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Monday, February 1, 2016 When Melatonin Helps: What it Really Means When Melatonin Helps: What it Really Means Melatonin quickly became a household name as parents around the country discovered it can help konk out children at night, erasing or easing bedtime fights and struggles. But, just as quickly as popularity peaked for this hormone that is normally created in the brain and gut through amino acid synthesis, its following tanked when the media unleashed a volley of warnings about side effects and unknown dangers. Although the caution is merited and well worth noting, it turns out that melatonin is a big player. Parents might have fallen in love with the supplement because it heralded an end to the struggle over bedtime. Now, they need to learn about its vital role outside of the bedroom. Melatonin is a hormone. The body normally synthesizes it in the gut and brain by converting an amino acid, l-tryptophan, through several fairly complex stages. Most people recognize melatonin as a brain hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm, which is to say, it helps people go to sleep at the right time. Stopping there is a disservice to this important hormone, which actually has several big roles in the body such as regulating the immune system, assisting with producing the primary antioxidant called glutathione, and scrubbing free radical and oxidative damage. Heavy Metals Another role melatonin plays in the body is binding with heavy metals and healing the damage from them. This is not a minor role. The medical literature is so compelling on melatonin's ability to remove heavy metals from the body that it's considered more effective than other popular chelating substances such as vitamin C! Pieri et al measured radical scavenger activity using commonly accepted antioxidants such as vitamin E and glutathione, and found that melatonin was superior ( Not only does melatonin effectively eradicate metals and alleviate oxidative stress, it also continues to support and enhance other antioxidants, helping the immune system to recover from the toxic exposure or trauma. Helping is a Red Flag If you've given your child melatonin out of desperation in the face of SPD, ASD, or ADHD symptoms and found that it helps, it's most likely a red flag warning that you need to do more research and potentially provide more supplements or lifestyle changes. Tryptophan, the precursor that helps to create serotonin and melatonin in the body, is a simple amino acid available in a variety of foods. Short of a severely restricted diet, an actual deficiency probably does not explain why giving supplemental melatonin is helping your child. This means a problem lies in other areas, such as the body needing more than normal to combat a problem. Since the symptoms of metal toxicity and impaired immune function overlap many behavioral disorders, it's important to look carefully at your child's health status and environment. Heavy metals such as lead and aluminum are ubiquitous, present in food, water, cosmetics, art supplies, and every day household items. Something as innocent as a tube of toothpaste can contain over 10mg of aluminum. And electronic devices and cords are often contaminated with lead. If you become a detective and look under every stone in your child's life, you might find the underlying cause, and finally be able to eradicate it. Here's a quick list of items that represent chronic, accumulative exposure to aluminum: Aluminum soda cans and aluminum coated juice pouches Aluminum foil used for cooking Sunscreen ( A quick list of lead sources: Art supplies Electronic devices PVC products Contaminated soil Lead tainted water Glazes used on dishes These are just two quick lists of two common heavy metals! It's easy to see how chronic, overlooked exposure can occur. And this slow, accumulative exposure can impair young children silently, resulting in things such as verbal delays, tics, seizures, bedtime wetting, mineral deficiencies, abdominal pain, dizziness/balance issues, hyperactivity, teeth defects, leg cramps, low muscle tone, and nausea. Some of these issues fly under the radar because they look like something else. Muscle cramping and twitching for example, might be categorized as normal growing pains and missed until it continues for many months. Nausea and abdominal pain might cause a young child to act picky or refuse to eat, resulting in other diagnoses such as sensory disorders or anxiety. Take the next step One thing that must be emphasized: if you do suspect heavy metal toxicity, research, and then research again. Mobilizing and excreting metals from the body is not a simple process, especially if your child has an actual burden. This is truly one of the cases where it's wise to spend the money and take the time to work with a professional. Despite the thousands of blog posts and forum discussions available on detoxing metals, it remains a complicated and sometimes damaging or painful journey that's best done with someone who is experienced. Melatonin as a supplement is also still a synthetic hormonal intervention with scant data on chronic use in young children. This is about researching and then weighing the benefits and the risks. If your child has been displaying concerning or difficult behaviors and melatonin seems to help, don't hesitate to dig deeper. Start reading about various related topics so you can fit the pieces together. Learn about the role of active B vitamins in overcoming genetic defects. Review how the liver works at breaking down toxins and how it can be damaged. Look at the endocrine system and the immune system and how they work together. As you start to see the whole puzzle, you'll be more likely to find the missing pieces for your individual child, whether that's something such as an acute injury from vaccination, or gut damage from antibiotics, or genetic defects that have created chronic nutritional deficiencies, or anything else. Investigate your child's environment and look for hidden sources of toxins and heavy metals. If you haven't already, or haven't in several years, take your child in for basic lead testing and vitamin D testing. These are two tests that are less-invasive and less expensive, which makes for a great first baby step. The sooner you begin to find the issue, the sooner you can start to make additional changes for your child's health and wellbeing! No comments: Post a Comment
Thursday, September 15, 2005 The high price of 'free' trade NAFTA is a free trade and investment agreement that provided investors with a unique set of guarantees designed to stimulate foreign direct investment and the movement of factories within the hemisphere, especially from the United States to Canada and Mexico. Furthermore, no protections were contained in the core of the agreement to maintain labor or environmental standards. As a result, NAFTA tilted the economic playing field in favor of investors, and against workers and the environment, resulting in a hemispheric "race to the bottom" in wages and environmental quality. False promises Proponents of new trade agreements that build on NAFTA, such as the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), have frequently claimed that such deals create jobs and raise incomes in the United States. When the Senate recently approved President Bush's request for fast-track trade negotiating authority1 for an FTAA, Bush called the bill's passage a "historic moment" that would lead to the creation of more jobs and more sales of U.S. products abroad. Two weeks later at his economic forum in Texas, the president argued, "[i]t is essential that we move aggressively [to negotiate new trade pacts], because trade means jobs. More trade means higher incomes for American workers." President Bush's statements—and similar remarks from others in his administration and from members of both major parties in Congress—are based only on the positive effects of exports, ignoring the negative effects of imports. Such arguments are an attempt to hide the costs of new trade deals, in order to boost the reported benefits. These are effectively the same tactics that led to the bankruptcies of Enron, WorldCom, and several other major corporations. The impact on employment of any change in trade is determined by its effect on the trade balance, the difference between exports and imports. Ignoring imports and counting only exports is like balancing a checkbook by counting only deposits but not withdrawals. The many officials, policy analysts, and business leaders who ignore the negative effects of imports and talk only about the benefits of exports are engaging in false accounting. NAFTA supporters frequently tout the benefits of exports while remaining silent on the effects of rapid import growth (Scott 2000). Former President George H.W. Bush, whose administration negotiated NAFTA, recently claimed that "two million NAFTA-related jobs have been created in the United States since 1993" (Bush 2002). But any evaluation of the impact of trade on the domestic economy must include the impact of both imports and exports. If the United States exports 1,000 cars to Mexico, many American workers are employed in their production. If, however, the United States imports 1,000 cars from Mexico rather than building them domestically, then a similar number of Americans who would have otherwise been employed in the auto industry will have to find other work. Another critically important promise made by the promoters of NAFTA was that the United States would benefit because of increased exports to a large and growing consumer market in Mexico. This market, in turn, was to be based on an expansion of the middle class that, it was claimed, would grow rapidly due to the wealth created in Mexico by NAFTA. Thus, most U.S. exports were predicted to be consumer products destined for consumption in Mexico. In fact, most U.S. exports to Mexico are parts and components that are shipped to Mexico and assembled into final products that are then returned to the United States. The number of products that Mexico assembles and exports—such as refrigerators, TVs, automobiles, and computers—has mushroomed under the NAFTA agreement. Many of these products are produced in the Maquiladora export processing zones in Mexico, where parts enter duty free and are re-exported to the United States in assembled products, with duties paid only on the value added in Mexico. The share of total U.S. exports to Mexico that is represented by Maquiladora imports has risen from 39% of U.S. exports in 1993 to 61% in 2002.2 The number of such plants increased from 2,114 in 1993 to 3,251 in 2002 (INEGI 2003a, 2003b). Growing trade deficits and job losses NAFTA's impact in the United States, however, has been often obscured by the "boom-and-bust" cycle that drove domestic consumption, investment, and speculation in the mid- and late 1990s. Between 1994 (when NAFTA was implemented) and 2000, total employment rose rapidly in the United States, causing overall unemployment to fall to record low levels. But unemployment began to rise early in 2001, and 2.4 million jobs were lost in the domestic economy between March 2001 and October 2003 (BLS 2003). These job losses have been primarily concentrated in the manufacturing sector, which has experienced a total decline of 2.4 million jobs since March 2001. As job growth has dried up in the economy, the underlying problems caused by U.S. trade deficits have become much more apparent, especially in manufacturing. Post a Comment << Home
Friday, December 24, 2010 History of Christmas Part 2 Demosthenes' Christmas favorites: -Mickey's Christmas Carol -The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus -Muppet's Christmas Carol -A Christmas Story -Christmas Vacation -Home Alone Saturday, December 18, 2010 History of Christmas Thursday, December 2, 2010 Herbert Hoover Term: 1929-1933 Party: Republican Nickname: about "The Vacuum." Grade: D Calvin Coolidge Term: 1923-1929 Party: Republican Nickname: Silent Cal Grade: D Funny Story: Warren Gamaliel Harding Term: 1921-1923 Party: Republican Grade: F Wednesday, November 24, 2010 Thanksgiving is the time where we all go off our diets, where we have to spend time with family that we may not like, and the time where someone is most likely to clog your toilet. It’s a magical time filled with food, football, and parades. Beyond those things, it’s a holiday dedicated to giving thanks for everything we have. The tradition of Thanksgiving goes back a few centuries. While we all associate the story of the pilgrims as the first Thanksgiving, there are many who claim that the first Thanksgiving happened in Saint Augustine, Florida. The Spanish, after ousting the French Huguenots from the area, created the first permanent settlement in America. From scraps of documents from the period, historians have surmised that a sort of Thanksgiving feast occurred with Native Americans from the area in 1565. That’s not what we all celebrate though. We all like to focus on the Pilgrims. But, is the story of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans that had a feast together accurate? Well, in a way yes…but in a lot of ways, no. The Pilgrim Thanksgiving wasn’t a friendly get together between the Wampanoag tribe and the Pilgrims with turkey and cranberry sauce. After fleeing persecution in Europe, the Pilgrims, a sect of the Puritans, landed in modern day Massachusetts; in a place they named Plymouth. Luckily for them, they had an OK relationship with the Wampanoag. They Pilgrims did make the assumption that they owned all the land in the area though, which probably didn’t go over well with the Wampanoag. Things smoothed over as the natives saw that the Pilgrims didn’t mean them any harm, and some decided to help the Pilgrims survive the rough winter. With the native’s help, the Pilgrims were able to yield a plentiful crop. This much is about true about the story we all heard in elementary school. Then it gets weird. The Pilgrims decided to have a big feast with games and everything to celebrate the great harvest they had. Some Pilgrims decided to show the Wampanoag how tough they were by going out into woods and starting some target practice. This caught the attention of the tribe and about 90 men came into the Pilgrim settlement with weapons ready. What the Pilgrims meant as a show of might backfired into almost starting a conflict. When the Wampanoags saw what was going on, they decided not to murder everyone and promptly joined the party…uninvited. Well, now the Pilgrims had way more mouths to feed and not enough food. The Wampanoags decided to chip in since they were creating a little bit of a bother for the Pilgrims and brought a few deer to help feed everyone. History only gives us one journal account from a Pilgrim describing the feast. This is all we really have to go on for any information about the first Thanksgiving. At the feast, they enjoyed fowl (which may or may not have included turkey), berries, various vegetables, venison, beans, squash, and maize. It wasn’t called Thanksgiving from the get go either. For many after that, it was simply a harvest time feast. There was no set day to celebrate the day. The name Thanksgiving started being used in the 19th century for the day when puritans had a day of fasting and gave thanks. It wasn’t really that you couldn’t eat; it was that you were at church praying the whole time, so you couldn’t eat. The journal entry from the Pilgrims was lost until this time and with the knowledge, people started mixing the two together. Thanksgiving would be a day of great feasting, and giving thanks to God for all He has given us. Eventually, pumpkin pies and other Thanksgiving mainstays found their way into the meal. Turkeys were a popular main course for the feast as they were large birds that would yield lots of meat. Plus, they tasted delicious. Like I said before, there wasn’t really a set day to celebrate Thanksgiving. People just had a harvest feast whenever they wanted, but usually in November. It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that the discussion of Thanksgiving being given a specific date was heard. Sarah Josepha Hale, a popular magazine editorial writer, started the campaign to make Thanksgiving an official holiday with a specific day. She felt that the holiday would bring the bitterly divided North and South together in solidarity to give thanks. She wrote senators, governors, and presidents, but no one really listened. The south began to see the holiday as a Yankee holiday, being pushed on them. They refused to celebrate the holiday, thus crushing any hope of a holiday bringing the north and south together. In the middle of the Civil War however, President Lincoln decided that the best thing to do for the people was to make Thanksgiving an American holiday, held on the last Thursday of November. Thanksgiving however, was not a national holiday until FDR’s presidency. He pushed to have Thanksgiving moved a week earlier so people had more time to spend on Christmas presents. He felt the best thing to do in the feeble economy was to give more time for the people to put money back into the businesses. This didn’t work however, as most didn’t like someone messing with what day they gave thanks. So, in 1939, some people celebrated Thanksgiving on the 19th, and some on the 26th. It was a mess. Congress finally decided to step in and make Thanksgiving a national holiday kept on the last Thursday of November. So, FDR’s blunder caused Thanksgiving to be made a national holiday, and the holiday that year was named Franksgiving. No joke. In essence, the Thanksgiving tradition hasn’t changed much over the years. Some big changes however were the loosening of ties with religion. Thanksgiving has become a secular holiday; something for anybody to celebrate not matter what they believe in. Thanksgiving has gained a few things though. Starting in 1924, Macy’s department store has had a parade celebrating the holiday season. Supposedly started when patriotic immigrants wanted to show how thankful they were for their jobs, and they suggested to their employers to throw a parade. From the get-go, Macy’s had those character balloons. Always filled with helium, for a time they used to just let the balloons go at the end of the parade route. They figured that the balloons would flout around for a few days and eventually flout back down harmlessly to earth. This all ended in 1932 when a balloon was released and ended up hitting a passing airplane. The pilot was able to stay in the air, but the fear of death caused the act to stop from that moment on. Now, all the balloons are stored in an old tootsie roll factory in New Jersey. Many cities have their own Thanksgiving Day/Christmas Parade. We in Michigan have “America’s Thanksgiving Parade”, which I find to be the most notable. Balloons have been used every year in the parades besides during the Second World War, so they could be used to make tires and other stuff for the war effort. Another tradition for Thanksgiving is Football. Whether you play it or watch it at the stadium or with your relatives at home, football is everywhere on Thanksgiving. Turkey Bowl games started almost as soon as football was invented in the 1870’s. People would go to their favorite college and watch their teams throw around actual pigskin. It wasn’t until 1934 when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving that a tradition started in the NFL. Except for the years of 1939-1944, the Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving Day. Lion’s fans have waited since 2003 to see the Lions actually win a Thanksgiving Day game. Other teams have been added to Thanksgiving Day games such as the Dallas Cowboys since the 70’s and various others since the mid-200’s. Myth debunking time! True or False? 1. There is tryptophan in turkey which makes you sleepy, so that’s why you are so tired after Thanksgiving Dinner. Answer: False! It does have tryptophan, but a very small amount. You are tired from all the carbs that you ingested and all the stress of making and eating the meal. 2. The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest day to fly on a plane due to everyone trying to get to their relatives. Answer: False! The day before thanksgiving is not even in the top 25. The highest varies every year, but is usually a Friday during June, July, or August. 3. The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day for plumbers. Answer: True! When you have a lot of people in your house, you tend to have a lot of people using the bathroom. Toilets get clogged and have to be fixed the next day by plumbers. Also, many people put things in the garbage disposal that aren’t supposed to go in there, such as rice, potato peels, and bones. This again, causes a plumber to show up to clean up after your stupidity. Though a few things have changed about Thanksgiving, the meaning of it has never. It is a time to give thanks for everything we have been given over the past year and a time to spend with our families. Thanksgiving is a time to sit and watch a parade and some football and skim through all the black Friday ads in the paper. Hope you all have a very peaceful Thanksgiving. Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Birthdays: A day filled with cake and questionable gifts. As my own birthday is tomorrow, I decided that it would be a good idea to write about the history of birthdays! Where did the song come from? Why blow out candles? Why presents? Why celebrate getting older anyway? It was fun as a kid, but now it’s just a reminder of the inevitability of being old. Birthdays were not always around, since for a long period of time we didn’t have calendars. People kind of took a stab at their birthday and what time of the year it was based on the stars and of course weather. Once calendars were in use, people started to take more notice of their own day of birth. There were no parties though for the regular ol’ folk like you and me. History only gives us names of nobility and such celebrating birthdays with parties and fanfare. The consensus was that if you weren’t royalty, there was really no reason for anyone to remember your birthday. Eventually, birthdays and celebrations became a mainstay for children, starting in Germany. The parties were called kinderfestes, kinder meaning children and feste meaning party. Though this name hasn’t stayed with us, a similar word has that came from the Germans, Kindergarten. The celebrations, like most at the time practiced by pagans, were done to ward off evil spirits. People believed that evil spirits targeted people on their birthdays and the only thing that could protect them was friends and family. Bringing gifts was another way of spreading cheer, which helped ward off evil spirits. I smell a scam here. The birthday custom of lighting candles originated with people believing that the gods lived in the sky and by lighting candles and torches they were sending a signal or prayer to the gods so they could be answered. When you blow out the candles and make a wish this is another way of sending a signal and a message. Birthdays have since lost the stigma of being about warding off evil spirits and more about celebrating a person’s transition into another year of their life. Birthdays are now celebrated around the world, each in a different way. In America, we typically do the traditional birthday with cake and presents, but sing a specific song to go along with it. The Happy Birthday song was written by Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893, though no one really paid much attention to it until the verse “Good morning to you!” was changed to “Happy Birthday to you!” Now the song is heard in every household. One place you will not here the song is at restaurants. You may have noticed while the people from Red Robin surround you and give you a free dessert that is much smaller than it should be, that they have their own dumb birthday song. Legally, no restaurant or business can legally sing the Happy Birthday song because that would be copyright infringement. The song surprisingly is not public domain and therefore has a copyright on it. So thanks to that, you get the “restaurant version.” Some birthdays are special in the U.S., specifically a 16th birthday for a girl. This is of course known as a sweet 16 party. It’s sort of the equivalent to the official step into adulthood for girls. Or it’s just a huge party for spoiled girls whose parents will apparently buy them anything. Other big birthdays are a person’s 18th birthday, which marks when a person can legally buy tobacco products, pornography items, and lotto tickets. This also the age at which people can vote and also have to sign up for conscription. 21 is another big one, marking when people are allowed to legally drink alcohol. In most cases, this is also the age at which people are allowed to gamble in casinos. This is different from casino to casino, as in some, you have to be at least 19. 25 is where you can rent a car and when your insurance goes down. I am very excited about this actually. Those payments are killing me! From there, there aren’t any big birthdays besides the ones that are round numbers. You know it’s a big one when you get the obnoxious birthday cards that say things like “old”, “geezer”, and “over the hill.” When you see that, you are officially in trouble. That means your mid-life crisis is just around the corner. Special birthdays or coming of age birthdays are different in other countries. Such as: · Jewish boys become bar mitzvah on their 13th birthday. Jewish girls become bat mitzvah on their 12th birthday, or sometimes on their 13th birthday in Reform and Conservative Judaism. · In Hispanic-American countries the quinceanera celebration traditionally marks a girl’s 15th birthday. · In Indian Hindus, the 12th or 13th birthday is replaced with a grand “thread ceremony.” The child takes a blessed thread and wears it, symbolizing his coming of age. · In the Philippines, they celebrate a debut on a girl’s 18th birthday, and a boy’s 21st birthday. · In Asian countries that follow the Zodiac calendar, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday. As for famous birthdays, many people celebrate what is perceived to be Jesus Christ’s birthday on December 25th, but it probably isn’t. The Queen of England’s birthday is known as Victoria Day. In the case of American birthdays for famous people, we basically just have Presidents Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Columbus Day does not mark Columbus’ birth, but the date he viewed Hispaniola from his ship. If you happen to be one of the most unlucky people ever, you happen to have been born on February 29th. This, of course, is only a day in a leap year. That means that technically you are never going to get past your mid 20’s. This plot device is used in the musical “The Pirates of Penzance”, as the main character is made to stay a servant because he was born on the 29th and therefore is not really 21 and freed from his servitude. Yes, I do remember my days working in theater, give me a break. Birthdays are extremely special to some people, and not at all to some. Some like to have people over and get gifts, while others don’t like getting older. Birthdays are a time of celebration, but also a reminder of our years on this earth. This year, make sure you tell a lot of people to come over and bring lots of presents to make sure that the evil spirits will stay away from you. It actually might work. Thursday, November 4, 2010 Guy Fawkes Day Guy Fawkes Day, or Guy Fawkes Night, is a celebration of the protestant victory over the gunpowder plot of November 5th, 1605. To this day, the holiday is celebrated with fireworks and bonfires...and the burning of effigies. To explain this, let's look into the past. In the early 1600's, England was ruled by the Protestant King, James I. Hopes that religious tolerance towards Catholics would soften under James I wasn't happening, so English Catholics planned to assassinate James I, and put his nine-year old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, as Catholic Head of State. The group that planned to assassinate James I was led by Sir Robert Catesby who got together a group of men that was to blow up the House of Lords as Parliament met there. Guy Fawkes, being part of the group, had 10 years military experience and was given the job of handling the explosives. Unfortunately for the English Catholics, an anonymous letter found its way to William Parker, who gathered authorities and stopped Guy Fawkes from leveling the House of Lords. Fawkes had 36 barrels of gunpowder, which was more than enough to take down the House of Lords and kill anyone inside. Catesby was killed while trying to resist being captured and the other plotters were eventually captured, sentenced to death, and hung. The author of the anonymous letter has yet to be concretely proven. Thus, the "Thanksgiving Act" was passed, ensuring that for more than 250 years November 5th was kept free as a day of thanksgiving. The day basically became one big Anti-Catholic celebration. The night, from the beginning, involved fireworks and the burning of a Guy Fawkes effigy. In England, specific foods were also eaten on Guy Fawkes Night, including bangers and mash, baked potatoes, and toffee apples. Guy Fawkes Night became a popular celebration in the U.K., and in it's colonies. This of course included the 13 British colonies in America, which celebrated Guy Fawkes Night (or Pope's Day as it was sometimes called) in the early days as a alternative to the Catholic celebration of Halloween that fell a few days earlier. Northern Ireland does not however celebrate the holiday, for they prefer celebrating the 12th of November, which commemorates the victory by King William the Orange over Catholic King James II. The holiday has come upon a resurgence in America thanks to Alan Moore's graphic novel, V for Vendetta. The novel uses Guy Fawkes' story as a loose backdrop to the dystopian English future. The novel was also made into a movie which has furthered people's knowledge of the holiday and furthered Alan Moore's frustration with people making movies out of his graphic novels. So was Guy Fawkes a man out to destroy the establishment and be an anarchist? Not so much, due to the fact that they were setting up a Catholic monarchy. The main character in the novel may sport Guy Fawkes face, but he is much more anarchist than the actual Guy Fawkes ever was. So if you feel like celebrating the victory of Protestants over Catholics over 400 years ago, then grab your torch and burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes tonight! Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent To blow up the King and Parli'ment. Three-score barrels of powder below To prove old England's overthrow; With a dark lantern and burning match. Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring. Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King! And what should we do with him? Burn him! Monday, October 25, 2010 A History of Halloween: Part 3 Halloween in the Victorian Era Halloween thus entered the Victorian era of America: The 1870-1880's. Halloween all of a sudden became less about being scared, celebrating ancestors, and ghosts, but about having parties. Rich people parties. Most of the lore and modes of celebration were thrown out the window, being considered too un-Victorian. Halloween also became a holiday reinterpreted as the quaint practice of the English. They wanted to get rid of the Irish genesis of the holiday. Victorian upper crust hated the Catholics and wanted nothing to do with their evil holiday, so they changed it to fit their needs. On Halloween night, all the young Victorians would gather, have a nice dinner, bob for apples, and play fortune-telling games. These, again, were for the upper middle class and above. Most of the lower middle class to lower class people still celebrated Halloween like the people before them. The Victorians saw it as a holiday to be made safe for their children. It became more about what food to serve, what to decorate with, or how to break the ice at the party. Halloween was still seen as a mysterious night, filled with romance and divination. The tradition of predicting who a girl's husband would be was always popular. These parties, at first, were not for adults though, they were for the unmarried younger crowd. It would seem childish for grownups to be seen at a party of that sort. They were meant to help you find your husband or wife. Themed parties that were trying to be better than the other parties started to sprout up. People threw Cinderella parties, Black Cat parties, and even Mother Goose parties on Halloween night. The spirit of Halloween was starting to be lost among the vast amount of parties during that time of the year. Halloween at the time was extremely watered down, and became more for kids, though parents made sure that they gave a less spooky celebration to their kids. Think of it as the equivalent of your parents going through all your candy looking for razor blades. It was a downer. It wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that Halloween began to look like what we see it today. Thanks to groups like the Lion's Club, Boy Scouts of America, and countless other organizations and churches, Halloween became something for everybody, not just a holiday for the rich or for children. Halloween in the 20th Century The first town celebration of Halloween started in Anoka, MN, in 1921. The town decorated its streets, hosted two parades, held a Pumpkin Bowl football game and roped off a city square for dancing. Halloween parades and town celebrations became all the rage in America, and soon all regional differences were put aside and Halloween was a holiday for everyone. With this came the "Halloween Problem," which was the rise in pranks and tomfoolery around Halloween. Many organizations tried to get as many kids involved to do service projects as to keep naughty kids busy. Some towns even had the police hire boys who were the most likely to cause trouble, to patrol the streets on Halloween. In Detroit in 1935, the city invited 45,000 kids to 90 public Halloween parties, just to cut down on traffic deaths and false fire alarms. Even though best efforts were being made, vandalism was still a huge problem, especially in cities. The fun stopped in 1942 when the second World War was starting. All of a sudden it was more serious to waste things and vandalize. Kids were warned against letting air out of tires and souping windows, as soup was a valuable thing and Uncle Sam needed it to throw at the Nazi's or something. Halloween was even canceled in some areas, due to the seriousness of the times and people feeling that there should be no tomfoolery. Anything that could be used for the war was, such as materials that would of gone to making decor and other such Halloween things. After the war, things winded down and everyone started to party again. Halloween was celebrated everywhere again and costume parties became all the rage. Along with that, people started to make "haunted" rooms in their houses to scare guests and children. By the 1950's, Halloween was considered a real national holiday, up there with Christmas and Fourth of July, and the attendance at town Halloween parties rivaled those of Fourth of July celebrations and Memorial day celebrations. With the sudden spurt of children due to all the men coming home from the war (correlation?), Halloween again became a celebration for children. Town parties started to disappear and were replaced by school parties and personal parties. The most important thing added to the Halloween festivities at this time though was Trick or Treating. Contemporary Halloween All of a sudden, all of the old traditions came back into the mainstream. Trick or Treating took over the collection of cakes and nuts and became a time for kids to acquire candy from neighbors. The Jack-O-Lantern became more widely used, and the use of fantastic costumes for children while they paraded through the streets became common place. Why did kids expect to get candy from strangers? In the preceding decades, children were given treats to just stay inside and not cause trouble, so, now they went to houses and basically said, "Hey big nose, give me some treats or you're going to get up close and personal with these eggs I got here." As time went on, the trick portion was left for Mischief night, the night before Halloween, or as we call it in Michigan, Devil's Night. In the 60's and 70's, stories started to pop up about people putting heroin or poison into kid's treats. This did happen twice in the span of the two decades, both being deaths attributed to action inside the home. In both cases, a family member tried to kill their relative or kids and used poison in their Pixy Stix. In one case, the father had put a life insurance policy on all his kids. So what does this teach us? That we should suspect our own parents or relatives of murder before we suspect complete strangers. Even though these were isolated incidents, people started to freak out about trick or treating. People started to come up with stories about finding Cyanide in their kid's candy, or glass and razor blades. Though these things never happened, there was a big push to cancel trick or treating out of fear for the children. It was only later after people realized that these were hoax's and that there were no reported trick or treating deaths in the last thirty years, that people warmed back up to Halloween. But, as we all know, the myths about dangerous things in our candy remains to this day. Halloween has again become a time for charity though, as many children collect money for UNICEF, or United Nasty Imps Causing Evil Forever. It is only through sheer ignorance that the children collect money from equally ignorant people and further the Imp cause. And of course the dressing up like ancient dead has carried over to our own time, as we dress up like witches, demons, and Hannah Montana. Halloween has now become a celebration of many things, candy, ghosts, costumes, spooky things, and oh yeah...candy. That's what kids mainly think of these days, is how best to stick it to their parents. Only by completely rotting their teeth can they hit their parents where it hurts...the billfold. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I have always loved all the spooky decorations, the ghost stories, walking around getting candy, dressing up like a pirate, and just having a good time being scared. That's something you don't get to do all the time. It's the one time of year where you can go around looking like a bum and actually get food from people as you go begging from house to house. I always enjoyed getting a pop from somebody. They were the ones who for some reason forgot or ran out of candy and had to give you something! Those kind of people also gave out apples, dental floss, pennies, Hope you enjoyed my history of Halloween! Please feel free to share some favorite Halloween memories that you've had. "Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History" by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne. Wednesday, October 13, 2010 A History of Halloween: Part 2 Halloween in Early America When the Puritans settled in New England, they, in the tradition of taking the fun out of everything, had Halloween abolished and replaced it with May Day. May Day happened to be a holiday that was no where near October and involved people making baskets. Oh goody. Though the Puritans didn't like Halloween or honoring ancestors, they did have an interest in the spirit world-an interest that manifested itself in a fearful fascination with witchcraft and divination. Case in point: Salem. Puritans went crazy and killed anyone they even remotely thought were witches. Halloween was eventually brought by the Catholics, and Guy Fawkes day was brought by the Protestants who mainly settled in New York. So, besides New England, Halloween was around in every colony. After the Revolution and the signing of the Constitution into law, a new era of Halloween began due to the freedom of religion. The Puritan grasp on the ban on Halloween slowly lifted. Halloween became more of a celebration of past and future, where people got together and had cornhusking parties, apple paring parties, and sugaring and sorghummaking days. Otherwise known as "Ask your friends to come over and help you with your work, but you'll give them alcohol as payment" parties. There was ghost stories and fortune telling games, dancing and plenty of food to go around. The prominence of ghosts and the dead being around Halloween night carried over to America, as did tricks and mischief. Many boys would go out of their way to frighten or trick one of their peers during the night. Halloween was not a national holiday though, not like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. It was just a celebration that individual faiths did. It wasn't until the emergence into the 19th century that Halloween would become as popular and widespread as it is today. With the emergence of immigrants, most coming in the early 1800's, there was more and more stories and customs that went into Halloween. The custom of begging for soul cakes, turned into children going to houses and asking for treats, thus becoming trick or treating. The custom eventually took on the wearing of costumes brought on by the Irish. Divination became a part of Halloween thanks to the British Isles. Divination was mostly used to predict who you would fall in love with or who your spouse would be. A woman would light a candle and look into a mirror at midnight on All Hallows Eve and see the person she was going to marry over her shoulder. Sounds terrifying! The custom of hallowing out a turnip and giving it a gruesome face, eventually turned into a Jack-O-Lantern, using a pumpkin instead. The story behind the name Jack-O-Lantern has many variations but most involve a man named Jack and the Devil. Jack hoodwinks the Devil out of crops and the Devil makes Jack hold a lantern for eternity. Tough break. Black cats and witchcraft and bad luck superstition caught on in America, mostly in the South at first. All of these old traditions were kept intact and spread throughout America, until the late 19th century, when America entered it's so called Victorian Era. A History of Halloween: Part 1 With Halloween only a few weeks away, you may notice one thing in stores: The loads of Christmas decorations. Though Christmas may be slowly taking over every other holiday, we can relish in the fact that Halloween does get its fair share of attention. This will be the first in my series of Holiday Histories. I will look at our holidays in America and share their sometimes unlikely beginnings. As most people know, Halloween is a very old holiday, dating back centuries before the birth of Christ. Halloween was first celebrated by the Celtic people, who inhabited present day U.K., and France. The Celtics had two main festivals; one to celebrate the start of winter, when they had to bring the herds in, and one to celebrate the start of summer, when they brought the herds out. In that area, the cold came earlier, in early November, so it became the start of winter and the beginning of the new year. The finest of the herd were put in the shelter, while the rest were slaughtered for the festival. The festival was called Samhain, or summer's end, and was considered the most sacred of their festivals. The point of the festival was also to link the people with their ancestors and past. The Celts believed that the dead rose on the eve of Samhain and that ancestral ghosts and demons were set free to roam the earth (Much like the dead coming back in "A Night on Bald Mountain" from the movie Fantasia. You know that gave you nightmares as a kid).The Celts made offerings to the spirit world in hopes that the spirits of their loved ones would make a brief visit home to enjoy a warm fire at the hearth. Food and wine were set out for the dead souls of the ancestors, sure to be weary from their travels in the netherworld. To avert unwanted guests-any malicious spirits set free on that night-the Celts hid themselves in ghoulish disguise so that the spirits wandering about would mistake them for one of their own and pass by without incident. The Romans eventually came and conquered the Celts and their rituals combined. The Roman's with their belief in mythological beings, celebrated the Goddess Pomorum, or the Goddess of orchards and the harvest, around the same time as Samhaim was celebrated, November 1st. The Roman celebration of the orchard harvest contributed the bounty of apples and nuts that remains a part of Halloween to this day. In other words, the Romans are to blame for those people giving you fruit and nuts on Halloween night. The Roman and Celtic cultures created what we might identify as Halloween in its ancient form. It was a night devoted to the dead, yet a night for divination and romance as well. Then came the Christians. When Christianity spread across the Roman empire, the priests had to find a way to wane the new converts off of this pagan stuff. So, instead of destroying their rituals, they let them be, and eventually the people celebrated All Saints Day instead of Samhain. Both being on November 1st, and the celebrations being on October 31st. They had feasts and celebrations, but it wasn't in the same realm as Samhain. All Saints Day was to be a day set aside to honor the martyrs who died for their beliefs. All Saints Day used to be in May, but was set to November 1st to help assimilate people into the Christian faith and celebrations. People were told to pray for the dead, not to sacrifice to them. Instead of setting out wine and food, they set out soul cakes, which were little pastries and bread. The soul cakes would be given to the poor, and in return, the poor would pray for their dead family members. Eventually the custom changed to young men and boys going from house to house singing "souling" songs and asking for ale, food, or money instead of soul cakes. People were asked to masquerade, but to honor the saints, not ward away evil spirits. A Hollowmas Soul Cake Song Soul day, Soul day, We be come a-souling, Pray good people remember the poor, And give us a soul cake, One for Peter, two for Paul, Three for Him that made us all An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry Or any good thing to make us merry. Soul day, Soul day, We have been praying for the soul departed. So pray good people give us a cake For we are all poor people, Well known to you before. So give us a cake for charity's sake, And our blessing we'll leave at your door. -from Poole, Customs, Superstitions, and Legends of Staffordshire It was the Christians that gave Halloween its name. During medieval times, All Saints' Day was known as All Hollows, making the night before it All Hollows Eve, which became Hallowe'en, and then Halloween. The church decreed that all celebrations be held the day before Saints Day, thus placing Halloween where we know it today. The new group off of the Catholics were the Lutherans and Calvinists who decided to get rid of All Saints Day, which meant no Halloween. Thus, for a time, Guy Fawkes Day became the fall festival for some Europeans. Guy Fawkes being the man who tried to blow up the Protestant-sympathetic House of Lords when Parliament met. The holiday was set up to celebrate the Protestants victory over the Catholics. The similarities between Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day were "scary." more puns. They had bonfires, celebrants carried lanterns of hollowed out turnips that had been fashioned into grotesque faces. The eve of Guy Fawkes Day became "mischief night" across most of northern England, an occasion of pranks and skylarking. Boys now begged for coal, so they could have something to burn their Guy Fawkes effigies. Some people even went as far as burning the Pope in effigy. The eve of Guy Fawkes night can be connected with Devil's night, being the night before Halloween, a semi-holiday that is only celebrated in Michigan. Instead of burning effigies of Guy Fawkes and the Pope, the people of Detroit in the 70's burned down small businesses. The day has been changed to Angel's night, but is still rife with pranks and vandalism. The Catholic's All Hallows' celebration, the old pagan folk customs of the British Isles, and the secular Guy Fawkes Day festivities of the English protestants all helped give birth to the Halloween we know today. Thomas Woodrow Wilson Term: 1913-1921 Political Party: Democrat Nickname: Schoolmaster in Politics. Short Bio: Wilson was basically the professor that you don't really like in college. He was smart, but not very friendly. Wilson entered the presidency and got to work. He lowered tariffs, established a graduated income tax, created the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Trade Commission. Later, he signed laws banning child labor and limiting workdays to eight hours. In foreign affairs, he promised that the U.S. would expand no longer. In 1914, the First World War begins. Wilson, seeing that the country is not ready to jump in, and not really wanting to fight, keeps the U.S. out of it. Wilson wins reelection due to his decision to stay out of war. However, shortly into his second term, he realized that war could not be ignored. U.S. ships were being blown up while trying to deliver goods and possibly munitions to the English. The most famous is the Lusitania, which caused many to want to enter the war against Germany. Other boats were sunk, and Wilson was starting to see war looming. He started to build up his air force as soon as the war started, seeing as it was at a pitiful level compared to other countries. It wasn't until Germany sent the infamous Zimmerman Telegram that the U.S. had enough and declared war on Germany. The note basically asked Mexico to join Germany and attack the U.S. from the South. The U.S. intercepted the note and finally convinced Wilson to declare war. Also at this time, you had the beginning of Prohibition and Women's right to vote, brought on by Congress. The put WWI into a short summary, the Europeans were in a trench war, the U.S. came over, refused to fight the same way, and used the air force to basically win the war. Germany quit and met with France, England and the U.S. in Paris. France and England wanted to punish Germany, while Wilson wanted to the Treaty of Versailles to follow his fourteen points. Wilson wan not persuasive enough, as only parts were accepted. Germany was punished thoroughly and came back with a vengeance later. Remember those consequences I talked about earlier? Perhaps if Wilson were not president, Germany would not have been punished so harshly. Or maybe they would have. Who knows. While on a tour to promote the treaty and the League of Nations, Wilson suffered a stroke, which left him unable to really be president anymore. For the duration of his presidency, Wilson gave orders from bed. Others believe that his second wife, Edith Wilson, was the secret president, and made many decisions for him. Congress did not accept the Treaty of Versailles, and the U.S. was not allowed to be a part of this League of Nations. Wilson's vision led to the eventual creation of the United Nations however. Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in world affairs in 1919. He died in 1924. Grade: C Wilson is another president hard to peg down. Some give him more credit, and some very little. Did he bring about the end to the first world war? Yes, but he did not secure peace afterwards. Wilson did a lot of good for the country in terms of progressive reforms. On a character level, he wasn't the nicest person. He was also a extreme racist, which came in the form of firing everyone that wasn't white in the government sector *Disputed*. Had Wilson tried harder to give peace to Europe, perhaps we would not of had WWII. Wilson has some supporters today, and some people to who hate his guts, namely Glenn Beck, who makes a point to talk about his hatred for Wilson on a daily basis. William Howard Taft Term: 1909-1913 Party: Republican Nickname: Big Lub Short Bio: Ok, before we get started, yes, Taft was the one who got stuck in his tub. He had to have a larger one installed to support his hefty build. Taft had the daunting task of following up Roosevelt's presidency. History shows us that most presidents that follow greats, do not fair so well. I'm looking at you Adams, Van Buren, and Andrew Johnson. Truman did alright. Taft could not, no matter what he did, get out from Roosevelt's shadow. Roosevelt chose him to keep his progressive ways going and promptly took a safari trip with his son Kermit. Not having Roosevelt around helped, but Taft was just no Teddy. Taft was deliberative and cautious which people perceived as slow moving, which was not what they were used to after Roosevelt. Taft actually did more in terms of trust busting than Roosevelt, and did a pretty good job with everything else. He parted ways on how do deal with labor unions, income tax, and help for women, children and the poor, finding that those things the government could not interfere with. He believed that presidential power only went as far as the Constitution would allow. Roosevelt was dismayed by Taft's performance when he got back stateside and tried to get the Republican nomination in 1912. No such luck, as Taft won the nomination, though some think it was due to back room dealings to keep the hard to handle Roosevelt out of the office. The 1912 election went this way: Roosevelt made his own party and came in second to Democrat Wilson. Taft came in a distant third for the Republicans. Some argue that if Roosevelt won the nomination, or if he had just stayed out of it, perhaps the Republicans would have won. However, they split the vote and caused Wilson to win. This may of had far reaching consequences, which I will talk about later. Taft went on to become the only former president to become Chief Justice in the Supreme Court, something that he enjoyed much more. Grade: B+ I like Taft a lot. Not as much as Roosevelt, but he did a lot of the same stuff. He had a much more conserved viewpoint which may of kept him out of trouble. Taft was extremely hurt when Roosevelt tried to take the reigns back in 1912, and feared that he had lost a friend. The two became friends again afterward, but it showed that Taft had a good heart and cared more about his friends than his political appointment. Good character traits aside, Taft would of had a smoother presidency if he had followed any other person. Theodore Roosevelt Term: 1901-1909 Party: Republican, Progressive (Bull Moose) Nickname: Teddy, Trust-Buster Short Bio: If you want to know a lot about Roosevelt, than read my earlier blog on why I like him so much. I'm just going to outline a few main things that he did during his presidency. -Busted Trusts, or got rid of monopolies that he found to be harmful to the U.S. -Created National Parks with the help of John Muir. -Fought corruption. -Put together the Great White Fleet which showed the U.S. might around the world. -Supported Panama's revolt against Columbia to give the Panama canal to the U.S. -Created the Department of Labor. -Passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. -Passes the Roosevelt Corollary. -Wins the Nobel peace price for arranging a peace treaty between Russia and Japan. -First president to go overseas. -Shot during election for president in 1912, before giving speech. Goes and does speech anyway. -Loses sight in one eye after a boxing match with a sailor. -His refusal to shoot a baby bear that was set up to be shot by him leads to the creation of "Teddy Bears." These are just a few points in a long and exciting life for Roosevelt. He decided to leave the reigns to Taft in 1908. Grade: A I may be a bit biased on this grade, but I still find him to be one of the best presidents, under Washington and Lincoln. He brought America in as a power and led the U.S. on its longest bout of peace, though he was a staunch imperialist. Roosevelt did more in his presidency than a bunch of presidents combined. William McKinley Term: 1897-1901 Party: Republican Nickname: Idol of Ohio Short Bio: McKinley's presidency was a time of expansion. The period of Western expansion was over in the American frontier. That meant, if the U.S. wanted to expand, they would have to go outside the mainland. In 1898, the USS Maine exploded in Havana's harbor. Spain ruled over colonial Cuba. A media frenzy pushed a reluctant McKinley to declare war on Spain. Or that's what a lot of people think. There is still controversy today about the Spanish-American War. The U.S. was basically waiting for someone to beat up, and acquire more land. The USS Maine may of sunk for three reasons. First is the reason people agreed with at the time and for many decades after, which is that the ship hit a mine put there by the Spanish. Second, a fire in the coal bunker. And third, and probably the most disturbing, is that the Maine was blown up on purpose to start a war with Spain. We will probably never know which one is true, but it doesn't matter as much now since they went to war anyway. The U.S. basically slapped the Spanish around, seeing as Spain was a fading power, and the U.S. was coming into an age of power. The war was over in the matter of a few months, and the U.S. now had new territories, the Philippines, Guam, Cuba, and Puerto Rico (The U.S. would let Cuba and the Philippines were let go eventually by the U.S. We are still in possession of Guam and Puerto Rico).The people of the Philippines were happy to be rid of Spain and hoped that the U.S. would grant them independence. No such luck, we colonized the area and used it for raw goods. The people of the Philippines staged a mini-war against the Americans that lasted for a few years. McKinley, after the war, decided to reverse his decision on high tariffs, deciding that if overseas markets were to be opened to American goods, commercial barriers had to fall at home. He spent the rest of his presidency going against the Republican mode of protectionism and lowered tariffs. Thus ended the Gilded Age, and brought America into the Progressive Era. Even so, McKinley was still hesitant to use the full power of the presidency, a thing his successor would not do. McKinley won a second term and learned that the rebel forces in the Philippines had been put down ending the war three years after the Spanish-American War. Scattered fighting lasted for about another year. A few months after, McKinley announces that he will not go for another term. *Fun Fact*: Most presidents were extremely hesitant to go for more than two terms due to the fact that Washington had only two terms. They didn't want to make the point that they were better than him. FDR apparently didn't think of it that way, or had no qualm with it. On September 6, 1901, Polish-American anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots McKinley in the stomach when the president was touring the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley dies over a week later. His Vice-President, Theodore Roosevelt is sworn into office. Grade: B McKinley is sort of an enigma. He may of started a war to gain land, which is bad, but he also lowered tariffs, which is something he helped raise in the first place. He was an above average president in some regards, but too willingly went out to fight the Spanish I think. Benjamin Harrison Party: Republican Nickname: Little Ben Short Bio: People found that Harrison had about only two qualifications to be president; a clean record, and being grandson of former president William Henry Harrison. Harrison basically campaigned from his front porch, literally. His campaign managers poured money into swing states and corporations who detested Cleveland and his lower tariffs, supported Benjamin Harrison. The race was closer than some, but Harrison won due to the support of corporations. Cleveland left his first term with a surplus, which quickly faded into Harrison's presidency.The House spent the money quickly with their thin margin of Republicans over Democrats. Cleveland had vetoed bills for Civil War pensions to veterans because the risk of fraudulent claims ran too high. Congress resubmitted these bills to Harrison, who only too willingly signed them into law. Civil War pension costs soon became one of the largest expenses in the federal budget. To fix the debt, Congress passed the McKinley Tariff, a dramatic increase in import fees. The tariff angered Americans by increasing the prices of many consumer goods. The public showed their dissatisfaction by giving both houses to the Democrats during the mid-term elections. Lingering anger over the tariff led to Cleveland being voted back into the presidency. Harrison went back to Indianapolis, and continued his law firm. He went on to help Venezuela in the settlement of its border dispute with Great Britain. Grade: C- Harrison was not a corrupt person, which helped him during his presidency, but was perhaps just a little too trusting. Giving pension to anyone who claimed to have fought in the Civil War was a huge mistake. Harrison backing that up and the McKinley Tariff was not the best thing to do in the economic climate they were in. Harrison is guilty more of bending over to Congress. They came up with the crazy plans, but Harrison agreed. Grover Cleveland Terms: 1885-1889, 1893-1897 Party: Democratic Nickname: Big Steve, Uncle Jumbo Short Bio: Stephen Grover Cleveland went by Grover, probably because Stephen Cleveland sounds funny. Say it out loud. Now five times fast. Ok, now that you’ve embarrassed yourself, I’ll tell you about this man that was not a Sesame Street character, but a president. Cleveland is one of the very few presidents that was a Democrat during the late 1800s, the other being Andrew Johnson. Cleveland was another honest president who wanted to make the presidency honorable again, and wanted to take the power back from the legislative branch. Cleveland was a smart man, and that was apparent in most of his decisions. He blocked civil war pensions that he suspected were fraudulent, vetoed anything that was against his view of limited government, and supported the gold standard as the only currency for the United States. Cleveland also favored lowering tariffs, something that the Republicans vehemently opposed. The issue of tariffs eventually cost him the election of 1888. Cleveland came back after Benjamin Harrison served one term and served again, being the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. His second term was far less sunny. A new party had emerged, the People’s Party, which was basically for the workers. Cleveland’s innate conservatism made him generally unsympathetic to the worker’s cause. He lost support when he vetoed a bill that would give 10,000 dollars in aid to drought stricken farmers, and from his heavy handed response to the Pullman strike of 1894. People were also hoping for a silver standard, which went against Cleveland’s gold standard hopes. Grade: B- Cleveland was one of the smarted presidents of the time, but proved to be unpopular with the working class in his second term. Cleveland though, held a very strong presidency. He took power back from Congress and vetoed more bills than all presidents before him combined. Cleveland is also considered the most influential of the presidents after Lincoln and before Theodore Roosevelt. Chester A. Arthur Term: 1881-1885 Political Party: Republican Nickname: Elegant Arthur Short Bio: Chester Alan Arthur was a not exactly the most honest person before he was president. He routinely used his influence to give people high up jobs in exchange for money. He also allowed government employees to profit from their positions. In other words, Arthur was business as usual. The late 1800’s were rife with corruption and greed, and he was no exception. Arthur was basically not known for anything besides his corrupt past and being congressman Roscoe Conkling's puppet. Conkling, who was Arthur's mentor, had made Hayes' presidency a living hell as leader of the pro-Grant Stalwart (Stalwarts supported the spoils system which gave their financial backers positions in their administration once they became president) side of the Republican party. When Garfield won the Republican nomination-even though he was completely opposed to it-the moderate side of the Republican party knew they needed to put a Stalwart in as Vice-President, or Conkling and his Stalwarts wouldn't let Garfield win. So, they chose Chester Arthur. Arthur was satisfied with the position, as it didn't give him too much responsibility, and the proximity to the President would allow for him to destroy Garfield's presidency with Conkling's help. Yeah, Arthur and Conkling (pictured below) were basically heels. Then, four months later, Charles Guiteau, a Stalwart and a possible lunatic shot Garfield. When Arthur was handed the telegraph about the shooting, his face went pale. He realized his days of lounging around as Vice-President were over; he was probably going to hold the highest office in the United States, which deeply frightened him. Where Garfield was an extremely learned man, Arthur was more of a party goer and lover of relaxation, and the public knew this. They also knew that Arthur was Conkling's lapdog, so Conkling would basically be the de facto President. Gulp. People were not happy about the thought of Arthur as president, a sentiment made even more apparent when rumors of Arthur and Conkling's involvement in the assassination began. The two men had to hide in their hotel until things cooled down lest they be lynched by one of the many mobs roaming around Washington D.C. Garfield worsened, due more to doctors prodding him than anything else, and died a few months after being shot. Arthur was now president of the United States. What was the first thing he did? He ignored all his political supporters. He pulled a Hayes and had an incredibly honest presidency. He prosecuted Republicans for mail fraud and vetoed popular pork-barrel spending projects, such as the Rivers and Harbor’s Act of 1882. He also signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which set up a system through which government jobs were assigned on merit and no political favoritism. Public opinion had soured on the Spoils System and it was all of a sudden very bad to call yourself a Stalwart. This was a much different Arthur that what people saw before his presidency. To boot, he was also an environmentalist, who was concerned about the reckless destruction of forests. Otherwise, Arthur didn’t do too much in his presidency, and was passed over for nomination in 1884. People thought of Arthur as slow and bit lazy. Little did anyone know that Arthur had Bright ’s disease, which is a fatal illness of the kidney. The disease made him weak and accounts for his inaction throughout most of his term. Arthur, probably from knowing his time was short on the earth, was quite the partier. He had grand parties at the white house anytime he had the chance. Arthur in this way, acted like a college student; he went to parties and drank himself stupid. Arthur died two years after leaving office at fifty-six years old. Grade: C- He gets an average grade. Arthur had a very honest presidency, and did much for getting rid of corruption within the government. Otherwise he didn’t do that much. The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was authored by Garfield, and it was basically a no-brainer for Arthur to pass it, so I don't give him too much credit for it. He wasn't a terrible president, but didn’t do much either. Some of that can be blamed on his disease, but at least he helped stamp out corruption, something he would not have done before his presidency. The biggest blight on his record is the signing of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America. He had vetoed the bill before, but under pressure from American laborers, he signed the second draft of the bill which barred Chinese laborer immigration for ten years. America has always had a problem with foreigners coming in and “taking our jobs”, and in this case, they did something about it. The law would be renewed every ten years until 1943. This is the only law that was ever passed that banned a group of people from the United States because of their race or nationality. Wednesday, September 15, 2010 James A. Garfield Name: James Garfield Term: 1881 Party: Republican Nickname: Canal Boy Not-as-short-as-it-used-to-be bio: James Abram Garfield was not a fat orange cat, but a man and beard enthusiast. I think I did Garfield a large disservice by giving him such a short bio originally. On learning about his life, I've gained a new found respect for this often forgotten president. Garfield was a lover of knowledge, learning all he could throughout his life, including Spanish. Garfield's life story would be a popular one at the time of his presidency, due to his coming from basically nothing and working his way up to being a congressman. Garfield came from a very poor family, so he had to work to fund his education. He worked as a carpenter, a janitor, a canal worker, and a preacher to get his higher education. After graduating, Garfield eventually married Lucretia Rudolph and started to serve as an Ohio State Senator. That was until the Civil War started. Garfield joined the Union army, due in part to his strong abolitionist feelings. He rose all the way up to Major General in the Army of Ohio and fought in the battles of Chickamauga, Middle Creek, and Shiloh. Garfield eventually left the war when he was needed in his newly won seat in Congress. He served as a congressman until 1880 when opportunity, instead of knocking, barged in and forced him into something he didn't really want to do. Garfield was perfectly happy as a congressman. That's why he was completely horrified to learn that he had won the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1880. Garfield had seen many of his friends in Congress get burned out and lose direction from he called the "presidential fever." He swore that he would never devote his life to gaining the presidency, lest he become a shell of his former self. The Republican Party at the time was split between two warring parties: The Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds. The Stalwarts supported the Spoils System, in which candidates for the presidency would reward those who gave them money by giving them positions in their administration. The Half-Breeds were the moderates and supported Civil Service Reform, which would see only those best qualified to be in administrative positions. Other than that, they agreed on everything. Greeeeeeaaat! Roscoe Conkling(pictured left) was the political strongman of the Stalwarts and his sole purpose at the convention was to get Ulysses S. Grant another term in the White House (he had served two before Hayes won in 1876). Garfield on the other hand was trying to get fellow moderate and brother to William Tecumseh Sherman, John Sherman nominated. Garfield gave his speech, and people were so impressed by it that they began to instead consider Garfield as a good compromise candidate. When it became clear after many ballots were cast but none defined a clear winner, people started to vote for Garfield. This was all to Garfield's horror. He didn't want the presidency and all its burdens. He asked several times that his name be taken out of consideration, but it was continuously ignored. In the end, Garfield was the nominee, much to his chagrin. Now, don't get me wrong, Garfield eventually warmed up to being the most powerful man in America, it just wasn't something he explicitly wanted. Chester A. Arthur was chosen as his vice-president, not because Garfield and him got along, but because Garfield was a moderate, and Arthur a Stalwart. In fact, Arthur was Conkling's protege. With both a moderate and a Stalwart on the ticket, the Republicans hoped that they could patch things up long enough to get into the White House...again. Seriously, except for Cleveland and whatever the hell Andrew Johnson was, everyone was a Republican from 1860 through 1912. Before Garfield could do anything, he had to do something about Roscoe Conkling. Conkling had driven President Hayes insane and was liable to do the same thing to Garfield. To make matters worse, Conkling and Arthur were in cahoots. Arthur literally badmouthed the president to the press. Can you imagine Joe Biden doing that to President Obama? Or in fact any Vice-President doing that to any President in the last hundred years? NOPE! Garfield was kind of in a pickle, so what did he do? Nothing. Though not one to be walked on, Garfield never went looking for a fight. He knew that Conkling was trying to basically run the show, though he was only a New York congressman, but he also knew that Conkling would do something drastic. After Garfield posted half-breeds in government positions in New York, Conkling threw a hissy-fit and resigned, confident that the New York legislature would vote him back in, as that's how things worked back then. They didn't, and the Stalwarts lost their champion. With Conkling out of the way, Garfield could finally get something done. He knew Civil Service reform needed to be done, so he supported George Pendleton's bill for Civil Service Reform. If the bill passed, people would have to take a test to see if they were experienced enough to hold a government position. This was about three months into his presidency. So, Garfield didn't really get anything done for the first three months. A month later, Garfield was gunned down by Stalwart and possible lunatic, Charles Guiteau. Guiteau was convinced he had helped get Garfield elected with a speech he had written and thus wanted a consulship as thanks. When he was denied this and told to never come back to the White House, Guiteau decided that it was God's will that Garfield we killed. Garfield at the time was walking with Secretary of State Blaine, when he was shot in the back twice with the second shot going through back and eventually resting inside his pancreas. Garfield was looked at by doctors, but it ended up being the worst thing for him. The doctors poked and prodded the president with dirty tools and unwashed hands which eventually led to Garfield's death. Alexander Graham Bell even tried to find the bullet with a makeshift metal detector. Too bad the bed springs were made of metal; he may have been able to find it. After Garfield passed away from a heart attack brought on by blood poisoning, the doctors took an autopsy and discovered that the bullet was four inches away from his spine, lodged in a protective cyst. This meant that Garfield would have been fine had it not been for his doctors. Well done! If you want to learn more about his assassin, please check out my post on Charles Guiteau! Grade: ??? Like William Henry Harrison, it’s not fair to give Garfield a grade. Modern historians disagree and grade them anyway giving them below average marks. Garfield simply didn’t live long enough to do anything or mess anything up. Who knows what could of come from his presidency. Judging by his past accomplishments and his personality, I would think that Garfield would've had a great presidency. Alas, he was gunned down by a delusional man. The only good thing that came from his assassination was a feeling of unity. Garfield was mourned by all, which had brought the country closer together after all the resentment of reconstruction. Also, Arthur, now President, felt the need to get the Pendleton Act passed, seeing as everyone literally hated Stalwarts. I'm not joking, after the assassination, if you claimed to be one, you were liable to get lynched right then and there. Hooray! All information from Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President.
