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On this date in 1825 Charles X (1757-1836) was formally consecrated and crowned King of France, during the traditional high mass held for this purpose at the Cathedral of Rheims. While his reign may not be one whose achievements jump to the minds of most non-Frenchmen, as a patron of the decorative arts Charles had interesting taste which continues to appear in furniture design to this day. In particular, the anniversary of his coronation allows us an opportunity to reflect on chair designs that represent his reign – and how his influence overcame some of the rather tacky elements of Napoleonic design which preceded it.
By the time Charles X ascended to the throne of France, following the death of his brother Louis XVIII in 1824, he already had a long-standing reputation as a lover of fine furniture and design. While criticized by many on the left for his championing of pre-Revolutionary political ideals, his appreciation of contemporary design based on older models of comfort put him in the vanguard of patronage. For someone viewed in the popular press as a reactionary, i.e. too rigid, too pro-Church, and too autocratic, it is interesting that a simple, relaxed elegance supplanted the harsh, arriviste monumentality which had characterized furniture design in the decades that preceded him.
As the youngest brother of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's favorite brother-in-law, when he was a young man Charles X witnessed the transition from the over-the-top elements of his grandfather Louis XV's Rococo style, to a more subdued sense of luxury, softened by the example of the Petit Trianon and informed by the discoveries at Pompeii. This earliest stage of what came to be called Neoclassicism embraced more simple lines, light colored woods with floral inlay, and a less formal feel than the grandiose pomposity of the preceding decades. This graceful style was, regrettably, supplanted by an increasingly stiff and blockier design, first under the French Republic and later under Napoleon.
Napoleon's clunky style of Neoclassicism, using materials such as dark woods in geometric forms and military motifs such as bronze mounts of eagles and war trophies, came to be inextricably associated with his reign, and therefore known as the "Empire" style. It incorporated Greek, Roman, and even Egyptian elements, sometimes in a cartoonish sort of way. The style continued beyond his rule, as design styles usually do, but it gradually began to decline in popularity in France under the Bourbon Restoration of Louis XVIII. By the time Charles X came to the throne, his more refined taste and a kind of ante-Proustian "recherche du temps perdu" prevailed.
When this earlier Empire style was finally abandoned by the moneyed classes, it was in favor of a combination of lighter, contrasting woods, and more curved, comfortable forms, often using marquetry and inlay. Though somewhat different in feel from the court of Louis XVI, many of the forms popularized by Charles X hearkened back to his older brother's era. It is reasonable to suppose that he and the surviving members of the nobility and bourgeoisie from the days before the Revolution saw that earlier age as a happier, more relaxed time, perhaps tinged subsequently with a sense of mourning for what had been lost.
The type of chair most commonly associated with Charles X is the upholstered, curved-arm chair shown here. There are variations with a higher back, sometimes with a curved back and top rail, sometimes with a straight top and straight back. Sometimes the entire arm is upholstered with only some of the wood showing, and sometimes there is no arm at all. In other variants there is more of a complete barrel/tub shape, which in itself reflects back to the low-backed bergere styles that were popular during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI.
These styles have remained influential down the centuries, and indeed The Courtier has two modern variants on the Charles X tub chair in the living room at the manse. The emphasis on a graceful, yet simple curve in these chairs, not only pleases the eye but also comforts sitters of all shapes and sizes, in a way which the stiff, bolt-upright chairs of the Napoleonic period do not. One can see echoes of this style a century after the reign of Charles X in Art Deco club chairs and dining room chairs, and their modern variants, which continue to be produced today.
In trying to undo the socio-political upheavals of the Reign of Terror and the Napoleonic period, Charles X may not have been particularly successful. Yet in promoting the more gracious elements of his youth in daily living, he re-introduced into the vernacular of French design an appreciation for elegance on a human scale, one which avoided both the frippery of his grandfather's reign and the clumsy bad taste of those who had tried to destroy his family. That effort, arguably, proved to be the most lasting accomplishment of his own reign.


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Travel Diary: Days 7-8 (Portland, New York)
Portland is a little kinky. I know this because people who live there keep telling me so. When I check into my hotel, the glossy booklets feature not only local attractions and places to eat but also the results of a nation-wide sex survey, which boasts about just how much more sexually active than average are Oregonians.
This crosses my mind when my breakfast arrives via room service just as I exit the shower. I'm naked except for a towel, and the usual procedure for this kind of situation is for the hotel employee to keep her eyes demurely averted, set down the tray, then scuttle out of the room. But this morning, the woman makes bright conversation, her eyes flicking all over me. I start to worry that she is going to yank off my towel and snap my buttocks with it. I am, after all, in Portland.
My media escort is Elizabeth, who has looked after me in Portland before. She drives me to a local radio station where I have a good, chatty interview, then it's off to Powell's and Borders for drop-in book signings. Elizabeth has copies of the local papers, the Sunday Oregonian and the Portland Mercury, and both have great Company reviews. This makes me happy.
Then, amazingly, I have six hours off. Elizabeth suggests that I go to the movies, which is a very exciting idea: that's another thing I haven't done since Fin was born. I end up seeing Good Night, and Good Luck, which is apparently what George Clooney and Grant Heslov have been doing instead of producing the film version of Jennifer Government. It's very good… although, you know, not a film version of Jennifer Government.
I spend a couple of hours wandering around downtown Portland, taking photos. It's a gorgeous city, and I keep putting away my camera only to take it out again ten seconds later when I see yet another beautiful street. I would really like to bring Jen here one day.
That night, 70 people turn up at Powell's for my reading—my biggest crowd yet! It's a good event, although for some reason I'm a little tongue-tied and stumble over the text more times than usual. When it's time for book signings, the first woman in line gives me a quarter and tries to convince me that it's customary for people to tip authors at US book signings. Seriously. Not helping.
A guy in line thanks me for a blurb I wrote for his book, and for long seconds I have no idea what he's talking about. Then I realize he's Paul Neilan and go totally fanboy, because Paul wrote what has become my favorite novel, Apathy and Other Small Victories. (It's not published yet; when we're closer to the release date I'm going to tell you alllll about it. Oh yes I am.) I've never met an author I really admire before, so this is a big moment for me. Everybody still waiting in line looks at me as if I have gone insane while I gush on to Paul about how much I love his book.
Afterward, Paul, his girlfriend, and I go out for drinks, where I tell him all the horrible things that usually happen when you have your first novel published, while reassuring him that they probably won't happen to him. I get back to my hotel at 2 a.m. and call Jen. Unfortunately, after a string of good nights, Fin is resisting bedtime, and I have to call back later. It's almost 3 a.m. by the time Jen and I finish talking, which gives me a grand total of two hours and 50 minutes sleep before I have to get up and catch a plane to New York. Surprisingly, I don't feel as if I have been beaten with hammers. Or at least, not very large ones.
I'm waiting at the airport gate when a trio of young businesspeople sit in the row ahead of me: two men and a woman. For some reason I can't stop looking at them, and become obsessed with the way the men are using body language to assert themselves over the woman. It is nothing obvious or deliberately cruel; they simply interrupt her more often, and engage each other more supportively. Then one of the men, who is sitting across from her, rests his arms out along the backs of the seats to either side of him and splays his knees, and I feel terribly sad for this young businesswoman, who is wearing impossible heels and a dainty scarf around her neck and now finds herself confronted with a well-pressed crotch if she wants to stay in the conversation.
Continental Airlines is apparently unaware that human beings have legs. Maybe I am expected to stash mine in the overhead compartment, because there sure isn't much chance of squeezing them into the tiny gap between the rows of seats. I finally work out a position that involves bending one leg at ninety degrees and jamming the knee of the other into the seat in front of me. It's pretty uncomfortable, but then my legs lose circulation and it feels fine.
I sleep fitfully, and at one point a flight attendant wakes me up to ask if my seatbelt is on, as we've hit a little turbulence. I tell him irritably, "Yes," then realize it's not.
I get some more sleep, then realize the plane has landed. But not in any airport: we seem to be on a road in the mountains somewhere. The Captain explains that we are conserving fuel by using gravity to help us along, and sure enough the plane then rolls off the edge of the road, which turns out to be a cliff, and free-falls several hundred feet before roaring up again under its own power. About then I wake up.
Every time I visit the stretch of New Jersey between Manhattan and Newark, I'm surprised that it still looks this way. I keep thinking that by now surely some mayor has thought, "Man, this is just embarrassing. We really need to clean this up." But no: it's still chemical plants and sludge farms as far as the eye can see.
I dump my bags at my hotel and race off to catch a drink with Bill, my editor, and dinner with Todd, my first literary agent. It feels good to walk along the streets of Manhattan. I like how everybody walks so fast, clearly expecting you to do the same or get the hell out of the way.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last reading! That feels a little strange. I'm somehow surprised that the tour is almost over

