from the clips I listened to. but have a different sound. April 22, 2009 at 11:42 am Oh, I love the new releases list just like it is.It is very hard to find some of em here, so it’s nice to know where they can be purchased.Some I wouldn’t have even known about had it not been for this blog. April 22, 2009 at 7:19 pm I dunno if all of them did, but the members of the Greencards used to make up Rodney Hayden‘s band. And Kelly featured a couple of tracks by Bearfoot in Episode 3 of our podcast. April 22, 2009 at 7:47 pm You can preview the Greencards April 23, 2009 at 10:41 pm New releases in the roundups it is. Anybody purchase anything from this week’s releases? April 23, 2009 at 10:51 pm I got Facination by The Greencards. April 24, 2009 at 5:31 am Not yet, but I’m planning on getting the Slaid Cleaves and Tommy Webb records some time. April 24, 2009 at 9:50 am Two boys already cowboying in the house…wonder how many BP/KWP will have in the end? I know that Faith Hill and Tim McGraw said they planned on having a big family. So far they have 3 daughters and Tim wants a boy into the mix. What do y’all predict? Brad supporting a large family or just until a girl arrives?

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The categories that I will discuss are: * Primary defects of the kidney tissue (parenchymal disease) * Obstruction of the urinary tract (hydronephrosis with obstruction) * Hydronephrosis without obstruction, including vesicoureteral reflux * Cystic diseases * Metabolic diseases * Syndromes Primary defects of kidney tissue (parenchymal disease) In this group of problems of the kidney parenchyma (parenchyma refers to the kidney tissue in general), the basic structure of the kidney looks normal on ultrasound or on an X-ray image, but for some reason on a microscopic level something is wrong and the kidneys don't work right. The most common problem of this class is renal dysplasia, which is a condition of both kidneys where the tissue is partly normal with some normal filters (glomeruli) but laced throughout the kidney is fibrosis (like scar tissue), abnormal cell groups such as little pieces of cartilage, and immature tissue where the kidney just didn't finish developing. There are all levels of severity of this defect, so there are babies who have very poor kidney function at birth and need major support, even sometimes including dialysis, from that time, and there are other children whose kidneys support them through much of life but then eventually as the body grows the kidneys just don't have enough functional tissue to support it. Occasionally there is a baby with very severe dysplasia and no kidney function at all as a result. In this case, no urine is made in utero either. Since in the last 2/3 of pregnancy the amniotic fluid comes from fetal urine, and since lung formation is dependent on breathing in amniotic fluid, the lungs of these babies with very severe dysplasia may be very underdeveloped, and they may not be able to survive more than a few hours after birth because of their poor lung function. This can also be true with severe obstruction (discussed below) and severely damaged kidneys as a result. Renal dysplasia is sometimes part of a syndrome, whereby other defects of other organ systems occur simultaneously with the dysplasia (see syndromes). When children are young (the first months and preschool years especially) with renal dysplasia often the most prominent defect is the inability to concentrate the urine. Let me start by explaining some normal kidney function. The normal kidney has about a million filters, each of which filters the blood and a filtrate in which the waste products and other (electrolyte, mineral and chemical) constituents of blood start down the tubule in a concentration equal to that of blood. The tubule has multiple segments, each with a specific job, and as the filtrate travels down the tubule, water and the other constituents are reabsorbed into blood as needed, so that the final urine is concentrated compared to the initial filtrate of blood. The tubule fine tunes how much sodium and potassium and phosphorus and other substances are kept in the filtrate (urine) as opposed to reabsorbed back into blood. To give you an idea of the work of the tubule, in an adult 180 liters of the liquid part of blood is filtered in a day, yet thanks to the tubule, only 1-2 liters comes out as urine. When the child has dysplasia, the tubules are affected, and they have a difficult time reabsorbing all that they should, so the child often has a large volume of urine, and that volume is fixed, unable to change based on the circumstance. So, if the child has diarrhea or poor fluid and food intake or both, the kidney is not able to reabsorb most of the salt and water filtered and to reduce the amount of urine, as is a normal renal response. Instead, the child continues to make large volumes of urine and dehydration comes on very rapidly. (By the way, to make it a double whammy, the kidney with dysplasia, since it is abnormal from the beginning, may be adversely affected by dehydration since dehydration leads to decreased blood flow (carrying oxygen and nutrition) to the kidney, and sustain further damage, temporarily or permanently.) Dysplasia may be accompanied by hypoplasia, which means that the kidneys are unusually small. Hypoplasia may be isolated or linked to dysplasia Obstruction of the urinary tract (hydronephrosis with obstruction) Hydronephrosis means dilatation of the collecting system or the ureter or both and may be dilatation with or without an obstruction at some point in the system physically to the flow of urine down and out. Hydronephrosis is often seen on prenatal ultrasounds, but is found at least 50% of the time to be dilatation without obstruction, which may simply be due to two facts: 1) that the fetal kidney does not yet concentrate the urine so there is a large flow volume down the ureter, making it dilated by volume, and 2) the immature ureteral tissues are stretchy. When hydronephrosis is associated with obstruction, it may be either unilateral (one kidney) or bilateral (both). The most common obstructive lesions are: * Posterior urethral valves (causes bilateral obstruction and is limited to males) * Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (present on one or both sides) * Ureterovesical junction obstruction (present on one of both sides) * Ureterocele (present on one or both sides) * Neurogenic bladder-which acts like an obstruction, since the bladder does not empty If obstruction is unilateral and the contralateral kidney is fine, then there is not a problem with kidney function. The reason that one usually wants to try to fix the situation is to provide the "insurance" of having two functioning kidneys, because one is plenty. In the case of a single kidney, that single kidney increases its function in compensation and can have as much as 90% of the function that two normal kidneys would have. Usually a single kidney has 75-80% of the function of two kidneys. In this circumstance, the child is absolutely healthy, with normal growth and development. Posterior urethral valves is a fairly common defect, and it occurs because a fold or two of extra tissue grow in the urethra and back up urine flow from the bladder and all the way up the ureters. This fold is present from early in kidney development, and so it causes the urine to back up into the kidneys from the time urine is first made, while the kidneys are still developing. Renal dysplasia, same as the lesion discussed above that may occur independently may occur and in fact, usually does occur, as a result. This means that the kidneys are inherently defective and so unblocking the urethra may improve kidney function somewhat, but it doesn't usually cause kidney function to return to normal. Even if kidney function comes back to normal or near normal, the problem with the tubules and inability to concentrate the urine is quite commonly persistent. As with primary dysplasia, if the dysplasia is very, very severe and there is little urine production in utero, then lung maturation may be affected and cause difficulty after birth. Development of the bladder is also affected by the blockage. These boys frequently have defective bladders, which divide into two types: 1) those that are thick walled and have strong muscle so that they don't hold much and tend to spastically empty frequently, and 2) those that are large and stretched out and hold a lot. Boys with the latter type of bladder have abnormal sensation, too, and often can't tell when the bladder is full. Their very full ladders may cause backup of urine with pressure up the ureters to the kidneys. Boys with either bladder type may need medication for the bladder; the former may need surgery to augment the bladder with a piece of intestine sewn into the top to make it larger, after which, since the intestine doesn't contract, they usually have to catheterize the bladder 5 times a day to empty it. Boys with the large bladders without sensation can sometimes make it by voiding on a time schedule, since they don't get the urge to void; some need intermittent catheterization, too. There are some boys whose bladders work fairly well, but I think that one should always be aware of bladder function in these boys. The bladder dysfunction may play a role in making kidney function worse than it would be with good bladder function, so it needs to be watched indefinitely. Bladder dysfunction can also damage a transplanted kidney. Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction is caused by a constriction at the top of the ureter, where it intersects with the renal pelvis, which is the part of the kidney that collects the urine before it starts down the ureter. This can occur because of a constricting band of fibrous (scar-like) tissue or from a crossing blood vessel. Though it is generally present at birth, sometimes it is so mild as to not cause a problem, but the obstruction may worsen with time later in infancy or in childhood as a result of changing relationships of the structures of the urinary tract and of surrounding tissues as growth occurs. A band of tissue or blood vessel near the ureter may impinge on the ureter with time and growth. This is usually a unilateral finding, but it can be bilateral, and it also is associated with problems with the other kidney. Multicystic dysplastic kidneys are associated with a UPJ obstruction of the other kidney. Twenty percent of babies with a multicystic dysplastic kidney have a UPJ obstruction of the other kidney. UPJ obstruction usually must be fixed surgically. The surgery is safe and successful, requiring only 2-3 days in the hospital. Generally if it is discovered in the newborn period and is unilateral, the surgery is postponed a month or two until the baby is stable and growing and doing well. Ureterovesical (UVJ) obstruction is much less frequent than is UPJ obstruction, and like UPJ obstruction, can be unilateral or bilateral. It is an abnormality in the insertion of the ureter into the bladder, blocking the flow of the urine into the bladder, and is fixed by surgically reinserting the ureter into the bladder, the same as is done for vesicoureteral reflux (see hydronephrosis without obstruction). A ureterocele is a cystic dilatation of the ureter as it inserts into the bladder. The cystic area "pouches" into the bladder and causes the opening for urine flow from the ureter into the bladder to be very constricted, resulting in obstruction and hydronephrosis. It can often be handled at cystoscopy, with excision of the abnormal tissue with a small knife passed through the cystoscope. There can be associated dysplasia on the side of the ureterocele, but not always. A neurogenic bladder is usually associated with a problem with the spinal cord, the most common being a myelomeningocele (often referred to by the lay public as spina bifida). This is a defect where the vertebrae in the lumbosacral area are not properly fused all the way around the spinal cord, and so a sac protrudes from the spinal cord with a mass of nerves all tangled together. In these nerves are those to the bladder, so that it has no functional nerve supply. The bladder then tends to fill and fill and only empty by overflow when it is quite full. There is often backpressure to the kidneys. This can lead to vesicoureteral reflux (explained later in this treatise) and chronic infection and scarring of the kidneys, with eventual renal failure. Hydronephrosis without obstruction, including vesicoureteral reflux Hydronephrosis without obstruction means dilatation of the ureter and collecting system of the kidney but not because of backup above an area of narrowing and obstruction, rather primary dilatation of the collecting system and ureter. The conditions causing this that I will discuss are: * Prune belly syndrome * Vesicoureteral reflux * Primary megaureter with or without megacystis Prune belly syndrome occurs almost exclusively in boys; there is a controversy whether there is a variant in girls. It consists of a group of findings including: decreased or absent abdominal muscles, cryptorchidism (failure of the testicles to descend into the scrotum; they remain in the abdomen), and dilatation of the ureters and bladder, often with associated renal dysplasia. Frequently the dilated ureters come with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR; see below). The boys are sterile and unable to make sperm, even if the testicles are surgically brought down, but they function normally sexually. The bladder may be large and floppy and not contract and empty like it should, or it may be fine. High-grade reflux is common, but reimplantation of the ureters surgically into the large, floppy bladder may be difficult. With the renal dysplasia, renal failure may be a problem. The renal dysplasia may be of any degree of severity. Some of these boys progress to needing transplantation; others do not. In boys with prune belly syndrome the abdomen is protuberant because of the decreased or absent abdominal muscles and the lower part of the rib cage in front may flare out a little, causing an abnormal profile. The absence of the muscles of the abdomen causes surprisingly little functional problem. Some boys as they get older wear an elastic support garment around the abdomen to hold it in so that it looks better and clothes fit better. It also offers some protection to the abdominal organs. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) involves the two-way flow of the urine up and down the ureters, and they should be a one-way down system. The ureter inserts into the bladder down near its base such that the muscle of the bladder wall does not allow the urine to flow out of the bladder and back up the ureter towards the kidney. This insertion can be abnormal and allow different degrees of back flow, which are graded I to V, depending on severity. When grades I to III happen in an infant or young child, the likelihood is that with time and increasing maturity the problem will resolve itself. Grade IV reflux occasionally spontaneously resolves, and grade V reflux virtually never resolves spontaneously. Grades IV and V usually need surgical correction. Megaureter and megacystis are two problems that often occur together. Megaureter is the congenital dilatation of all or a portion of the ureter without obstruction. Megacystis means enlargement of the bladder, which may affect function in that the bladder may be slow to empty, and in some cases this may mean that intermittent catheterization is needed to empty the bladder. Both megaureter and megacystis are frequently associated with renal dysplasia. Cystic diseases Most of the cystic diseases occur in both kidneys, but in the great majority of cases a multicystic dysplastic kidney is confined to one kidney. In this disorder, the kidney is worthless and without any functioning filters and the ureter is atretic, meaning that it stops part way down to the bladder, so is incomplete. The "kidney", and I put it in parentheses since it is not really a kidney, as we know it, since something went awry very early in its development and it became a group of cysts rather than a kidney. A cyst is a fluid filled round bag-like structure. In most cases the other kidney is normal and grows larger than a normal kidney to make up for the fact that there is only one functioning kidney. Two defects do occur in the functioning kidney with enough frequency to be of concern. The first is vesicoureteral reflux (discussed previously in this article) so every infant found to have a multicystic dysplastic kidney should have a VCUG, a voiding cystourethrogram to look for reflux. The second is ureteropelvic junction obstruction, also discussed previously, which, if present, will have been noted on the ultrasound examination that was done to pick up the multicystic dysplastic kidney. A multicystic dysplastic kidney is often picked up on prenatal ultrasound, then confirmed on ultrasound after the baby is born. Since the bags of cysts can be confused with severe dilatation of the kidney related to a severe ureteropelvic junction obstruction, the doctor may want to look at the kidneys with a nuclear renal scan to differentiate between the two. To do this scan, the infant is given an IV injection of a radioactive substance that shows blood flow into the kidney and is filtered by the kidney. The multicystic dysplastic kidney has no blood flow and no function, but the kidney with obstruction has blood flowing through it. The amount of radioactivity given is no more than one receives getting a standard X-ray. So the infant felt to have a multicystic dysplastic kidney generally has two tests done, a VCUG and a nuclear renal scan. If an associated problem such as reflux or UPJ obstruction is found, they are treated as noted above, with the need for treatment being related to the severity of the problem. The multicystic dysplastic kidney itself is followed with serial ultrasound examinations at intervals over time. Most of the time the cysts shrink progressively and after a few years the end result is a small nubbin of scar tissue which causes no problem If the cysts do not shrink, which happens in a few cases, then the kidney may need to be removed surgically. Most of the time when cystic kidney disease is mentioned, polycystic kidney disease (PKD) comes to mind. There are two types of polycystic kidney disease are: autosomal dominant disease (ADPKD), formerly called adult PKD, and autosomal recessive PKD. Let me give you a mini-genetics lesson to help explain the two diseases. Each of us has a set of genes from each parent, so we have a double of every gene. In diseases where the trait is dominant, getting an abnormal gene from either parent gives you the disease. So in the typical case of a parent with a dominant disease, the parent got one normal gene from one parent who was healthy and an abnormal gene from a parent with the disease. So the child of that parent has a 50-50 chance of getting the disease, depending on whether he got the diseased gene or the healthy one. Having one gene with the disease means you have the disease. In the case of parents of a child with a recessive disease, both parents have one normal and one abnormal gene, and the normal, rather than the abnormal gene, predominates. A child of such parents has a one out of two chance of getting the abnormal gene from each parent, or a one out of four chance of getting an abnormal gene from both parents. Having both genes of the set abnormal gives the disease. So parents of the child with ARPKD are healthy and do not know that they carry the disease until they have a child with the disease. A parent who has ADPKD knows that there is a 50-50 chance, one out of two of each child born to that parent having the disease. There have been three different gene defects found that cause ADPKD. The gene for ARPKD is being characterized and is on chromosome 6. ADPKD is a fairly common cause of kidney failure in adults. The cysts of the disease may be seen on a prenatal ultrasound of the developing fetus, but in most cases, the number of cysts in the kidneys increases slowly and kidney function is normal for most or all of childhood and into adulthood. The cysts can start to form in the kidneys in the fetus, or the kidneys may be normal without cysts until as late as 30 years of age. At some age cysts start to form and more and more cysts progressively form in both kidneys. There is a tendency of the pattern of development of cysts to be the same in members of a family, but it is a tendency and not a rule. As more and more cysts form often hypertension becomes a problem, and then after hypertension, gradual decrease in kidney function. The age at which kidney failure occurs and dialysis and transplantation are needed varies from infancy to old age. A few people die in old age with cysts in the kidneys but with the kidneys working well enough that they do not need dialysis or transplantation. The average age of kidney failure is about 50 years old. ARPKD is a very uncommon disease. The baby with ARPKD has many small cysts all throughout the kidneys right from the time that they form in utero. The kidneys are larger than normal because of the cysts, sometimes very large. In the most severely affected children the kidneys never work and never make urine. This leads to a lack of normal lung development, since lung development is dependent on breathing amniotic fluid, and amniotic fluid comes from baby urine. Without lung development the baby dies of lack of oxygen soon after birth. In a few cases, fluid has been successfully injected into the uterus around the baby every few days for many weeks during pregnancy, resulting in lung development. This is tricky and may also result in stimulating labor, so that the baby is born quite prematurely with poor lung function and dies Among the infants with the disease who survive, the severity of the kidney disease and the age at which dialysis and transplantation are needed varies between infancy and adolescence. Most children with ARPKD also have a condition known as congenital hepatic fibrosis, which means that there are threads of scar tissue through the liver. This usually doesn't interfere with liver function but may obstruct the flow of blood to the liver through the portal vein from the intestines. This leads to back up of blood in the spleen and in veins of the esophagus and can cause serious problems, too. Backup of blood in the spleen means that platelets get trapped in the spleen and so are not in the general blood circulation. Platelets are important in the circulation as agents of clotting. Meanwhile the blood in the veins of the esophagus is under increased pressure, so that the veins often burst and bleed. With low platelets, the esophagus may bleed and bleed if the veins burst. To prevent this kind of bleeding, some children with ARPKD need surgery to shunt blood flow away from the esophagus while those with a more severe form of hepatic fibrosis also need a liver transplant as well as a kidney transplant. Another very rare form of bilateral renal cystic disease isglomerulocystic disease, where the cysts are in the glomeruli, the filters of the kidneys. This usually leads to kidney failure early in life. Other diseases which include bilateral (both kidneys) cystic kidney disease in addition to other health problems include: * Tuberous sclerosis * Von Hippel Lindau syndrome. Metabolic diseases Metabolic diseases are those diseases where there is a chemical problem in certain or all cells of the body. Most commonly they happen when an enzyme (protein that breaks down a specific chemical) is missing. That can result in the accumulation of that substance in cells, causing all sorts of problems. In some types of metabolic disease a substance accumulates in cells for unknown reasons. In others, an important cellular biochemical process is abnormal. Cystinosis is a rare disease where cysteine, an amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins) accumulates in the cells of the body and causes lots of problems, including kidney failure. These children clearly are ill as infants, since they grow poorly, are easily and frequently dehydrated, and develop rickets. The problem with the kidneys early in life is that they leak multiple substances (potassium, bicarbonate, sodium, phosphorus, glucose and amino acids) from the blood into the urine that should stay in the blood. Some of these substances have to be given back as medication: potassium, bicarbonate, sodium, and phosphorus. The kidney also fails to activate vitamin D, so the active form of vitamin D (calcitriol or dihydrotachysterol) must also be given as a medication. As time goes on they develop kidney failure, and generally need kidney transplantation sometime in childhood. The condition where the kidney tubules leak potassium, glucose (sugar), phosphorus, bicarbonate, and amino acids into the urine is called Fanconi syndrome. Fanconi syndrome is seen in children with cystinosis, Lowe's syndrome, and is rarely seen temporarily after administration of an antibiotic from the antibiotic grown called aminoglycosides Oxalosis is another rare disease. In this disease the liver cells lack an enzyme (an active protein) that breaks down oxalate, which is a compound made in the natural functioning of the liver cell. Oxalate then accumulates, spills into blood, links with calcium, and calcium oxalate deposits in the kidney and then in tissues all over the body. The kidney is first, since the kidney tries to get rid of the excess calcium oxalate out of the blood by filtering it out, and in the process the kidney is stopped up with calcium oxalate, Deposits of crystals are found throughout the kidney and stones form also. When there is little or no enzyme in the liver to break down oxalate, the problems ensue quickly in infancy and complete kidney failure can be seen in the first year of life. If there is some enzyme, but not enough, then kidney failure can ensue later in childhood. In the child with oxalosis, putting in a new kidney alone is not the solution, since the new kidney will be stopped up with calcium oxalate. A liver transplant must be done to give the child the enzyme to handle oxalate, and then a kidney transplant can be done. This is one of the diseases that will be treated with gene therapy. If the gene could be placed in the liver to tell it how to break down oxalate, then there would be no problem, as the liver is otherwise normal. Other metabolic diseases that may lead to kidney failure include: Lowe's syndrome, the mitochondrial myopathies, particularly cytochrome C oxidase deficiency, certain glycogen storage diseases, to name a few. All of these diseases are quite rare. Syndromes Prune belly syndrome is one of the commoner syndromes seen as a congenital renal disease. It is described above. VATER Syndrome stands for vertebral, anal, tracheal, esophageal, and renal and radial (the bigger bone of the forearm) abnormalities. This group of abnormalities tends to occur together. The kidney abnormalities can include hypoplasia, dysplasia, obstruction. The child can be born with one or two kidneys. Not every child with this syndrome has every part of it. The child may also just have one kidney, and it may be normal or abnormal. There are also related syndrome like VACTERAL Syndrome. LOWE'S Syndrome is a syndrome that includes metabolic (cellular biochemical) abnormalities. The kidneys start out with partial or complete Fanconi syndrome. In addition the children have developmental delay and eye problems, usually cataracts that are large and present at birth. Conclusion I have tried to give an overview of the diseases of the kidney that occur as birth defects. Individual cases can vary from the usual case, so remember that when reading about the individual diseases. Each child is a little different. But parents of children with kidney disease are hungry for knowledge about their children's diseases, and I hope that this can fill that need to some degree. Susan B. Conley, M.D. Chief, Section of Nephrology St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