Traditional music and folk songs of the islands and regions of Greece are based on such themes as births, deaths and marriages. They also tell the tale of heroic deeds and tragedies. At the turn of the century a new style of music appeared called. It originated among the poor people the lyrics depicted scenes of loneliness, drugs, love and death. The main instruments used for rebetika are the bouzouki, guitar and accordion. Closely associated with the folk music are the dances zembetiko and khasapiko. The zembetiko is for men only and expresses the mood of melancholy, suffering and the release of tension. In comparison the khasapiko or the ‘butchers dance’ is performed by tow or more dancers side by side with hands on shoulders in combination of patterns and improvisations. The syrtaki is perhaps the most popular and simplest dance often performed in bars and taverns.
Definisi 'enough' English to English source: webster1913 adjective satellite 2. sufficient for the purpose Terjemahkan an adequate income|the food was adequate|a decent wage|enough food|food enough source: wordnet30 3. as much as necessary Terjemahkan Have I eaten enough?|I've had plenty, thanks source: wordnet30 4. In a degree or quantity that satisfies; to satisfaction; sufficiently. Terjemahkan source: webster1913 5. An exclamation denoting sufficiency, being a shortened form of it is enough. Terjemahkan source: webster1913 6. an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose Terjemahkan enough is as good as a feast|there is more than a sufficiency of lawyers in this country source: wordnet30 source: webster1913 Visual Synonyms
The effects of drug addiction are serious and far-reaching. The abuse of illegal and prescription drugs can destroy families, careers, and financial stability, while undermining your self-esteem and harming your health. Most substance abusers recognize that drug use can cause early or sudden death; however, not everyone is aware that substance abuse can cause serious health damage that is sometimes irreversible. One of the worst side effects of addiction to substances is damage to the heart and cardiovascular system. Many people are so consumed by the disease of addiction that they no longer care or pay attention to their own health. But your health does matter, and that’s why it is so important to seek addiction treatment as soon as possible — before your heart suffers damage that can no longer be repaired. Drugs and Heart Disease Many illegal and prescription drugs negatively affect the cardiovascular system. Amphetamines of all kinds, including meth, Adderall, dexies and speed can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats that may lead to heart attack. All forms of cocaine can cause heart failure, arrhythmia, myocarditis, endocarditis and a condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy or enlarged heart. Inhalants, steroids, hallucinogens and heroin are all known to have dangerous side effects that include severe increase in heart rate, infections of the heart lining or heart valves and heart failure. Let’s take a closer look at the potential heart-related side effects of drug use: Arrhythmia – The term “arrhythmia” is used to describe any change from the normal heartbeat: too fast, too slow, or an erratic rhythm. When the heart fails to pump blood as it should, damage can occur to the brain, lungs and other organs, potentially causing damage to the organs or even a full-system shut down. Types of arrhythmia include: • Atrial fibrillation (irregular contraction of upper heart chambers) • Bradycardia (slow heartbeat) • Conduction disorders (abnormal heartbeat) • Premature contractions (heart beating too early) • Tachycardia (fast heart rate) • Ventricular fibrillation (irregular contraction of lower heart chambers) • Cardiomyopathy – A variety of diseases of the heart muscle are referred to as “cardiomyopathy.” The heart may become weakened because it can no longer pump blood properly. Weakening of the heart muscle has a domino effect and can lead to arrhythmia, heart failure or heart-valve complications. Heart Attack – When the blood flow is blocked to a section of the heart, that section may begin to die if blood flow isn’t quickly restored. Symptoms include sudden and intense chest pain, while less obvious symptoms such as discomfort in the neck, jaw, abdomen, shoulders or back may be warnings. Not all heart attacks are fatal, but they can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle. Heart Failure – Heart failure occurs when the heart becomes weakened by the body’s demands, such as when long-term amphetamine use consistently causes the heart to pump faster and harder than it should. There is no cure for heart failure, though it can be managed through lifestyle changes and medication. Heart palpitations, fatigue and edema are some of the signs of heart failure. Recovery and Health It’s difficult for most people to understand why it’s so hard to quit using drugs, especially when you know just how dangerous drug abuse can be. The most recent scientific research finds that addiction is a complex brain disease. Those with the disease are literally wired differently than others. The dysfunction overrides the brain’s normal reward system and drives the addicted person to seek dopamine release through the use of substances. The brain’s need for gratification outweighs all common sense and good intentions. This does not mean recovery is not possible, but it does mean the chances of experiencing long-term recovery are greater when the neuroscience of addiction is addressed and treated. Cutting-edge centers like Bluff Plantation in Augusta include neuroscience-driven treatment along with medical management, counseling, mindfulness training, recovery planning and coaching and physical and spiritual wellness plans. If you’re life has become unmanageable due to substance abuse, it’s time to seek addiction treatment before suffering permanent damage to the health of your heart. A recovery center that addresses all of your needs, including the science of addiction and medical wellness can literally heal your broken heart.
Cushing’s Syndrome (Hyperadrenocorticism) in Cats What is Cushing’s syndrome? Hyperadrenocorticism is an endocrine disorder caused by excessive production of cortisol by the adrenal gland (the adrenal cortex, which is the outer part of the gland), or administered medically. Hyperadrenocorticism is quite rare in cats. Middle-aged and older cats are most often affected. What are the causes of hyperadrenocorticism in cats? There are three causes of Hyperadrenocorticism in cats: • Iatrogenic Cushing’s (Veterinary induced) – Iatrogenic Cushings is the result of too many corticosteroids (especially cortisol)  given either orally, topically or by injection. • Adrenal tumours  –  In adrenal hyperadrenocorticism, one or both of the adrenal glands ignore the ACTH signal and begin to produce excessive amounts of corticosteroids. This is usually the result of a benign or cancerous tumour. Approximately 50% of adrenal tumours are cancerous. This is known as adrenal dependent hyperadrenocorticism. • Pituitary tumour (Cushing’s Disease) – Micro tumours in the pituitary gland can lead to it producing excessive amounts of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). ACTH stimulates the adrenal glands to produce too much cortisol. This is known as pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. What is the adrenal gland? The adrenal glands are located above the kidneys. The outer layer of the gland, called the adrenal cortex, produces hormones including cortisol, DHEA, estrogen and testosterone. Cortisol is essential for life, it plays several important roles, some of which include; converting proteins into energy, releasing glycogen and has pronounced anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Cortisol opposes the actions of insulin and in more than 90% of cats with Cushing’s syndrome also had concurrent diabetes mellitus. * The inner portion of the adrenal gland is called the medulla and it produces epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline), which during a stress response, raises blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and cardiac output. What are the symptoms of hyperadrenocorticism in cats? How is hyperadrenocorticism diagnosed in cats? Hyperadrenocorticism may be tentatively diagnosed if your cat has a history of long-term corticosteroid use, and upon clinical signs and physical examination of the cat. Diagnostic testing may involve routine tests such as • Complete blood count: This may show an increase in levels of white blood cells • Biochemical profile may reveal low calcium levels, elevated cholesterol, elevated glucose, possible elevated alkaline phosphatase and liver enzymes. • Urinalysis • ACTH stimulation test: This test measures the ability of the adrenal glands to respond to a hormone known as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which is made in the pituitary gland, travelling through the bloodstream to the adrenal glands where it stimulates the secretion of other hormones such as hydrocortisone from the cortex. The ACTH stimulation test measures levels of cortisol in the blood before and after an injection of synthetic ACTH. • Low dose dexamethasone suppression test (also known as ACTH suppression test): This test can help distinguish between adrenal dependent hyperadrenocorticism (ADH) and pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH). It measures the response of the adrenal glands to ACTH. Dexamethasone is a synthetic steroid (similar to cortisol)  which suppresses ACTH. Dexamethasone is administered  and blood cortisol levels are measured. Cortisol levels should decrease in response to the administration of dexamethasone. • Abdominal x-rays can be useful to check for enlarged adrenal glands, calcification of the adrenal glands or other organs and an enlarged liver (hepatomegaly). • Ultrasound: This can enable the veterinarian to measure the adrenal glands. • In the case of spontaneous hyperadrenocorticism, your veterinarian will need to establish which gland is causing the disease. What is the treatment for hyperadrenocorticism in cats? If the disease is caused by the use of corticosteroids then the medication will be gradually withdrawn. This needs to be done slowly and carefully to give the adrenal glands the chance to begin functioning properly. Generally, while drugs have been shown to be effective in dogs, this is generally not the case in cats. Surgical removal of the adrenal gland(s) (adrenalectomy). If the disease is caused by an adrenal tumour in one gland, then only the affected gland will be removed. If the disease is caused by a pituitary tumour then both the adrenal glands will be removed. Adrenalectomy is a risky and difficult operation, and once the adrenal glands are removed your cat will have to have replacement therapy with glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids throughout their lives. Your veterinarian will be able to best advise you on the latest treatment options. *References: The Cornell Book of Cats. Also see: Addison’s disease   Cat symptoms 0 replies Leave a Reply Want to join the discussion? Feel free to contribute! Leave a Reply
Infographic Category Health Why Monitoring Your Sleep Is Vital To Your Health By | source: Somnologymd Jul 18th, 2016 As humans we spend years of our lives asleep, yet what we know about sleep is pretty limited. We know sleep deprivation has the ability to kill, we know the majority of Americans experience sleep problems, and lack of sleep can cause depression, memory problems and more. Today’s infographic will show you why sleep monitoring is an important step to improving your sleep patterns and overall health. One of the ways you can monitor your sleep yourself is to set a strict bedtime. Get into bed at the same time every day, and overtime you can judge to see how fast your fall asleep and how long you stay asleep. There are also medical grade sensors you can purchase to judge your sleeping habits and show this data to your doctor for a more accurate assessment of your sleep issues. When taking the first few steps to improve your health, many don’t think about the improvements they could make to their sleeping habits. Try to think of improving your sleep like you would a diet, or exercising. infographic world Similar Infographics
(Squirelus Picklus) A Pickled Squirrel The Pickled Squirrel is a little larger than its more normal red and grey cousins. A light brown colouring and usually has a can of cider in its paws. Drinking cider, throwing empty cans and acorns at passer-by’s and being a general nuisance. A very high pitched squeaky voice. Its speech is usually very slurred and contains many ‘hics’. Inside a tree that is not too far from the off-licence. Many generations will live in the same abode being too lazy to move out and find their own, unless they know where there is a better off-licence. Acorns and cider. Most Pickled Squirrels will not remember ever breeding but there are many fatherless young pickled squirrels. Movement and Migration: The Pickled Squirrel will only move home if the local off-licence closes down or it knows where a better / cheaper one has opened up. The Pickled Squirrel is the most useless curious creature around. The only use for its existence is to keep many off-licences in business.
File name: Title: Angular Unconformities and Nonconformities. Caption: This animation has two parts. The first part shows the formation of an angular unconformity that begins with the deposition of sediment layers in an aqueous environment. Subsequent mountain-building processes fold and uplift the sedimentary rock layers. Erosion processes remove the upper portions, revealing bands of different types of sedimentary rocks. Later deposits of sediments create new layers of sedimentary rocks over the angular unconformity. The second part shows the formation of a nonconformity which begins with a large body of intrusive igneous rock exposed at the surface through a combination of uplift and erosion. At a later time the rock body is covered by layers of sedimentary rocks, leading to the inclusion of pieces of the rock body in the lowest layer of sedimentary rock. Keywords: geologic time scale, relative dating, angular unconformity, angular unconformities, folds, erosion, subsidence, nonconformity, nonconformities
Videos: Schematic Simulation The video on this page shows a schematic simulation of the hot extrusion process. The process includes the following steps: 1. The ram and container are raised to allow access to the die holder. 2. The die is installed in place. 3. The container is now lowered to mate with the die. 4. The ram is retracted to allow the hot billet to be inserted. 5. The hot billet is removed from the furnace and lowered into the container. 6. The ram is again centered and lowered into the container. 7. The extrusion process begins when the ram contacts the billet and begins to force the hot metal through the die, forming a tube. 8. When the ram reaches the bottom of the stroke, the tube is ejected and the ram retracts. 9. The container is raised once again and the die is removed, along with the “butt”. 10. The “butt” is returned for recycling and the press is ready for another extrusion.
Ecological Footprinting in an Ib School Only available on StudyMode • Topic: Ecological footprint, Carbon footprint, Ecology • Pages : 19 (6965 words ) • Download(s) : 18 • Published : April 14, 2013 Open Document Text Preview Environmental Systems and Societies Research Question: In terms of an ecological-footprint, do the members of SIS form a ‘large footprint’ and, if so, what steps can the school take to improve its situation, via Social Responsibility or otherwise? By Shoumi Mittra SVKM International School Word count: 3943 words Investigating SVKM International School and its ecological footprint Table of contents: Title| Page Number| Abstract| 3| Introduction| 4| * Research Question| 5| Rationale| 6| Research| 6| Results| 9| * Summary of Results| 13| Interpretations and Discussion| 15| Conclusion and Recommendations| 21| Bibliography| 23| Appendix 1| 24| The earth has formed arduously over billions of years, going through continental drifts, volcanic eruptions and cooling, growth of organisms and successions spanning over a million years and various other processes, to become the habitable planet that it is today. There is a ‘sphere’ (hydro-, litho- or atmo-) for every living being to live in, and the entire earth belongs to every organism on earth- The ecocentric belief. It is, however, the anthropocentric and its corresponding technocentric belief that has begun what can only be called an Environmental Crisis. It is to address this crisis that I have formulated my research question. It states: In terms of an ecological-footprint, do the members of SVKM International School (SIS) form a ‘large footprint’ and, if so, what steps can the school take to improve its situation, via Social Responsibility or otherwise? Thus, the aim of this research paper is to perform a small-scale estimation of such an ecological footprint of the highest-earning members of a very varied school. It is the part that I am a part of and thus, am most motivated to ameliorate. It is a common aspiration to always Act Locally and Think Globally. To be aware of one’s local impact on the environment is the key to achieving this aspiration. I proceeded to fulfil it in SIS to the best of my abilities as an Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) student and as a global citizen. It finally appeared that, through my extensive of primary research, the hypothesis was proven and in general, the IBDP members create a large impact, resulting in a large ecological footprint for SIS. By analysing the factors that contributed to this large eco-footprint, methods of social responsibility were suggested in the recommendations and thus, the research question has been extensively addressed. Word count: 299 words The idea of measuring an impact on the globe was first conceived by William Rees and further developed by Mathis Wackernagel in 1992. As teacher and student respectively, Rees and Wackernagel worked at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada until the concept of “appropriated carrying capacity” was developed. With inspiration from a computer technician, the name evolved and finally emerged a global phenomenon: Calculate your Ecological Footprint! Conducted on various scales, ranging from the Global Ecological Footprint (estimated to be at about 1.5 earths) to the individual footprint, there is much justification for the use of an ecological footprint. Picture 1 Showing the current and previous Global Ecological Footprint Although various streamlined subdivisions have been developed, such as the well-known Carbon Footprint, commonly used by businesses, the personal ecological footprint encompasses a variety of aspects: 1. A person’s water usage 2. Their use of land 3. Their pollution of the air 4. The amount of waste they produce 5. The sustainability of their actions 6. Their contributions to global warming and environmental degradation The calculators of such a vast array of concepts are numerous however the authentic ones are those affiliated with the Global Footprint Network. I have proceeded to not calculate, but estimate... tracking img
The Cause and Effect of Open Burning Only available on StudyMode • Topic: Oxygen, Sun, Ozone • Pages : 2 (522 words ) • Download(s) : 4493 • Published : August 19, 2012 Open Document Text Preview  In the past, the air was so fresh, the water was so clean, and the Earth was so healthy. Today, smell the polluted air, look at the polluted water, and feel the terrible heat of the sun; everything is polluted! The Earth is getting worse day by day. The Earth’s sickness is a chronic matter for every being on the Earth. Why? What causes the Earth to degrade, to get sick?           People are too irresponsible. They don’t care about the Earth. They burn things without a limit, throw trashes into the sea, and chop down trees as their will. They just don’t care about it! People are so inconsiderate. They don’t think about the consequences of their actions. Everything is about benefit, selfishness, and self pleasure. They think the matter won’t cause them anything and don‘t bother about it. But, what about their descendants and the other beings?           The oxygen level in the air goes down, but the carbon dioxide level is rising. It is a result of too much logging. The smoke exhausted by vehicles, factories, and open burning cause the air pollution. The chlorofluorocarbon released by air conditioners and refrigerators; and the nuclear weapons used during wars cause the ozone depletion. More ultraviolet rays from the sun can pass through the ozone layer. These cause the rising temperature of the Earth, which is also called global warming.           Global warming caused the icebergs on the Earth to melt and made the sea level goes up. As a result, more floods will happen on Earth and low-landed area will be drowned. More and more disasters such as tsunami, earthquake, and volcano eruption will occur. The climate of the Earth will be affected too. Just imagine as if the Sahara Desert was snowing, everyone was sweating of the heat in the Artic, and the sea level went up to the Statue of Liberty’s body! Is that horrible for you?           If the Earth continues to get worse, this may be the end of it, the end of us. More natural disasters and disease’s outbreaks will... tracking img
A Look at Solar PV’s Bright Future Solar Photovoltaic Array Solar power, the alternative energy source long since dismissed by critics and the public-at-large as improbable futurism, has recently achieved grid parity in Hawaii and in nine other US states according to the Deutsche Bank. Other countries like Germany and China are also aggressively backing solar power initiatives and have surged past the US in solar power generation. For those unfamiliar with the term ‘grid parity’, it’s when alternative energy generates electricity less than or equal to the cost of purchasing power from the electricity grid. It’s a big deal, and solar power has become an overnight sensation. Why has solar power become viable now? The answer is Photovoltaics (PV), another term you’ll no doubt become familiar with in upcoming years. Photovoltaics significantly outperforms traditional solar concentration, and like plasma TVs and computer CPUs before, the production costs are dropping dramatically. The following Slideshare: “A Review of Solar PV Benefit and Cost Studies” explains the complicated factors involved in calculating the value of solar to an electric utility. Smithco Heat ExchangersBuffalo Turbines: Specializing in turbine rotor replacements for either single or multi-stage steam turbines. For a quote or for expert help regarding to your industrial operations, call toll free at 1-888-317-8959 ext.26 today.
CCTV – Benefits and Controversies Screen Shot 2017-03-17 at 10.03.59 AM 1. History CCTV (closed-circuit-television) is a TV system in which signals are privately monitored for the purposes of surveillance and security. It’s rather ubiquitous and can be found on streets, in buildings, and in homes. The earliest documented use of CCTV was in Germany in 1942, and was used for the monitoring of V-2 rockets. CCTV first came to the UK in the 1960s when the police introduced two temporary cameras to Trafalgar Square to monitor crowds during the Thai Royal Family’s visit to London (transport control). In the 1970s, live-feed CCTV was replaced by video surveillance. Since videos could be stored for later analysis, the applicability of CCTV expanded immensely. CCTV was mostly used by law enforcement and businesses (banks, insurance companies, etc.). The 1990s was the era of commercial CCTV use, with the invention of the nanny cam. CCTV became more popular both within the home and on the streets.After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, government and law enforcement agencies increased the number of cameras used. There are now ~6 million CCTV cameras in use across the UK. Nowadays, in the United Kingdom, the vast majority of CCTV cameras are not operated by government bodies, but by private individuals or companies, especially to monitor the interiors of shops and businesses. According to 2011 Freedom of Information Act requests, the total number of local government operated CCTV cameras was around 52,000 over the entirety of the UK. 2. Map Screen Shot 2017-03-17 at 10.04.06 AM In this map, you can see the localisation of all CCTV security cameras in the South of the Thames. As you can see, in all streets, corners, squares, more than one surveillance camera is located. In London, CCTV is in every district and almost every street. 3. The Impact on Security There is estimated to be 1 security camera for every 32 people in the UK. As a country, we are the most surveilled in the world. But does this keep us any safer than other countries? According to statistics, apparently not. Although CCTV offers police a vital resource for finding evidence in order to convict criminals, it does not prevent crime as such. Screen Shot 2017-03-17 at 10.04.15 AM In this graph we can see that although London is not the highest, it is pretty shocking nevertheless since the graph is comparing London to whole cities. For instance, the robbery rate in London alone is higher than the robbery rate in the US as a whole. However, we must of course consider that where the US in concerned, population may have had an effect on the statistics since this graph is showing robbery rate per 100,000 people in the country. Screen Shot 2017-03-17 at 10.04.21 AM This graph is more specific since it shows just cities and not countries. Now when we look at the graph, although London has the highest amount of robberies in a year, it is not drastically different to New York. London does have a higher population that New York, however, the difference in populations is not enough to constitute for the difference in amount of robberies. We must ask questions surrounding the effectiveness of London’s CCTV in order to create a safer and more secure environment. 4. Controverses and limits: a threat to fundamental freedom? The development of CCTV was seen by many as a breakthrough to prevent the country’s crime. It is an important part of the crime prevention strategy in the United Kingdom and is often used as important evidence in trials and in the identification of suspects. However, the proliferation of CCTV cameras in public places has caused some concern about the erosion of civil liberties and individual human rights, along with warnings of an Orwellian “big brother” culture. Critics say that constant CCTV surveillance of public places is intrusive and a breach of privacy. CameraWatch [the UK watchdog on CCTV compliance with the Data Protection Act] said that more than 90% of CCTV systems did not comply with the law. Less than 10% were operated and legally managed in accordance with data protection legislation. The organization warned that it would be “too easy” for anyone to challenge the CCTV evidence in a court of law because of the way the images were collected and administered. The CCTV system has been severely criticized by fundamentalists, who claimed the lack of respect for civil liberties. They updated XXth century philosophical theories, such as: Foucault > correlation between social control, power and dominance. By restricting the behaviour of individuals, in a society where ervey interactions between people would be controlled, the CCTV system appears as a threat of freedom, according to foucault’s thesis. Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s %d bloggers like this:
jump to navigation Happy Planet Index June 16, 2012 Posted by dtenjo in Society. 1 comment so far I read this week in the news that Costa Rica, Vietnam, and Colombia are the three happiest countries on earth. I always wondered how this could be possible, especially about Vietnam and Colombia, countries with well documented social, political and economic issues. I mean, fine, people can be happy on those countries, but what about all the efforts that along history mankind has made to generate well-being and development? Some countries have done very well at generating development as we know it, so does having countries that evidently still have issues to resolve reflect higher levels of  “happiness” mean that all the efforts in generating development and wellbeing have been futile because they are not really generating happiness in people? I looked into the Happy Planet Index, and realized that this index is calculated based on three measures with are Experienced Well-being, Life Expectancy, and Ecological Footprint. Experienced well-being is obtained based on surveying populations of each country regarding how they think their life is going. Then, the HPI is calculated by multiplying the Expected Well-being by the Life Expectancy, and dividing that by the ecological footprint. I then took a look at the results of this year’s HPI results, and realized that in the case of Colombia, there are counties with much higher results under the experienced well-being category, and obviously there are many that have a higher life expectancy. So, the reason why Colombia ranks so high up on the HPI index is mostly because of the low ecological footprint. This is great to know that Colombia has a low ecological footprint, but remember that part of this might be due to low economic development of the country, and hardly a low ecological footprint of a country has a direct relationship with people’s happiness. In addition, the Experienced Well-being index is based on polls, and gets the results from what the majority of the population thinks, and let’s remember that in countries where there are human rights issues, and parts of the population are disadvantaged, it is the minority of the population who suffers this. So, while it is great to read that Colombia ranks high in the HPI, it is important to take it with a grain of salt. News saying that the country constantly ranks high among the “Happiest Countries on Earth” might be somewhat deceiving. This is just the “Happy Planet Index” and does not necessarily mean that because a country ranks high on this, their people in general are happy. Another Event that Proves how Society in the US is Going in the Wrong Direction April 16, 2007 Posted by dtenjo in Politics, Society. add a comment About six hours after the shooting at Virginia Tech happened, the death toll keeps rising, -it is at about 31 right now, and I am still trying to understand the relevance of this event, which seems to be by far the worst of its class in US history. This day will go down in history as the day when the most people were killed in a US educational institution. The worst part of this is that we are actually hoping it is this way, and we won’t see an even deadlier school shooting in a few weeks. The question that comes to mind right away is why these things seem to happen only, or at least most frequently in America? Not even Iraq or Afghanistan, which appear to be currently the most troublesome countries right now, get shootings of this kind. I mean, a few months ago in Montreal something similar happened, but keep in mind that Canadian society in spite of the differences with the US, is in many ways similar to the way US society runs. This is a proof that there definitely is something wrong with US society. And I know I am not inventing an new concept here with this statement, most people agree with the fact that the values under which US society is run are wrong, or at least mishandled by individuals. Seems to me like throughout history Americans focused so much on building what to them would be “the greatest nation in the world”, that they ended up inculcating the wrong values on their people in order to achieve this. And in so many ways they actually achieved both creating a “great” nation, and running a society with mistaken values, and this seems to be what is currently degrading the nation from the inside out I’ve always thought that while America is trying to solve the problems all around the world, going to countries oversees, invading, and trying to control other nations, their own society is getting corrupted on the core, and the American government has overlooked this. I am talking about things like materialism, individualism, permanent competition to “step” on others if necessary to achieve what you need, the lack of community sense, and many other ideas that people in the newer generations were educated under, which I don’t consider are necessarily all bad, but they become bad when people misinterpret, and mishandle them like Americans in general have. I hope not to offend anybody with what I just wrote. I have many American friends, and in general they are great people. I still consider that USA is a great nation in many ways, but there are so many other aspects that need to be reconsidered about the way the nation is run. It is clear that social values need to be revisited especially in a country where school shootings seem to be more and more common all the time. Just brainstorming on a solution to Drug trafficking October 12, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in Colombia, Politics, Society. I was reading an article on a Colombian newspaper about solutions to drug trafficking so that the South American nation stops loosing so much money, lives, and land to the fight against drug trafficking. There is a growing number of people who believe that making drug trafficking legal is a way to stop this problem (lowering prices, making the business not so profitable, etc). Now, there are others (including myself) who just think this wouldn’t be right. I just can’t imagine a world in which you will see people consuming heroine or cocaine on the streets normally like if they were smoking a cigarette, or having a pop soda. Plus, this would send an intrinsic message that doing drugs is OK, while everybody knows that it is not ok, drugs affect humans both physically and psychologically. This in turn affects society. I was thinking about this, when and idea came to my mind. What about making buying and selling drugs legal, but consuming them illegal? This would be opposite to what the law is in many countries right now, where the illegal part of drugs is buying and selling them, but consuming drugs is not illegal. Think about it. Making drug trading legal would stop the hiper-profitable business, as anyone would be able to sell them. However, poeple wouldn’t be allowed to consume them, at least not in public. They could even make it illegal to be under the influence of drugs on the street, no matter where you actually consumed them, that way making it “not ok” to do drugs. This is just my idea. I thought it is a good idea during the two minutes that I analyzed it. I wonder how crazy it is, or how much it would work. Who knows…..? but it is pretty interesting. In any case, if it is a good idea, I don’t think I am the first one to think about this. Any comments? The Absurdness of War August 10, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in News and politics, Politics, Society. add a comment The more I read and look into the current Middle East war, the more I think Israel is not right in what it is doing. I still claim not to know enough about the history of what is going on there, but every time I read something new about the current war, I lean towards the Lebanese side more and more. The reason? Seems to me like Israel is using too much brute force, more than it is necessary. They are killing way more civilians on Lebanese territory than Hezbollah has on Israeli land, and now, the whole thing is starting to look more like an Israeli invasion than anything else. Last I read was that Israeli ground troops are already 30 km inside on Lebanese territory…. If this is not an invasion, then what is it? A friend of mine pointed this VIDEO out for me, which I find really interesting… I am not going to say that everything George Galloway claims on this video has to be right, as he seems overly passionate and biased, but maybe there is some truth to what he is saying… I also heard that Israel might look into the exchange of prisoners to stop the war… The question is: if they end up exchanging prisoners, and stop the current violence, what is going to happen to all the damage done? Who is going to bring back the innocent lives lost? How is Lebanon going to be rebuilt? Is anyone ever going to take responsibility on all that happened in this preposterous war? Posted by dtenjo in Life in general, Politics, Society. Israel throughout history: Martyrs, or Agressors? July 25, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in News and politics, Politics, Society. add a comment I was just thinking today that it is evident that Israel has had problems with all their neighbors, namely Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon… When you are the one that is in problems with everybody else, you can only wonder if you are the one who has problems. With this I don’t want to imply anything about Israel, as I really don’t think I can understand much of the situation there, and even at times I tend to take part with them, but from looking at the facts, and the territorial problems seen with all of Israel’s neighbors, I was thinking that Israel is either a nation that has suffered the harshest injustices to keep their land, or they are an aggressor who always want to take what belongs to somebody else. I know the situation is more complicated than that, and you can’t just easily decide what belongs to whom, because in reality, the location of this territory makes it the land that many ethnic and religious groups claim, Christians included. You can only hope that in some way, all parts involved will find a way to “share” the land, and forget past aggressions. I know it is hard, but hoping for this is all the majority of humans can do right now. Crashed July 14, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in Movies, Society. add a comment From the time of the Oscar awards, when the movie “Crash” started making some noise I had wanted to see it, but for some reason I just hadn’t been able to do it. And yesterday I finally saw it. What a movie. It created a big impact on me. Crash shows reality as it is, with all the crudeness that it requires, It represents society’s behavior in any American city, it shows violence, racism, hatred, injustice…. the worst part is: This is exactly what is going on in our society today. To me Crash is like a wake up call for its audience to realize the way things are, no matter what position in society you hold, this movie shows how things work, a reality seen by many, no matter whether you’ve been touched by it or not. (The fact is, chances are you have been touched by this reality). Crash also demonstrates how hatred, resentment, and lack of tolerance are ruining our society. It is telling us “here, this is the world that we have, now, where are we going to end up if we continue in this way????” I am not an expert in writing movie reviews, and I am not going to pretend to do it here, but I really liked this movie. As a movie, I found a big similarity to “Amores Perros“, that famous Mexican movie from 2001. I consider Crash was a great movie. It depressed me, I felt it. It put my feet on earth, it rang a bell showing me that in this world things are not the way we sometimes think, reminding me that we better start spreading love, otherwise we will destroy ourselves. Why? July 5, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in News and politics, Politics, Society. add a comment Forget about Gas Prices, it is the Earth we should worry about June 23, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in Environmentalism, News and politics, Politics, Society. add a comment It is interesting how people have massively been showing concern about Gas Prices. Considering that Gas prices are mostly driven by Economic forces, there is little us, or the government can do about its price going up. Perhaps they should cut some of the taxes they put on fuel, but really taxes also act as a way to control the use of Gas, and prevent its waste. So, in that extent I am not vary much against high taxation for Gas. We should not worry so much about the price issue. More than anything everyone should be concerned with how efficiently we are using this fuel that drives our lives, and how much damage we are causing to the environment by irresponsibly driving our car everyday, and unconsciously using non renewable energy that with better habits can easily be saved. It was very surprising to fiund out that in California and Florida GM plan to offer subsidized gas prices to people that buy big SUV’s like HUMMERS, or SUBURBANS, or ESCALADES, etc… This is UNBELIEVABLE. No wonder GM has been doing so badly lately in business, and this looks to be a selfish desperate move. How in this world would you want to provide incentives for people to use big fat trucks that all they do is damage the environment in which we live? How would it be fare that a person that spends several thousand dollars just to look big in a vehicle that takes twice as much room in the street that we all drive on, pollutes our air, and uses the fuel that other people are trying to save, get gas rebates? It should actually be the other way around, and they should be making SUV owners pay more than others. In the end we should really forget about Gas prices and how much money we would save by using a fuel efficient car, or not using one whenever we can. It is the earth that is at stake here. If we don’t start finding alternative ways of transportation, our air will get polluted until we can’t breathe anymore, and the precious fuel that is valuable to many other indispensable uses will run out. “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression” June 20, 2006 Posted by dtenjo in Canada, News and politics, Politics, Society. I was very surprised when I found out what happened yesterday at Ryerson, a Canadian University in the province of Ontario. It turns out that a person who was receiving an honorary degree, was shown signs of disrespect from other professors, and people in general. While Margeret Sommerville was receiving her degree, inside of the auditorium some professors turned their backs and held protest banners on stage, while in the stands and outside, other people showed all sorts of signs of protest. The reason?.. It turns out that Dr. Somerville, has some views on the negative effects that same-sex marriage would bring to society. Does it make any sense that gay rights supporters, those who fight for freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and diversity in society are disrespecting a person in this way? To me this shows a double morale, in which they want rights for some people, but they fail to recognize the rights of others. They say Dr. Sommerville is a homophobic, failing to recognize that the fact that someone points out the negative effects of same-sex marriage on society, and specifically on the children, does not make a person a homophobic. Homophobic people, as those who fail to accept gay people and discriminate them, should not be tolerated; however, people who find negative views on some of the concessions that gay supporters are demanding, should be listened and respected. In a society that feels proud of its diversity and its freedom, all persons should be able to express their views on matters that affect everyone, as long as these views don't attack anyone's integrity, and are expressed in a respectful way. Just like gay supporters should be respected in their views, those who point out some potential negative effects on some of the gay issues, should also be respected at all times. Gay people have many rights, and so do all the other people in society. No signs of disrespect should be tolerated on someone's views, especially in the Canadian society. If we want a society the has solid grounds, debate should be welcome. Otherwise society will be partitioned, conflict will be generated, and the values that govern society will never be clear. The Canadian charter of rights and freedoms regards the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression as a fundamental freedom. A ceremony where a person is recognized for her academic achievements should not be sabbotaged, as this act of disrespect attacks the fundamental freedom in question.
366 BC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Millennium: 1st millennium BC 366 BC in various calendars Gregorian calendar 366 BC Ab urbe condita 388 Ancient Egypt era XXX dynasty, 15 - Pharaoh Nectanebo I, 15 Ancient Greek era 103rd Olympiad, year 3 Assyrian calendar 4385 Balinese saka calendar N/A Bengali calendar −958 Berber calendar 585 Buddhist calendar 179 Burmese calendar −1003 Byzantine calendar 5143–5144 Chinese calendar 甲寅(Wood Tiger) 2331 or 2271     — to — 乙卯年 (Wood Rabbit) 2332 or 2272 Coptic calendar −649 – −648 Discordian calendar 801 Ethiopian calendar −373 – −372 Hebrew calendar 3395–3396 Hindu calendars  - Vikram Samvat −309 – −308  - Shaka Samvat N/A  - Kali Yuga 2735–2736 Holocene calendar 9635 Iranian calendar 987 BP – 986 BP Islamic calendar 1017 BH – 1016 BH Javanese calendar N/A Julian calendar N/A Korean calendar 1968 Minguo calendar 2277 before ROC Nanakshahi calendar −1833 Thai solar calendar 177–178 Tibetan calendar 阳木虎年 (male Wood-Tiger) −239 or −620 or −1392     — to — (female Wood-Rabbit) −238 or −619 or −1391 Year 366 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mamercinus and Lateranus (or, less frequently, year 388 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 366 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. By place[edit] Persian Empire[edit] • Athens founds the town of Kos on the island of Kos in the Aegean Sea. • Theban leader, Epaminondas, returns to the Peloponnesus for a third time, seeking to secure the allegiance of the states of Achaea. Although no army dares to challenge him in the field, the democratic governments he establishes there are short-lived, as pro-Spartan aristocrats soon return to the cities, reestablish the oligarchies, and bind their cities ever more closely to Sparta. • Thebes makes peace with Sparta and then turns its attention on Athens, which is trying to revive its maritime empire and is interfering in Macedonian dynastic quarrels. • Thebes captures the city of Oropus. • The experiment by Dion (brother-in-law of Dionysius I) and Plato to educate the new ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius II, in the practical application of Plato's philosophical principles fails and Dion and Plato are banished from Syracuse. Roman Republic[edit] • The use of military tribunes with consular power is abandoned permanently and the dual consulship is restored. A new magistracy is established, which is called the praetorship. Its holder, the praetor, is elected annually by the Assembly and takes charge of civil matters, thus relieving the consuls of this responsibility. The praetor is regarded as a junior colleague of the consuls. Nevertheless, the praetor can command an army, convene a Senate or an assembly, as well as exercise the consular functions. • Two additional aediles, called curule ("higher") aediles, are created in the Roman hierarchy. These are at first patricians; but those of the next year are plebeians and so on year by year alternately. They are elected in the assembly of the tribes, with the consul presiding. By topic[edit] • The Abduction of Persephone, detail of a wall painting in Tomb I (Small Tomb) in Vergina, Macedonia, is made (approximate date).
Microsoft Excel – number of days between two dates You want to calculate a person’s age, or figure out how many shopping days there are until Christmas. Type the two dates into cells in a workbook. If you want to use today’s date then use the formula =TODAY(), which updates automatically each time a workbook is opened. Click in the cell where the result is to go. Type an = sign, as all formulae start with an equal sign. Type DATEDIF followed by an opening bracket, (. Now type in the cell reference of the oldest date, in this case B3, or click on the cell the mouse. Follow this with a comma and the cell reference of the nearest date, in this case B10. Follow this with another comma and finish the formula entry by typing the letter d between double quotes and closing the brackets. Press the Enter key, or click the tick on the formula bar to accept the formula. The number of days between the two dates is shown in the cell. The DATEDIF is a function not publicised by Microsoft, but is very useful. There is no reference to it in the help files, and it does appear in the Formula Autocomplete list. DATEDIF can also calculate the number of months, or years, between dates by using “m” or “y” rather than “d” as the last argument of the formula. In the example shown, Peter’s date of birth, B13, is the first argument, followed by the current date, B3. If you are using Microsoft Excel 2013 or Microsoft Excel 2016, you can use the new function DAYS. This works as follows: =DAYS(end date, start date) and will return the  answer in days. Find more information about our Microsoft Excel training Sydney, Australia. Find more information about our Microsoft Excel training London, UK, or our Microsoft Excel training Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset. About jdonbavand This entry was posted in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Excel 2003, Microsoft Excel 2007, Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft Excel 2013, Microsoft Excel 2016 and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. One Response to Microsoft Excel – number of days between two dates 1. Thank you Janet, This a valuable formula to use. Previously when I needed to find employees length of service, I had to use 3-4 formula to calculate it. Now I know how easy is it is “if only I’d known this” Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
What Actually Happens During An Abortion? asapSCIENCE Explains, Because It's More Important To Know Now Than Ever — VIDEO Alex Wong/Getty Images News/Getty Images As Trump's administration ushers in a new era in the White House, our right to choose what happens to our own bodies is under threat now perhaps more than any other time since the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973. While those who oppose abortion often tout religious reasons for denying women this basic human right, many people are still unclear about what actually happens during an abortion. So let's clear that up, shall we? Knowledge is power, after all. According to an article in Reuters by Ellen Wulfhorst, two court cases, both in southern states, are at the forefront of new abortion regulations and are likely to reach the Supreme Court. One of the laws in Arkansas, which is currently being challenged in federal court, requires clinics inducing medical abortions with drugs to contract with a doctor who has admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. This can make it difficult for clinics to provide the procedure if they cannot find a doctor with whom to partner, a particular challenge in rural areas. While those who support the law say it is based on safety; opponents say it is just one more way to block the right to abortion. And this is where it becomes useful to know what does and doesn't happen during an abortion — because many of the mandates allegedly geared towards "safety" are not actually necessary to carry out safe abortions. Regardless of politics, asapSCIENCE breaks down the technical aspects of the procedure and provides evidence of the benefits to our health, and society at large, for protecting this basic human right. AsapSCIENCE on YouTube 92 Percent of Abortions Take Place During the First 13 Weeks of Gestation While abortion opposition advocates claim that late-term abortion are common, it's simply not true. Our Bodies Ourselves reports that 92 percent of all abortions take place during the first trimester of pregnancy. First-trimester abortions are often completed with an oral tablet, which is effective 49 days from a women's first missed period. The tablet commonly contains Mifepristone and works by blocking the hormone progesterone thus causing the uterus to contract and end the pregnancy. Women usually experience what feels like a heavy period after taking the pill. The second option for first-trimester pregnancies for those who have missed the window to take the oral tablet is what is called vacuum aspiration, which can be used up to 16 weeks after conception. The procedure is typically performed under local or general anesthesia. The cervix is numbed and opened wide enough to pass a slender tube into the uterus; suction is used to empty the contents. A third option is known as dilation and curettage (D&C). During this procedure the cervix is dilated using small instruments or medication and then an instrument called a curette is used to remove the contents of the uterus. Only 1.2 Percent of Abortions Occur After 21 Weeks If a woman's pregnancy is between 12 and 24 weeks the procedure dilation and evacuation (D&E) may be used. During this procedure the cervix is dilated using osmotic dilators, which can be short rods made of seaweed or synthetic material which absorb moisture and slowly stretch the cervix. The rods are typically inserted the day before surgery. Once the cervix is sufficiently dilated, the uterus is emptied using either vacuum aspiration or a combination of forceps and a curette. Women's heath advocate and author Mira Ptacin has written extensively about this procedure in her 2016 memoir Poor Your Soul. Ptacin and her husband discovered severe fetal abnormalities during a routine ultrasound during her second trimester and were given the options to terminate the pregnancy or deliver a child who would not live. The couple decided to terminate, and Ptacin, who did not have health insurance, chronicles navigating Medicaid in New York City, and in some instances, being treated poorly by some of the medical professionals she encountered during her journey to access her basic healthcare rights. Abortions after 24 weeks are usually for reasons of severe fetal anomalies. Abortions Are One of the Safest Procedures in Medicine Abortions performed by medical professionals are one of the safest medical procedures with only one death occurring per 100,000 procedures. The risk of dying in childbirth is 14 times higher than the risk of dying during a legal abortion. In a 2014 article for Planned Parenthood, Miriam Berg wrote, "Anti-women’s health politicians have passed more than 200 abortion restrictions since 2011 in states across the country, many in the name of protecting patient health and safety. Yet a study released Dec. 8 [2014] reaffirms that abortion as practiced in America today is safe — and just further proof that these restrictions are actually intended to block access to safe and legal abortion." Even though we are just weeks into 2017, Olivia Becker for Vice News writes that more than 45 anti-abortion bills are already in front of state legislators. Abortions Do Not Cause Cancer or Problems Conceiving Myths that abortion is linked to cancer or can prevent women from conceiving in the future are reportedly false. The American Cancer Society reports that there is no scientific link between abortion and breast cancer. Additionally the Mayo Clinic reports that there is no link between a safe abortion and future infertility. Abortions not performed by a medical professional cause 68,000 deaths per year with a further 5 million women suffering disabilities from unsanctioned procedures, according to asapSCIENCE. Unsafe abortions run the gamut from ingesting toxic chemicals to inserting objects into the uterus and even physical trauma to induce a miscarriage. The World Health Organization has called unsafe abortions a "preventable pandemic." Laws that Limit Abortions or Make them Illegal Do Not Reduce the Number of Abortions Countries that have outlawed abortions have roughly the same number of abortions as countries where the procedure is legal -- the difference is that when abortion is illegal, the incidents of unsafe abortions rise. A report from the medical journal Lancet shows that the abortion rate in countries that have banned the practice is actually higher than in countries where women have access to a safe and legal abortion. Additional research has found the the best way to reduce abortions is to provide comprehensive sex education and access to contraception to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, thus once again proving that education instead of restriction is a powerful tool. If you're having a conversation with someone about abortion fact versus fiction, in addition to this video, arm yourself with some abortion myth-busting facts.
Access to ICTs: Is it just about giving “power to the people”? Lea la versión en español de este blog aquí. Despite the digital revolution of the last decades, half of the world’s population is still offline. Moreover, according to the ICT Facts and Figures 2016 almost 1 billion households in the world have Internet access, of which 230 million are in China, 60 million in India and only 20 million in the world’s 48 less developed countries. Similarly, Internet penetration rates are higher for men than for women in all regions of the world. Thus, it seems like the digital divides we are currently facing are reinforcing today’s offline patterns of exclusion and discrimination, contributing to a more unequal world. In this context, universalizing access and connectivity will be fundamental for empowering every single citizen, no matter her gender, income or location. But by closing the digital divides are we only empowering citizens? Or are we also empowering data collectors, such as governments and Internet platforms? The way I see it, enhancing access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) not only empowers citizens, but can also create new opportunities for collecting “complete data”, and therefore, empower other stakeholders that are willing to generate data-based knowledge. The defense of people’s right to online presence is not only convenient for vulnerable populations, but also for those who already have the technological infrastructure, human capacities and skills to exploit data. Big data analysts usually boast about having overcome the need of random sampling techniques, by being able to collect ‘everything there is’. Nevertheless, given that until today the online world is only a subsample of everything there is, big data is still based on samples; and as Martin Hilbert smartly points out, the intensity of the bias is dictated by the intensity of the digital divide. But what would happen if we were in fact able to close the digital divide and leave no one offline? Presumably, the Big Data paradigm would finally come true. Is this an unintended outcome of universalizing access? Of course it is not. There are plenty of scholars that show, for example, how data can make government better or how it is giving rise to a new economy. Therefore, it is expected that the ones who are pushing forward the universalization of access to the Internet are also aiming for the development and economic growth benefits of Big Data analytics. Nevertheless, what could be indeed an unintended consequence is the governments’ and companies’ empowerment that comes along with collecting ‘everything there is’. In fact, for digital rights defenders who advocate for access, these are undesirable consequences. Universalized access will mean ubiquitous data collection by governments and companies. Hence, by itself, this single event will boost—as never before—what the Italian philosopher of law Vittorio Frosini coined as informatics power, that is, the ability that those who manage personal databases have to control the actions of the data holders. This term was initially used to describe the risks that the first technological advances posed for people’s freedoms. While it was originally applied to the management of data that was transmitted in the form of tapes or magnetic disks, it is completely applicable to the collection of rapid real-time flows of unstructured data that are currently being produced by ICT. As several scholars have already shown, the exercise of the informatics power can lead to the creation of a new form of social domination that can be imposed over individuals. While it can reflect in the application of personalized and targeted services by businesses, such as the ones already uses with its subscribers, the very same technology and data can be used for activities far more dangerous to civil liberties. For instance, it can be translated into practices of dataveillance (trawling through and interconnecting datasets to draw conclusions), resulting in the government’s continuous monitoring of citizens' communications and actions across several digital platforms. As Zeynep Tufekci strikingly highlights, even Big Data analytics now allow digital platforms such as Facebook or Google to make inferences about private information that may never have been disclosed to an online platform. This is the case of the inferences that are currently being done by Alibaba, the largest Chinese online shopping platform, which accesses the payment history of its four hundred million Alipay users to make judgments about their solvency and character. As a consequence, someone who plays video games for ten hours a day will be considered less responsible than someone who frequently buys diapers, who would be probably considered as a parent and thus, more likely to have a sense of responsibility. Citizens’ enfranchisement is not the only empowerment that will come alongside universalized access to information technology. Indeed, total connectivity will also empower data collectors, and will enable them to finally collect ‘everything there is’. But as the digital divide has not yet been closed, there is still time to look for tools to cope with the informatics power that governments and Internet platforms will be able to acquire, and that threatens to upset once again the balance of power that digital rights defenders are trying to achieve among citizens, and between citizens and governments. Some of these tools could be to update data protection regulations, to employ inclusive coding practices when designing algorithms, or to develop ethical norms and standards that are shared by both citizens and data collectors to harness the capabilities of the digital age in ways that are responsible and beneficial to society. In the end, our efforts must be aimed at preventing citizens’ data from entrenching itself as the new tool of inequality and oppression. *María Paula Ángel is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Law, Justice, and Society (Dejusticia). Featured photo credit: Flckr user beachmobjellies
What is the summary for Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero? 1 Answer ms-charleston-yawp's profile pic Noelle Thompson | High School Teacher | eNotes Employee Posted on Not surprisingly, this book is about the life story of Charles Lindbergh and, specifically, how he was labeled as a hero and then hounded by the media. Why is this significant?  In 1927 people were being exposed to both written media (newspapers and magazines) as well as voiced media (radio).  This created the ability for people to be more aware of current events. One of these events was the Trans-Atlantic flight made by Charles Lindbergh. Charles Lindbergh's flight was perfect for the newbie media outlets to jump on.  Lindbergh was the first pilot to attempt and succeed in this endeavor. It was a non-stop trip in his famous plane called The Spirit of St. Louis.  The flight took 33 hours and 30 minutes.  The 25-year-old Lindbergh became an almost overnight celebrity as people learned of his accomplishment.  Because of the media treatment here, Lindbergh was adored in America and had a reputation as a hero who could do no wrong.  He was an officer in the US Army Air Corps Reserve and was awarded the Medal of Honor for this historic flight.  As well as being an aviator, Lindbergh was also an author, inventor, military officer, explorer, and social activist.  What ended up tarnishing Lindbergh's image came from the media as well: his ties to Nazi Germany.  He was an outspoken isolationist and this view cost him his reputation with many among the general public.  His rise to fame and subsequent fall from his political thoughts and leanings were both events which happened quickly.  Lindbergh, then, had a quick rise and a crashing fall from grace. In conclusion, it might be helpful to think about how this book portrays the media as pouncing upon both triumph and tragedy.  Perhaps you've heard it said that Americans love to put heroes up on a pedestal and then laugh (or at least enjoy watching) as the pedestal comes crashing down.  Giblin's book about Lindbergh certainly goes far in proving that theory.