subset: commoncrawl


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Supreme Court action dismissed, fire victims must pay all costs
Sisters and Terang bushfire class actions participants are likely to shoulder legal costs that may be as high as $80,000 after Maddens Lawyers launched an unsuccessful application in the Supreme Court relating to the right of victims to opt out of class actions.
In the wake of unprecedented no-costs offers from insurance companies to victims of the devastating bushfires, it's understood some Maddens' class action participants have opted out of in favour of a potentially more timely and better financial outcome.
Maddens' application was dismissed in the Victorian Supreme Court by Justice Cameron Macaulay on Monday with costs awarded against the class actions.
Legal experts believe those costs will be eventually be paid out of any settlement sum recovered from Powercor for bushfire victims. Powercor infrastructure failings sparked the two St Patrick's Day fires in March this year which devastated large tracts of the Moyne and Corangamite regions.
Experts say the legal costs for the insurance companies and Maddens for Monday's application alone will be about $80,000.
Attempts to obtain a running total of legal costs incurred by Maddens in the class actions have proved unsuccessful, with Maddens saying there are "currently no costs payable".
Monday's unsuccessful application follows Justice John Dixon previously finding that Maddens had been misleading in prior statements made to The Standard on September 25.
In that judgement, Justice Dixon found that Maddens Lawyers' Brendan Pendergast, one of Australia's leading bushfire lawyers, had clearly sought to persuade insured group members to deal with his firm and not deal with their insurers.
Late last month, leading south-west civil lawyer Creon Coolahan, of Stringer Clark, told The Standard that the no costs insurance companies' offer was "almost certainly more likely" the best option for many of the bushfire victims. That article triggered Maddens' application to the Supreme Court.
Justice Macauley said in his finding that the circumstances in which insurers may or may not opt out group members was at present speculative.
He said the relative advantage of staying in the group proceeding or otherwise was complex and involved a myriad of factors including priority of distribution, proportion of insured versus uninsured losses, speed at which proceeding comes to hearing, competing costs efficiencies and other factors.
Justice Macauley said there was no evidence that any individual has been misled by the opinion expressed by Mr Coolahan.
He said Maddens could give legal advice to its client base if it apprehends anyone has been misled.
Mr Pendergast said the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that there was no need for the publication of a notice to correct statements that have been made in the media and elsewhere relating to the right of fire victims to opt out, the cut-off date and the opt out date, and about the distribution of recovered compensation funds to fire victims and insurers.
"We believed it was an appropriate step to take as the solicitors on the record in each class action," he said.
Mr Pendergast referred to his firm's concern that, as solicitors for the plaintiffs in the actions, it was not only necessary to prosecute the plaintiffs' claims but to also ensure that the interests of group members were considered and protected.
He said it was observed in court that there were matters of complexity which had arisen.
"We have the benefit of a judicial determination. The court has ruled that in the circumstances of these class actions the publication of a further notice is not required," he said..
We now have the ruling and that will assist in how we deal with fire victims' inquiries.
Mr Pendergast said fire victims impacted by these fires have until December 21 to opt-out of the proceeding should they wish.
"Persons who do not intend to opt-out need to do nothing. The decision to opt-out might have important consequences for fire victims," he said.
"People concerned about this issue should obtain legal advice without delay from an experienced legal practitioner preferably with relevant class action experience."
Mr Pendergast said that to date there had been very few fire victims who have filed opt-out notices with Maddens Lawyers.
He said that on the other hand there were a significant numbers of property owners who had instructed Maddens Lawyers that they intend to pursue their loss claims through the class actions.
Mr Pendergast emphasised that his firm has provided legal services to the people of south-west for more than 60 years.
"Our focus is on recovering the full measure of loss available at law for fire impacted families and individuals," he said.
"These matters will be the subject of court ordered mediations to be conducted early next year and in the event that the matters are not resolved they will be determined by trial before the Supreme Court of Victoria.
"The trials are presently fixed for hearing in October 2019 in Warrnambool."
The principal lawyer said there would be no resolution of the matters without the approval of the court.
He said that approval relates to the level of compensation recovered and costs including the costs of the insurer parties relating to Monday's application.
Mr Pendergast said the suggestion that $80,000 in legal costs was payable was without basis and the quantum of costs was ultimately for determination by the court.


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Welcome to Gunco. Thanks for the MG calander great idea. Very cool vid's.
Howdy everyone,
For those of you with legal machine guns and a desire to hone your skills against others, I created the machine gun competition calendar. Our great country has competitions from belt-feds to submachine guns nation wide every month. Please let me know if you have other events to add. Several competitions also allow the semi-auto versions of full auto firearms to compete as well in their own division.
Machine Gun Competition Calendar
For those of you interested in the sport you can watch some videos at the links below
Subgun Videos #1
Subgun Videos #2
Subgun Videos #3
Welcome to Gunco. Thanks for the MG calander great idea. Very cool vid's.
"Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway." - The Duke
Hi, MiniUzi
Thanks for the videos, with the rain-out of Knob Creek I got to get my
semiannual machine gun fix somewhere.
Thanks it helps
Thanks for the info and videos.
I wish I could do that with a TSMG.
It seems the nation is alive and well with sub gun competitions all over. I added a few more today but so far the following states have events going on for subguns and a few have belt-fed competitoins as well.
There's a regular meet in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Not too far from me. I was planning to go some years back, but they demanded I bring my original ATF paperwork to satisfy their paranoia. Sorry, that stays in the safe deposit box at the bank. They wouldn't take a notarized copy either.
Before planning a long drive, it would be good to check if whoever is organizing the event has a similar problem.


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Carlos Osorio / AP
Chloe Mills, 1-year-old daughter of Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills and his wife Kelsey, crawls past her father's walking legs in his boyhood home in Vassar, Mich., on Oct. 4, 2012.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Travis Mills plays with his daughter Chloe.
The Associated Press reports from Vassar, Mich. — Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills had been a lot of places since losing his four limbs in Afghanistan. The one place he hadn't been was where people knew him best.
He finally returned to his Michigan hometown this week — six months after the explosion that cost him his arms and legs — to serve as the grand marshal of his old high school's homecoming parade.
"This is my new normal, and it's all about how I adjust to it," he said moments after using his prosthetic legs to walk from the living room to the sun room at his childhood home. "There's no good that's gonna come from me sitting there and wondering, 'Why'd this happen? Why me? Now what do I do?' The answer's right in front of you: It happened because it happened." Read the full story.
Visit Travis Mills' web page to learn more about his road to recovery.
Related links:
- At long last: Remains of soldiers killed in World War II put to rest
- Wounded warriors show grit, determination on journey to recovery
- Funeral for a New Jersey soldier killed in Afghanistan
Carlos Osorio / AP
Mills, right, is helped with his home legs by his father, Dennis Mills.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Kelsey Mills helps her husband navigate the newly installed ramp at his boyhood home.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Travis Mills rides in the back of a Jeep during the homecoming parade on Thursday, Oct. 4. Mills, his wife, Kelsey, and their 1-year-old daughter, Chloe, were the grand marshals of Vassar High School's homecoming parade.
Carlos Osorio / AP
Julie Best, a friend of Travis Mills, cheers as he rides in the homecoming parade.
Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter


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Intel Cancels Larrabee Retail Products, Larrabee Project Lives Onby Ryan Smith on December 4, 2009 12:00 AM EST
- Posted in
- Ryan's Ramblings
We just got off the phone with Nick Knupffer of Intel, who confirmed something that has long been speculated upon: the fate of Larrabee. As of today, the first Larrabee chip's retail release has been canceled. This means that Intel will not be releasing a Larrabee video card or a Larrabee HPC/GPGPU compute part.
The Larrabee project itself has not been canceled however, and Intel is still hard at work developing their first entirely in-house discrete GPU. The first Larrabee chip (which for lack of an official name, we're going to be calling Larrabee Prime) will be used for the R&D of future Larrabee chips in the form of development kits for internal and external use.
The big question of course is "why?" Officially, the reason why Larrabee Prime was scrubbed was that both the hardware and the software were behind schedule. Intel has left the finer details up to speculation in true Intel fashion, but it has been widely rumored in the last few months that Larrabee Prime has not been performing as well as Intel had been expecting it to, which is consistent with the chip being behind schedule.
Bear in mind that Larrabee Prime's launch was originally scheduled to be in the 2009-2010 timeframe, so Intel has already missed the first year of their launch window. Even with TSMC's 40nm problems, Intel would have been launching after NVIDIA's Fermi and AMD's Cypress, if not after Cypress' 2010 successor too. If the chip was underperforming, then the time element would only make things worse for Intel, as they would be setting up Larrabee Prime against successively more powerful products from NVIDIA and AMD.
The software side leaves us a bit more curious, as Intel normally has a strong track record here. Their x86 compiler technology is second to none, and as Larrabee Prime is x86 based, this would have left them in a good starting position for software development. What we're left wondering is whether the software setback was for overall HPC/GPGPU use, or if it was for graphics. Certainly the harder part of Larrabee Prime's software development would be the need to write graphics drivers from scratch that were capable of harnessing the chip as a video card, taking in to consideration the need to support older APIs such as DX9 that make implicit assumptions about the layout of the hardware. Could it be that Intel couldn't get Larrabee Prime working as a video card? That's going to be a big question that's going to hang over Intel's heads right up to the day that they finally launch a Larrabee video card.
Ultimately when we took our first look at Larrabee Prime's architecture, there were 3 things that we believed could go wrong: manufacturing/yield problems, performance problems, and driver problems. Based on what Intel has said, we can't write off any of those scenarios. Larrabee Prime is certainly suffering from something that can be classified as driver problems, and it may very well be suffering from both manufacturing and performance problems too.
To Intel's credit, even if Larrabee Prime will never see the light of day as a retail product, it has been turning in some impressive numbers at trade shows. At SC09 last month, Intel demonstrated Larrabee Prime running the SGEMM HPC benchmark at 1 TeraFLOP, a notable accomplishment as the actual performance of any GPU is usually a fraction of its theoretical performance. 1TF is close to the theoretical performance of NVIDIA's GT200 and AMD's RV770 chips, so Larrabee was no slouch. But then again its competition would not be GT220 and RV770, it's Fermi and Cypress.
Next, this brings us to the future of Larrabee. Larrabee Prime may be canceled, but the Larrabee project is not. As Intel puts it, Larrabee is a "complex multi-year project" and development will be continuing. Intel still wants a piece of the HPC/GPGPU pie (least NVIDIA and AMD get it all to themselves) and they still want in to the video card space given the collision between those markets. For Intel, their plans have just been delayed.
The Larrabee architecture lives on
For the immediate future, as we mentioned earlier Larrabee Prime is still going to be used by Intel for R&D purposes, as a software development platform. This is a very good use of the hardware (however troubled it may be) as it allows Intel to bootstrap the software side of Larrabee so that developers can get started programming for real hardware while Intel works on the next iteration of Larrabee. Much like how NVIDIA and AMD sample their video cards months ahead of time to game developers, we expect that Larrabee Prime SDKs would be limited to Intel's closest software partners, so don't expect to see much if anything leak about Larrabee Prime once chips start leaving Intel's hands, or to see extensive software development initially. Widespread Larrabee software development will still not start until Intel ships the next iteration of Larrabee, if this is the case.
We should know more about the Larrabee situation next year, as Intel is already planning on an announcement at some point in 2010. Our best guess is that Intel will announce the next Larrabee chip at that time, with a product release in 2011 or 2012. Much of this will depend on what the hardware problem was and what process node Intel wants to use. If Intel just needs the ability to pack more cores on to a Larrabee chip then 2011 is a reasonable target, otherwise if there's a more fundamental issue then 2012 is more likely. This lines up with the process nodes for those years: if they go for 2011 they hit the 2nd year of their 32nm process, otherwise if they launched in 2012 they would be able to launch it as one of the first products on the 22nm process.
For that matter, Since the Larrabee project was not killed, it's a safe assumption that any future Larrabee chips are going to be based on the same architectural design. The vibe from Intel is that the problem is Larrabee Prime and not the Larrabee architecture itself. The idea of an x86 many-cores GPU is still alive and well.
On-Chip GMA-based GPUs: Still On Schedule For 2010
Finally, there's the matter of Intel's competition. For AMD and NVIDIA, this is just about the best possible announcement they could hope for. On the video card front it means they won't be facing any new competitors through 2010 and most of 2011. That doesn't mean that Intel isn't going to be a challenge for them – Intel is still launching Carkdale and Arrandale with on-chip GPUs next year – but they won't be facing competition at the high-end too. For NVIDIA in particular, this means that Fermi has a clear shot at the HPC/GPGPU space without competition from Intel, which is exactly the kind of break NVIDIA needed since Fermi is running late.
71 Comments
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Ryan Smith - Saturday, December 5, 2009 - linkI was in a rush and grabbed that image from our Larrabee deep dive article, believing it to be a short of Larrabee. Clearly that's wrong, and I've pulled the image. Thanks for catching that. Reply
Mike1111 - Saturday, December 5, 2009 - linkI wonder what that means for 2012's Haswell architecture. It was supposed to unite the CPU with Larrabee extensions (successor to the on-die non-x86 GPU core). If Larrabee isn't ready until 2012 that could be a big problem. Reply
Elementalism - Saturday, December 5, 2009 - linkA decade later, same poor project management over a compiler driven arch. Reply
sprockkets - Friday, December 4, 2009 - linkvaporware Reply
StevoLincolnite - Friday, December 4, 2009 - link[quote]and Intel is still hard at work developing their first discrete GPU.[/quote]
Just to correct an error in this Article that so many people and tech websites seem to make the error on.
Larrabee would not have been Intels first Discreet GPU, they produced the Intel i740 which was there first Discreet GPU almost a decade ago, which used the AGP bus, and was then the basis for the Intel Extreme based Integrated Graphics Processors for years after that. Reply
Olen Ahkcre - Friday, January 8, 2010 - link... Larabee would've been Intel's first "General Purpose" GPU. Reply
cocoviper - Saturday, December 5, 2009 - linkThe i740 wasn't a GPU. The first GPU was the Geforce 1 which integrated T&L hardware with the traditional fixed rendering pipeline.
The i740 was part of the TNT / Voodoo 2 generation that lacked T&L hardware and was thus simply a basic 2D/3D renderer, not a GPU. Reply
Spoelie - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - linkGPU is a term coined by NVIDIA to differentiate itself, but that just stuck around to encompass every graphic chip. It's silly to argue over its semantics.
Current GPUs do more than graphics, and ATi's chips should be called VPUs, but we all keep calling them GPUs anyway. Reply
sfc - Saturday, December 5, 2009 - link
Larrabee IS the first GPU Intel has created in-house. Intel didn't design the i740. That was a joint venture with Real3D. They essentially provided the manufacturing capabilities while Real3D provided the engineering and design. Reply
Ryan Smith - Friday, December 4, 2009 - linkBear in mind that i740 wasn't designed completely in-house; it was a joint project with Real3D/Lockheed. Larrabee is the first discrete GPU that Intel is designing entirely in-house. Reply


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Welcome to HAO Romania website!
HAO bring young people with disability out of Romania's institutions and orphanages into homes in the community. We support them to develop the skills they need to live independent full lives, make friends, get jobs. We also work in the community with Parents and Carers of children with disability and with young people with disability.
How it all started in the first place...
In 1999 in a bid to localize the organisation, HAO founded Fundatia pentru O Viata mai Buna (FVB), to take advantage of the reputation of HAO's longevity in the field of disability and in its reputation in the field of disability services both in Romania and in Ireland.
In 1990 after seeing young children with disability living in appalling conditions in Romania's orphanages, James Dillon, with a small group of volunteers sent aid trucks with food and clothing to the orphanages providing much needed relief; 'Babies of Romania' became a registered Irish Charity in 1991. Large numbers of volunteers travelled from Ireland and the UK to work as 'carers' in orphanages in Nicoresti (Galati County) and Negru Voda (Constanta County). As the 'babies' grew and became young adults, Babies of Romania decided to change its name to Health Action Overseas (HAO). By 1994 HAO had moved from providing relief to more sustainable development - educational and therapeutic programmes for disabled children and young people living in the Placement Centres and Orphanages; training programmes for local authority staff and in 2002 HAO opened its first group home. In 2007 as a progression from group home living, 6 young people moved into 2 apartments. All of these young people are now in full time employment, 2 have moved into their own apartments with financial support from HAO.
Health Action Overseas - UK is a newly set up and registered UK Charity, helping people with disabilities to participate as full members of society in a way that respects their dignity and rights by providing support and activities which develop the skills and capabilities of people living with disabilities to live independently and to gain education and employment which allows them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals. HAO UK works in partnership with Fundatia pentru o Viata mai Buna (FVB) and with Health Action Oversaes - Ireland to assist local and government authorities in host countries.
Health Action Overseas UK (HAO UK) will provide training to FVB, delivered in part, by UK volunteers and will support FVB to embed its Independent Living Programme as a progression for all of the young people living in Romania's Institutions where they have been labelled as 'disabled'.
Success story!
Abandoned in one of Romania's orphanges at the age of 3, Vasile was labelled 'irrecuperable' (unable to learn or progress) at 9 years old, he was unable to walk or talk when we first found him. Vasile is a very different person today, with our support he lives in the community, has a full time job and has just taken out a loan to buy his own studio apartment. Vasile is one of FVB's many success stories.
HAO Romania Counterparts (to stay)
Health Action Overseas - Ireland
Carmichael House - North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7, Ireland
Tel: 086 4040429
Email: email@example.com
Charity Number: 10503
Registered Company Number: 407808
Health Action Overseas - UK
9 Bent's Green Road SHEFFIELD South Yorkshire S11 7RA
Tel: +44 (01142) 302265
Email: Christine Glew
Website: www.haouk.org
Charity Number: 1145712
Registered Company No: 07529686