VOLUME 2: CHAPTER 104 - MAN-EATING TIGER I "You want me to defeat the Man-Eating TigerOlspiegel?" Nikea nodded. Her eyes weren't lying. They were calm and unwavering. Looks like she's serious. "It's not literally a tiger. The term 'Man-Eating Tiger' is a sort of inside term among us." Why did they have to go out of their way to call it that? I recall Selena mentioning that the demihumans had a habit of likening fallen demihumans to animals. If so, then this man-eating tiger must be 'fallen' in some way. Meaning, it must be a living organism of some sort. "Very well," I said. Gi Za spoke to me in hushed voices from behind. "Are you sure it's wise to accept so quickly?" "It's fine," I said back, "we have to show our strength anyway." An unexpected but fortunate turn of events. Honestly, I was uneasy trading only the fishes from the basement. With this we'll be able to show our might while at the same time trading our services. "Thank you very much," Nikea said with strained breath, then she looked at me with a challenging gaze. "The term 'Man-Eating Tiger' is an alias of sort. Its true name is Gurfia." When Nikea uttered that name her two escorts gulped. Looks like this piece of info will prove quite valuable. "He was a young but powerful member of the Man-Horse TribeCentaur. Unfortunately, just some time ago, a massacre had caused him to lose his sanity." "Why is an araneae such as yourself so privy to the matters of the centaur?" Nikea gulped. For a moment she glanced at Selena. "...Despite all of us being descendants of the crystal we do not interact with each other. That... changed recently." Oh? The demihumans are trying to work together? What valuable information, and how fortunate too. If I was any slower, they might have succeeded and created their own country. I think I know why she glanced at Selena. I smiled as I thought of the reason. She probably can't lie in front of her. It seems bringing Selena was a good idea after all. "As a test to see if we could truly work together, Gurfia went with the other young ones to live in a single village, but..." Nikea said. "The village was destroyed," I concluded for her. Nikea nodded. She seems to be telling the truth. When you put her story and Shumea's together, it seems likely that it was that rapier-user who did it. Shumea's former master who used Selena's power to move about in the forest. I won't thank him, but it seems his actions have had unexpected consequences. "Gurfia managed to hold on to his life, but he ate the flesh of another descendant of the crystal." When Nikea said that Selena screamed and Shumea held her. "In exchange for gaining power, he lost his reason. To this day he lurks the forest, unable to forget the taste of his fellow demihuman's blood." Nikea was biting her lips by the time she finished speaking. "And the demihuman union you put up has left this man-eating tiger alone?" "...The union or rather the promised cooperation between us isn't actually functioning. Most of its proponents participated in that village, so there hasn't been much progress at all." I see. That's not bad for me. Since they still haven't solidified their union, there should still be room for me to interfere. "Very well. But before we begin, I would like to make a contract with you." "Meaning?" "...I shall rid you of this man-eating tiger of yours, but in exchange, I would like for you to trade with us. I would also like you to invite my subordinates to your village." "...As you wish. The day you defeat the man-eating tiger, we araneae shall do as you ask, this I swear." I added the condition of sending my subordinates to her village as a precaution. Her village will be my foothold to the west. I also need to prepare for the possibility of the araneae betraying me. Nikea might have sworn these things before me, but that doesn't mean the rest of her tribe would accept me. Not to mention, I even have a human and an elf with me. I don't know exactly what they think of them, but I at least know they hate the humans. "There are a few things I'd like to know before we go." Nikea filled me in the details, and then we left to subjugate the man-eating tiger. ◇◆◇ Along the way I started thinking about the blood of the demihumans. The reason Selena went wild was also because she was made to drink it. If so, then it should stand to reason that the blood of the demihumans is able to bring out someone's latent power when ingested by certain races. "Shumea, are there any rumors among humans regarding demihuman blood?" "Hmm? I don't think so. That bastard, Gene, just happened to have a hobby of hurting others, so..." Gene seems to be the name of that rapier-using man. He forcefully made Selena drink demihuman blood. I glanced at Selena whose countenance had paled. Selena seemed to understand the intentions behind my question, she said, "According to knowledge passed down among us elves, when demihuman blood is consumed in scant amounts, it can act as a stimulant. That's the reason why the humans persecuted them before." She held Shumea tightly as she spoke. "Do you want some, Your Majesty?" The assassin, Gi Ji, asked. "No, it's about that demihuman-eater that Nikea mentioned," I said back. "You think it'll be useful to us?" The shaman, Gi Za, asked. "That's one part of it. It might awake some unknown power within us after all." I looked sharply up ahead as I wryly smiled. "The issue is how strong that demihuman-eater is. Is his power merely due to losing his sanity, ridding him othe limits that once shackled him? Or is the power he wields now something completely different. That's what I'm wondering about." The former isn't a problem. He would be no different from the mad shishi, Gi Zu. But the latter is different. A power like that encroaches on the unknown. I should change the topic though. It won't do to have the goblins thinking the wrong way when it seems like we could work together with the demihumans. "...Are you going to kill them if their blood can make you stronger?" Selena fearfully asked. I clicked my tongue at the back of my head. "No, it would be a waste to throw away their cordiality. If we can avoid needless conflict, that would be best." Selena heaved a sigh of relief. I added a warning. "But there will be no mercy for traitors. If the blood of traitors prove useful, then we'll take every drop of it." "You can't," Selena said. "Remember, Selena. We are not peerless in the forest. I refuse a future where the humans can do with me however they please. I am the king of the demonic children of chaosgoblins. I kneel to none. If there is anyone who stands in my way, be they demihuman, beasts, or elves, I will use all of my power to destroy them." Until now she has seen my gentler side. Seeing this other face of mine seemed to be a great shock to her, as it made her look down on the ground, her countenance even paler. "...To clarify, I don't particularly hate the humans, Shumea. You don't have to glare." "I'm not glaring or anything, Boss," Shumea said. "I was just thinking how you don't act like a goblin." Shumea patted Selena's head, who was currently sniffing. I certainly don't act like a goblin, do I? "Your Highness, someone is following us. Should we leave him be?" The assassin, Gi Ji, asked. I looked to Selena for confirmation. She was still pale, but she nodded her head. "...Our pursuers seems to be araneae. They seem to be only following us." The gaze Selena looked at me with seemed to be puzzled. I don't actually know everything, you know. "Traitors, or perhaps mere observers," Gi Za said. Indeed. "Unforgivable. Shall we drive them away?" The ferocious Gi Ba said. "No, I want information. Let's catch them instead." I ordered the assassin Gi Ji and the ferocious Gi Ba to set up a trap for our pursuers instead, then we continued along our way with Selena in the lead. Halfway through we split off from Gi Za's group and proceeded along as if nothing was amiss. Selena was always keeping tabs on our pursuers, so our pace was quite slow. The pursuers never approached us, and our distance remained the same. Gradually, we neared the location where the trap was set. "...The trap seems to have been triggered. I heard a scream," Selena said. "Good!" I exclaimed, though at the back of my head, I was puzzled. We went back the way we came at full speed. Selena and Shumea wouldn't be able to keep up with my pace, so I left them with Gi Za. They seemed to know where we were all the time. How did they end up falling for the trap? Well, I'll find out soon. ◆◆◇ "...What are you bastards planning!?" One of the araneae demihumans asked. "That's what we should be asking you. Why are you following us?" Gi Ji calmly asked. After the demihumans fell into the pitfall, Gi Ba and his three-man cell took out their weapons and pointed them at the demihumans. The araneae demihumans were all men. "We were making sure you wouldn't tell the humans about our village!" The demihuman said. "In other words, you can't trust us despite your oath," I said. "You're asking us to believe in some filthy goblins!? You bastards are like the mice of this forest." Apparently, he doesn't realize that insulting us was the same thing as insulting themselves who fell for our trap. Are the demihumans muscle-brains too after all? As I was thinking that to myself, Gi Za who had finally caught up had apparently heard our earlier exchange. "Your Majesty, would you mind if I put to test their earlier words just now?" Gi Za asked. A human-like face and a ferocious smile as he looked at the trapped demihumans. Just what kind of mad scientist are you supposed to be? I agree though, these demihumans don't really look like the type to fess up. That lie just now wasn't very believable either. I took one of the four long swords sheathed by my waist. The others seemed to have notice what I was about to do, as Selena suddenly looked like she was about to cry, while the other goblins were expectant. "Please wait!" Suddenly, Nikea came running with two other demihumans. "Goblin King, please wait!" Nikea wore a frantic look as she approached me. Gi Za was about to stop her, but I ordered him to stand back, then I spoke. "What's the matter? I was just about to punish these men for their betrayal." My threatening posture was a bit exaggerated, but it was plenty threatening. "I know I'm being impolite, but please hold your hand for just a moment," Nikea said as she bowed her head so low as to touch the ground. I sheathed my sword. "Well, alright. I'll at least hear you out." With a glance, I ordered Gi Ba's group to put away their weapons. The two araneae demihumans were left in the hole, however. "Thank you. Your Majesty, I take responsibility for this incident. Please punish me," Nikea said. "Chief..." Said one of the demihumans who came with her, while the other one called out her name, "Master Nikea." The two demihumans still trapped in the hole were speechless as they watched Nikea. It seems she's actually quite loved in their village. In that case, there's no point in harming her. If they value her so, it might be better to use her as a hostage instead. If I can pin her down, the person responsible for their entire village, then it might become easier to bring the demihumans under my rule. "So, what exactly was this whole thing about? We would like an explanation," Gi Za said in my place while I was quietly thinking. Well, alright. The demihumans have an inclination of putting a lid over unpleasant things. If I take a stance where I'm not willing to have a change of heart unless they properly explain, we'll be able to exert our superiority wordlessly, and at the same time, make it appear that I'm really angry. I made sure to wrinkle my face with a frown to appear even more menacing. Gi Za's really useful. Though I think he might just be really salty over the possibility of not being able to taste demihuman blood. "...Those people are fledglings of the monocrystal. They chased after you because of my inability to properly explain. There is no other reason. Please..." Monocrystal? Considering she said fledgling of the monocrystal, I suppose it's just a term pertaining to their age. I wasn't sure though, so I asked her about it. Because of that the situation took an unexpected turn. One of the demihumans trapped in the hole finally couldn't stand seeing their chief with her head bowed to the ground. "Chief, you don't really have to go that far..." But the moment he said that, Nikea suddenly erupted. "What you unfilial fools tainted was none other than the pride of the descendants of the crystals! We exchanged oaths with these people! If word gets out that we were unable to keep our word - an oath we made just a while ago no less - we will forever be branded as a people without honor! You have shamed our proud tribe!" Her voice held within it a pressure equal that of my own howl. All voices went silent as even the very air seemed to rip at her wrathful voice. Tl Note: This is the fourth regular chapter for the week. By the way, I forgot to mention this, but the reason they're called descendants of the crystal is because they were made out of a crystal or crystals. I think the legend chapter has it translated as either ore or minerals, but Household of Crystals rolls of the tongue a bit better than Household of Ores or Household of Minerals, so I changed it. 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The Kodak Depth of Field Calculator and Contact application is now available as a free download from the iTunes App Store. The second Kodak Cinema Tool to be released by the company so far this year, the app helps filmmakers determine the correct settings for achieving desired focus, and connects them with Kodak around the world at the touch of a button. The Kodak Depth of Field Calculator app has fields for entering known data — such as film format, F-stop, focal length and subject distance — and then computes the near limit, far limit, hyperfocal distance and circle of confusion. Results can be in feet or meters, and calculations can be made for any combination of remaining variables. The application also includes a Kodak Contact tool for instant access to a nearby Kodak office for product supplies, or to reach a Kodak representative to answer any preproduction, production or post questions. .” S.two Corporation has announced uncompressed 3-D capture and workflow support with the latest version of its successful OB-1 onboard recorder for digital cinematography. The upgraded OB-1 has full 3-D recording capability for two digital-cinematography cameras at 4:4:4 or ArriRaw T-Link 3K. Utilizing “quad link” HD-SDI for two streams of uncompressed 4:4:4 recording and playback, combined with onboard monitoring, external timecode and remote start/stop capabilities, the OB-1 is ideal for any 3-D-based production using high-end digital cameras. The OB-1 is part of a full portable 3-D workflow that also includes the latest version of S.two’s FlashDock transfer station. Featuring automated real-time editorial dailies, data-based redundant archive to optional built-in LTO drives, RS422-controlled dual-link HD-SDI output and fast lay-off to e-SATA hard drives, S.two calls the FlashDock a “3-D workflow in a box” for all file-based or Sony SRW applications. “With the growing popularity of 3-D productions, we have introduced quad-link support for dual 4:4:4 cameras as a free upgrade for all OB-1 users,” says Steve Roach, vice president of S.two. “Quad link also turns on 4:4:4 to 60p and vari-frame recording for Arri D-21 cameras as well as 50 fps ArriRaw, and positions OB-1 for full Alexa support. These upgrades continue S.two’s commitment to keeping our customers at the leading edge of technology at minimal cost.” P+S Technik has introduced a number of new Modules for the company’s SteadyFrame Universal Format Scanner. The Digital Splice Repair Module is designed to eliminate jumping frames caused by bad splices. The Pinless Shuttle Module allows the latest SteadyFrame model to shuttle 16mm and 35mm film at 50 fps in locked mode. Additionally, the Sound Module enables the scanner to transfer optical sound for 16mm and 35mm film in one pass, while scanning the images. The SteadyFrame Universal Format Scanner features a film transport system designed for quick and easy exchange between formats. The gentle sprocket and pin-free registration enables excellent image stability further enhanced by the software-based Perforation Recognition System, developed in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Munich. The graphical user interface and intuitive design make the scanner easy to use. Gnomon School of Visual Effects has established Gnomon Studios, where advanced students prepare for professional careers by working on short films in a studio environment under the guidance and mentorship of production professionals. The studio is located on the Gnomon lot at 1015 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in the heart of Hollywood. To provide an authentic training experience, the structure of Gnomon Studios mirrors professional visual-effects shops. Students work in various roles ranging from concept artists and animators to art directors and producers. Following industry production standards, the director of each project takes on the role of the external client. Additionally, the director works with Gnomon School of Visual Effects founder and director Alex Alvarez, and other Gnomon instructors and staff to serve as mentors and help guide students through the production process. “While Gnomon students participate in group projects through their lab work, those projects don’t necessarily reflect the real-world structure and workflow of a visual-effects studio,” says Alvarez. .” Gnomon Studios is currently working on Acker’s new short film, Plus Minus. Such projects will be the core production focus of Gnomon Studios. Alvarez also expects Gnomon Studios to contribute to the occasional feature project when opportunities arise, as recently happened with the series Fringe and the forthcoming feature, Green Lantern. “The students at Gnomon Studios are learning to work at the forefront of digital production, and making a short film is a great way to explore and test what they’ve studied in the classroom,” says Acker. “The Gnomon Studios interns are learning that it’s about bending the software tools to the will of the narrative and finding creative ways to find solutions to tell the story. This practical experience and exposure to the rigors of film production is helping to prepare the interns at Gnomon Studios for the real world.” Sony Creative Software has introduced its Vegas Pro 9.0d software, the most recent update to the company’s award-winning nonlinear HD video and audio editing application. Vegas Pro 9.0d now features superior closed-captioning support for broadcast editors in addition to multi-layer PSD file support, providing a highly flexible model for professionals to quickly create complex animation from a single Photoshop Document image, and timeline burning to DVD for enhanced editing flexibility and efficiency for creative professionals. Additional new features in Vegas Pro 9.0d include improvements to the device explorer, which significantly increase support for additional cameras and devices, including hard disk and memory recording devices; and the PreSonus FaderPort control surface, offering additional flexibility for controlling and automating Vegas Pro 9.0d via hardware other than mouse and keyboard. The Vegas Pro 9.0d software update is free for existing registered Vegas Pro 9 users, or $234.95 for owners of Vegas Pro 8 or prior. Singular Software, a developer of automation applications for postproduction, has released the first beta download for the recently announced Singular Software Presto. Designed to work inside Sony Vegas Pro, Singular Software Presto eliminates the complexities of piecing together presentations by automating the assembly of presenter video and slides, saving hours in the edit room. Sony Creative Software has announced new versions of its consumer-software product line, including Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 video-editing software and DVD Architect 5 DVD and Blu-ray disc-authoring software. The software collection provides users with intuitive and advanced tools to create nearly any type of multimedia project. Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 is an easy-to-use, full-featured video-editing application providing the tools to create professional-looking high-definition projects while also continuing to support standard-definition media. New features include image stabilization, which incorporates ProDAD plug-in technology and allows users to quickly stabilize shaky video footage using several optimized presets, and slideshow creator, which simplifies the creation of slideshows and allows users to quickly create pan/zoom effects and transitions across a set of still images. Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum also allows up to 10 video tracks and 10 audio tracks so content creators can utilize more tracks for organizational options or to embrace more complex projects and compositing techniques. Additionally, new color-correcting tools provide users with the ability to rapidly fix video shot with incorrect color levels. Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum utilizes the GPU in equipped computers to improve AVC rendering performance and speed, and a Device Explorer window allows user to quickly browse the contents of AVCHD, hard disk and Memory Stick devices, offering a more efficient way to retrieve and edit content. Furthermore, in addition to delivering projects via Blu-ray discs, traditional file-based hard disk and streaming-media formats, users can now burn a DVD directly from the timeline. Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 sells for a recommended price of $99.95. Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 Production Suite — comprising Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10, DVD Architect Studio 5, Sound Forge Audio Studio 10, Vocal Eraser technology, NewBlueFX audio and video effects, a tutorial DVD and 400 exclusive original music soundtracks — is available for $129.95. AJA Video Systems now offers its Kona line of capture cards with software for both Mac and Window-based systems. The company is folding its Xena line of capture cards, designed for the Windows platform, into the Kona product line, giving customers the software and flexibility to use Kona cards on all platforms at no additional cost. The Kona family is AJA’s line of 10-bit uncompressed capture and playback cards for video and audio input and output. Kona supports SD, HD, Dual Link 4:4:4 HD and 2K formats. Effective immediately, every new Kona package shipped will include both Mac and Windows software and documentation. Current customers will experience no change in functionality or service, and Windows-based customers can find support on the AJA website under “Kona for PC.” Updated drivers for either Mac or PC platforms are always available online; AJA recommends users check the AJA website to ensure they have the latest drivers and software. “Our goal is to simplify our customers’ experience and give them greater value,” says Nick Rashby, president of AJA Video Systems. “The postproduction world is not homogenous,. Customers using Apple Mac Pro towers are able to install the Kona for Mac software to work under OS X and the Kona for PC Windows software under Apple Boot Camp to work cross-platform on the same machine. AJA has also announced support for Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium software across its full line of Kona cross-platform I/O cards and the Io Express portable I/O interface. AJA’s new plug-ins also provide support for the Adobe Mercury Playback Engine and 64-bit processing for fast, efficient and stable performance and productivity. AJA Video Systems has introduced the FiDO family of SDI/Optical Fiber Converters. The FiDO (Fiber Digital Optical) line comprises five SDI/Optical Fiber converters that enable the transport of SDI, HD-SDI and 3G SDI over distances of up to 10km. Designed for use both indoors and out, FiDO converters pass the complete SDI signal (including audio and/or metadata) and meet all relevant SMPTE specifications. Their low-profile enclosure enables use in tight spaces around and behind equipment racks, trucks and crowded facilities. AJA Video Systems has collaborated with workflow solution developer CineForm to provide Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere and other Mac and Windows-based NLE and effects software users with a variety of unique ways to output stereoscopic 3-D material using the AJA Kona 3 video capture card through CineForm’s Neo3D software. CineForm’s Neo3D software delivers a comprehensive 3-D editorial workflow, enabling users to create 3-D QuickTime or AVI files that include temporally aligned left and right eyes and edit 3-D projects in real time with full frame-rate playback to an external 3-D monitor. With expanded support for Neo3D software, AJA Kona 3 enables direct play-out of discrete left eye/right eye images and/or a mixed 3-D image. After making the appropriate selection in the Neo3D software, users with 3-D-capable LCD monitors or 3-D projectors can view stereo content by configuring the Kona 3 for stereo output via the AJA Control Panel application. David Taylor, CEO and co-founder of CineForm, notes, “The consumer appetite for 3-D is just exploding. With that demand, the opportunities for 3-D content creators are enormous, but so are their challenges. The need for efficient 3-D editorial workflows is paramount, and it’s exciting for us to work with AJA to extend the 3-D viewing capabilities we designed with Neo3D to output and display through Kona, which is such high-quality hardware and a de-facto standard in so many professional workflows.” Nick Rashby, president of AJA, says, “AJA’s goal is to provide affordable, high-quality, reliable hardware for workflows that address all of the industry’s needs. By working closely with CineForm we’ve enabled Kona 3 to support multi-platform stereo 3-D output. It’s a key component of AJA’s stereo pipeline, with solutions for acquisition, edit and delivery of 3-D material for broadcast and post.” GenArts, Inc., a provider of specialized visual-effects software for the film, television and video industries, has announced the availability of GenArts Sapphire 5 for Adobe After Effects. Sapphire 5 couples the creativity, quality and reliability Sapphire is known for with GPU-optimized performance, a range of new effects and transitions, and full CS5 compatibility. Sapphire 5’s GPU acceleration provides lightning-fast render speeds and full interactivity at HD resolutions. The updated plug-in suite also delivers full floating-point support for amazing image quality and maximum dynamic range, and offers new transitions and effects such as TVDamage and Technicolor. Additionally, Sapphire 5 fully supports 64-bit operations and Adobe’s CS5 release. “While visual effects are certainly essential in today’s film and television industries, artists are constantly challenged to create fresh, compelling content that sets them apart from their competitors — on budget and on time,” says Steve Bannerman, CMO, GenArts. “With Sapphire 5 in their arsenal, After Effects artists will be able to push the limits of their creativity, generating one-of-a-kind looks without sacrificing deadlines.” GenArts Sapphire 5 for Adobe After Effects is now available for both Windows and Mac. Floating licenses are priced at $2,499; node-locked licenses are available for $1,699. Users may upgrade from either Sapphire version 1 or 2 to Sapphire 5 for the special price of only $299, and monthly rental licenses are priced at $169. GenArts, Inc. has introduced Monsters GT for Adobe After Effects. This unique collection of effects encourages endless creativity, making Monsters GT the perfect complement to the everyday tools found in the company’s Sapphire 5 for After Effects. Monsters GT boasts more than 50 distinctive effects, including stylizing effects such as CCTV, NightVision and Brush; warping and distortion effects such as HeatHaze, Puddle and Ripple; particle- and fluid-dynamics effects such as Fire, Rain, Puddles and Smoke; and a series of smooth, particulate and stop-motion trails effects. Like Sapphire 5, Monsters GT fully supports Adobe’s CS5 release and offers an intuitive user interface to provide excellent control. Monsters GT also provides full floating point and GPU support for faster render speeds. “GenArts tools have built an enduring reputation as essential elements of the toolkits of the world’s best artists,” says Steve Bannerman, CMO of GenArts. “Monsters GT continues that tradition with a new suite of inspired effects crafted to perfectly complement Sapphire. This new release is an important step toward our vision of offering customers the most comprehensive set of products across multiple host platforms so they can amplify their creativity and dazzle their audiences and clients.” Red Giant Software has released its first iPhone app, Plastic Bullet. Created by filmmaker, photographer and Red Giant’s Creative Director Stu Maschwitz, Plastic Bullet adds to Red Giant’s growing line of photography tools. “We all take photos with our cell phone cameras, usually with the intention of communicating something emotional to our friends and families,” says Maschwitz. .” After users snap a photo with the iPhone’s built-in camera (or select a photo from the Photo Library), Plastic Bullet develops the shot into four totally random variations. Users can then save the variations or tap the Refresh button to see four completely different iterations. Plastic Bullet also lets users save the original shot so they can continue to develop random versions later. Plastic Bullet is available for download from the iTunes App Store for $1.99. Red Giant Software has introduced Guru Presets, a new product line created by handpicked industry experts. Each package offers unique preset animations, graphical elements or design templates ready for use in After Effects and unique film looks that work in the many hosts supported by Magic Bullet Looks and Magic Bullet Quick Looks. Guru Presets allow users to jump into a project and get it done faster by having access to predesigned templates and effects presets that work with plug-ins from Red Giant. These presets and templates are ready to go as-is, or they can be easily modified by the user to fit almost any project. Guru Presets currently include seven preset packs, with additions planned for the near future. The current lineup comprises Cassidy Bisher’s Text Effects for Trapcode Suite, David Vinson’s Particles Volume 1 for Trapcode Particular, David Vinson’s Super Rays for Trapcode Shine, Eric Escobar’s Indie Looks for Magic Bullet Looks, Harry Frank’s Holidays for Trapcode Particular, Harry Frank’s Video Rock for Trapcode Particular and Nando Costa’s Elements for Trapcode 3S Bundle. Red Giant Software has introduced a family of plug-in applicatiosn for Adobe Photoshop. Magic Bullet PhotoLooks is a groundbreaking application that lets users manipulate and experiment with light while preserving essential photographic detail. Knoll Light Factory for Photoshop 3.1, created by Photoshop co-creator John Knoll, provides 19 powerful. Photoshop co-creator and effects guru John Knoll developed Knoll Light Factory for Photoshop to mimic the reflections from a very bright light source as seen through a camera’s lens; it’s proven to be one of the most popular plug-ins for both Photoshop and After Effects. Knoll Light Factory for Photoshop 3.1 adds a new user interface with previews, undo and a single editing window; 50 new presets; operability on 32- and 64-bit Vista and Windows 7 systems as well as Mac OS X Snow Leopard; and compatibility with Photoshop CS3 and CS4, and Photoshop Elements 7.0 and 8.0. “Extending our products to Photoshop users was a natural move for Red Giant Software,” says.” Magic Bullet PhotoLooks is available for $199 and Knoll Light Factory for Photoshop 3.1 is available for $149. Boris FX, a developer of integrated effects technology for video and film, has introduced Boris Red Version 5. Boris Red is an integrated 3-D compositing, titling and effects application designed for Adobe, Apple, Avid, Grass Valley, Media 100 and Sony video-editing software. Boris Red 5 introduces support for 64-bit applications such as Adobe CS5 and Sony Vegas 9, adds more than 30 new filters and provides a score of new user interface and workflow enhancements, including ergonomic panels, a curve editor and a spreadsheet-style keyframe editor window. Boris FX, a developer of integrated effects technology for video and film, has announced Boris AAF Transfer, a new plug-in designed for seamless transfer of Apple Final Cut Pro sequences to Avid Media Composer. Boris AAF Transfer uses Avid’s new Avid Media Access (AMA) architecture to transfer Final Cut Pro sequences without the need for transcoding or rewrapping. “Improved integration between Adobe, Apple and Avid continues to be among the top requests we receive from digital media workgroups,” says Boris Yamnitsky, president and founder of.” Features of Boris AAF Transfer include third-party effects compatibility, Motion Tab support, Alpha Channel support, text generators and support for many of Final Cut Pro’s time-based effects. Boris AAF Transfer has a recommended price of $299 on its own or $399 when bundled with the Boris XML Transfer plug-in for Adobe After Effects. Boris FX has announced the availability of Boris Continuum Complete 7 FxPlug, which brings over 210 filters to Apple Final Cut Pro, Motion and Final Cut Express. The new release features a three-way color-grade filter with built-in keying and masking tools, a video-noise reduction tool, an OpenGL particle engine, real-time title flare and luma glow effects, and much more. Added to over one-third of BCC 7 FxPlug’s includes the unique ability to view the filtered result with a live filtered layer in the timeline. BCC 7 FxPlug also integrates Apple Motion camera support for the BCC Extruded Image Shatter, BCC Particle Array 3D and BCC Pin Art 3D filters, in addition to BCC FxPlug’s 3D Objects filters. Additionally, all BCC 7 FxPlug filters take advantage of either multi-processing or OpenGL hardware acceleration to deliver an interactive effects design experience. Boris Continuum Complete 7 FxPlug is immediately available through the Boris FX worldwide reseller channel and direct from the Boris FX website for an MSRP of $995. Owners of previous versions of Boris Continuum Complete FxPlug may upgrade for $295. Boris FX has introduced Final Effects Complete 6 AE, bringing 120 designer effects and transitions to Mac and Windows versions of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5, CS4 and CS3. Theengineered for 64-bit operating systems. Cintel International has introduced the Ditto Evolution 2K/4K film scanner and ImageMill2 image-processing platform. Building on the successful elements of the Ditto scanner — including excellent image performance, an easy-to-use interface and the D/SCOP Dust/Scratch Concealment Option — the Ditto Evolution offers a modular and upgradeable solution to film scanning. The Ditto Evolution provides fast shuttle capability, a non-pin registration mode for archive scanning, ImageMill2 processing tools and 3.2D density range. “Ditto Evolution is the first film scanner to be instantly switchable from pin registration to non-pin registration and also the first film scanner to include film grain management and image stabilization tools,” says Simon Carter, sales director for Cintel. “It is the ideal film scanner for all applications and stock types, from OCN ingest for digital intermediates to dense print for restoration projects.” Simon Clark, Cintel’s business development manager, adds, .” The ImageMill2 image-processing platform adds network capabilities and data file management to the existing ImageMill feature set. Carter notes, “ImageMill2 will address the industry’s need for a fast yet simple-to-use noise and grain management tool for both data-centric digital-intermediate applications and restoration projects within one product. With speeds in excess of 25 fps for 2K and HD files, the performance of ImageMill2 is unequalled. We are currently processing 4K files at 10 fps and can also deal with SD files at twice real time. With ImageMill2 you can truly ‘eliminate the wait.’” Kodak has added two films to its Vision3 family of motion-picture products: Vision3 200T 5213/7213, a medium-speed color-negative camera film, and Vision3 Color Digital Intermediate Film 5254/2254. 5213/7213 features extended latitude, enabling cinematographers to record more details in highlights, and delivers finer grain for natural-looking images in the darkest areas. The emulsion is designed for shooting in both controlled interiors and challenging high-contrast exteriors, and is available in all formats (65mm, 35mm, Super 16mm and Super 8mm). ASC President Michael Goi, who had the opportunity to test 5213, notes that the stock “is a significant improvement over the already excellent Vision2 5217. Reds in skin tones have a noticeably more natural balance, and I felt I could almost touch the high-resolution results in texture.” M. David Mullen, ASC, who also tested the stock, adds, “This new film has an even finer grain structure with deeper black tones and richer color saturation, especially in the reds and flesh tones. The images were slightly sharper … and more consistent in overexposed areas. The white tones were cleaner after the film was scanned and converted to digital files. There is also a tighter grain structure … especially when it is used for daylight exterior scenes.” 5254/2254 is designed for use with contemporary film recorders. The imaging characteristics of this new intermediate film enhance the speed and efficiency of DI postproduction while rendering noticeably sharper images that more faithfully represent the intentions of filmmakers. The film provides an improved bridge between Kodak negative films and Kodak print films. “These new Vision3 films are the tangible results of our ongoing commitment to filmmakers,” says Kim Snyder, vice president of the Eastman Kodak Company and president of the Entertainment Imaging Division. “They were designed based on our customers’ suggestions and with the goal of increasing creative freedom and efficiencies in production and postproduction.” Universal Studios has opened four acres of newly rebuilt New York Street backlot locations. A fixture in Hollywood for decades, New York Street (which comprises 13 city blocks of buildings) has been the setting of countless commercials, television shows and feature films, including To Kill A Mockingbird, The Sting, The Blues Brothers and Back to the Future. The shooting location burned in an accidental fire on June 1, 2008; the rebuilt site offers a wealth of creative opportunities for film and television production and an exciting behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood moviemaking for Universal Studios Hollywood theme-park guests. Immediately following the fire, Jim Watters, president and general manager of NBC Universal Operations Group, and Dave Beanes, senior vice-president of NBC Universal Production Services, began assembling a creative team to design the new street. Steven Spielberg offered his support, and he contacted production designer Rick Carter to be a part of the process. Carter collaborated with art director Beala Neel on the initial design concepts and scope of the rebuild, and Neel headed the team of production designers and graphic artists, which eventually expanded to a staff of 25. Based on his own production experience and feedback from filmmakers, Beanes helped guide the core design team. They decided to keep the original east-west main street and add new locations, including a modern New York block with a glass-and-steel look, Paris Square, London Square and Central Park. The overall design concentrated on detail work that would cater to modern filmmaking needs. The façade heights have been increased 10' to 25' for an average height of 40' to 50', providing a realistic urban downtown feel. The new façades also feature unobstructed interior shooting spaces that can be built out, allowing productions to shoot interiors without returning to a soundstage. The width of the main street was narrowed so the camera could capture both sides of the street in the same shot, and long vista shots through archways are now possible, giving added depth to scenes. For chase sequences, cameras can be positioned on the reinforced façade roofs or mounted on a crane to follow the action. The fire escapes are practical and built for use with actors and stunt people. The new Courthouse Square has a fire station large enough to hold a full-sized fire truck, and next door to the fire station is a modular gas station that can be dismantled and stored according to a production’s needs. As an added touch of realism, the manhole covers can emit special-effects steam, and London Square has chimneys rigged for special-effects smoke. Universal Studios partnered with the Los Angeles County Fire and Building & Safety departments to create new guidelines for fire safety in the innovative façades, which now incorporate fully automatic sprinkler systems, a central fire-alarm system, built-in fire separation areas and a separate water supply infrastructure for the hydrants and sprinkler systems. “This is a proud day for Universal Studios,” enthuses Ron Meyer, president and COO of Universal Studios. “The opening of New York Street shows the company’s commitment to film and television production in Los Angeles and to supporting filmmakers worldwide.” Complementing its facilities in New York and North Carolina, EUE/Screen Gems has opened a studio complex with multiple stages and support services minutes away from the Atlanta, Ga., airport. EUE/Screen Gems is undertaking a $6 million renovation of the property, located in the former Lakewood Fairgrounds site. The city of Atlanta agreed to the lease agreement in May, and one of four stages was already fully functional and in use by June. At press time, EUE Screen Gems planned to have four other buildings on the property completely updated by August. The existing buildings offer four stages ranging from 10,000 square feet to 35,000 square feet, plus more than 50,000 square feet for lighting and grip, mill shops and support services. In addition to updating the existing structures, EUE/Screen Gems plans to construct a new 37,500-square-foot soundstage to be ready in March 2011. Current plans for the stage include a mobile, soundproofed wall that can also split the space into two smaller stages if necessary. “Producers, directors and studios came to us and asked us to go into Atlanta,” says Chris Cooney, chief operating officer and co-owner of EUE/Screen Gems. “We chose this site so that producers and directors can book with us immediately. The need is here, and we’re here. “Through our properties in New York City, Wilmington and now Atlanta, we provide coastal, rural and urban settings to our clients, as well as size and infrastructure needed to handle intensive special effects for film, commercial and gaming,” Cooney continues. “This urban location expands our portfolio in a powerful way.” The company was also drawn to Georgia’s 30-percent tax incentive for qualified production and postproduction expenditures. The credit is available not only to traditional motion-picture projects such as features, series, commercials and music videos, but also to industries such as game development and animation. The Visual Effects Society will hold its second annual Production Summit for the greater entertainment industry on Oct. 23 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif. “Production Summit 2010: Navigating Tomorrow’s Business Models” will bring together professionals from all sectors of the entertainment community for a day of conversation and collaboration, with a focus on how to thrive in a rapidly changing global economic and technological entertainment environment. “Our inaugural summit, held last October, proved to be an amazing success by offering a great opportunity to bring together leading creatives for a wide-ranging discussion covering the gamut from previs to building worldwide pipelines,” says Eric Roth, executive director of the VES. “Because industry changes come so rapidly and will likely continue to do so, we decided that bringing key industry stakeholders together annually would be beneficial to everyone.” This year’s summit will include directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, technologists and visual-effects artists internationally acknowledged for their innovative thinking and responsibility for moving the industry into the next decade. Attendees will be encouraged to not only think outside the box, but also to reinvent the business models of tomorrow that will guide the future of the entertainment industry as its technologies, financial challenges, shrinking schedules, globalization and proliferating distribution platforms continue to evolve. “It is of the utmost importance that we focus the entire industry on our collective future,” says VES Board Chair Jeffrey A. Okun. “It is time to work together to ensure that we, as a community, will be here to inform, create and operate within this new future. Now is the time to understand where it is going, to stop thinking of what we used to do, and to look forward and explore how to do it now, well and profitably.” Redrock Micro has introduced the MicroRemote Focus System, an affordable, high-performance, wireless/wired focus-control system designed for use with any camera. Designed for professionals and amateurs alike, the system includes a wireless/wired controller, a base station/receiver, motors and a range finder. The controller features an iPhone/iPod Touch interface for graphic display of focus information to aid precise focusing. The system is compatible with both still photo and cine lenses, and it can be used with third-party motors or with Redrock Torque motors. The MicroRemote also boasts modular functionality, allowing additional components to extend the system for multiple motors, multiple cameras and more. The handheld controller features 2.4ghz production-quality wireless radio, with the option for a tethered connection via an integrated connection port. The controller also boasts an integrated rechargeable battery that concurrently powers an attached iPhone/iPod Touch, plus a D-tap power connection. The ergonomic design fits comfortably in the user’s hand, and the controller accommodates both left- and right-hand orientations. The system can be used to control focus, zoom and iris settings, and the controller also offers users camera start/stop functionality. The MicroRemote iPhone/iPod Touch software, which requires an iPhone or iPod Touch running OS 3.0 or later, offers real-time graphic and numeric display of focus distance and focus scale as well as real-time display of the MicroTape sonar range finder distance. The visual display also shows depth-of-field information based on the lens and settings, plus an “auto focus” setting enabling the MicroTape to directly control focus. The MicroTape real-time range finder offers accurate distance-to-subject display with a 25' range. The metric or imperial distance scale appears on both sides of the MicroTape in high-contrast blue. The MicroTape can be used on its own or in conjunction with the wireless remote, and it is configurable for use off-camera. Supporting both wireless and wired control of the motors, the MicroRemote base station enables both automatic and manual lens calibration and incorporates a universal power port. Additionally, a wired finger controller offers precision single-finger focus adjustment with smooth rotary operation, and it easily attaches to a handgrip for ENG-style operation. After three years of design, development and testing, Tyler Camera Systems has unveiled the MiniGyro camera-stabilizing mount. The handheld MiniGyro supports and stabilizes cameras weighing up to 30 pounds. Weighing 21 pounds, the Tyler MiniGyro can be assembled or disassembled in under a minute. The stabilizer boasts variable-position handles, a quick-release mounting plate and an adjustable tilt head for shooting up or down. Additionally, a uniquely designed progressive shock tube eliminates vibration while supporting the MiniGyro and camera. Designed to work in cramped quarters, the MiniGyro is ideal for shooting in helicopters, planes, cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats. A standard 28 to 30 VDC camera battery powers four brute gyro wheels and the electronics. The MiniGyro system fits into one custom 22-pound carrying case measuring 19"x23"x12" with a total shipping weight of 43 pounds. AJA Video Systems has announced the availability of version 2.0 firmware for the Ki Pro portable digital-video recording device. Ki Pro 2.0 includes RS-422 device control, support for eight-channel embedded audio and support for gang recording with multiple Ki Pro units via the Web interface. The Ki Pro is a portable, rugged, tapeless video-recording device that records high-quality Apple ProRes 422 QuickTime files onto computer-friendly media. Featuring SD/HD-SDI, HDMI and analog inputs, the Ki Pro enables users to interface with virtually any type of camera or video source they may own or rent. Intuitive to operate, the Ki Pro’s familiar VTR-like buttons provide immediate controls for basic operation, and from a distance, users can control the Ki Pro with a laptop or iPhone Web browser via Ethernet or wireless connection. Additionally, AJA has collaborated with Avid to ensure that, via Avid Media Access (AMA) plug-in architecture, the Ki Pro’s ProRes QuickTime files are directly compatible with Avid Media Composer and Symphony systems, allowing users to view, edit and play back the files with access to all clip metadata. “Since Ki Pro delivers pristine 10-bit 4:2:2 image quality, many of our customers have been turning to it as a practical, cost effective alternative to a VTR on set, in the studio and in mobile production environments,” says Nick Rashby, president of AJA Video Systems. “Now with RS-422 device control, Ki Pro can interface to even more devices and workflows via industry standard machine control protocols.” Ki Pro version 2.0 firmware is available as a free software download to all Ki Pro customers. Lightcraft Technology and Mo-Sys, who have independently developed affordable solutions to simplify the tracking and visualization of complex visual-effects shots, have announced they will combine their product offerings in order to provide a full range of virtual-production tools for the entertainment industry. The companies have entered into a joint distribution agreement to sell each other’s products as well as their own in their respective regions, thereby supplying their customers with a single source for complete optical and encoded tracking and on-set visualization systems. Lightcraft Technology builds the Previzion virtual studio system, which combines real-time photorealistic 3-D rendering, keying, lens tracking, compositing, metadata recording and camera tracking; the camera tracking works with either the inertial/optical combination of Lightcraft’s Airtrack precision gyro and Intersense’s IS1200, or with Mo-Sys encoded camera supports. Among Mo-Sys’ offerings is the 3D Inserter, offering fast and flexible live previsualization and data logging of camera moves on a virtual set. In addition to its own products, Mo-Sys will now distribute Lightcraft’s Previzion system in Europe, while Lightcraft will distribute Mo-Sys’ 3D Inserter, Motion Logger and full range of encoded camera heads and cranes in the Americas. Eliot Mack, CEO of Lightcraft Technology, notes, “It is rare to find a company to work with that has Mo-Sys’ combination of technical expertise, vision and innovation. We are excited about the potential that this relationship will provide us and our customers as we expand the use of virtual production tools worldwide.” Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys, adds, “We are impressed with the competence and innovative spirit at Lightcraft. The collaboration brings together a unique and powerful complimentary chain of tools for next-generation filmmaking and ensures both stay at the forefront of developments to come.” Gamma & Density has announced that its 3cP on-set color-correction system for cinematographers has been extended for use during the pre-post and post phases of a production. The enhanced 3cP Set + Post system allows for even more creative freedom for contemporary image makers while maintaining the predictable, consistent results 3cP has become known for. 3cP Set + Post includes a variety of new and improved tools for data management, color correction and previsualization. When used in conjunction with Blackmagic Design’s HDLinkPro, the software-based system allows cinematographers and digital-imaging technicians to color-correct a live HD-SDI stream in real time. Furthermore, color-corrected dailies created by 3cP Set + Post can be targeted for viewing on such devices as iPads and iPhones and can be produced in Apple ProRes and Avid formats. 3cP Set + Post also adds the ability to work with Red’s Mysterium-X sensor, accessing and decoding the data directly from its raw format to ensure the highest quality imagery. To further aid this task, Gamma & Density has added Red Mysterium-X tungsten and daylight color charts to its chart family, which already included Rec 709 and film charts. Additional features of 3cP Set + Post include expanded support for the DaVinci/Blackmagic Design Resolve color corrector, an ability to previsualize lighting, support for generating Nucoda-style 3-D LUTs, enhanced P2 file handling, support for anamorphic and 3-D imagery, and more. Calibrated Software has expanded its Calibrated{Q} family of QuickTime components with the introduction of Calibrated{Q} AVC-Intra Decode, a QuickTime decode codec that expands AVC-Intra-based postproduction by providing an easy and high-quality way to independently work with and view AVC-Intra files. The software speeds sharing, distribution and review of AVC-Intra files by allowing users to skip time-consuming conversion steps and tailor viewing immediately and specifically to their setup, regardless of platform and without having an editing application installed. AVC-Intra is an advanced 10-bit video compression technology developed by Panasonic for cameras in the company’s professional P2 product line. Calibrated{Q} AVC-Intra Decode streamlines the use of AVC-Intra material by letting users share, view and work with AVC-Intra MOV files in QuickTime Player and other applications that support QuickTime directly on their Mac or PC systems with up to full 10-bit color depth and without requiring additional software, such as Final Cut Pro. AVC-Intra Decode also enables cross-platform, standalone playback and use of P2 AVC-Intra MXF files in QuickTime Player or Square Box Systems’ CatDV asset-management software when used in tandem with Calibrated{Q} MXF Import. “We are excited by the development of products like Calibrated{Q} AVC-Intra Decode that extend the quality, flexibility and efficiency of AVC-Intra media into the postproduction process and provide customers with a comprehensive range of options for working with AVC-Intra files,” says Michael Bergeron of Media & Production Services, Panasonic Solutions Company. “Calibrated Software is an important provider of workflow tools for the broadcast and film industry and we are pleased to be welcoming the company as an official new member in the Panasonic P2 Partner Alliance.” Greg Booth, president of Calibrated Software, adds, “As advancements in image formats continue to evolve, Calibrated Software is committed to delivering accessible tools that map today’s changing workflows and can be easily installed onto a user’s Mac or PC to help them see and work with their material as directly and immediately as possible. Many broadcasters and postproduction facilities are adopting a Panasonic AVC-Intra workflow, and Calibrated{Q} AVC-Intra Decode was created to facilitate rapid viewing and review of AVC-Intra material at up to full 10-bit quality and according to the end user’s specific platforms and needs.” Version 1.0 of Calibrated{Q} AVC-Intra Decode for Macintosh OS X 10.5/10.6 (Intel only) and Windows 7/Vista/XP is now available. Red Giant Software has introduced Magic Bullet Grinder for converting DSLR video to edit-friendly formats, enabling smooth playback and faster rendering. With Magic Bullet Grinder, Final Cut Pro users now have a fast way to get DSLR footage from video-capable Canon DSLR cameras into their timeline for editing, add time code and generate proxies all in a single time-saving pass. Batch processing and multi-threading make for fast and painless conversion, allowing editing to begin even on location. Magic Bullet Grinder supports all video-capable Canon DSLRs, with additional format support coming soon. The software tool converts to ProRes, Standard, ProRes Proxy and PhotoJPEG formats, complete with a time-code track. The batch-processing feature supports multi-threaded systems to ensure fast, glitch-free operation; users working with eight cores can convert eight files at once. Magic Bullet Grinder also adds file-name and time-code information directly to proxies and converts 30p and 60p media for quick 24p slow-motion effects. Magic Bullet Grinder is available for $49. Light Illusion has released LightSpace CMS, a fully featured color-management system. The system is a continued development of Light Illusion’s widely adopted LUT Manager display and calibration software. LightSpace CMS brings major calibration enhancements to users, with full display and film-profiling capabilities, as well as the automatic generation of calibration LUTs from the various profiles generated. Improving on Light Illusion’s 3D LUT Manager, LightSpace CMS makes it much easier to implement total color management facility wide for DI, visual effects, grading, animation, games or exhibition using any direct display or projection-monitoring system. LightSpace CMS is not only suitable for visualizing film images on digital displays, but also for directly matching different displays, allowing operators, colorists, supervisors, cinematographers and directors to see a matched final look at every point in the digital post chain. .” LightSpace CMS brings together a range of tools and capabilities that go far further than simple LUT building, with options that provide for full underlying color management, display profiling, profile matching (auto-LUT generation), direct profile and LUT transformation, calibration visualization and display comparison, color-space conversion, and even batch image processing with multiple image parameter controls. LightSpace CMS enables customers to accurately measure all displays to fully manage the color pipeline, regardless of the technology being used. A wide and growing range of measuring probes can be used, including X-Rite Hubble, Klein K-10, i1 Pro, i1 Display 2, i1 Display 1, i1 Display LT and ColorMunki. LightSpace CMS can be purchased as a fully configured package, or via option components allowing customers to build their color-management tools as their requirements grow. Raising the bar on format flexibility, openness and speed, Avid has introduced the Media Composer v5, NewsCutter v9 and Symphony v5 editing systems. New features include native support for popular formats such as Red, QuickTime and Canon XF; support for Matrox MX02 Mini monitoring hardware, a low-cost external monitoring solution enabling field editing and simplified client screening sessions; HD-RGB finishing capabilities, allowing customers to keep high-end finishing in-house; multi-channel audio support; and an array of interface enhancements. Avid Media Access enhances productivity by supporting the most popular file-based formats and eliminating the need for customers to transcode, re-wrap, log and transfer media. In addition to supporting Red .R3D, QuickTime and Canon XF files, the updated editing systems also support the AVCHD format as well as XDCam proxies, the latter offering access to proxy video and high-quality audio files, enabling customers to make more informed creative decisions in the offline edit and easily link back to full-resolution XDCam clips to complete projects. The enhanced user interface in Media Composer, NewsCutter and Symphony offers a new timeline Smart Tool, featuring drag-and-drop audio and video elements as well as editing and trimming features for direct manipulation of clips in the timeline, providing customers with more choices in the way they work. Media 100, a provider of advanced editing systems for the corporate, broadcast, postproduction and new-media industries, has announced the availability of Media 100 Suite Version 1.6. Version 1.6 supports Calibrated Software’s Calibrated{Q} MXF Import, AVC-Intra Decode and DVCProHD Decode products, allowing Media 100 Suite editors to directly open MXF files, import and play back AVC-Intra media, and play back media created in the DVCProHD codec. Version 1.6 also includes Boris XML Transfer Version 2 for Media 100 Suite, giving users the ability to export Media 100 Suite timelines to Adobe After Effects CS5. Additional features of Version 1.6 include a new intelligent folder import option, which recognizes certain file and folder patterns (such as the Panasonic P2 folder pattern that commonly holds AVC-Intra media) and selectively imports files from those folders, and faster rendering of multi-layer Boris Red filters. Media 100 Suite Version 1.6 is available through the Media 100 worldwide reseller channel and direct from the Media 100 website for a recommended price of $1,295.

Purpose To help the children choose to serve the Lord. Preparation - 1. Prayerfully study: - • Deuteronomy 34:9—Joshua is ordained by Moses to be the prophet and leader of Israel. - • Joshua 1:1–3, 5–11—The Lord tells Joshua to take possession of the promised land. - • Joshua 1:16–18—Joshua is commanded to have courage. - • Joshua 2:1–24—Joshua sends spies to Jericho, where Rahab protects them. They promise to save Rahab and her household. - • Joshua 3:6–17; 4:13–18—The Israelites cross the Jordan on dry ground. - • Joshua 6:1–25—The walls of Jericho fall and the city is destroyed; only Rahab and her household are saved. - • Joshua 24:14–15, 24, 31—Joshua and his people covenant to serve. A blindfold. - d. Pictures 6-29, Joshua Taking Jericho, and 6-30, Moses Ordaining Joshua. Suggested Lesson Development Invite a child to give the opening prayer. Attention Activity Tell the children of a group of people who went on a tour of a dimly lit cave. When the people were deep in the heart of the cave, the lights were turned off. The guide told them not to panic; he was just demonstrating total darkness. Before the guide turned the lights back on, he asked the people to point in the direction they would go to leave the cave and keep pointing until they could see again. When the lights were turned back on, everyone was pointing in a different direction. They had lost their way in the dark. Ask for a volunteer to be blindfolded so you can demonstrate how easy it is to lose our way in the dark (have the child close his or her eyes to block out any light that might get through the blindfold). Ask the children to be very quiet. Turn the blindfolded child around several times, and walk him or her around the room a few steps. Before you remove the blindfold, have the child try to point to his or her chair. Ask the children if they would like to live in total darkness. Explain that the kind of light you have been talking about during this activity is physical light, but even more important is spiritual light. Have the children read John 8:12 and 1 Nephi 12:17. Explain that if we choose to follow Jesus, we will live in the light, but if we choose to follow Satan, we will be in spiritual darkness. Ask the children to listen to the account of Joshua to see whom he chose to follow. Scripture Account Teach the children the account of Joshua leading the children of Israel into the promised land as found Lord promise Joshua as Joshua prepared to enter the promised land? (Joshua 1:5.) What was Joshua to do to receive help from the Lord? (Joshua 1:7–8; explain that the book of the law is the scriptures.) What was Joshua told to do with the scriptures? (Joshua 1:8.) How does this counsel apply to us today? - • Before the children of Israel entered the promised land, Joshua was asked to be strong and courageous four times (see Joshua 1:6–7, 9, 18). Why do you think he would need to be strong and have courage at that particular time? Why do we need to be spiritually strong and courageous today? - • How did Rahab help the two spies who were sent by Joshua? (Joshua 2:4–6, 15–16.) What favor did Rahab ask of the spies? (Joshua 2:12–13.) What did Rahab say that showed she believed in the God of Israel? (Joshua 2:11.) Point out to the children that Rahab joined the Israelites after Jericho was destroyed. Both Paul and James wrote about her (see Hebrews 11:31; James 2:24–25). - • What did the Lord do to show the children of Israel that he was with Joshua just as he had been with Moses? (Joshua 3:7–8, 15–17; explain that the ark of the covenant was a portable altar that contained sacred writings, including Moses’ writings and the tablets containing the Ten Commandments.) Why is it important for us to follow the living prophet? - • What did the priests have to do before the waters of the Jordan parted? (Joshua 3:13, 15–17.) How do you think the priests felt walking toward the overflowing river carrying the ark of the covenant? How can we follow the example of the priests in our lives? Help the children understand that sometimes we must obey even when it looks as though we are not being blessed. The blessings come after the test of our faith and obedience. - • How did the Israelites take control of Jericho? (Joshua 6:11–16, 20; see enrichment activity 1.) How do you think the people of Jericho felt as they watched the Israelites march around their city day after day? Emphasize that the walls of the city fell because of the power of the Lord and the faith and obedience of the Israelites. What do you think would have happened if the Israelites had not chosen to do things the Lord’s way? - • What did Joshua do before he asked the people to choose whom they would serve? (Explain that as the prophet he set an example for the children of Israel to follow.) When Joshua asked the children of Israel to choose whom they would serve, what was their choice? (Joshua 24:15, 24, 31.) How can we serve the Lord? (By having faith in our Church leaders and following their words.) President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Loyalty to the Lord also includes loyalty to those leaders he has chosen” (“Give the Lord Your Loyalty,” Ensign, Mar. 1980, p. 4). Why can’t we serve the Lord and Satan at the same time? (See enrichment activity 2.) - • Why is it important that we make a choice now to follow the Lord? (See enrichment activity 3.) Enrichment Activities You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge. - 1. Draw simple figures, similar to the following, on the chalkboard to illustrate the events of the Israelites taking the city of Jericho as you tell the story: - 2. Without the other children hearing your instructions, ask two children to pantomime movers lifting a very large, heavy object. Have the two children stand three feet (one meter) apart facing each other. They then should pretend to lift the object, try to simultaneously move it toward each other, but be unable to make any progress forward or backward. As the children are pantomiming, tell the class that two movers struggled for several minutes one day trying to move a heavy object through a doorway. Finally, exhausted, the movers gave up. One mover said, “I’ve used all my energy, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get this thing inside the door.” “Inside the door?” said the other. “I thought we were trying to move it out the door!” Explain that it is impossible to go two directions at the same time. We have to choose which direction to go. Ask the children why it is not possible to follow both Jesus and Satan at the same time. (See Matthew 6:24; Alma 5:38–40.) - 3. Help the children memorize the following scripture: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). - 4. Before class make a copy of the following wordstrips and tape them under the children’s chairs: The Holy Ghost stays with us. The Holy Ghost leaves us. We gain faith. We lose faith. We are more able to resist temptation. We are less able to resist temptation. We gain spiritual blessings. We lose spiritual blessings. We find happiness. We find misery. Write the following headings on a chart or chalkboard: Results of Following Jesus Christ Results of Following Satan Have the children find the wordstrips and put them under the correct heading. Explain that if we choose to serve the Lord now, we can avoid much pain and sorrow and we receive greater happiness. A latter-day prophet has told us that Satan loves it when we are discouraged and hesitant to make decisions because it is easier for him to tempt us. The prophet said, “If you have not done so yet, decide to decide!” (Spencer W. Kimball, in Conference Report, Apr. 1976, p. 70; or Ensign, May 1976, p. 46). - 5. Discuss and memorize the eleventh article of faith. Point out that Heavenly Father gives us our agency in everything, including the choice of whom we will worship. We know that all of the Lord’s children can worship as they please, but through the scriptures and our prophets, we know that the right choice is to worship God. - 6. Sing or read the words to “Can a Little Child like Me?” (Children’s Songbook, p. 9), “Seek the Lord Early” (Children’s Songbook, p. 108), or “Choose the Right Way” (Children’s Songbook, p. 160). Conclusion Testimony You may want to testify that only as we serve the Lord will we find true and eternal happiness. Repeat as a class the following in unison: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Suggested Family Sharing Encourage the children to share with their families a specific part of the lesson, such as a story, question, or activity, or to read with their families the “Suggested Home Reading.” Suggested Home Reading Suggest that the children study Joshua 3:13–17, 6:1–5, and Joshua 24:15 at home as a review of this lesson. Invite a child to give the closing prayer. Official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Chris A -- first impressions Article posted September 12, 2012 at 05:36 PM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 1262 Cleo B -- Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:46 PM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 284 It has been a while since I've attended school and it is refreshing to be back in the solace of pen, paper and homework. I have to admit that everything is vastly different from the kind of school I am accustomed to, not just beacause it is an adult school but things work differently from the Philippines. Back in my home country school starts at 7 in the morning and ends half past 4 in the afternoon, which is clearly not the same case here in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The structures and buildings are different too, it is more modern and well built, which is a nice environment for learning. Truthfully I was nervous during the first day of class. I was anxious to meet my classmates but they are a nice lot and now I found myself comfortable around them. I imagined my teacher to be strict and and someone who plays by the book but upon meeting Jody I honestly thinking that she is cool and very helpful. So far the lessons that we have covered got the gears in my head turning again. The topics are considered to be refreshers since those were already taught in high school. I am looking forward for more writing assignments, especially the the lyrical one stated in the course outline. One must be determined in order to pass. I will set my priorities straight and focus. I must attend every class so that I won't miss anything and by not missing anything I won't have a hard time in catching up. I will pay attention to the lessons and actively participate in class, that way the piece of information will be retained in my mind. Taking down notes is helpful and will save me the trouble when studying alone. It will also keep things organized. I shall change my ways and never procrastinate. If a task is given I should carefully go through it and don't waste my time in idle thinking. Completing homework and making sure it is done before it is due is a good practice as well. Hopefully I'll follow through the things I have listed and acquire enough credits and be a successful student. It is better late than never. Becca C -- Blog #1 Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:52 PM GMT • comment • Reads 301 My first immpressions of this class was how diverse it was. It's a big change than from what I am used to from highschool but I knew what to expect. The school is very small but I like it in a way. Its easier to get to know people and easier to learn. So far I find the work we are doing in class rather easy. Probably becuase english is one of my stonger subjects and I have already completed a grade 12 english course. So far the course outline seems to be intersting. I am looking forward to the research project mostly. This semester I plan to come to every class to ensure that I succeed. My biggest problem in the past was attendence. Also, handing in all of my homework and assignments to ensure I receive the highest marks possible. The higher my marks the better chances I have for being accepted into the University Of Winnipeg. Jennifer C -- Blog #1 Article posted September 13, 2012 at 03:17 PM GMT • comment • Reads 278 Adam G -- Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:58 PM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 255 Derek M -- Blog #1: A breath of fresh air. Article posted September 12, 2012 