You have no items in your shopping cart. Communication Boards What is M2M ,Machine to Machine Architecture What is M2M? M2M stands for machine-to-machine, mobile-to-machine, and machine-to-mobile Communications. It is about networking the machines and devices that pervade our everyday lives. M2M communications will connect and enable an array of equipment from mainframes to everyday products (e.g., home appliances, vehicles, buildings) in order to unleash new levels of smart services” and commerce. M2M has the potential to reshuffle entire industry structures and to create a windfall for technology enablers in the arena. M2M is about interactions that can take place between people and their products. A person can gain data and insight about the status of a device, health, its location, fluid or consumable levels, its temperature, productivity levels and maintenance history. Devices can also be connected to other devices to share content such as music, alerts, and supply chain information, making for a seamless and automated fl ow of data and services. M2M communications can exist in practically any environment and market. Currently, successful implementations exist for cell towers, oil and gas pipelines, jukeboxes, vending machines, vehicles, security systems, electric metering, game systems, home appliances, and more. These implementations are yielding significant results. As more devices become networked and enabled, M2M adoption will increase exponentially and have many unseen impacts on our daily lives. Machine to Machine Architecture How is the M2M Era Different from the PC Era? The PC and Information Appliance eras have focused on making people more productive in the office and field. The technology has largely been built to support people interacting with other people. Much of the technology was focused on enabling powerful, high bandwidth, always-on computing and communications. The M2M era will be very different. M2M communications will be driven more by devices interacting with people and other devices. The technology solutions will require device-specific applications, with less bandwidth requirements than what PC users demand. The M2M era will be more about the services and applications a device can deliver than about the complete features and functions a device may possess. For instance, consumers will be more interested in the services ,remote access, ongoing monitoring ,maintenance,etc. This will create an environment where the nontechnical person will be able to use and interact with a device seamlessly, with little knowledge of technology and computing. M2M will cultivate an environment where content and services are delivered automatically and specifically to a user with little human intervention and manipulation. Why is M2M Happening? The communications infrastructure, particularly for wireless, has evolved significantly over the past couple of years. The popularity of the Internet and e-mail has caused many to invest in options that will provide anywhere, anytime connectivity. While most of these networks were built to connect phones, PDAs, and other information appliances, ordinary devices and machines will benefit from this available technology as well. Additionally, widespread coverage and faster transmission rates for existing wireless options, coupled with low installation costs, will further drive rapid growth of the number of devices able to connect to an available network. M2M is also leading to significant opportunities for those involved. Companies can now service devices like never before. With the ability to tap into a device’s data stream on an ongoing basis, companies are able to track and service a device throughout its entire lifecycle; from the assembly line to the recycling heap. This is leading to a redefinition of customer relationships and business operations. Companies can ensure better and more appropriate service to customers by anticipating and responding to problems as they arise (or even before). Companies are reducing their costs by upgrading software and features of their devices remotely, by sending out repair or re-supply personnel only when needed, and by automating the supply chain. And some of the most innovative companies have discovered new revenue generating opportunities by connecting to their devices. In all, M2M has the potential to unleash significant productivity gains and economic growth unlike any previous technology wave. List of Products used for Building M2M Devices The author Pantech
“I don’t think we should have guns unless there’s a present danger,” TEDxYouth talker Coumba Diallo says, ending her presentation. Here’s a present danger: our education system. We can forgive the TED talk brand for degenerating into a platform for pure propaganda (e.g., Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence jefe Dan Gross‘s TED blast). Capitalism uber alles. But how do we forgive a school system that promotes and rewards unthinking anti-gun rights animus? What were you taught about guns and gun rights in grade school? Recommended For You 77 Responses to Question of the Day: What Were You Taught About Guns in Grade School? • Nada. In those days, schools actually taught kids reading, writing, and arithmetic rather than progressive politics. Hard to believe that any of us survived that type of unenlightened education… • Sorry brian i couldent find the leave a reply button… ANYWAY. When i was a kid i saw the secomd ammendment in a book about the constitution and asked a teacher for an in depth explanation. “Firearms are for self defense, hunting, sports etc. You never know when you might need one.” Besides when i was a kid i always felt firearms were just tools. For certain professions and people a firearm was kind of like a wrench or a drill. You wouldent make wrenches and drills illegal so why make firearms illegal. • Once the anti-gun mob figures out that the average home tinkerer can easily build a sub-machine with a few power tools, they will want to license and regulate or ban Home Workshops. • True story: my AP US History course (taught circa 2000), in the chapter on the Bill of Rights, had a sub-chapter of a page or 3 dedicated to each enumerated right. Spelled out the historical context, that right’s history (or lack thereof) in English common law, why the founders were motivated to include it, what it’s modern day interpretation was, etc. All the amendments except for the 2nd of course. Went from 1st to 3rd. Only mention of the 2nd was in the summary at the end of the chapter, there was a bullet point item that said something to the effect of “The 2nd Amendment permitted the bearing of arms as part of the militia, at the time the country’s only military force” 1. I was taught that civilian volunteers with guns held off an army of thousands at an old Spanish mission for several days and bought time for a rebel leader to retreat safely with the rest of his volunteer army to regroup. 2. I am pretty certain the subject was never even mentioned. Maybe I forgot, but I *do* remember I was in 3rd grade when “under god” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, and I remember asking the teacher what that was supposed to mean, since its placement reduced the meaning of that passage from easy to understand to outright nonsense. She answered that she didn’t know. • Senator McCarthy was convinced that since the Commies were godless, none of the godless commies and commie sympathizers would say the Pledge of Allegiance if god was in it. Or something like that. Eisenhower signed it into law. 3. Nothing.Absolutely nothing. I shot a22 sixgun and a boltaction 22 with my dad. School daze was pretty much Ozzie &Harriet in the 50’s and 60’s…all dad taught was point and shoot. No eye and ear protection of course. 4. We were taught the 2nd Amendment was a vital enumerated Right. Although most teachers agreed with the nfa and its need to prohibit automatics. A notion I never agreed with, nor would ever agree with. Firearms were of the thought that they were tools and we were taught on their function and safe use, and were never promoted as some evil death machine. 5. I went to kindergarten in the fall of 1950. I don’t remember anything about it except the graham crackers and the tiny glass bottles of milk, then the nap… 🙂 I don’t remember much about the rest of my elementary school experience either, except for the fact that I was not allowed to spend the entire time reading. Through high school and college, I can’t remember anything related to guns except the endless “history” stuff about all the wars. No “anti-guns” propaganda from teachers, and nothing to promote them either, but in our rural community many of the boys brought their .22 rifles along to school and nobody thought anything bad about it if they behaved themselves. I didn’t think about wanting one then… I wanted more books and more time to read. 🙂 That never changed, but I have plenty of guns myself now. Just got notification about a county program “summer camp” that I used to volunteer for. The top activity listed for the campers, aged 9 to 13, is “target practice.” 🙂 • To this day I still love milk and graham crackers. Those naps. Oh, those glorious naps! 🙂 (Later on, it got better when we could choose who we wanted to ‘nap’ with. *wink*). Oh, yeah, the guns thing. Well, since I grew up on military bases, everyone I knew thought guns were pretty cool. Especially the big honkin’ ones on those loud airplanes… • 🙂 Had fun writing it. My mama always insisted that “school” was what you made of it, but pretty much everything worth learning comes from living your life thoughtfully, usually mentored by a few people some years ahead of you in that. My sister and I were reading the classics before “kindergarten,” and we both found “school” pretty boring. There was no option for “homeschooling” then, but after reading about it years later, that’s pretty much what our mother did anyway. At least we had plenty of opportunity to learn and enjoy learning outside of school… something for which I’ll always be grateful. And my sons had those opportunities as well. 6. I don’t remember guns ever coming up in elementary school. I am probably in the last generation of people who did receive civics training in high school but I was never so fortunate as to be given talking points from a political activist group ahead of time to mindlessly spout as fact to a group of uneducated folks for their endearing accolades. When I was in high school, I was encouraged to do independent research on such things and to cite relevant points from multiple perspectives on any political issues. I guess I was fortunate. 7. The most I recall about the subject were call outs of specific technologies (flintlock, Pennsylvania Rifle, Colt Navy, early machine guns, Gatling, etc) that had decisive effects on historic outcomes. There was never any criticism or approval… Just fairly dry commentary, in much the same way the cotton gin was mentioned, or the Model A Ford. I attended Catholic school 1st thru 12th 8. Present danger: that kid, her teachers, her parents. Failures all around to think, to teach, to understand. Sigh. 9. Not much in school that I can remember. Those skills, and attitudes about them, were pretty much left up to kids’ parents. I was fortunate to learn how to shoot when I was 7 or 8. My father, being a pretty typical ‘good ‘ol boy’ figured that when you were old enough to hold a gun you ought to be old enough to learn how to shoot. I distinctly recall practicing gun safety with my bb gun when I was quite small. Although such things were not a part of school instruction, in my little town there was a general expectation that knowing about this stuff was expected of children, both boys and girls. But, then, this was a time when little kids had the run of the town and might be gone from home from morning to early evening. The idea of “helicopter parenting” wasn’t on anybody’s mind. Halycon days. 10. Grade school for me was 55-60 years ago. I recall nothing taught about guns, although I do remember being told that switchblade knives were very bad things owned only by hoodlums and gangsters. This made me want one, naturally. 11. I “graduated” from 8th grade in 1960. (Unlike today, back then we didn’t “graduate” from grade school. We called it “going on to high school.”) Anyhow, I don’t remember anything ever being said about guns by the teachers. We kids all talked about taking hunter safety training, however, and we got it. We all had BB guns, and I had plenty of cap guns when I was little. 12. I was taught the four basic safety rules- safe direction, finger off trigger, keep unloaded until ready to use / still treat as loaded, and be sure of target and what was behind it. Then we did, like a week of every afternoon 20 to 30 minutes of safe gun handling with mock wooden rifle cut outs. Then the next week we finally got to go to the air gun range for a total of proabbly three hours- they kinda taught marksmanship- I mean I don’t remember them actually advocating any bad habits- but we weren’t really there to learn how to shoot- some of the parent volunteers tried hard to help teach marksmanship, but the only thing the school was really worried about was safe gun handling. Rinse and repeat from fourth grade through sixth grade. In middle school no shooting, just a once a semester lecture on firearms safety. In high school, no organized firearms lectures pro or con, but one teacher did have a habit of going off at tangents on anti-gun rants. Oddly enough, the govt teacher in the constitution and American history class was fairly pro gun. But that’s when I got onto the rifle team and started shooting competitively. 13. I started first grade in 57. Our school had no kindergarten. I grew up playing all the usual games, shooting each other with toy guns, sticks or fingers. My father was a WW2 Army Ranger and fought in North Africa, landed at Anzio and fought through Sicily and Italy. I never saw him own or pick up a gun for any reason. He had no problem with us learning to shoot or owning guns though and that was done by my maternal grandfather and uncle who were into hunting. In 7th grade our school taught firearms safety for the first half of the year to all students, girls and boys, and upon completion we got a firearms safety certificate and a patch from the State of Minnesota. 14. I’ve got a little anecdote that is pretty insane (or not insane at all, which is itself quite surprising). I went to elementary school in the early 2000s (I seem to be one of the youngest guys here), in California. And not just California, but in the freaking Bay Area, of all places. I distinctly remember that in kindergarten, they had this little portion of the classroom (a single shelf, really), they called the doo-dah dump. It was a stretch of counter with a few boxes of colored construction paper cut into a variety of shapes and sizes, and we were encouraged to take what we wanted and glue them together into whatever we could dream up. In addition to plenty of rocket ships, I remember one day making a little 2D rifle. Very crude, of course, but definitely a gun. And in case there was any abmiguity, I also remember putting it to my shoulder and running around the classroom, chasing my friend while making little “pew pew” sounds. The teacher got angry at me, but ONLY because I was running around and being loud. Given the state of school in general and California in particular, I’m honestly kind of surprised they didn’t call the freaking SWAT team on my 5 year old ass. 15. I was in grade school in the 90’s and I can’t remember guns ever being brought up, positively or negatively. I seem to remember a policeman talking to our class once about safety in general and he said if we ever found a gun to tell an adult. Nothing too radical. 16. The boys in my 2nd grade class started making guns with building blocks. The teacher confiscated all the gun shaped pieces and ripped them apart in front of us. That’s Los Angeles school district for ya. 17. Here’s a clear and present (and permanent) danger, when you need a gun, the circumstances won’t also let your dumb ass sh_t one out in a hurry. Even the simplest firearms and ammo are far beyond the shade tree mechanic’s doable-ness if a need came in a hurry. Loss of the necessary knowledge, skill sets, and expertice is a real problem (see Colt firearms famous and nearly unrepeatable snake revolver division, and the fact that .223 brass is essentially made by only 2 companies in America, and one is only coming in line and may still need to work bugs out). Schools should be subserviant to its students/students’ parents, and provide reading, writing, arithmetic, and the training to learn to learn, then they need to FING KILL THEMSELVES before they think about introducing any other Fing thing, especially, if they can’t get the other done. 18. By seventh and eighth grade a lot of the farm kids had already started driving, so a common refrain in the fall was “if you have your hunting rifle in your truck, please park across the street by the fire department building.” This was only about 20 years ago in MT. No longer that way, from what I hear. 19. Schools don’t just teach unthinking anti-2nd animus; public schools teach unthinking, period. It’s all about the feels & the fair. Add in the complete subversion of what “respect” means, and the absence of integrity (it’s always someone else’s fault), and public schools become weapons of mass destruction. But what did I get taught about guns in grade school? “Don’t touch, get an adult” was the long & short of it. And during hunting season; “Don’t climb fences/trees with one, unload until you’re in the blind, and dirt/deer/sky.” It wasn’t until the mid ’80s when I got out of gradeschool and moved to Florida, when I first encountered institutionalised propaganda… along with prototypes of Common Core. 20. “what if gun violence didn’t exist?” Then we would have every other kind of violence you can imagine. Still. But there would be no effective self defense. Might would rule. Gangs of two or three would kick in doors fairly secure in the knowledge that, by sheer numbers and muscle, they could overwhelm any reasonable resistance. Oh sure, a 30 year male MMA fighter might be ok against one or maybe two adversaries, but no one else would be. • Oh and Jr. NRA Wednesday night, 45 minutes on the BB gun range in THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GYM and, 45 minutes hunter safety in the cafeteria. The program was packed with kids. 21. “I don’t think we should have guns unless there’s a present danger” If the schools are turning out “thinkers” of this quality in large numbers, we, as a country and a culture, are totally fucked. Even a tiny bit of critical thought should lead one to conclude, “Wait, if you need a gun when there’s danger, doesn’t that mean you should have and know how to use the gun before the danger appears?” Danger isn’t going to politely wait for you to go find one. 22. It never came up. A more important topic was how to survive the trip to the outhouse and back when it was 35 below. 23. Just history in school. I remember duck hunting with my dad when I was so young all I had was a daisy760 pump master bbs gun. Those were the days. Didn’t bag many ducks until I got my 28ga though lol. 24. Gun violence didn’t exist much before 1400. And the world was a place of peace and plenty for all. Oh, look. A unicorn. 25. It depended on the teacher. For the most part, guns were only touched upon in a history context. However, I remember the anti-drug guest instructor (pre-DARE) made the comment that, “only police and criminals have guns” with a bunch of context that essentially reinforced what a typical anti gun nut in NYC would say today. • Yeah. Pretty much a self fulfilling prophecy although at the time (1980’s and 90’s) there were still quite a few long guns in private hands throughout the city. Especially with business owners in those high crime days. 26. I don’t remember guns being talked about at all in grade school but I do remember that we ran around on the playground shooting each other with our fingers and no one cared. To the best of my knowledge the first real talk of guns in school was in the fall of 1999 when, because of the fact that over the summer the state legislature had changed the laws because of Columbine, guns were no longer allowed on campus. This prompted daily announcements that fall that you could no longer legally bring your rifle or shot gun to school in your car and park it on campus. That set of announcements was made leading up to and through every hunting season for the next couple of years. 27. I don’t remember it coming up in grade school in Wyoming in the 60s. I do remember getting to shoot BB guns while closely supervised at a couple of Cub Scout functions. When I was 11 the Boy Scouts sponsored the Hunter Safety Course. Our instructor was the Scoutmaster. I got to qualify with his Remington Nylon 66. 28. It’s interesting. I was taught what “the British are coming” meant. They were coming to confiscate that stuff in the armory. Back then (late 60’s and early 70’s) it was much more of a neutral thing from the teachers. In fact, it was almost like they (the British) were coming to take our protection (the teachers were teaching this back then). By the late 70’s and early 80’s (college), there was a lot more bias both in History and English communication classes but it wasn’t anything like now where falsehoods are made up and taught as truth. 29. I went to school from K-12 in New York City from the mid 80’s to the late 90s. The ONLY thing that we were taught, year after year, was that guns were for special people like policemen, the government, and the military and not for “regular people.” When I was in high school a kid killed himself with his father’s handgun and the only thing the teachers and counselors wanted to talk about was the fact the father shouldn’t have had a gun. They completely dismissed the fact that the kid was seriously mentally ill and that he used a home made explosive to bust open his father’s gun storage unit. I only experienced freedom after moving out of NYC after living there for 30 years. 30. 1980’s massachusetts, metrowest: Every year, the town safety officer (one of the town police officers) would come in and basically give the eddie eagle “dont touch guns you find randomly laying around on the ground” speech, (this was before eddie eagle existed). We might have had a filmstrip as well. That was it. The really cool presentation was fire safety cartoon that had the cat waiting outside for his house to explode, becuase his idiot owners left open gasoline cans next to the propane hot water heater. I still can’t find it on youtube 31. All the boys in my 7th grade got a Hunters Ed class as a PE credit. This was the around 1980 in southern Arkansas. I don’t remember what the girls did instead. We learned the difference between shotguns, rifles, calibers, gauges, chokes, etc. It’s one of the best classes I ever had. 32. My grade school experience was one of reading, writing, and arithmetic. It was a private school, so all of the kids had parents who gave a damn, and made sure we were ready to learn and already had the ABC thing down before we started. Later, in history class, we learned the examples of human liberty being won which are mentioned in other comments. Guns was a subject left to the parents, almost always the dads. My dad taught me that guns were especially bad when being wielded by hordes of Chinese soldiers who were trying to overrun your position, and that the only remedy thereto was the use of guns in opposition. He didn’t do any hunting, saying that he’d done enough killing in Korea. 33. I was in grade school for latter Reagan and then early Bush. I don’t remember any politics about guns back then but I’m sure it was somewhere. Anyway, I went to grade school in NYC and thankfully, nobody in school was even thinking about guns back then enough to consider talking about them in that setting. I actually don’t remember any discussion about it through all of school including college. Growing up there, you just didn’t even consider the thought of someone having a – gasp – *gun*. It was probably a combination of feeling safely protected from the perceived “danger” of guns there. I should ask my buddy who is a teacher there now if they have any programs, probably safety drills if anything. Actually I do remember now having safety drills in high school where we would just lock all the classroom doors when a bell went off, after it being announced. They didn’t even mention what we were drilling for, but if you cared to ponder it, you knew. I thought it was odd that we would drill for something like that. Fire drills, sure, but what did we think was going to happen? Then I was a few months from graduating when Columbine happened. I still don’t think we considered if it could happen there because “this is NYC”. Like, that sort of thing just doesn’t happen here. I don’t think we were so naive that we thought there were no guns in NYC, although there certainly are fewer. Legal ones anyway. 34. Honestly nothing, and I’m not THAT old. That was the job of the parents and the school system in my area stayed out of the propaganda game for the most part. The most I could say would be covering the amendments to the constitution 35. “I don’t think we should have guns unless there’s a present danger” Wait — you mean there aren’t going to be any more mass shootings, no more armed robberies, no more thugs beating people up, no more barbarians breaking into people’s houses and businesses? I must have missed the news about that cure…. So long as I can find so much as a single report of crime against person and/or property in the news, there’s most certainly a “present danger”. • I noticed that some bad person must have edited out her recitation of qualifications to even have her opinion listened to. Like, who the hell are you, and what makes you think you might be correct about anything, whatsoever? 36. I don’t really recall guns being discussed on school, except tangentially in the context of the phrase “going postal.” I do recall watching Saturday morning cartoons interspersed with Schoolhouse Rock educational cartoons. My favorite was the Revolutionary War one. I remember singing “Take your powder, and take your gun. Report to General Washington. Hurry men, there’s not an hour to lose!” up and down the elementary school halls, feeling proud and patriotic. I never got in trouble. 37. I was in gradeschool during the late 1950s-early 1960s in a small rural town in S. Wisconsin, and I don’t remember being taught anything in school about guns except we were told not to bring one to school. I believe in high school some of the boys who had cars had rifles or shotguns in their vehicles during hunting season. Otherwise, everything I learned about guns was from my dad or my friends (and their dads). As far as leftist propaganda in school goes, I first saw that when I was a high school junior and we got an English lit teacher straight out of the U. of Wisconsin – she was all about social causes – an early SJW – but we boys liked her because she was pretty, built like a brick sh*thouse, and wore mini-skirts. With the universities indoctrinating students in the “leftist way,” I suppose her type (at least the mind-set) is much more the norm these days. 38. Nothing I did a book report on Guns of the World (book in the elementary library) in the 4th grade. My focus was on the difference between revolvers and pistols. In the 5th grade, I did a How-To report on loading a single action revolver (my Bearcat). No hysterics or heart attacks from my teachers No visits from the principal or child services (don’t think they existed). In high school our Vo-Ag class was where 9th graders all took the hunter safety course and we shot on the football field Some things were better in the 70s 39. I was a highschool freshman at the time of Columbine. Suddenly, if you bagged your limit of doves before school and left your shotgun locked in your truck in the school parking lot (quite common in rural Texas), you were likely to be arrested. Wearing any camo (also common) or wearing all black would get you sent home. Before that, maybe we heard “if you find a gun, tell an adult” when we were little. 40. Taught about guns in Grade School? Hell from Sept ’68 until June of ’77 in a number of classrooms I learned bout the most dangerous “Assault Weapon” ever manufactured, the heavy wooden ruler, wielded by an elderly Catholic nun who had NO reservations about dispensing Corporal Punishment to the back of your hands. By 8th Grade she had gotten her hands on one student’s heavy 1/4″ thick aluminum ruler, that hurt like a ****… 41. I grew up in the People’s Republic of New Jersey. Started grade school in 1957 so I’m another old dinosaur. I remember a kid bringing his dad’s war souvenir Japanese rifle complete with bayonet to 1st or 2nd grade “show and tell”. The rifle was about twice as long as he was. Another student brought in a Samurai sword and all the teacher said was “Be careful. Those things are really sharp.” So in Jersey in those far off days nobody got thrown out of school or put in jail. The school administration didn’t collectively wet it’s pants at the idea that somebody had a rifle. I do remember that somebody put the word out if we were going to bring lethal items to school we should check with our teacher first. This was in a pretty solid working class town where most of our fathers had served in the military – rumor said that our vice principal had commanded a tank platoon in Italy. 42. I was taught guns never solved anything, except for slavery and Nazism, both of which were caused by religion. 43. I don’t remember much about firearms being brought up in school. With the exception of a class discussion about which rights in the US Constitution to keep in the event of an alien invasion (of the sci-fi verity) where we would lose have the bill of rights. Interestingly enough, the Second Amendment survived. This was in Suburban MD. Columbine happened a year after I graduated from High School. I think there were more concerns about students drinking than firearms. 44. In the early 1970s I remember when “officer friendly” came to I think my 3rd grade class. He had his gun and talked about it. After that no discussion about guns in my Sacramento California schools. But at the time there was no negative stuff either. I’m currently researching a college paper on the positive aspects of having firearms education in the elementary school level. To my surprise there is a great deal of history about rifle teams in high schools all across America, and at the college level as well. If anyone has information about rifle teams from the past or shooter education, please post a link. Any information would be helpful. I’m gun owner generation 2.0. When I become a teacher maybe I can change my little part of the world. 45. I was taught precisely nothing BY the school, but I was trained on a .22LR bolt rifle IN the school. The year was 1967, I was 12, there were 30 or so in the class, and we used the lunchroom for dry instruction w/ firearms. The last couple classes were in another building with a basement firing range. 46. We had a “hunters ed” class in middle school (early 90’s) accompanied with “boater safety”. Can’t say either were educational but no one got shot and I give them credit for trying. God bless the great state of South Carolina. Leave a Reply
If You Really Want To Excel In Life, Put Aside Formal Education Many will argue that without education, the world would still be in the dark ages. Education is generally seen as the catalyst for development in any society. This argument fails to realize that the individuals that have advanced the world were persons that refused to conform to educational dictates. These individuals thought outside the box of conformity as presented by formal education. Formal education removes or greatly reduces a person’s creative ability. It simply teaches you to believe and accept something as a fact except someone, who dares to think outside the box proves the fact otherwise. For anyone who wishes to excel in life, the one must put aside formal education and reach out into the deep reserve of creative ability on the inside. Through education, accumulated knowledge, skills or values are deliberately passed on to another individual. Education is a process that is designed to have a formative effect on individual from a tender age. A child is thought from a tender age some societal values that are preserved and passed from generation to generation. We are thought in schools, about the gravitational force and that the earth is spherical. Depending on a person’s choice of career, there are educational curriculums designed to impact knowledge towards achieving a career goal. A person is said to be formally educated after successfully completing the curriculum and passing the final examination. To be educated therefore is to show an understanding of the subject area as put together by the teacher. Sometimes, it is a matter of ‘junk-in’ and ‘junk-out’. Education tries to impact knowledge that is generally accepted to be true or has morale. Formal education constrains one to figure out what someone else has done on a particular subject. It gets one occupied trying to unravel equations or to simply memorize the equation. The focus is to pass the examination at the end of the course. It reduces an individual to a mere robot: performing a third party script. Formal education does not provide much of an opportunity to use one’s initiative. It destroys creativity and prevents one from utilizing this rich resource of the mind. It simply teaches to accept other persons’ view on a subject. The world is full of persons who are formally educated only to end up in some form of routine job. These are not the persons the world needs. The world needs those who have the courage to put aside formal education and to think outside the box. These are the dreamers and the inventors. To think outside the box is to tap from the potential that lies within the mind of every individual. It means being creative and original. The world does not celebrate those who are formally educated. It only celebrates those who dare to be different and think outside the box. If you wish to be celebrated, then you must put aside formal education and think outside the box. I have come to observe that some of the greatest men and women in the world were/are persons that put aside formal education. Most of them were not formally educated. These persons refused to conform but rather reached into the deep resource of their minds to produce creative ideas that are celebrated all over the world. The world cannot forget Thomas Edison in a hurry. He is one of the greatest inventors the world ever produced. One of his legacies is the incandescent light. Thomas suffered from partial deafness and lacked formal education. He believed that he had something to live for and reached into the deep resources of his mind by thinking outside the box. John D. Rockefeller is believed to be the richest man in history. He had hoped to go to college but had to drop out of high school in order to work and to support his family. By the age of twenty-five years, he already had a refinery. Without formal education, J D Rockefeller assessed the great wealth of his mind to establish his great empire and to employ the educated folks. The story of Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation is known to most people all over the world because of the revolution of the personal computer. Bill had special interest in programming and would like to try new things. Although he had admission in Harvard College, he had to drop out because of his attachment to programming machine. Today, Microsoft is a house-hold name because someone refused to conform. Similar story goes for Steve Jobs who was the co-founder of Apple Inc. After graduating from high school, Steve Jobs enrolled in Reed College, Portland, Oregon but had to drop out after just one semester. The success story of his inventions that include iPod, iPhone, iPad is the testimony of a man who dared to be different. I have just mentioned some of the world greatest inventors and businessmen. The list is unending. Most of these men and women did not have formal education. They escaped the mental captivity imposed through formal education. This enabled them to reach down into the deep resource of the mind. Exploring this resource positively transforms a person into a creator. Humans are by nature creative being but this ability is hindered by the formative effect of education. Education teaches conformity. Conformity with the world is never celebrated. The world only celebrates those who are different. If you really wish to excel in life, be prepared to put aside formal education. John Iroh is a free thinker. He believes that there is a better life for each person. He believes in looking at the sunny side of life rather than the gloomy pictures presented all over the media. There is always light at the end of a tunnel except it is not a tunnel. John is currently working on helping youths and younger generation to maximize their potential and be successful in life.
Overblog Suivre ce blog Editer l'article Administration Créer mon blog 25 juin 2011 6 25 /06 /juin /2011 09:00 Fine arts Traditional Malaysian art was mainly centred around the areas of carving, weaving, and silversmithing. Traditional art ranges from handwoven baskets from rural areas to the silverwork of the Malay courts. Common artworks included ornamental kris, beetle nut sets, and woven batik fabrics.Dell XPS M1330 Battery Indigenous East Malaysians are known for their wooden masks.Each ethnic group have distinct performing arts, with little overlap between them. However, Malay art does show some North Indian influence due to the historical influence of India. HP Compaq nc6230 Adapter Traditional Malay music and performing arts appear to have originated in the Kelantan-Pattani region with influences from India, China, Thailand and Indonesia. The music is based around percussion instruments,  the most important of which is the gendang (drum). There are at least 14 types of traditional drums.Dell T117C Battery Drums and other traditional percussion instruments and are often made from natural materials.  Music is traditionally used for storytelling, celebrating life-cycle events, and occasions such as a harvest. It was once used as a form of long-distance communication.Asus x5dij-sx039c Battery In East Malaysia, gong-based musical ensemble such as agung and kulintang are commonly used in ceremonies such as funerals and weddings. These ensembles are also common in neighbouring regions such as in the southern Philippines, Kalimantan in Indonesia and Brunei.Dell Inspiron 1464 Battery Johor state on the south of Peninsular Malaysia has an apparent Arab and Persian influence in art performances like Zapin and Hamdolok, musical instruments like Gambus and Samrah. Malaysia has a strong oral tradition that has existed since before the arrival of writing, and continues today.HP Compaq 6720s Adapter Each of the Malay Sultanates created their own literary tradition, influenced by pre-existing oral stories and by the stories that came with Islam. The first Malay literature was in the Arabic script. The earliest known Malay writing is on the Terengganu stone, made in 1303.Dell Latitude D630 Adapter Chinese and Indian literature became common as the numbers of speakers increased in Malaysia, and locally produced works based in languages from those areas began to be produced in the 19th century. English has also become a common literary language. In 1971, the government took the step of defining the literature of different languages. HP Pavilion dm4 Battery Literature written in Malay was called "the national literature of Malaysia", literature in other bumiputra languages was called "regional literature", while literature in other languages was called "sectional literature".  Malay poetry is highly developed, and uses many forms. The Hikayat form is popular, and the pantun has spread from Malay to other languages.Sony NP-FS11 Battery Malaysia's cuisine reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. Many cultures from within the country and from surrounding regions have greatly influenced the cuisine. Much of the influence comes from the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Javanese, and Sumatran cultures, largely due to the country being part of the ancient spice route.Dell Inspiron 1520 Adapter The cuisine is very similar to that of Singapore and Brunei, and also bears resemblance to Filipino cuisine. The different states have varied dishes, and often the food in Malaysia is different from the original dishes. Sometimes food not found in its original culture is assimilated into another, for example Chinese restaurants in Malaysia often serve Malay dishes.Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS Battery Food from one culture is sometimes also cooked using styles taken from another culture, This means that although much of Malaysian food can be traced back to a certain culture, they have their own identity.  Rice is popular in many dishes. Chili is commonly found in local cuisine, although this does not necessarily make them spicy.Acer Aspire 5920G Adapter Holidays and festivals Malaysians observe a number of holidays and festivities throughout the year. Some are federally gazetted public holidays and some are observed by individual states. Other festivals are observed by particular ethnic or religion groups, and the main holiday of each major group have been declared a public holiday. Acer Aspire 5920 Battery The most observed national holiday is Hari Merdeka (Independence Day) on 31 August, commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya in 1957. Malaysia Day on 16 September commemorates federation in 1963. Other notable national holidays are Labour Day (1 May), and the King's birthday (first week of June).IBM Thinkpad T40 Adapter Muslim holidays are prominent as Islam is the state religion; Hari Raya Puasa (also called Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Malay for Eid al-Fitr), Hari Raya Haji (also called Hari Raya Aidiladha, the translation of Eid ul-Adha), Maulidur Rasul (birthday of the Prophet), and others being observed.Nikon COOLPIX 4300 Battery Malaysian Chinesecelebrate festivals such as Chinese New Year and others relating to traditional chinese beliefs. Hindus in Malaysia celebrate Deepavali, the festival of lights, while Thaipusam is a religious rite which sees pilgrims from all over the country converge at the Batu Caves.Apple MB771 Battery Malaysia's Christian community celebrates most of the holidays observed by Christians elsewhere, most notably Christmas and Easter. East Malaysians also celebrate a harvest festival known as Gawai. Despite most of the festivals being identified with a particular ethnic or religious group, celebrations are participated by all Malaysians in a custom known as "open house". Sony DSC-P5 Battery Popular sports in Malaysia include soccer, badminton, field hockey, bowling, tennis, squash, martial arts, horse riding, sailing, and skate boarding. Badminton matches attract thousands of spectators, and Malaysia, along with Indonesia, China, and the USA, has consistently held the Thomas Cup since 1948.Dell Inspiron 6400 Adapter The Malaysian Lawn Bowl's Federation (PLBM) was registered in 1997,  and since then Malaysians have made progress on the international stage. Squash was brought to the country by members of the British army, with the first competition being held in 1939.Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS Battery The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia was created on 25 June 1972, and has had great success in Asian Squash. Malaysia has proposed a Southeast Asian football league. Hockey is famous in the country, with the men's national team ranked 15th in the world as of August 2010.Sony NP-FP50 Battery The 3rd Hockey World Cup was hosted at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the 10th cup.[207] The country also has its own Formula One track–the Sepang International Circuit. It runs for 310.408 kilometres (193 mi), and held its first Grand Prix in 1999.HP Compaq nx7300 Adapter The Federation of Malaya Olympic Council was formed in 1953, and received recognition by the IOC in 1954. It first participated in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. The council was renamed the Olympic Council of Malaysia in 1964, and has participated in all but one Olympic games since its inception. Dell Latitude D820 Adapter The largest number of athletes ever sent to the Olympics was 57 to the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Malaysian athletes have won a total of four Olympic medals, all of which are in badminton. The country has competed at the Commonwealth Games since 1950 as Malaya, and 1966 as Malaysia.Toshiba PA3399U-1BRS Battery It has been dominant in badminton, and the games were hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.The 1998 Commonwealth Games were the first time the torch relay went through more nations than just England and the host. Malaysia's main newspapers are owned by the government and political parties in the ruling coalition,  although some major opposition parties also have their own.Dell Studio XPS 1640 Battery A divide exists between the media in the two halves of the country. Peninsular-based media gives low priority to news from the East, and often treats the eastern states as colonies of the Peninsula. The media has been blamed for increasing tension between Indonesia and Malaysia, and giving Malaysians a bad image of Indonesians.Dell Latitude D830 Battery Besides Malay newspapers, there are large circulation of English, Chinese, and Tamil dailies in the country. There is very little freedom of the press, leading to very little government accountability. The government has previously tried to crack down on opposition papers before elections when they were unsure of their political situation.Dell Inspiron E1505 Adapter In 2007, a government agency issued a directive to all private television and radio stations to refrain from broadcasting speeches made by opposition leaders,[218] a move condemned by politicians from the opposition Democratic Action Party. Sabah, where only one tabloid is not independent of government control, has the freest press in Malaysia.Asus Eee PC 1201PN Battery Legislation such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act have also been cited as curtailing freedom of expression. The infrastructure of Malaysia is one of the most developed in Asia. Its telecommunications network is second only to Singapore's in Southeast Asia,Asus Eee PC 701 Adapter with 4.7 million fixed-line subscribers and more than 30 million cellular subscribers The country has seven international ports, the major one being the Port Klang. There are 200industrial parks along with specialised parks such as Technology Park Malaysia and Kulim Hi-Tech Park.Dell XPS M1330 Battery Fresh water is available to over 95% of the population. During the colonial period, development was mainly concentrated in economically powerful cities and in areas forming security concerns. Although rural areas have been the focus of great development, they still lag behind areas such as the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.fujifilm np95 Battery The telecommunication network, although strong in urban areas, is less available to the rural population. Malaysia's road network covers 98,721 kilometres (61,342 mi) and includes 1,821 kilometres (1,132 mi) of expressways.Asus Eee PC 900 Adapter The longest highway of the country, the North-South Expressway, extends over 800 kilometres (497 mi) between the Thai border and Singapore. The road systems in Sabah and Sarawak are less developed and of lower quality in comparison to that of Peninsular Malaysia.Sony VAIO PCG-713 Battery Malaysia has 118 airports, of which 38 are paved. The country's official airline is Malaysia Airlines, providing international and domestic air service alongside two other carriers. The railway system is state-run, and covers a total of 1,849 kilometres (1,149 mi).Dell Latitude D830 Adapter Relatively inexpensive elevated Light Rail Transit systems are used in some cities, such as Kuala Lumpur. The Asean Rail Express is a railway service that connects Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, and is intended to eventually stretch from Singapore to China. Traditionally, energy production in Malaysia has been based around oil and natural gas.Dell Studio XPS 1640 Battery The country currently has 13 GW of electrical generation capacity.However, the country only has 33 years of natural gas reserves, and 19 years of oil reserves, whilst the demand for energy is increasing. Due to this, the government is expanding into renewable energy sources.Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ4S  Battery Currently 16% of electricity generation is hydroelectric, the remaining 84% being thermal.  The oil and gas industry is currently dominated by state owned Petronas, and the energy sector as a whole is regulated by the Energy Commission of Malaysia, a statutory commission who governs the energy in the peninsula and Sabah, under the terms of the Electricity Commission Act of 2001.HP Compaq Business NX6320 Battery The environment of Malaysia refers to the biotas and geologies that constitute the natural environment of this Southeast Asian nation. Ecologically, Malaysia is a megadiverse nation with a biodiverse range of flora and fauna found in various ecoregions throughout the country. Canon POWERSHOT G2 Battery Tropical rainforests encompass between 59% to 70% of Malaysia's total land area, of which 11.6% is pristine. Malaysia has the world's fifth largest mangrove area, which totals over a half a million hectares (over 1.2 million acres). Human intervention poses a significant threat to the natural environment of this country. Dell Latitude E6500 Battery Agriculture, forestry and urbanisation contribute to the destruction of forests, mangroves and other thriving ecosystems in the country. Ecosystems and landscapes are dramatically altered by human development, including but not limited to the construction of roads and damming of rivers.Dell LATITUDE D630 Battery Geographical phenomena, such as landslides and flooding in the Klang Valley, along withhaze, stem from widespread deforestation. Subtle climate change occurs as a direct result of air pollution and the greenhouse effect, which in turn is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases.Asus R33030 Adapter Low-lying areas near the coastline of Sabah and Sarawak are under threat from current sea level rise. The environment is the subject of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at the federal level. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks is responsible for the preservation of flora and fauna in Malaysia. Dell Mini 1011 Battery Several environmental organisations have been established to raise awareness regarding theenvironmental issues in Malaysia. Malaysia is home to 15500 species of higher plants, 746 birds, 379 reptiles, 198 amphibians, and 368 species of fish.toshiba pa3332u-1brs Battery There are also 286 species of mammals in Malaysia, of which 27 are endemic and 51 are threatened. Some of these mammals are found in both Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. The former has 193 species of mammals, while the latter has 215.HP Compaq 6710b Adapter Among the mammals that are native to Malaysia include the Asian elephant, theIndochinese tiger, the Leopard Cat and the Pot-bellied pig. Endangered species include the orangutan, the tiger, the Asian elephant, the Malayan tapir, theSumatran rhinoceros and the Singapore roundleaf horseshoe bat. HP Compaq nx6325 Adapter The tropical moist broadleaf forests of Peninsular Malaysia consist of 450 species of birds and over 6000 different species of trees, of which 1000 are vascular plants that occur naturally in karsts.  The rainforests of East Malaysia are denser, with over 400 species of tall dipterocarps and semihardwoods.Acer Aspire 5720 Adapter The national flower of Malaysia is the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, an evergreen that was introduced into the Malay peninsula in the 12th century. The rafflesia is also widely found in the country. Ecoregions and land use There are various ecoregions in Malaysia with varying degrees of prevalence. Major forests account for 45% of all ecoregions in the country,Toshiba Equium A110-252 Battery interrupted woods represent 33%, major wetlands constitute 3%, grass and shrubs make up 2% while other coastal aquatic regions form 8% of the country's land area, with crops and settlements taking up the remaining space. Malaysia has many national parks, although most of them are de facto state parks. Acer Aspire 5052ANWXMi Battery The Taman Negara National Park in central Peninsular Malaysia is 130 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. About 41% of the land area is classified as "low human disturbance", 19% is categorised as "medium human disturbance" and 40% falls under the "high human disturbance" category. 2.7% of the land is totally protected, 1.77% is partially protected and 4.47% is totally or partially protected.Dell Mini 1011v Battery Malaysia lies along the 1st parallel north to the 7th parallel north circles of latitude, roughly equal to Roraima (Brazil), the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Malaysia has a tropical rainforest climate due to its proximity to the equator.HP Compaq nx7300 Adapter The country is hot and humid all year round, with an average temperature of 27 °C (80.6 °F) and almost no variability in the yearly temperature. The country experiences two monsoon seasons, the Northeast Monsoon and the Southwest Monsoon. Dell Vostro 1510 Battery The Northeast Monsoon brings heavy rainfall to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and western Sarawak, while the Southwest Monsoon signifies dryer conditions throughout the country exceptSabah. During the Southwest Monsoon, most states experience minimal rainfall due to the stable atmospheric conditions in the region and the Sumatran mountain range,Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS Battery which brings about the rain shadow effect. Sabah experiences more rainfall because of the tail effect of typhoons in thePhilippines. The urban heat island effect is caused by overdevelopment and general human activities in the cities of Malaysia.Asus M50 Battery Air Pollution Index The Air Pollution Index (API) is used by the government to describe the air quality in Malaysia. The API value is calculated based on average concentrations of air pollutants, namely sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone and fine dust (PM10).Asus Eee PC 901 Battery The air pollutant with the highest concentration is the pollutant that will determine the value of the API. Fine dust is typically the dominant pollutant. The API is reported on a scale starting from 0. A score of 0 to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 is moderate, 101 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 is very unhealthy and anything higher than 300 is hazardous. Dell Inspiron 6400 Battery A state of emergency is declared in the reporting area if the API exceeds 500, which occurred in Port Klang in 2005. Non-essential government services are suspended, and all ports and schools in the affected area are closed. Private sector commercial and industrial activities in the reporting area might be prohibited.HP Compaq Business NC6220 Battery Environmental law and conservation The Environmental Quality Act of 1974 and other environmental laws are administered by the Division of Environment. Clean-air legislation was adopted in 1978, limiting industrial and automobile emissions. However, air pollution remains a problem in Malaysian cities.Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery The National Forestry Act of 1984 was enacted for sustainable forest management, but the act has not been enforced. Environmental issues There are a number of environmental issues faced by Malaysia, such as deforestation and pollution. According to a study by Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies in 2008, about 30% of Malaysian coastline is subject to varying degrees of erosion.Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery According to the United Nations, Malaysia's deforestation rate is the highest among tropical nations. The country's annual deforestation rate increased 86% between 1999–2000 and 2000-2005. Malaysia lost an average of 140,200 hectares of its forests or 0.65% of its total forest area every year since 2000,HP Compaq nx7300 Adapter whereas in the 1990s, the country lost an average of 78,500 hectares, or 0.35 percent of its forests annually. Widespread urbanisation, agricultural fires and forest conversion for oil palm plantations and other forms of agriculture are the main causes of Malaysia's high deforestation rate. HP Compaq 2510p Adapter Logging is responsible for forest degradation in the country, and local timber companies have been accused by environmental organisations of failing to practice sustainable forest management. Mining in peninsular Malaysia has left a mark on the environment. Deforestation, pollution of rivers, and siltation have resulted in losses of agriculture, and road projects have opened new areas to colonisation. Dell Studio PP39L Battery Air pollution from industrial and vehicular emissions is a major issue in the urban areas of Malaysia. Malaysia is ranked 42nd in the world in terms of vehicle ownership per capita, with 273 Malaysians having vehicles out of every 1000. Public transportation has been introduced in the form of bus networks and railway systems as mitigation, but utilisation rates are low.Nikon COOLPIX 5700  Battery Water pollution occurs due to the discharge of untreated sewage; the west coast of the Peninsular Malaysia is the most heavily populated area. 40% of the rivers in Malaysia are heavily polluted. The country has 580 cubic km of water, of which 76% is used for farming and 13% is used for industrial activity.Dell Studio XPS 16 Battery Cities in Malaysia produce an average of 1.5 million tons of solid waste per year. In 2000, Malaysia was ranked fourth in the world in terms of per capita greenhouse gas emissions after taking into account land use change with 37.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita.HP Compaq nx7400 Adapter Periodic fires, which usually coincide with the events of el Niño, burn thousands of hectares of forests across Malaysia, especially in Malaysian Borneo. The haze originating from these fires and the fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia typically have adverse health effects on the populace, besides causing air pollution.HP Pavilion DV6500 Adapter In particular, the 1997 Southeast Asian haze, the 2005 Malaysian haze and the2006 Southeast Asian haze were caused by slash and burn activities in neighbouring Indonesia. The Economy of Malaysia is a growing and relatively open state-oriented and newly industrialised market economy.Dell T117C Battery The state plays a significant but declining role in guiding economic activity through macroeconomic plans. In 2007, the economy of Malaysia was the 3rd largest economy in South East Asia and 29th largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity with gross domestic product for 2008 of $222 billion with a growth rate of 5% to 7% since 2007  In 2009, Acer PA-1650-02 Adapter GDP per capita (PPP) of Malaysia stands at US$14,900. In 2009, the nominal GDP was US$383.6 billion, and the nominal per capital GDP was US$8,100. The Southeast Asian nation experienced an economic boom and underwent rapid development during the late 20th century and has a GDP per capita of $14,800, being considered a newly industrialized country.Acer Aspire 5920G Adapter On the income distribution, there are 5.8 million households in 2007. Of that, 8.6% have an monthly income below RM1,000, 29.4% had between RM1,000 and RM2,000, while 19.8% earned between RM2,001 and RM3,000; 12.9% of the households earned between RM3,001 and RM4,000 and 8.6% between RM4,001 and RM5,000.Asus S1 Adapter Finally, around 15.8% of the households have an income of between RM5,001 and RM10,000 and 4.9% have an income of RM10,000 and above. As one of three countries that control the Strait of Malacca, international trade plays a large role in its economy.HP Pavilion dv6000 Battery At one time, it was the largest producer of tin, rubber and palm oil in the world. Manufacturing has a large influence in the country's economy.  Malaysia is the world's largest Islamic banking and financial centre. Early and colonial history The Malay Peninsula and indeed Southeast Asia has been a center for trade for centuries.Ibm Thinkpad T30 Battery Various items such as porcelain and spice were actively traded even before Malacca and Singapore rose to prominence. The Malacca Sultanate controlled the Straits of Malacca from its founding in 1402 to the 1511 invasion by Portugal. All the trade in the Straits, and especially the spices from the Celebes and the Moluccas, moved under its protection and through its markets.Dell Studio PP39L Battery In the 17th century, porcelain and spices were found in several Malay states and were actively traded. Large deposits of tin were found in severalMalay states. Later, as the British started to take over as administrators of Malaya, rubber and palm oil trees were introduced for commercial purposes. HP Pavilion dv5 Adapter Instead of relying on the local Malays as a source of labour, the British brought in Chinese and Indians to work in the mines and plantations and provide professional expertise. Although many of them returned to their respective home countries after their agreed tenure ended, some remained in Malaysia and settled permanently. HP Compaq Business NC6400 Battery Over time, Malaya became the world's largest producer of tin, rubber, and palm oil. These three commodities along with other raw materials firmly set Malaysia's economic tempo well into the mid-20th century. As Malaya moved towards independence, the government began implementing economic five-year plans, HP Compaq 490306-001 Battery beginning with the First Malayan Five Year Plan in 1955. Upon the establishment of Malaysia, the plans were re-titled and renumbered, beginning with the First Malaysia Plan in 1965. In the 1970s, Malaysia began to imitate the four Asian Tiger economies (Republic of Korea (South Korea),Compaq Presario CQ35-100 Battery Republic of China (Taiwan), then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong and the Republic of Singapore) and committed itself to a transition from being reliant on mining and agriculture to an economy that depends more on manufacturing. In the 1970s, the predominantly mining and agricultural based Malaysian economy began a transition towards a more multi-sector economy. HP Compaq HSTNN-LB51 Battery Since the 1980s the industrial sector has led Malaysia's growth.  High levels of investment played a significant role in this. With Japanese investment, heavy industries flourished and in a matter of years, Malaysian exports became the country's primary growth engine . HP Pavilion ZE4500 Battery Malaysia consistently achieved more than 7% GDP growth along with low inflation in the 1980s and the 1990s. Central planning has been a major factor in the Malaysian economy, as government expenditure was often used to stimulate the economy. HP G62-100EB Battery Since 1955, with the commencement of the First Malayan Five Year Plan, the government has used these plans to intervene in the economy to achieve such goals as redistribution of wealth and investment in, for instance, infrastructure projects. A legacy of the British colonial system was the division of Malaysians into three groups according to ethnicity. HP Pavilion DV6-1211AX Battery The Malays were concentrated in their traditional villages, focusing mainly on agricultural activities, while the Chinese dominated Malaysian commerce. Educated Indians took up professional roles such as those of doctors or lawyers, while the less better-off worked the plantations.HP Pavilion DV6-1220SO Battery The Reid Commission which drafted the Malaysian Constitution made a provision for limited affirmative action through Article 153, which gave the Malays special privileges, such as 60% of university entrance (quota). However, after the May 13 incident of racial rioting in the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur, HP EliteBook 6930P Battery the government initiated more aggressive programmes aimed at actively establishing a Malay entrepreneurial class through direct intervention in the economy, aimed at alleviating poverty. This was done with the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP).HP Pavilion DV6-1210SA Battery Its main objective was the elimination of the association of race with economic function, and the first five-year plan to begin implementing the NEP was the Second Malaysia Plan. The success or failure of the NEP is the subject of much debate, although it was officially retired in 1990 and replaced by the National Development Policy (NDP).Compaq Presario CQ71 Battery Recently much debate has surfaced once again concerning the results and relevance of the NEP. Some have argued that the NEP has indeed successfully created a Middle/Upper Class of Malay businesspeople and professionals. Despite some improvement in the economic power of Malays in general, HP Pavilion DV7-1290EO Battery the Malaysian government maintains a policy of discrimination that favours ethnic Malays over other races—including preferential treatment in employment, education, scholarships, business, access to cheaper housing and assisted savings. This special treatment has sparked envy and resentment amongst non-Malays.HP G6000 Battery The ethnic Chinese control of the locally owned sector of the country's economy has been ceded largely in favour of the bumiputra/Malays in many essential or strategic industries such as petroleum retailing, transportation, agriculture and automobile manufacturing.HP HDX X18-1005EA Battery Current GDP per capita grew 31% in the Sixties and an amazing 358% in the Seventies, but this proved unsustainable and growth scaled back sharply to 36% in the Eighties. It rose again to 59% in the Nineties led primarily by export-oriented industries.