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Maybe it's cheating to call it soup. But when you can be almost immediately gratified with a steaming bowl of comfort, cheating never sounded so good.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Makes: 2 servings
Looking for a vegetarian version? Use vegetable broth and swap 1 can of black beans for the chicken.
Ready-to-eat chicken is available in supermarkets, or you can add raw diced chicken and lengthen the cooking time about 10 minutes.
1/2 cup microwaveable brown or long-grain rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) each: low-sodium chicken broth, diced tomatoes
1 to 2 cups cooked chicken, see note
1 cup corn, frozen or canned
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence or dried herb blend of your choice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
Freshly ground pepper
1. Cook the rice in the microwave according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; add the garlic and onion. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, chicken, corn, the rice, wine, herbs, red pepper flakes and pepper to taste. Heat to a boil; lower heat and simmer 5 minutes.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 568 calories, 23% of calories from fat, 15 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 78 g carbohydrates, 34 g protein, 411 mg sodium, 7 g fiber.


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A controversial classic!
It is perhaps one of the greatest scientific questions of our time. How common are we? Is our existence here in time and space a widespread occurrence in the cosmos, or are we so unique that we are effectively alone? The topic of this weeks review represents a landmark paradigm shift and is an often quoted book that Ive always wanted to get around to reading and reviewing. Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by David Ward & Peter Brownlee posits that animal life in general and intelligence such as our own in particular is a rare, perhaps a singular event in our corner of the galaxy. Published in 2000, its interesting to see how the science of the day stacks up to current thinking. For example, in 2000 a handful of exoplanets were known; almost all were hot Jupiters, and the prospects for terrestrial planets looked slim. To date, 779 extra-solar planets have been discovered using a variety of methods, providing researchers with enough data to classify and characterize various types of planetary systems.
It should be noted that the authors do point out that while animal life may be a tough hurdle, simple bacterial life may be common in the cosmos. Our own story lends some credence to this supposition; once conditions in the early history of life on Earth stabilized about 3.5 billion years ago, simple life arose readily. For almost 90% of the span of life on Earth, however, life remained at the simple one-celled stage. It seems that at least in our own case, going to complex multi-celled life was the hard part; but yet in less than a billion years, the explosion of plant and animal life led to dogs, cats, humans, Ipads, etc. How common this tale is remains to be seen. Certainly, the discovery of bacterial life past or present within our own solar system may lend weight to the first half of the Rare Earth hypothesis.
Among the factors that the authors site as conducive to life as we know it;
-An orbit around a single relatively stable star that maintains a steady output for many billions of years, long enough for life to develop;
-A stable orbit within the habitable zone of said star, a place where water can exist in liquid state;
-Condensation from a proto-solar nebula with a high metallicity (remember, to an astronomer, the universe is hydrogen, helium, & metal!) full of lots of great but scarce raw materials such as carbon, silicon, nitrogen, etc.
-A single large Moon that acts to stabilize the tilt of the Earth;
-A large goal tending planet like Jupiter that deflects a good portion of the life extinguishing comets that come our way.
-A stable position in the galactic habitable zone, not too close to the radiation-riddled core and not in the outer metal poor burbs. A good distance from any life extinguishing supernovae or gamma-ray bursters helps too, a sort of may you live in mediocre times curse/blessing.
-Active tectonic plates allowing for subduction and sequestration via a rock and carbon cycle.
To this end, the authors add some interesting twists to the famous Drake Equation, allowing for the events that brought us here in the mix. Certainly, if some of the scenarios such as the formation of our Moon are mandatory, chances for life are slim. One only has to look at the caveats offered by our neighboring worlds of Venus and Mars to see how different the Earth could be.
Still, a nagging hunch pulls at the back of our brain as we read Rare Earth just how viable is a statistic of one? Are all of these happy accidents mandatory, or can life, once its started, make due even under drastically different conditions? One could also point out that these conditions arent exactly stable or permanent; the tilt of the Earths axis does vary, the output of the Sun is increasing and fluctuates with time, etc. It would be great to have a better understanding of the minimum and maximum criterion for life as it relates to these events. Carbon is probably crucial; no other element forms such long complex chains, although silicon is sometimes also cited as a possible alternative. Water also makes a great universal solvent but might oxygen be poisonous to some forms of life? Would we recognize life drastically different from us if we saw it? Im reminded of Arthur C. Clarkes Report on Planet Three, where a Martian scientist gives a long and convincing discussion on why life on a hostile planet such as Earth couldnt be possible.
Read Rare Earth as a very timely and still largely pertinent discussion on one of the biggest questions of our time. I would also recommend James Kastings How to Build a Habitable Planet as a great look at how the Earth came to be. Either conclusion has stunning implications; of course, most of us root for sentience and a cosmos teeming with diverse life with Klingons and Vulcans bickering about treaties in a Galactic Federation but if we are truly "it" in our tiny niche of time and space, doesnt that make us and the Earth all that much more precious and unique, a jewel worth safeguarding and preserving?


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●[α иєω ℓιgнт]●
Jus like a new light
Like he was born overnight
He changed the essence of life
A better reason to stay alive
Yet he remains un-defined
As my love for him grows un-timed
I had nothing
Still, he became my everything
I'd say hes my beholder
Although, he is older
Ima call him my life,
One day he might make me his wife!
Its understandable
As to how how we're unseperatable
This relation between us is kinda like extreme:
Sweet melody dream.
Hes my lost sunshine
Exasabatingly fine..
With holding a heart of gold;
A personality thats bold
Hes too good for me:
Im honest-cause its what i see!
I'd call him my eternal love
Something from up above
A truthful fact,
Hes more then that.
Made for one another;
Will remain forever
Thats Us!
We're One!
{ P . s }
This Ones For You
& Yehh Iss Truee
Cause I Love Youu
Never Leave Meeeee
Cause Without You Ima Nobody
Yet These Words Could Do No Justice
However, I Love You
{FeedBack is welcome!}
-Btw This Poems Truee!!!-
For Those Girls Who Have Ever Been In Love..
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Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Photo Shoot Bloopers
here) asked me to be a part of her Business of Quilting series, I was more than happy, until I read that she needed a picture of me, too. Oh joy! Fortunately, my husband is really smart when it comes to figuring out how to use my Nikon D60. He took a great shot of me for the blog series (see above) along with a few bloopers, which I thought I should share, just to keep it real! :) Be sure to hop on over to Angela's blog and read her Business of Quilting series. It's pretty great, and I am honored to be a part of it.
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In political circles, people used to always talk about voting as a civic responsibility. That's fine. Democracy will crumble (has crumbled?) without an engaged citizenry. But the conversation about voting has changed somewhat in the 21st century. People don't talk about duty so much anymore. These days the message is usually about power. As in, use it or lose it, baby.
With that in mind, you can play a role in directing the future of Albuquerque on Election Day, Tuesday, Oct. 6. Or you can sit at home and whine to your mom about how you wish the bus system was easier to use, or there were recycling bins closer to your house, or less crime in your neighborhood or whatever. Your choice.
If you do choose to use the power that's been given to you, here's what you need to know:
• Bring a photo ID. Unlike last year, in this election you are required to bring an ID that includes your name and a photo. Don't worry about the accuracy of the address or anything else. The ID doesn't even have to be current, as long as poll officials can recognize your face and your name. If you forget to bring a photo ID, you are entitled to vote on a provisional ballot, but you will have to return to the City Clerk's Office within 10 days of the election to show a valid photo ID for that ballot to be counted.
Unlike last year, in this election you are required to bring an ID that includes your name and a photo.
• Figure out where you're supposed to vote before you leave for the polls. Sounds obvious, but here's the kicker: The place you voted last year will probably not be the place you need to vote this year. Polling places have been consolidated for this election. The city clerk has a handy tool on his website, cabq.gov/clerk. (Click on "Find out where you vote" under the "Elections" heading.) You'll need to enter your first and last name exactly as you registered them, along with your birth date.
We're all hoping for a smooth Election Day, but it's certainly possible that problems will arise. Your polling place might not open on time. (They're supposed to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) Poll workers might run out of ballots. A rogue official might refuse to accept a valid photo ID.
If you experience any problems whatsoever, call the City Clerk's Office at 768-3030. You can also use the services provided by Count Every Vote New Mexico, an election protection program created by Common Cause New Mexico. Basic information on this election is at counteveryvotenm.
The program also uses a voter hotline, (866) OUR-VOTE, hosted by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. You can record a voting problem and an election expert will return your call within minutes. Finally, the Bernalillo County Clerk will have additional staff members available on Election Day to answer your questions, and they can be reached at 468-1291.
Good luck, and have a happy Election Day.