at 04:30 PM GMT • comment • Reads 272 John M -- Blog #1 Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:45 PM GMT • comment • Reads 303 James N -- Blog 1 Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:47 PM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 271 Christina P -- First Impressions Article posted September 18, 2012 at 08:54 PM GMT • comment • Reads 307 Having been in and out of school for 10 years I would have to say my best experience so far has been with RETSD. I didn't know what to expect on my first day of school. I like that it's small so you don't have to compete too much for help. I especially like the fact that the teachers actually help you. At JobWorks the English teacher didn't help me much. English certainly isn't my strong point. I enjoy writing but I have a hard time puttung pen to paper. Attending class four mornings a week instead of two I've noticed the class moves at a faster pace. Hopefully I can get most of my assignments completed before the end of the course. There are always bumps along the road to success. In the past I have given up my studies because of work or illness due to my pregnancy. This year I plan to strive to achieve my diploma in June. With finances being tough and having a little one to care for at home that hasn't detered me from completing my assignments. Yes, they may be late but they will be handed in. Tim R -- blog 1 Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:39 PM GMT • comment • Reads 265 i like this class you are an awsome teacher.i like mcleode a lot more as a school.This one seems a little more ghetto but a lot smaller the class seems younger than last year i feel old but whatever.the work is the same some is fun some not so much.but all in all this will be a good semester.I hope to pass with a better mark than last year.I can do it just have to work harder.Up for the challenge.It will be good and i will enjoy myself thanks Soryda S -- Blog #1 Article posted September 17, 2012 at 05:31 PM GMT • comment • Reads 275 My first impression of this, I thought "yay!! the computer room!!" I say that because we can have our own space in a way instead of awkardly starring at each other, plus we can go on the computer...of course. I was surprised there was actually alot of students despite there was barely any last year when I attended here at the Center. My classmates ALL seem to be nice and smart! I know this because Jody had us in group discussions so that gave a me a better chance to get to know them. And as for Jody, she`s a great teacher just how most of her old students told me she was. I like the way she teaches. So far we learned about editing and revising our work, writing variables and reading strategies. Though this course is very fast paced I feel like at the same time I've learned alot. For me to succeed in this class, I think attendance is important and most importantly is to understand what is being taught to us so it makes are assignments and homework easier to do. Aaron S -- First Day Article posted September 25, 2012 at 03:06 PM GMT • comment • Reads 222 My first impreshion was that this was not your average school, classroom and bathroom location. The first day went really well though, all the other students seem really nise and all have a common goal to better their lifes. In order for me to be a succesful student I will have to apply myself and complete all assingments. Also I will have to do a better job of completing my blogs! Stephanie C -- First Impressions Article posted September 13, 2012 at 05:57 PM GMT • comment • Reads 296 Colin A -- Blog #1 Article posted October 15, 2012 at 04:17 AM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 225 My first impression of of the class is being very quiet. I was worried of being judged, because I was worried that I was not smart enough. My concern was that the classmates might make fun of me. My other impressions were how many students were and what ages groups there were . I wondered if the other students were nervous and excited like myself. I noticed a few other students sitting at the front with me on the first day. Francis B -- Blog #1 Article posted September 19, 2012 at 09:36 PM GMT • comment • Reads 277 Kayla B -- Blog 1 Article posted September 19, 2012 at 09:25 PM GMT • comment • Reads 273 I like this class. I find it's a very easy going envoriment,we go at a good pace. I like my classmates luckily they're all easy going and a funny group. I like that class kind of down sized because it's eaiser for us to get one on one. Our teachers cool and easy going. I am not worried when i have to ask her for en extention on my work. she also makes sure that everyones in the same spot or close to,which makes it easier not to fall behind. I am trying my hardest to keep up with the work and handing things in on time. I think if i just show up and do my best I'll be successful in this class. I've learned to ask for help or ask questions if I am not understanding something. My C -- first impression Article posted September 24, 2012 at 08:50 PM GMT • comment • Reads 246 Brandy D -- blog #1 Article posted September 24, 2012 at 08:39 PM GMT • comment • Reads 228 Part one - My first impression was that I thought that it would be easier then math. I guess I was wrong! The way I see it now being back in school these passed few weeks is that there is much more thinking involved. The room and building is easier to settle into due to the small classes. My classmates are very entertaining for the most part,They also can be alittle distracting when I am quietly working and deep in though. I like that the teachers they are more hands on help. While i was in high school i didn't get the kind of support and help that I do get here.I am very grateful for that.Helps me understand more of what I am learning. Part 2 - I will try my best to attend my classes and do all the work that is being asked to do. I will ask for help when and if I need to. I will be more of a class participant. I hope to work on my social skills and not shy away from involving myself in class discussions. Shirley M -- Blog #1 Article posted September 19, 2012 at 09:35 PM GMT • comment • Reads 248 This being my first time here, I was pleasantly surprised. The building is smaller and very comfortable with up to date equipment. The smaller classes makes for more one on one help with the teachers. Since I have been out of school for so long, I'm finding it a complete change of pace. With having only two subjects at this time, I'm not being over whelmed. The other students are so much younger but nice and understanding of someone so much older than them trying to learn the same stuff they are. I enjoy the comments and joking around they do to lighten the mood when needed. The teachers are very understanding and helpful with all the questions being asked.. Since I want my Gr.12 diploma I am going to try to do everything required of me and learn. I will try to show up for every class, on time and be prepared with assignments completed to the best of my ability. Matt M -- Blog #1 :) Article posted September 19, 2012 at 09:26 PM GMT • comment • Reads 305 Tyrah B -- First Impressions Article posted September 19, 2012 at 09:27 PM GMT • comment • Reads 289 When I walked in I knew it was gonna be different than highschool. The other school I went to was like this but it was indepandent. I like how you have more class time to do an assignment and the smaller classes. This is the most fun and worry free for school that i have been. I like that the location of the building is close and is in Transcona. I enjoy the work that we do its very easy. The teachers are awsome my favorite to be honest would be english its more relaxed. This semester I'm going to attend school everyday unless there is an emergancy. I will do my work and hand it in. I have a tendacy of forgetting to hand in my work so I'll have to be reminded. I will do my assignments to the best of abilty that I can. Kris C -- blog #1 Article posted September 19, 2012 at 09:25 PM GMT • comment • Reads 305 James A -- Article posted October 23, 2012 at 06:33 PM GMT • comment • Reads 146 Kayla A -- kayla arbeau Article posted September 25, 2012 at 07:55 PM GMT • comment • Reads 254 Margaret B -- Blog #1 Article posted October 1, 2012 at 02:24 AM GMT • comment • Reads 227 Adam B -- First Impressions Article posted November 3, 2012 at 08:40 AM GMT • comment (2) • Reads 191 Ryan M -- assignment 1 Article posted September 25, 2012 at 08:15 PM GMT • comment • Reads 275 I like the way adult classes are conducted as oppose to how high school was. This is my second time here except I didn't go past a week the first time. The work seems pretty straight forward so far and I can only expect the work to be building on the skills. I like that the teachers aren't too anal about the assignments and are understanding towards outside variables & the fact that not everyone goes at the same pace. The smaller building makes it much easier to find your way around which is always nice, KE was very confusing and Miles Mac was untill I went there for a while. My class seems good so far, everyone is nice and friendly which makes going back to school easier. I just have to force myself to stick to it, try not to miss any classes and not get behind in work and I think I'll be able to succeed. Supria C -- Article posted September 25, 2012 at 08:17 PM GMT • comment • Reads 213 Daniel E -- First Impressions Article posted September 25, 2012 at 07:30 PM GMT • comment • Reads 231 Brittany F -- First Impressions . . . Article posted September 25, 2012 at 08:07 PM GMT • comment • Reads 240 This is the first time I have taken classes at this school, and the first time I have been an adult student. I was really surprised when I showed up to our English class for the first time a few weeks ago; I couldn’t believe how big our classroom was. I remember years ago when this school was an elementary school and did not except the building to be the way it is. A few days ago I was actually talking with mom about the building because I was wondering if there was a gym here and where would it be? At first I’ll admit that I was not looking forward to doing blogs one bit, none of my other teachers that I’ve had throughout my life have ever done anything like this. After the test blog we did I’m a lot more open to the concept. This semester I will try my best to not fall behind in the assignments given. In high school it was too easy to fall behind and not care enough to get caught back up. I chose to be an adult student, so I know because it’s my choice I will put much more effort into the course. So far I really like the teacher style that Jody has and the twists she has on here assignments. For example our last assignment we were able to choose the article we wanted to work with rather than given one that might not interest us. I continue to look forward to the rest of the course and the work included. Shakila G -- blog #1 Article posted January 6, 2013 at 06:53 PM GMT • comment • Reads 76 Loammy G -- Blog #1 Article posted October 4, 2012 at 02:11 AM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 264 Alright, well my honest first impression of this class (and I’m going to be brutally honest here) was that I hate it. I, with a burning passion hate English because of the amount of writing. Worst of all opinion writing, I’ve always thought “why should I write about my opinion when my opinion doesn’t matter?” Lucky for Jody, who my first impression was that she looks incredibly cool for an English teacher, my first opinion of the English class was wrong. Everyone in the class seems like decent people who are there with honest intentions which I greatly appreciate and the work isn’t immensely difficult. Writing is by far not a skill I possess and I truly miss novel studies but my gut tells me I can accomplish this. I can succeed in the subject that I’ve failed a number of times. It’s quite baffling to me that only two years of being out of school has made such a difference in moral when it comes to education. I’m not sitting in this class because I have to, I want to be here. This time will be different from the other three times I’ve attempted to get my diploma; yes three times I have dropped out. No more of that however, I’m going to complete this class if it kills me. Even if I have to cut my hours at work, I will prioritize my education and respect what it can do for my future. My ass will be in that chair every class, and assignments will be completed. They may not be on time but that something I have to work on. This is a goal I am determined to accomplish, and ill do anything to achieve it. Joseph H -- Question! Tell Me What You Think About Me? Article posted October 4, 2012 at 09:31 AM GMT • comment • Reads 303 ^ That isn’t a question, it’s an imperative statement. Sometimes, first impressions lead to misconceptions. Anyway. 1) ‘Tis been nearly half a decade since I last set foot in a classroom, and I’m genuinely happy to be back. I suppose that speaks volumes of my altered state of mind. If you study the principles of learning, which interest me (along with the psychological concept of “flow”), you’ll find that one must be inclined to learn in order to do so. Now, you’re probably thinking, “nah, ya think?” It’s like saying, “you have to want to make a purchase before you fist over the cash.” Granted, this is all rather eye-rollingly obvious, but my point is, it explains the innumerable droves of tykes in schools today who are blatantly uninterested in anything but recess, how fast a clock’s hands move, and the looming weekend’s sleepover. Like them, I once saw little to no value in being all but forced into congregating like sheep in a room with bad chairs and appalling decor to be educated in things I knew I’d never remember anyway, things I didn’t give a hoot about. Thus, any attempts anyone made at teaching me in this frame of mind were utterly fruitless, and so I was simply wasting everyone’s time and money, including my own, which, to be honest, I think is pretty funny, although I’m aware that I shouldn’t, but I don’t care. You can easily guess what ended up happening. There is a time for departure, even when there is no certain place to go, but I basically vanished from the scholastic milieu on a whim. Um, well, it was more like the expedient path to spare my sanity… Okay, now, that’s cryptic, but it’s a sleep-inducing tale I’m sure you’ve no interest in whatsoever. Since then, I’ve come to realise that the pursuit of knowledge is an unabashed declaration of ignorance, which the spirit of inquiry haunts. In other words, because I venture a guess that you have no idea what the hell I’m talking about at this point, I’m much more interested in learning these days because of my seemingly insatiable, mostly selfish, desire for knowledge. This school’s environment seems far more hospitable than... uh, other...ones. Haha, don’t wanna go naming names now. In particular, the people, lack of stairs and eyeball-explodingly aggravating dissonance are things I really like. The small yet efficient space and horseshoe construction in which everything is just a walk around the corner away is great. I used to loathe how getting from one class to another in-between periods in high school was like a flippin’ hiker’s commute. Also, those touch screen Smart Board thingies in, like, every room are pretty damn swish. More money to spend due to the smaller space? I dunno. I think my peers are actually pretty cool people, and given my general dislike of humanity, you can take that as a compliment. :3 I’ve always felt that the best teachers would be people who didn’t like school in their youth, because they’d know what I couldn’t care less about, and be able to teach us, y’know, right; Jody is a living example of this, and I’m happy to know teachers like her even exist. In my experience, you’d either get some snooty cur who took themselves too seriously, or a cloudcuckoolander who was completely out of touch with reality. Here we have a teacher who likes Coca-Cola and omggoodmusic (:’D) who apparently didn’t blacklist me after I wrote her an entire paragraph about how I feel like one of the Angry Birds when dealing with people I deem stupid. So she’s obviously got a good sense of humour. Which I think more teachers need. Desperately. Speaking of the autobiography, it was slightly challenging for me to write, because, well, I’m not a narcissist. I obviously enjoy writing, just... not about myself. EVER. There’s great irony in the fact that we’ve all decided to be here ourselves, and thus are more focused, determined, and motivated than we ever were in our teens, and yet, the most laid-back, easy going mellow vibe permeates our days. That’s probably one of the best things about being here, really. 2) You need something in order to gain something. I require nothing to succeed except my strong desire to do so. I don’t have time to be defeated. Nazefa I -- My First Impression Article posted October 1, 2012 at 10:05 PM GMT • comment (1) • Reads 241 Nick S -- Test Blog #1 Article posted September 25, 2012 at 07:46 PM GMT • comment • Reads 248 Shaun L -- First Impressions Article posted September 25, 2012 at 07:57 PM GMT • comment • Reads 253 This is my first time here at Mcleod education center. I went to Transcona for about a month when I was 19. This school is a pretty good size, the classrooms are kind of small for the amount of students they have in them. Mostly everybody is friendly. Jody is a good teacher she explains things very well so that I think everybody understands. I’m not to fond of the work we have done or are going to do but English is not my favourite subject. My first impressions of this class was man I don’t like English but its not as bad as I remember. To ensure I succeed as an adult student I’m going to try and make it to every class so I know whats going on. I’m going to apply myself to my work especially English as that is my weakest subject. I will ask questions when I need help instead of being quiet. Most importantly though im just going to succeed because its something I want to do for myself. Alicia M -- blog #2 Article posted November 21, 2012 at 02:58 AM GMT • comment • Reads 168 Crystal M -- My First Impression Article posted September 25, 2012 at 07:46 PM GMT • comment • Reads 274 Theresa P -- blog 1 Article posted September 25, 2012 at 08:17 PM GMT • comment • Reads 254 Matthias S -- First Impression Article posted September 25, 2012 at 07:46 PM GMT • comment • Reads 228 Stephanie S -- blog one Andrew S -- First impressions aren't everything. Article posted October 23, 2012 at 10:28 PM GMT • comment • Reads 174 Paula S -- Blog# 1 Article posted December 6, 2012 at 05:20 AM GMT • comment • Reads 112 Angelika S -- First Blog... Article posted September 25, 2012 at 08:16 PM GMT • comment • Reads 264 Conditions of Use

BN Skin Deep Series is a 3 piece series which aims to provide an intimate account into the lives of people with various skin conditions (Vitiligo, Psoriasis and Albinism). The aim of this series is to create awareness of these conditions and help people both understand and appreciate the realities of living with these skin conditions. The final part on Albinism will be published next weekMy name is Glory Edozien and I have a skin condition called Psoriasis. I wasn’t born with it. It just appeared one morning on my skin like a bad rash. At first I thought nothing of it until the rashes started to join together and began forming huge scaly scab-like features on my skin. At one point the itching got so bad, I had to start taking sleeping medication as nothing else could help. I was mortified and scared. This happened when I was 22 years old. Up until then I had perfect skin. Perfect like Joy Girl kind of skin. People would stop me on the road to ask me what cream I used and would be very disappointed when I told them I had no specific skin care routine. I remember one of my cousins would get so frustrated with me because I never needed to use any kind of foundation. All I needed for a night out was white powder and eye liner and I was set. Today it is a different story. Different because there is hardly any part of my skin that isn’t covered with some form of rash or scar from the aftermath of Psoriasis. The transition from perfect skin to what I am today hasn’t been entirely easy. What is Psoriasis? Although not contagious, Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. In other words instead of your skin to shed off dead skin cells in the normal cycle of 28-30days, with Psoriasis patients it takes only 3 to 4 days for skin to mature and instead of falling off (shedding), the cells pile up on the surface of the skin, forming psoriasis lesions. As with many skin disorders, the direct cause of Psoriasis isn’t known. However Scientists believe that people inherit the genes which create a predisposition to psoriasis, but not everyone who inherits the gene is likely to develop the disease. Researchers also believe that for a person to develop psoriasis, the individual must have a combination of the genes that cause psoriasis and be exposed to specific external factors known as “triggers.” These triggers can be anything from stress, injury to skin, certain forms of medication and infections. Types of Psoriasis There are five types of psoriasis: Plaque Psoriasis Guttate Psoriasis Other forms of Psoriasis include inverse, pustular and erythrodermic. The most common form, plaque psoriasis, appears as raised, red patches covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells, (scale). Psoriasis can occur on any part of the body and is associated with other serious health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and depression. As well as the typical skin forms of Psoriasis I also have scalp psoriasis. This I’ve had from quite a young age but I always thought it was severe dandruff. No matter how many times I washed my hair, it would be full of dandruff in only a matter of days. I remember my parents being so frustrated, they chopped off all my hair hoping that the time between the old and new hair growth would give my scalp time to breathe, thus eliminating the dandruff. They were wrong. The flakes grew as each inch of my hair grew back. The sad part was when ever people saw me they thought “why is this girl so dirty, “can’t she wash her hair”. I got tired of explaining that I had only come out of the salon 3 days ago. One time when I was in secondary school, all my class mates concluded that I must have some sort of fungus growing on my scalp. So they would carry their mattresses outside to sun dry it, if I ever sat on their beds or get very angry if I as much as touched their belongings. Today I look back at it all with a smile. I am not angry. If anything those experiences made me the woman I am today. Strong and confident. Besides, we were all kids back then acting out of ignorance. Living with Psoriasis I think for me the hardest part of it all was coping with the self esteem. People staring at you all the time or not wanting to sit near you for fear of ‘catching’ anything, it was really quite difficult. Even having a simple sleepover at a friend’s house could keep me awake for days. I would keep on thinking how would I explain to them about my skin, hoping they wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Even having a boyfriend was an issue. Because I felt no guy would ever want to date someone with this kind of disorder. But I don’t bother myself with all that heartache now. Another hard part is the amount of drugs and creams one has to try. With Psoriasis there isn’t any known cure (yet) and what works for one patient might not work for another. So you have to find out what therapy works best to control the skin replication process. Sometimes I feel especially sad for my dear mother. The amount of traditional/home made remedies she has had to buy for me. At one point I had to tell her to stop. I started feeling like a lab rat going through various drug trials. Today I have found a drug/cream regime that helps me manage the condition effectively. However, people still stop me on the road to tell me of some miracle cream that can ‘cure’ me. I just smile and say ‘thank you’. Today I am who I am and I am unbelievably happy in my own skin. I know God does not give us more than we can bear. For some reason, He knows I can handle this particular trial. Without a doubt, this skin disorder has made me learn the hard way how to grow, through much difficulty, into a confident woman. I know who I am and I love myself without reserve. No one on this planet can make me feel less of myself without my permission and they do not have that permission! I realized that people only got uncomfortable around me when I was uncomfortable with myself. Today, if I see some staring and they approach me, I’ll explain to them so they feel comfortable. It really does not affect me anymore. However, I have realized that there is a downside to my self belief. While being confident is very necessary, it also leads to a place of acceptance where I am unwilling to try new remedies or go for the various healing meeting I have been invited for. I find myself praying more for the health needs of others and I had to make a mental note the other day to pray more for my own healing. I think my self confidence even grew more when I learnt that runway model Alek Wek also suffered from psoriasis. I remember reading once, how her mother would scrape off the lesions on her skin with a knife and she would bleed. Even America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 7 winner CariDee has also revealed her ongoing battle with