[26] The rate of poverty in Malaysia also fell dramatically over the years. HP Pavilion DV6-3013SL Battery However, its precipitous drop has been questioned by critics who suggest that the poverty line has been drawn at an unreasonably low level. The rapid economic boom led to a variety of supply problems. Labour shortages soon resulted in an influx of millions of foreign workers, many illegal.HP Compaq HSTNN-IB62 Battery Cash-rich PLCs and consortia of banks eager to benefit from increased and rapid development began large infrastructure projects. As of 2006, the most recent five year plan is the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The five year plans have been criticised for resembling the central planning of Soviet communism;HP Pavilion DV6100 Battery the five-year time frame has been attacked for being insufficient in dealing with short-term crises and long-term trends. The effectiveness of the plans has also been disputed; at the beginning of 2005, the last year of the Eighth Malaysia Plan, almost 80% of the funds allocated under the plan had not been disbursed.HP EliteBook 2730P Battery From 1988 to 1997, the economy experienced a period of broad diversification and sustained rapid growth averaging 9% annually. By 1999, nominal per capita GDP had reached $3,238. New foreign and domestic investment played a significant role in the transformation of Malaysia's economy. HP Pavilion DV9000 Battery Manufacturing grew from 13.9% of GDP in 1970 to 30% in 1999, while agriculture and mining which together had accounted for 42.7% of GDP in 1970, dropped to 9.3% and 7.3%, respectively, in 1999. Manufacturing accounted for 30% of GDP (1999). Major products include electronic components – HP Pavilion DV7 Battery Malaysia is one of the world's largest exporters of semiconductor devices – electrical goods and appliances. During the same period, the government tried to eradicate poverty with a controversial race-conscious positive program called New Economic Policy (NEP). HP Pavilion DV7-1290EO Battery First established in 1971 following race riots, commonly known in Malaysia as the May 13 Incident, it sought to eradicate poverty and end the identification of economic function with ethnicity. In particular, it was designed to improve the distribution of wealth among the country's population.. HP Compaq Business 6735S Battery The NEP ostensibly ended in 1991, however the policies persist in the form of other programmes such as the National Development Policy. The policies are enforced overtly through race-based quotas for low-cost housing units, university placement, business equity ownership, etc.HP 540 Battery Rapid growth was achieved partly through privatisation of inefficient state owned enterprises, thus subjecting them to commercial pressures and forcing them to better utilise their resources. Many deals were done behind closed doors and put through rather quickly. In one example Khazanah Nasional alienated shares in DRB Hicom to Mega Consolidated. HP Compaq Business NW9440 Battery This led to such deals being labelled mega projects. Foreign funds were attracted to invest making the local money market and bourse liquid. This created opportunity for local businesses to raise capital on the KLSE, and carry out infrastructure development in areas like telecommunications, HP Compaq Business  TC4400 Battery highways and power generation to meet bottlenecks caused by rapid industrialisation. An intense labor shortage created employment for millions of foreign workers. Subsequent events show that more than 50% were illegal. The influx of foreign investment led to the KLSE Composite index trading above 1,300 in 1994 and the Ringgit trading above 2.5 in 1997. HP Compaq 491278-001 Battery At various times the KLSE was the most active exchange in the world, with trading volume exceeding even the NYSE. The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Malaysia was valued at $181,236 million in 2005 by the World Bank.HP HSTNN-LB31 Battery Some of the more visible projects from that period are Putrajaya, a new international airport (Kuala Lumpur International Airport), a hydroelectric dam (Bakun dam), the Petronas Towers and theMultimedia Super Corridor. Proposals that were eventually canceled include the 95 km Sumatra–Malaysia bridge (would have been world's longest),HP Pavilion DV3-4000  Battery the Mega International Sea and Air port on reclaimed land in Kedah (would have been world's biggest) and the KL Linear City (would have been the world's longest mall and the world's first city built over a river). Concerns were raised during the time about the sustainability of the rapid growth and the ballooning current account. HP Pavilion TX1000 Battery The mainstream opinion prevalent at that time was that the deficit was temporary and would reverse once imported equipment started producing for export. In spite of that, measures were taken to moderate growth especially when it threatened to overheat into the double digits. HP Pavilion DV6-1210SA  Battery The main target was asset prices, and restrictions were further tightened on foreign ownership of local assets. Exposure of local banks to real estate loans were also capped at 20%.As was widely expected, the current account deficit did narrow steadily, year to year, from 9% to 5% of GDP.Malaysia has the largest operational stock of industrial robots in the Muslim world. HP 448007-001 Battery Asian financial crisis and recovery The year 1997 saw drastic changes in Malaysia. There was speculative short-selling of the Malaysian currency, the ringgit. Foreign direct investment fell at an alarming rate and, as capital flowed out of the country, the value of the ringgit dropped from MYR 2.50 per USD to, at one point, MYR 4.80 per USD.HP Compaq Business  6530B  Battery The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's composite index fell from approximately 1300 to nearly merely 400 points in a few short weeks. After the controversial sacking of finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, a National Economic Action Council was formed to deal with the monetary crisis.HP Pavilion DV5-1015EA  Battery Bank Negaraimposed capital controls and pegged the Malaysian ringgit at 3.80 to the US dollar. Malaysia refused economic aid packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, surprising many analysts. By refusing aid and thus the conditions attached thereof from the IMF,HP Pavilion DV6-1230SB Battery Malaysia was not affected to the same degree in the Asian Financial Crisis as Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Regardless, the GDP suffered a sharp 7.5% contraction in 1998. It however rebounded to grow by 5.6% in 1999. The Government of Malaysia predicted 5.8% real GDP growth in the year 2000, but most analysts predicted growth will exceed 8% for the year.HP Pavilion ZD8181EA  Battery In order to rejuvenate the economy, massive government spending was made and Malaysia continuously recorded budget deficits in the years that followed. Economic recovery has been led by strong growth in exports, particularly of electronics and electrical products, to the United States, Malaysia's principal trade and investment partner.HP Pavilion DV9500  Battery Inflationary pressures remained benign, and, as a result,Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, had been able to follow a low interest rate policy. The Malaysian economy recovered from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis sooner than neighbouring countries, and has since recovered to the levels of the pre-crisis era with a GDP per capita of $14,800.HP Pavilion DV4-1125BR  Battery The post Y2K slump of 2001 did not affect Malaysia as much as other countries. This may have been clearer evidence that there are other causes and effects that can be more properly attributable for recovery. One possibility is that the currency speculators had run out of finance after failing in their attack HP Pavilion DV5-1111EA Battery on the Hong Kong dollar in August 1998 and after the Russian ruble collapsed. (See George Soros) The fixed exchange rate was abandoned on July 21, 2005 in favour of a managed floating system within an hour of China announcing the same move.HP Pavilion DV6-1234TX Battery In the same week, the ringgit strengthened a percent against various major currencies and was expected to appreciate further. As of December 2005, however, expectations of further appreciation were muted as capital flight exceeded USD 10 billion. According to Bank Negara's published figures, HP Pavilion DV3-2008TX  Battery Malaysia's foreign exchange reserves increased steadily since the initial capital flight, from USD75.2 billion as at 15 July 2005 (just before the peg was removed) to peak at USD125.7 billion as at 31 July 2008, a few months before the global credit crisis that started in September 2008. HP Pavilion DV8  Battery As at 29 May 2009, the reserves stood at USD88.3 billion. In spite of the large positive current account surplus, foreign reserves have started to fall at a rapid rate. Official statistics released in March 2006, confirmed capital flight of more than US$10 billion.HP Pavilion DV6-1215SA  Battery However, as of the 4th fiscal year, a surge of FDI has pushed the KLSE above 1200 points, and is expected to strengthen to pre 1997 levels. In March 2005, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published a paper on the sources and pace of Malaysia's recovery, written by Jomo K.S. of the applied economics department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. HP Compaq 490306-001  Battery The paper concluded that the controls imposed by Malaysia's government neither hurt nor helped recovery. The chief factor was an increase in electronics components exports, which was caused by a large increase in the demand for components in the United States, Compaq Presario CQ50  Battery which was caused, in turn, by a fear of the effects of the arrival of the year 2000 (Y2K) upon older computers and other digital devices. In September 2005, Sir Howard J. Davies, director of the London School of Economics, at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, HP Pavilion DV6-1223EO  Battery cautioned Malaysian officials that if they want a flexible capital market, they will have to lift the ban on short-selling put into effect during the crisis. In March 2006, Malaysia removed the ban on short selling.  It is interesting to note that some of the measures taken by the Malaysian government in response to the Asian crisis, such as the ban on short selling,HP Compaq 490306-001  Battery were swiftly adopted by the very countries that had previously been critical of the Malaysian response. Regardless of cause and effect claims, rejuvenation of the economy also coincided with massive government spending and budget deficits in the years that followed the crisis. Later, Malaysia enjoyed faster economic recovery compared to its neighbours. Compaq Presario CQ35-100 Battery ">The country has recovered to the levels of the pre-crisis era – as an example, the KLCI Composite Index hit an all time high of 1,386 on 20 June 2007 which is approximately 100 points higher than the pre-crisis record of 1,275 in 1993. While the pace of development today is not as rapid, it is seen to be more sustainable.HP Compaq HSTNN-LB51  Battery Although the controls and economic housekeeping may or may not have been the principal reasons for recovery, there is no doubt that the banking sector has become more resilient to external shocks. The current account has also settled into a structural surplus, providing a cushion to capital flight. HP Pavilion ZE4500  Battery Asset prices are generally back to their pre-crisis heights, despite the effects of the global financial crisis. As of 21 May 2007, the Ringgit touched a nine-year high record at 3.39 against the US dollar. Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz says the Ringgit moves up on its own merit and in line with the Malaysian economy and not in tandem with the Chinese Yuan. HP G62-100EB  Battery Malaysia has shown the ability to absorb the crude oil price increases and most economies have shown high resilience in absorbing higher energy prices. Malaysia is the world's largest Islamic banking and financial centre. Monetary policy Prior to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the Malaysian ringgit was an internationalized currency, which was freely traded around the world.HP Pavilion DV6-1211AX  Battery Just before the crisis, the Ringgit was traded RM2.50 at the dollar. Due to speculative activities, the Ringgit fell as much as RM4.10 to the dollar in matter of weeks. Bank Negara Malaysia, the nation's central banks decided to impose capital controls to prevent the outflow of the Ringgit in the open market. HP EliteBook 6930P Battery The Ringgit is not traded internationally, a traveler needs to declare to the central bank if taking out more than RM10,000 out of the country and the Ringgit itself was pegged at RM3.80 to the US dollar. The fixed change rate was abandoned to floating exchange rate in July 2005, hours after People's Republic of China announced the same move.HP Pavilion DV9500  Battery At this point, the Ringgit is still not internationalized. The Ringgit continue to strengthen to 3.18 to the dollar in March 2008. Meanwhile, many aspect of the capital control has been slowly relaxed by Bank Negara Malaysia. However, the government continues to not internalized the Ringgit.Compaq Evo N610C  Battery The government stated that the Ringgit will be internationalized once it is ready. Bank Negara Malaysia for the time being, uses interest rate targeting. The OPR (Overnight Policy Rate) is their policy instrument, and is used to guide the short term interbank rates which will hopefully influence inflation and economic growth.HP Pavilion DM3-1050EO Battery Affirmative action Tun Abdul Razak, who was then the Prime Minister, implemented the affirmative action policy named as New Economic Policy soon after May 13 Incident in 1969. Prior to the incident, the poverty rates among Malays were extremely high (at 65%) as was discontent between races, particularly towards the Chinese, who controlled 34% of the economy at the time.Compaq Presario 1245  Battery The Chinese minority still accounts for 70 percent of the country's market capitalization. Through NEP, Bumiputera quotas are placed in housing developments, scholarship admission and also for ownership of publicly listed companies. The quota system has been relaxed recently since the March 8, 2008 General election. HP G6000  Battery Bumiputera equity requirement for publicly listed companies has been relaxed since 12 November 2008 by allowing those companies to remove the quota once after IPO has been done. Further liberalization in the retail sector is expected to remove the present 30% Bumiputera listing requirements. HP Compaq 451086-661  Battery According to the Secretary-General of Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Mohd Zain Mohd Dom said, the amendments is reflective of Malaysia "moving towards progressive liberalisation" . The Malaysian New Economic Policy was created in 1971 with the aim of bringing Malays a 30% share of the economy of Malaysia and eradicating poverty amongst Malays, HP Pavilion DV2166EA  Battery primarily through encouraging enterprise ownership by Bumiputeras. After 30 years of the program, the NEP had somewhat met some of its goals. Bumiputera ownership increased to 18.9% in 2004 against 2.4% in 1970 and poverty decreased to 8.3% in 2004 against 64.8% in the 1970s. HP Compaq 464119-143  Battery The NEP is accused of creating an oligarchy, and creating a 'subsidy mentality'. Political parties such as Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Democratic Action Party have proposed a new policy which will be equal for every Malaysian, regardless of race.Compaq Presario CQ71  Battery When the Democratic Action Party was elected in the state of Penang in 2008, it announced that it will do away with the NEP, claiming that it "... breeds nepotism, corruption and systemic inefficiency". On April 21, 2009, the prime minister Najib Tun Razak has announce liberalisation of 27 services sub-sector by abolishing the 30% bumiputera requirement. HP Pavilion DV9565EA  Battery The move is seen as the government efforts to increase investment the service sector of the economy. According to the premier, many more sectors of the economy will be liberalized.On June 30, 2009, the premier announces further liberation moves including the dismantling of the Bumiputera equity quotas and repealing the guidelines of the Foreign Investment Committee,HP Pavilion DV6203TX Battery which was responsible to monitor foreign shareholding in Malaysian companies. However, any Malaysian companies that wishes to list in Malaysia would still need to offer 50 percent of public shareholding spread to Bumiputera investors. Subsidies and price controls The Malaysian government subsidizes and controls prices on a lot of essential items to keep the prices low. HP Pavilion DV7-1290EO  Battery Prices of items such as palm oil cooking oil, petrol, flour, bread, rice and other essentials have been kept under market prices to keep cost of living low. In 2008, the government announced that it has spent RM40.1 billion in 2007 in subsidies to keep prices leveled.HP HSTNN-OB51  Battery As of 2009, 22 per cent of government expenditures were subsidies, with petrol subsidies alone taking up 12 per cent. Smuggling and hoarding, which leads to shortages, is a prominent problem in Malaysia due to the subsidies. For example, cooking oil is subsidised for domestic use only. HP Pavilion DV7-2185DX  Battery This situation creates an environment where industrial players hoard domestic cooking oil for industrial use. During shortage time, such as the January 2008 cooking oil crisis, the government imposed a 5 kg limit for each purchase to relief domestic demand. However, HP Compaq Business  6830S  Battery the limited purchase has created more panic buying, which prompt the Government to negotiate with cooking oil manufacturers to increase their production capacity, and the situation reverted to normal within one week. Another example is when vehicles in Thailand come to Malaysia to smuggle cheap petrol and diesel out of the country. HP PP2200 Battery The government also looking into restructuring the fuel subsidy so that the selected needy group will get the subsidy. The government is considering removing subsidies on diesel for general consumers while maintaining subsidies for suitable groups, such as those involved in public transport.Compaq CQ50 Battery On January 2010, the government announce dual price structure for fuel, based on citizenship. Foreigners are expected to pay market price for fuel while citizens will have subsidy allocations based to engine capacity. The dual pricing structure is expected to begin on May 1, 2010.HP Pavilion DV8 Battery The government has considered to remove the subsidies but a formal plan had yet to materialized as of 2007.In 2008, the government is considering to remove price controls on construction materials such as cement and steel bars while banning exports to ensure steady supply.Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery The government is experimenting with the idea through allowing Sabah and Sarawak construction players to import steel and cement since February 2008. The government then, on May 12, 2008 removed ceiling prices on steel bars and billets and removed import duties on selected items under HS Code 7214.10 110 and 7214.20 910,HP DV9700 Battery which do not fully cover steel bars use by the construction industry.  The government then further liberalized the cement industry by abolishing ceiling prices on June 5, 2008. Another strategic item which is heavily subsidized but moving towards a market based approach is Natural Gas which is used in the industrial sector. Compaq CQ35-100 Battery Beginning July 1, 2008, the government is expected to reduce the gas subsidy 5% to 10% per annum over 11 years, in which the gas price will reflect market price. Sovereign wealth funds The government owns and operates several sovereign wealth funds that invests in local companies and also foreign companies. HP Pavilion DV6-1223EO Battery One such funds are Khazanah Nasional Berhad which was established in 1993.Its objective is to help shape selected strategic industries in Malaysia and develop those investment for the benefit of Malaysia.The fund invest in major companies in Malaysia such asProton Holdings in the automotive sector, CIMB in the banking sector, Sony VGP-BPS11 Battery Pharmaniaga in the medical sector, UEM Group in the construction sector, Telekom Malaysia in the communications industry and many other companies in many other industries. It is estimated that the fund size of Khazanah Nasional stands at around US$19 billion. HP 448007-001 Battery Another fund that is owned by the Malaysian government is the Employees Provident Fund which is claimed to be the fourth largest state run pension fund in Asia. Like Khazanah Nasional, the EPF invests and sometimes owns several major companies in Malaysia such as RHB Bank.Sony Vaio VGN-CR190E/L Battery EPF investment is diversified over a number of sectors but almost 40% of their investment are in the services sector. Fund size in 2007 is estimated at US$100 billion. Permodalan Nasional Berhad is a major fund manager controlled by the Malaysian Government. Dell Inspiron 6400 AC Adapter It offers capital guaranteed mutual funds such as Amanah Saham Bumiputera and Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 which are open only to Malaysian and in some cases, Bumiputeras. As of April 2008, it manages MYR120 billion of funds (36 billion USD), of which MYR76 million is unit trust funds.Dell LATITUDE D800 Battery The fund manager is a sizable investor in strategic companies such as MMC Corporation Berhad, Maxis Communications Berhad and TM International Berhad among others. Other than federal government funds, some states have created their own investment authority to manage state-owned sovereign wealth funds.Apple A1280 Battery First of such funds are launched by the state ofTerengganu through the establishment of Terengganu Investment Authority in December 2008. It initial fund size will be around USD 3 billion and derived from its oil royalties. Government influence Although the federal government promotes private enterprise and ownership in the economy, the economic direction of the country is heavily influenced by the government though five years development plans since independence. Apple A1281 Battery The economy is also influenced by the government through agencies such as the Economic Planning Unit and government-linked wealth funds such as Khazanah NasionalBerhad, Employees Provident Fund and Pemodalan Nasional Berhad. The government's development plans, called the Malaysian Plan, currently the Ninth Malaysia Plan, started in 1950 during the British colonial rule.HP Pavilion DV7-1290EO Battery The plans were largely centered around accelerating the growth of the economy by selectively investing in selective sectors of the economy and building infrastructure to support said sectors. For example, in the current national plan, three sectors - agriculture, manufacturing and services, HP Pavilion DV6-1020ED Battery will receive special attention to promote the transition to high value-added activities in the respective areas. Other than the generalized plans like the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the government also have a development plan that are targeted to improve the manufacturing sector which is called the Industrial Master Plan. Dell Latitude E6400 Battery Battery Currently, the plan is called the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3) which covers a period from 2006 to 2020. The industrial plans aim to make Malaysia a major trading nation and build up the country's economy and human capital. Economic Planning Unit (Malay: Unit Perancang Ekonomi), established in 1961 was instrumental in steering Malaysia to recovery from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.HP Pavilion DM4 Battery The unit is an agency under the Prime Minister's Department responsible for steering Malaysia's socio-economic development towards achieving a developed-nation status by the year 2020 through various measures such as preparing policies and strategies for socio-economic development,HP Pavilion DM4T Battery prepare medium and long term plans for the government and most importantly, advise the government on economic issues. Government-linked investment vehicles such as Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Employees Provident Fund and Pemodalan Nasional Berhad invest and sometimes own major companies in major sectors of the Malaysian economy. Apple MB772LL/A Battery For example, Khanazah Nasional is a major shareholder in Proton Holdings, an automaker and CIMB banking group in the financial sector. The government, however, is keen to sell stakes in their companies such as Malaysia Airlines to let the companies remain globally competitive..Dell LATITUDE D800 Battery The only legal tender in Malaysia is the Malaysian Ringgit. As of 20 March 2008, the Ringgit is traded at MYR 3.18 at the US dollar. The Ringgit was not internationalised since September 1998, an effect due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis in which the central bank impose capital controls on the currency.Dell Inspiron 6400 AC Adapter As a part of series of capital controls, the currency was pegged between September 1998 to 21 July 2005 at MYR 3.80 to the dollar. In recent years, Bank Negara Malaysia beginning to relax certain rules to the capital controls although the currency itself is still not traded internationally yet. Sony Vaio VGN-CR190E/L Battery According to the Bank Governor, the Ringgit will be internationalised when it's ready. On September 2010, in an interview with CNBC, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, which is the Prime Minister of Malaysia and also the Finance Minister said that the government is open to open up the Ringgit to off shore trading if the move will help the economy. HP 448007-001 Battery He further added that before such a move to be made, it will ensure that rules and regulation will be in place so the currency will not be abused. Natural resources Malaysia is well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry and minerals. It is an exporter of natural and agricultural resources, the most valuable exported resource being petroleum. Sony VGP-BPS11 Battery At one time, it was the largest producer of tin, rubber and palm oil in the world. In terms of agriculture, Malaysia is one of the top exporters of natural rubber and palm oil, which together with sawn logs and sawn timber, cocoa, pepper, pineapple andtobacco dominate the growth of the sector. Palm oil is also a major generator of foreign exchange.HP Pavilion DV6-1223EO Battery Regarding forestry resources, it is noted that logging only began to make a substantial contribution to the economy during the nineteenth century. Today, an estimated 59% of Malaysia remains forested. The rapid expansion of the timber industry, particularly after the 1960s,Compaq CQ35-100 Battery has brought about a serious erosion problem in the country's forest resources. However, in line with the Government's commitment to protect the environment and the ecological system, forestry resources are being managed on a sustainable basis and accordingly the rate of tree felling has been on the decline.HP DV9700 Battery In addition, substantial areas are being silviculturally treated and reforestation of degraded forest land is also being carried out. The Malaysian government provide plans for the enrichment of some 312.30 square kilometres (120.5 sq mi) of land with rattan under natural forest conditions and in rubber plantations as an inter crop. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery To further enrich forest resources, fast-growing timber species such as meranti tembaga, merawan and sesenduk are also being planted. At the same time, the cultivation of high-value trees like teak and other trees for pulp and paper are also encouraged.HP Pavilion DV8 Battery Rubber, once the mainstay of the Malaysian economy, has been largely replaced by oil palm as Malaysia's leading agricultural export. Tin and petroleum are the two main mineral resources that are of major significance in the Malaysian economy.Compaq CQ50 Battery Malaysia was once the world's largest producer of tin until the collapse of the tin market in the early 1980s. In the 19th and 20th century, tin played a predominant role in the Malaysian economy. It was only in 1972 that petroleum and natural gas took over from tin as the mainstay of the mineral extraction sector. HP DV6-1120SA Battery Meanwhile, the contribution by tin has declined. Petroleum and natural gas discoveries in oil fields off Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu have contributed much to the Malaysian economy. Oil and gas resources are managed by Petronas, the state controlled oil company which forms production sharing contracts with other players like Exxon-Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell to explore oil fields in Malaysia. HP Pavilion DV7 Battery Other minerals of some importance or significance include copper, bauxite, iron-ore and coal together with industrial minerals like clay, kaolin, silica, limestone,barite, phosphates and dimension stones such as granite as well as marble blocks and slabs. Small quantities of gold are produced.HP Pavilion DV6-1020ED Battery Malaysia's broad and shallow continental shelf consists of several deep water prospective areas. Malaysia has 500,000 km2 available for oil and gas exploration. 51 of the 70 producing fields in Malaysia are oil fields. In January 2004, Malaysia's oil reserves were estimated to be 4.84 billion barrels (769,000,000 m3), HP NX8200 Battery while natural gas reserves stood at 87 trillion standard cubic feet (2,460 km3). The country produces about 0.00075 billion barrels (119,000 m3) barrels of crude oil every day and 2.20 trillion standard cubic feet (60 km3) of natural gas condensates per year.[86]In 2004, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, HP NX7400 Battery Mustapa Mohamed, revealed that Malaysia's oil reserves stood at 4.84 billion barrels (769,000,000 m3) while natural gas reserves increased to 89 trillion cubic feet(2,500 km³). This was an increase of 7.2%. As of January 1, 2007, Petronas reported that oil and gas reserve in Malaysia amounted to 20.18 billion barrels (3.208×109 m3) equivalent.HP NW8440 Battery In January 2008, the Malaysian natural gas reserves holds up to 14,670,000,000 barrels (2.332×109 m3) of oil equivalent. As of January 2009, Malaysia has proven oil reserves of up to 4 billion barrels (640×106 m3). The government estimates that at current production rates Malaysia will be able to produce oil up to 18 years and gas for 35 years.HP NW8200 Battery In 2004, Malaysia is ranked 24th in terms of world oil reserves and 13th for gas. 56% of the oil reserves exist in the Peninsula while 19% exist in East Malaysia. The government collects oil royalties of which 5% are passed to the states and the rest retained by the federal government.HP NC6400 Battery Business environment According to World Bank, Malaysia ranks 24th in Ease of doing business. Malaysia's strengths in the rank includes getting credit (rank 3rd), protecting investor (ranked 4th) and doing trade across borders (ranked 21st). Weaknesses include dealing with licenses (ranked 105th). The study ranks 178 countries in all aspect of doing business.HP NC6100 Battery In the investor protection category of the survey, Malaysia had scored a perfect 10 for the extent of disclosure, nine for director liability and seven for shareholder suits. Malaysia is behind Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand in investor protection category of the survey.HP NC6000 Battery The government is moving towards a more business friendly environment by setting up a special task force to facilitate business called PEMUDAH, which means "simplifier" in Malay. Highlights includes easing restrictions and requirement to hire expatriates, shorten time to do land transfers and increasing the limit of sugar storage (a controlled item in Malaysia) for companies.HP NC4400 Battery The Government aims to be in the top 10 in the Ease of doing business survey before 2010 in order to attract even more foreign investors. The efforts of PEMUDAH is beginning to show fruits as their ranking improved to number 20 in 2009, with marked improvement in four areas: getting credit; dealing with construction permits; paying taxes; and enforcing contracts.HP 6710B Battery External trade Malaysia is an important trading partner for the United States. In 1999, two-way bilateral trade between the U.S. and Malaysia totaled U.S. $30.5 billion, with U.S. exports to Malaysia totaling U.S.$9.1 billion and U.S. imports from Malaysia increasing to U.S.$21.4 billion. HP 6530B Battery Malaysia was the United States' 10th-largest trading partner and its 12th-largest export market. During the first half of 2000, U.S. exports totaled U.S.$5 billion, while U.S. imports from Malaysia reached U.S.$11.6 billion. The Malaysian Government encourages Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).HP 6510B Battery Partager cet article Repost 0 Published by batterys - dans Laptop Battery commenter cet article Refined Jojoba oil 05/01/2017 13:02 Hello, we hope you are doing well job, We are leading manufacturer & exporter of pure essential oils, and carrier oils from India looking markets in Malaysia. Thanks
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Unakite a stone of vision Unakite is a stone of vision First discovered in the United States in the Unakas mountains of North Carolina, unakite is an altered granite composed of pink orthoclase feldspar, green epidote, and generally colorless quartz. It exists in various shades of green and pink and is usually mottled in appearance. In good quality unakite is considered a semiprecious stone, will take a good polish and is often used in jewelry and other lapidary work such as eggs, spheres and other carvings like animals. It is also referred to as epidotized granite. In some of the Blue Ridge occurrences an epidotized augen gneiss is present exhibiting foliation structures. Unakite can be found as pebbles and cobbles from glacial drift in the beach rock on the shores of Lake Superior. It occurs in Virginia where it is found in the river valleys after having been washed down from the Blue Ridge Mountains. Unakite is not limited to the United States, but has also been reported from South Africa, Sierra Leone, Brazil, and China. Some material labeled unakite lacks the feldspar and is more properly epidosite. Unakite...or epidote with feldspar as it is also known, consists of a combination of deformed red jasper and green epidote solidly bound together, thus creating the beautiful pistachio and pink coloring. The splashes of soft peach against a fresh green colored background makes Unakite a much beloved and magical gemstone. Balances physical emotions Grounding Unakite is an altered form of granite, composed of pink orthoclase Feldspar, green Epidote and Clear Quartz. Chakras- Heart Chakra Zodiac- Scorpio Planet – Mars & Venus Element – Fire & Water Typical colours - shades of green and pink: mottled Unakite is a stone of vision.  It balances emotions with spirituality.  Unakite provides grounding when needed.  It facilitates rebirthing, gently releasing conditions that inhibit spiritual and psychological growth. Unakite supports convalescence and recovery from major illness.  It treats the reproductive system and stimulates healthy pregnancies while facilitating the health of the unborn.  Unakite enhances weight gain, where required and aids the growth of skin tissue and hair. The stone takes it's name from the Greek word epidosis, meaning "growing together", and it is these materials bound together that conveys the meaning that what comes together, belongs together. Carrying the gemstone as a companion stone will help you to maintain a balance between your spiritual and physical lives. Allowing them to join forces in assisting you to create the life you need. Unakite is excellent at removing obstacles to your personal growth. Whether it is an issue from childhood or last month's divorce that is draining your energy and holding you back. Meditations with this gemstone will aid in releasing pain and anger that you are having trouble letting go of. You may use Unakite to build your self-confidence, as it strengthens your courage, assisting you in taking control of the aspects of your life that you can yield power over. Giving you confidence to transform anger and fear into positive constructive energies. Like love and compassion for yourself. Healers believe that Unakite's ability to unleash buried emotional pain and to also aid in the body's healing process. Since many illness begin as an unhealed trauma to our psyche, letting go of emotions you're clutching to aids the body's tissue in relaxing on a cellular level. This promotes healthier organs, muscles and soft tissue. Unakite is recommended for a safe pregnancy (as is Moonstone) and the healthy growth of the infant while in its mother's womb. The gemstone may also be helpful in achieving targeted weight gain to specific areas of the body. Monday, April 29, 2013 Hawk's Eye Hawk's Eye Hawk's Eye is the name given to blue or blue-gray Tiger Eye and, like golden Tiger Eye, it is a silicified asbestiform crocidolite (crocidolite with strands of asbestos running through it, which over time have been replaced with Quartz. The fine layers of Quartz crystals within Hawk's Eye reflect light and give the stone its characteristic silky sheen. The most important source of stone is South Africa, but it is also found in India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Western Australia, Brazil and California. Hawk's Eye is also known as Blue Tiger Eye, Falcon's Eye, Rodusite and Silicified Crocidolite. Riebeckite (sodium iron magnesium silicate hydroxide) is a dark blue mineral with several different forms. One of these, called Crocidolite, contains long, thin fibers of asbestos. Occassionally, under the right conditions, Crocidolite can be 'pseudomorphed' and the fine layers of asbestos are replaced atom by atom with silica (Quartz). The Crocidolite surrounding the asbestos is not changed during the process, but the reflective properties of the layers of Quartz cause the stone to become chatoyant. If there is iron present during the process the Crocidolite takes on a golden brown color (Tiger Eye), if not it retains its original dark blue color (Hawk's Eye). Deposits of Crocidolite are found in iron formations in South Africa and Western Australia, where it is mined in large quantities and provides much of the world's supply of asbestos. All Tiger Eye, including Hawks' Eye, is chatoyant (from the French for 'cat's eye'). Chatoyancy is a silky, shimmering reflection, and in Hawk's Eye it is an optical effect caused when light hits the fine layers of replacement Quartz grains. A dictionary definition of chatoyancy is: "A polished surface that when turned towards the light often shows a series of lustrous bands alternating with bands of duller colour which show little silkly lustre. A change in the angle of light results in a reversal of the conditions, the dark bands becoming lustrous and the lustrous bands becoming dark." The chatoyancy of Hawk's Eye can be greatly improved by cutting and polishing and it is a popular material for carvings, beads and cabochons designed to show off the stone's beautiful shimmer to best effect. Although artificially enhanced or fake Hawk's Eye is rare in the jewelry trade, pale, low grade stones are occasionally cut and dyed vivid green, blue or black. If struck sharply Hawk's Eye can chip or break along existing fracture lines inside the stone, so although it is reasonably tough it should always be treated with care. Jewelers recommend using a polishing cloth to clean Hawk's Eye, and warn against using alcohol, steam or ultrasonic gem cleaners. With its rich blue color and fascinating shimmer it is no wonder Hawks Eye is associated with the Throat Chakra and the ability to communicate honestly and effectively. Keeping a piece of Hawk's Eye close can remind you to speak with integrity and express your highest truth in all situations. Working with this stone can help you find the courage needed to trust your inner wisdom and intuition and it is useful if you want to make an honest inventory of who you are, what you are and where you are going in life. Hawk's Eye and Tiger Eye complement each other and seem to work well together in charms and crystal magic. Hawk's Eye can help you visualize your spiritual and material goals, Tiger Eye can help you turn the blueprints in your imagination into practical plans that will allow you to manifest your visions in the 'real' world. Hawk's Eye is a Shamanic stone, helpful to anyone undertaking magical journeys, astral travel or spiritual challenges. Meditation with this stone can help you to understand and accept change and death, and learn to 'go with the flow' rather than fighting against the inevitable. It is a useful stone if you are working with grief and encourages the understanding that death is not the end, but rather a new beginning. Hawk's Eye is also used in rituals and meditation to help connect to the energy of past lives, Ancestor Spirits and the 'Mighty Dead' (enlightened spirits who remain here to offer guidance and support to those who ask). Crystal Properties - Hawk's Eye Color: Mid to dark blue. Chatoyant and reflective. Sometimes grey or greenish bands. Associated Crystals: Angelite, blue quartz and sapphire. Candle Color: Mid-blue. Chakra: Brow. Element: Air. Flowers & Plants: Mint, lupin and larkspur. Herbs - Incenses - Oils: Agrimony, aloe vera, rosemary and sandalwood. Planet: Jupiter. Zodiac: Sagittarius. Metaphysical Properties & Uses: Animals: Hawk's eye is especially good for all birds of prey and generally good for all birds. Children: Use to alleviate fear of flying. Environment: Use for any conservation work involving birds. Finance & Prosperity: - Health & Healing: Use for eye problems especially those involving focus. Good for sinus congestion. Helps relieve spine and neck problems. Home: Use to expand your horizons at home. Love: - Protection: Helps healers protect against the negative energy of others. Protective when traveling in hill country or mountains. Psychic: Hawk's eye is the best stone for astral travel, clairvoyance and remote viewing. It Is The Stone Of: Air travelers. Work: Use to expand your horizons at work. It will help bring new opportunities at work or the possibility of transfer to a new location. Other: Also known as falcon's eye and blue tiger eye. It is the unoxidized form of brown tiger eye. Sunday, April 28, 2013 Crystals for Arthritis Crystals for Arthritis These gems are a wonderful adjunct therapy to any other additional treatments you may be doing. Arthritis, which means "joint inflammation”, is a general term for over 100 different joint disorders with symptoms ranging from mild aches and pains to severe swelling and crippling pain. Here are helpful crystals for soothing arthritis: Blue Lace Agate is known for treating removing blockages of the nervous system and treats arthritic bone deformities. Take a bath for 15-20 minutes with this stone in the bath water. Apatite heals bones and encourages formation of new cells. It assists in the absorption of calcium and helps bone, cartilage, motor skills, teeth, joints and rickets. Azurite is known for treating arthritis and bone degeneration. Helpful with joint pain, alignment of the spine and works on a cellular level to restore circulation. Green Calcite helps those who suffer from arthritic pain and poor body alignment. It helps with constriction of ligaments and muscles and is helpful with bone adjustment. Carnelian this blood mover promotes movement of life force and vital energy. It is useful for treating fertility, rigidity, impotence, low back pain, rheumatism, arthritis, neuraliga and depression. Chrysocolla relieves arthritis, bone disorders and muscle spasms. It reoxygenates blood on a cellular level. This cooling stone strengthens muscles and alleviates muscle cramps. Copper is one of the most famous remedies for arthritis, joint and bone pain. It is often worn on the body in a necklace or as a bracelet. Eilat Stone Benefits sinuses, mouth, bone and tissue regeneration. Draws out pain, inflammation and cools fever due to its amazing mix of minerals. Fluorite Benefits the teeth and bones. People with arthritis, rheumatism, or spinal injuries have reported relief from their conditions when they employ fluorite in their healing regimen. Hematite, Magnetic Magnet Therapy can increase blood flow and circulation and this is how it can help speed up the healing process and alleviate pain. The human body contain a magnetic charge that is essential for it to function. Magnetic hematite is very good for arthritis and joint pain. Try a neck massage with a pair and feel what magnets can do for you. They can also be directly bandaged onto an affected area or onto acupressure points. Malachite promotes growth and builds strength, both emotionally and physically. It draws out pain associated with arthritis and joint pain. It aligns DNA and cellular structure, enhancing the immune system. Tourmaline, Black is a remedy for debilitating diseases. It strengthens the immune system, treats dyslexia, joint pain and arthritis, provides pain relief and helps align the spinal column. Turquoise is a stone that purifies the spirit. It truly helps us see our anxieties as simply thoughts that pass us going downstream, giving them no more value than that. This stone helps us alleviate anxiety by showing us the bigger spiritual picture and dissolving negative energy. Crystals have both piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. This means that the polarities of the crystal will change when subjected to pressure or heat (even body heat from the hands). This will radiate energy from the crystal due to this reversal of polarities. It provides the transfer, storage and transformation of energy. Offering a balanced energy field, energy modification, amplifies both energy and thought, clarity in thinking, and harmony and alignment with the chakra energy areas. The Heart Chakra, 4th chakra, is a vast network of energy centered in the chest. It is associated with healing matters of the heart. The Complete Chakra Kit stimulates the seven main energy sources which govern all the major organs and psychologically alters and clears the body's energy in order to allow healing to take place. Copper bracelets have been worn for centuries to help improve circulation. Eilat Healing Stones are a unique mixture of Chrysocolla, Malachite, Turquoise, Silver and Native Copper and is mined exclusively in one place by Jay Gutierrez of Night Hawk Minerals. This semi-precious gemstone's healing abilities have been documented due to the elements which comprise The Stone and together have the ability to create, store and conduct energy. It also can maintain this activity for many, many years. The Stone also has an uncanny ability to absorb many types of pain. Crystal Medicine Pouches are based on the Native American Medicine Pouches, each suede pouch Crystal Empowerment Pouches are individually filled with several crystals to strengthen and enhance the best energy for each situation. Crystal Elixirs are wonderfully scented oils come in .05 ounce roll-on bottles and contain genuine crystals in vibrational compatible essential oil blends. They are fantastic for Chakra work, energy healing, as an Aura Balancer, as balancing perfume oil or simply as a "refresher" for your Gem Potpourri. Crystal Elixir oil blends are used externally. Gem Essence are the infusion of crystals, spring water and the power of the sun/moon in a bottle! These essence work in harmony with the body by interacting with our bio-sheath and are natural and self-adjusting. When crystals are activated by natural sunlight, they transfer their vibrational signature into water, creating a remedy that is safe, effective and used in conjunction with all modalities of healing. Gem Essence waters can be used internally. Jordan's Jewelry Designs Saturday, April 27, 2013 Moqui Balls The shaman stone Moqui Balls The shaman stone Moqui Marbles/Balls pronounced (Mo-Key) are essentially Ironstone and are found at the base of Navajo Sandstone formations. They are found in sizes from small marbles to baseball sizes. Moqui Marbles have been used for centuries by the shamanic tribes of the continents. Although newly discovered in the United States, Moqui's have been found on several continents in the ancient archaeological excavations. Navajo Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the U.S. states of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, and Utah; as part of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States. The Navajo Sandstone formation is particularly prominent in southern Utah, where it forms the main attractions of a number of national parks and monuments including Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Canyonlands National Park. Navajo Sandstone frequently occurs as spectacular cliffs, cuestas, domes, and bluffs rising from the desert floor. It can be distinguished from adjacent Jurassic sandstones by its white to light pink color, meter-scale cross-bedding, and distinctive rounded weathering. The wide range of colors exhibited by the Navajo Sandstone reflect a long history of alteration by groundwater and other subsurface fluids over the last 190 million years. The different colors, except for white, are caused by the presence of varying mixtures and amounts of hematite, goethite, and limonite filling the pore space within the quartz sand comprising the Navajo Sandstone. The iron in these strata originally arrived via the erosion of iron-bearing silicate minerals. Initially, this iron accumulated as iron-oxide coatings, which formed slowly after the sand had been deposited. Later, after having been deeply buried, reducing fluids composed of water and hydrocarbons flowed through the thick red sand which once comprised the Navajo Sandstone. The dissolution of the iron coatings by the reducing fluids bleached large volumes of the Navajo Sandstone a brilliant white. Reducing fluids transported the iron in solution until they mixed with oxidizing groundwater. Where the oxidizing and reducing fluids mixed, the iron precipitated within the Navajo Sandstone. Depending on local variations within the permeability, porosity, fracturing, and other inherent rock properties of the sandstone, varying mixtures of hematite, goethite, and limonite precipitated within spaces between quartz grains. Variations in the type and proportions of precipitated iron oxides resulted in the different black, brown, crimson, vermillion, orange, salmon, peach, pink, gold, and yellow colors of the Navajo Sandstone. The precipitation of iron oxides also formed laminea, corrugated layers, columns, and pipes of ironstone within the Navajo Sandstone. Being harder and more resistant to erosion than the surrounding sandstone, the ironstone weathered out as ledges, walls, fins, "flags", towers, and other minor features, which stick out and above the local landscape in unusual shapes Navajo Sandstone frequently occurs above the Kayenta Formation and Wingate Sandstone, the other formations of the Glen Canyon Group. Together, these three formations can result in immense vertical cliffs of up to 2,200 feet (670 m). Atop the cliffs, Navajo Sandstone often appears as massive rounded domes and bluffs that are generally white in color. Moqui Balls are a different sort of stone. They are ironstone concretions formed from the splatter of a meteor thousands of years ago. The center of the stone is sand and the outer crust is ironstone or magnetite. They are slightly magnetic. The size can range from that of a pea to a baseball. The ones I have in stock are golf ball size or larger. They are also known as Shaman’s Stones or Thunder Balls. They are used for healing and balancing. Shaman’s Stones have been used in native cultures for thousands of years. The Shaman would either apply the stone directly to the diseased area to remove blockages, or place two of them, one in each hand, for overall balancing and calming by aligning the energy centers. These stones display definite male and female vibrations. Many people determine if the Moqui Ball is male or female by the outward appearance. If the skin is smooth it is female and rough is male. Others say the female stone is round and the male is disk shaped. There is merit to either observation. When used for balancing, the female stone is placed in the left hand and the male stone in the right. My experience has shown a more definitive way of determining the energy. Place one stone between the palms of both hands. Within seconds you will feel a vibration. If it excites the upper half of your body, it is a female stone. If it excites the lower half of your body, it is male. Keep sampling stones until you find one of each for your use. When a Moqui Ball is placed in a hot fire it will become a Thunder Ball. The moisture in the sand at the center of the stone expands and the ball explodes. The power of the explosion as well as the pattern of the debris will tell an experienced Shaman the intensity of the situation at hand as well as the path for resolution. The Moqui Ball is a miniature Mother Earth. It is very grounding, relieving you of stressful energy and negativity by absorbing it. It can assist in raising your personal energy by stimulating the Chi. The Moqui Ball provides protection for the body and mind by shielding you from negativity. When placed on the third eye, it enhances your psychic power. The Moqui Ball is nurturing. It has the feel of an old friend, warm and reassuring. Shaman Stone (Moqui) meaning Shaman Stone also called Shamanic Star Stones, Mochi Marbles, Moqui Balls, Thunderballs,are stones of harmony and balance. They are excellent tools for vibrational healing. Shaman Stones are helpful in overcoming the fear of death and the fear of pain, freeing one to pursue one's path without limitation. They are stones of the ascetic, helping one learn to overcome physical discomfort in the search for spiritual enlightenment. Some uses of the Shaman Stone are: Helps in meditation Helps unblock psychic visions Relieves physical discomfort They are excellent tools in Shamanic journeys Moqui Marbles Healing Stones Moqui marbles - living stones, mumbling sounds.. protection against evil eye, keeps "false Friends" a far protection against fire/floods and lightning fertility in family, happiness and life energy improves enjoyment of life, coziness, company, easy to fall asleep - deep sleep - no dreams, relaxing stone, not feeling "bound to do something", regenerating, immune system fortifying physical and spiritual unity for body, mind and soul resolves blockades, provides light and joy of life, through the energy field around the marbles it provides a feeling of belonging to people, plants and animals. They are also referred to as "Moqui Balls", "Thunderballs" or "Shaman Stones".  They have been used for centuries by Shamans and other mystics - considered sacred among the Shamanic members of ancient tribes, they were used in rituals to contact extra-terrestrials, for visioning and for out-of-body journeys. They don't need special care, they realign the energy centers, relieve energy blockage, stimulate Chi energy, ground, center and protect, they are equally balanced between grounding and energizing, and act as a connector to the Earth's energies. Moqui Marbles readily accept subtle energy charges and hold them indefinitely. Treat them with love and they will return it when you need it most. They are recommended to the user of both the ancient ways and the future ways. Mochi Marbles can be used to align the energy centers, to relieve energy blockages, to stimulate CHI, to ground and center, and to provide protection. Grinding with two Mochi Marbles promotes receptivity to frequencies, which are usually inaudible. The journey with the Mochi Marbles allow one to live to the fullest, while understanding the sanctity of, and performing healing for the earth. Mochi Balls need no special care, they are lovely to hold and act to protect when placed in one's environments, the energy being like a good friend. Manifested by nature, enjoyed by mankind, the Mochi Marbles brings the synthesis of the male/female duality, and the actualization of singularity, allowing one to recognize the self, and the independence and liberty of ones nature. They are said to have been used for contact with ET's, for visioning, and for journeying, they were sacred among the shamanic members of the ancient tribes.  Mochi Marbles vibrate to the number 4. The number four is about building structure and order. It is a hard working number with much strength and endurance. Shaman Stones are high energy stones and are powerful allies to have for personal path workings and for healing. In personal matters the stones can connect the shaman with earth energies. They are powerful in grounding and energies. The stones can be used for contacting and interacting with our animal spirit guides. Moqui Marbles Jordan's Jewelry  Designs Friday, April 26, 2013 Dragon blood jasper Dragon Blood Jasper is a member of the quartz family (chalcedony). It is a fantastically patterned gemstone with deep red tones of matrix joined with a combination of forest green hues. Dragon Blood Jasper is found only in western Australia. Local legend there says that the stone is the remains of deceased ancient dragons – the green being the skin and the red the blood. Metaphysical Meaning: Enhances life force; healing; balance Source: Australia Mohs Hardness Scale: 7 Chakra:  Heart Source:   Australia Astrological:   Leo Healing Qualities:  Enhances Life Force, courage, strength and vitality. Brings joy to community interactions.  Helps you achieve goals. Draws money and love to the wearer. Good for diagnosing illness and preventing illness. Physical: Good for nerves, bladder, spleen, stomach, kidneys, liver, bile ducts, mineral balance and sense of smell.  Provides physical heart healing. Helps bronchitis, backache, cramps, colds, flu,  jaundice and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Useful during fasting. Emotional / Spiritual:   Grounds spiritual energy through the heart chakra. Forms a 3 foot barrier around the wearer for protection against negative people. A stone with a strong pattern of physical vitality, capable of bringing more energy into the auric field and the physical self.  It calls forth the gentle strengths of love, forgiveness, and compassion - the only energies that can tame the inner dragon. Helps loneliness and keeps your spirits up. Good for yin/yang balance and the aura. Robert Simmons writes: "Dragon Stone is a strengthener of the physical and etheric bodies, and it works very well for knitting the two of them together, when illness or other negative conditions have brought one's vitality down. Its influence assists the body in the spiritual purification of the blood, and of the cells. It is a wellspring of prana, and it can help one find one's inner ‘reset,' so that one's body and energy fields regain their resonance with a pattern of health, stability and emotional wellbeing. It works steadily rather than rapidly, like most Jaspers, although the exceptional potency of Dragon Stone makes it one of the most powerful and dynamic of the stones in this family. It has been said that the best way of breaking an old habit is to introduce a new one. That is Dragon Stone's special talent. If one has––through being buffeted by life's events, through confusion or fear, or through self-indulgence––fallen into unhealthy, debilitating patterns, Dragon Stone offers a strong, self-affirming template to follow. Emotionally, Dragon Stones helps one develop self-confidence, a stronger will, an open expression of feeling and affection, a willingness to help others for the greater good, and the persistence required to make real and effective change. Physically, it seems to aid endurance, and to inspire one to work hard to be well. This includes diet and exercise regimes for getting in shape. It also feels to me that it can aid those who are working to repattern one's cellular habits for regeneration and rejuvenation, all the way down to the DNA. The twisting, snakelike DNA molecule is, after all, something of a Dragon itself! Spiritually, Dragon Stone can inspire one to place one's self-serving tendencies into service of the well-being of the world. Yet it does not make one into a weak rule-follower. Rather, it encourages fierceness and loyalty to what seems in one's heart to be the Good, and it teaches one to protect and defend that Good with a power and strength one may never have known one even had! A dragon is not a domesticated animal. It is a wild, sentient journeyer among many realms––an excellent ally and a worthy opponent. To carry Dragon Stone is to invite such qualities into oneself. Thursday, April 25, 2013 Tourmaline is a crystal boron silicate mineral compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and the gemstone comes in a wide variety of colors. The name comes from the Sinhalese word "Thuramali" or "Thoramalli” which applied to different gemstones found in Sri Lanka. Color  Most commonly black, but can range from brown, violet, green, pink, or in a dual-colored pink and green. Crystal habit Parallel and elongated. Acicular prisms, sometimes radiating. Massive. Scattered grains (in granite). Crystal system          Trigonal Cleavage        Indistinct Fracture        Uneven, small conchoidal, brittle Mohs scale hardness           7–7.5 Luster            Vitreous, sometimes resinous Streak            White Specific gravity         3.06 (+.20 -.06) Density          2.82–3.32 Polish luster Vitreous Optical properties    Double refractive, uniaxial negative Refractive index       nω=1.635–1.675, nε=1.610–1.650 Birefringence           -0.018 to -0.040; typically about .020 but in dark stones it may reach .040 Pleochroism typically moderate to strong Red Tourmaline: Definite; dark red,light red Green Tourmaline: Strong; dark green, yellow-green Brown Tourmaline: Definite; dark brown, light brown Blue Tourmaline: Strong; dark blue, light blue Dispersion     .017 Ultraviolet fluorescence     pink stones—inert to very weak red to violet in long and short wave. Absorption spectra  a strong narrow band at 498 nm, and almost complete absorption of red down to 640nm in blue and green stones; red and pink stones show lines at 458 and 451nm as well as a broad band in the green spectrum. Enhances flexibility, happiness, objectivity, compassion, serenity, balance, positive transformation, healing, strength, tolerance, love, spirituality, joy, peace, understanding.. Metaphysical Properties: Tourmaline is a wonderful stone, with a color for each of the main Chakras. Excellent channeling stone for communication with higher forces. Tourmaline helps to break up energy blockages, which we mentally experience as anxiety, stress or confusion.   Tourmaline helps you to move beyond limited thinking, to an expanded sense of reality, and see past experiences in new ways. It teaches us that we are light beings in physical form, and helps us to experience the physical and spiritual worlds as one. Pink Tourmaline is a good choice for children recovering from abuse, and healing the inner child.  Brings deep comforting love energy. Transforms negative behavior into positive.  Love, spirituality, joy, peace, understanding.  Emotional and spiritual love, healing emotional loss and  emotional pain, fear, instills self-gentleness (especially with severe illness like cancer, emphysema, etc.). Most powerful when combined with Kunzite or Rhodocrosite. Self-love, compassion, release of old hurts. Trust. Corresponds to the heart Chakra and crown Chakra, and the astrological sign of Libra. Pink tourmaline is a fertility (child) stone. Black Tourmaline: Protects against negativity. Powerfully deflects/shields against unwanted or dark energies, (anger, resentment, or jealousy) especially for sensitive people. Encourages intellectual thought, vitality. Corresponds to the root Chakra, and the astrological sign of Capricorn. Blue Tourmaline: Communication, psychic awareness, peace, balance, eloquence and emotional purification. Wonderful for aligning with higher self for deep insight, vision, intuition. Corresponds to the throat and third-eye chakras, and corresponds to the astrological signs of Libra and Taurus. Green Tourmaline: Creativity, prosperity, abundance, compassion. Represents life energy and  life force. Excellent for people who work with herbs for healing. Enhances cooperation and healing, especially good at relieving chronic exhaustion, attracting abundance, and expressing creativity. Opens the heart Chakra, and corresponds to the astrological sign of Capricorn. Rubellite (dark pink) Tourmaline: Creativity, love, devotion. Unites heart and body for love, courage, passion, energy, stamina, steadiness. High lithium content (thus pink/red color) brings emotional balance, lovingness, devotion in a down-to-earth way. . Releases reproductive Chakra blocks; stimulates fertility. Used to strengthen and detoxes blood and immune system and to ease radiation effects Corresponds to the root and heart chakras, and the astrological signs of Sagittarius and Scorpio. Watermelon Tourmaline:  (Red/pink and green) Brings together compassion, emotional and spiritual love (light pink) expressed in the physical heart Chakra. Activates the heart Chakra.  Excels for immune system and life-threatening illnesses. Balances metabolism, endocrine system.. Empowers other tourmalines. Corresponds to the astrological signs of Virgo and Gemini. BROWN TOURMALINE is grounding, encourages stability and practicality. YELLOW TOURMALINE brings heightened intelligence and spiritual awareness. Black Tourmaline crystals inside of clear crystals. Balances and unites conscious with subconscious, male with female, spirit with matter, heaven with earth. Brings harmony to any polarity and brings moderation and unity to all situations. Enhances flexibility, happiness, objectivity, compassion, serenity, balance, positive transformation, healing, strength, tolerance, and understanding. inspiration, confidence. Balances male/female energies and the mind. Physical Healing Properties: Especially for nervous system; blood/lymph toxins, Neutralizes fears, resentment, neurosis, obsessions, intestinal or spine energy blocks, toxins, constipation., neuralgia, migraine, burns , lungs, asthma, Arthritis, pain, swelling and immobility.  Lower back pain
Web         Gaudiya Discussions Gaudiya Discussions Archive » OTHER TOPICS The ultimate nowhere-land. Whatever doesn't seem to fit in any of the other categories, post it in here. For example, discussions on Mahatma Gandhi and the latest news on CNN should go here. Vedic/modern History - betal_nut - Mon, 31 May 2004 01:19:50 +0530 From lonelyplanet's website: The first inhabitants of Pakistan were Stone Age peoples in the Potwar Plateau (northwest Punjab). They were followed by the sophisticated Indus Valley (or Harappan) civilisation which flourished between the 23rd to 18th centuries BC. Semi-nomadic peoples then arrived, and by the 9th century BC they had spread across northern Pakistan-India. Their Vedic religion was the precursor of Hinduism, and their rigid division of labour an early caste system. In 327 BC Alexander the Great came over the Hindu Kush to finish off the remnants of the defeated Persian empire. Although his visit was short, some tribes tell picturesque legends in which they claim to be descended from Alexander and his troops. Later came the heyday of the Silk Route, a period of lucrative trade between China, India and the Roman empire. The Kushans were at the centre of the silk trade and established the capital of their Gandhara kingdom at Peshawar. By the 2nd century AD they had reached the height of their power, with an empire that stretched from eastern Iran to the Chinese frontier and south to the Ganges River. The Kushans were Buddhist and under King Kanishka built thousands of monasteries and stupas. Soon Gandhara became both a place of trade and of religious study and pilgrimage - the Buddhist 'holy' land. The Kushan empire had unravelled by the 4th century and was subsequently absorbed by the Persian Sassanians, the Gupta dynasty, Hephthalites from Central Asia, and Turkic and Hindu Shahi dynasties. The next strong central power was the Moghuls who reigned during the 16th and 17th centuries. A succession of rulers introduced sweeping reforms, ending Islam's supremacy as a state religion, encourging the arts, building fanciful houses and, in a complete volte-face, returning the state to Islam once again. Are the Kushanian ancestors Gandhari and her clan as mentioned in Mahabharat? Is there any historical evidence to prove that all the kings mentioned in Mahabharat were factual kings in the area at one time?
Online Google Dictionary horizon 中文解釋 wordnet sense Collocation Usage Font size: horizons, plural; 1. The line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear to meet • - the sun rose above the horizon 2. The circular boundary of the part of the earth's surface visible from a particular point, ignoring irregularities and obstructions 3. A great circle of the celestial sphere, the plane of which passes through the center of the earth and is parallel to that of the apparent horizon of a place 4. The limit of a person's mental perception, experience, or interest • - she wanted to leave home and broaden her horizons 5. A layer of soil or rock, or a set of strata, with particular characteristics 6. A level of an excavated site representing a particular period 1. the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet 2. the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated; "It is beyond the horizon of present knowledge" 3. a specific layer or stratum of soil or subsoil in a vertical cross section of land 4. the great circle on the celestial sphere whose plane passes through the sensible horizon and the center of the Earth 5. the top layer of a soil profile; usually contains humus 6. The horizon is the apparent line that separates earth from sky, the line that divides all visible directions into two categories: those that intersect the Earth's surface, and those that do not. At many locations, the true horizon is obscured by trees, buildings, mountains, etc. ... 7. Horizon is a fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is the fourth in the tetralogy The Sharing Knife. 8. An archaeological horizon is a widely disseminated period of common art and artifacts at an archaeological site or, more usually, over a larger geographic area, and is a distinctive level in that site's or area's archaeological sequence. 9. Horizon is a current and long-running BBC popular science and philosophy documentary programme. 10. The Horizon is a mechanical swing-lens panoramic camera. It is manufactured by Krasnogorskiy Zavod in Krasnogorsk, Russia, better-known for their range of Zenit cameras. 11. Horizon was a Canadian current affairs television series which aired on CBC Television from 1963 to 1964. 12. The horizontal line that appears to separate the Earth from the sky; The range or limit of one's knowledge, experience or interest; A specific layer of soil or strata; A cultural sub-period or level within a more encompassing time period 13. (horizons) Layers of soil distinguished by their color, texture, and permeability. [21] 14. ((soil) horizons) Soil is made up of distinct horizontal layers; these layers are called horizons. They range from rich, organic upper layers (humus and topsoil) to underlying rocky layers ( subsoil, regolith and bedrock). 15. (Horizons) 30 years later, would you trade in your iPod for a Walkman? 16. (Horizons) We do most of our work early in the morning, or just before sunset, has the best lighting. 17. (Horizons) is a design folio that trains students adept in the visual arts. It presents representations and images that are sometimes serious, sometimes light-hearted, but always thought provoking. 18. Where the water and sky or ground and sky appear to intersect. 19. Brand of advanced lead-acid batteries made by ElectroSource. (also apparently the name of a stationary power supply system made by Exide.) The plates in a Horizon battery are arranged horizontally, instead of the more common vertical arrangement, hence the name. ... 20. The visible juncture of Earth and the sky, represented in a horoscope by the Ascendant-Descendant axis. 21. One of several lines or planes used as reference for observation and measurement relative to a given location on the surface of the earth. The geographic horizon, also called the apparent horizon, is the distant line along which earth and sky appear to meet. ... 22. Single layer in soil profile with similar properties or material but which differs at least in one property, e.g. colour or texture from adjacent horizons above or below in the profile; diagnostic horizon: Dominant soil property or material defines name of horizon, e.g. ... 23. The number of plies played in each trial of a truncated rollout. A rollout that is truncated after 10 plies has a 10-ply horizon. 24. A distinct layer of soil encountered in vertical section. 25. the edge of the visible Universe, but not the edge of the Universe since the Universe has no edge.