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Frederick County is located less than an hour from Washington, DC, Baltimore, Antietam, Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry. As one of the most prominent regions in the nation's history, Frederick County is a place where residents embrace the past at all turns. From an abundance of historical sites and monuments to stunning state and national parks and a plethora of other recreation and entertainment opportunities, Frederick County is a one of a kind gem in Maryland.
There isn't much that Frederick County doesn't have. The New York Times recently deemed it a masterpiece in Maryland, and with the state-of-the-art healthcare system, quaint historic towns, thriving business environment and stunning landscape there are many reasons why people want to live here.
The population has dramatically skyrocketed in the past several decades, and given the ideal location and immense attractions it comes as no surprise. According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 241,000 people call Frederick County home as of 2013. Frederick County was named among the "Smartest Cities in America" for two years in a row by Forbes and was one of the "Top 10 Best Counties in America" by Movoto in 2014. As Maryland's largest county, new businesses continue to be attracted to the incredible economic landscape here.
Frederick County boasts award-winning educational opportunities for all levels. The Frederick County Public School system is nationally recognized for its high achievements, receiving for multiple years the U.S. Department of Education's prestigious Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence award. Secondary education is aplenty here is well. Hood College, Frederick Community College, Johns Hopkins University and Mount Saint Mary's University are just scratching the surface of higher education options in the region.
And while many residents of Frederick will commute into Baltimore for work, the county itself boasts a diverse range of employment options. According to the Frederick County Business Development and Retention Division, some of the major employers in the area include Fort Detrick Campus, Frederick County Board of Education, Frederick Memorial Healthcare System, Ledios Biomedical Research, Bechtel Power and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
No matter what your idea of having fun is, Frederick County has something to offer. Frederick County is home to 90 national, state, historical and local parks offering plentiful activities like swimming, boating, camping and more. Sites like the C&O Canal National Historical Park, South Mountain State Battlefield Park and Monocacy National Battlefield transport visiting residents into some of the region's most important past events and significant turning points, especially during the Civil War.
Arts and theater buffs will find Frederick County, and its namesake city in particular, to be a wonderful place to live. Downtown Frederick is designated an Arts and Entertainment District with its handful of historic and modern venues alike. The Frederick Arts Council works to ensure that performance arts are never lacking in the county for people of all ages.
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On eligible fixed-rate and adjustable rate mortgages, PenFed will give a promotional credit of .50% of the loan amount not to exceed $20,000. To receive the maximum amount offered of $20,000, the loan amount must be $4 million. The average promo savings is $1,416 as a lender credit. Available when obtaining an eligible mortgage through PenFed, using a network real estate agent and using our affiliate title providers. In states where PenFed does not have an affiliated title company, and in Florida, New York and Texas, members can choose their own title company and still be eligible for the promotion. The application of additional loan level pricing adjustment will be determined by various loan attributes to include but not limited to the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, credit score, transaction type, property type, product type, occupancy, and subordinate financing. Promotion available for the purchase of a primary residence, second home and investment property only. Other restrictions may apply.
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BILLINGS, MT -- Family-friendly changing rooms are becoming more popular as health club members demand more privacy, but in a down economy, many clubs have not had the resources for locker room renovations.
However, the Billings Family YMCA, Billings, MT, received a gift from a local civic group to add new family changing rooms, which were recently unveiled and made available to members.
The Billings Breakfast Exchange Club gave the Y a $5,000 grant to add private changing rooms in the facility's first floor locker room. Construction work on the rooms began last December.
The rooms were designed to make it more convenient for parents with children of the opposite sex to help them change, Y officials told local media.
"Parents with children of opposite sexes can have more privacy, and it offers more privacy to the members," Paul Manning, YMCA CEO, told the Billings Gazette. "For instance, with me, I've got a son and a daughter. They're too young to be on their own. This way, it allows them to step into the room and change. I can monitor and be responsible for my own children without any worries."
The new changing rooms also are directly accessible from the Y's family swimming pool. And one of the rooms was built a bit larger to accommodate those with special needs, Manning said.


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a linkfest! (^_^) 'cause i hate linkfasts, too. (*^_^*)
Whole genome sequence analyses of Western Central African Pygmy hunter-gatherers reveal a complex demographic history and identify candidate genes under positive natural selection – "African Pygmies practicing a mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle are phenotypically and genetically diverged from other anatomically modern humans, and they likely experienced strong selective pressures due to their unique lifestyle in the Central African rainforest…. Our two best-fit models both suggest ancient divergence between the ancestors of the farmers and Pygmies, 90,000 or 150,000 years ago. We also find that bi-directional asymmetric gene-flow is statistically better supported than a single pulse of unidirectional gene flow from farmers to Pygmies, as previously suggested…. We found that genes and gene sets involved in muscle development, bone synthesis, immunity, reproduction, cell signaling and development, and energy metabolism are likely to be targets of positive natural selection in Western African Pygmies or their recent ancestors."
Directional dominance on stature and cognition in diverse human populations – "[I]ncreased homozygosity was associated with decreased trait value, equivalent to the offspring of first cousins being 1.2 cm shorter and having 10 months' less education. Similar effect sizes were found across four continental groups and populations with different degrees of genome-wide homozygosity, providing evidence that homozygosity, rather than confounding, directly contributes to phenotypic variance. Contrary to earlier reports in substantially smaller samples5, 6, no evidence was seen of an influence of genome-wide homozygosity on blood pressure and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, or ten other cardio-metabolic traits. Since directional dominance is predicted for traits under directional evolutionary selection7, this study provides evidence that increased stature and cognitive function have been positively selected in human evolution, whereas many important risk factors for late-onset complex diseases may not have been." – see also Not tonight, cousin from dr. james thompson. and see also Inbreeding from greg cochran. and see also Directional dominance on stature and cognition from steve hsu.
Genes Unite Executive Functions in Childhood [pdf] – h/t brian boutwell! who tweeted: "Shared genes explain all of the covariance in exec functioning items. No parenting effects to be found."
200 Blog Posts – Everything You Need to Know (To Start) and The Rise of Universalism and Demography is Destiny, American Nations Edition and National Prosperity – jayman's been on a roll lately! (^_^) each of these warrants your close attention!
Heritability and the evolution of cognitive traits
CNVs in neuropsychiatric disorders – "Over the last few years at least 11 copy number variations (CNVs) have been shown convincingly to increase risk to developing schizophrenia: deletions at 1q21.1, NRXN1, 3q29, 15q11.2, 15q13.3 and 22q11.2, and duplications at 1q21.1, 7q11.23, 15q11.2-q13.1, 16p13.1 and proximal 16p11.2. They are very rare, found cumulatively in 2.4% of patients with schizophrenia and in only 0.5% of controls. They all increase risk for other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as developmental delay and autism spectrum disorders, where they are found at higher rates (3.3%). Their involvement in bipolar affective disorder is much less prominent. All of them affect multiple genes (apart from NRXN1) and cause substantial increases in risk to develop schizophrenia (odds ratios of 2 to over 50). Their penetrance for any neurodevelopmental disorder is high, from ∼10% to nearly 100%. Carriers of these CNVs display cognitive deficits, even when free of neuropsychiatric disorders."
Improving Phenotypic Prediction by Combining Genetic and Epigenetic Associations [pdf] – h/t dr. xaverius!
County level homicide rates by race/ethnicity of victim and On the effects of wealth on the B-W gaps, a response to questions posed by a commenter @random critical analysis.
the much discussed post The IQ Gap Is No Longer a Black and White Issue – from chanda chisala. see also Chanda Chisala: An African Hereditarian? – "If evolution applies to all of us, that includes Africans. It is perfectly possible that some African sub-groups are brighter than others. Any geographic group which takes care to encourage bright persons to marry one another could see positive effects after 20-30 generations of consistently strong selection, if those brighter parents have more surviving offspring, which is likely." – from dr. james thompson. and see also The Jews of West Africa? from peter frost. and see also my post: there's more to human biodiversity than just racial differences.
The Water-Crossers – from greg cochran.
Ancestry Matters: Patrilineage Growth and Extinction – h/t ben southwood! who tweeted: "Higher status Chinese patrilineages in the 18th and 19th centuries had more ancestors for hundreds of years after."
The puzzle of European hair, eye, and skin color – from peter frost.
The people who need very little sleep
How evolutionary psychology may explain the difference between male and female serial killers – "[R]esearch has shown that male serial killers tend to stalk and kill strangers. But FSKs tend to kill people they know. It seems, then, that MSKs are hunters and FSKs are gatherers."
Is the Romantic–Sexual Kiss a Near Human Universal – apparently not! – "The romantic–sexual kiss was present in a minority of cultures sampled (46%). Moreover, there is a strong correlation between the frequency of the romantic–sexual kiss and a society's relative social complexity: the more socially complex the culture, the higher frequency of romantic–sexual kissing."
Men are both dumber and smarter than women – just an ok article, but interesting to see this out there *at all*.
Historical Artifacts of the Blank Slate – from helian.
On a Fast Track – Can rapid genome sequencing at birth help save lives?
Genomics Industry Generating Huge Amounts Of Data Due To DNA Sequencing – yay!
Ageing rates vary widely, says study – "A study of people born within a year of each other has uncovered a huge gulf in the speed at which their bodies age…. [S]ome people had almost stopped ageing during the period of the study, while others were gaining nearly three years of biological age for every twelve months that passed." – original research article: Quantification of biological aging in young adults.
Reacting to Spree Killings, Progressively – @thosewhocansee.
for you brits: Is that stranger opposite you a distant cousin?
bonus: Pluto's discoverer's ashes will be the first human remains to leave the solar system — glued to the side of a space probe – *sniff*
bonus bonus: r.i.p. conrad – *sniff*
bonus bonus bonus: tweet of the week! (~_^) >>
#Byzantine Church checking its privilege (in Ravenna) pic.twitter.com/9B44GU6MF1
— Byzantine Ambassador (@byzantinepower) July 8, 2015
(note: comments do not require an email. r.i.p. conrad. *sniff*)