Psoriasis. So I know I am not alone in my battle, if these women could overcome, why should I hide underneath baggy cloths for the rest of my life? It also doesn’t hurt having a wonderful family. Without doubt my parents, cousins, uncles, aunties and friends have showered me with so much love and strength it is impossible to feel sorry for myself. My advice to anyone suffering from psoriasis or anything else that affects their self confidence is simple. If whatever is affecting your self confidence can be changed, then do something about it. If it can’t, then begin to dig deeper into your personality and find strength in who you are and who God has called you to be. With time you will find your inner beauty blossom and that is what will draw people to you. Trust me, it works! Photo Credit: WOW!! Thanks for sharing this Glory!! Your Beauty is Skin Deep and beyond. Okkaaaayyyyyy!!!! That’s direct as direct can ever be. A very bold article which buttresses the fact that you are indeed comfortable and confident in who you are. But for those who know you its not doom and gloom as you have put it. I even bet some of “us” forgot long ago that there was a difference in our skins. Anybody who discriminates against another cos of a skin condition exhibits their ignorance which, in my opinion, is a much worse disease. Remarkable woman in all respects. *big hug* When I say you inspire me, it ain’t no joke. Wow, thats deep. Thanks for sharing that Glory. I admire you and your confidence. Keep it up, the sky is just the begininng for you. Also I noticed that whenever I comb my hair, i am covered in flakes. I have always assumed this was dandruff though. May God Bless you for opening up to us about your condition wow… I have had moderate / severe cystic acne for about 18 months and I have been miserable- not taking pics, not wanting to go out, sit down infront of the mirror and just mope etc. People like you make me ashamed of myself cos I no get mouth… Thanks for sharing Gloria. I admire your confidence. Truly, God does not give us more than we can bear. You are an incredible woman and God bless you x Really nice article. I have suffered from acne for upwards of 10 years. I’m talking cystic acne and I have tried everything except accutane. I noticed that like u said it’s only an issue with people when its an issue for me. Since I accepted and started loving myself, bad skin and all, I’ve had more admirers than ever before. thanks arewa…Lol.. was just trying to get accutane earlier this week! (im on a queue to get a prescription, its soo hard to get accutane in the UK) But then i’ve started learning to deal with it slowly and im really trying to take my mind off it-its cost me way too much scarce money! haha….thanks arewa and thanks to Glory once again x Iv had acne for more than 15 years and been on accutance 2ce. worked then a yr or so later acne reppaeared with a vengenance. Im now on sporinoloactone which works fingerc crossed! it takes about 4 months though. Try it. It literally changed my life I decided against accutane and all the other harsh antibiotics because of the side-effects. As long as I am okay with how I look I won’t risk the health of my unborn children and risk hair loss or my psychological stability for acne. Some days I don’t even use powder, anyone who doesn’t like me shouldn’t look. Lol. I think the same attitude is what helps people with even more serious skin issues. Once u can accept urself u are almost cured. I’ve also noticed most harsh things don’t work well for me I’ve had it for about two years now and I was the same, hiding away and feeling ugly. Some days I’ll be feeling fresh with myself and then look in the mirror and remember how awful my skin looks and then feel depressed. Added to that, I have keloids on my chest. My fave pictures are webcam pictures because they don’t show enough detail lol. I also don’t like makeup and I feel that foundation and all will just exacerbate the problem… after reading this though, I feel vain and useless. Why let this small thing keep me down? God bless Glory for sharing her story. thanks for opening up about your condition i have never heard of it before…thanks a lot for inspiring us. Thank you so much Glory for sharing your story. You are the only other black person ‘I know’ that has this condition. I had severe dandruff as well when I was younger. Now, whether it graduated to psoriasis or it had always been psoriasis, I don’t know. When I started realizing what it was (after seeing a few dermatologists), the best thing that worked for me was to wash my hair about twice a week. I stopped wearing weaves or even doing braids for a while. Sometimes it gets very frustrating but hey, God doesn’t give us what we can’t handle right? Can you share what works for you? I do find that Nizoral shampoo works for me though. Hi Toun! Looks like we have something in common :). For my scalp i use polytar shampoo and loads of hair oils. I find that Olive oil hair products work best for my scalp. I also try to wash my hair once a week (or as often as necessary). But i have started doing weaves and ghana weaving…but i make sure i apply scalp oil almost every day. Plus i find it easier to go to one salon and allow only one person to do my hair. it just helps aviod all the unnecessary questions from salon staff “aunty make i mix cream for u”, “aunty wetin be this for your hair”. My hair stylist knows not to ask me any questions and knows that he has to lubricate my scalp sufficently without me telling him. Little things like that just makes life easier Feels comforting to hear from other people going through this. Had almost given up on my scalp and was thinking about going for a low cut, cos that would make the almost constantly needed washing easier. Weaves and braids don’t last when i do those, and i’m tired of people constantly telling me my hair is dirty (when i was just at the salon 2-3 days ago). Tried Nizoral, but that didn’t work for me. I use polystar and Haicneal now (yes, simultaneously, same wash :-)and that seems to be working. Cant get the Polystar anymore though, pls where do you buy yours Glory? Help!! So worried it’s going to spread. What’s scary now is that it seems to have spread to my back, and it’s that place between your shoulder blades that is so difficult to reach Hi Glory and Toun, I saw Nizoral and I knew i had to leave a comment. I really understand the flaky scalp/ dandruff issue. I have SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) aka lupus and have lived with it for 13 yrs. its an autoimmune condition where your immune system decides that it is its own enemy and starts wiping out itself (your immune system). The results are varied – from hair loss to skin (lupus) rashes, heart failure to early onset athiritis etc. There is no cure so you just have to find a treatment (for each symptom you have). I’ve suffered from alopecia (hair loss) and scalp issues (white/ brown flakes that look like dandruff) because i keep shedding skin. Nizoral is very good – I actually use it on my skin too with a whole ot of other concoctions (both herbal & orthodox)! I actually hate going to salons because someone always wants to know and has the solution to you receeding hairline and dandruff issue! Its either one hair booster or miracle growth! What I really need is a miracle cure for lupus (and other autoimmune conditions). Take care. Thanks for sharing, up until this article I thought what I had was the normal dandruff, I have had to shave my hair twice and even as low as it was, the flakes coming out after every brush were something else. I am currently on Low cut and I wash my hair every day and use coconut oil at least am noticing some improvement. Thanks for sharing Toun, I know of two other people that have this scalp condition. I should send this link to them perharps, they’ll get a few ponters from all your post. Oh dear! Glory, you really are a strong woman. thank you so much for sharing this with us. I hope and pray you find a lasting solution to the challenge. God bless you. Gloria, I always read your posts on bellanaija (indeed I told you already how much I love them), but this is the first time I have commented. I have psoriasis. I’ve had it since I was 5. Like yours, mine started with my scalp and escalated as i grew older. My experiences at school were very similar to yours and I did develop a complex about the way I looked. Fortunately for me, I left Nigeria when I was 15 and came to the UK where Psoriasis is as common as eczema. They say managing it is as good as you can hope for as there is no real cure. There are a lot of great ointments and scalp applications that work really well. Dovonex make a cream and an ointmeant that works very fast. Diprosalic make an ointment that works really well on areas that show e.g. your hands, face and legs. They both make scalp applicator and they are amazing and can be used on weaves or braids. Polytar shampoo is better than anti-dandruff shampoos which only work for a very short time. Balneum plus is a bath oil that helps keep the skin hydrated. In the words of Indie Arie: I am not my hair I am not this skin I am not your expectations no I am not my hair I am not this skin I am a soul that lives within *Glory I went to secondary school with you, and from the bottom of my heart I want to apologize for my ignornace. I’m glad you’re in a better place and you are able to cope with the condition. Be well. God bless you Glory! God bless. I have ezcema, so I can relate to you, Glory. Thanks for sharing your story. Hi Glory, can I send an email to your [email protected] addy? I’d like to say something but not here. Yes off course you can….waiting to recieve… Lovely article Glory. Lovely. I never even knew that’s the name of the skin condition. a young relative of mine has it. She’s nine and i can see it affects her self esteem and makes her look unkept too. But she’s such a beautiful soul! Once again, lovely! Take Gluten out of your diet and all that skin infection will go away. I promise you. I have suggested it to ppl, they have tried it and it worked. Many friends of mine have had babies with tthis type of rush or excema and the whole nine yards. Change your diet by taking GLuten out completely and you will be amazed. Read on line about Gluten free meals – but in summary anything without wheat, so forinstance if its rice you go for WHOLE GRAIN brown rice. not whole wheat nor white rice. In africa our diet our different but am sure there are some types of food u can research and find out has not gluten in it, Oh and pray over your hands all the time. Use the word and say By his stripes I am healed, look for all the scriptures on HEALING repeat it to GOD – believe it – eat well and your rush will go away. I wish i had your email i will send you more information. Eat like they ate in the biblical days – everything was whole GRAIN. Get this book or borrow called Makers Diet and its a great book with a christian theme, But the thing is most of the ingredients are here in the USA and they are not cheap. I pray you find alternatives in Naija and if you do please let us know cos that is my one concern that when i move home i will not get to buy my gluten free choice of stuff. Duh! There is no known cure for it…r u a doctor or scientist? @ Glory: You are a phenomenal woman Awesome article, thank you Glory. You have informed and enlightened me. God bless you! Dear Glory, thank you for sharing. I am 33 yrs old & i have been living with dermatitis on my lower limbs for half of my life. It’s been a blight on my existence. i just got more confident in my own skin, 2 yrs ago cos i have a wonderful boyfriend who tells me he knows it is not craw-craw & i’m not dirty! I manage it with diet & minimal medication & if iwant to rock kneelength clothes, i just use concealing foundation on my scars & i’m good to go. I never knew about psoriasis….first time I’ve heard about this condition and I’m touched….Its not easy, seeing one’s peers go about all hale and hearty while we look inwards and wish we could help things like this….so I feel you…I’m glad that this made you stronger!! Bravo…. Thanks for educating us, we learn every single day! I wish you all the best Glory! X For the cystic acne sufferer’s its your diet.Cut out dairy foods.I know its hard but I am talking from experience here.Milk,Eggs and Cheese of today have harmful antibiotics.And your skin reacts to it because we are not supposed to have those things in our diet naturally.If you can’t keep off this,try to shop at natural food stores that state that the foods have been processed without antibiotics and I promise you, your acne will reduce or runaway completely.This also applies to meat as well.As you are doing this you can also use an antibiotic cream,at night to take care of the bacteria from the foods that are spreading the painful acne on the surface of your skin.Avoid picking your acne, it makes it spread.Use a gentle face wash that is non comedogenic, and oil free.Also remember to moisturize as well with a good face lotion that has the same properties as the face wash.This is coming from someone that suffered from horrible acne, and my skin is highly sensitive.It took a while to figure this out,but I survived with little facial scars for proof.Hope my whole epistle helps you out.I know how you feel.Take lots of water,destress and live! thanks gorgeous…i’ve done quite a bit of all of this.im on antibiotics, im not into dairy products anyways. even used urine therapy…did i hear you say yuck?! haha. i am not yet brave enough to drink urine…external use is bad enough. However,im very guilty of picking the acne and prostituting skincare products… would try basic skincare as you and a few other people have advised.thanks gorg. What about your meat produce and eggs? Are they antibiotic free? You need to go natural, shop all natural and see the difference. Always look at whatever you buy, if you want to be able to manage your skin. Try using Aveeno products. They are gentle enough for sensitive skin, and i can even use the body lotion with SPF for my face (Gasp!). Instead of Accutane try Differin. Goodluck This is. Also you could be reacting to a some fibres in weaves. Fantastic article – so encouraging! Thanks for sharing May God bless and give you perfect healing – amen! ‘ve gained a whole new level of repect for you. May you find comfort soonest and may your hapiness only continue to grow! Up till now I thought the knowledge of psoriasis was virtually inexistent in Nigeria so I’m glad this has come up. I found out I had psoriasis when I was 21 – it usually shows up in your early 20s if you’re going to have it. The doctor said to me “the bad news is you have psoriasis; the good news is it’s not cancer” and then he gave me pamphlets about psoriasis support groups. I don’t need to explain how freaked out I was. I also found out that it’s very common, even among Nigerians. The problem is that it’s always mistaken for “severe dandruff” or “dry scalp”. Before I knew what it was a lady at the salon was actually scraping flakes off my scalp and lecturing me about how I needed to take better care of my hair and myself. Because I’ve seen what psoriasis can do, I’m very grateful that mine is still limited to my hairline and I admire the fact that you’re coming to terms with skin psoriasis, especially in Nigeria where it doesn’t seem to be so well known (when I did my hair outside of Nigeria it was the hairdresser who even picked up on it and told me she thought I had psoriasis and that’s when I had it checked out). Like you said, there’s no cure and because it’s caused by a number of things depending on the person and their environment or stress level, I’ve found there’s no perfect treatment regime. Right now I use Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo and this topical mix that was prescribed for me but it doesn’t seem to work all the time so I’m sort of stuck. If anyone needs suggestions I was also told by a doctor that eating healthy, cutting down on alcohol and using hair oils (eg olive oil, carrot oil) instead of creams and pomades might help. At the end of the day, you have to love yourself so when I get asked”why’s your hairline scaly?” I say “I have psoriasis; it’s not contagious.” If that’s not good enough then .. *shrugs* great article Glory…i have new found respect for you! Nice one Glory…thank you for sharing Nicely written piece! Psoriasis isn’t that common with darker skintones, so I have not come across many others who have it. I ‘ve always had excema but developed psoriasis some nearly 7years ago. ThankGod it is now in remission but it was HARD dealing with it at it’s peak…even getting it diagnosed at first was suck a task. I remember one night before I was diagnosed, I was itching so bad, I though it was bedbugs and we had the whole place sanitised…of cos it didn’t help… However, having it forced me to start to look at what I was using and while it is in remission now(just have a few patches), I am still careful as I don’t want it to flare up again. Remedies that have become my staples include virgin coconut oil, sea-salt, aloevera gel. Hiya NiEriu, My experience is exactly the same as yours. The night before i saw the first spots appear, I thought i had been bitten by ants/bed bugs and got up from my bed and changed my sheets. Little did i know….i find E45 cream helps a lot and dovobet ointment. A great piece!Skin problems can really depress one’s confidence. I will recommend that you try “BELL HELP FOR SKIN DISORDERS WITH ITS SHARK OIL” by BELL lifestyle products. It works wonders! amazing and tremendous improvement within days. i love your article, glory…..i’ve been reading them since you started writing on bella naija. i love that you’re confident. i have acute dermatitis on my leg and sometimes i feel ashamed but thanks for this confidence booster….very nice! A very interesting read Glory and inspirational too. glory, i had psoriasis on my tummy a few years back and i was advised by my doctor to expose the affected place to sunlight daily btw 7am -11 am and guess what – it cleared up after some days hey…I am so loving ur self confidence right nw…thanks for sharing this…u may not knw it but this article has helped one or two persons going thru one trying time or the other…I pray ur healing gets perfected IJN Glory, do not give up on treatment. Try Western herbal cure that works. I only develop skin problems once in a while when I am allergic to certain foods and environment. I have used herbs to cure my skin problems and only drink filtered or bottled water. I used to itch until blood came out of the spots and applied Aloe Vera. The food you eat also matters e.g. no peanuts and avoid oily food. Eat more raw vegetables because we tend to over cook our veg. Glory, I remember those days in school you described.. and looking back, I must say you have always been an amazing strong woman. I don’t think I ever outrightly showed concern back then, but I always wondered what happened that made you lose your long beautiful hair. I think we didn’t really understand what happened to you and we are scared of what we don’t understand. I’m very proud of you, Girl… xoxo Ladun Glory i wish i could meet you(am a gal so no wahala…wink!!!), u’re sooo inspiring.all your articles make perfect sense all the time and i perceive u’re very intelligent. u’re blessed already,psoriasis or not and like you said,God does not give us more than we can bear. For some reason, He knows You can handle this. ….thanks for educating us!!! Nne, can feel you totally. God Bless and Thanks for sharing, you cant imagiene how much lives you’ve saved by sharing. I pray you find strength and time to do more for persons living with psoriasis. I’m glad I read this. I’ve got keloids on my chest that started forming when I was 20. I had one small pimple, it turned into a big raised scar and now there are clusters across my chest and between my breasts and more keep coming. I don’t know how to stop them and i’ve tried steroid shots, creams etc, been to doctors everywhere, worked on controlling my acne in the hopes of preventing more but nothing. For years I walked around with scarves regardless of the weather because I was tired of people just staring at them. I always appreciated people that asked questions, the ones that just stared disgustedly made me feel so bad about myself… but then I spoke to a friend one day and he told me it was up to me if I wanted to hide but I was the only one making myself feel bad about it. I was always worried that that would be all people saw when they saw me, but then I decided to just let my insecurity go. It helps when you have people affirming your beauty and the fact that you’re amazing but you can never truly be comfortable in your skin until you accept yourself flaws and all. Your story has truly inspired me. I apologize for writing too much This so it’s important to be aware of what products go on your hair if you have acne prone skin. I remeber one small irritation I had, and I wore tights wit my shorts to d beach wwwit dis long kaftan top, I was miserable for 3weeks ….I can only imagine how bad u must have felt. Your are a strong woman and I’m glad that others have an oppoutunity to be enlightened. Keep it up Glo! Well written as expected and I like that you emphasised loving oneself, discovering ones inner beauty and strength because thats the foundation needed to get through anything in life…..You have also brought to light other peoples insecurities and this piece will certainly inspire them. well done whoa…i am going through a mild form of this, i used to have smooth skin, just dermatitis when i was in secondary school, which was not a pleasant experience, my mum also invested in local remedies and if you know my mum, you would laugh. Finally saw a dermatologist who diagnosed dermatitis…and a wonder steroid drug lucky I was young enough for my skin to record without too many scars. now it is like I wake up with wounds, that turn into dark spots, i itch most of the time, infact the only thing that helps the healing process is steroid creams…I can’t even travel out of Nigeria without it. pple say u are quite spotty…and I laugh…but I have decided to live my life, wear my hot shorts ,and sleeveless tops…lets others worry for me( cos God knows worrying wouldn’t change it). LET ME HELP! THER IS A CURE PERMANENT CURE TO PSORAISIS COAL TAR! PLEASE FIND COAL TAR AND THE REST IS HISTORY. great article… your confidence is the best thing you can wish for especially with your psoraisis. God will answer your prayers. x Hi Gloria, I understand what you’ve gone through because I’ve suffered something similar. I will send an email to you so that we can talk more. Hello Zizi,I am having this challenge too…pls reach me on : [email protected] I was really inspired by your article. I also have psoriasis and have lived with it for about 20 year now, i am a doctor and i can tell you even in the medical circle here in Nigeria a lot of people are still ignorant and would try to convince me it was an infection of some sort. I initially fell in line and it took a skin biopsy with a second opinion to make me believe. I have had intermittent relief in the past years when it just clears up for no apparent reason. My hair dresser often wonder why i would not wear a weave for more than a week, tried to explain to one of them and she would not touch my hair afterwards. I have however over the years learnt to manage the symptoms and live with it. Glory…….. U are blessed. I also have health issue but I still trust in God for cure. I remenber taking a lot of antibiotics in 2011 to fight an infection but they killed all my good bacteria and made me have overgrowth of yeast since no good bacteria is there to keep them checked. So I developed systemic candidiasis… I had thrush in my mouth, tinea curis, weakness of the body, brain fog and candida fungal in my intestine and bowel causing troubles… Many Nigeria doctors don’t know much about this because its not common just like psoriasis so they give u treatment that would make it worse…. Not until I make research and found out I could fight it naturally with diets, probiotics and natural anti fungals like coconut oil, tea tree oil, neem oil, olive oil, garlic and more… So I have withdrew from some sugary foods like bread, soft drinks, alcohol, potatoes, pasta, and a lot… Especially shawamma cos I eat that a lot at the bar with some bottles of bear… I can say am getting better on my own… Without drugs. But I will do the diet fully and find a way to fight the candida yeast am having on my groin and hand. I will recommend that natural treatments will help u fight psoriasis just as is helping me agaist candida… Just do the diet, apply natural and cold press essential oil and some good herbs… Ur condition will get better as time goes on… But if u want a sharp corner to this visit laserderm clinic at ikeja… They will make u better… God is ur strength and please remember that no condition is permanent because there is a better place for us in paradise where no one would say I am sick. God bless u…. Hyze Kayz say so… Ceo of WGC Entertainment… Google search HYZE KAYZ to download my songs… Ose! I have this itchy rash all over my body with patches.After an appointment with the doctor,he told me that it is probably I am having Psoriasis challenge.This challenge is affecting my esteem badly,I cant expose my legs again.I find it difficult to go swimming.I believe God to heal me,because I am not finding it funny at all-embarrassing itch all over the body and sometimes,I will be tempted to scratch my body couple with the asthma challenge too……What type of food should I avoid?