Strength of the Merlion: How Singapore Turned Into a Growling Tiger Singapore, The Lion CityThe island city of Singapore has come a very long way from the once humble trading post it was back in the day. Now, in the 21st century, it is an economic power in itself in Asia. From its cultural diversity to its growing infrastructure and economy, the Merlion city seems to have all these in spades. Just how did it become like this? Here are only a few reasons why it has achieved such. The Merlion city was once a trading post used by the British Empire to facilitate trade between its many colonies, protectorates and commonwealths across Asia. Because of this, many ethnicities have come to do business in the city, and eventually settle down. From the Chinese to the Malays and Indians, the city has found itself to be a cultural melting pot. From these cultures came cuisine, arts, crafts and many others. Because of this, the city has become one of the many go-to destinations for tourists, especially those looking to sample the vaunted street-food at hawkers plaza. Tourism generates a great image for the country. The Free Port The island city had been declared a free port long ago, meaning all traders can bring in their goods without duty. This attracted investors looking to make a fortune to the city. The strategic location the city was on also helped greatly. As a port city in Asia, it linked the resource-rich lands of Malaysia to the trades of China, Indonesia, and other Asian countries.  After the Second World War, the citizens of Singapore were dead-set on reviving the economy of the ravaged country, introducing policies that will stimulate economic growth. They welcomed foreign investors, whose business will, in the long run, be adopted and assimilated by the local corporations. Eventually, growth begot growth, and money kept pouring in. Now, the country sports the world’s seventh largest GDP per capita. Despite the ethnic and cultural diversity found in the city, the Merlion Republic is made strong by the unity and commitment of its citizens to further its interests. Being such a small city of humble origins, its citizens have laboured to ensure that their sovereignty and national interest will never be put second. In fact, the country implements a policy of National Service, whereby citizens are mandated to serve in its Armed Forces. Apart from this, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) maintains a volunteer corps in Singapore made up of naturalised citizens and permanent residents. Apart from the career opportunities and pay, servicemen also gain a greater appreciation for their country, inspiring patriotism that only serves to propel the country to greater heights. The Merlion City has indeed come a long way, and it is sure to grow further in the decades to come.
how to make origami how to make origami Virus Free No Ads Origami is the art of paper folding that originated from Japanese culture. many folding or other forms of artwork produced by the paper. Origami is the craft or art of Japanese paper folding. the basic material used is paper or cloth is usually square. origami outcome is the result of work that requires precision work. Origami (折 り 紙, from ori meaning "folding", and we meaning "paper" is the traditional art of paper folding from Japan which developed into a modern art form until now. Origami is an art of folding that originated in Japan. Materials commonly used are paper or cloth that is usually a square. An origami outcome is the result of skill or hand work very meticulous and delicate. Generally to make origami shapes we can use plain paper, but most of origami in Japan using special paper origami memebuat. The difference between plain paper and origami paper lies in terms of design and color are very diverse so as to make origami became more beautiful and attractive. so the difference is not at all related to techniques such as paper folds becomes easier and so forth. Art of paper folding is very popular in the land of sakura, or Japanese, refers to the art of folding paper into a shape or form images ternteu. The shape in question is can be animals, plants, or specific objects. In making origami art requires great care, patience, and perseverance. You can create a variety of shapes as desired by the art of origami technique. Origami art is fun, because not only children, young people and parents too much to like this activity to make origami. It made origami as one of the art crafts are growing rapidly around the world. if you are looking for a tutorial origami, how to make origami, origami paper, how to craft the Japanese, the Japanese art of origami. outline to make origami we can use ordinary paper but most of origami using special paper which is intended to make origami. the difference between khusu origami paper and plain paper only in terms of design and color are very diverse so as to make origami craft looks more beautiful and attractive features and advantages of the application + Application is OFFLINE how to make origami, so you do not need an Internet connection requires an Internet connection. + Origami paper application is very light, because measuring only a few MB only + Add your insight and creativity of the art of paper folding criticism and constructive suggestions it is expected that future applications how to make origami can be better. hopefully useful, thank you Share by • Version • Updated 2017-03-21 09:34:19 • Developer • Compatbility Android 2.3+ • Category • Source Google Play Previous Versions Similar to how to make origami More from developer Related Collections Related Searches Free Games & Apps The best app store
Contact Us: (404) 255-0621 After Hours Emergency: 404.255.0621 Hysterectomy is a surgical treatment for conditions that affect the uterus. There are many types of hysterectomies performed. Some are completed through abdominal incisions and some without. The type of hysterectomy depends on the condition. The type of hysterectomy also determines the after effects and recovery. Hysterectomy is considered the ultimate cure for many conditions that affect the uterus, but is nevertheless a major surgical procedure. Alternatives to hysterectomy are considered thoroughly before a hysterectomy is recommended. Nevertheless hysterectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures done in this country What is a hysterectomy? Simply, hysterectomy means removing the uterus. Partial hysterectomy means that part of the uterus is removed, the part that contains the lining and is responsible for most causes of bleeding. Total hysterectomy means removing the entire uterus. That means the lining and the cervix.  Removing the uterus, whether total or partial, does not mean that the ovaries are removed. When appropriate the ovaries may be removed at the time of a hysterectomy, but not always. After any type of hysterectomy a woman is no longer able to become pregnant. Why would I have a hysterectomy? • Uterine fibroids • Endometriosis • Pelvic support problems (such as uterine prolapse) • Abnormal uterine bleeding • Cancer • Chronic pelvic pain How is a hysterectomy done? A hysterectomy can be done in different ways. The way a hysterectomy is performed depends on the reason for the surgery and other factors, including your general health. Sometimes it is not possible to know before the surgery how the hysterectomy will be performed. Conditions which cannot be assessed prior to the surgery can influence which technique would be the safest. | Contact | Locations | Privacy Policy | FAQ Copyright © 2015 | North Atlanta Obstetrics & Gynecology
Curve Fitting From Uni Study Guides Jump to: navigation, search Curve fitting allows a curve to be formed using a data set to allow an approximation of data points not lying in the data set. Interpolation of Different Degree Polynomials It is possible to fit a curve around a data set using polynomials of any degree. The coefficients are required to be calculated for the polynomial. To do this, a matrix is formed and solved for the coefficients using Gaussian elimination. Displacement (m) Velocity (m/s) 0 0 2 1.3 4 3.7 6 8.1 8 13.9 10 20 The polynomials of degree 5 form 6 equations, each with a data point substituted for x and y. a0 + a1(0)1 + a2(0)2 + a3(0)3 + a4(0)4 + a5(0)5 = 0 a0 + a1(2)1 + a2(2)2 + a3(2)3 + a4(2)4 + a5(2)5 = 1.3 a0 + a1(10)1 + a2(10)2 + a3(10)3 + a4(10)4 + a5(10)5 = 20 These are then put into matrix form as such, and Gaussian elimination produces the final coefficient values. Matrix Examples Curve.PNG This can be solved using the Matlab command >> A\b, where A is the matrix of coefficients and b is the column vector of solutions to the equations. Matrix Examples Curve 2.PNG f(x) = 0.8125x - 0.251x2 + 0.1021x3 - 0.0091x4 + 0.0003x5 Lagrange Interpolating Polynomial This type of interpolation uses the data points around the required approximated data point to calculate an equation. The following equation is a 3rd order Lagrange interpolating polynomial, using 4 data points. Lagrange Interpolation.PNG This method is disadvantageous as it requires a large amount of arithmetic, can not be used if the data points change, and the error is difficult to calculate. Least Square Regression Linear Regression This type of curve fitting is linear, where the graph is approximated as a straight line, y(x) = a + bx, using the given data points. Regression is different to interpolation as it does not require all the data points to be held true for the approximated graph, where interpolation requires the new graph to pass through each point. Linear regression requires finding the coefficients, a and b, of the approximated line. This requires a matrix of the following to be solved: Linear Regression.PNG First find the sum of x, x2, y and x*y of the given data points first. Assuming the data points are as follows: x 2 4 6 8 10 y(x) 4000 8000 11000 13000 14000 Therefore, we get: Linear Regression Data.PNG Which can be substituted and then solved using Gaussian elimination and back substitution: Linear Reegression Solutions.PNG It should be noted that this approximation will give large errors if the data isn't linear, and should not be alarming. This type of question is also the most likely to be seen in tests. This is the end of this topic. Click here to go back to the main subject page for Numerical Methods & Statistics. Personal tools
Recent Posts Thursday, September 17, 2009 Anniversary of our Constitution On September 17, 1787 the Constitution of the United States was signed by the Founding Fathers of our nation. These men put their fortunes, their honor and their lives in jeopardy in order to form a more perfect union. They formed the most unique nation in history comprised of several individual sovereign nation states. They also created a limited central government and expected future generations to treasure and keep what they had fought so hard to create. We have failed them all. We have allowed the federal government to step outside of it's Constitutional authority for over a generation and now they threaten to control every aspect of our lives. We the People must reclaim the authority given to us by our founding documents and tell the federal government they have gone too far. They must operate within the boundaries set forth 222 years ago today. No comments:
Unit 11- Task World skills task: task 1 Uchans work  The song I picked is We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off. The song was recorded in 1986 by Jermaine Stewart. I looked at two versions of the song. The first was the Jermaine Stewarts version, which uses drums, bass, backing vocals and keyboard, and is played with a synth to make a more complex sound. I chose this song purely because of the context of the song, it was written to open up people minds about AIDs but also has other meanings. It talks about objectification of women/men and to not always focus on sex in a relationship. The audience is mostly people between 16-27 and this song can be relatable in some sort of way. The original key is E major. The tempo of the song is 120bpm and the genre is 80s pop. The structure of the song is: Verse 1 Pre chorus Chorus x2 Verse 2 Pre chorus Chorus x2 The second song was a cover by Ella Eyre, which is completely stripped down, slow and sparse with just piano and vocals. The main theme is unhappy love and the lyrics are written like a letter or diary. The way she sings it makes you feel calm and she makes the words more powerful with her voice. This version of the song I prefer because they are sung in a way that brings out the emotion of lyrics. The tempo of this version is 100bpm and is in the same key as the original. The structure of this version: Verse 1 Pre chorus Verse 2 Pre chorus Chorus x2 Leave a Reply WordPress.com Logo Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Problem solving strategies — why aren’t these taught in schools? A few days ago i was back to solving some basic math (trigonometry and geometry) with a cousin of mine as she was preparing for her crucial school exams. i somehow managed to solve the problems as i remembered the techniques (read formulas, theorems) i had used over 10-15 years ago. However, what struck me was this instance — as i demonstrated a mostly-arithmetic solution to one of the problems that appeared primarily a geometry one, my cousin asked “are we allowed to use that technique? My answer was obviously “why not?”. At the same time, i instantly remembered that at that stage of my learning, i too used to have such a question. Just that the same question appeared sort of alien to my system of thinking at this stage. So, why do we have such a question in the first place? 1. We need to be perfectionists in problem-solving so as to solve any random problem given to us during the examinations. 2. Upon knowing the solution, in retrospect, we honestly figure out that we too could have solved the problem as we had the intellect, but we did not know the rules of the game! High-school Math and science textbooks are full of formulas, examples and exercise questions. But where are the basic problem-solving strategies covered? Here, i mean the problem-solving strategies the human mind uses and therefore, what i’m referring to falls purely into Cognitive science. Why not introduce school kids to the basic ways their minds can work on to explore problem-solving and to make decisions along which strategies fit the given problem and which ones are the shortest to solve the problem? In short, how does the human brain work while evaluating problems across domains/areas? i have been through situations in my school days when i was equipped with all the formulas and theorems and sometimes ended up thinking “No i can’t solve that one. It’s too tough”. Maybe, the real problem was that i could not figure out a strategy to solve the problem. And strategies are few and finite in number, are something that stand good in all fields of problem solving and can form a good part of life-long learning. So, schools must seriously consider introducing problem-solving strategies in plain words as part of the foundation curriculum taught to young students. After all, we all are equipped with a good mind, just that most of us are not aware of how to harness it’s true power! Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
8 Country Music Facts You Never Knew – SpeakStick 8 Country Music Facts You Never Knew 03. May 2016 In our previous post, we defined country music as a popular genre from the American roots with simple harmonies and limited chords. We have also identified country music icons like Roy Acuff, Patsy Cline, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift, who have fueled the genre. However, we should dig beyond the apparent and discover more behind the scene, the roots and beginnings.  Country Music Here we consolidated eight fun facts about country music you never knew before. 1. Country music originated in the Southeast American country. Yet, according to research, the beginning of country music was traced in the Appalachian Mountains, where immigrants did settle in 1920’s. The Appalachian folks already published a book titled “old- time music” long before hillbilly music was recorded. 2. Eck Robertson, a Texas fiddler, pioneered the recording of a country music in 1922, decades before the term “country music” was coined and enter the vogue. He recorded 16 tracks from 1922- 1929 old music. His recording is still accessible today. 3. Jimmie Rodgers is the Father of Country Music. He doesn’t have the knack of who he is until Ralph Peer, an American Talent scout from RCA, discovered him. He sent a letter to the family, inviting Rodgers to perform a country music either in or out of the town. Jimmie Rodgers pioneered the country music in 1927 and had amassed reputation over the years. 4. Henry Ford promoted the country music in the 1920’s. He encourages more wholesome entertainment by promoting square dances and organizing fiddling contests. 5. Hollywood is to blame why western music gets linked to country music. Although it is not complicated as it seems, however, country music identity was tarnished. The tune remains as is but the dress code made the difference. Western cowboy outfits are regarded as country music instead of the Southern hillbilly styles. 8 interesting facts about country music 6. Crazy Water Crystals sanitized country music from a rowdy and bawdy to a positive, folksy music after the radio burgeoned as the primary medium to promote local entertainment. This cleaner type of country music has paved way for the success of several country music singers, helping them generate more sales. 7. Crazy Water Crystals had sponsored local country music artists in the mid-1930s and had supported several groups as long as they include “Crazy” in their appellation. In fact, it trends all over the country evoking Roy Cuff, a young showman, to baptize his group as the “Crazy Tennesseans”, which he believes would thrive. 8. Joe McCarthy coined the term “country music”. From the original label of “hillbilly music” which is quite degrading, the anti- communist senator thought of other name to call the genre. “Oat tunes” and “old- time” weren’t maintained except for the “folk” that made the Weavers thrive. However, not long after the McCarthy demanded Pete Seeger, Weaver’s lead singer, to admit his Communist leanings, “folk” was the replaced by “country and western” or plainly “country”. We are decades away from the roots of country music but understating its origin has always a value of today’s generation. The success of the genre, as well as its artists, is crafted by the history and its origin. Now that you have a better knack of these facts about country music, where it came, who have started, and how it lives, better spread the word and let others know about it, too! Try Our New Waterproof Bluetooth Speakers With Free Shipping & Lifetime Guaranty: Leave a comment Free Fast Shipping 1 Year Warranty Support 24/7 Quality Guarantee Your Cart $ 0.00 Secure Checkout Or view cart
home / ancient and medieval / imp claudius (RIC 100) Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus Born: B.C. 10 Emperor: A.D. 41-54 Obverse: Portrait bare head left - Reverse: Minerva standing right brandishing spear and shield - S.C. Inscriptions: TI(berius) CLAUDIUS CAESAR AUG(ustsus) P(ontifex) M(aximus) T(ribunicia) P(otestate) IMP(erator) / S(enatus) C(onsultus) Tiberius Claudius Caesar, Augustus, High Priest, Tribune of the Roman People and Emperor / Under the Authority of the Senate This is a beautiful As of The emperor Claudius. The notches were most likely made in antiquity for the coin to possibly be worn as jewelry or decoration. The forth Roman Emperor Claudius was born in A.D. 10 in Lugdunum (in Gaul) third child of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor, Grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor (Caesar Augustus' sister) and paternal grandson of Livia, (Augustus' third wife) and Tiberius Claudius Nero. There was no reason for anyone to believe Claudius would survive physical ailments and family intrigue to one day become emperor of Rome. As he was described by the historian Suetonius Suetonius also notes that when calm and seated he was a tall, well-built figure of dignitas. When angered or stressed, his symptoms became worse. Claudius himself claimed that he had exaggerated his ailments to save his own life. Whatever the cause of his ailments they are largely accredited as the reason behind Claudius's long life and survival in a family that is legendary for intrigue and murder. With a twitch, a limp, and a stutter Claudius was deemed harmless as long as he was out of the public eye. Little is known about Claudius before he took the consulship under his nephew Caligula due mostly to his own family's wishes to keep him from the public eye. It is known that he did not waste that time but used it to study history and language and wrote quite extensively on the reign of Augustus, the History of the Etruscans and of Carthage among other works that do not survive today. Claudius had not been raised to rule but it can be said that he was privy to much of the inner workings having been raised around the courts of the previous, and first three, Emperors. He was not unfamiliar with the workings of empire, government and law. In fact it seems he took to imperial power rather easily and soon found himself very active in the workings of all aspects of Roman government, law, and military once he was proclaimed emperor by the praetorian guard after the assassination of his predecessor and Nephew Gaius Caligula. In the end Claudius is a rather enigmatic ruler and the picture painted seems different depending on the source one reads. Boorish, Cruel, paranoid, dull witted, easily confused, easily angered (to which he acknowledged and apologized for) and easily controlled by his freedman and wives is one view. Intelligent, well-read, able and a diligent, mostly fair minded administrator is another. The truth is probably somewhere in between. He took to the purple with enthusiasm and a sense of hands on duty that found him in the courts and conducting business almost everyday. Under his rule the empire expanded with Claudius's incentives to colonize and expand as well as with the annexation of the provinces of Thrace, Mauretania, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Judea. Claudius himself went to Britain and was given the name Britannicus in which he passed on to his son. He embarked on ambitious building projects building two aqueducts and repairing others as well as building new roads and canals . He sought to settle disputes in the provinces and was very active in the courts, for good or bad (depending on the source), he was very much involved with the day to day business of the legal system. After a series of failed marriages ending with a spectacularly lurid failed marriage to Valeria Messalina involving treasonous acts and debauchery leading the death of Messalina and company, Claudius married Agrippina the younger his niece and Caligula's infamous sister and mother of the future emperor Nero. Agrippina had participated in Caligula's debauched reign, his questionable relations with his sisters, and she was no stranger to intrigue, deception and a lust for power. At Agrippina's request, Claudius adopted her son Nero putting in question his own sons succession. This may have been the act that sealed the fate of Claudius. Agrippina is said to have been the driving force that isolated Britannicus and promoted Nero and in the end she may have poisoned Claudius in the grand tradition of the Julio-Claudian women to insure a place for her son as emperor. Upon Claudius's death in A.D. 54 there was little standing in Nero's way from taking power which he indeed took. Britannicus survived his fathers death only a few months. Claudius was succeed by Nero.
From Coding to Calculating Like many aspiring software developers and computer scientists, I wanted to improve my art by going through Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. I fully expected to emerge from it all with Sherlock Holmes-esque abilities in programming. Yeah, that was about 7 years ago. Still, every so often, I’ll do some of the exercises and search online to see how my answers compared to others’. Because I didn’t spend a ton of time on these problems, I usually only implemented a naive solution and could only marvel at others’ much cooler, more clever, more efficient solutions. But I could never be sure if they were equivalent. Or could I? Here’s the example that inspired me to write this post, from SICP: Exercise 2.28. Write a procedure fringe that takes as argument a tree (represented as a list) and returns a list whose elements are all the leaves of the tree arranged in left-to-right order. For example, (fringe x) ;; equals (1 2 3 4) (fringe (list x x)) ;; equals (1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4) If you’re not a Scheme user, this function takes something that looks like ((1 2) (3 4)) and gives something that looks like (1 2 3 4). It “gets the numbers out of the parentheses”. The nifty thing about this function is that it will do this for arbitrarily-nested trees, not just one level deep. This function also shows up in Paul Graham’s On Lisp, where it’s called flatten. In Let Over Lambda, Doug Hoyte points out that since Lisp code is represented by Lisp trees, flatten performs code-walking. How do you solve a problem like this? One way is to reason about the kinds of values your tree/list can be, and what your function should do with the tree/list when it assumes those values. In Scheme, a list can represent a binary tree. If tr is a tree, then (car tr) gives you the left branch and (cdr tr) gives you the right branch. So thinking recursively, let’s say someone’s already flattened the left and right branch. What now? Well, just append the flattened-left branch to the flattened-right branch and you’re done. I regard trees as being empty, being a leaf, or being a branch with two leaves. We covered the latter case just above, so let’s handle the other two: • Empty, represented by the empty list (). What does a flattened empty list look like? That’s right: just the empty list, so return that. • A leaf. We want the function to return a list though, so return a list containing this value (i.e., wrap it in parentheses). That’s all three cases! Here’s a naive solution in Common Lisp: (defun flatten (tree) (cond ((null tree) nil) ((atom tree) (cons tree nil)) (t (append (flatten (car tree)) (flatten (cdr tree)))))) Lisp code, so beautiful! Here, null tests for the empty list and atom tests to see if the tree is a leaf. This is all well and good, and it satisfies the test cases from SICP. But if you search for other answers to this question, or even look at the definition in On Lisp, there’s one that looks a bit different: (defun flatten (tree) (labels ((rec (x acc) (cond ((null x) acc) ((atom x) (cons x acc)) (rec tree nil))) Here, labels introduces a local helper function in Common Lisp called rec that takes an accumulator. Except for this, it appears to be of the same “form” as the naive solution. It’s not immediately obvious to me how this second solution is equivalent to the first one. Even though I understood the logic of the second solution, I don’t think I would have come up with it on my own, even though I’m familiar with the accumulator technique. I wanted to not have to be clever. Even more, I wanted to be able to prove the equivalence of any other version of this function. What I wanted was to derive these equivalences in the same way I proved theorems in geometry or performed manipulations in algebra. Enter Haskell. I had been reading about Haskell here and there, and I appreciated that you could reason about programs, even calculate them. This is the method described in the book Algebra of Programming, which uses the Gofer language, an ancestor of Haskell. So I’ll recast this in Haskell because its syntax is ultra-clean. First, let’s roll out our own tree data type: A tree can be either empty, a leaf holding a value of type a, or a branch of two trees, just like we said above. The flatten function translates into Haskell easily: flatten :: Tree a -> [a] flatten Empty = [] flatten (Leaf a) = [a] flatten (Branch l r) = flatten l ++ flatten r Here, [a] means a list with one value in it, and ++ means “append”. The declaration at the top tells us this function takes a Tree holding values of type a and returns a list. Here’s an example of the function in action: flatten (Branch (Branch (Leaf 2) (Branch (Branch (Leaf 11) (Empty)) (Leaf 7))) (Leaf 4)) To make this look more like the second solution, let’s use the accumulator technique, the benefits of which I’ll go over in another post. So we define a helper function, flat_helper, that takes an accumulator as its second value: flat_helper :: Tree a -> [a] -> [a] flat_helper tree list = flatten tree ++ list We flatten tree, and then push the result onto list. I chose this form to “accumulate” the result into list. We can achieve our final result as follows: flat_helper tree [] = flatten tree ++ [] = flatten tree What does flat_helper do to the tree? The great thing about this is that we can just mechanically derive what flat_helper does from its definition: flat_helper Empty lst = { definition of flat_helper } flatten Empty ++ lst = { definition of flatten } [] ++ lst = flat_helper (Leaf a) lst = { definition of flat_helper } flatten (Leaf a) ++ lst = { definition of flatten } [a] ++ lst flat_helper (Branch l r) lst = { definition of flat_helper } flatten (Branch l r) ++ lst = { definition of flatten } (flatten l ++ flatten r) ++ lst = { associativity of append } flatten l ++ (flatten r ++ lst) = { definition of flat_helper } flatten l ++ flat_helper r lst = { definition of flat_helper } flat_helper l (flat_helper r lst) Et voila! This is the same code from the second solution written in Haskell. I derived one solution from the other in a way that’s almost mathematical. It turns out that it’s more efficient than the naive solution, and we don’t even need to use ++. I wish I could learn from programs like this all the time. I based the above derivation from a chapter in Introduction to Functional Programming in Haskell, which has several more derivations like the above (I used their bracket comment notation). They called it synthesizing the program, which is a good way to think about it. I started out using computers to do work I would find tedious or unfeasible to do on my own–iterating over millions of variables, or printing a report every hour. Now I can use them to help me think about computers. A lot of fun for one problem in SICP, I’d say!
web statistics The History of VoIP Technology The magical touch of technology has always managed to make life a lot easier for us in every possible way, but none has been as essential to the development of the technological era as the VoIP. Voice Over Internet Protocol of VoIP, being the golden discovery of our era allowed us to stay in touch with our loved ones or attend frustrated clients for free sitting anywhere in the world, which would cost a small fortune with the regular phone. But even after becoming one of the most essential parts of our lives, little do we know about the history of VoIP technology. Which is to relive one of the greatest inventions of our era, let us take a walk down memory lane to see where it all started and how did it develop into one of the most useful pieces of technology today. The Beginning During the development of the modern computers, when that black screened Window 3.X was ruling desktops around the world and when the internet was something only available to the military, people were always on the lookout to find out cheaper and more effective ways to have voice communication. Even though land phones and the newly invented cellular phones were already a staple for every household, it came with its own set of problems such as poor service and high call rates, but all of that changed with the Windows 95. The latest edition of the Windows operating system and recent publicization of the internet, the world were able to communicate more freely with each other through e-mails and chat. It was during this time when bright young developers saw the true potential of sending electronic data over the internet for relatively a much smaller charge, did that start to conceptualize about sending voice based calls over the internet and that led to one of the greatest journeys of all. The Development The telephone was truly one of the greatest inventions of our era, but it also posed few of the biggest problems of all. To have a fully functional telephone system, companies had to spend millions of dollars to set up wires, posts, satellites, which regular phone calls expensive. When the internet was introduced in 1995, developers realized the alternate ways to send digitized data and pictures, which was a lot cheaper than traditional phone calls. With the newly found idea of transmitting voice over the internet, developers began to conceive different ways transmit voices the same way they could transmit digitized media. As the development progressed, developers of VoIP realized that the voice based calls over the internet could not be sent using a regular switchboard, as it would only produce a glorified and more expensive version of the telephone. Rather they started to focus on how exactly did data travel over the internet. Realizing that data travelled through the internet in forms of small packets which were transferred to the recipient in real time, did the developers found their much needed break when they realized that the voice could be sent over the internet the same way data travelled. The Arrival and Future of VoIP Perfected first by an Israeli company known as Internet Phone, the most basic version of VoIP required both the caller and the recipient to download their software, which would access a server specially built to handle voice packets. The users also had to install sound cards and purchase microphones in order to execute the call successfully. Even though the initial VoIP technology produced delays in the conversation and voice breaks, it was the much needed break that the developers were looking for. In 1998 when Windows launched their latest operating system in the form of Windows 98, which allowed developers to code and develop a lot more smoothly did we see its next step in the history of VoIP technology. A quicker and more stable operating system allowed developers to create a stable version of the VoIP software which could convert the digital calls to analog calls, which allowed users to connect directly to the Public Switched Telephone Network or PSTN which gave them access to land phones and cell phones. Despite the expenses in hardware required the companies to charge the users a nominal fee, it was much less compared to calling to land phones and cell phones. VoIP for small business is especially great, because it costs much less than traditional PBN or Key Systems, and they can be installed much more easily. Today VoIP has evolved into one of the most basic and essential services, which no one can do without and to think this journey through the History of VoIP technology started with the internet. { 0 comments… add one now } Leave a Comment Previous post: Next post:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Losing your mind: Is Alzheimer’s disease in your future or your parents’ future? Can sunlight and vitamin D prevent it? Dr Dyer makes the point that many diseases or disorders—those that are well-established as correlating to vitamin D deficiency—are themselves risk factors for Alzheimer’s. These include depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, poor cognitive abilities, periodontal disease, inflammation, tooth loss, low cognitive performance, poor strength, depression, congestive heart failure, peripheral artery disease, hypertension and arterial plaque. In other words, Alzheimer’s shows a “co-morbidity” with these disorders, meaning that they may have the same underlying causes. Lack of sunlight/vitamin D is likely one of those causes. Another excellent paper on vitamin D and Alzheimer’s will be published soon; I will keep you posted. kylad said... I live in Alaska and most of the people I know who have Alz. are very young and have very severe cases. I believe it is due to prolonged exposed from the sun. Mainly because we only get ambient light some of the year.. Anna said... If a person already has this disease, will D help in this case? Anna said... If a person already has this disease, will D help in this case? Clenbuterol
ifpa logo Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is Financial Planning Financial Planning is a process of meeting one's life goals through the proper management of one's finances. These goals can include owning a home, saving for child's education, starting a business or planning for retirement. 2. who is the Financial Planner? A financial planner uses the 6-step financial planning process to help the client to meet his financial life goals. The planner takes a "big picture" of the client's financial situation and provides financial planning recommendations to meet client's objective(s). He takes into consideration all of the client's needs :- budgeting, saving, taxes, investments, insurance and retirement planning. He can also work on single financial issue but within the context of the client's overall financial situation. 3. What is the Financial Planning process? This is a six-step process : » Establishing Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship. The financial planner explains clearly and documents the services to be provided to the client. The financial planner defines his responsibilities and explains how he will be paid and by whom. The client and the planner reach an agreement on how long the professional relationship should last. » Gathering Gathering client data, including financial goals. The financial planner asks for information to enable him to comprehend the client's financial situation and understands the client's risk tolerance level. The client defines his personal and financial goals. It is imperative for the financial planner to gather all the necessary documents before giving advice to the client. » Analysing and evaluating the financial status of the client The financial planner analyses the information given by the clientHe assesses the client's current financial situation. This includes analyzing the assets, liabilities, cash flow, current insurance coverage, investments, tax issues and etc. » Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations The financial planner offers recommendations that address the client's goals based on the information provided. He goes through the recommendations with the client to enable the client make an informed decision. The financial planner listens to the concerns of the client and revises the recommendations accordingly if deemed necessary. » Implementing the financial planning recommendations The client and the financial planner discuss and agree on how the recommendations will be carried out. The financial planner serves as the "coach". He coordinates the whole process with his team of professionals like lawyers, stockbrokers, etc with the client » Monitoring the financial planning recommendations The financial planner and the client discuss and agree on methodology and frequency to review situation and adjust the recommendations, if needed, to meet the changes in life. 4. What is the difference between a Certified Financial Planning Practitioner and financial advisors ? A CFP Practitioner follows certain standards - called Practice Standards - when providing financial planning advice. Practice Standards describe the process the financial planner applies. These standards are based on a six-step financial planning process, documented by the CFP Board of Standards through their research on the "Job Analysis" of what a financial planner is expected to be. CFP Programme 1. What is the minimum entry requirement needed to take up the CFP Certification Programme? To qualify for the CFP Certification Programme, the candidate must be at least a holder of Bachelor degree (any discipline) or its equivalent. 2. Is there a time frame to complete each module? There is no fixed time frame and the examinations are conducted once every 6 months, usually in June and December. 3. Is there a time frame to complete all the 4 modules? There is no fixed time frame. CFP Modules 1 to 3 must be completed before you are eligible to attempt Module 4. A candidate can attempt Modules 2 and Module 3 in any sequence. 4. If I fail a module, is there a re-sit and what is the time frame for a re-sit? You will have to re-register for the module that you failed in. You can register for the next available examination sitting. It is better to resume your study as soon as possible when the memory is still fresh. 5. If I have to re-sit a module, do I pay just the exam fees or the do I need to pay the course fees as well? If you need to re-sit a module, you are required to register for the next examination and pay the exam fees. Ifpa charges a small refresher course fee Exemptions & Challenge status 1. Do I entitled to any exemption(s) if I am a graduate/member of a professional body/RFP holder? Yes, probably. FPAM has recognized that certain professional qualifications cover some components in financial planning and have decided to waive certain modules for eligible members. You may be granted modular exemption(s); or Challenge Status - skip CFP Module 1 to Module 3 and go straight to Module 4. 2. How to apply for CFP Modular Exemption or Challenge Status? You are required to submit the relevant forms and documents to FPAM, accompanied by an Application for Trade Member Form together with payment (if you are not already a member), as FPAM will only grant approval to its members. All certificates and academic transcripts must be certified. Working experience from present employer must be written using the employer's letterhead. If you are seeking for exemptions for Module 1 or Challenge Status, you must apply at least one month before the registration for any examination and not together with the examination registration form. 3. How do I know whether my application is successful? Upon approval, FPAM will allocate you a reference number to quote when you subsequently register for the examination. If your application is disapproved, FPAM will return you the whole set of documents. 4. If I were granted Challenge Status, is there a time limit on when I must pass the Module 4 examination? CFP Challenge Status candidates are given 3 exam sittings to complete their Module 4 exam. Failing which they are required to enroll for the full CFP Certification Programme. 1. When are the CFP examinations held? The examinations are held twice a year, usually in mid June and mid December. There are special examination sittings for Module 1 which usually be held in March or April and September or October. This is to allow CFP students to fast track their study. 2. What is the format of the examinations for CFP certification? CFP Module 1 to 3 consists of 75 multiple choice questions each to be completed in 3 hours. Module 4 comprises of 2 papers. Paper 1 is a 60 multiple choice questions paper to be completed in 3 hours and Paper 2 is an essay styled case study question paper to be completed in 3 hours. Both the papers would be conducted on different day. 3. Where are the CFP examination held? Location  Exam Centre  Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley Universiti Malaya (Dewan Peperiksaan)  Penang Universiti Sains Malaysia (Dewan Peperiksaan A & B)  Johor Baru Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Dewan Peperiksaan P16)  Kuching Universiti Malaysia Sarawak  Kota Kinabalu Universiti Malaysia Sabah 4. When is the CFP examination registration closing date? There are two main exam sittings per year; in mid June and mid December. The closing date for examination registration is usually about 8 weeks from the examination date. • 🔒 Check FPAM web site for more information. • 5. How much is the CFP Examination Fee? That depends on whether you are attached to FPAM's Charter member or Corporate member or none. Charter and corporate member are corporations that support FPAM in the development of the financial industry. FPAM's CFP Examination Fee:  Staff of FPAM's Charter member  RM212 per exam sitting  Staff of FPAM's Corporate member  RM265 per exam sitting  Individual  RM318 per exam sitting
Who wrote the majority of the essays in the federalist weegy Rated 4/5 based on 117 student reviews Who wrote the majority of the essays in the federalist weegy The Federalist has been. Had the authors of those excellent essays been asked whether they contended for that construction of the Constitution which would. Declaration of Independence The main purpose of America's Declaration of Independence was to explain to foreign nations why the colonies had chosen to. Manifest Destiny was a belief that was widely. John L. O’Sullivan used it to describe what majority of Americans. as Dewey later wrote about the. Silas Marner: Characters and Devices. Mr Weston wrote note to Isabella Knightley to assure her there was no scarlet fever at Cobham 11:118 John. Study online flashcards and notes for 1 QUIZLET BEST APUSH CARDS. Jay who wrote the Federalist Papers in. the tyranny of the majority by asserting the. 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Study your flashcards anywhere! Download the official Cram app for free > • Shuffle Toggle On Toggle Off • Alphabetize Toggle On Toggle Off • Front First Toggle On Toggle Off • Both Sides Toggle On Toggle Off • Read Toggle On Toggle Off How to study your flashcards. H key: Show hint (3rd side).h key A key: Read text to speech.a key Play button Play button Click to flip 19 Cards in this Set • Front • Back How does Jane explain the Reed's dislike for her? She is not like any of them, therefore she does not expect them to like her. How is Mrs. Reed particularly cruel in locking Jane in the red room? Mr. Reed died in the red room which makes Jane scared. she has no candle or any source of light and she is just a small child. When she thinks she sees Mr. Reed's ghost and Mrs. Reed still leaves her in there. She faints and becomes ill for a few days. She was punished for "attacking John" when, really, he had bullied her. To whom does Jane compare John Reed? She compares him to a murderer, a slave driver, and a Roman emperor. With what do Bessie and Abbot threaten to bind Jane in the red room? Abbot's garters On whose advice does Mrs. Reed decide to send Jane to school? Mr. Lloyd, the doctor. What areas does Jane want to study at Lowood? At which does she show particular skill? She wants to study French and drawing. She excelled in drawing. What disease strikes Lowood? Of What does Helen Burns die? Typhus fever strikes Lowood, but Helen Burns dies of consumption [tuburculosis] Explain the difference between Jane's later companion at Lowood and Helen. Jane's later companion was much more infomative than Helen. Jane liked to ask questions and her friend liked to inform. She was more of just a friend to have a good time with and not as loving or as close as Helen. Helen Burns was the "Christ figure" in Jane's life. Her revolutionary church thinking encourages a strong religious influence for Jane's life. Helen teaches Jane to value her conscience, herself, and the theory of heaven and hell. Where is Jane found on the morning after Helen's death? Jane is found lying next to Helen in Miss Temple's room. What does Jane want when she advertises for a position as a governess? A new servitude what is Jane's misconception when she first arrives at Thornfield? She thinks that Mrs. Fairfax is the head of the household. Explain Adele's history and her relationship to Rochester. Adele's mother, Celine Varens, was Mr. Rochester's mistress. She told Rochester he was Adele's father and then abandoned the baby. She is his ward. Describe Mr. Rochetster's mistresses. Celine Varens-->French opera dancer Giancinta-->italian, handsome, violent Ciara-->german, handsome, quiet, heavy, mindless, unimpressible Explain how Jane's wedding is thwarted. Mrs. Mason, along with his lawyer, Mr. Briggs, shows up and says Mr. Rochesteris already legally married to Mr. Mason's sister, Bertha. While Mr. Rochester tries to play it off, they end up not getting marrired and Mr. Rochester takes them all to see Bertha and explains why he doesn't beleive they are actually married. Jane's letter to her uncle was sent to Mr. Mason because they know eachother. How does Rochester become entangled with Bertha Mason? His father gave all his property to Rochester's older brother Rowland. Since Edward was left nothing, his father couldn't stand to have a poor son, so he arranged a marriage to Bertha Mason. She became insane, cheated, and drunk, about a year after they were married due to the genetic passage from her mother. This is ironic because about a year later, Rowland died, leaving Rochester the fortune, AND the crazy wife. Why are Miss Ingram and her mother so rude to and about Jane? They look down upon governesses. Also, they may sense some connection between Mr. Rochester and Jane. They didn't like their governesses when they were little. Why might Miss Ingram dislike Jane? Because if she marries Rochester, there will be anotehr to take some of his attention and money away from Blanche and she won't like that. How do the other guests react to Mason? How does Rochester expect the to react? To Mason, the other guests are entertained by him. they laugh with him and have conversations with him Mr. Rochester thinks they will be alarmed or scared if he shares what he knows about the secret upstairs. Why does Rochester disguise himself as a gypsy? Mostly to find out how Jane feels for him. He also tells Miss Ingram that he is only woth 1/3 of what she thinks nto turn her away from him [this isn't true] This foreshadows a possible relationship between Mr. Rochester and Jane
Study your flashcards anywhere! Download the official Cram app for free > • Shuffle Toggle On Toggle Off • Alphabetize Toggle On Toggle Off • Front First Toggle On Toggle Off • Both Sides Toggle On Toggle Off • Read Toggle On Toggle Off How to study your flashcards. H key: Show hint (3rd side).h key A key: Read text to speech.a key Play button Play button Click to flip 15 Cards in this Set • Front • Back 6 Steps in General Tissue Prep for Microscopy: 1. Tissue Fixation 2. Dehydration 3. Clearing 4. Staining 5. Sectioning 6. Embedding What are 4 chemicals used for Tissue Fixation? How are tissues Dehydrated for microscopy? By gradually removing water by replacing it with alcohol. What is achieved by "Clearing" tissues for microscopy prep? The alcohol is replaced with a solvent miscible for embedment. What is Embedding tissue? Placing it in a hard medium like plastic or paraffin. What is used to Section tissues for microscopy? A Microtome Purpose of Staining tissues: To improve the contrast of cells. What are the 2 main types of dyes? -Acidic --> Eosin -Basic --> Hematoxylin What does Eosin stain? Eosin is an acidic dye with extra electrons - therefore it is itself negatively charged, and stains positive molecules. What does Hematoxylin stain? Hematoxylin is a basic, positively charged dye; it stains negatively charged molecules that donate electrons. What terms are used to denote macromolecules stained by Eosin and Hematoxylin? Eosin: stains Acidophilic Hematoxylin: stains Basophilic What cell components are Basophilic? Nucleic acid - it's an acid, so it loves base. What cell component is Acidophilic? What is Schiff Reagent used for? Staining DNA or glycogen What is Sudan dye used for? Staining accumulated lipids
Study your flashcards anywhere! Download the official Cram app for free > • Shuffle Toggle On Toggle Off • Alphabetize Toggle On Toggle Off • Front First Toggle On Toggle Off • Both Sides Toggle On Toggle Off • Read Toggle On Toggle Off How to study your flashcards. H key: Show hint (3rd side).h key A key: Read text to speech.a key Play button Play button Click to flip 36 Cards in this Set • Front • Back What is Kansas' ONLY natural border? The Missouri River How is Kansas relatively flat but you can climb over 4,000 feet in elevation? The elevation rises gradually on an incline at around 10 Feet per mile. How is eastern and western Kansas different (Environmentally) Eastern: Wooded Areas and rolling hills Western: High Plains What is a plain? A flat, tree less landscape that receives low levels of rainfall. Where are the Great Plains? Stretch from Texas to Canada Where do prairie grasses usually grow? Where it is too wet to be desert, but to dry for forest. Why is the prairie partly underground? Because prairie plants have long roots The size of Kansas? East to West: 411 Miles North to South: 208 Miles What was the Permian sea? It was a warm salt water ocean that was home to plants, fish, birds, and reptiles. It once covered Kansas. The Permian sea created natural resources such as... Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas. We have what evidence from the sea? Marine Fossils and layers and salt were found. Describe the Flint Hills. a Band of Hills composed of limestone and shale. What is the Ogallala Aquifer? A reservoir under farms and ranches under Western Kansas When was it created (Ogallala) Millions of years ago This water is mainly used for what? Why isn't the water easily replenished in the Ogallala? Because in Western Kansas the dry winds evaporate the water, and the crusty substance below the soil keep water from draining into the aquifer. How were most of the larger lakes in Kansas formed? Most of the lakes were formed for flood control projects, like dams, and were built to control the flow of the water. Four Extreme weather conditions that occur in Kansas are? Drought, Blizzard, Tornadoes, Flood What ways can the extreme weather conditions affect our economy? Kill Crops and in extreme temperatures can kill livestock. Why is Kansas the "Sunflower State" Because there are 12 species of sunflowers in Kansas. What do prairie fires do to benefit the environment in the prairie? It allows the old to die off and new growth to begin. What is the state tree of Kansas? The Cottonwood. What was the grasshopper invasion like in the 1870s? It was a destructive invasion on crops. IT was said that the grass hoppers devoured the crops and blocked the sun, and there was a very loud buzzing sound like rain. Kansas is divided into 11 what? Physiographic Regions What are high plains? Flatlands, originally formed by sediments from the Rocky Mts. Why are the Red Hills appearance different than most of Kansas? The hills contain iron oxide. Under this region you can find a supply of water and salt. WELLington McPherson Lowlands (Remember Well for water) This region is one of the last tall grass prairies in the country. Flint Hill Uplands This region is characterized by red quartzite boulders. Glaciated Regions (Remember GLACIATED...Quartz) Due to the medium-tall grasses that cover the hills, this region is not cultivated, but instead used for grazing. Chautauqua Hills (Remember Chautauqua meaning Indian tribe and they planted the grasses) This region contains limestone and is covered with hardwood tress. Ozark Plateau This region contains cliffs that face east and slope to the west. Osage Cuestas (Remember this is the one we live in) This region is formed of rocks from the Rocky Mountains. Arkansas River Lowlands ( the bottom of rivers there are rocks and there are many rocks from the Rocky Mts here) This region is known for sandstone, limestone, and chalk that can be found there. Smoky Hills (Remember to melt rock you will have SMOKE and there are lots of rocks here) This is a coal-mining region, as well as a good agricultural region. Cherokee Lowlands (Remember Cherokee by the mine you would go down in a Jeep) In what ways in Kansas linked to the rest of the world. Products are Imported Products exported: Wheat and Livestock Connected by: Email, Phone, Internet, and satellite
Comments Off Medical Coder in a nutshell Imagine being lost in a foreign city that you’ve never visited before. A barrage of information overwhelms you: subway signs, shopping guide and accommodation details, but all in a strange language you’ve never heard of. Won’t it be nice to have someone translate all these information to you so that you can benefit from it? And this is just exactly what medical coders do on a daily basis. What does a medical coder do? A medical coder’s job is just like a translator of sorts. In the ever-expanding medical world of jargon, numbers and metrics, medical coders work diligently to convey vital information about patients’ medical conditions and treatments in a simpler manner that makes it easy for procedures to be implemented. A medical coder is proficient in the use of diagnostic and procedure codes, in alphanumeric form, that will help turn medical jargon into standardized details. Doing so allows health care providers to quickly and accurately administer much-needed treatment to patients. Besides translating medical terminology, medical coders also ensure the existence of the smooth-flowing functioning of the health care sector by assessing and processing medical claims. This task is essential in helping health care providers and their establishments obtain reimbursement by insurance firms in a timely manner. Earning money as a medical coder Upon being certified, good students with sound knowledge of coding can command up to $38,000 per annum. After several years of experience and increased expertise, medical coders can expect to bring home up to $57,000 a year. Part-timers are likely to bring home no more than $23 to $28 per hour in wages depending on their expertise and employers, and if you want to earn as much as $65,000 annually, you may want to go into specialized fields such as pediatrics and dental hygiene. Becoming a certified medical coder Once upon a time, medical coders came to be after a short on-the-job training stint. Today, while the tradition is still under practice, more and more medical coding staff are leaning towards getting certification. This increases their job prospects while helping them achieve the dream for a juicier salary and higher job satisfaction. The most important aspect in this step is to seek the right national certifying body for testing, such as the American Academy of Procedural Coders (AAPC) for example. Check their requirements and if everything fits, you may register for the exam. Dispelling myths concerning medical coders Myth 1: Medical coding is a boring job Answer: Yes and no. While some medical coders admitted that things can get pretty repetitive after spending hours each day dictating and keying in the right codes, they expressed gratitude for the flexibility and freedom to communicate with their peers. Myth 2: There are many stringent requirements in medical coding Answer: Untrue. Most medical coding experts revealed that they were not often micromanaged or scrutinized by their managers, thus giving them more room to breathe and perform their work. Myth 3: People do not respect medical coders Answer: Again, untrue. While there may be a spark of truth in this a decade or so ago as people generally think medical coding is a “nerd’s job”, more and more people are recognizing the roles and responsibilities of a medical coding and billing expert due to the increased call for accountability.  Today, medical coders are pretty much in high demand and command a lot of respect as they display great expertise, stringent accuracy and accountability in their work. Filed in: Medical Billing And Coding Career Get Updates Recent Posts © 2017 TrainFargo. All rights reserved.
For Christians, Easter is the most important holy day of the year -- it commemorates the third day after Jesus Christ's crucifixion and his rise from the dead. For centuries, the story of Christ's last days before being crucified has been told around the world through/sdramas and musicals known as Passion plays. How did this tradition develop? Why does it continue to be popular? What are the controversies that have surrounded some of these presentations? Experts share their views: What is a Passion play? A strict interpretation of a Passion play is a dramatic performance that represents the final hours in the life of Jesus Christ, said Robert Hodgson, dean of the Nida Institute for Biblical scholarship at the American Bible Society in New York City. The play includes the Last Supper, the events in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Crucifixion of Christ upon a cross on Golgotha. Modern performances, however, and even some dating back to the 14th century, tend to go beyond this, Hodgson said. Some cover sweeps of Jesus' life while others expand Christ's final hours to include the last week, beginning with Palm Sunday. History of Passion plays Passion plays began as mini/sdramas in churches. Many times they were as simple as a procession with a monk holding up a cross and walking toward the altar. Some productions were more elaborate and included a procession at Easter to a spot that symbolized Jesus' burial place. "The earliest records we have for Passion plays all come from Germany from the mid-10th century," Hodgson said. "By the 14th century, the plays had spread throughout Western Europe." The plays eventually left monasteries, cloisters and cathedrals and became very public events involving not only clerics but lay folk who often played major roles in full reenactments of the Bible. The modern Passion play developed in Oberammergau, Germany, Hodgson said, where it was first performed in 1634 as the result of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village -- if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague, they would perform a Passion play every ten years. The Oberammergau Passion play is now performed in years ending with a zero and involves over 2,000 performers, all residents of the village. Passion plays in general have became more public, involving more lay people than when they began in the 10th century and were strictly performed by monks and priests./sToday's performances have great theatrical staging and typically are done by professional actors. They are often performed during the Lenten and Easter season,/saccording to Hodgson. However, many of the larger Passion play productions in the United States perform for several months out of the year. The next Passion play in Oberammergau will be performed in 2010. The town of Iztapalapa, Mexico, has been performing Passion plays since 1833. When an outbreak of cholera hit the region and the majority of the population died, the survivors performed the town's first Passion play. Today, the whole town of Iztapalapa becomes transformed and is used to act out the play. Passion plays the U.S. The Great Passion Play in Eureka Spring, Ark., is one of the largest productions in the country. Their performances are held annually in an outdoor theater from late April through October. Mardell Bland, sales and marketing director for the Great Passion Play, said their production began in 1968, and more than 7 million people have come to see the performances since then. The Promise, a Passion play performed in Glen Rose, Texas, runs the first week in June through the end of October at the Texas Amphitheater. The Passion Play performed at the Park Theater Performing Arts Center in Union City, N.J., bills itself as the oldest continuously produced Passion play in the nation. The Rev. Kevin Ashe, executive director of the Park Theater and producer of The Passion Play, said the play began in 1915 at Holy Family Church with its German immigrant parishioners. Veronica's Veil in Pittsburgh, Pa., is another Passion play that began in the early 1900s. Other locations where Passion plays are or have been performed include St. Augustine, Fla., Lake Wales, Fla., Atlantic Beach, N.C., Gadsden, Ala., Ruston, La.; Gatlinburg, Tenn., Bloomington, Ill., and Spearfish, S.C. Has Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ," affected Passion play performances in the United States? "Last year we took a beating with the play," Ashe said. "I think people decided to just go down to their local movie theater and see it instead of traveling to see the play." Bland agreed, stating that ticket sales for The Great Passion Play were down last year. What, if any, controversies have surrounded productions of Passion plays? "Historically, the single, most vulnerable spot of Passion plays is how Jews have been treated," Hodgson said. He added that the plays in Oberammergau used to be very anti-Semitic. Hodgson also added that some Passion play performances include live crucifixions. While he doesn't know of any in the United States, he said live crucifixions are not uncommon in productions in the Philippines and Latin America. Ashe said his 1997 production had an African-American man play Jesus, and it was the subject of much discussion within the community. What has made Passion plays so popular? "It's part of the Christian cultural life," Ashe said. "And the arts is a great way to communicate this story so that everyone can understand it." Hodgson agrees. "Good Friday and Easter are the foundations in Christian faith," he said. "By translating them into dramas and making them into performances, you include people in that sacred story." Where can I find out more information about Passion plays? There are several sites online: (Marisa Osorio Colon writes for the New York Times Regional Newspapers.)