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- WiFi
- Car park
- Air conditioning
- Pets admitted
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Choose your room
Property Location A stay at Pear Tree Inn Terre Haute places you in the heart of Terre Haute, convenient to Honey Creek Mall and Wabash Valley Fairgrounds. This hotel is within close proximity of Vigo County Public Library and Swope Art Museum.Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 64 air-conditioned guestrooms. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms with shower/tub combinations feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and coffee/tea makers, as well as phones with free local calls.Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities Make use of convenient amenities, which include complimentary wireless Internet access and a television in the lobby.Dining A complimentary continental breakfast is served daily.Business, Other Amenities Featured amenities include express check-out, complimentary newspapers in the lobby, and dry cleaning/laundry services. Free self parking is available onsite.
Reviews: Hotel Pear Tree Inn by Drury
Useful information:Other names for Hotel Pear Tree Inn by Drury:
Pear Tree Inn Terre Haute


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The tennis team at Mount St. Joseph Academy started pre-season practice last week with most of the top talent from 2010 back out on the court and eager to seize an Athletic Association of Catholic Academies championship. Last fall the league title narrowly eluded the Magic, who made a 15-0 run to reach the finals of the AACA tournament, but were upset there by Villa Maria Academy.
This year the winner will be determined by the outcome of regular-season matches; the AACA playoffs have been eliminated due to the numerous past conflicts with the PIAA district tournaments.
Three athletes graduated from the 2010 MSJ team, and the only singles player among them was number three Catherine Baldasano, who has moved on to Fordham University. However, one of the top returning players, junior Jessica Bonet, has suffered a muscle tear that could have her out of action for the entire season.
Another junior standout, Mary Gorman, is ready for duty, and 7th-year coach Ron Mutchnik indicated that seniors Maureen Gallagher and Emily Marley will also be contenders for the singles spots. In the nick of time, in light of Bonet's mishap, a new star has arrived on the scene. An experienced tournament player on the USTA junior circuit, incoming freshman Morgan Weiss has made a strong showing in the initial week of practice.
Mount St. Joe's top doubles team of a year ago returns intact, with Maddie Kohler now a senior and partner Allison Murray a junior. Seniors Maddie Koestler and Kaitlin Kiernan have also played together in the past and should form the second pair for the Magic.
The other seniors on the squad are Elizabeth Marley (Emily's twin sister), Annemarie Ellman, and Tatiana Ramos, and the returning juniors (in addition to those already mentioned) are Sarina Carr and Morgan Devine.
The Magic are already engaging in important matches this week, meeting with defending AACA champ Villa Maria and fellow league member St. Basil Academy, as well as taking on a nearby non-league team, Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.


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EWG News and Analysis
The latest from EWG's staff of experts >>
EPA Goes Cuckoo for Cocoa Powder Puffs
Thursday, November 10, 2005
There's no improving the headline of this Monday article from the Corvallis Gazette-Times in Oregon, or their lead: "Those who wondered where the EPA under the Bush administration draws the line on tolerance for polluters have their answer: At the door of Chicago's Blommer Brothers Co. chocolate factory."
This is a great, snarky article worth a read for anyone frustrated by the Bush administration's policy of "proportion and selective enforcement" for environmental regulations.
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LCHS speech team finalists from Charleston's invitational
are Sara Shane, second in radio speaking; Wyatt Phillis and
Matthew Langdon, third in humorous duet acting; Grace Sheley,
fifth in prose reading; Tegan Follis, third in poetry;
Madison Bishop, sixth in junior varsity impromptu speaking;
and Jacqueline Keysear, second in junior varsity oratorical
LCHS speech team competes in 'Hooray for Hollywood' at Charleston
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[November 20, 2012]
CHARLESTON -- The Lincoln
Community High School speech team placed sixth overall at
Charleston's "Hooray for Hollywood" invitational on Saturday. The
16-member team had about 20 different entries competing in both
varsity and junior varsity divisions.
Varsity finalists are students who have
competed on a speech team before, but not necessarily in that event.
Varsity finalists were senior Sara Shane, second place in radio
speaking; senior Wyatt Phillis and junior Matthew Langdon, third in
humorous duet acting; senior Tegan Follis, third in poetry speaking;
and senior Grace Sheley, fifth in prose speaking.
Junior varsity members of the team who advanced to finals were
Madison Bishop, who placed sixth in impromptu speaking, and
Jacqueline Keysear, who placed second in oratorical declamation.
[to top of second column]
"The team is definitely growing, in both numbers and confidence,"
said head coach Jennifer Keith. "The ones who put in the most amount
of practice are doing well and encouraging the others on the team to
join them at the top.
"From here on out, the competition will be practicing more, as
well as we will need to raise our games in order to continue
succeeding," Keith said.
After a week's break for Thanksgiving, the team will head to
Bloomington High School on Dec. 1 for its invitational.
[Text from file received from Jennifer Keith,
Lincoln Community
High School]
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text:
I searched high and low for a solution to a problem with my webcam in Linux. I have a Logitech Quickcam Fusion that doesn't seem to work with Adobe Flash 10. Many programs like Yahoo and Ustream.tv use Adobe Flash to capture a webcam. My webcam works just fine with other apps like Cheese and Ekiga, but not with Flash programs. I tried the Flashcam fix, but something is not quite right. There seems to be no fix at the moment based on what I read on the Ubuntu forums. This is an issue with Adobe Flash in Linux. Hopefully, it will get fixed soon, like the next release! Has anyone got theirs to work? Any tip is appreciated.
I've been trying to use the eye toy with flash apps in Ubuntu. My camera works, but it's at the wrong resolution, causing everything to look garbled. If there was a way to change the camera resolution setting in flash, my camera work perfectly. The eyetoy works just fine in Windows.


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Dr. Sutherland Welcomes You!
Dentists are widely perceived as working with archaic equipment that adds up to pain in your mouth and in your wallet. I bring you laser, digital and other advances in dental technology to make you want to smile again. Each patient's smile is unique. I show you some digital previews of your smile so you can pick the one that's right for you.


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micro:bit at UNESCO Mobile Learning Week Paris
Friday 30 March 2018 - Strategy Lab 2. 09:30-12:30
Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a not for profit organisation founded by the BBC, ARM, IET and Nominet. We believe in "inspiring every child to create their best digital future". We do this through the BBC micro:bit, a small microcomputer that enables a child to learn coding simply and quickly. Allowing children to be creative faster.
Invented by the BBC, the device was distributed to 11 year old children for free across the UK. Research shows the impact was superb with "87% of children said they found computing more interesting having used the BBC micro:bit". The BBC micro:bit is available for purchase in 40 countries. Our giving program has delivered free micro:bit devices and campaigns into 50 different countries. The Foundation is a little over a year old.
This STRATEGY LABS hosted by UNESCO and ITU partner organizations will show you how to code a BBC micro:bit and outline a series of case studies from across the globe. Kavita Kapoor, the Foundation's Chief Operating Officer, will provide insights from the BBC micro:bit national roll-out and grass roots campaign as well as provide genuine technical insights into its success of mobile technology.
In this strategy lab, we shall help you conceptualise your real-world projects that fulfil established digital skills frameworks, assess digital skills of young people and educators in your region, and discuss the changing needs for digital skills across diverse geographies and future proofing in a rapidly changing world.
(It is by no means compulsory but if you wish to try some hands-on coding then please bring an internet enabled laptop.)