heh… 29 October 2008Posted by marisacat in 2008 Election, DC Politics, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, U.S. Senate. trackback McCain / Obama vendor items – Las Vegas ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sorry comments are closed for this entry Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Happy Pretzel-elect Festival … what are they gonna do w/ all those people if it drags into the night, or if he loses? Best voting photo EVER… (see top of story) Can’t describe this election any better than that! ROFLMAO… God, I love the Onion: Obama Warns He May Cease To Exist Unless America Believes In Him 2 well they seem to want an early decision. And appear not to care what happens to voting in the west… I read some commentary weeks ago that the election coverage, net works and cables, intend to “send a signal” if they know early he has won (forinstance KY closes at 6 PM ET, that is 3 PM PT and we vote til 7 iirc). I let the article get away from me and did not read that sentiment again. Geesh. *** 3 that is hilarious. Wonder if ti will ever stop being “all about him’… my guess is not. heh. that Onion piece reminds me of Terry Pratchet’s Small Gods — one of my alltime favorite books! How is everyone? Never got around to actually typing up that rant — too pointless in any case. MitM — how much snow did ya’ll get? IT was fucking 92 here last weekend….cold front came through and it looks like we won’t be dying of heatstroke in our Halloween costumes tomorrow night, so that’s a happy thing! Wow Brinn, thanks for the mention of Small Gods. I’m going to have to read that sometime! But seriously… as the Onion so often gets to the bare truth of things… I find myself not “against” Obama (if I was the presidential-voting sort, I certainly would not be voting for McCain) but just weirded out by Obamism. And it’s gotten to the stage where it’s awkward because many of my friends are either Obamists or getting there. And it’s like I feel like I do not want to discuss Obama with them because I’m afraid I’ll be accused of not believing in God or something. And I wonder how Obamism is going to morph after the election. As I’ve said before, I know several Obama supporters and they all love him for this or that *specific* reason that makes them passionate… except, comparing notes, none of the reasons really seem to match up (except the common belief that Obama will mystically restore America’s standing in the world by simple virtue of his genetic pedigree). There is a tremendous amount of personal projection going on. Having read a bit about “Small Gods” on Brinn’s comment, it’s not like Obama is God… but he’s like 10,000 small gods for 10,000 people. They all say “Obama” to each other, but I am quite sure that they do not mean what the other person thinks they mean. Will we see Obamist schisms? divisions into camps of belief? To me, Obama is just a Democratic candidate (and as such, mildly preferable to McCain). But I am not a Believer, which is odd because I do think I’m fairly religious. I guess I know what these folks are going through, but I’m just not there. I anticipate continuing to be a stranger in my own land, because of my unbelief. Wired: NYCO if you will just read the Wired report, it’s all about you telling your story, the way Obama tells us his. I am sure this residual awkwardness of yours can be resolved. Just meditate on this gold disk, you are feeling sleepy, very sleepy…. your eye lids are heavy… … and so on! I dunno. We gonna get GOVERNING out of all of these personal stories? ‘Cuz he wore me out with his. 4 oh that photo is very very funny.. I am trolling thru the slideshow now. re: 7&8 You’re welcome on the mention — wish I could lend you my copy! Because I can’t, here’s the back cover blurb….. ‘Just… And on being a “stranger in your own land” — I feel you! And have felt that for decades now…..I don’t see it changing anytime soon either. Ann Wright | Running Against Both Parties LINK Ann Wright, Truthout: “I am in San Francisco this week before the election, campaigning for Cindy Sheehan. She is running against both the Republican and Democratic establishments, but more specifically against Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.” Well, honestly there’s no part of my personal story I could tell that I could link to Obama’s. Maybe that’s the root of my problem. I haven’t read The Books. I don’t know The Story. Silly me, I’m just going on his actual record in realworldspace, not in mythspace. But I don’t understand that it’s not about experience… it’s about… Obama as Story that we are all Part Of and we’re going to Continue The Story. Believe me, I have so been there… and I am not there now. I took a swing by obamamessiah.blogspot.com, hadn’t been there recently and I assumed the blogger had not kept it up. Au contraire, some recent entries and some scary shit there. Not sure if it’s for real, but… wow. LOL via Ben Smith, he mentions AP “has it”, but does nto link: 6 – Hi Brinn! We didn’t get any here in Milwaukee proper, unless it came down in the middle of the night. Our suburbs had flurries, and they got some snow up north. There was frost on the ground a couple of mornings earlier this week. 15 – Oh, let it be so … I’d LOVE to see that fucker out of the House. Oh, this is too funny … cue golden calf and half-naked maiden dancing before Heston comes down from the mountain: PZ Myers: Jesus people pray that false idol will save God’s economy I swear, they don’t read their own damned book. War and Social Upheaval Cause Spikes in Zombie Movie Production Obama: My Cabinet Would Be Bipartisan Clinton refuses to investigate/prosecute Iran-Contra 2.0. Prop 8 Spokesman Says Defeating Gays is Like Defeating Hitler Constantly amazed by the shamelessness of the right. Apparently he doesn’t know about the pink triangles and the 50k + gay men murdered in the camps. Or he’s just fine with it. Front Window of Cindy Sheehan’s Campaign Office Shattered btw, are there any polls about the Pelosi race. I looked around and couldn’t find any. Haven’t seen any polls… there should be really, as there is a R running as well. Sheehan.. and not sure of Shirley Golub is still in or not. Will check with CA Reporter and see if there is anything there… 21 probably fine wiht it, if he even knows. They have 2 new NO on 8 commericals out. “CA Moms” agaisnt No… I kind f doubt it makes a dent.. and DiFi has a spot endorsing a NO vote, to frame it as a vote against discrimination. Last I saw, a post at Ambinder today, ti is tied and apparently that corresponds t internal polling on both sides as well. The public poll said TWELVE per cent undecided. 24 – it’s not about discrimination (if you want to sell it), it’s about LOVE and FAMILY. MAn, take those things away from the haters. There are great ads online that make that argument. 20 It was a given he will pick a R for DOD… and my guess he will have as many as 4 R in cabinet. Hell, HE probably wanted Lieberman as well. LOL Deep down in his heart of hearts… 25 yeah as I said, I’d use photos from the Feb 04 weddings… or the more recent spate of weddings… with children and parents.. and passers by just smiling and waving and clapping. AND I still say Gavin has played both sides. The only thing I can say for Dianne is, at least she did it. BUT all the other ads are badly done and wrong angle. Tied in knots and scared. In the closet basically. 27 – Lefties are so damned scared. CELEBRATE what you believe in. Shooting the Wise Guy: McCain Supporter in Ohio Shoots Teenager Who Knocked Over Campaign Sign well I am nto into shooting people but the whole quadrennial yard sign drum beat is FUCKING DUMB. Seems to become some point of pride to replace, set up videos, slather scheisse or (as I actually read just recently) “menstruating deer urine” all over yours so presumably no one will steal it. Anotehr reason to live in a city I guees. We are largely confined to window signs, if we care at all. 29 – yup, pretty silly, and NOT worth killing or injuring somebody. Just found this. The Economist has endorsed The Annointed One too. Obama Transition Seeks to Avoid Clinton Mistakes On CNN, Van Hollen Admits to GOP Lawsuit Collusion Our local partisan hack pushing “voter fraud”. hmm think we just got a new No on 8 ad, with voice over from Samuel L Jackson. The anti discrimination theme again. That onion piece was pretty funny NYCO, I liked this one too: Struggling Lower-Class Still Unsure How Best To Fuck Selves With Vote …The latest polls indicate that a majority of lower-class citizens might choose not to vote at all Nov. 4, preferring instead to leave the details of how they get fucked to the moneyed classes…. (and jeez, that obamamessiah site is gonna give me nightmares, especially that shot with Soros in it) Have a good evening all…. I just dropped in on ObamaMessiah. Had nto been there in months… Well if you ever ever need slack jawed, drool limp quotes from the masses, it can be found there. Shouldn’t there be some ecstatic equivalent of stigmata occuring soon? hmm? It’s verging on a [greater] mass manifestation fo some sort, beyond drool, dribble and vote devotion. Perhaps where ever his parents lived together can be sanctified… and become a place of worship? If a natural spring can be found beneath the manger spot, the water can be sold as Holy Obama Water. (stop laughing) There, glorification of the conception place, would be a reason to keep the fundraising going. (You know they want to!) Maybe devotional societies that study the Luo tribe, and the rare and remarkable form of white xtian stock found in small towns in KS, a place Ob had never been til the past couple fo years. Of course now he is “of kansas”, with those great Kansan values!,as we all are. When we are not all Georgians, of course. Maybe an Obama The Messiah University, in Hawai’i of course. I think his post inauguration drive down Pennyslvania Ave needs to evoke Jesus on Palm Sunday. LOL All i can say is Shit honey, calm down. From Obama Messiah. IF anyone believes this stuff, they need medication and HELP.. Obama Messiah.. what on earth is that site? Can this possibly be serious? I have gone back and forth over the months… I am unsure. But I know one thing, this campaign is right up there with the most dangerous. To be frank, I hope the gaseous bubbles burst early, hard and smelly. The white landowners (who are of course a mix of races by now) have totally lucked out with this entity. I do notice that over and over his speech in MN about oceans receding and other flatulence is moved about and re issued to often (at least when I go) to be on the FP, and is tonight. BTW, here is the current link to that gibberish… BTW, I was going thru some tossed to the side mail yesterday, and obamaman found me. For solicitation of course. And on the outside of the ep it says This is our moment, This is our time LOL I could not scarf up a big enough raspberry for that slobber. Seen at DK the other day, but pretty darn funny – a GOTV ad for North Carolina, put together by a couple of Daily Show and Aqua Teen Hunger Force writers: Why I Vote. (Hint: it has to do with the neighbors. . . .) FYI, Marisacat! 2 Blue Angels grounded for inappropriate relationship. The Naval spokesperson wouldn’t name the flyers involved, but did make clear the situation was a hetero affair. They’ll be one jet short of a sixpack for the rest of the stunt season. Hetero! I am so relieved. Wouldn’t want them in the WRONG part of town when they drop in in October, Every damned year. LOL I’m thinking it was a red-blooded, jet-fueled reaction to the gay haze that hovers over your city that made them bunny up in the first place. And to think they might lose their military careers, as a result – for shame, San Franciscans! gnu post LINK …………………… ……………………… 43 Just being around us (over us!) affected them. Hey, if they come back in September next year they can hit the Folsom Street Fair. The leather scene… What? He’s not here? Well, CALL the fucking plumber, you assholes! 45 – Nothing says G-forces like chaps in ass-less chaps! CSTAR (37) – obamamessiah.com is cataloguing this stuff, not espousing it.

Hand truck employing wheel units having multiple wheels A hand truck which is especially useful in moving loads up and down stairways can be constructed so as to employ two identical wheel units located adjacent to the lower end and at the back of the body or frame of the hand truck. Each of the wheel units consists of a center hub section and a plurality of arms, each of which carries a rotatably mounted wheel. The wheel units are mounted for rotation about an axis; a motor is provided for simultaneously rotating the wheel units. The invention set forth in this specification pertains to new and improved hand trucks. More specifically it pertains to new and improved hand trucks which are constructed so as to employ wheel units having multiple wheels. The use of such wheel units makes the hand trucks of the present invention especially desirable for use in moving loads both upon a horizontal surface and in moving loads up and down stairs. Most conventional hand trucks are constructed so as to utilize an elongated, normally vertically extending body or frame carrying at its lower end a toe plate extending from the front of the frame and carrying wheels or wheel means generally at each side of the frame and adjacent to the back of the frame adjacent to the lower end of the frame. Such a hand truck normally includes handles or handle means attached to the frame adjacent to or at the upper end of the frame for use in manipulating the hand truck and, when a load is carried upon it, the hand truck and the load from one location to another. Such conventional hand trucks have been employed for many years in many different applications and are satisfactory for many different uses. During the normal use of such a conventional hand truck an object or load is located on the toe plate of the hand truck generally adjacent to or against the frame or body and the hand truck is tilted back as it is supported by the handles so that the weight supported by the wheels is reasonably "balanced" relative to the wheels as the hand truck is thereafter moved and/or manipulated. Frequently there is a problem in maintaining such a "balance" with a hand truck. Also on occasion the movement of such a hand truck as, for example, in moving the hand truck up or down a flight of stairs or over a curb can be a significant problem. As a result of the recognition of such problems a large number of different hand truck constructions have been proposed to facilitate the manipulation and movement of a hand truck in transporting loads both upon vertical surfaces and up and down stairs. It is not considered that an understanding of the present invention requires any sort of a discussion of the various expedients which have been proposed and to various extents used to facilitate the use of a hand truck in moving loads. Many of such expedients have proved reasonably desirable and utilitarian. In spite of this it is considered that there is still a need for new and improved hand trucks for use in moving loads of various different types either along a generally vertical surface or up and down various types of stairs or related structures.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A broad object of the present invention is to fulfill the need indicated in the preceding discussion. More specifically the present invention is intended to provide new and improved hand trucks which can be constructed at a comparatively nominal cost, which can be easily and conveniently utilized in moving various different types of loads both along a generally horizontal surface (including surfaces with various obstructions located thereon) which can be utilized in moving such loads up and down stairs and which are of such a character that they are capable of prolonged, reliable service with minimal maintenance. In connection with such movement of a load it is considered that it is particularly important that the invention is directed towards hand trucks which can be utilized in moving loads without there being any significant or material danger of such loads being damaged as, for example, when such a hand truck might tip over in being manipulated or moved from one location to another. In accordance with this invention these and various related objectives of the invention as will be apparent from a consideration of the remainder of this specification are achieved in a hand truck having an elongated, vertically extending body, said body having upper and lower ends, a front and a back, toe plate means attached to said body at the front thereof adjacent to the lower end thereof,, eac of said wheel units consisting of a centrally located hub section, a plurality of arms spaced from one another so as to extend outwardly from said hub section, and a wheel rotatably mounted on each of said arms, located stair.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Because of the nature of this invention it is considered that it is best more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing the front and one side of a presently preferred embodiment or form of a hand truck in accordance with this invention; FIG. 2 is a side elevational view at an enlarged scale showing the side of this hand truck visible in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the hand truck shown in FIG. 1 at the same scale as FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is an isometric, exploded view indicating how a dolly may be utilized with and as a part of the hand truck illustrated in the preceding figures; FIG. 5 is a side elevational view illustrating a hand truck as indicated in the preceding figures used with a dolly as indicated in FIG. 4 in transporting a load along a vertical surface toward a stair; FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 in which the hand truck is shown supporting a load and with wheels on the wheel units located with respect to lower treads of a stair and in which various positions of the wheel units and the hand truck and load in movement of the hand truck up the stairs are indicated in phantom; FIG. 7 is an isometric view showing the use of a hand truck as indicated in FIG. 1 in moving a wheelchair as a load; FIG. 8 is a partial side elevational view reasonably corresponding to FIG. 2 showing how the hand truck of the present invention may be used with a seat so that an individual may be moved as a load. The drawings are presently intended for use in explaining the present invention. Because of the purpose of these drawings various details which are considered to be within routine engineering skill or knowledge have not been illustrated in them. The various concepts embodied within the structure shown which are set forth and defined in the appended claims are obviously capable of being utilized in a wide variety of somewhat differently appearing and differently constructed hand trucks through the use or exercise of routine engineering skill.DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the drawing there is shown a hand truck 10 constructed so as to include a body or frame designated generally by the numeral 12. This body or frame 12 is constructed so as to utilize parallel, normally vertically extending rails 14 connected by cross-members 16 joining these rails 14 into a rigid unit. If desired, various elongated supports 18 may be secured to the rails 14 so as to extend outwardly from them for use in helping to support a load 20 such as is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 upon the frame 12. Normally a conventional complete toe plate 22 as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings will be secured to the rails 14 in a conventional manner so that a back wall 24 of the complete toe plate 22 is secured to the rails 14 in such a manner as to hold a bottom wall or toe plate 26 so that it extends substantially perpendicularly from the rails 14 immediately adjacent to the lower ends (not separately numbered) of the frame 12. If desired, various different types of toe plates corresponding to the toe plate 22 may be substituted for this toe plate 22. As an example of this in FIGS. 7 and 8 a modified complete toe plate 22' is shown which utilizes a back wall 24' which is the same as the back wall 24 and which utilizes in addition an elongated bottom wall 26' corresponding to the wall or plate 26 which is shaped essentially as a platform. In some circumstances it may be desired to mount small wheels on or along this wall 26'. If desired a wheeled dolly 28 may be secured to the toe plate 26 by inserting angled rods or brackets 30 into holes 32 in the plate 26 as indicated in FIG. 4 and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings. When a dolly 28 is used in this manner it in effect becomes an extension of the plate 26. The hand truck 10 is also constructed so as to include holders 34 for use in holding a conventional battery 36 generally upon the lowermost of the cross-members 16 generally between the rails 14. It is considered desirable to mount the battery 36 in this position since this tends to concentrate the weight of the battery as low as reasonably possible in the hand truck 10. This is considered to facilitate the use of the hand truck 10 without danger of the hand truck 10 becoming so unbalanced as to tend to tip over when it is used in moving a load. Further, in this location the battery 36 is protected against inadvertent damage because it is immediately behind the back wall 24 and between the rails 14. This battery 36 is connected by conventional wires 38 which may be conveniently located within one of the rails 14 to a switch box 40 mounted between the rails 14 at a height such that it can be conveniently reached during utilization of the hand truck 10. Appropriate conventional controls 42 may be mounted on the switch box 40 (or elsewhere) so that a conventional internal mechanism (not shown or described) within the box 40 may be utilized to regulate the flow of current from the battery 36 supplied to the switch box 40 by the wires 38 to other wires 44 in order to operate and to control the operation of an electric motor 46. This motor 46 is preferably mounted upon a bracket 48. This bracket 48 is supported on the rails 14 at the back (not separately numbered) of the frame 12 in such a position that the shaft 50 of the motor 46 extends generally downwardly and parallel to the rails 14. This shaft 50 is coupled by means of a conventional flexible coupling 52 intended to accommodate any possible misalignment problems to the input shaft 54 of a conventional gear box 56. This gear box 56 is mounted on the rails 14 of the frame 12 through the use of other mounting brackets 58 reasonably adjacent to but spaced from the lower end (not separately numbered) of the frame 12. An output shaft 60 extends from the gear box 56 transverse to the rails 14, generally parallel to the complete toe plate 22 and generally outwardly from the sides (not separately numbered) of the frame 12. The gear box 56 is located by the brackets 58 sufficiently far from the rails 14 so as to accommodate movement and operation of two separate identical wheel units 62 employed with the hand truck 10. The wheel units 62 may be constructed in a number of different manners. In the hand truck 10 each of these wheel units 62 is constructed so as to utilize two separate, identical plates 64. Each of the plates 64 includes a centrally located hub-like section or hub 66 which is mounted at its center on the shaft 60. Each of the plates 64 also includes arms 68 extending radially from its hub or hub section 66. These arms 68 are spaced equally from one another around the axis (not shown) of the output shaft 60 and are all equal length. In each wheel unit 62 separate wheels 70 are rotatably mounted about a shaft 72 extending between adjacent arms 68 on the two adjacent plates 64. These shafts 72 all extend parallel to the shaft 60 and are located equidistant from the shaft 60. In effect, each of the wheel units 62 consists of an assembly of two of the plates 64 and the associated shafts 72 and wheels 70. Because of the construction used in effect each of the wheel units 62 may be considered as having a single hub or hub section 66 and single arm 68 supporting each of the various wheels 70 and shafts 72 described. It is noted that the wheel units 62 are dimensioned and mounted in such a manner that when arms 68 on the units 62 extend vertically, generally parallel to the frame 12 the wheels 70 are located on back of the units 62 so as to extend substantially to the plane of the bottom wall 26 of the toe plate 22. The wheel units 62 may be rotated to such a position indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3 through the operation of the motor 46. In this position of the wheel units 62 the hand truck 10 can be utilized in the manner of a conventional hand truck. In order to achieve this mode of operation it is necessary that the hand truck 10 be constructed so that the output shaft 60 can be held or located in position with the wheel units located as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The shaft 60 may be held in place against rotation in many different ways. The gear box 56 described may be constructed so as to have sufficient internal friction so that the shaft 60 will not rotate as the hand truck 10 is used in a conventional hand truck manner. If desired, however, a conventional brake or lock 74 may be formed integrally with the gear box 56 for the purpose of holding the shaft 60 against rotation once it is in any specific position. A similar conventional shaft lock 76 may be provided as a part of the motor 46 for securing the shaft 50 against rotation. When the shaft 50 is secured against rotation the connected shaft 60 is also secured against rotation. When a load 20 is placed generally against the frame 12 and upon the toe plate 26 as the hand truck 10 is used in a conventional manner the hand truck 10 may be tilted back to a position as indicated in FIG. 5 through the use of conventional handles 78 so that the truck 10 and the load 20 are supported by four of the individual wheels 70 on a horizontal surface 80. At times it may be necessary to operate the motor 46 in order to rotate the wheel units 62 in order to obtain a proper "balance" so that the load 20 and the truck 10 can be supported by the wheel units 62 as illustrated in FIG. 5. If in moving the truck 10 along a horizontal surface 80 an obstruction (not shown) should be encountered on such surface such as to preclude rotation of the wheels 70 the motor 46 may be operated so as to also rotate the wheel units 62 in synchronism so that they "step over" such an obstruction. The wheel units 62 permit such a hand truck 10 and load 20 to be moved along a horizontal surface 80 and then up to a conventional stairs 82 having risers 84 and treads 86 as indicated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings. When wheels 70 on two of the wheel units 62 come in contact with a riser 84 the motor 46 may be operated so as to cause rotation of these wheel units 62 so as to bring adjacent wheels 70 on the wheel units 62 into contact with the tread 86 immediately adjacent to such a riser 84. By comparatively simple manipulation of the hand truck 10 this type of action may be continued with the wheel units 62 moving to successive positions as indicated in phantom in FIG. 6 so as to move the hand truck 10 and load 20 up the stairs 82. The reverse method of operation can, of course, be employed in moving the hand truck 10 and the load 20 down the stairs 82. At all times during the use of the hand truck 10 in connection with any stairs such as the stairs 82 an individual utilizing the hand truck 10 must, of course, to a degree manipulate and control the position and movement of the hand truck 10. This is normally achieved through the use of the handles 78. Concurrently such an individual must, of course, operate the controls 42 so as to regulate the operation of the motor 46 as is necessary to cause rotation of the wheel units 62. In order to achieve the mode of operation indicated in the preceding the dimensions of the wheel units 62 relative to the position of the output shaft 60 is quite important with the invention. The diameters of the wheels 70 as well as the distances of the axes of these wheels 70 from the axis of the shaft 60 must be related to one another and to the dimensions of the arms 68 so that in effect the individual arms 68 will "straddle" the intersections between treads 86 and risers 84 on common, conventional stairs such as the stairs 82. The type of action described can be achieved with various different wheel units 62 having different numbers of arms 68 and wheels 70. It is preferred to form these wheel units 62 utilizing four arms 68 and four wheels 70 on each as shown since wheel units 62 constructed in this manner are effective for their intended purpose and are relatively inexpensive to construct. It is considered that the cost of constructing the wheel units 62 would be unnecessarily increased by using more than four arms 68 and wheels 70 in connection with each wheel unit 62. If a lesser number of arms 68 and wheels 70 were used with the hand truck 10 it is considered that it would be somewhat more difficult to utilize the hand truck 10 in the manner described. The hand truck 10 is considered to be especially advantageous in that it can be utilized in a wide variety of different manners for a wide variety of different purposes. As shown in FIG. 7 this hand truck 10 may be utilized in supporting a conventional wheelchair 88 upon an enlarged or elongated toe plate 26' as previously described. Such a wheelchair 88 should, of course, be attached to the frame 12 as, for example, through the use of a strap 90 extending around the frame 12 to prevent its inadvertent movement. If desired a a seat such as a so-called jump seat 92 can be mounted directly upon the frame 12 in any convenient manner as shown in FIG. 8. The hand truck 10 is considered to be particularly advantageous in that it can be utilized in either of the manners indicated in FIGS. 7 and 8 in meeting a need for a hand truck or related device for moving incapacitated individuals both up and down stairs. Claims 1. In a hand truck having an elongated, vertically extending body, said body having upper and lower ends, a front and a back, toe plate means attached to said body at the front thereof adjacent to the lower end thereof for supporting a load,, - each of said wheel units consisting of a centrally located hub section, four arms spaced from one another so as to extend outwardly from said hub section, and a wheel rotatably mounted on each of said arms, said wheels being free to rotate on said arms at all times, - lcoated stairs, - motor means for simultaneously rotating both of said wheel units, - gear box means coupling said wheel units to said motor means, said gear box means having sufficient internal friction so as to normally hold said wheel units against rotation except during operation of said motor means, - said motor means being capable of being operated so as to turn said wheel unit so that arms of said wheel units extend vertically generally parallel to the back of said body to a position such that said hand truck may be supported substantially vertically by two of said wheels on a horizontal surface, and - said motor means being capable of being operated so as to turn said wheel unit to a position such that said truck may be supported by four of said wheels on a horizontal surface with said body in other than a vertical position. Type: Grant Filed: Nov 20, 1979 Date of Patent: Jan 26, 1982 Inventors: Todd E. Dalton (Long Beach, CA), Ronald V. Dalton (Long Beach, CA) Primary Examiner: John A. Pekar Attorney: Edward D. O'Brian Application Number: 6/96,250 International Classification: B62B 502;