Identification Problem of Demand Analysis (explained with diagram) Simply having a scatter of points with a downward till in the price-quantity plane does not insure that we have an actual demand pattern. The supply function relates price and quantity as well, but this relationship has an upward slope. We should not identify the estimated pattern as the supply function for the goods in question, but we cannot rule out the possibility that we, in fact, have a “mongrel” relation which is some mixture between the supply and demand functions. A graphical analysis of this situation, going back to an early discussion on the first attempts at statistical determination of demand relationships, brings out this point clearly. Scatter of Stable Demand and Variable Supply The model underlying Fig. 12 is as follows: A. demand function price = function of quantity demand + error, B. supply function price = function of quantity supplied + error C. market function supply = demand + error. Each cross in Fig. 12 represents a point of simultaneous solution of the system of three equations (a, b, c). At each point of time, there must be an error term in at least one of the three equations, and there may be one in each; Otherwise there would be no scatter of intersection points. The equilibrium system (a, b, c) would remain fixed. A full understanding of the role of error is essential, but this point will not be pursued until later, when it will be more fully elaborated. The mathematical system of equations (a, b, c) is often called a model, an abstract and simplified picture of a realistic economic process given in the form of mathematical equations. All models are not mathematical, but those on which econometric analysis is based are of the mathematical type. Actually, supply-demand interactions and price formation, in any particular market consisting of many atomistic units, would require an elaborate explanation if full treatment were given to each transaction. Our model gives a simplified explanation of what is taking place in this market, by focusing attention on the most essential aspects. Models are not unique, and in some cases compromise must be made on ‘simplicity’ in order to gain an adequate representation of reality. The supply-demand model (a, b, c) is written with price as a function of quantity supplied or demanded. Frequently, economic textbooks reverse this procedure and express quantity as a function of price. As long as we consistently follow good econometric practice it should not matter which way we write the system at this stage, but when we come to statistical estimation of coefficients some definite decisions must be made about which variable are explanatory and which are to be explained. Supply Demand Scatter If the demand function remains very stable, possibly as a result of small fluctuations in its error, and if the supply function is subject to great variability, the scatter of crosses will look very different from that in Fig. 11. A curve fitted to the crosses of Fig 11 is not likely to trace out either the supply or demand function closely. It may trace out a “mongrel” function. In fig. 12, we have a picture of a scatter of crosses in which demand is stable and supply is variable. This is the best possible situation for estimating a price- quantity relation which can be identified as a demand function. If demands were highly variable and supply was stable we would tend to get a picture of the supply function in the price-quantity scatter. The econometrician, in dealing with linear relationships, sets out to estimate a demand function: The econometrician has no way distinguishing between thins “mongrel” result and the true demand curve. They are both linear relationships between q1d and pt with unknown constant coefficients and additive errors, which are not directly observable. The “mongrel” equation can even have negative slope like that of a true demand curve since the multipliers and u are completely arbitrary; that is, λβ + μς/ λ + μ can be either negative or positive through a suitable selection of λ and μ,. Let us recapitulate what we have just done. We set out to estimate a linear demand function. We observed, at the same time, that a supply function and market clearing equation were also part of the model. With very simple algebraic principles, we combined these letter two equations into one, associating qd and with p linearly. We next performed legitimate algebraic operations of this equation and the original demand equation to drive a new linear expression associating qd with p. If the original model formed a valid system, then the equation derived by this algebraic operation also expressed a valid relationship. It is possible, however, that the derived equation has little economic relationship with the original demand function that we were trying to estimate. This is the problem of identification. Within the framework of linear relationships, the criteria for identification in supply-demand systems are definite and easy to formulate. In the preceding demonstrations we multiplied both sides of equation by common factors and added equations. We may say that we derived linear combinations of equations. If in a system of linear equations we are concerned with the identification of some particular equation, we say that the equation in question is identified provided it is not possible to derive, by linear combinations of some or all the equations of the system, another equation that contains exactly the same variables as the equation being considered. In the preceding example we did derive a “mongrel” equation from linear combinations of supply and demand equations and contained the same quantity and price variables as the demand function, plus an unknown random error. The error was, in fact, a linear function of the original errors. In fig. 12, we see a case in which it is possible to identify a liner demand relation, even though both the supply and demand functions are linear equations in exactly the same variables. The key to identification in this case is the fact that one function is decidedly more variable than the other. The variance of [i, the random disturbance to demand, is small relative to the variance of vt, the random disturbance to supply. If we have reason to believe that one disturbance is more variable than another. Variance (μt) is less than some fraction of variance (vt), or var (ut) < k var (vt), o k < 1, then we have an identifying restriction on the system. In the “mongrel” equation the disturbance is a linear composite, and its variance is a linear function of the separate variances of ut and vt. The composite variance cannot be small, as is the variance of u, since it depends on the variance of vt, which is relatively large. Of course, if the multiplier is very small, the contribution of var (vt) to the overall variance will be small. However, it will also ensure that the parameters of the “mongrel’ equation differ by only small amounts from the parameters of the demand function. Specification of the nature of the random disturbances may, therefore, be a method of achieving identification. In fact, the great pioneering work of Henry Schultz was on sold footing when he claimed to be estimating demand functions for agriculture products. The supply of domestically produced agricultural products in America depends, to a large extent, on the vagaries of the weather. Supply as a function of prices, or even other conventional economic variables, is a highly variable function from season to season, depending on complex meteorological phenomena. Demand for primary agricultural products, however, is very stable over time. It will have a small disturbance variance compared with the supply equation; therefore, we have good reason to believe that Schultz estimated demand and not supply equations. His demand equations were identified by restrictions on the relative sizes of disturbance variances. Other identifying restrictions have been used in linear demand analysis. They nearly always take the form of specifying which variables enter the equations. The demand and supply model is written above as though quantity and price are the only relevant measurable variables for the problem. Met us suppose climatic variables can be objectively measured and fitted, with their appropriate causative roles, into the supply-demand model. Instead of assuming purely random shifts in the conditions of supply, we assume a new model in which a part of the shift can be explicitly measured by something like number of inches of rainfall, number of hours of sunshine, or number of degrees of heat during the growing season of an agricultural product. In reality the influence of weather may be very complicated. Storms and extreme conditions may destroy a crop; too much rainfall during a harvest season may hamper productive operations; and so on. We extract some systematic and visible measures of weather influence, but others may remain in the random disturbance. The error term is assumed to be composed of the agglomerate effect of numerous independent minutiae. We measure as many of these disturbing factors as possible, include them in our equations of the model as separate variables, and dispose of all the remaining under the heading “random disturbance,” relying on the laws of probability to tell us what to expect from these neglected factors. An alternative model is, therefore, This is the same as the preceding model, except for the fact that rt a measure of rainfall, is included in the supply equation as a separate variable. We still have three equations, but now there are four variables: q1d, q1d, pt and rt. The economic mechanism shows how to determine the three economic variables q1d, q1d and pt when given the random disturbances ut, vt, and w, and the external variable vt. We shall call the economic variables endogenous variables and the external variables exogenous variables. The laws of nature (meteorology in this instance) determine the values taken on at each point of time by rt independent of economic decisions or behavior in the supply-demand market. Rainfall affects the economy but is not affected by the economy. We cannot say the same of the endogenous variables. Regardless of the relative variability of ut and vt the supply function drawn with respect to quantity and price axes will shift according to the different values assumed by rt. This will help us to identify the demand function. If the major reason for shifting supply is rainfall variation, with both demand and supply functions remaining otherwise quite stable, we shall have the graphical situation depicted in Fig. 13. Scatter of Supply with Rainfall Induced Shifts and Stable Demand At each point of time, the rainfall variable and the supply disturbance v, take on new values calling forth a different supply function. The shifts need not be parallel or monotonic, but they serve to trace out points on the demand curve within the limits imposed by its random shifts. From the graphical picture, one can see that it makes little difference whether the supply curve shifts widely as a result of purely random forces or measurable objective forces; either type of shift produced a set of points following the general path of demand. In the algebraic analysis of the problem, though, the result may appear somewhat differently. It is no longer possible to multiply through linear demand and supply functions by separate constants and combine them, by addition, into a new equation containing exactly the same variables as the original demand function, linearly related and subject to an unknown, non-observed, random disturbance. The linear combination of supply and demand functions, the “mongrel” equation, will, in the present model, be Here we have a linear relation among quantity, price, and rainfall subject to a random disturbance. This cannot represent the demand equation since there is no ground for assuming that rainfall has a direct effect on demand behavior. It could, however, be confused with the true structural equation of supply, as far as the statistician is concerned. For these reasons, demand is identified, but supply is not, in the present model. The absence or presence of variables in the separate equations of a model is a means of identification, as well as specification of the nature of the random disturbance. The identifying features are more generally viewed restrictions. On the one hand, we may restrict the relative sizes of disturbance variability in the equations of demand and supply; on the other hand we say that the coefficient or r, in the demand equation is restricted to be zero. These restrictions are not exhaustive. Coefficients need not be made equal to zero in order to gain identifying information. If they are made equal to any priori values, the process of identification is helped. If coefficients of different variables must be kept in certain known fixed proportions, we gain identifying information. These are all types of linear restrictions appropriate to identification in linear systems of equations. Specific non-linearities for different equations may be helpful in obtaining identification, but we shall not go beyond linear systems at this point. It is obvious from Fig. 12, that the more variable is the supply function and the less variable the demand function; the closer the scatter of points approximates the demand function and discriminates between the two relationships. Identification can be weak or strong depending on the magnitude of the ratio between the two measures of variability. Similarly, the explicit treatment of the rainfall variable in the second model is not going to identify the demand curve as sharply if this variable has a smaller, as compared with a larger, degree of variation. Identification cannot be cheaply achieved in any particular investigation by simply adding some weak or marginal variable to one of the relationships of a system. One must add something substantial and significant which had been previously neglected. No comments yet. Leave a Reply
Fluffy Ducks All in a Row In the early years we have a term: ‘Fluffy Duck Syndrome’. It is very useful to understand what this term means when discussing the ‘best’ methods for young children’s learning. ‘Fluffy Duck Syndrome’ describes a situation where the adults decide that the children are going to make an piece of artwork for their parents. The adults prepare a set of resources that are all the same – same size, same materials, same ‘end result’ as the goal. The adults give the children step-by-step instructions as to how to make their cards. At the end of the activity, all the children have a card that looks exactly the same. The cards are the same size, with the same art materials stuck on in exactly the same places to create exactly the same pictures. The Fluffy Ducks are officially all in a row. The cards look lovely and neat, and the parents are pleased. But there are some important learning opportunities that get lost in this approach: not least, creativity, individuality, choice, experimentation and decision-making. There are times when ‘direct instruction’ is entirely the right approach to use with young children. This is what some might call ‘teaching’ but what people in the early years often refer to as ‘adult-directed learning’. When our children are helping prepare the snacks for snack time at preschool, it is completely appropriate for the adults to show them the best way to do it. In this situation, it is the best and most efficient way for learning to happen. ‘You should hold the knife like this when you cut, to be safe’ and ‘it’s best to cut the chunks this way so they are bite size’ and of course ‘shall we count the chunks to check that we have got enough for everyone?’ Similarly, if you want to help a young child learn how to get dressed independently, you would help them understand how best to do it. Why on earth would you not? (Although this is definitely not to say you should not at least encourage them to try and do it by themselves as well.) Interestingly, it is not just the adults who use ‘direct instruction’ in the early years. You will often find the children using this technique brilliantly as well. When the children teach us, we tend to refer to this as ‘child directed’ or ‘child initiated learning’. ‘You have to put on the chef’s hat, Lynne, because you are going to be the cook in our café and we don’t want hair in our food. Remember to wash your hands before you start cooking, so you don’t spread germs.’ The adults are highly responsive to this kind of instruction from the children, because it is such a wonderful way to help them build confidence and vocabulary, and to find out what they already know. It’s a bit similar to saying to the children ‘you be teacher’ at primary or secondary level. And then there is ‘play’. It strikes me that the term ‘play’ is sometimes misunderstood when it comes to learning in the early years. ‘Play’ is not some kind of random, free-for-all where children race around the setting chucking toys at each other. (Yes, we too have an agree set of ‘rules’ to ensure everyone is safe and can learn.) ‘Play’ is a cleverly structured set of learning opportunities, devised by the adults in response to an in-depth knowledge of their children. The ‘play’ sometimes begins with the adults putting out a set of resources that they know will inspire their children to learn a specific skill, attribute or piece of information. (In the early years we would usually refer to this as ‘adult initiated learning’.) If yesterday the children were really keen to play on the ride-on toys, then today you might create a ‘road network’ together, and encourage them to ride the cars and bikes along the roads. You might also offer resources so that they can create a set of road signs to use in their play. In doing so, you guide their play, and you also create opportunities to learn – in this instance, building physical dexterity, identifying symbols in the world around us, and learning how and why we follow ‘the rules of the road’. Early years practitioners also love to give children a choice of resources, as a method both for differentiating learning and also encouraging children to make considered decisions. This is often referred to as ‘child initiated learning’. The children’s ‘choice’ will always be limited by the resources you have available in your setting, and this is why creating an ‘enabling environment’ is such a key factor in a great early years setting. You provide the ‘best’ resources to ensure that learning can happen. The children can only play with what you offer them (although often they will not play with it in quite the way that you had anticipated.) However, when children initiate play of their own accord, the adults do not stand back and let them get on with it. They make subtle but crucial interventions to ensure that the play builds learning. One of the best techniques for this is ‘sustained shared thinking’. As you join in with the child’s play, you talk together about what is going on. You ask the children questions to guide and build their thinking, as they play. These are mainly open-ended questions (‘What do you think will happen if we add another block to your tower? Why do you think it might topple over?) At exactly the same time, you can encourage learning to happen in other ways (‘Shall we count how many blocks were in the tower when it fell over?) If we go back to those Fluffy Ducks with which I began this post, why then, in some instances, is adult directed learning (a.k.a. ‘teaching’) the ‘wrong’ thing to do? If your goal is to create a setting full of children who know how to follow adult instructions, surely that activity is entirely justified? The point is this: a set of identical cards is one possible outcome of the activity, but it is not necessarily the most appropriate outcome for this particular activity. One of our aims as educators is surely to encourage children to think for themselves, to take creative risks, to experiment with different art resources and to end up with artwork that is an expression of their own imaginative thinking? This is an art activity, after all. And if that is the case, then the best method for this particular activity is to give them the resources and then let them decide what is ‘best’ by themselves. To let them learn through that wonderful technique that us adults might refer to as ‘play’, but which, for small children, is simply what they do. This entry was posted in Children, Creativity, Early Years, Sustained shared thinking. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Responses to Fluffy Ducks All in a Row 1. Ian Lynch says: I define play as the stuff you want to do whereas work is the stuff you have to do. So I get to play quite a lot as an adult but I have to work too. Optimising the work play balance in favour of play seems to me a reasonable life goal. But of course what is work to some is play to others and vice versa. Sometimes I have to work to enable the play. Play is only pejorative if it is assumed to be non-productive in achieving a goal when that goal is an important enabler of future play. So if I need to learn my tables to enjoy getting paid for playing with numbers later in life I can learn them through things I want to do or I can be forced to learn them through things I don’t want to do. So learning tables could be work or play based on my definitions. The same activity could be work for one individual and play for another. (OK not necessarily appropriate for EYs but just to illustrate a general point) What matters in the end is do I know my tables? This is back to the OFSTED debate. In this example, OFSTED is interested in how many children do know their tables and at what age. If too few know them they can then look at the methods used and see if it looks to be working or not. If not they should comment on it, that is their job. They will say “children spend too much time playing in sandpits and not enough time learning tables” or “teachers are unsuccessful in engaging children in learning tables” or something similar. Someone is going to say they are expressing a preferred teaching method. Their job is to identify weaknesses in outcomes and comment on why these might occur so its difficult to see how they would not make such comments. We can say we think they are bad judges but we can’t complain about comments that are part of the job. The comments should under-pin judgements on outcomes. That is why they do things like results analysis and comparisons first. If they are not doing this well or objectively, then let’s get them to do it better rather than make it into a big ideological issue. 2. suecowley says: Thank you for your comment, Ian. I do understand what you are saying. A couple of thoughts in response. Firstly, an EY inspection can be as short as 2.5 hours, our last one was. I’m convinced they cannot possibly make an accurate judgement in this time. Also, the Ofsted letter *was* expressing a preference on teaching methods, it’s just that the language tends to hide that if you don’t understand how EY settings work. The word ‘teach’ indicates ‘adult directed’, the word ‘play’ indicates ‘adult initiated’ or ‘child initiated’. There is a big difference, as I have tried to explain above. A big part of the issue for Ofsted in EY inspections is that we don’t have ‘data’ for them to study, in the way that a school would have, so essentially they will have to make a judgement on methods. It’s also important to note that some children might attend a preschool setting for as little as a couple of hours a week, so how much impact you could make on their progress would be open to question. One last critical point to note is that an EY setting is *not* the end of the key stage – this is the end of the Reception class. Any ‘outcomes’ required by the end of the EYFS should be achieved by end Reception, and not be seen as a stick to measure preschool settings. • Ian Lynch says: Depends on the judgement. I don’t think the OFSTED letter was expressing a preferred teaching method, mostly it was about outcomes and targeted on inspectors not teachers. I’ll check… help children to learn  teach children to listen to instructions and be attentive  teach children to socialise  motivate children to try things for themselves  support children to manage their personal needs  challenge children to think and find out more  encourage children to speculate and test ideas through trial and error  provide good models of language  develop children’s ability to express their ideas and use their imagination  extend children’s vocabulary and teach them to use new words  teach children the early stages of mathematics and reading. All of the above are outcomes, not methods, apart perhaps from providing a model for language. I can’t see any of those outcomes being things I’d not want for my grand children. I really don’t know what the fuss is about. HOW you teach children to socialise or HOW you extend a child’s vocabulary is not specified. In fact the letter goes on to say they should not specify such things and simply look at the outcomes. If I got any reasonably educated person to read that letter and comment on it, I doubt anyone would find any reason for the frenzy it seems to have thrown up. If they go round hundreds of classes and find some where the kids are clearly achieving these outcome a lot better than others they are going to look into why. Whether 2.5 hrs is enough is difficult to say. I have certainly walked into secondary schools where within an hour of walking round I know walking round for another 10 really isn’t going to change much. But each situation is different so its not possible to generalise. I have never inspected primary never mind EYs so I don’t know. Its 15 years since I did any inspections so things might have changed but the main point of contention is that one set of humans hates being judged by another so there is never going to be rational debate about it. 3. suecowley says: Thanks again, Ian. My blog post didn’t specifically refer to the Ofsted letter (and actually was more about trying to explain the different methods that we use and the difference between ‘teaching’ and ‘play’ for those who do not have experience of the EY sector). However, there are a few key quotes for me from the letter: * “should focus on evaluating whether children are being adequately prepared for the start of their statutory schooling” – this needs definition, as many EY professionals suspect that this means one thing to inspectors/gov’t and another to us. It should also be remembered that an EY setting, is not end of KS, that happens *at* school. There seems confusion here about our role, and the part we play in delivering the EYFS, which to the vast majority of us is *not* mainly about ‘preparing’ small children for statutory schooling. * “children as young as two … can be taught a range of things” – the list that follows can all be learned through child initated or child directed learning, rather than ‘teaching’ (adult directed). Again, perhaps what would be useful would be to define what is meant by ‘teaching’ in this context – my reading is that Mr Wilshaw is saying that this should be done through adult directed approaches, which to my mind would be a ‘preferred teaching style’. * “teach children to listen to instructions and be attentive’ – teaching a small child to ‘be attentive” is a fine aim, but tends to suggest the ‘fluffy duck syndrome’ as described above – that this is something that an adult can ‘direct’ them to do, rather than something that comes about through the child’s motivation to learn (i.e. through self directed play). Perhaps in the end it is all a matter of semantics, but it is clear that some (many?) in the EY sector are reading this letter in a particular way. As I think I’ve mentioned to you previously, this needs to be taken in context with lots of other things that have been going on in EY recently. The ‘schoolification’ agenda is one I think it is right to challenge. At the end of the day, this is not a statutory part of schooling, but an important period in a young child’s life in which they develop and learn in a complex variety of ways. I don’t have a problem with being judged, so long as that judgement is balanced, fair and most importantly, accurate. Because of the lack of numerical data in the early years, this means that what the Inspector sees in those 2.5 hours, and what your SEF says, take on a disproportionate importance in terms of what they judge are the ‘outcomes’ for children. If the inspector is focused on ‘teaching’ in the sense that a primary or secondary teacher might understand it, then this could slant inspection judgements and encourage settings to do more adult directed learning than they might do otherwise. • Ian Lynch says: OK a bit off topic I agree but worth some discussion. “Prepared to start school” I ‘d say was ready to socialise and join in, toilet trained, able to engage in typical activities etc. All education is about preparing for the next stage in life to one extent or another – just like secondary has to prepare them for college, jobs etc. Not exclusively but it’s important. What reasonable parent wouldn’t want their child prepared and ready for “big school”? Prepared for employment? I think Wilshaw deliberately does not say adult directed. You are making an inference there – you are saying it not him so you can’t then accuse him of something you are saying you think he means. All they are interested in is outcomes. (That’s largely what I would be interested in as a parent, after safety etc) On the one hand we have extreme “teacher from the front” and the other “keep the teacher out of the way”. OFSTED people are mostly not in these religious camps. They look at a lot of examples and try to pick out what works. They have no reason to do otherwise. Teaching children to be attentive could be finding what engages them and repeating it. Sesame Street is a good example. The Count, repeating counting engaged kids better than what a lot of people thought would. Little kids like repetition – certainly mine did. Favourite book read to them over and over, nursery rhymes etc. So 2 egs watching TV and listening to a story. Am I going to be pilloried now for these being passive? Well justifiably if it was the only thing but I wouldn’t do only this with my own kids so why would I think doing this all the time was good for other people’s? It’s about balance, not cherry picking one thing as if it was the only part of the diet. The letter isn’t a comprehensive framework for EY ed, its just a reminder to inspectors to look for outcomes in a subset of all that can be achieved. A letter to inspectors not teachers. I think you are right about people reading things in that are not there. If I had £1 for every myth conjured up about OfSTED I’d be a rich man. Rumours and misinterpretations spread like wild fire largely as a result of paranoia and some of that is understandable given the pressures on people. It is not helped by people that have an agenda to discredit anything OfSTED does or to use anything they say mostly out of context to prove an idealogical point. There is great temptation to do that because it is a “them” and “us” situation but it detracts from looking constructively at the real issues and how to get improvements for children. I really don’t see the content of that letter as being particularly controversial, in fact I’d have been more surprised if it had been a lot different. 4. suecowley says: Thanks again, Ian. I do wonder how much political pressure Ofsted face from politicians (I’m not saying they respond to it, but I think you might agree it is there) so I’ll just leave you with this thought: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/22/childcare-minister-elizabeth-truss-nurseries And to quote Ms Truss: “Ofsted inspectors will be told to mark down nurseries which do not … provide more structured learning.” 🙂 • Ian Lynch says: There is always going to be some political pressure but the system as a whole is quite resistant to change – hence Gove’s reference to “the Blob” and Blair to scars on his back trying to achieve change in education. In the end though being in a democracy means taking the rough with the smooth. Politicians are there to make policy. One of the reasons I went and started my own company was that I have more flexibility to use what I know to get things done. My only constraint is I have to be able to generate enough income to do it. I don’t think that is a bad discipline though. If you want to do it badly enough you’ll find the means to do it. 5. Pingback: Now! That’s Primary Blogging Volume Ten | prawnseyeblog 6. As an ingenuity coach and writer, with 60+ years life experience, I believe some fluffy ducks must die. I look about and see so many kids who are institutionalized in “Kentucky Fried Daycare” places… Where creativity and individual spirit is often extinguished. Are we quashing tomorrow’s authors, leaders, artists? Is this society doomed to over produce comic book movies? Will Godzilla arise on theater screens every 15 years? There are glimmers of hope. Educators, give fertile soil to these gardens. 7. Reblogged this on Ingenuity Guru and commented: Some Ducks Must Die. 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Music Theory Become a more skilled, articulate and confident musician. Popular Music Theory Grades will expand your musical theory knowledge, develop your compositional skills, and you'll gain an internationally recognised qualification by studying popular music in detail. For Grades 6, 7 and 8, you can supersize your university application, with up to 30 UCASpoints awarded to musicians wanting to progress to university. You'll develop your music theory from Grade 1–Grade 8 using some of the best-known genres in pop and rock, whilst taking notes from some of the world's biggest artists and composers. Discover more about rock and pop's more uncommon instruments, how they're notated and how to arrange your own brass and string sections. Sample papers are supplied at each grade in your Workbook, so you can test what you've learnt in our Guidebooks and ensure your theory knowledge is up to scratch. You can also sit mock exams online at MLC University. MLC-Academy offers RSL Awards' music theory syllabus. The aim is to give students a thorough understanding of the building blocks of music, starting with the basics of rhythm and notes, and going on to cover harmony and counterpoint, composition, and a broad knowledge of western music, including composers and their works, structure, style and period. Many further education music colleges require you to have grade 5 (level 2) as standard! The course is on-going and aims to have you ready to sit an exam by July of next year. MLC-Academy Theory classes runs weekly and costs £5 per week (payable in blocks of 4). The classes are running NOW so register today! Theory Course Pricing £5.00 per week (payable in blocks of 4)
Fourth grade periscopes in the Rainbow Room "Even a committed educational researcher such as Jerome Bruner ceased to ask the causal question 'how do children learn? and began to ask 'how are meanings made?' It was this complex question that took him out of the clinical setting and into the real world in order to understand the culture of learning (Bruner, 1996. in Art Practice as Research by Graeme Sullivan) So, how are meanings made, I wonder? What are they made of? I don't know... but maybe they are made of experiences and reflection- adding thoughts about new experiences to what you already think and remember. I think that in the studio meanings can be made when we use media and materials to form and show our thinking, or to answer a question or solve a 'knotty problem'. A simple example was when Melanie challenged the fourth graders to show what they know about how light moves by making periscopes. Think of all of the steps involved- -playing with light and mirrors long enough to develop a theory about how light moves -forming an image of the way mirrors could be arranged to move light inside a cardboard structure -arranging the mirrors through trial and error and getting them to stay in place -and finally checking to see that your periscope can actually carry an image from one point in space to your eye. sharing handmade periscopes with the Rainbow room children No comments: Post a Comment Please do comment!
Downtown Bogotá. Bogotá is the capital of the Republic of New Granada. The city was founded as Santa Fé de Bogotá in 1538 by the Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. The settlement became the capital of the Audiencia of Santa Fé de Bogotá under the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1540. In 1717, Bogotá became the capital of the newly-established Viceroyalty of New Granada, and remained so after New Granada won its independence from Spain after the Trans-Oceanic War. During the War of Salvation, Bogotá was captured on 8 June 1890 by the 34th Bridage of the United States Marines under Colonel David Brewster. Bogotá remained the capital of New Granada after Mexican Chief of State Benito Hermión installed his brother Victoriano Hermión as the nation's president. Ad blocker interference detected!
Friday, January 13, 2017 Global and Context-Orientation in Space and Time 1. Small Talk- A personal Project Short Film: The video is about a teenager that can only communicate with her parents and friends by texting them with modern technology. But all of a sudden the signal goes out in the house of these people and now they have to talk between them selves and realize that they don't really know how to because they have been spending too much time with their phones and not making physical contact. This video goes with this context because it show's how people over used modern technology in this generation and most likely in future as well. 2. A tale of two cities- Hong Kong and Shenzhen: The video was about explaining how Hong Kong and Shenzhen are one of the the most riches and modern cities in China. They also talk about their transportation system and how good it is and how it works in those cities. After they talk about the cities they discuss the topic of their food budget.  This goes with the global context because it show's how fast did these two cities improve on their transportation and their food resources. Global and Context-Globalization and Sustainability 1. A global warming Animation- This video is about showing how global warming is affecting the resources and animas around it and how hurtful it can be to them. It also show's how factories are hurting the environment and the people around them. This corresponds to this global context because it show's how factories can hurt the animals and environment around it. 2. The great Escape- This video was about talking cans, talking to each other about how good it is to recycle items that need to be recycle so we can make this a better world for ourselves and the environment around us. This video goes with the context because it showed how bad it to have factories so close to environments that have many animals ad may be killed as well. No comments: Post a Comment
Microscopy Image Gallery Exploration of the Month December 1997 There is possibly nothing that raises the spirit of the holiday season than lights around a house or on a tree. This month we look more closely at these lights with the help of a magnifier. Tree lights Tree lights The pictures above show two different christmas tree light bulbs. One is a regular light bulb, the other is the flasher bulb that is included with most sets of lights which makes the entire string of lights flash on and off when it is used. The major difference between the two images is that the first one is taken with the light reflecting off the bulbs, and the other one has the light shining through from behind the bulbs. In the first image it is much easier to see the reflections of the glass bulb which encloses the light than in the second image. The glass bulb is used to keep air away from the filaments inside. If the light bulb was operated in air it would burn out very quickly indeed and not be very practical at all. Filament of a tree light Filament of the flashing light Here we see the insides of the two different bulbs more closely. On the left is the ordinary bulb. It has a coiled Tungsten metal filament which is connected between two metal pins. When we turn on the light bulb electric current flows up one pin, through the coiled filament and down the other pin. The current flowing through the thin Tungsten filament causes it to heat up to a very high temperature. At this temperature the filament is white hot, and shines very brightly, making the whole bulb glow. On the right is the flasher bulb. It has an extra pin which touches one of the filament support pins below the point where the filament is supported. In this bulb the electric current flows through this extra pin up to the support pin, then through the filament and down the other support film as before. This extra pin is different from the other two. It is actually made of two different metals joined together in the middle, and is called a bimetallic strip. As the current flows through this pin, it too heats up like the Tungsten filament, but not nearly so much. As it heats up the metal layers expand, like most things do when they are heated up. Now these two metals have been carefully chosen so that they expand by very different amounts when they are heated. The only way for one side of the pin to expand more than the other and still be joined together is for the pin to bend, so as the pin heats up it will also bend. The flashing effect is made by making the bimetallic strip bend away from the filament as it heats up, because as it bends away it breaks contact, and the electric current stops flowing. With no current there is no light, and the light bulbs go out. Since there is no current flowing the bimetallic strip cools down, and bends back until contact is made again. Then the electric current flows, the light comes on, and the bimetallic strip starts to heat up again.... SEM image of light filament Higher magnification Even higher magnification These three images are taken in the scanning electron microscope, and show increasing magnification pictures of the tungsten coil, showing more detail. In the first image we can see the basic shape of the coil, but not much else. In the second image at 4 times higher magnification, we begin to see structures on the tungsten wire. The third image shows these features more clearly. The grooves running along the length of the wire are formed as the wire is made. The metal is pulled (or drawn) through small holes to get it to the right diameter. small imperfections around the edge of the hole make these scratches in the length of the wire. Also visible in this image are the individual grains of metal that make up the wire. The images below are also taken in the scanning electron microscope, but this time we are looking at the contact. The first image shows the bimetallic strip. The row of dark dots represents the junction between the two layers. Notice how all the "scratches" in each layer line up with each other, but not with those in the other layer. The second two images show the contact tip of the flasher bulb resting against the filament support. In the low magnification image it looks fairly sharp and clean, but at higher magnification (in the last image) it looks very jagged and rough. This is a result of all those making-and-breaking contacts. Every time that happens there is a little spark that makes a new pit in the surface. Over time the tip gets very rough, as you can see here. Can you think of other things that might look like this? SEM image of bimetallic strip SEM image of contact area Higher magnification Other Explorations Minnesota Microscopy Society Web Pages maintained by Stuart McKernan Comments, additions or questions may be addresses to MMS Webmaster Last Update: 12/13/97
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Importance of Dietary Fiber Past food-processing techniques focused on eliminating fiber, considering it unnecessary and difficult to digest. Now, fiber is recognized as useful in preventing and treating such ailments as diabetes, obesity, and cancer. A British scholar first addressed the importance of dietary fiber after realizing that the English suffer a higher incidence of colon cancer than Africans do. He noted that an English person's average daily stool quantity was 110 grams, and it took 45 to 60 hours for the excretion to pass through their colons. In contrast, Africans had average daily stool quantity of 200 grams for urban dwellers, 300 grams for rural people, and their stool took 30 to 40 hours to pass through their colons. He found that saprogenous bacillus existed largely in English stool, while African stool contained more beneficial bacteria. The reason: the Africans' greater amount of vegetable intake gave them more fiber, which reduced their chances of colon cancer. Fiber is an excellent internal cleanser. It absorbs and removes harmful waste products and poisonous materials, while reducing cholesterol and heavy metal levels. Fiber absorbs water like a sponge, and adheres to digestive tracks, which reduces digestion duration. This cuts the time carcinogens stay inside the body. According to a study at Washington University, lab mice with large fiber intake were less likely to develop cancer, even when injected with carcinogens: 39% of the mice fed a large quantity of fiber developed cancer, compared to 69% of those not fed fiber. Your colon contains approximately one hundred types of bacterium, with a total of about a hundred trillion bacteria. Such beneficial bacteria as lactobacillus or lactobacillus bifidus thrive on fiber in the colon, thus retarding the growth of harmful bacteria. They dissolve fiber to make vitamins and amino acids. Fiber can be obtained through vegetables, whole grains, marine plants, and mushrooms, but not through most processed food. And more fiber is obtained by eating raw food and fruits with rinds than through cooked food.
Learn more about Kazakhs Jump to: navigation, search Kazakh people Total population 11,000,000 (est.) Regions with significant populations Kazakhstan - 8,300,000 Language Kazakh Religion Sunni Islam <tr> <th style="background-color:#fee8ab;">Related ethnic groups</th> <td style="background-color:#fff6d9;">other Turkic people Kipchaks, Mongols, Kalmyks, and other Turkic people</td> </tr> The Kazakhs (also spelled Kazaks or Qazaqs), (in Kazakh: Қазақтар [qɑzɑqtar]; in Russian: Казахи; English term is the transliteration from Russian) are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia (largely Kazakhstan, but also found in parts of Russia and China). They have been famous in the past for the fierce love of freedom, skillful horse riding, hunting with semi-domesticated eagles, and currently (as of 2003), for the rapid economic growth of the independent state of Kazakhstan. The word "Kazakh" was included in a Turkish-Arabian dictionary of the 13th century AD. The meaning of this word was given as "independent" or "free." The true meaning of the word is a matter of debate: some say it is related to "Aq qaz", which means "white goose." The name Kazakh, both for the people and for the nation itself, is said to reference the horseback culture and is related to the term "cossack" that takes its origin from the same Turkic word. Other theories exist as well. Mostly, Kazakhs belong to one of three Jüz (Жүз): Higher juz (Ulı jüz), Middle juz (Orta jüz), and Junior juz (Kişi jüz). There are tribes (taypa) and clans (rw) in every juz. There are also three groups outside juz system: töre (direct descendants of Genghis Khan), qoja (descendants of Arabian missionaries and warriors), and töleñgit (descendants of Oirat captives). [edit] Culture Bride's wedding dress, Groom's costume, Interior of a Kiyiz Uy - Kazakh national house Main article: Culture of Kazakhstan Persian, Mongol, Russian and to a lesser degree Arab cultures influenced the current Kazakh traditions. Modern Kazakhstan is the location of Sarmatians described in a segment of the PBS "Secrets of the Dead" series, "Warrior Amazon Women" [2] The area of Kazakhstan has been a place of interaction of many ethnic layers during a historically long period. Mongolian tribes, Turkic-speaking populations from Siberia and Altai, and Indo-Iranians from Near East, took part in the formation of Kazakhs. Modern Kazakhs are descendants of Western Eurasian Turkic tribes (Cumans and Kipchaks), Mongol groups (Oirats, Naimans, etc.) and ancient Indo-Iranians tribes (Wusun, Sarmatians, Scythians[3]), which populated the territory between Siberia and Black Sea and remained in Central Asia when the Turkic and Mongol groups started to invade and conquer the area between the 5th and 13th centuries A.D. Due to their complex history Kazakhs display phenotypical diversity. Kazakhs exhibit predominantly Mongoloid features. Fair to light-brown skin tends to be the norm. Among physical traits are aquiline noses, epicantic fold and high cheekbones. Hair colour varies from prevalent among Kazakhs jet black to red and sandy brown. Hazel, green and blue eyes are not uncommon [edit] Language Main article: Kazakh language The Kazakh language is a member of the Turkic language family, as are Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tatar, Uighur, Turkish, Azeri, Turkmen, and many other living and historical languages spoken in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Xinjiang, and Siberia. Kazakh belongs to Kipchak (Northwestern) group of the Turkic language family. Kazakh is characterized, in distinction to other Turkic languages, by the presence of /s/ in place of reconstructed proto-Turkic */š/ and /š/ in place of */ç/; furthermore, Kazakh has /j/ (alveodental affricate) where other Turkic languages have /y/ (glide). These are just some of the many phonological differences between Kazakh and other Turkic languages. Toktar Aubakirov - The first Kazakh in space Kazakh, like most of the Turkic family languages lacks phonemic vowel length, and as such there is no distinction between long and short vowels. Kazakh[4] was first written with the Arabic script during the 19th century when a number of poets, educated in Islamic schools, incited revolt against Russia. Russia's response was to set up secular schools and devise a way of writing Kazakh with the Cyrillic alphabet, which was not widely accepted. By 1917, the Arabic script was reintroduced, even in schools and local government. In 1927, Kazakh nationalist movement sprang up but was soon suppressed. At the same time the Arabic script was banned and the Latin alphabet was imposed for writing Kazakh. The Latin alphabet was in turn replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940. Kazakh is one of the principal languages spoken in Kazakhstan, along with Russian. It is also spoken in the Ili region of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China, where the Arabic script is still used, and parts of Mongolia. [edit] Kazakh tribalism Image:Kazakh shepard with dogs and horse.jpg A Kazakh shepherd south of Aqtöbe, western Kazakhstan Due to their nomadic pastoral lifestyle Kazakhs kept an epic tradition of oral history. They had to develop phenomenal memories in order to keep an account of their history. The nation, which amalgamated nomadic tribes of various origin Kazakhs, managed to preserve the distant memory of the original founding clans. It was important for a Kazakh to know his or her genealogical tree for no less than seven generations back. Kazakh's marriage system was exogamous, with marriage between individuals with a common ancestor within seven generations considered taboo. In intertribal marriage, paternal descent is decisive. In modern Kazakhstan, tribalism is officially prohibited, practically almost negligible, and definitely fading away in business and government life. Still it is common for Kazakhs to ask which tribe they belong to when they meet each other. Nowadays, it is more of a tradition than necessity. There is no hostility between tribes. Kazakhs, regardless of their tribal origin, consider themselves one nation. [edit] Kazakhs in China Kazakhs, called Hāsàkè Zú in Chinese (; literally "Kazakh people" or "Kazakh nationality") are among 55 minority groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the PRC there are one Kazakh autonomous prefecture, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and three Kazakh autonomous counties, Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County in Gansu, Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County and Mori Kazakh Autonomous County in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Many Kazakhs in China are not fluent in Standard Mandarin, China's official language, instead speaking the Kazakh language. Many are also skilled in the performance of Kazakh traditional songs. A popular accompanying instrument is the dombra a two-string plucked lute. Since the early 21st century, Mamuer Rayeskan, a young Kazakh musician from Qitai, Xinjiang now living in Beijing, has achieved some renown for his reworking of Kazakh folk songs with his group IZ, with which he sings and plays guitar, dombra, and Jew's harp. See also: Kazakh exodus from Xinjiang [edit] Kazakhs in Russia Early 20th Century photograph of Kazakhs In Russia the Kazakh population lives in the regions bordering Kazakhstan. The 2002 Russian census recorded 655,000 Kazakhs. [edit] See also [edit] External links de:Kasachen eo:Kazaĥoj es:Kazajo (etnia) fi:Kazakit fr:Kazakhs it:Kazaki ja:カザフ ka:ყაზახები kk:Қазақтар ko:카자흐족 nl:Kazachen pl:Kazachowie ru:Казахи sh:Kazasi sr:Казаси sv:Kazaker tr:Kazaklar ug:قازاق zh:哈薩克族 Personal tools what is world wizzy?
Home Sport Coaching The Mental Game in Soccer Jun 14 • Posted on 13:45 • | • Category • | Coaching The Mental Game in Soccer Recent article on how to coach a great mental game in soccer, posted on Soccer Classroom. Hope it's useful. Coaching a Great Mental Game in Soccer Simon Hartley Be World Class I watched an English Premiership game last season between Arsenal and Newcastle United. As a psychologist, I found it fascinating. At half time, the score was Newcastle 0 Arsenal 4. At full time, it was 4-4. What an incredible turn around. But exactly what was it that changed at half time? What happened to alter the game so dramatically? Did the skill levels of the players change? Did Arsenal suddenly lose their technical ability, or did Newcastle find Harry Potter’s magic wand in the corner of their dressing room? Maybe at half time Newcastle’s players became more athletic, stronger, faster and more powerful? In reality none of those things changed dramatically. Players don’t lose or gain skill in a 15 minute half time interval. Equally, they do not lose or gain athleticism. It’s true that one team may become fatigued, but it doesn’t usually happen during the half time break. In truth, the one element that probably did change quite significantly is the mental state of the players. In sport, the things that change most quickly in games are often the mental & emotional states, and tactics & decisions. Often those two things are actually quite closely related to each other. Our decision making, and therefore our tactical performance, is normally closely tied to our mental and emotional state. When our mind is in the right place we tend to make good decisions, as well as executing our skills well. As a sport psychologist I find it interesting that coaches spend so much time on technique, tactics and physical development, and relatively little on coaching the mental game. Most high level coaches understand that the game is played predominantly ‘in the top 6 inches’ (i.e. from the neck upwards). So, what are the keys to getting the mental game right? Well, there are 3 main elements to the mental game. These 3 elements work in combination; they are inter-dependent. It is tough to get a performance if we only have one on its own. These 3 elements flow from each other and feed off of each other. So, as coaches, we need to ensure our players have all 3. Once we have all 3 working together, we see a positive spiral of increasing performance. What are the 3 amigos? -          Focus -          Confidence -          Motivation The relationship between these 3 is very simple. When we are focussed, and have a simple, clear job, we stand a really good chance of doing that job well. When we do the job really well, we become confident and we enjoy what we’re doing. When we are confident and enjoy what we’re doing, we’re motivated to do it again. It is very simple, but it often gets over-looked and forgotten. Fortunately, there are some very easy and practical steps that coaches can take to start the process of building this positive spiral. Here are three tips to get you started. 1. Make sure that players have a simple and clear job. Make sure they understand the processes that will help them play well. Each player will have a handful of key processes, which they need to focus on. When they execute these key processes, they will perform really well. 2. Make sure that players focus on their key processes, not on the outcome of the game. Coaches can help by evaluating how well the players delivered the processes, rather than judging them on the results. This is tough to do if the coach is focussed on the outcome. Often coaches have to put their own ego to one side, to allow them to get passed the need to win the game. It sounds ironic I know, but the way to build a mentality that wins, is to take the emphasis off of winning. That’s not just true of junior soccer, it’s true in the English Premiership too! 3. To help build motivation, we have to allow players to play! I don’t just mean participate, I mean play! Play…experiment…discover…be expressive…try things…make mistakes…explore. We don’t have to drop our standards to let this happen, but we do have to embrace the true concept of play. Of course, there is more to coaching a great mental game than can be written in one article. Each of these topics deserves much more attention. To understand how to coach focus, confidence and motivation in your teams, download the Be World Class Soccer webinar pack at http://www.be-world-class.com/webinars/sport-webinars/soccer-webinar-pack Happy coaching!
Study your flashcards anywhere! Download the official Cram app for free > • Shuffle Toggle On Toggle Off • Alphabetize Toggle On Toggle Off • Front First Toggle On Toggle Off • Both Sides Toggle On Toggle Off • Read Toggle On Toggle Off How to study your flashcards. H key: Show hint (3rd side).h key A key: Read text to speech.a key Play button Play button Click to flip 211 Cards in this Set • Front • Back what is the purpose of mitosis? cell development, growth and repair of tissues in mitosis, parent and daughter cells are what identical unless there is a mutation in a diploid, the daughter cells have the same? # of chromosomes as the parent cell what is the total # of chromosomes in humans? this is the orderly set of stages that you can predict that occurs b/t the time a eukaryotic cell divides and the time that the cell's 2 daughters cells divide The Cell Cycle how many stages are in the cell cycle? what are the 4 stages of the cell cycle? 90% of the time during hte cell cycle is spent here what stages take place in interphase? what is the 1st step? what goes on in the 1st step at G1? GROWTH and repair production of more organelles in G1, if the DNA is damaged and can't be repaired what happens to it? it undergoes APOPTOSIS what is apoptosis? programmed cell death what is the 2nd step? what hapens in the 2nd S step? why is the S phase so important? b/c it is where DNA replication occurs what is the 3rd step? what happens in the 3rd step of G2? final preparations for division in the G2 phase what is hte preparation for division? protein synthesis where does protein synthesis occur? 3rd step - G2 What is G2 also called? "mitosis checkpoint" what is the next step after interphase is completed? what % of the time is spent in mitosis? how long does mitosis last for the organsim? it's whole life span where is the mitosis check point located? after metaphase what occurs at mitosis checkpoint? centrosomes allign down the ceter, it is called the "spindle assembly checkpopint" a duplicated chromosome contains: - 2 sister chromatids - each of these sister chromatids has copies of the same genes what joins the chromatids of the chromosome? two chromatids side by side are called what? sister chromatids what attatches to the spindle fibers? the kinetochore what is the 1st phase of mitosis? what happens in EARLY PROPHASE? - nucleolus disappears - nuclear envelope is fragmenting whatis the 2nd phase of mitosis? what happens in PROPHASE? - chromatids and centomere are created - spindle fibers form what is the 3rd phase of mitosis? what happens in PROMETAPHASE? - the spindle fibers attatch to the kenetochores of each chromatid - polar spindle fibers stretch and overlap what is the 4th phase of mitosis? what happens in METAPHASE? - all centromeres are alligned what is the 5th phase of mitosis? what happens in ANAPHASE? sister chromatids become daughter chromosomes and move toward the spindle poles what is the final phase of mitosis? what happens in TELOPHASE? - new nuclei are produced - spindle fibers vanish - daughter cells are formed what do stem cells always have the ability to do? where is a rich site of stem cells? red bone marrow even _____ has stem cells body fat during cancer, the cell cycle flys out of control, hence mitosis is out of control this is abnormal cell growth when you have this, you are forming a tumor this type of tumor is encapsulated, it is still abnormal cell growth yet it isn't harmful benign tumor this type of tumor isn't encapsulated and it spreads out of control, it is cancerous malignant tumor this is a mutation of the genes of the regulatore of the cell cycle what does genesis mean? " formation of" what is carcenogenesis? the formation of cancer cells normally every cell in the tissue has a job to preform and a purpose, but in carcenogenesis... one cell is different and it has no job or purpose, so it just creates tumors why isn't this "different cell" destroyed? b/c it has an abnormal nuclei that makes them bipass apoptosis (programmed cell death) if one was to say that hte cancer cell is mastastisized, what does that mean? that the cancer cell is spreading what is another origin of the cancer cell? a faulty DNA repair system mitosis is A-sexual mitosis is A-sexual what 2 organisms live in extrmem conditions and have A-sexual reproduction bacteria and archea in the growth factor, where are the external signals received? at the plasma membrane what do signal molecules do? they either stimulate or inhibit molecular event what are the 2 signal molecules? stimulatory pathway inhibitory pathway what do checkpoints do? - prevent mutation - are there for quality control what does the proto-oncogene do? promotes the cell cycle producing more cell divison - it deals with the stimulatory pathway what is the proto-oncgene called? "gas pedal" what does the tumor suppressor gene do? slows down the cell division, it deals with the inhibitory pathway what is the tumor suppressant gene called? what are the 4 influences that cause mutated proto-oncogenes and suppressor genes? radiation sources pesticides and herbicides what are 2 prokaryotes? bacteria and archea what type of cell division does the prokaryotic bacteria and archea undergo? binary fission what is the function of the prokaryotic bacteria and archea? A-sexual reproduction what are 2 eukaryotes? protists and some fungi what type of cell division does the eukaryotic protists and fungi undergo? mitosis and cytokinesis what type of cell division does the eukaryotic plants and animals undergo? mitosis and cytokinesis what is the function of eukaryotic plants and animals? binary fission division that produces two daughter cells that are identical to the parent cell what are the simple steps of binary fission? 1- DNA replicates 2- cell lengthens 3- the 2 chromosomes seperate 4- the cells become divided 5- result is 2 identical cells what is the purpose of Meiosis? sexual reproduction, for continuing the species what does a haploid consist of? 23 pairs of chromosomes what does a diploid consist of? 46 pairs of chromosomes in Meiosis, you start with what? 2 Gametes (sperm + egg cell) in Meiosis, what do the 2 gametes fuze to form? a zygote how many nuclear divisions occur in meiosis? in diploid body cells, chromosomes occur in pairs called what? homologous pairs explain a homologous pair you can have genes for the same trait, but have different applications such as both applications are for hair,but one can be blonde and one can be brown what are alternate forms of the same gene ? such as red hair:black hair what occurs first during meiosis 1? the homologous chromosomes pair up what occurs second during meiosis 1? nuceloprotein lattice develops b/t the chromosomes what does the nucleoprotein lattice do? it zippers the members of the bivalent together so that corresponding genes are in allignment what do Chiasmata indicate? where crossing over has occured what happens when the chromatids cross over? they exchange genetic material in what way do the genetic materials swap? what does the random swap promote? variation in specific traits what is a bivalent? a pair of chromosomes In Meiosis 1 ... what is the first phase? prophase 1 what happens in prophase 1? Homologous chromosomes pair during synapsis and crossing-over occurs what is synapsis? the forming of a homologous pair In Meiosis 1 ... what is the second phase? Metaphase 1 what happens in metaphase 1? homologous pairs allign, there are bivalent pairs In Meiosis 1, what is the third phase? Anaphase 1 wat happens in Anaphase 1? homolgous pairs seperate In Meiosis 1, what is the fourth phase? Telophase 1 what happens in Telophase 1? there are 2 distinctie nuclei In Meiosis 1, what is the final phase? what happens in Interkinesis? there are 2 cells n=2 n=2 what is another name for Interkinesis? In Meiosis II, what is the first phase? Prophase II what happens in prophase II? the envelope is breaking down, cells have one chromosome from each homologous pair In Meiosis II, what is the second phase? Metaphase II what happens in Metaphase II? chromosomes allign in single file (going down) In Meiosis II, what is the third phase? Anaphase II what happens in Anaphase II? Sister chromatids seperate and become daughter chromosomes In Meiosis II, what is the fourth phase? Telophase II what happens in Telophase II? spindles disappear nuclei form cytokinesis takes place what is the final result of Meiosis II ? 4 haploid daughter clls how do we form gametes? by meiosis what is produced after Mitosis? Mitosis = 2 haloid cells Meiosis = 4 haploid cells meiosis keeps the chromosome # ________ Meiosis promotes______________ genetic variation wat is the general term for the process of "crossing over" and "swapping genetic material"? Genetic Recombination what does Genetic Recombination cause? variation in specific traits , it is a random swap!! what is independant assortment? homologous pairs seperate randomly, 8 million possible variations!! what are the fertilization stats? take the 8 milion possibilities from independant assortment and square it (5x10^27) - extremely large number! howmany diploid cells does Mitosis have? Mitosis = 2 diploid cells Meiosis = 4 haploid cells Mitosis daughter cells are _______ to the parent, Meiosis daughter cells are ______ to the parent. Mitosis = idetical to parent Meiosis = different from parent how many nuclear divisions in Mitosis? Mitosis = 1 nuclear division Meiosis = 2 nuclear divisions what are Meiosis's 2 nuclear divisions called? Meiosis I Meiosis II what type of function does Mitosis have? Meiosis? Mitosis = A-sexual Meiosis = sexual how many chromosome pais does Mitosis have? Meiosis? Mitosis = 46 Meiosis = 23 what is the difference in how animals and plants have sexual reproduction? in animals and plants... -haploid forms spores -zygote is produced(diploid) -the generations go like this: haploid,diploid,haploid,diploid Meiosis = haploid (n) Mitosis = diploid (2n) Mitosis occurs all life long time Meiosis occurs only during child bearing age in females 9 selective) What is the purpose of Mitosis? growth and repair of tissues What is the purpose of Meiosis? what is the difference between the Metaphase of Mitosis and the Metaphase I of Meiosis? Metaphase (Mitosis) = the chromosomes line up like this Metaphase I (Meosis) = the chromosomes line up like this what is the difference between the anaphase of Mitosis and the anaphase I of Meiosis? anaphase (Mitosis) = the sister chromatids separate and become daughter chromosomes anaphase I (Meosis) = the homologous pairs separate and move towards poles WHat does Spermatogenesis produce? 4 viable sperm what does oogenesis produce? one egg and at least 2 polar bodies In humans, both sperm and egg each have 23 chromosomes, so following fertilization the zygote has 46 chromosomes who was the man that did experiments in large numbers? what are MENDEL's 2 "claims to fame"? - Particulate Theory of Inheritance - Law of Segregation what is the basic idea behind the ancient "Blending Concept of Inheritance" ? that if you crossed a red and whie flower you would always get a pink flower outcome what is the idea behnd the " Particulate Theory of Inheritence" ? -reshuffling of same genes -basic hereditary unit is the gene what is the basic heredity unit? the gene What is the basic idea behind the "Law of Segregation" ? -separation of the trais ( not just pink flower outcomes, some could be all white or all red) they weren't all blended into pink these are alternate forms of the gene that controls a specific trait (such as tall or short) what are the 2 types of alleles? Dominant and Recessive what does the Dominant look like? TT or Tt (they are both "tall plants") what does the recessive look like? ("short plant") what does Homozygous mean? what does Heterozygous mean? what does Homozygous look like? TT or tt what does Heterozygous look like? where is a genotype foun? a plant what does the genotype show? it shows the gene that is ACTUALLY THERE example of Genotype: ( they are both tall but the genotype shows wha they actually are) where is the Phenotype seen in? what is the phenotype? the outter appearance ( it's either dominant or recessive example of Phenotype: all you see is a tall plant, you know it's Dominant, but you can't see whether it was TT or Tt ( the phenotype is only what you can see) in thi punnett square; E e E - EE Ee e - Ee ee what is the ratio of Homozygous dominant:Heterozygous:homozygous recessive?? EE : Ee,Ee : ee wat does a one trait test cross look like? e e E Ee Ee e ee ee (4^n = 4^1) what does a Dihybrid cross look like? AB Ab aB ab Ab AABb AAbb AaBb Aabb aB AaBB AaBb aaBB aaBb ab AaBb Aabb aaBb aabb what are the possible phenotypes and genotypes for the bloodtypes? O ii what is an autosome? any chromsome that is nota sexchromosome humans have 22 chromosomal pairs and 1 sex pair ( xx xy ) humans have 22 chromosomal pairs and 1 sex pair ( xx xy ) what does Autosomal Dominant look like? AA or Aa what does autosomal recessive look like? what are he autosomal recessive diseases? Tay Sachs cystic fibrosis sickle cell disease what makes sickle cell disease different from all the other autosomal recessive disease? you can be in the "trait" zone, but still not have the full blown disease this is when one genetic change affects more then one characteristic of a person what is an example of pleiotropy? sickle cell disease what is the carrier?? the heterozygous autosomla recessive, they don't have the disease but they carry it Tay Sachs is an enzyme defficiency in children wha is prevelence? total # in population what is incidence? new cases per year what is the autosomal dominant disease? Huntington disease what does huntington disease have? a delayed onset ( it is deterioraing brain cells) what is it called when the red and the white flower actually did make the pink flower Incomplete Dominance what is the most common type of multiple allelic traits? blood typing this is when 2 allels team up and share dominance what is a blood type example of codominance this inheritance has many degrees and choices polygenic inheritance what is polygenic inheritance's specific traits controlled by? enviroment and 2 or more allels what is the example given of polygenic inheritance? skin tone what is the polygenic disorder when a person inherits a TENDANCY, not a certainty what does the polygenic disorder deal with? genotype and enviroment what are examples of polygenic disorders? hypertension, diabetes, caner what are x-linked disorders? genes carried on the x chromosome who are the main carriers of the x-linked disorders? the females ( XX ) -males are XY what do the x-linked disorders have to deal with? the 23 rd chromosome what are some of the x-linked disorders? color blind muscle distrophy fragile x syndrome which is the 2nd leading cause of mental retardaion what is the ide behind gene linkage? that genes can be inheritd together becaus they are linked together in the "linkge group" what are the causes of offspring variaton? - crossing over - recombination of chromosomes during meiosis - gamete possibilities at fertilization - chromosomal mutations what about crossing over? during early prophase, the genes can be locate4d, they coss over what about recombination of chromosomes during meiosis? chromatids go in diff. directions, there is a separation of the chrom. and the recombine what about gamete possibilities at fertilization? the particular sperm meets the particular egg what about chromosomal mutations? 1- changing of number of chomosomes 2- changing of the structre of chromosomes euploidy = correct # of chromosomes polyploidy = greater than or equal to 3 whole extra sets of chromosome (1-22) what is polyploidy common in? what is aneuploidy? any abnormal increase or decrease of the # of chromosomes what is monosomy? missing one chromosome what is trisomy? an extra chromosome is present trisomy-21 = down syndrom on the 21st chromosome Turner syndrome = in females, missing an X chromosome Klinefelter syndrome = males, has an extra X chromosome all autosomal chromosomes are correct, it is the sex chromosome that disease stems from what are the 3 causes of change in the structure of chromosomes? -chemical exposure what is deletion? missing gene on one or more chromosome wht is duplication? repeating same gene sequence on same chromosome what is inversion? upside down gene sequence what is translocation? moving gene sequence to non-homologous chromosome ( moved from one chromatid to a cmpletely different one
Disadvantage of producing inputs within a firm Course:- Microeconomics Reference No.:- EM13700184 Assignment Help >> Microeconomics Which of the following is the primary disadvantage of producing inputs within a firm? A. increases in transaction costs. B. loss of specialization. C. reductions in opportunism. D. mitigation of hold-up problems. Put your comment Ask Question & Get Answers from Experts Browse some more (Microeconomics) Materials How much is AT&T willing to pay to be an unregulated monopolist - Derive the price that a regulatory agency would set if it was interested in maximizing con¬sumer welfare sub The concise definition of economics is the study of choice under scarcity. Let's use this concept to analyze a recent decision that you made. Should we only evaluate monetary At the profit-maximizing output level you reported in question 3, is the El Dorado Star making the greatest possible amount of TOTAL REVENUE? Is this what you expected? Explai An interesting example of strategic behaviour comes from a 1997 article about Microsoft’s investment in Apple (New Straits Times, 1997). The article is included in the Require Elasticity’s are one measure firms need to understand. Explain what an elasticity is and what it measures. What importance do you feel it is for firms to understand the elasti You just borrowed $225,00 to purchase a new house. The nominal interest rate is 6% p.a, compounded monthly, and the monthly payment is $1612 for the loan. What is the duration For what values of α the free trade equilibrium is one where countries are completely specialized in their comparative advantage sector and Provide a brief economic explanati Describe the practice of price discrimination and its objectives. What role does the cost of the doctor's education and malpractice insurance play in costing health care servi
Gross Profit The gross profit margin calculation is one that's used in all business accounts and entered into the profit and loss account. It is sometimes called the gross margin and entered as an absolute number or a percentage so the % is the gross profit percentage. How To Calculate Gross Profit Calculating gross profit is a simple calculation in its rawest form and is: Sales/ turnover/ takings less Direct cost of sales Example : You have sales of £1000 and the direct cost of sale is £250 so your gross profit is £1000 less £250 equals £750. The sales value is always net of vat and discount and in the profit and loss account are sales made during the period the statement is made whether or not you have received payment for the sales made (although VAT cash accounting is slightly different). The cost of sales are those costs that are directly related to the actual sale made and are normally made up of the purchase price of the product excluding any discounts and any transportation costs incurred to bring the products to your business (not to the customers business premises. Calculating the Gross Profit Percentage Rather like the calculation above calculating the percentage is the ratio of the gross profit number itself divided by the sales figure expressed as a percentage. Example : taking the values outlined above your gross profit percentage would be £750 profit divided by £1000 sales giving 0.75 expressed as a percentage is 75% Other Gross Profit Expressions You can also express gross profit as gross margin, gross margins as they are the same thing. Industry Average Gross Profits Of course the margin varies widely by industry sector so only compare your business with another related business. Here are a few averages for the sectors shown:
How much of the refrigerator or freezer is recycled and how does it benefit the environment? More than 95% of each unit is recycled by ARCA at a recycling facility located in Milwaukee follows guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) program. These processes prevent the release of ozone-depleting substances, greenhouse gases, PCBs, mercury, batteries and oil into the environment. Was this article helpful? 0 out of 0 found this helpful Have more questions? Submit a request Powered by Zendesk
Saturday, November 6, 2010 Excess Weight Can Help: Glaucoma When was the last time you ever heard that excess weight can help you? Harvard researchers say that being overweight can help women actually resist a form a glaucoma called primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), one of the most common age-related eye diseases. With each unit increase in body mass index (BMI) the risk for normal-tension glaucoma decreased in women of white European descent. "Glaucoma is a potentially blinding illness that damages the optic nerve. Increased pressure in the eye is linked to optic nerve damage. Effective treatments to control eye pressure are available. But in people with normal-tension glaucoma, optic nerve damage happens even though eye pressure is not high," according to researchers. They speculate that fatty tissue in the body "may release hormonally related signals that help prevent optic nerve deterioration." However, researchers warn against gaining weight in hopes of preventing glaucoma since we know about the relationship of overweight and obesity with numerous other ailments including heart disease and diabetes.