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Oh Thierry Henry, what did you have to go and do that for? You, of all people. Despite being a life-long Spurs supporter, I have always been a great fan of yours; you were one of those rare and special footballers it was always such a pleasure to watch, no matter which team you played for. One of those players who, despite all the greed and arrogance in modern football, made me remember why I fell in love with the Beautiful Game in the first place.
But then, in a crucial World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland last week, you did a Maradona, and the poor old Republic unfairly went crashing out after neither referee nor linesmen spotted your blatant handball. And blatant it was too. Quite ridiculously so. You even compounded the offence with your comments after the game: "It was necessary to exploit what was exploitable", you said, as if that somehow justified what was, without question, cheating. How could you?
However, Henry's out-of-character double handball is not the first instance of blatant cheating in sport this year. In some cases, this cheating has just been childishly sad, as with the deliberate F1 crashes, while in others it has veered towards out-and-out fraud, as with the outrageous and notorious Harlequins 'Bloodgate' incident (and what with Quins being the rugby union side I support, this scandal made me particularly angry), and the recent Champions League match fixing arrests.
It is difficult to know how to remedy such examples of dishonesty, because if sportsmen and women – as with pretty much anyone else in any walk of life, unfortunately – think that there is the slightest possibility they might get away with it, they'll try to do just that.
Continue reading "Note to Thierry Henry: it's football, not handball"


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Hoo'ville, here we come!
Getting into UVA has never been easier– at least for students of Virginia community colleges. Today, UVA announced a new initiative that guarantees transfer admission to Virginia Community College students with a 3.4 GPA.
Though there are a few other requirements (students must have no grades lower than C and must have at least a B in introductory English), the program could revolutionize Virginia's system of higher education, says Waldo Jaquith, one-time City Council candidate and former Piedmont Virginia Community College student.
"A four-year university isn't right for everybody," says Jaquith. "It's great for kids to start with an associate's degree, and if they want to go on, let them go on."
Unfortunately, the initiative comes too late for Jaquith, now 27, who attempted to transfer into UVA from PVCC with an A average not once but three times. He was rejected each time, despite credentials including starting his own software company, running for public office, and winning two VH1 awards for his Dave Matthews Band fan website, nancies.org. The explanation: the home-schooled Jaquith didn't have a high school diploma from an accredited school.
In one awkward episode at a dinner for software execs, UVA president John Casteen introduced young Jaquith– who then owned a web-development firm– to the executives as one of "our best students."
But despite his rejections– and Casteen's misstatement– Jaquith, who graduated from Virginia Tech in December, says he's not bitter.
"It would have been nice if that program had been around when I had applied," he says, "but I don't begrudge others that opportunity. If the next half-generation down from me gets to transfer into UVA from PVCC, that's wonderful."
16 comments
Good luck to the PVCC 3.4 students in their first semester at UVA. This is a terrible idea--most of the people who are capable of a 3.4-3.6 range at a community college would get smoked at UVA.
If you're good enough from PVCC or any other community college, you'd get into UVA anyway. And yeah, I did it twice.
DblHoo, I think your viewpoint neglects to consider the smart people who can afford to study part-time at PVCC while working full-time but can't do so at UVa (financial aid really doesn't work for everyone). Also, there are plenty of kids who are quite capable of a great deal but have the misfortune of being on the front lines of their parents' divorce or some other grade-suppressing tragedy at that time in their lives. Finally, Jacquith's experience points to a different issue -- that some of the smartest kids have non-standard educational backgrounds, and UVa is the one missing out.
One, don't we have AccessUVA to make sure that any student with the talent to be a UVA student but not the funds can attend? Two, wouldn't personal circumstances like the ones you mentioned be a large factor in a normal, non-automatic transfer application? Three, isn't the problem with Jacquith's denials a systematic rule against home schooled kids, not the lack of automatic admission from community college? If we assume that an "A average" (which I take to mean a 4.0) at PVCC would qualify a student for normal, non-automatic transfer admission, how does this help people in Waldo's former situation?
Yes, this might admit some community college students who would otherwise not gain admission but deserve it. But, I put forth, the regular transfer admission process should handle that. This system will admit a lot of people who can only muster a 3.4 average in a far easier curriculum, and will be destined to fail at an elite university. (And to anyone who says PVCC is just as hard as UVA, I ask you, where do tons of UVA pre-meds take Organic Chemistry, etc. in order to avoid the incredibly difficult UVA weedout classes? Piedmont.)
Wait a second, what happens if there are a thousand such students who wish to take advantage of this, and have such qualifications? I do not think that UVa can simply add them in, and that will be a thousand very talented high school and transfer students (including large state schools like JMU and GMU) who may miss out on their first choice. While I do not expect such a large number to do so, there certainly is the potential for a large transfer that could affect a lot of students. The standard transfer process should be adequate.
What makes this valuable (at any GPA threshold) isn't convenience for community college students, but that it's a step towards overhauling our state's educational infrastructure. Our four-year universities are stretched to the breaking point. It's time for a new school or two, but things would be helped much more by expanding our existing community college program. Providing kids with a low-cost method of attending school -- PVCC is a bargain -- for the first two years could do wonders for students, parents footing the bill, and our school system's capacity.
Also, for any liberal arts student (the only course to which I can speak), the classes at PVCC are every bit as challenging as those at state universities, if not more so (given that they're smaller and it's consequently harder to go unnoticed). I've never taken organic chemistry (thank God), but I did take about 3/4 of my 100 and 200 level courses at PVCC and 1/4 at Virginia Tech; I found the former to be generally better experiences in which I learned more. Discussions with fellow VCCS transfer students have indicated that this is pretty much par for the course.
Not to be a snob, but Tech is not known for its liberal arts departments. I have dealt with many people at UVA who have taken summer classes at PVCC for a variety of reasons, and every single one of them told me that every single class would be an easy A. That is, if they could transfer their grades to UVA, which they can't.
DblHoo, to address your points above:
(1) AccessUVa is still being phased in; it will be a couple more years before it assists "everyone" who needs it. In addition, financial aid is a dicey thing. The current income requirement is up to 200% of the federal poverty level (currently $20K x 2 = $40K for a family of four, $16.6K x 2 = $33.2K for a family of three) -- I can think of plenty of paycheck-to-paycheck families who earn levels above that. Also, there are always the kids who look like their families have money on paper but one parent refuses to pay because the other has custody, or the value of a parent's home or business disqualifies them but for whatever reason they can't/won't borrow against it, etc. It's a program that's a great step in the right direction, but it does not solve the problem universally.
(2) Personal circumstances are considered in the admissions process, but the depth of them is usually impossible to communicate on paper to an admissions officer -- there is just too much competition because there are too many kids trying to go to college these days. Let's say a kid's mom dies during her junior year of high school. Her grades go down, she can't take on all the extracurricular activities she needs in order to compete with other candidates, so UVa is out of the picture in her immediate future. But she graduates and starts taking classes at her community college, by which time she's healthy again, making the good grades she used to before her loss. As I understand this program, she would not be denied a transfer -- her high school performance is effectively negated by her strong post-secondary performance.
(3) Yes, the problem is a bias against home-schooled kids -- but again, as I understand it, this new program means it doesn't matter where your high school diploma is from; if you make the grades at a community college, you are in, period.
Waldo's point about easing the burden is a great one; between the population increase in the current college-age generation and the fact that going to college is much more "mainstream" than ever before, there are simply not enough slots to accomodate everyone who wants and can readily achieve a four-year degree. The infrastructure has to change, and this is a good step.
"Not to be a snob, but Tech is not known for its liberal arts departments."
Ah, but you *are* being a snob.
I have an extremely difficult time believing that UVa's Statistics 101, Earth Science 101, or English 101 classes differ significantly from Virginia Tech's or PVCC's similar courses.
My wife attended PVCC for two years before transferring to UVa. I have at least a dozen friends who have taken the same course with whom I have discussed this matter. They all agree -- the standard set of 100/200 courses for liberal arts students are as good or better at PVCC than they are at UVa, by virtue of the smaller class sizes and near-identical curricula.
You said that your experience at PVCC was not unlike (in fact, you said better) than your experience at Tech. In departments (I assume, I don't stalk you and have your transcript) like English, History, and Government. Why are we talking about Tech? Why are we talking about the 78th best school in the country (and that's largely on its engineering program) when discussing who should be admitted to UVA? How is that relevant? If you are saying that Tech is low enough to be at a community college level, well, I can't argue with you.
Why are the 100/200 level classes at PVCC "as good or better" than at UVA? Because they are taught more like high school, perhaps? In high school, material is pretty much jammed down your throat. Weekly chapter tests and a million other assignments means that you have to routinely show that you've learned the material. This works when the material is easy to learn, but the university model is based on substantial self-study because it would simply take too long to explain complex concepts to each student in a way that everyone would be ensured of getting it. You learn on your own in college--you don't in high school. Do you at PVCC?
Second, who cares if SomeClass 101 is the same at PVCC as at UVA? If you're really smart, and go to PVCC, I'm sure you won't have trouble with upper level classes at UVA. Of course, if you're really smart and go to PVCC, you should be able to transfer to UVA without this preposterous program. (And, in your case, I recognize a fault in the system that should not have been.) People who get 3.4 GPAs at a community college might be very smart--or they might be taking advantage of a talent pool that just can't measure up. Admitting all of them automatically is surely going to dilute the talent pool at UVA--something I, as an alumnus, care very much about.
1. If you argument is for increased financial aid for working families that otherwise could not afford a UVA education but qualify in every other respect, I'm all for it. But you seem to be arguing that just because there are some smart poor people around, we should automatically admit plenty of not-smart, not-poor people who happen to go to community college for whatever reason. I don't understand the connection.
2. As I understand this argument, you think it is too difficult for us to adequately run the admissions process at UVA, so we should just let anybody in? I'm sure the top-notch faculty will love this and definitely not leave for comparable institutions where the students have accomplished more than getting by two years of community college. If a PVCC student has a 3.4 GPA in all 100-level courses, and a 930 SAT, should he be admitted to UVA?
3. Making "the grades at a community college" is not hard--when the standard is 3.4. I am sure that many of us could get a 3.4 in our sleep there. We as a society have to understand that there is college material and there is not. In the 1960s, the vast majority of high school graduates did not go to college--they learned a trade or worked in a field that did not require higher education. College, then, was a big deal--and certainly attending the best university in the South was a big deal. Now, we have reduced college to being of the masses, anyone can go to college, spend six figures over four, five, six, seven years, graduate and become a secretary. There are plenty of 4-year colleges in this state that are just embarassing--we don't need to make UVA embarassing for the sake of access.
1) Dumb rich kids don't go to community colleges. They get accepted to places like Yale on their legacy. And yes, to UVa as well. Just drive down University Avenue sometime; odds are you'll hit one.
2) I wasn't knocking UVa's admissions process at all, just pointing out that there's a lot that can't be communicated on paper as clearly as grades. And with all the SAT prep classes these days, the validity of SAT scores as an actual measure of college success is on the decline more than ever. Again, economic access comes into play.
3) Unlike Waldo, I have no personal PVCC class experience, and it sounds like yours is all hearsay (albeit very passionate hearsay). I have a proposal for you: go to sleep for two years, take a bunch of PVCC classes, and report back to us. Meanwhile, quit missing everyone else's valid points through your elitism.
How have I missed anyone's "valid" points? I have responded to all of them. By definition, I have not missed them.
Dumb rich kids do not go to Yale or UVA. If you are rich, a legacy, whatever, and you get an 800 on your SAT, you do not go to either school. Period. Stop with the liberal egalitarian whining that the world is out to get you--being a legacy helps, but you have to have the goods, too.
Dude, it's people like you who give us UVa alums the reputation of being pricks.
DblHoo, there is a difference between responding to a point and understanding its implications. Nobody is whining that the world is out to get anybody; I'm holding an intelligent discussion and you're making (wildly inaccurate) assumptions about my politics. There's nothing more I need to add here.
What about wanting standards for what used to be a top-notch academic institution is prickish? Or are you upset that you can't respond to my point about the 3.4 PVCC kid with a 930 SAT?
Hey, why don't we let everybody in! Yeah, it'll be a big morale booster for the masses. They'll all get to say they went to UVA. And the value of that degree won't decline at all...
DblHoo -
The value of your degree has been declining for years due to the deterioration and lack of support of your "Honor Code". When the University's "students" begin defining honor in degrees, more is lost than the value of your degree.
This plan is a terrible idea for all the reasons DBLhoo has presented.
I've taken classes at PVCC (I'm a UVa grad) and they are hella easy- I can't believe someone disputes this.
Why don't we just get rid of admission standards all together? That would be easier and save the U a bunch of cash.
I'm also curious if the fervent supporters on this board are U alums...I'm guessing no.
And, what the hell does the honor system have to do with this? IIRC, the honor arguments were about degrees of penalty based on the infraction, not honor as a concept.
Again, this is such a dumb idea. Way to go Casteen!!