Carrier IQ Information – Part #2 Written by Trevor Eckhart Video Contents: Part 1: 0:00 – Carrier IQ believes some of my statements may cause confusion, so I would like to back up my research with more supporting details. All logs posted here were created using standard Android tools. My research focuses on HTC Android devices, but Carrier IQ is on many other devices, too, and may use information differently in those contexts. I am looking to Carrier IQ for answers here and not HTC because of how many devices this is on. I just happen to use HTC devices, which is why I discovered the application on those phones. Let’s talk about rootkits The Carrier IQ application as shown in the “stock clients” zip file is how the program looks before it’s modified to carrier specifications and is potentially useful to carriers. For end users the stock client indicates that it’s running by displaying an icon in the status bar and is contained in a single APK file. We have never seen this version of the CIQ used in the “real world.” and to be clear is what fits my definition of a “rootkit” Here’s how Wikipedia defines a “rootkit.” I will take the relevant parts step by step from Wikipedia- A rootkit is software that enables continued privileged access to a computer while actively hiding its presence from administrators by subverting standard operating system functionality or other applications. The way Carrier IQ works, as seen in the training documents (see last article here), is by enabling someone continued privileged access to our computers (which are Android devices). The application is hidden in nearly every part of our phones, including the kernel (source –). Carrier IQ also subverts standard operating system functionality. For any application, I believe standard operating functionality includes having a descriptively named application; a launcher icon, settings menu, widget, or other method to allow the end user to access the application; and a privacy policy clearly available on the device the application is installed on. Also, as seen in the video, only an application named HTC IQAgent is displayed as a running application on my HTC device. A second program called IQRD never makes itself known as a running application.. This is all particularly concerning when Carrier IQ publicly states that “When Carrier IQ’s products are deployed, data gathering is done in a way where the end user is informed or involved.” (see full list in screenshots below). Even all this is not everything the user has apparently agreed to. IQRD and HTC IQAgent application (shown below) talk to other root-running binaries, and other APK’s (such as browser) talk to these two applications and kernel locations. IQRD is able to see actions outside of its own application this way, something I don’t see any other apps capable of doing at this level. It’s even in the browser looking at data such as HTTPs sessions (see below section for logs). The second and more obviously named application – HTC IQ Agent – shows no permissions required. This application has an “about” button that shows an HTC logo but no privacy policy or information explaining what the program is. When HTC was asked about it – the company said users need to understand third-party privacy policies. Third-Party Software: (from HTC). If HTC’s privacy policy doesn’t cover the information collected by Carrier IQ, it’s unclear whose privacy policy does Carrier IQ has a minimal privacy policy (. The second part of the definition from wikipedia: The term rootkit is a concatenation of “root” (the traditional name of the privileged account on Unix operating systems) and the word “kit” (which refers to the software components that implement the tool). CarrierIQ runs the binaries as user root in our ramdisk. The Carrier IQ code is in almost every application: browser, dialer, SMS, media player, the kernel itself, who knows where else. Please read more about the kernel below. From wikipedia –. In real-world usage, it’s very hard for an average user to even be aware of Carrier IQ. To see it, we need to look in low-level file systems, kernel source code, and system logcat logs. It has no launcher icon, no settings, no program to opt in to. Even DRM, which is typically another “hidden service”, has a notice about activation when you use HTC Watch. you are able to decline if you do not want to use the DRM service, but you can not decline to use Carrier IQ.. Devices out of Contract especially have an issue IQ Insight Experience Manager uses data directly from the mobile device to give a precise view of how the services and the applications are being used, even if the phone is not communicating with the network. (From )) But Carrier IQ’s Woods said that her company’s software is set to disable data collection if the device’s SIM card or mobile carrier changes. (From –) There are a few problems with all of this. There are no SIM cards on CDMA phones – CDMA users have no options to take a device completely off a network. It’s not common for CDMA devices to change carriers (without cloning a device, which is probably frowned upon in most cases). Every time I get a new phone, I stick the old one in airplane mode with wifi, then activate the new phone. On the old phones CIQ collectors are still shown to be running in the background passing data around, and there’s no way to stop and remove them (the same logcat logs as above are visible). Furthermore, they’re looking to the URL in iqprofile.pro, which is an HTTPS address. Developers are constantly getting new devices to make apps, themes, etc. Regular users buy new devices like the HTC EVO 3d just to play with innovative new features. Android devices are linux computers with hardware that (sometimes) includes a phone radio. In short, there are tons of ways to use these devices other than as a phone. Sometimes users don’t sign a service contract with anyone, never turn on the cell radio, and use the device exclusively on wifi. Below are the only opt-in switches/legal terms on my HTC device. In the statement in the above section, HTC says we must understand that third-party software is not HTC software, and is subject to third-party terms. Where are Carrier IQ’s terms and policies for allowing this application to run and collect data — even if it’s just local — on any device out of a carrier’s service? As we saw from the permissions requested by the IQRD application, the program is able to log very sensitive user data, including reading contacts/SMS, recording audio, modifying network connections and more. What do we see Carrier IQ actually doing? Before I begin, remember this anaylsis is specific to Android and HTC. There are other devices and platforms that could use the Carrier IQ API differently; this is just what I know Carrier IQ is capable of doing on an HTC device. Let’s start with what’s seen when the IQD binary application runs. The only text we see is about using PCAP () # iqd IQMetricsPCAPThread_Start – setting up PCAP link pcap_thread pcap_open_live –> 494640,113 IQ_InitializeBoosterPackIP –> 0 On HTC devices, the easiest way to watch the rest of Carrier IQ is to run a logcat. We can see two identifiers (AgentService_J and HTC_SUBMITTER_C) doing most of the work, but this is only a brief look at what’s happening, and doesn’t reflect everything that might be going on or all data being looked at *SECURITY ALERT*. Webpage visited – V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[1021]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.al34 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (0) submitAL34:-1155628198, V/AgentService_J( 713): (0)dwPageID:1321694298970,szURL: Location Statistics – (seems to trigger whenever location updates or get queried) Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.lc30 V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[157]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.lc30 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (516010663) submitLC30:234,40752055,-73806468,911,113,0,516010663 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)lc30_TStamp_lo:516010663,lc30_Tstamp_hi:234,lc30_Latitude:40752055,lc30_Longitude:-73806468,lc30_Accuracy:911,lc30_ResultsValid:113,lc30_Method:0 Media Statistics – (from Test UI) Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.mp03 V/AgentService_J( 723): Action[787]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.mp03 V/AgentService_J( 723): ErrorCode:103 V/AgentService_J( 723): NumTracks:3 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwSize:201 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwPktRcvd:202 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwPktDup:203 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwPktLoss:204 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwPktSent:205 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwAvgJitter:206 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_dwAvgLatency:207 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_wAvgRate:208 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_ucCodec:209 V/AgentService_J( 723): mp03_ucPad:210 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 723): (0) submitMP03:103,3,sizeof(arrStats):96 SMS Received – Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.smsnotify D/SMSDispatcher( 2464): dispatchWapPushToCIQ >>> D/SMSDispatcher( 2464): dispatchWapPushToCIQ >>> D/SMSDispatcher( 2464): dispatchSmsToCIQ in D/SMSDispatcher( 2464): mPdus >[a message pdu is in hex(??) here, removed] V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[877]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.smsnotify V/AgentService_J( 713): get SMS V/AgentService_J( 713): 43 V/AgentService_J( 713): +checkSMS:-1 V/AgentService_J( 713): +checkSMS BODY >>: [a message body is here(hex??), removed] I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (0)checkSMS:testing123 [the contents of the message sent] I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): hii I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (this Is my message)EWT,48 Keypress made – Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 – Pressed 1: (wkeycode 49), you can see ucKeyEvent = 0 when key is pressed V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[170]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): actionUI01:49,0 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (0) convert01:49,0 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)wKeyCode: 49, ucKeyEvent: 0 ucKeyEvent = 1 when released V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[171]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): actionUI01:49,1 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (0) convert01:49,1 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)wKeyCode: 49, ucKeyEvent: 1 I pressed the button 2: (wkeycode 50) V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[182]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): actionUI01:50,0 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (0) convert01:50,0 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)wKeyCode: 50, ucKeyEvent: 0 V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[183]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): actionUI01:50,1 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (0) convert01:50,1 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)wKeyCode: 50, ucKeyEvent: 1 I press the button 3: (wkeycode 51) (cut off key released from here on, you get the point by now) V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[191]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): actionUI01:51,0 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (0) convert01:51,0 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)wKeyCode: 51, ucKeyEvent: 0 Button 4 (wkeycode 52): V/AgentService_J( 716): Action[196]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): actionUI01:52,0 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 716): (0) convert01:52,0 V/AgentService_J( 716): (0)wKeyCode: 52, ucKeyEvent: 0 Home button pressed (wkeycode 11) V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[528]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): actionUI01:11,0 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (0) convert01:11,0 V/AgentService_J( 713): (0)wKeyCode: 11, ucKeyEvent: 0 Back Button pressed: (wkeycode 27) V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[554]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui01 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): actionUI01:27,0 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (0) convert01:27,0 V/AgentService_J( 713): (0)wKeyCode: 27, ucKeyEvent: 0 Screen On/Off – Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui02 Screen On – V/AgentService_J( 717): Action[355]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui02 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 717): (0) submitUI02:1,0,0 V/AgentService_J( 717): (0)OldUIState:1,NewUIState:0,UIEvent:0 Screen Off – V/AgentService_J( 717): Action[357]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui02 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 717): (0) submitUI02:0,1,0 V/AgentService_J( 717): (0)OldUIState:0,NewUIState:1,UIEvent:0 Signal Changes – V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[935]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui08 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): actionUI08 metric:6, 3 V/AgentService_J( 713): (0)ASU, TECH:6, 3 Battery Usage Changes – (yes the typo is in logcat not me) I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (0) submitUI09:5 V/AgentService_J( 713): Battery Dispaly:5 Application Opened Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui15 Application Focused: Intent – com.htc.android.iqagent.action.ui19– V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[5 V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[5 Now let’s talk about HTTPs In the online world, HTTPs is pretty much the only thing protecting sensitive data moving around. In a nutshell, when you first connect to, the browser checks SSL certificates and makes sure the site operator is who it says it is. After that, all traffic between the user and the site is encrypted. From, we see an example of this. HTTPs strings + data after the SSL handshake really can’t be sniffed outside of browser. Now, although it’s insecure, HTTPs usernames/passwords CAN be passed in plain text. So while my examples are based on a google search, if you did, that exact string would be passed into the CIQ application. Googling Hello World over SSL: V/AgentService_J( 713): Action[1035]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.al34 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 713): (0) submitAL34:-1155376757,[removed some sensitive looking information] V/AgentService_J( 713): (0)dwPageID:1321694550411,szURL:[removed some sensitive looking information] Below are a few excerpts from logcat that show what Carrier IQ was doing while I logged into PayPal. I did not feel comfortable posting more information than this, since the login strings Carrier IQ grabbed were detailed. Notice it even says (from:com.android.browser) showing that Carrier IQ has been integrated directly into the browser’s code. The application is reading not only HTTP, but the HTTPs details about the page I visited down to the JS(javascript) and CSS(Cascading Style Sheets) files which are all the “background code” that control how webpages look and feel.29]15]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.nt0f I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 468): (-3) actionNT0F:722,-1,0,5,0,0,4,-[SOME_UNIQUEID]/css/core/global.css V/AgentService_J( 468): (-3)Size:722,SocketID:-1,Code:0,AppType:0Mode:4,URI:-[SOME_UNIQUEID]/css/core/global.css(from:com.android.browser) V/AgentService_J( 468): Action[1328]:com.htc.android.iqagent.action.nt10 I/HTC_SUBMITTER_C( 468): (-3) actionNT10:0,-1,304,4,0,0,4,-[SOME UNIQUEID]/js/lib/min/widgets.js V/AgentService_J( 468): (-3)Size:0,SocketID:-1,Type:304,AppType:0Mode:4,URI:-[SOME_UNIQUEID]/js/lib/min/widgets.js(from:com.android.browser) My Conclusions I have shown what the Carrier IQ application is capable of doing on an HTC device. The fact that it’s embedded into the shipped device raises very serious security and privacy concerns. My original article was intended to be my take on the entire process with enough information for anyone to verify. I cited my sources throughout the article and mirrored training files to support my findings. Everything I wrote continues to be to the best of my knowledge. Many people are clearly confused about this application and what it does, and it’s being explained to nobody. - The CIQ application is embedded so deeply in the device that it can’t be fully removed without rebuilding the phone from source code. This is only possible for a user with advanced skills and a FULLY unlocked device. Even where a device is out of contract, there is no OFF switch to stop the application from gathering data. The files and code littered across many protected operating system locations will ALWAYS be there, and we can see logcat proof of it running — wasting CPU cycles, PMEM space, and whatever else. Regardless, the applications should not be allowed to run and collect data outside of possibly a contract with a carrier. Any user who wants a full removal method should have one. - The CIQ application is receiving not only HTTP strings directly from browser, but also HTTPs strings. HTTPs data is the only thing protecting much of the “secure” Internet. Queries of what you search, HTTPs plain text login strings (yuck, but yes), even exact details of objects on page are shown in the JS/CSS/GIF files above — and can be seen going into the CIQ application. - The CIQ portal is not anonymous if devices upload packages by equipment id and other identifying metrics and can individually be tasked packages, as we saw in the training document. (see previous article) I would like to know exactly who has seen this data, what data has been recorded, and who has recorded it. This data should also be subject to some clear privacy policy. The only existing privacy policy we can find rings hollow when we know the software logs sensitive identifiable data: - Our data gathering and data storage policies are built from industry best practice. Our products allow us to address privacy & security requirements that vary country-by-country and customer-by-customer. There are a variety of techniques involved in protection of privacy and in implementation of security policy, including anonymization of certain user-identifiable data, aggregation of data and encryption of data, etc. (From) - If a bad actor discovered a vulnerability or used malware, he could potentially exploit that opportunity to become a “CIQ operator,” leaving many users helpless against the extensive collection and misuse of their own information and no way to stop it. With so much moving code across the operating system, I would say the chances of malware looking here isn’t that far-fetched. An application should never be this hard to fully remove for security reasons—especially out of contract—when it serves no good purpose for the user, and its use should be opt-in ONLY.

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The Invisible Man's Revenge From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia The Invisible Man's Revenge is a 1944 American horror film directed by Ford Beebe and written by Bertram Millhauser.[2] The film stars John Carradine as a scientist who tests his experiment on Jon Hall, , a convict who takes the invisibility serum and then goes on a crime spree. The film was announced on June 10, 1943, and began shooting on January 10, 1944 finishing in mid-February. On its release, reviews in The New York Herald-Tribune, The New York Daily News and The New York World-Telegram noted that the film series and its special effects became tired, while a review in The Hollywood Reporter declared it as one of the best in the series. Plot[edit] After murdering two orderlies, Robert Griffin escapes from the secluded Cape Town mental institution where he has been committed, and now he is looking for revenge on the respectable Herrick family. A family consisting of Sir Jasper and lady Irene, and their daughter Julie, who are engaged in entertaining, and inspecting, Julie's new boyfriend, newspaper journalist Mark Foster, in the family residence. Later that night Julie and Mark leave the residence together, and Sir Jasper and lady Irene are left alone. That's when Robert decides to pay the couple a visit. Quite unexpectedly he enters the residence and accuses the couple of leaving him to die out in the African wild, injured when they were on a safari together. The Herrick couple defends themselves, claiming they were told that he was dead and not injured, but Robert doesn't buy their explanation. He demands they give him his share of the diamond fields they all discovered together on the safari. Jasper tries to tell Robert that the diamond fields were all lost in a series of bad investments. Robert refuses to give in, threatening to sue the Herricks, and to calm him down and get him off their backs, they offer him a share in an estate, the Shortlands. His counter-proposal is that they should arrange for him to be married to their daughter Julie. After saying this, he is drugged by Lady Irene and passes out in their home. The Herricks realize that their old friend and companion has gone completely mad, and while they are frightened of what he could do to them if they don't comply to his wish, they see no problem with stealing the agreement made or pushing him further along the path of insanity with their betrayal. They search Robert's clothes and find the written partnership agreement they all entered into some time ago. Taking the paper, they next callously throw Robert out of their house. Robert nearly drowns where he lies, unconscious, but is saved by a local Cockney cobbler by the name of Herbert Higgins. Herbert decides to use this newfound possibility - the information he got from Robert - to blackmail the Herricks. He is unsuccessful, as Jasper calls on chief constable Sir Frederick Travers. The chief constable declares Robert's claims to the Herricks' estate as void and orders him to leave his jurisdiction. Robert leaves for London, but on his way he happens to come by the home of eager scientist Dr. Peter Drury. This scientist is involved in some questionable research, and is very eager to find a suitable subject to test his new experimental formula on - a formula for invisibility. Robert asks that the doctor try it on him, and he agrees, completely in the dark of the fact that Robert wants to use this to get his revenge on the Herricks. Robert forces Jasper to sign over their entire estate to him. He also finds time to help his saviour Herbert to win a game of darts at the local inn. Jasper secretly also agrees to give his daughter's hand in marriage to Robert - if he ever regains his visibility. Robert goes back to the scientists laboratory and witnesses how the doctor restores visibility to his dog Brutus, by giving him a blood transfusion. Robert breaks into the laboratory and knocks the doctor unconscious, before performing a blood transfusion on himself, using the doctor's blood. The transfusion results in the doctor's death, and to avoid capture, Robert sets the laboratory on fire and takes off just before the police arrive on the scene. Robert changes his identity to "Martin Field" and moves in with the Herricks at the estate which he is now owner of. When Herbert finds out about Robert's return he makes a futile attempt to blackmail him too, and out of pity - and perhaps thankfulness - Robert pays the man one thousand pounds to get rid of him. Robert has one condition for paying the money: that Herbert kills the doctor's dog Brutus, who has followed Robert back to the Herrick estate after the fire. Robert starts losing his visibility one day at the breakfast table, with Julie and her fiancé Mark present. He tricks Mark to follow him down into the wine cellar, where he knocks the man out, starting another, second blood transfusion with Mark's blood. Chief Constable Travers arrives at the estate after he has found out about Robert's return. With some help from Herbert and Jasper they break into the cellar just as the transfusion is about to be completed, in time to save Mark's life. Robert is attacked by the still very much alive Brutus, and killed. Mark tells the others that Griffin went insane when he was locked up in the asylum, and meant no one any harm until he escaped. Cast[edit] - Jon Hall as Robert Griffin - Leon Errol as Herbert Higgins - John Carradine as Dr. Peter Drury - Alan Curtis as Mark Foster - Evelyn Ankers as Julie Herrick - Gale Sondergaard as Lady Irene Herrick - Lester Matthews as Sir Jasper Herrick - Halliwell Hobbes as Cleghorn, the butler - Leyland Hodgson as Sir Frederick Travers - Doris Lloyd as Maud, the barmaid - Ian Wolfe as Jim Feeney, lawyer - Billy Bevan as The Police Sergeant Production[edit] Universal first announced the plan for The Invisible Man's Revenge on June 10, 1943 with the hopes of having Claude Rains performing in the lead.[3] Other cast members who were lined up for the film were Edgar Barrier who opted out of the production on January 6, after being disenchanted with the roles he had in films like Phantom of the Opera and Cobra Woman.[4] Prior to the first day of shooting the film, Universal's attorneys made a deal with H. G. Wells for the rights to make two more Invisible Man sequels between July 1943 and October 1951.[4] Production on the film began on January 10, 1944 and continued for five weeks and three days finishing in mid-February.[4] After this, John P. Fulton took over to complete the special effects sequences.[4] The film's final cost was $314,790[5] Release[edit] The Invisible Man's Revenge was distributed theatrically by the Universal Pictures Company on June 9, 1944.[1][2]The films worldwide gross was $765,700.[5] The film was released on DVD on as part of the "Invisible Man: The Legacy Collection" set, which included The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent.[6] It was released again on blu ray as part of the "Invisible Man: The Complete Legacy Collection" on August 28, 2018.[6] Reception[edit] From contemporary reviews, Howard Barnes of The New York Herald-Tribune found the film "singularly unexciting" finding John Fulton's special photography as "the most striking aspect of the picture [but] the tricks have been done too often before by the camera to make them particularly effective by themselves."[7] Wanda Hale of The New York Daily News echoed this statement, finding that "the frightening creature [...] is no novelty" and that the film was "not the stimulating thriller that The Invisible Man was."[7] A reviewer in The New York World-Telegram declared that "some of the earlier variations of H.G. Wells' invisible man idea were filmed with an idea that the story should make good sense. That policy has been abandoned this time" while still noting that Jon Hall was being "a much more effective actor than he has been in some of his recent adventures in gaudy Technicolor."[7] Conversely, a reviewer from The Hollywood Reporter declared it as one "of the best and most entertaining of the series"[3] From retrospective reviews, the authors of the book Universal Horrors declared the film to be "the least ambitious but hardly the least entertaining of Universal's widely varying series" noting it's "no frills approach to its subject matter" declaring it better than The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent but not as strong as The Invisible Man or The Invisible Man Returns.[3][7] Special effects in the film were described as "have a slapdash quality" with only a few pulling of "startlingly effective tricks."[8] Actor John Carradine, who loathed the horror films he worked in, was asked in the British fanzine House of Hammer if he liked any of the horror films he was in, and he responded he enjoyed The Invisible Man's Revenge .[7] See also[edit] References[edit] Footnotes[edit] - ^ a b c d e Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 400. - ^ a b c d e "The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)". American Film Institute. Retrieved July 8, 2020. - ^ a b c d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 401. - ^ a b c d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 405. - ^ a b Mank 2015, p. 313. - ^ a b "The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)". AllMovie. Retrieved July 8, 2020. - ^ a b c d e Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 406. - ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 403. Sources[edit] - Mank, Gregory William (2015). Women in Horror Films, 1940s. McFarland. ISBN 1476609551. - Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2974-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)