[ih-vent] /ɪˈvɛnt/ the outcome, issue, or result of anything: The venture had no successful event. Compare . The broad jump event followed the pole vault. Also, at all events. in the event of, if there should be: In the event that I can’t come back by seven, you can eat without me. anything that takes place or happens, esp something important; happening; incident the actual or final outcome; result (esp in the phrases in the event, after the event) any one contest in a programme of sporting or other contests: the high jump is his event in any event, at all events, regardless of circumstances; in any case in the event of, in case of; if (such a thing) happens: in the event of rain the race will be cancelled in the event that, if it should happen that to take part or ride (a horse) in eventing 1570s, from Middle French event, from Latin eventus “occurrence, accident, event, fortune, fate, lot, issue,” from past participle stem of evenire “to come out, happen, result,” from ex- “out” (see ex-) + venire “to come” (see venue). Event horizon in astrophysics is from 1969. Read Also: • Event television noun 1. television programmes focusing on events that attract media attention and high ratings • Event theatre noun 1. spectacular and extravagantly-mounted theatrical productions collectively • Eventual [ih-ven-choo-uh l] /ɪˈvɛn tʃu əl/ adjective 1. happening at some indefinite future time or after a series of occurrences; ultimate: His mistakes led to his eventual dismissal. 2. depending upon uncertain events; contingent. /ɪˈvɛntʃʊəl/ adjective 1. (prenominal) happening in due course of time; ultimate: the eventual outcome was his defeat adj. 1610s, from French éventuel, […] • Eventuality [ih-ven-choo-al-i-tee] /ɪˌvɛn tʃuˈæl ɪ ti/ noun, plural eventualities. 1. a contingent event; a possible occurrence or circumstance: Rain is an eventuality to be reckoned with in planning the picnic. 2. the state or fact of being ; contingent character. /ɪˌvɛntʃʊˈælɪtɪ/ noun (pl) -ties 1. a possible event, occurrence, or result; contingency n. 1759, “a possible […]
Please help to improve this page yourself if you can. McCulloch County, Texas Map of Texas highlighting McCulloch County Location in the state of Texas Map of USA TX Texas's location in the U.S. Founded 1856 Seat Brady  - Total  - Land  - Water 1,073 sq mi (2,779 km²) 1,069 sq mi (2,769 km²) 4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.38%  - (2000)  - Density 8/sq mi (3/km²) McCulloch County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 8,205. Its county seat is Brady6. McCulloch is named for Benjamin McCulloch, a famous Texas Ranger and Confederate general. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,780 km² (1,073 sq mi). 2,770 km² (1,069 sq mi) of it is land and 10 km² (4 sq mi) of it (0.38%) is water. Major HighwaysEdit Adjacent countiesEdit As of the census2 of 2000, there were 8,205 people, 3,277 households, and 2,267 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/km² (8/sq mi). There were 4,184 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (4/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 84.64% White, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 11.71% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. 27.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 3,277 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 19.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,705, and the median income for a family was $30,783. Males had a median income of $25,844 versus $18,337 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,579. About 17.30% of families and 22.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.40% of those under age 18 and 21.50% of those age 65 or over. Cities and townsEdit The following school districts serve McCulloch County: External linksEdit Coordinates: 31°12′N 99°21′W / 31.20, -99.35 This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at McCulloch County, Texas. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. Ad blocker interference detected!
US Government’s Efforts For Green Technology Green EnergyGoing green is quite straightforward with the amount of data on the web these days. The power is generated really quickly and the unit can also be utilised to make the electricity meter run backwards to indicate decreased consumption and thereby save on the energy bill. Their new Blackl ( ) utilizes renewable power and is now a appropriate green search engine. This is especially necessary as the United Nations project Sustainable Power for All aims to double the share of renewables in the world’s power mix to 30% by 2030. Note: In reality all of these web sites are related and are created by the U.S. Department of Energy. Businesses are also prepared to negotiate desirable bargains in order to make a sale.Green Energy That does not imply that you should discount solar energy as a great power source, it just implies you will require to take steps to make the most of the occasions the sun is shining brightly. Though some contemplate green energy to be as well pricey (users might spend much more for electricity from sustainable sources such as solar or wind plants), concerns about dwindling resources continue to develop an interest in these sources of power. For far more information on how you can create your personal renewable energy systems even if you are a total DIY novice, take a appear and begin taking benefit of the abundance in free of charge energy that surrounds us from the sun, wind, and water! The Earth receives enough sunlight to supply sufficient solar power to meet the world’s energy requirements for an complete year. You can use recyclable materials and Eco-friendly wood to make your property much more energy efficient. One particular such case is that of clean coal technology, where scientists are trying to locate techniques to extract power from coal and other fossil fuels with no all of the damaging side effects. Water power also consists of wave and tidal power, which are both in the infant stage of analysis, as scientists attempt to uncover how to harness the power made from movement of the ocean. The system is transforming a previously toxic brown-field (polluted region) into a clean, green living space. However ironically, in preparation for a presidential race exactly where jobs will likely prove to be of utmost significance, wind industry jobs are falling by the wayside. Hawaii has experimented with ocean thermal energy conversion because the 1970s, but it is estimated to be 15-20 years before this technologies, which is limited to tropical climates, will be obtainable. I don’t genuinely know about the electric stuff but i do study the organic gas industry and in regards to that what Just Power and other independent gas suppliers are doing, They are letting consumers lock in a fixed price for there natural gas. Contemporary household appliances which are rated as hugely effective fall beneath the category of greener variety of power because they call for much less energy production. Modern day green energy history dates back as far as the mid 1800s when scientists and engineers started writing about how to turn light into power. That primitive fire centuries ago has offered birth to what we now understand and class as solar or green energy. On a individual level, making use of renewable energy in your own property can minimize worldwide warming.
Presentation is loading. Please wait. Presentation is loading. Please wait. Academic Strategies Background art courtesy of USU FACT Center. Similar presentations Presentation on theme: "Academic Strategies Background art courtesy of USU FACT Center."— Presentation transcript: 1 Academic Strategies Background art courtesy of USU FACT Center 2 Part 1: Reading a Textbook Textbook reading is a central component of a college education Much of the material you will need to learn will come from textbooks and other assigned readings. Effective reading requires much more than simply sitting down and reading the assigned chapters. 3 Remember Active reading takes practice. The more you read actively, the more skilled you will become. As you develop your skills, both your reading speed and comprehension will improve. 4 Why Annotate? Should I write in my textbook? High school No writing in textbooks! Bookstore buyback. They won’t give me money. MYTH Besides What you value most: cash or the better grade that marking in your textbooks can help you earn.) 5 Why Annotate? Marking in college texts is not only allowed, it is encouraged. Writing allows you to become fully engaged in the reading process, making it one of the most important aspects of reading. This is ACTIVE reading If you have students who have difficulty reading university texts, you may want to refer them to this idea sheet which describes SQ3R method. 6 The “Three Bears Rule” for Marking Text 7 The “Three Bears Rule” for Marking Text Over-marked text Reference: Longman, D.G. and Atkinson, R.H. College and Learning Skills. 6th ed. 2002, Wadsworth Thomson Learning. Chapter 5 8 The “Three Bears Rule” for Marking Text 9 The “Three Bears Rule” for Marking Text Just right” marked text Source: Carol Rosenthal, Academic Resource Center, Study Skills Instruction Module, Text Book Reading Skills. Reference: Longman, D.G. and Atkinson, R.H. College and Learning Skills. 6th ed. 2002, Wadsworth Thomson Learning. Chapter 5 10 Found after three minutes in USU Bookstore 11 Another way of looking at it: From Holschuh, J.P, and Nist, S. L. (2007) Effective College Learning, 1st edition. Longman. p. 160. 12 What you can’t do is nothing. Remember The amount of text you mark will depend on your familiarity with the material. What you can’t do is nothing. 13 Marking and Annotating Text When Should You Mark and Annotate Your Text? Marking and annotating should be done after a “chunk” or unit of thought has been presented and the information can be viewed as a whole. This may mean marking after only one paragraph or after three pages. If you mark as you read, too much is marked and you are unable to see the “big picture” or main concepts. It takes time for the brain to organize information, so if you read, think, and then mark, the main points will develop, and you can decide what you need to mark to remember later. 14 Marking and Annotating Text How Do You Mark and Annotate Your Text? You isolate key information by underlining and highlighting topics, main ideas, and important details. You create meaningful organization of that information by annotating. Annotating refers to writing explanatory notes in the margins of your textbook to organize and remember important information. While you read, look for signals that will tell you what information may be important: Headings Illustrations Key terms and definitions Important people Lists Time sequences or dates 15 What Do You Annotate? Headings: Terms and definitions: Turn headings into a questions. (Who, how, why, what, when) Be sure to write the answers (Use ANS in margin.) Terms and definitions: What terms are important? (italics or bold) Circle terms and underline definitions. In the margin, write the key term. If the key term is also an answer to a question, write ANS above the words in the margin. 16 What Do You Annotate? Important information signaled by lists: Star words that tell you what a list is about. Circle and number the items In the margin, write what the list is about in a word or two. Then list the points in an abbreviated format. If the list is also an answer to a question, write ANS in the margin. 17 What Do You Annotate? Illustrations such as charts, graphs, and diagrams: Circle titles. If title is absent write one. Summarize next to the illustration. 18 What System of Notation Should You Use? Highlighting material is not just underlining; it is also circling, starring, numbering, and generally making an effort to put the material into perspective visually. What you can’t do is nothing. 19 Sample annotation Main Idea Word that you must be able to define Supporting material or definition Numbering of supporting ideas under main Idea Possible exam question Didn’t understand must seek advice Notes in the margin Study guide questions, statements or terms in the margin Indicates a relationship Adapted from: Academic Resource Center, Study Skills Instruction Module, Text Book Reading Skills. Graphic created by: Penny Findlay, Academic Resource Center. 20 This is ACTIVE listening. Part 2: Note Taking You will spend 12 to 18 hours in class every week. You must find an effective note taking strategy to concentrate on and record information for later review. This is ACTIVE listening. 21 Develop a system Note taking ISN’T just writing down what your professor says in class. Note taking IS a process that involves your active involvement and concentration: BEFORE DURING and AFTER class. 22 Before Class: Get prepared. Complete any reading or written assignments. Print and read instructor-provided lecture notes. Write down any questions you want answered by the lecture. Prepare your note taking materials (Cornell pages). 23 During Class: Use good listening and note-taking techniques. Sit as close to the front as possible. Arrive early to get a good seat. Listen for signal words, and watch for cues. Concentrate on the lecture; (ask questions). Record notes. Mark prepared notes. Use chapter notes if applicable. 24 After Class: Deep Learning. Review and condense your notes within 24 hours. Recite aloud the answers or information triggered by the key terms, questions, or statements you have written. Create a written summary of your notes. Frequently review and recite the information. 25 Sample Cornell Note page Image from: 26 Cornell Note-taking Method Developed by Dr. Walter Pauk, a Cornell University professor. Is an effective means for reviewing and organizing your notes into an effective study guide. This is ACTIVE learning 27 There are five stages involved in the Cornell note-taking method. Record Reduce Recite Reflect Review 28 Let’s Visit the ARC website 29 Practical Exercise Everyone make a blank template and continue taking notes in this lecture using the Cornell Method. This is one way to do it. Another suggested in the manual is to have a visiting lecture and a third might be to have the students watch a video. Here are some good video resources: Here is a particularly good lecture on the Fear of Death 30 Prepare to record your notes as in the diagram. Stage 1: RECORD Prepare to record your notes as in the diagram. Include diagrams, illustrations, and questions/answers provided by the professor during his/her lecture. You don’t have to use this method, but… YOU CAN’T DO NOTHING 31 Stage 2: REDUCE As soon after class as you can, review and condense your notes in the recall column. 32 The Ebbinghaus Curve If you do not review new information within hours, percent of information is forgotten after the first exposure to the information. Adapted from Wong, L. (2008). Essential study skills. Wadsworth. p. 272. 33 Stage 2: REDUCE Reviewing notes within 24 hours and frequently thereafter will greatly reduce the amount of material you forget. Without consistent reviews, you will actually have to relearn the information before a test. Relearning information in a short amount of time increases your anxiety and decreases your ability to perform. Adapted from Wong, L. (2008). Essential study skills. Wadsworth. p. 272. 34 Reduce Notes Step 1: Write key words and phrases to summarize main points of the lecture. Step 2: Clarify unclear ideas or examples. Step 3: Develop potential test questions. Step 4: Summarize the lecture in your own words. 35 Stage 3: RECITE Cover up the right-hand column where you recorded your notes, and use the key words, phrases, and questions in the recall column to review the information. Put your answers in your own words as much as possible. If you have difficulty recalling the information successfully, do another review of your lecture notes. 36 Stage 4: REFLECT Reread your notes and think about them. Read your text to supplement and clarify your notes. This helps you to become a more active, critical thinker. 37 Stage 5: REVIEW Briefly review your notes several times per week to retain what you have learned. This “distributed review,” keeps information fresh and decreases your chances of forgetting. Sources: Saunders, L. & N. Call. Your Utah State Experience. IA: Kendall/Hunt (Incl. Alsop, TJ. Principles of Physical Geography: An introduction to Natural Phenomena. IA: Kendall/Hunt References: USU Academic Resource Center, Idea Sheet, “Note-Taking: Cornell Method.” Longman , D.G., & R.H. Atkinson. College Learning and Study Skills. CA: Wadsworth 38 Using Instructor Prepared Notes Instructors may make notes available on Blackboard/Vista/Canvas. Some notes might be available for purchase in the Bookstore, use them. They are not intended as a substitute for a student’s class attendance. Fill in prepared notes with missing info from lectures. Create a study guide with symbols, underlining and annotation. 39 Using Instructor Prepared Notes Use a pen that will clearly mark the information. *, !, or ____________ = instructor's important points. Mark concepts for follow-up. ? = do not understand. Follow up with text, SI, or instructor office hours. : or  = cause and effect, results. ( ), [ ], circles and squares to group information. EX to note examples from the lecture. Add drawings and charts to illustrate. 40 Using Instructor Prepared Notes Review your notes within 24 hours. Review again within a few days to store in long-term memory 41 Using Instructor Prepared Notes 42 Part 3: Test Preparation Test preparation involves a purposeful effort to develop a strong understanding of the course material. You cannot rely on simply looking over your notes or trying to memorize pieces of information. Learning is not the same as memorizing. You must be able to apply your knowledge to problems, examples, issues, or situations that were not discussed in class or in your texts. The ability to use knowledge in new situations requires study activities different from memorizing. This is ACTIVE learning 43 Organizational Strategies These strategies help you connect material to your prior knowledge and aid you in seeing the connections between different ideas and materials. 44 Concept Maps List the key ideas, concepts, terms, and facts from chapter. Arrange in a hierarchy from most inclusive to least inclusive. Draw lines showing connections between the items. Label each line to show the connection. If you start a concept map and discover a better way to organize the material, do not be afraid to start over. 45 Concept Maps 46 Concept Map Practice Scientists pursuing supermassive black holes suspect that these giants merge somewhere in the universe roughly once a year, but they don't know how to find them. They think the evidence is hidden in the powerful gravitational waves and strong bursts of electromagnetic radiation created when the black holes collide. Using computer models, astrophysicists from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, are tracing electromagnetic signatures back to the impact. They are creating a detailed blueprint that will guide other scientists searching for merging black holes, using ordinary visible light and existing telescopes. Simulated models of these mergers will also aid the discovery of gravitational waves, confirming a key prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity. From Astronomy Magazine Use a passage that is something you are excited about. 47 Charts Useful for depicting many kinds of information. 48 Matrices Display information where two or more topics are to be compared. List the topics you want to compare along the top of the chart. List the characteristics you want to use to compare them along the side. List the defining characteristics for each topic. 49 Matrices 50 Matrices We see this all the time: 51 Outlines You do not have to use formal outlining techniques. Develop your own style of organizing the material in a hierarchical structure. If the textbook provides an outline, expand on it to make it your own. YOU CAN’T DO NOTHING 52 Outlines Do not copy text from the book, but paraphrase material in your own words. Integrate material from the readings, lecture, and discussions into one outline. 53 Summaries Powerful way to remember the material Write without referring back to the reading. Being unable to do this indicates a deficit. Fix it. Summaries take practice. include enough information to capture the argument or significant points, but do not copy the text (plagiarism) 54 Summaries Tips for writing summaries: Eliminate trivial and redundant information. Use lists. A summary might be a list. Be discerning about what you include Too much detail will not be helpful. Restate the topic sentences in your own words. If a text does not provide topic sentences, then write your own. 55 Flashcards In courses where there are large amounts of FACTUAL information, the use of flashcards may be helpful. Kinds of material that might be considered appropriate for flashcards are vocabulary words, formulas, equations, definitions, dates, names, etc. 56 Flashcards Are conveniently carried Can be reviewed frequently. Short reviews are more effective. Writing down of the material on the cards is an aid to memory in itself. 57 Hints for making flash cards: Choose the most important facts or concepts from each chapter you read or lecture you attend. Use your own words unless a specific definition is required. Label the cards with a subject heading and date, so you’ll be able to put them into categories for various types of quizzes and tests. 58 Examples: Put terms on one side with definitions and examples on the other side. Place types of math problems on one side with examples on the other side. Draw an illustration on one side with an arrow pointing to the part you need to know and place the answer on the other side. 59 Flashcard Example 60 Flashcard Example 61 Flashcard Example 62 Venn Diagrams Graphic organizers are powerful ways to help understand complex ideas. By using even a basic Venn diagram, you can recognize complex relationships. 63 Venn Diagram Example Download ppt "Academic Strategies Background art courtesy of USU FACT Center." Similar presentations Ads by Google
The cheetah population in Namibia may be the most significant free-ranging The cheetah population in Namibia may be the most significant free-ranging population in the world and an integral population for research regarding the health status of this species. vaccination demonstrate that cheetahs can respond to the vaccine and that vaccination against FeLV contamination may be beneficial should FeLV contamination ever become a threat, as was seen in Iberian lynx and Florida panthers. INTRODUCTION The cheetah population in Namibia is the Everolimus largest free-ranging population of this vulnerable species (1). For more than 2 Rabbit polyclonal to KATNB1. decades, cheetahs have been considered highly susceptible to infectious diseases because of low genetic Everolimus variability, which is usually assumed to impair immune responses to viral challenges (2,C5). Evidence for fatal viral infections in cheetahs comes from an outbreak of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a consequence of feline coronavirus (FCoV) infections, in a captive population in the United States that was kept at nonethologically high density (6,C8) and from a single case of very rapid feline leukemia virus (FeLV) disease progression in a captive Namibian cheetah in 1995 (9). No disease outbreaks have been reported in any free-ranging cheetah population, but several studies have identified antibodies against viruses such as feline herpesvirus (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline parvovirus (FPV), FCoV, canine distemper pathogen (CDV), feline immunodeficiency pathogen (FIV), and rabies pathogen (10,C13). In Namibia, free-ranging cheetahs are in great health generally; no clinical symptoms of viral attacks had been discovered during sampling, and non-e from the histopathological examinations executed after necropsies demonstrated lesions linked to viral attacks (12,C15). A recently available study on main histocompatibility organic (MHC) course I and course II verified the fairly low hereditary variability in cheetahs (2). Regardless of the few MHC course I alleles (10 alleles), Namibian cheetahs can support effective immune system replies against some viral problems still, although their immunocompetence could be limited if they are met with brand-new pathogens (2, 16). Thus, it’s important to monitor the free-ranging cheetah inhabitants in Namibia regularly, particularly for infections that no antibodies have already been reported up to now, such as for example FeLV, an oncogenic gammaretrovirus (10,C13). FeLV is certainly of particular curiosity because, in the 1995 case, a cheetah experienced fast deterioration and passed away from contamination sent from a captive cheetah that tested positive for FeLV antigens. Circumstantial evidence indicated that this origins of the contamination were nonvaccinated feral and domestic cats viremic with FeLV (9). Such a method of Everolimus transmission and a course of disease were also observed in Florida panthers (= 15, assayed in duplicate), as a percentage of the positive-control value (assigned to be 100%). The cutoff value was set at the mean value plus 2.58 times the standard deviation (99% confidence interval for all those negative results). Determination of the cutoff value for the p45 ELISA was performed in the same way, with 5 SPF cats. A compilation of the numbers of animals and samples from free-ranging, captive nonvaccinated, and captive vaccinated cheetahs used for each test is presented in Table 1. TABLE 1 Serological results of ELISAs for the presence of FeLV p27 antigens and antibodies against FeLV p45 and FeLV whole computer virus (FL-74) in free-ranging, captive nonvaccinated, and captive vaccinated cheetahs Western blot analysis. Western blotting (WB) was used to determine the presence of antibodies against FeLV gp70, p58, p27, and the two fragments of p15(E), using 1:100 dilutions of the samples (30). We used 24 serum and 26 plasma samples from 45 free-ranging cheetahs and 11 serum and 45 plasma samples from 45 captive cheetahs; depending on the question examined, different sample sets were used (see Statistical analysis, below). Samples that showed antibodies to FeLV p27 plus one or two p15(E) fragments or to both p15(E) fragments only were considered positive (29, 31). Antibody reactivity against other retroviruses was tested with serum samples from six randomly chosen FeLV-WB-positive and six FeLV-WB-negative free-ranging cheetahs. Samples were tested for reactivity against the following retroviruses (a nice gift to H.L. from the U.S. National Malignancy Institute): baboon endogenous retrovirus, feline RD114 endogenous retrovirus, Rauscher murine leukemia computer virus (RMuLV), and AKR murine leukemia computer virus (AKR-MuLV). Antibodies were visually assessed by WB using 0.5 g of antigen per strip for each virus preparation, with 1:50 dilution from the samples. Total nucleic acidity removal. Total nucleic acids (TNA) had been extracted from 100 l EDTA-treated bloodstream (= 41) and 100 l heparinized plasma (= 71) following the addition of 100 l. Purpose Polysialic acid (polySA) is normally a polymer side string sure Purpose Polysialic acid (polySA) is normally a polymer side string sure to the neural cell adhesion molecule that’s extensively expressed in the top of little cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells. acquired low-titer antibodies against polysialic acidity. All sufferers on the 10 g vaccine dosage level taken care of immediately vaccination with IgM antibody titers against polysialic acidity (median titer 1/1,280 by ELISA), and all except one patient produced IgM and IgG antibodies against the artificial vaccine immunogen, NP-polysialic acidity (median titer 1/10,240). The antibody replies on the 3 g vaccine dosage level had been lower; six of nine sufferers created antibodies against polysialic acidity (median titer 1/160). Post-vaccination sera from 6/9 and 3/9 BMS-790052 2HCl sufferers in the 10 and 3 g groupings reacted highly with individual SCLC cells by fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS). Sera from all sufferers in the 10 g dosage group also acquired bactericidal activity against group B BMS-790052 2HCl meningococci with rabbit supplement. Self-limited quality 3 ataxia of unclear etiology was observed in 1 of 18 sufferers. Conclusions Vaccination with NP-polySACKLH led to constant high-titer antibody replies, using the 10 g dose more immunogenic compared to the 3 g dose significantly. This research establishes the cheapest optimally immunogenic dose of NP-polysialic acid with this NP-polysialic acidCKLH Cd24a conjugate vaccine to be at least 10 g, and it establishes the vaccines security. We plan to include NP-polySA into a polyvalent vaccine against SCLC with four glycolipid antigens also widely indicated in SCLCCGD2, GD3, fucosylated GM1, and globo H. source (colominic acid), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), and sodium cyanoborohydride were from Sigma Chemical Co., (St. Louis, MO). PolySA was further purified over a size exclusion column to yield high molecular excess weight polySA of approximately 10,000 before propionylation and coupling with KLH. For the preparation of propionylated polySA, polySA was first deacetylated by treatment with 2 M NaOH at 107C for 6 h. It was then mixed with sodium bicarbonate remedy and propionic anhydride and incubated at space temperature for approximately 12 h, dialyzed, and lyophilized as previously explained [10]. Substitute of CH3-CO-HN- acetyl organizations BMS-790052 2HCl with CH3-CH2-CO-NH- propionyl organizations was confirmed by NMR (data not demonstrated). NP-polySACKLH conjugation NP-polySACKLH conjugates were prepared as explained by Jennings et al. [10]. The conjugation process cleaved the vicinyl hydroxyl group of the terminal sialic acidity from the polySA by periodate. The periodate technique involved response with meta-periodate from the vicinyl hydroxyl group in polySA leading to the forming of an aldehyde by the end of every polySA string. The aldehyde was after that made to respond with the free of charge N-terminal amino group also to polysialic acidity Flow cytometric evaluation Human little cell lung cancers cell lines N417 and DMS-79 had been bought from ATCC. Goat anti-human IgM-Xuorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC) and goat anti-human IgM-FITC had been extracted from Southern Biotechnology Affiliates Inc., (Birmingham, AL). Fluorescent-activated cell sorting was performed as previously defined [16] to show antibody binding towards the cell surface area from the cell lines. The polySA-positive SCLC cell series H345 offered as the mark. The BMS-790052 2HCl cells had been incubated with 20 l of just one 1:20 diluted sera or BMS-790052 2HCl anti-polySA mAb 5A5 for 30 min on glaciers. After washing, 20 l of just one 1:25 goat anti-human IgG and IgM was added, blended, and incubated for 30 min. After cleaning, the positive people and mean fluorescence strength from the stained cells had been analyzed by stream cytometry. (FAC-Scan, Becton & Dickinson, San Jose, CA). Pre- and top titer post-immunization sera had been run alongside the pretreatment percent positive cells established at about 10%. An optimistic response is thought as a tripling from the percent positive cells with at least. Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is usually a common phenomenon in the Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is usually a common phenomenon in the aging vision. manner. Indeed, clinical studies have supported its use as an alternative to surgery in certain patient populations. However, further research is still needed with respect to greater understanding of the pathophysiology underlying the development of VMT and IMH. narrow-gauge transconjunctival systems with cannulated sclerotomies101, 135, 136, 138, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167 Kelly and Wendel94 first described vitrectomy to close macular holes in 1991 and since then a number of refinements and variations have been described. During vitrectomy, separation of the posterior hyaloid face from the retina is carried out by aspiration if not already present and the core and AZ 3146 peripheral vitreous removed. Peeling of the ILM has been shown to increase MH closure rates. It is thought to work by: (1) removing residual adherent vitreous cortex remnants around the ILM surface; (2) removing associated fibrocellular collections; (3) removing the rigid and less compliant ILM (relative to the retina itself); and (4) causing a retinal glial cell proliferation that may paradoxically help macular hole Mouse monoclonal to CD14.4AW4 reacts with CD14, a 53-55 kDa molecule. CD14 is a human high affinity cell-surface receptor for complexes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS-endotoxin) and serum LPS-binding protein (LPB). CD14 antigen has a strong presence on the surface of monocytes/macrophages, is weakly expressed on granulocytes, but not expressed by myeloid progenitor cells. CD14 functions as a receptor for endotoxin; when the monocytes become activated they release cytokines such as TNF, and up-regulate cell surface molecules including adhesion molecules.This clone is cross reactive with non-human primate. contraction and repair.43, 95 Peeling is generally carried out using a pinch-peel technique with fine-tipped forceps. Various aids to initiate peeling such as the Tano diamond dusted scraper are also used. The ILM is usually peeled to a radius of approximately one disc diameter around the hole. A variety of dyes including indocyanine green (ICG), Trypan blue, and Brilliant Blue G can be used to aid visualisation of the ILM.71, 72, 96, 97, 98 They demonstrate varying degrees of ILM specificity and are sometimes used sequentially to peel ERM if present and then ILM. Increasingly, brokers designed to settle onto the retina in fluid are used to avoid the need for fluid-air exchange. Dyes are left around the retinal surface for the minimal time to allow staining (typically less than 1?min) before being washed out to reduce the possibility of toxic effects. In particular, there has been much debate about the risks of toxicity with ICG. Following completion of vitrectomy and ILM peeling and careful checking of the peripheral retina for retinal tears, an air-fluid exchange is usually carried out, with subsequent gas exchange.97, 98 Gas is used to facilitate hole closure by two key mechanisms. First, the surface (interfacial) tension of the gas across the hole prevents trans-hole fluid flow from the vitreous cavity and also reduces trans-retinal uveal-scleral outflow with reduced retinal oedema. The gas interface also acts as a surface to allow glial cell migration to bridge the gap between the retinal edges.43, 99 A variety of gases have been used to achieve the above aims with a gradual change in practice from most surgeons using longer-acting gases such as perfluoropropane (C3F8) to an increasing use of shorter-acting gases such as sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) or even air.20, 76, 100, 101 Silicone oil, both light and heavy, have been used by some surgeons following failure to close IMH at a first procedure.77 Once the AZ 3146 gas has been absorbed (or oil removed), the aqueous humour gradually fills the vitreous chamber. Vitrectomy with gas in the age group affected by IMH commonly results in cataract formation and phacoemulsification is commonly combined with vitrectomy to velocity visual recovery. Adopting a face-down posture after completion of PPV has been recommended conventionally, but it has been increasingly realised that this is not usually necessary, particularly with smaller holes.77, 102 Gas can still bridge the defect of a macular hole without face-down positioning as long as the patient does not lie supine for the whole duration. With vitrectomy for VMT, again the main surgical aim is usually to remove the aberrantly attached posterior hyaloid face. ERM as described is usually a common accompaniment AZ 3146 of VMT and ERM and/or ILM peeling is commonly carried out as well to remove all associated traction. Gas tamponade is not AZ 3146 routinely used unless it is needed to address peripheral retinal pathology or to assist wound closure. Clinical outcomes: VMT The majority. The heterohexameric origin recognition complex (ORC) acts as a scaffold for The heterohexameric origin recognition complex (ORC) acts as a scaffold for the G1 Troxacitabine phase assembly of pre-replicative complexes (pre-RC). S phase and DNA combing evaluation pursuing bromodeoxyuridine incorporation uncovered that the efficiency of replication origin firing was severely compromised. (Bell and Stillman 1992 ORC is composed of six unique subunits and orthologs of each have now been found in a wide range of eukaryotic species (examined in DePamphilis 2005 In early G1 phase ORC promotes the origin-association of the clamp loading protein Cdc6 in an ATP-dependent manner (Speck (Lee and Bell 1997 Even though Orc6 is an essential protein in budding yeast (Li and Herskowitz 1993 it appears to be dispensable for these functions and its role in cell cycle progression has yet to be decided. Clearly Orc6 association with the other budding yeast ORC subunits suggests a function in DNA replication. Li and Herskowitz disrupted one copy of in a diploid yeast strain and following sporulation were able to observe up to two of rounds of cell division from spores inheriting the knockout. Arrested cells had a large budded phenotype often observed for DNA replication mutants but the stage of cell cycle arrest could not be determined by FACS analysis due to an insufficient quantity of cells. Studies involving the replication of sperm DNA in egg extracts indicate that Orc6 can promote DNA replication in this system (Chesnokov with a sequence encoding the GFP variant eYFP in a haploid yeast strain (DY-1) resulting in expression of full-length Orc6 with a C-terminal eYFP tag under the control of the natural promoter (DY-41). Studies with human malignancy cells show that in addition to the expected nuclear localization during interphase cytoplasmic pools of Orc6 exist with localization observed at both the cell periphery during mitosis with the midbody during cytokinesis (Prasanth cells (Chesnokov Orc6 is normally confined towards the nucleus we built a double-tagged haploid stress expressing Orc6 using a C-terminal eCFP fusion aswell as the nuclear pore proteins Nup49 using a C-terminal eYFP fusion (DY-65). Regardless of cell routine stage Orc6 was regularly bounded with the nuclear membrane as specified by the indication for Nup49 (Amount 1C). Although we can not rule out extra private pools of Orc6 HOPA below our threshold of recognition we conclude Troxacitabine that there is no significant localization of budding fungus Orc6 at either the cell periphery or on the mother-bud throat. Amount 1 Orc6 localizes to subnuclear foci through the entire cell routine. Orc6-eYFP Nup49-eYFP and Orc6-eCFP cell preparation and live imaging was performed as defined in Components and methods. Troxacitabine (A) An individual cell was imaged more than a 3 h time frame. Both a shiny … To further check out the subnuclear localization of Orc6 in live cells 20 pictures taken in speedy succession had been stacked to improve the indication as defined in the Components and strategies. The resultant higher quality images uncovered a design of punctate Orc6 foci (Amount 1B) similar from what continues to be previously seen in set cells for various other presumed replication stock constituents such as for example Orc2 (Pasero promoter using a glucose-repressible promoter. Within this Troxacitabine strain structure a series encoding three copies from the HA epitope was fused to the beginning of the ORF to facilitate the monitoring of Orc6 amounts. Civilizations of DY-36 and isogenic wild-type (wt) stress DY-26 were grown up on 2% galactose/1% raffinose (YPG/R) moderate overnight cleaned in ddH2O and resuspended in 2% blood sugar (YPD) medium. Pursuing 4 h of development in YPD the quantity of Orc6 in the cells acquired fallen below regular endogenous amounts as judged by immunodetection of whole-cell ingredients (Amount 2A) and these cells obviously showed growth flaws at subsequent period points in accordance Troxacitabine with the wt handles (Amount 2B). We further wt and compared stress development in YPD by detatching aliquots at 3-h intervals for FACS evaluation. At all period points following change to YPD the wt stress exhibited prominent 1C and 2C peaks quality of asynchronous civilizations (Amount 2C). On the other hand by 3 h the cells had been already. Crohn’s disease affects those people with polygenic risk elements. fibrosis reveals Crohn’s disease affects those people with polygenic risk elements. fibrosis reveals common occasions are affecting the pathways and genes essential to advancement of fibrosis. This review will concentrate on what’s known about the systems by which hereditary and epigenetic risk elements determine advancement of fibrosis in Crohn’s disease and comparison that with various other fibrotic circumstances. promoter weighed against patients with an increase of severe fibrosis financing support to the notion. Each one of these aforementioned results suggest transmission of the epigenetic suppressive version that Ciluprevir will help offspring better adjust to potential hepatic insults that may bring about fibrosis. Suppressive adaptation had not been observed in the setting of renal fibrosis however.24 Despite the fact that all cells inside the intestine or an organism talk about a common genome gene appearance within an individual cell type is regulated by the initial epigenetic events that affect that cell type and could be distinct from neighboring cell types. This may take into account the occasionally contradictory epigenetic systems that are Ciluprevir defined as regulating gene appearance in various cell types such as for example epithelial immune system and mesenchymal cells. Hence understanding the systems regulating gene manifestation inside a cell type essential to an illness process for instance mesenchymal cells and fibrosis predicated on an epigenetic evaluation of DNA from heterogeneous cell populations could be challenging. Epigenetic adjustments that control gene manifestation and function are grouped into four primary types: DNA methylation histone adjustments nucleosome placing and little or non-coding interfering RNAs. No info on nucleosome placing as it pertains to fibrosis in Crohn’s disease is present to date and for that reason this will never be talked about further right here. The other procedures are talked about in more detail as they relate with the introduction of fibrosis generally and to what’s known about the introduction of fibrosis in individuals with Crohn’s disease (Desk 1). Desk 1. Genes that may be controlled by epigenetic adjustments in the advancement of body organ fibrosis. DNA methylation Methylation of cytosine by alternative of the hydrogen constantly in place 5 (5MeC) in the framework of CpG dinucleotides that are Ciluprevir clustered in CpG islands can be a common Ciluprevir DNA changes. From the 28 CpG dinucleotides within the human being genome 60 are methylated.25 Methylation typically however not always represses gene expression by either interfering using the binding of transcription factors with their DNA binding sites or recruiting methyl-CpG-binding proteins that catch the attention of histone and chromatin-modifying enzymes. DNA methyltransferases (DNMT)-1 and DNMT-3a and 3b will be the major enzymes in charge of methylation of CpG islands.26 DNMT-1 is a maintenance methyltransferase whereas 3b and DNMT-3a are de novo methyltransferases. Methylation is reversed by two procedures passive and dynamic demethylation. The ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenase (TET) category of enzymes function to catalyze energetic demethylation via 5MeC hydroxymethylation (5HMeC) which draws in DNA excision and restoration machinery repairing DNA to a demethylated position.27 Passive demethylation occurs when maintenance methylation is progressive and absent dilution of 5MeC occurs during DNA replication.28 DNA methylation and fibrosis Alterations of DNA methylation have already been examined in several disease functions that bring about cells fibrosis including systemic sclerosis pulmonary and cardiac fibrosis hepatic fibrosis and intestinal fibrosis in Crohn’s disease.21 29 Hypermethylation of specific genes aswell as global shifts in DNA methylation have Ciluprevir already been determined in these organ systems. Two genomic research in individuals with idiopathic Rabbit polyclonal to MICALL2. pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) proven intensive DNA methylation adjustments in the control of IPF gene manifestation.36-38 Different degrees of CpG island methylation can be found in specific genes regulating a fibroproliferative phenotype in IPF and myeloproliferative diseases via miR-17~92 involve an elevated DNMT-1-mediated feedback loop involving both microRNAs and DNA methylation.39 40 Notably altered CpG island methylation in the α-soft muscle actin (α-SMA) promoter was within pulmonary. The core of skeletal muscle Z-discs consists of actin filaments from The core of skeletal muscle Z-discs consists of actin filaments from adjacent sarcomeres that are cross-linked by α-actinin homodimers. actin-binding domains. All ZASP isoforms contain the exon 6-encoded ZASP-like motif that is mutated in zaspopathy a myofibrillar myopathy (MFM) whereas the exon 8-11 junction-encoded peptide is exclusive to the postnatal long ZASP isoform (ZASP-LΔex10). MFM is characterized by disruption of skeletal muscle Z-discs and accumulation of myofibrillar degradation products. Wild-type and mutant ZASP interact with α-actin α-actinin and myotilin. Expression of mutant but not wild-type ZASP leads to Z-disc disruption and F-actin accumulation in mouse skeletal muscle as in MFM. Mutations in the actin-binding domain of ZASP-LΔex10 but not other isoforms cause disruption of the actin cytoskeleton in muscle cells. These isoform-specific mutation effects highlight the essential role of the ZASP-LΔex10 isoform in F-actin organization. Our results show that MFM-associated ZASP mutations in the actin-binding domain have deleterious effects on the core structure of the Z-discs in skeletal muscle. (14 15 ZASP has six alternatively spliced isoforms that are cardiac- or skeletal muscle-specific in mouse and human (16 17 In human skeletal muscle alternative splicing of exons 9 and 10 generates three isoforms (Fig. 1 cDNA as a template (IMAGE4291498 Open Biosystems). The full-length coding sequence of ZASP-L was obtained in two steps. Biotin-HPDP A fragment encoding exons 1-7 was amplified by PCR with ZASP-Sas a template and cloned into vector pcDNA3. Subsequently a fragment encoding exons 7-16 (without exon 9) was amplified with human cDNA as a template (IMAGE40080656 K. K. Dnaform Yokohama City Japan) and added to the exon 1-7 clone with a unique EcoRI restriction site in exon 7 to obtain Biotin-HPDP a full-length ZASP-L construct. Fragments encoding human exon 6 and exons 8-10?11 were amplified by PCR with ZASP-L as a template. A Biotin-HPDP fragment of ZASP cDNA with deletion of either sZM or exon 10 was generated by Gene Synthesis (GenScript) and incorporated into ZASP constructs by a fragment swap using unique BstEII EcoRI and Bsu36I restriction sites within the cDNA. The A165V and the Biotin-HPDP A147T mutations were introduced by site-directed mutagenesis. These ZASP Biotin-HPDP cDNA fragments and full-length constructs were cloned into the Y2H bait vector pGBKT7 (Clontech) a pcDNA3-FLAG vector and EGFP-N1 (Clontech) to enable eukaryotic expression and pGEX-5X-1 (GE Life Sciences) and pET-28c(+) (Novagen) for prokaryotic expression. A full-length human skeletal α-actin 1 (ACTA1) cDNA was amplified by PCR with the ACTA1 cDNA clone as a template (LIFESEQ979605 Thermo Scientific GenBankTM accession no. NM_001100) and cloned into the Y2H prey vector pGADT7 and the pCMV-HA vector for eukaryotic expression (Clontech). This cDNA was used as a template to generate shorter fragments of ACTA1. Fragments encoding either the spectrin rod domain (ACTN2 (259-745)) or the EF-hand domain (ACTN2 (740-894)) of α-actinin-2 (GenBankTM accession no. BC051770) were amplified by PCR with the cDNA clone as a template (IMAGE6198688 Open Biosystems). A full-length cDNA fragment of human (GenBankTM accession no. AF039018) was a gift from Dr. Jari Yl?nne (University of Oulu Finland). This was used as a template to generate a Mouse monoclonal to CD35.CT11 reacts with CR1, the receptor for the complement component C3b /C4, composed of four different allotypes (160, 190, 220 and 150 kDa). CD35 antigen is expressed on erythrocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, B -lymphocytes and 10-15% of T -lymphocytes. CD35 is caTagorized as a regulator of complement avtivation. It binds complement components C3b and C4b, mediating phagocytosis by granulocytes and monocytes. Application: Removal and reduction of excessive amounts of complement fixing immune complexes in SLE and other auto-immune disorder. shorter internal fragment of ALP encoding amino acids 107-273. The cDNA fragments of and were cloned into pGADT7. The vectors pGBKT7-p53 and pGADT7-T were purchased from Clontech. All DNA constructs were sequenced to confirm that the coding regions were intact and in-frame with the appropriate tag. Antibodies The following primary antibodies were used: mouse anti-ZASP (catalog no. H00011155-M06 Abnova) rabbit anti-α-actinin-2 (catalog no. 2310-1 Epitomics) rabbit anti-myotilin (catalog no. ab68915 Abcam) mouse anti-α-tubulin (catalog no. T6199 Sigma) rabbit anti-HA tag (catalog no. ab9110 Abcam) mouse anti-FLAG tag (catalog no. F1804 Sigma) mouse anti-skeletal muscle α-actin (catalog no. 5C5 Sigma) mouse anti-GST (catalog no. G1160 Sigma) and goat anti-GST (catalog no. 27-4577-01 GE Life Sciences). Yeast Two-hybrid Screening A Biotin-HPDP yeast two-hybrid screen was performed using the Matchmaker Gold system (Clontech). Briefly Y2HGold yeast cells were transformed with the plasmid pGBKT7 encoding the GAL4 DNA binding domain fused in frame to sZM-132aa WT or A165V. Transformants were mated with Y187. Tegafur (FT) is a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) used in tumor Tegafur (FT) is a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) used in tumor chemotherapy as well as the bioactivation of Foot to 5-FU is principally catalyzed by cytochrome P450 (CYP) in hepatic microsomes. expressing only NADPH-P450 oxidoreductase and cytochrome b5 had been utilized as control also. These enzymes had been kept at ?80°C until use. Assay of 5-FU development from Foot 5 shaped from Foot was put through extensive fat burning capacity by dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) contaminating individual hepatic preparations. As a result a potent DPD inhibitor CDHP was often added to prevent the unexpected lack of 5-FU (Ikeda et al. 2000; Yamamiya et al. 2010). Incubation blend for hepatic microsomal fat burning capacity contained Foot microsomes (1 mg proteins/mL) 0.1 mmol/L CDHP and an NADPH-generating program comprising 1.3 mmol/L β-NADP+ 3.3 mmol/L blood sugar-6-phosphate 3.3 mmol/L magnesium chloride and 0.4 units glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in 100 mmol/L Tris (pH 7.4). Metabolic response by S9 and cytosol (each 2 mg proteins/mL) was completed in 100 mmol/L phosphate (pH 7.4) because TPase requires phosphate ions for catalyzing the response. In some instances insect microsomes expressing recombinant CYP isoforms (20 pmol/mL) had been put into the incubation mixtures in either 50 100 mmol/L phosphate (pH 7.4) or 100 mmol/L Tris (pH 7.4) based on supplier’s suggestion. Microsomal proteins concentrations of most cDNA-expressed CYPs had been altered to 0.5 mg protein/mL by LEE011 adding control microsomes expressing NADPH-P450 cytochrome and oxidoreductase b5. The response for the assay of Foot fat burning capacity was initiated by adding the substrate following preincubation for 5 min at 37°C. After incubation at 37°C the reaction was stopped by adding three volumes of ice-cold acetonitrile. The incubation occasions of microsomes cytosol and S9 were 15 15 and 30 min respectively. After centrifugation the supernatant was collected and stored at ?80°C until the determination of 5-FU. Because a small portion of FT is usually nonenzymatically converted to 5-FU the content of 5-FU spontaneously created was subtracted from total yield obtained after incubation to correct the activity. The spontaneous degradation of FT to 5-FU was evaluated using enzymes inactivated by heating them at 100°C for 5 min. Inhibition study The effects LEE011 of inhibitors of CYP isoforms and TPase and anti-CYP antibodies on 5-FU formation from FT enantiomers catalyzed by human hepatic preparations were evaluated. In inhibition assays FT enantiomers were used at the concentrations of 30 μmol/L. 1-Aminobenzotriazole (1 mmol/L) and TPI (10 μmol/L) had been used as non-selective inhibitors of CYP isoforms and TPase respectively. To judge the efforts of CYP isoforms towards the enantioselective fat burning capacity of Foot furafylline LEE011 (25 μmol/L) tranylcypromine (5 μmol/L) ticlopidine (20 μmol/L) quinidine (1 μmol/L) diethyldithiocarbamate (100 μmol/L) and ketoconazole (1 μmol/L) had been utilized as JNK3 CYP-selective inhibitors for CYP1A2 CYP2A6 CYP2C19 CYP2D6 CYP2E1 and CYP3A respectively. Inhibitors had been dissolved in methanol and diluted with 100 mmol/L phosphate (pH 7.4) or 100 mmol/L Tris (pH 7.4) so the final focus of solvent in the incubation mix was 0.5%. Methanol was also put into the control at the same focus as the circumstances with inhibitors. Inhibitory ramifications of anti-CYP antibodies had been analyzed by preincubating microsomes using the antibodies for 10 min on glaciers. Each polyclonal anti-CYP antibody was utilized at a focus varying 10-40 μL/mg microsomal proteins based on the method recommended with the provider. The response was performed likewise as defined above aside from analyzing the inhibitory aftereffect of furafylline. Because furafylline is certainly a powerful LEE011 mechanism-based inhibitor for CYP1A the enantioselective fat burning capacity of Foot was initiated following preincubation of microsomes with furafylline in the current presence of an NADPH-generating program for 20 min at 37°C. Quantification of 5-FU Focus of 5-FU was motivated utilizing a LC/MS/MS program. The analytical program contains a Horsepower1100 liquid chromatograph (Agilent Technology CA) in conjunction with an API4000 triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer (Applied Biosystems CA) built with Turbo V supply and ESI user interface. Sample parting was performed using an Unison UK-Amino column (2.0 mm i.d. 100 mm 3 μm ×; Imtakt Kyoto Japan) at.