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For Holidays, the $450 Steel Starbucks Card
Coffeehounds, rejoice! Starbucks is offering a stainless steel $450 gift card with gold club membership. But there's only $400 worth of value on it. Spencer Jakab reports on Markets Hub. Photo: AP.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... he ... stainless steel can call this very inching story ... write to Jacob is here with us ... Jacob how already dying of China ... both the money in the summer ... come across this story ... what's all that guilt Viacom which is the luxury goods website selling ... four hundred and fifty dollar stainless steel to proofread or when you lean years in the very best not one of those plastic eCards that ... by the grade Over century ride Audi and the IUI will you know this last part that all his reloadable too ... then you get this on it's it's you know it's pretty so they're they're always on five thousand so it's not going to be done is is a four hundred and fifty dollars stainless steel giftcard for Starbucks that's right and ... it's so I'm and it's it's a steal for them this detail because it's only a ... four hundred dollars of value on the look is you'll automatic gold level membership Starbucks to get a free coffee on your birthday stuff like that still ... lingers on fifty bucks unlikely to get a veto ... of the free coffee on their birthday for the next two to fifteen years old you are buying it for four and fifty dollars giving it to me is a gift is you know we can walk into a exactly a hip ... the person gets only four hundred dollars Starbucks pockets to fifty ... it is so it's a bit this is blog on an extreme example the silliness of gift cards gift cards are great business for retailers and restaurants ... the others estimate that ... over the last sixty years about forty one billion dollars in value sort of you know fell for the cracks ... Azer is a lot of of gift ... my ... father one of my afloat money you look at Starbucks specifically at the ... end of the first quarter's the first quarter and speed of after Christmas and that's that's what gift cards can given ... they had deferred revenue of six hundred and seventy three ... million dollars in a big chunk of that ... we're not not small chunk of at least is gives courts ... its gift cards and they only recognize the revenue ... once you use it ... for when they deem that based on history that there's breakage which means people don't use that right ... and that there never been of the user may slow in recognizing revenue ... and other retailers to the same thing but gift cards are the means is that the gift that keeps on giving for retailers really because ... it's it's not just the people that they get to keep some amount of money in the kit to cash up front ... before its use but also it's very hard to spend around number that ... now ... this is the latest read recently that the seven dollars coffee at Starbucks to see this another high and then ... is this Starbucks are trying to position themselves even more so at the high end when they got McDonald's another competition come in below and ... is this and some are taking a clear stance ... I mean I guess in a few spending three dollars and seventy two cents or seven dollars and for this thing it's available in forty eight stores this very high cost Rican coffee ... then ... it's you know it's been cut by definition a luxury goods are spending of the Markell on that is just astronomical and so I guess they're trying to separate themselves ... from the pack someone you know you don't so to say hey that event the spent the last day you know it that McDonald tributaries tasted it you know that coffee tastes its all you know so ... Starbucks is ... is definitely always trying to sort of position suffers a premium product of this specifically the not really gonna make money because the cars apparently cost more than fifty bucks to make so you have time ... to reload them in order for them to make a profit likely ... to last we will see other Elise on five thousand The Minnesota and a marketing thing is that the ... American Express black card


text:
Queries are useful not only for finding objects, but for efficiently deleting them as well. For example, you might delete all records created before a certain date. Rather than bring these objects into memory and delete them individually, JDO allows you to perform a single bulk delete based on JDOQL criteria.
This feature is only partially implemented in this Kodo release. In particular, note that objects deleted by query are not properly cleared from the datastore cache and that certain event callbacks may not be specification-compliant. Until this feature is fully implemented, we recommend isolating classes subject to delete by query in a separate cache which can be evicted manually or through timeouts.
Delete by query is accomplished through the following
public long deletePersistentAll (); public long deletePersistentAll (Object[] parameters); public long deletePersistentAll (Map parameters);
These methods work simlilarly to the
methods. Instead of returning matching objects,
however, the
deleteAll methods delete the
matching instances from the database, returning the number of objects
The following example deletes all subscriptions whose expiration date has passed.