Embryo Growth Phase in the Mother Womb Pregnancy is a highly-awaited part of the pair husband and wife as something other then it is also not pregnant, and let's be grateful if some of us who have entered this period of pregnancy, the pregnancy period is a very fun and very interesting, but you have to know whether the growth phase fetus in the womb? Sunday 0-4 In the early weeks, the fetus has a body length of approximately 2 mm. Development also marked the emergence of the embryo of the brain, spinal marrow which is simple, and the signs that will face. Sunday 4-8 When the pregnancy began to reach the age of 6 weeks age, the heart began to rattle fetus, and all other organs began to form. Bone-appear facial bones, eyes, toes, hands and Sunday 8-12 When entering the weeks, the body's organs have primary fetus. Head size is greater than body, so that the brain can accommodate the growing rapidly. He also has a chin, nose, and a clear lid. In the womb, fetus start surmounted fetal fluids and can perform activities such as kicking with the soft. Body organs fetus has been the main form. Sunday 12-16 Lungs start developing fetus heart and tap can be heard through the instruments ultrasonografi (USG). Can form the starting face expression and start to grow eyebrow and eyelash. Now he can play his head and open mouth. His hair began to grow rough and colorful. Sunday 16-20 He can start responding to her mother's voice. Root-root of the tooth still has to appear on the back teeth susu. Her body is covered with fine hair called lanugo. The small start now more coordinated and organized. He can suck thumb and reacts to her mother's voice. Edge-edge taste senses and start developing a sense can distinguish sweet and bitter, and fingers began to appear examination. Sunday 20-24 At this time, the large body of poppet is comparable with the body. Tools kelaminnya start established, earlobe nose open, and he started to respiratory movement. The centers also began to harden tulangnya. Besides, now he began to have certain times to sleep. Sunday 24-28 Under the skin, fat has begun to accumulate, whereas in the skin of his scalp hair began bertumbuhan, sheath eyes open, and start otaknya active. He can now hear, either voice from within and from outside (the environment). He can recognize his mother's voice and tap heart grow fast if her mother spoke. Or can be said that at the time this is a time-period for the fetus began to prepare his day. Sunday 28-32 Although gerakannya have started limited because of the weight was increasing, but the eyes have started to see the light blinks when the stomach wall through the mother. His head is turned down. Lung-parunya not perfect, but at this time if he was born into the world, the small may have been likely to survive. 36 Sunday His head has been in the pelvis, as though "prepare" for the birth to the world. He was breathing practice, suck, and swallow. Hair in fine sekujur body has disappeared. Ususnya filled mekonium (feces in the new born baby) which usually will be issued two days after he was born. While this is very close confinement, and can occur at any time. Comments : 0 Comments“Embryo Growth Phase in the Mother Womb” Post a Comment Not Comments Spam Link Exchange Let's change our link? Copy/paste this HTML code in your Blog, i'll backlink too... Tips & Tutorial ShoutMix chat widget   © Free Blogger Templates 'Greenery' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008 Back to TOP
How-to: Quickly transferring your choice of data from an old Mac to a new one Not long ago I purchased an older Macintosh computer for use as a desktop machine. I depend on a MacBook Pro for my everyday use, but there are times when I need a second computer, running concurrently with the MBP, for research. I needed to find a relatively fast and easy way to transfer certain files and folders from my workhorse machine to my recently-obtained older one. I already have two Mac desktops–an iMac Indigo model from early 2001, which has a slower processor (500MHz); and a 2002 iMac G4 (Flat Panel) (the cool looking flatscreen-monitor-on-a-stalk machine known as Sunflower), which has a not-much-faster 800MHz processor. Let me take a few moments to try and explain why one might have so many computers. It’s a sad fact of personal computers that a sort of unplanned obsolescence takes place. Moore’s Law–which is really not a law but more of an observation–states that processor speed will double roughly every two years. Since everyone wants the newest and best available and not yesterday’s models, and computer manufacturers don’t design a way to add fasters processors or allow most circuit board components to be upgradeable, these older computers have much in common with the rusted and decaying hulks of metal, glass and plastic that are the abandoned automobiles one often sees in vacant lots grown up with weeds. The difference is that these computers still function. While older cars possess moving parts that eventually give way and wear out, ending their operational use, computers nearly always still function much the same as new. While the reason for this is obviously that computers have very few moving parts, there is another more important element. To continue the automobile analogy: it would be as if every other year cars were made to go twice as fast. While this is an interesting idea in itself, further imagine that as this was taking place, both the maximum and minimum speed limits on highways were increased, to coincide with the release of the newer, faster automobiles. This would likely mean changes in the way these roads were built as well, to accommodate the advanced vehicles. Therefore, a car that was several years old and had a top speed of 70 mph, for instance, would soon be legally unable to even get on the highway once the minimum speed limit was increased to 75. So it is with personal computers. While all parts might still function as originally intended, software that was once less complex and smaller in data size soon increases in both complexity and relative size to meet the heftier demands of the newer and more powerful machines. Imagine that you get a raise at work and go out and buy new furniture. Well, the new furniture is bigger and has more pieces that the old, so now you have to move to a new home because you need the extra space. The furniture is that new software that you want to or have to run…your aging computer is your old home. Simply put–older machines can’t effectively run newer more advanced software as well. They become sluggish and are generally unresponsive–if they are even capable of running it at all. Sadly, my most recently acquired Mac will eventually fall by the side of the road as well…but for now, it works well and does what I want. It’s a PowerMac G4 FW800, and the first machine to have a Firewire (FW) 800 port, which allows data transfer of about 800 megabits per second (Mbit/s)–actually 786.432 Mbit/s. This is almost twice as fast as USB 2.0 (at 480 Mbit/s), which up until recently was the data transfer most often used by Windows-based computers. I tend to be attracted to computers that hold some kind of milestone or signpost in history. The Mirror Drive Door Macs (of which this is one) were only around a short time, but were among the fastest and most powerful of all computers for that span. Another plus is it is one of the first of the older models that will run OS X 10.5 Leopard, the last OS available for PPC processors (Apple switched to Intel in 2006). I’ve always been fond of this version of the Mac’s operating system. I wanted to transfer my personal settings, files and folders from the MacBook Pro to this machine. Apple has created an application to do just that, called Migration Assistant. Migration Assistant’s opening window (click to enlarge). Credit: Apple Inc. One of the very good reasons to utilize Migration Assistant is that it allows the use of Firewire to transfer data from machine to machine. This Mac has USB 1.1, which is okay for most things…but it has a top speed for data transfer of 12 Mbit/s, and if I used that to transfer the data it would be a long and arduous process…and depending on how much data I have, it could take somewhere on the magnitude of days to complete. One of the problems with Migration Assistant is that it doesn’t allow you to select individual files or folders. The app’s twin, Setup Assistant–which appears when you first install a new OS or start up a brand new Mac–is great for the initial transfer of information, and works quite well. But it won’t allow you to choose individual files and folders either. Maybe you have an external hard drive filled with hundreds of gigabytes of pictures and family videos. If you wanted to transfer only certain data from that drive, neither Assistant could help you. Another problem is that Migration Assistant isn’t designed to try and transfer data from a newer OS to an older machine–you’ll get the “There is no version of OS X on this machine” message on the older computer (“this machine” meaning the one with the newer OS). So, if you’re trying to accomplish what I am–in either or both examples–there has to be another way. Fortunately, there is. The trick is to allow the app to make the Firewire connection for you…then just transfer the information yourself. If it sounds complicated, it’s not. It’s actually not much harder than copying and pasting from one to the other. The first thing you’ll want to do is disable FileVault, if you use it. FileVault is a way to keep your Mac’s data more safe and secure, should it fall into the wrong hands. It encrypts that dataconverts it to a special type of code–that makes it extremely difficult for anyone that doesn’t know the code to translate it. Chances are, if you have this you already know about it. It’s a special option and is something that you could not turn on accidentally. If you have questions or need assistance in turning it off or learning more about it, you can find instructions here for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, or here for 10.7 Lion and 10.8 Mountain Lion. Next you’ll want to start Migration Assistant on the Destination Mac–the one that will be receiving the information. It’s found in the Applications folder>Utilities subfolder. (Full instructions for using the app can be found here.) Follow the step by step directions found on the display. Briefly, this is what you’ll do (I would advise reading the instructions found at the above link if you are unfamiliar with the procedure). Click the Continue button on the Destination Mac after each step: • Connect the appropriate Firewire cable to both machines (either FW400 or 800–the cables aren’t interchangeable). • Set the Source Mac up in Target Disk mode. This essentially involves making it into a giant hard drive.You do this by restarting it and holding down the “T” key as soon as the screen goes black. Continue to hold down the “T” key until you see the big Firewire symbol appear. • When the message “Firewire connection established” appears, STOP. • You can now minimize the Migration Assistant. We won’t be needing it for the remainder of the transfer, but don’t close it completely or you could disrupt the connection. • By now you should have the icon of an orange rectangle bearing the Firewire symbol appearing on the Destination Mac’s display. Its name will be the same as the Source Mac’s hard drive, and is a representation of it. (You might have more than one, depending on how many drives you have in the Source Mac.) • Now, all you have to do is double-click on the Source Mac’s drive icon found on the Destination Mac’s display to find what you’d like to transfer, open the Destination Mac’s hard drive icon to locate where you’d like to put it, highlight and drag the files and folders you want from one to the other. • It’s important to remember that you’re only copying the files and folders, not actually moving them. • This is the easy part–you wait for the transfer to complete. • Once you’re done copying all the data you wanted to transfer, highlight the Source Mac’s hard drive icon and drag it to the Destination Mac’s Trash. This ejects the drive. • DO NOT DISCONNECT THE FIREWIRE CABLE UNTIL YOU HAVE EJECTED THE DRIVE! It’s possible you could damage the Source Mac’s drive if you don’t eject it first from the Destination Mac’s desktop. • Once it no longer appears on the desktop, you can disconnect the Firewire cable from both machines. • Restart the Source Mac by pressing the Power button to turn it off. After a few moments, press the button again to start it up. • You’re done! By following these instructions you can enjoy the higher speed of a Firewire data transfer, which is especially good if your machine is otherwise only capable of the snail’s pace slooowwwness of the older USB 1.1 standard. (Note: it is also possible to connect the computers directly with a short length of ethernet cable, which should provide the same results. While I have not attempted this transfer method, more on it can be found here–almost at the end of the article. Click the link marked Wireless (Wi-Fi) or Ethernet Migration.”) Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. 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Mating Glow-worms I’ve been spending a lot of nights recently on a Nightjar study (photos to follow), which, due to the crepuscular nature of the Nightjar, often gives opportunities for other interesting wildlife sightings, such as these mating Glow-worms. The light from glow worms is cold, and is a form of bioluminescence. It is far more efficient than most light sources we are familiar with. It is caused when a molecule called luciferin is oxydised to produce oxyluciferin, with the enzyme luciferase acting as a catalyst in the reaction. Adult Lampyris noctiluca do not have the same control over the oxygen supply of many fireflies, which can switch their lights on and off in an instant, and take minutes to switch on or off. Larvae, however, have smaller light-emitting organs and can twinkle briefly. Male glow worms have the same ability, but it is rare to see them glow. 4 responses to “Mating Glow-worms Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
The Lion’s Share One of our read aloud stories this week was The Lion’s Share – A Tale of Halving Cake and Eating it, too written and illustrated by Matthew McElligott A little ant is invited to a special dinner hosted by lion and she wants to make a great impression. She is appalled by the manners and behaviour of the other guests who all arrived late and ate their way sloppily through the meal. After dinner, lion brings out a large iced cake and tells his guests to help themselves. Students were suspicious. “He is just going to fatten them up and then he’ll eat them all,” suggested Jeremiah. Ricky agreed but added, “He will need a pack to bring down that elephant!” The animals each took half of the cake and passed it on. The pieces became smaller and smaller (1/2 became 1/4 then 1/8 etc.) until the ant received her piece and crumbled it while attempting to slice the tiny sliver into two. The animals all appeared offended, accusing the ant of not sharing. The ant, wanting to make up for her supposed transgression, offered to bake a special cake for the lion. Well . . . none of the other animals wanted to be outdone by the ant and begin to promise cakes as well – each offering to bake twice as many as the last offer. “Wow! This is like math!” exclaimed Jenny as students began doubling the numbers to predict what the next offer would be. After each animal had made his or her offer, we added all of the promised cakes together using a variety of addition strategies. 511 cakes! (1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 32 + 64 + 128 + 256) “Why was each animal promising to bake twice as many?” someone asked. (It’s great when students get to use math vocabulary in a meaningful context as it is often the language and not the operations which throw them with word problems) Students answered. “To show off.” “To beat the others.” “They are competing.” “But the ant was just calm.” said Scott. The rest rushed it and the ant’s cake was the best.” observed Kevin. “The ant wanted to make it special but the rest were competing.” Jena agreed. We had a great conversation about quality vs. quantity. Then the math thinking just began to flow. Alyson noted, “511 cakes would take more than a year to eat if you ate one cake a day.” “But less than 2 years,” said Ricky. “Because if you double 365 and you get 300 and 300 – that’s 600 so you already know it is more than 511.” A lovely read aloud that led to some spontaneous math thinking. Fractions. Doubling. Addition. And some pointers on table manners! What could be better? Highly recommended. Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture Facebook photo Google+ photo Connecting to %s
Ebola virus Ebola virus ēbō´lə [key], a member of a family ( Filovidae ) of RNA viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers. The virus, named for the region in Congo (Kinshasa) where it was first identified in 1976, emerged from the rain forest, where it survives in as yet unconfirmed hosts, possibly several species of fruit bats experimental evidence also suggests that wild and domestic swine may be a reservoir of the disease. The virus can be fatal to chimpanzees and gorillas as well as humans. In 1989 a similar virus was found in monkeys imported to the United States. Several strains of the virus found in Africa cause hemorrhagic fever one found in the W Pacific does not. Once a person is infected with the virus, the disease has an incubation period of 2–21 days however, some infected persons are asymptomatic. Initial symptoms are sudden malaise, headache, and muscle pain, progressing to high fever, vomiting, severe hemorrhaging (internally and out of the eyes and mouth) and in 50%–90% of patients, death, usually within days. The likelihood of death is governed by the virulence of the particular Ebola strain involved. Ebola virus is transmitted in body fluids and secretions it may possibly also be transmitted through the air by aerosol droplets. There is no vaccine and no cure a number of treatments for the disease, including a vaccine, are being developed, but they remain experimental. See D. Quammen, Ebola (2014). See more Encyclopedia articles on: Pathology Browse By Subject
JoVE Chemistry Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems 1,2,3, 1,2, 1,2, 1,3,4, 1,2, 1, 1,2 1NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 2NASA Astrobiology Institute, Icy Worlds, 3Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, 4Citrus College Downloads Comments Metrics Publish with JoVE You must be subscribed to JoVE to access this content. Enter your email to receive a free trial: By clicking "Submit", you agree to our policies. Admit it, you like to watch. We describe chemical garden formation via injection experiments that allow for laboratory simulations of natural chemical garden systems that form at submarine hydrothermal vents. Date Published: 11/18/2015, Issue 105; doi: 10.3791/53015 Cite this Article Barge, L. M., Abedian, Y., Doloboff, I. J., Nuñez, J. E., Russell, M. J., Kidd, R. D., et al. Chemical Gardens as Flow-through Reactors Simulating Natural Hydrothermal Systems. J. Vis. Exp. (105), e53015, doi:10.3791/53015 (2015). Here we report experimental simulations of hydrothermal chimney growth using injection chemical garden methods. The versatility of this type of experiment allows for testing of various proposed ocean / hydrothermal fluid chemistries that could have driven reactions toward the origin of life in environments on the early Earth, early Mars, or even other worlds such as the icy moons of the outer planets. We show experiments that include growth of chemical garden structures under anoxic conditions simulating the early Earth, inclusion of trace components of phosphates / organics in the injection solution to incorporate them into the structure, a switch of the injection solution to introduce a secondary precipitating anion, and the measurement of membrane potentials generated by chemical gardens. Using this method, self-assembling chemical garden structures were formed that mimic the natural chimneys precipitated at submarine hydrothermal springs, and these precipitates can be used successfully as flow-through reactors by feeding through multiple successive “hydrothermal” injections. “Chemical gardens” are self-assembling inorganic precipitates developed where two fluids of contrasting chemistries interact1,2. These self-assembling inorganic structures have been the subject of scientific interest for over a century partly due to their biomimetic appearance, and many experimental and theoretical studies have been pursued to understand the various complex aspects and possible functions of chemical garden systems3. Natural examples of chemical gardens include mineral “chimney” precipitates that grow around hydrothermal springs and seeps, and it has been argued that these could provide plausible environments for life to emerge4. To grow a chemical garden simulating a natural hydrothermal vent chimney, a reservoir solution should represent a simulated ocean composition and an injection solution should represent the hydrothermal fluid that feeds into the ocean. The versatility of this type of experiment to different reaction systems allows for simulation of almost any proposed ocean / hydrothermal fluid chemistry, including environments on the early Earth or on other worlds. On the early Earth, the oceans would have been anoxic, acidic (pH 5-6), and would have contained dissolved atmospheric CO2 and Fe2+, as well as FeIII, Ni2+, Mn2+, NO3-, and NO2-. Chemical reactions between this seawater and the ultramafic ocean crust would have produced an alkaline hydrothermal fluid containing hydrogen and methane, and in some cases sulfide (HS-)4-8. The chimneys formed in early Earth alkaline vent environments could thus have contained ferrous/ferric oxyhydroxides and iron/nickel sulfides, and it has been proposed that these minerals might have served particular catalytic and proto-enzymatic functions toward harnessing geochemical redox / pH gradients to drive the emergence of metabolism5. Likewise, on other worlds such as that may host (or may have hosted) water/rock interfaces — such as early Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, or Saturn’s moon Enceladus — it is possible that water/rock chemistry could generate alkaline vent environments capable of driving prebiotic chemistry or even providing habitable niches for extant life5,9-11. The classic chemical garden experiment involves a seed crystal of a metal salt, e.g. ferrous chloride tetrahydrate FeCl2•4H2O, submerged in a solution containing reactive anions, e.g. sodium silicate or “water glass”. The metal salt dissolves, creating an acidic solution containing Fe2+ that interfaces with the more alkaline solution (containing silicate anions and OH-) and an inorganic membrane precipitate is formed. The membrane swells under osmotic pressure, bursts, then re-precipitates at the new fluid interface. This process repeats until the crystals are dissolved, resulting in a vertically oriented, self-organized precipitate structure with complex morphology at both macro and micro scales. This precipitation process results in the continued separation of chemically contrasting solutions across the inorganic chemical garden membrane, and the difference of charged species across the membrane yields a membrane potential12-14. Chemical garden structures are complex, exhibiting compositional gradients from interior to exterior13,15-19, and the walls of the structure maintain separation between contrasting solutions for long periods while remaining somewhat permeable to ions. In addition to being an ideal experiment for educational purposes (as they are simple to make for classroom demonstrations, and can educate students about chemical reactions and self-organization), chemical gardens have scientific significance as representations of self-assembly in dynamic, far-from-equilibrium systems, involving methods that can lead to the production of interesting and useful materials20,21. Chemical gardens in the laboratory can also be grown via injection methods, in which the solution containing one precipitating ion is slowly injected into the second solution containing the co-precipitating ion (or ions). This results in the formation of chemical garden structures similar to those of crystal growth experiments, except that the properties of the system and the precipitate can be better controlled. The injection method has several significant advantages. It allows one to form a chemical garden using any combination of precipitating or incorporated species; i.e., multiple precipitating ions can be incorporated into one solution, and/or other non-precipitating components can be included in either solution to adsorb / react with the precipitate. The membrane potential generated in a chemical garden system can be measured in an injection experiment if an electrode is incorporated into the interior of the structure, thus enabling electrochemical study of the system. Injection experiments offer the ability to feed the injection solution into the interior of the chemical garden for controlled time frames by varying the injection rate or total injected volume; it is therefore possible to feed through different solutions sequentially and use the precipitated structure as a trap or reactor. Combined, these techniques allow for laboratory simulations of the complex processes that could have occurred in a natural chemical garden system at a submarine hydrothermal vent, including a chimney formed from many simultaneous precipitation reactions between ocean and vent fluid (e.g., producing metal sulfides, hydroxides, and/or carbonates and silicates)5,22. These techniques can also be applied to any chemical garden reaction system to allow for formation of new types of materials, e.g., layered tubes or tubes with adsorbed reactive species20,23. We detail here an example experiment that includes the simultaneous growth of two chemical gardens, Fe2+-containing structures in an anoxic environment. In this experiment we incorporated trace amounts of polyphosphates and/or amino acids into the initial injection solution to observe their effect on the structure. After initial formation of the chemical garden we then switched the injection solution to introduce sulfide as a secondary precipitating anion. Measurements of membrane potentials were made automatically throughout the experiment. This protocol describes how to run two experiments at once using a dual syringe pump; the data shown required multiple runs of this procedure. The relatively high flow rates, low pH of the reservoir and reactant concentrations employed in our experiments are designed to form large chimney precipitates on time scales suitable for one-day laboratory experiments. However, fluid flow rates at natural hydrothermal springs can be much more diffuse and the concentrations of precipitating reactants (e.g., Fe and S in an early Earth system) could be an order of magnitude lower4; thus, structured precipitates would form over longer timescales and the vent could be active for tens of thousands of years24,25. Subscription Required. Please recommend JoVE to your librarian. 1. Safety Considerations 1. Use personal protective equipment (lab coat, goggles, nitrile gloves, proper shoes) to prevent against chemical spills or injury. Use syringes and needles, and take care to not puncture gloves. Take care during experiment setup to check the apparatus for leaks by performing the injection first with double distilled H2O (ddH2O), and to check the stability of the reaction vials on the stand, before adding chemicals. 2. Undertake this experiment with any chemical garden recipe, but one of the reactants we use to simulate deep-sea vents is a hazardous chemical, sodium sulfide; therefore do the entire experiment inside a fume hood to prevent exposure. 1. Only open the bottle of sodium sulfide in the fume hood and place a balance inside the fume hood for weighing sulfide. Always keep sulfide-containing solutions inside the fume hood as they release toxic H2S gas, and also keep sulfide liquid, sharps, and solid waste containers in the fume hood. Another reactant of interest is Fe(II)Cl2•4H2O, which oxidizes upon exposure to air, so take care to keep solutions anoxic and to grow chemical gardens under an anoxic headspace (e.g., N2 or Ar), always within a fume hood or glove box. 2. Setup for Injection Experiments 1. Create glass “injection vials” by cutting off the bottom 1 cm of a 100 ml clear glass crimp top serum bottle (20 mm crimp seal closure type) with a glass cutter so that, when inverted, the vessel is open to the air. As these are reusable, clean the vials in a 1 M HCl acid bath O/N, and then rinse well with ddH2O before a new experiment. 2. Prepare the injection vials (Figure 1). 1. Collect a 20 mm septum, 20 mm aluminum crimp seal, and a 0.5-10 µl plastic pipette tip Using a 16 G syringe needle, carefully puncture a hole through the center of the septum, then remove and discard the needle in the appropriate sharps waste container. 2. Insert the pipette tip into the needle hole, into the side of the rubber septum that will face inside the crimp top of the vial. Push the pipette tip through the septum so that it pokes out the other side. 3. Crimp-seal the septum with pipette tip onto the injection vessel to make a watertight seal. When sealed, push the pipette tip further through the septum so that it protrudes outside. 4. Affix 1/16” inner diameter clear flexible chemical-resistant tubing to the pipette tip (tubing length should reach from the injection vial to the syringe pump); slide it up for a watertight seal. Note: This will be the injection tube, fed from the other end by a syringe with 16 G needle. 5. Check for leaks: Insert a 10 ml syringe filled with ddH2O with a 16 G needle into the other end of the tubing (smoothly slide the tubing straight onto the needle and be careful not to puncture the wall of the tubing). Slowly inject so that the ddH2O moves up the tubing and into the bottom of the reaction vessel. Ensure that the syringe/tube, tube/tip, and crimp seals are watertight. 3. Clamp the injection vials on a stand in a fume hood, so that the injection will feed in from the bottom of the vial. Note: Multiple vials can be set up at once and fed simultaneously by separate syringes. 4. Set up electrodes for measuring membrane potential across the wall of the chemical gardens. Always use the same convention for which lead is “inside” and which is “outside” of the chemical gardens. 1. Cut lengths of insulated wire (e.g., copper) that reach from inside the reaction vessels to the lead of the multimeter or data logger. Leave a little bit of slack in the wires for positioning. 2. Strip ~3 mm of the wire bare at the ends that will be located inside the reaction vial. At the other ends that will be connected to the multimeter leads, strip ~1 cm of wire. 3. Fix the wires in place to measure membrane potential across the chemical garden. For the wire that will go inside the chemical garden: insert it into the opening of the pipette tip from which fluid will feed into the vessel. 4. Push the wire in lightly to ensure contact with the injection solution, but not so far that it will clog the injection flow. For the outside wire: place it so that it will be in contact with the solution reservoir but not with the chemical garden precipitate. 5. Tape or otherwise secure the wires so that they cannot move inside the injection vial during the experiment (Figure 2). 6. Attach the other ends of the wires to the multimeter, and secure the wires so that those ends also do not move throughout the experiment. 5. Set up N2 gas lines that will each feed into one of the injection vials. 1. Split the gas feed from a N2 source into several tubes, so that there is one N2 feed for each injection vial. 2. Place each N2 tube so that it feeds into the headspace of one of the injection vials. 3. Preparation of Solutions for Chemical Garden Growth 1. Prepare the reservoir solution, 100 ml for each experiment. Note: In this example, use 75 mM Fe2+ and 25 mM Fe3+ as the precipitating cations (Table 1). 1. Create anoxic solutions by first bubbling the ddH2O with N2 gas for ~15 min per 100 ml. 2. Weigh out and add the FeCl2•4H2O and FeCl3•6H2O, stirring gently to dissolve (not vigorously so as to not introduce oxygen). 3. After reagents are dissolved, immediately resume light bubbling of the Fe2+/Fe3+ solution with N2 gas while injections are prepared. 2. Choose any two of the primary injection solutions shown in Table 1, and prepare 10 ml of each. Fill a 10 ml syringe to the 7 ml mark with each of the solutions (one syringe for each solution). Replace the needle caps and set aside. 3. Prepare 20 ml of the secondary injection solution (sodium sulfide — CAUTION) shown in Table 1. Fill two 10 ml syringes to the 7 ml mark with this solution, replace the needle caps and set aside. Always keep sulfide-containing solutions and syringes in the fume hood. 4. Refill the ddH2O syringes from Step 2.2.5; these will be used to flush the injection tube. 4. Starting the Primary Injection 1. Use desired data logger for membrane potential measurements; measure each experiment’s potential on a separate channel, and set the scan rate to give the desired amount of data points (e.g., for a 2-hr injection, recording potential every 30 sec would be sufficient). 2. Secure the primary injection syringes on the programmable syringe pump in the fume hood. 3. Use a waste beaker to catch drips and set the syringe pump to inject at a fast rate until the syringes both begin to drip into the beaker. Then stop the injection (in order to ensure that the two syringes begin injecting at exactly the same level). 4. Re-program the syringe pump to inject at 2 ml per hour (calibrate for the type of syringe being used), but do not hit start. 5. Insert the ddH2O syringes into the two plastic injection tubes, and inject so that the water fills the clear tubing up to the aperture where it enters the main reservoir. Place the syringes on the stand, above the injection vials. 6. Pour 100 ml of the Fe2+/Fe3+ reservoir solution into each vial. 7. Adjust the flow of the N2 gas lines as desired to keep the experiment anoxic for the duration of the injections. 8. Carefully cover the reservoir vials with an airtight seal (e.g., using Parafilm; not obstructing the view through the glass) and insert an N2 feed into each vial (Figure 3). 9. Bring the ddH2O syringes (still inserted in the tubing) down next to the primary injection syringes. Carefully slide the plastic injection tubing off the ddH2O syringe needle, and immediately transfer it directly onto one of the primary injection syringe needles. (Take care to not puncture the wall of the tubing.) 10. Start the injection, and start recording of membrane potential. 5. Starting the secondary injection: 1. Hit stop on the syringe pump after 3 hr (after 6 ml have been injected), once chemical garden structures have formed (Figure 4), continually generating a membrane potential (Figure 5). 2. Carefully remove the primary injection syringes from the syringe pump (but leave them connected to the tubing so the structures are not disturbed); set them on the stand above the level of the fluid in the vials so that the fluid cannot flow back into the syringe. 3. Secure the secondary injection sulfide syringes to the syringe pump, and repeat Steps 4.3 and 4.4. 4. Remove the secondary syringes one at a time from the syringe pump, and, while holding the syringes above the level of the fluid in the vials, repeat Step 4.9, transferring the tubing from the primary syringes to the secondary syringes (Figure 6). Be vigilant that the fluid pressure from the reservoir into the syringe does not cause fluid to flow back into the syringe as this could collapse the chemical garden. 5. When the transfer is complete, carefully secure the secondary syringes to the syringe pump. 6. Re-program the syringe pump to inject at 2 ml per hour, and hit start to continue the injection with the new injection solution. 7. Safely dispose of the primary injection syringes. 6. Ending the Experiment 1. First stop the syringe pump, then stop recording of the membrane potential and save the data. 2. Turn off the N2 flow and remove the lines and the Parafilm from the injection vessels. 3. If desired, sample the reservoir solution or precipitate for further analysis. To carefully remove the reservoir solution and not disturb the precipitate, use a 25 ml pipette to carefully pipette off the reservoir solution in several aliquots, and discard the solution in a waste beaker. 4. Unclamp the injection vessels one at a time and pour the solution into a waste transfer beaker in the fume hood. Use ddH2O to rinse out pieces of precipitate. 5. Remove the syringes from the syringe pump, and extract them from the tubing, letting extra injection fluid run off into the waste transfer beaker. Empty the syringes into the waste beaker, and dispose of the syringes in a sulfide sharps container kept in the fume hood. 6. Remove the tubing from the experiment vial and dispose of it in a solid waste bag. Uncrimp the seal and dispose of the septum, seal, and pipette tip. 7. Rinse out the glass experiment vial and soak it in a 1 M HCl acid bath O/N. (CAUTION — glassware that has been in contact with sodium sulfide will release toxic H2S gas when placed in acid. Keep acid baths inside the fume hood.) Subscription Required. Please recommend JoVE to your librarian. Representative Results Once the injection solution started to feed into the reservoir solution, a chemical garden precipitate began to form at the fluid interface and this structure continued to grow over the course of the injection (Figures 4-7). In the experiments reported here, the first injection was sodium hydroxide (which can be modified to include L-alanine and/or pyrophosphate), and the reservoir solution was a 1:3 mixture of Fe3+/Fe2+, yielding a mixed-redox-state iron oxyhydroxide precipitate. The chemical gardens typically exhibited a dual colored morphology — some pieces of the precipitate were dark green (probably indicating a mixed oxyhydroxide) and other pieces were orange (probably indicating mainly a Fe3+-oxyhydroxide/oxide). The iron oxyhydroxide chemical gardens were fairly robust structures and were often able to remain upright when the reservoir solution was removed from the vessel after injection (Figure 8). In precipitates containing only Fe-oxyhydroxide, the chemical gardens typically formed several branches; however when the hydrophobic amino acid alanine was included in the injection solution, the chemical gardens tended to form fewer branches or even a single column of precipitate. This inhibition of bursting and branching presumably indicates that the addition of alanine produces a more durable chemical garden wall26. Under environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), the precipitates formed in the presence of alanine appeared more rounded and amorphous, whereas pure Fe-oxyhydroxide precipitates (as well as those containing pyrophosphate) appeared more crystalline (Figure 9). When pyrophosphate was included in the injection solution, a branched Fe-oxyhydroxide chemical garden formed, and additional green cloudy precipitate (likely iron pyrophosphate) formed and extended from the edges of the structure (Figure 10). This green plume precipitate was not part of the chemical garden, and when the reservoir solution was removed, the plumes collapsed and did not aggregate well to the main structure. The membrane potential in chemical garden experiments was generated as soon as the chemical garden became visible (there was a lag time, as the injection solution traveled through the tubing). In experiments where the injection solution was NaOH, NaOH with alanine, or NaOH with pyrophosphate, the potential tended to peak immediately around 0.45 to 0.55 V and then decreased for about an hour before stabilizing around 0.1 to 0.2 V for the rest of the primary injection. (In experiments where the primary injection was NaOH + pyrophosphate + alanine, the voltage did not peak at the higher value of ~0.45 to 0.55; instead, it remained around ~0.2 for the entire primary injection.) There were differences in membrane potential in repeats of the same experiment (Figure 11), but the patterns observed were more or less consistent over four repeats of each injection chemistry. When the primary syringes were switched to the secondary syringes containing sodium sulfide, the chemical garden continued to grow, except that visible new growths were now black iron sulfide. Rather than contributing to the existing walls, the black sulfide portions of the chemical garden appeared to branch off and grow separately. As soon as the sulfide injection solution reached the chemical garden, the membrane potential immediately jumped to ~0.9 V. The value of the potential reached during the secondary injection was the same for all experiments, regardless of the primary injection solution (Figure 10). This is because the potential in chemical garden experiments is mostly due to the chemistry between the two interfacing solutions, and since our secondary injection solutions were all 50 mM Na2S•9H2O and the reservoir solution did not change, the voltages generated were similar. We typically conducted four chemical garden experiments at once, using four reservoir bottles that were fed by four separate syringes and all driven at the same rate by the syringe pump. Using the same chemistry in all four duplicates, we often observed great variations in chemical garden structure (overall size, number of branches) as well as variations in membrane potential within a range of 0.1 – 0.2 V. This lack of reproducibility is to be expected in far-from-equilibrium experiments when so much depends on the intricacies of the initial conditions. It is likely that the random formation of structure in chemical gardens sometimes leads to precipitate membranes with varying permeability to ions; in some cases, the injection and reservoir solutions are probably better separated and thus the membrane potential is able to be maintained for a longer period. We allowed the injections to continue at 2-3 ml/hr, and the experiment was terminated after 2 hr for the primary injection and an additional 3 hr for the secondary injection. During this time, the membrane potential remained at its characteristic value for whichever injection solution was being used. If injections were stopped, then the potential slowly decayed back to zero as the interior and exterior solutions equilibrated. (In iron-hydroxide systems, if the injection was stopped, the chimneys would sometimes dissolve over several days, due to the very low pH (~2) of the reservoir solution.) Figure 1 Figure 1. Preparing the reaction vessels. Reaction vessels for injection chemical garden experiments were made by cutting off the bottom of a 100 ml serum bottle, inserting a pipette tip through a septum which was then crimp sealed to the bottle, and attaching a tube through which to feed the injection solution. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 2 Figure 2. Placement of the wires in the chemical garden reaction vessel. (A) View from above, showing the placement of the “inner” electrode into the injection aperture. This wire was enveloped by the chemical garden when it began to grow. The “outer” electrode had to remain farther from the injection point so it was not touched by the growing chemical garden. (B) Secure the wires with tape so that they do not move throughout the experiment. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 3 Figure 3. Creating the N2 headspace. After the reservoir solution was added, an airtight seal was formed over the top of the vessel with Parafilm (covering the electrodes as well), and then a light N2 feed was inserted to maintain anoxic conditions throughout the chemical garden growth. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 4 Figure 4. Time-lapse growth of a chemical garden. This experiment contained 75 mM FeCl2•4H2O and 25 mM FeCl3•6H2O in the reservoir solution. The first injection was 0.1 M NaOH + 10 mM K2P4O7, and after 180 min the injection was switched to 50 mM Na2S•9H2O. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 5 Figure 5. Membrane potentials. Membrane potential was generated as a chemical garden grew around the interior electrode. After the primary injection of hydroxide that first formed the precipitate structure, the syringe was switched with a syringe of sodium sulfide solution. In this experiment the reservoir solution was 75 mM FeCl2•4H2O + 25 mM FeCl3•6H2O, the primary injection was 0.1 M NaOH, and the secondary injection was 50 mM Na2S•9H2O. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 6 Figure 6. Syringe. (A) Correct insertion of the syringe needle into the flexible plastic tubing. Care must be taken not to puncture the tubing — example of incorrect insertion is shown in (B). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 7 Figure 7. Chemical gardens after primary and secondary injection. Chemical gardens grown in reservoir solutions of 75 mM FeCl2•4H2O + 25 mM FeCl3•6H2O, shown after the primary injection of 0.1 M NaOH (plus the additives of alanine and/or K2P4O7 listed in Table 1) and after the secondary injection of 50 mM Na2S•9H2O. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 8 Figure 8. Precipitate stability. Fe(II/III)-hydroxide chemical gardens sometimes can maintain structural stability after the reservoir solution is carefully removed. The precipitate can then be sampled for further analysis if desired. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 9 Figure 9. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging. (A) Fe(II/III)-hydroxide chemical gardens, (B) Fe(II/III)-hydroxide chemical gardens containing K2P4O7, and (C) Fe(II/III)-hydroxide chemical gardens containing alanine. All images are of chemical gardens after the primary injection only. The precipitates that incorporated alanine appeared rounded and less crystalline than the precipitates of only Fe(II/III)-hydroxide and Fe(II/III)-hydroxide containing K2P4O7. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 10 Figure 10. Chemical gardens grown in a reservoir solution of 75 mM FeCl24H2O + 25 mM FeCl36H2O. (A) Injection solution contained 0.1 M NaOH + 10 mM K2P4O7. (B) Injection solution contained 0.1 M NaOH + 10 mM K2P4O7 + 10 mM alanine. In chemical gardens where the injection solution contained K2P4O7, green precipitate plumes (arrows) formed near the solid precipitate branches, but these plumes were not fully aggregated to the main structure and collapsed when the reservoir solution was removed. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Figure 11 Figure 11. Membrane potential generated by chemical gardens grown in reservoir solutions of 75 mM FeCl24H2O + 25 mM FeCl36H2O. Four repeats of each experiment are shown. The potential was generated as soon as the injection solution traveled up the tube and contacted the reservoir solution to produce a precipitate structure enveloping the inner electrode. The structure continued to grow as the primary injection proceeded. When the syringe was swapped to sodium sulfide solution and the secondary injection began (arrows), the potential increased to 0.9 - 1.0 V. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. Reservoir Solution (100 ml) Primary Injection (6 ml) Primary Injection Rate V1max (avg) Secondary Injection (6 ml) Secondary Injection Rate V2max (avg) 75 mM FeCl2•4H2O + 25 mM FeCl3•6H2O 0.1 M NaOH 3 ml/hr 0.431 V, σ=0.002 50 mM Na2S•9H2O 2 ml/hr 0.881 V, σ=0.047 0.1 M NaOH + 10 mM K4P2O7 3 ml/hr 0.473 V, σ=0.016 2 ml/hr 0.914 V, σ=0.040 0.1 M NaOH + 10 mM alanine 3 ml/hr 0.485 V, σ=0.044 2 ml/hr 0.929 V, σ=0.015 0.1 M NaOH + 10 mM K4P2O7 + 10 mM alanine 3 ml/hr 0.239 V, σ=0.061 2 ml/hr 0.923 V, σ=0.033 Table 1. Voltages generated by chemical gardens generated by slowly injecting first a primary, then a secondary, solution into a reservoir. V1max (avg) and V2max (avg) are the averages of the highest voltages produced during the primary and secondary injections, respectively; σ is the standard deviation. Subscription Required. Please recommend JoVE to your librarian. The formation of a chemical garden structure via injection method can be accomplished by interfacing any two solutions containing reactive ions that produce a precipitate. There are many possible reaction systems that will produce precipitate structures and finding the right recipe of reactive ions and concentrations to grow a desired structure is a matter of trial and error. The flow rate of the injection solution is controlled by a programmable syringe pump and this can also be varied between experiments to simulate different rates of fluid flow in a natural system. The structure of chemical gardens is dependent on many factors, including composition and flow rate, and it is possible to grow structures in as little as a few hours and over longer periods of days to weeks. One can also add other trace components of interest into the injection or reservoir solution, such as organic molecules or other components thought to be geologically or biologically relevant27,28. Depending on the chemistry, these components may be incorporated into the precipitate and/or undergo reactions. There are various methods that have been utilized in previous work for growing chemical garden precipitates, including direct growth from dissolving crystals or ‘pellets’18,29 and injection experiments like those featured here30,31. To design a chemical garden experiment where it is possible to reliably measure the membrane potential, one must create some way of completely enveloping the “interior” wire within the precipitate membrane throughout the entire experiment. This is difficult (though not impossible14) to accomplish in crystal growth experiments. In previous injection experiments13, we have generally observed that the wire must be placed directly into the injection point, otherwise the chemical garden often “avoids” the wire as it grows, thus leaving both wires in the reservoir solution and no membrane potential can be measured. Chemical gardens grown via injection vary in structural stability depending on the chemical reactant system(s) used — e.g., iron-silicate or iron-hydroxide systems give more robust structures that remain standing when the reservoir fluid is decanted, whereas pure iron-sulfide systems tend to give a much more gelatinous, delicate precipitate that readily collapses if the solution is disturbed. A collapse of the chemical garden or any significant breaking of the membrane will cause immediate effects in the membrane potential, as the unequal distributions of charged species across the membrane bleed out. Thus, in this type of experiment, it is very important that the wires are carefully secured prior to injection so that they will not move as the chemical garden grows, and that the experimental / injection setup is stable and not jostled during growth. Because following the injection of the fluid flowing into the reservoir is instructive, flexible transparent Tygon tubing is recommended over other possibilities such as stainless steel. The clear tubing allows for observation of precipitate particles forming within the tubing, allows one to dislodge clogs, and permits detection / removal of air bubbles. The downside of this tubing is that it can be easily punctured by the syringe needle (Figure 6). We experimented with switching syringes by inserting the second needle directly into the tubing from the side ahead of the first injection, rather than actually moving the tubing from one syringe to another, but this technique was very difficult to accomplish without puncturing. Another benefit of the Tygon tubing is that, in case of accidental puncture while inserting a needle, one can simply cut the punctured part of the tube off and re-insert the needle. The growth of the membrane is directed by the buoyancy and, to a lesser degree, the pressure of injection. A drastic change in the injection pressure can cause a collapse of the chemical garden, especially in systems that do not produce robust precipitates. When switching syringes, it is important to hold the syringe being removed at, or just above, the fluid level to prevent flow back and the likely disaggregation. Such an event could be also be avoided by setting up the experiment such that the syringe pump is at the approximate level of the reservoirs. It makes little difference to the membrane potential data if the experiment “pauses” for a length of time while switching syringes, so long as the chemical garden remains undisturbed. Thus it is recommended to switch syringes carefully, one at a time, and secure the syringe that is holding the internal pressure of the chemical garden so that it cannot “flow back”, before moving on to the next. The injection rate should be kept fairly constant between the first and second injections, and in general should not be too fast (minimum experiment time ~ several hours), since excess injection pressure will rupture the membrane. This experiment is versatile in that it allows for investigation of self-assembling precipitate growth in a variety of reaction systems, including those in which one or more reactants are present in the same solution. The swapping of syringes allows for the possibility of growing a stable chemical garden using one reaction chemistry, then using that structure as a “chemical reactor” for a second component passing through. For example, if one wanted to investigate whether organic molecules can become absorbed and/or react within a hydrothermal chimney composed of iron minerals26, one could grow a chemical garden of relevant inorganic components and then feed through a second syringe of solution containing, for example, nucleotides, amino acids, peptides, or RNA28. This would have the effect of adsorbing and absorbing the organic components into the precipitate rather than them dissipating into the reservoir. In our experiments, we observed that the secondary injection caused iron sulfide chimneys to grow on top of the existing iron hydroxide chimneys, presumably through ruptures in the original membrane due to fluid pressure. Thus, the interiors of the different chimneys could be at least somewhat connected and the sections of different minerals in the membrane might serve different functions in an origin-of-life scenario, for example, metal sulfides oxidizing hydrothermal H2 / reducing oceanic CO232,33 and iron oxyhydroxides driving phosphate reactions and reducing nitrate to ammonium on site5,34,35. Materials science investigations can be conducted using this type of experiment as well; for example, deliberately forming chemical gardens of catalytic components (e.g., aluminosilicates) and then feeding other components (e.g., organic molecules or phosphates) through them to react. One could also explore forming layered materials by alternating syringes to produce different inorganic precipitates (as in Roszol and Steinbock 201123). It is a simple matter to keep the individual reaction vessels under anaerobic conditions or any desired gas headspace during chemical garden formation. The limitations of this type of experiment are mostly due to the fact that chemical garden structures in systems driven by inflation, buoyancy and convection are very difficult to control. The precipitate structures can be fragile and difficult to remove and analyze after the experiment. Additionally, since the growth of the chemical garden is always unpredictable, in order to ensure measurement of membrane potential, the “outer” wire in the reservoir must be distanced from the injection point, to prevent the chemical garden enveloping both wires. However, taking this precaution means that the wires are usually not ideally close to the membrane. Instead, precise inorganic membrane potential measurements can be achieved by growing the membrane on a parchment paper template between the two solutions36. In chemical garden experiments it is not usually possible to sample and/or otherwise measure (e.g., pH) the interior solution; detailed real-time analysis can only be done on the reservoir solution. Natural vents also would host thermal gradients between the heated hydrothermal fluid (~70-100 °C) and the ocean4, and so to simulate hydrothermal systems it may be desirable to grow the chemical garden at a higher temperature and pressure37, which poses challenges with the setup described here. It would be possible to wrap the reservoir bottle in a heating coil in order to regulate the temperature before starting; however, a different type of pump might be necessary in order to similarly heat the injection solution. To simulate a natural system, it might be necessary to include dissolved gases (e.g., CO2) in either solution; while this might be easier to accomplish within the reservoir (ocean simulant), it would require more careful preparation for the injection (hydrothermal simulant). In deep-sea systems, the high pressure could affect chimney growth and chemistry, and, depending on the experiment, increasing gas pressure in both fluids could have a significant effect (e.g., dissolved CO2 could result in iron carbonate precipitation in the chemical garden, also dependent on hydrostatic pressure6). Incorporating increased temperature and pressure in chemical garden experiments of this type would lead to many interesting possibilities, since temperature and pressure affect the solubility, precipitation, and specific properties of many minerals. Subscription Required. Please recommend JoVE to your librarian. The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests. This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We acknowledge the support by the NASA Astrobiology Institute (Icy Worlds). L.M.B. is supported by the NAI through the NASA Postdoctoral Program, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities through a contract with NASA. J.E.N. was supported through a US Department of Education PR/Award #: P031C110019 administered through Citrus College. We acknowledge useful discussions with members of the NAI Thermodynamics, Disequilibrium, and Evolution Focus Group and the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. Name Company Catalog Number Comments Syringe Pump Fisher 14-831-3 Dual or multiple channel, depending on desired number of simultaneous experiments Ferrous chloride tetrahydrate Fisher I90500 Ferrous Chloride Tetrahydrate (Crystalline/Certified) Ferric chloride hexahydrate Fisher I88-100 Ferric Chloride Hexahydrate (Lumps/Certified ACS) Sodium hydroxide Sigma-Aldrich S5881 reagent grade, ≥98%, pellets (anhydrous) Sodium sulfide nonahydrate Fisher S425212 Sodium Sulfide Nonahydrate (Crystalline/Certified ACS). Store at -20 °C. Only open in a glove box or fume hood. Releases toxic H2S gas; all sulfide-containing solutions must be kept in a glove box or fume hood. Potassium pyrophosphate Sigma-Aldrich 322431 97% L-Alanine Sigma-Aldrich A7627 Syringes (10 cc) Fisher 14-823-16E BD™ Syringe with Luer-Lok Tips (Without Needle) Syringe needles (16 gauge) Fisher 14-826-18B BD™ General Use and PrecisionGlide Hypodermic Needles, 16 G x 1.5 in. (38 mm) Tubing Cole Parmer EW-06407-71 Tygon Lab Tubing, Non-DEHP, 1/16" ID x 1/8" OD Aluminum seals Fisher 0337523C Thermo Scientific™ National™ Headspace 20 mm Crimp Seals Gray butyl stoppers Fisher 0337522AA Thermo Scientific™ National™ 20 mm Septa for Headspace Vials Serum bottles Sigma-Aldrich 33110-U Vials, crimp top, serum bottle, size 100 ml, clear glass, O.D. × H 51.7 mm × 94.5 mm. For these experiments, the bottom of the serum bottle should be cut off. Pipette tips VWR 53511-682 pipette tips 0.5-10 μl Wire McMaster-Carr 8073K661 Solid Single-Conductor Wire, UL 1007/1569, 20 AWG, 300 VAC 1. Leduc, S. The Mechanism of Life. Rebman. London. (1911). 2. Coatman, R. D., Thomas, N. L., Double, D. D. Studies of the growth of ‘‘silicate gardens’’ and related phenomena. J. Mater. Sci. 15, 2017-2026 (1980). 3. Barge, L. M., et al. From Chemical Gardens to Chemobrionics. Chem. Rev. 115, (16), 8652-8703 (2015). 4. Russell, M. J., Hall, A. J. The onset and early evolution of life. GSA Memoir. 198, 1-32 (2006). 5. Russell, M. J., et al. The Drive to Life on Rocky and Icy Worlds. Astrobiology. 14, (4), 308-343 (2014). 6. Macleod, G., Mckeown, C., Hall, A. J., Russell, M. J. Hydrothermal and oceanic pH conditions at 4Ga relevant to the origin of life. Origins Life Evol. B. 24, 19-41 (1994). 7. Mielke, R. E., et al. Fabrication and Test of a Hydrothermal Reactor for Origin‐Of‐Life Experiments. Astrobiology. 10, 799-810 (2010). 8. Russell, M. 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Formation and Evolution of Chemical Gradients and Potential Differences Across Self-Assembling Inorganic Membranes. Angew. Chem. Int. Edit. 124, 4393-4397 (2012). 15. Pagano, J. J., Thouvenel-Romans, S. T., Steinbock, O. Compositional analysis of copper–silica precipitation tubes. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 9, 110-116 (2006). 16. Parmar, K., et al. Characterization of cobalt precipitation tube synthesized through “silica garden” route. Mater. Charact. 60, 863-868 (2009). 17. Parmar, K., Pramanik, A. K., Bandyopadhya, N. R., Bhattacharjee, S. Synthesis and characterization of Fe(III)-silicate precipitation tubes. Mater. Res. Bull. 45, 1283-1287 (2010). 18. Cartwright, J. H. E., Escribano, B., Sainz-Díaz, I. Chemical-Garden Formation, Morphology, and Composition. I. Effect of the Nature of the Cations. Langmuir. 27, 3286-3293 (2011). 19. Stone, D. A., Goldstein, R. E. Tubular precipitation and redox gradients on a bubbling template. P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101, (32), 11537-11541 (2004). 20. Makki, R., Ji, X., Mattoussi, H., Steinbock, O. Self-Organized Tubular Structures as Platforms for Quantum Dots. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 6463-6469 (2014). 21. Long, D. -L., Tsunashima, R., Cronin, L. Polyoxometalates: Building Blocks for Functional Nanoscale Systems. Angew. Chem. Int. Edit. 49, 1736-1758 (2010). 22. Mielke, R. E., et al. Iron-Sulfide-Bearing Chimneys as Potential Catalytic Energy Traps at Life’s Emergence. Astrobiology. 11, 933-950 (2011). 23. Roszol, L., Steinbock, O. Controlling the Wall Thickness and Composition of Hollow Precipitation Tubes. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13, 20100 (2011). 24. Ludwig, K. A., Kelley, D. S., Butterfield, D. A., Nelson, B. K., Früh-Green, G. Formation and evolution of carbonate chimneys at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field. Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac. 70, 3625-3645 (2006). 25. Russell, M. J., Hall, A. J., Turner, D. In vitro growth of iron sulphide chimneys: possible culture chambers for origin-of-life experiments. Terra Nova. 1, 238-241 (1989). 26. Russell, M. J., Daniel, R. M., Hall, A. J., Sherringham, J. A. A hydrothermally precipitated catalytic iron sulphide membrane as a first step toward life. J. Mol. Evol. 39, (3), 231-243 (1994). 27. Barge, L. M., et al. Pyrophosphate Synthesis in Iron Mineral Films and Membranes Simulating Prebiotic Submarine Hydrothermal Systems. Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac. 128, 1-12 (2014). 28. McGlynn, S. E., Kanik, I., Russell, M. J. Peptide and RNA contributions to iron-sulphur chemical gardens as life's first inorganic compartments, catalysts, capacitors and condensors. Philos. T. R. Soc. S-A. 370, 3007-3022 (2012). 29. Cartwright, J. H. E., Escribano, B., Sainz-Díaz, C. I., Stocieck, L. S. Chemical-Garden Formation, Morphology, and Composition. II. Chemical Gardens in Microgravity. Langmuir. 27, 3294-3300 (2011). 30. Thouvenel-Romans, S., Steinbock, O. Oscillatory Growth of Silica Tubes in Chemical Gardens. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125, 4338-4341 (2003). 31. Batista, B. C., Cruz, P., Steinbock, O. From Hydrodynamic Plumes to Chemical Gardens: The Concentration-Dependent Onset of Tube Formation. Langmuir. 30, 9123-9129 (2014). 32. Herschy, B., et al. An origin-of-life reactor to simulate alkaline hydrothermal vents. J. Mol. Evol. 79, 213-227 (2014). 33. Yamaguchi, A., Yamamoto, M., Takai, K., Ishii, T., Hashimoto, K., Nakamura, R. Electrochemical CO2 Reduction by Ni-containing Iron Sulfides: How Is CO2 Electrochemically Reduced at Bisulfide-Bearing Deep-sea Hydrothermal Precipitates? Electrochim. Acta. 141, 311-318 (2014). 34. Hansen, H. C. B., Guldberg, S., Erbs, M., Koch, C. B. Kinetics of nitrate reduction by green rusts—effects of interlayer anion and Fe (II): Fe (III) ratio. Appl. Clay Sci. 18, (1), 81-91 (2001). 35. Trolard, F., Bourrié, G. Fougerite a natural layered double hydroxide in gley soil: habitus, structure, and some properties. Clay Minerals in Nature - Their Characterization, Modification and Application. InTech. (2012). 36. van Oss, C. J. Specifically Impermeable Precipitate Membranes. Surface and Colloid Science. Springer. US. 115-144 (1984). 37. Baaske, P., et al. Extreme accumulation of nucleotides in simulated hydrothermal pore systems. P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104, 9346-9351 (2007). Post a Question / Comment / Request simple hit counter
May 01, 2014 Neanderthal Intelligence 1. There's no reason to assume Neanderthals were less intelligent than Homo Sapiens. Infact, there's some evidence to imply they were actually smarter. Their failures may have been about their lack of social abilities and homo sapiens forming larger tribes. Also, Neanderthals are still alive today, albeit in a diminished form. Non-African human beings all have some % of Neanderthal DNA. 2. Quinque viae, True, there's no hard evidence that Neanderthals were less intelligent. Only time will tell whether or not we can uncover solid evidence that they were at least as intelligent as modern humans. My proposal is that Neanderthals were not truly human (in a biblical sense). I can't have that discussion without getting into the Bible's Imago Dei concept of man—that there is a unique, spiritual component to man that may well include a heightened intellectual dimension as well. This proposal regarding Neanderthals is merely a hypothesis that cannot currently be proven. It's not clear whether they were human or nonhuman according to this definition. I see no compelling evidence, however, that they possessed the Imago Dei. (I don’t believe that being superstitious is equivalent to being spiritual. Neanderthals may have had vivid imaginations and superstitions about “invisible creatures” but not have been spiritual.) So, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that Neanderthals were less intelligent based on hard evidence. Rather, I admittedly have a bias to believe this hypothesis based on my understanding of the Bible. It should be noted, however, that currently among mainstream anthropologists there’s a split of opinion about the level of intelligence of Neanderthals. It’s only a relatively new concept that Neanderthals were highly intelligent. My proposal isn’t outside the spectrum of mainstream interpretations, as best I can tell. As far as them still being alive today in one sense, I agree that there's a genetic remnant of them still existing. I've written about how that may fit with one interpretation of a strange passage of Genesis. It is fully possible that "prehuman" creatures interbred with humans and contaminated human DNA without destroying the Imago Dei. Humans are still humans even if there's a small percent of Neanderthal DNA in our genomes. Thanks for your comments! I enjoy hearing opposing views and considering them.
Gaussian Integral A Gaussian function (named after one of the greatest mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss) is a function of the form:     \[ f\left(x\right)=ae^{-\frac{\left(x-b\right)^{2}}{2c^{2}}} \] We would have like to examine the following integral:     \[ I=\intop_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-x^{2}}\mathrm{d} x\] But we are facing a problem, what is the antiderivative function of e^{-x^{2}}? Well, You won’t be able to find one, at least not an elementary one. The integral of a Gaussian is the Gauss error function, but in this special case, there is a cool way to calculate this integral. At first, Instead of looking at I, lets take a look at I^{2}. Meaning:     \[ I^{2}=\intop_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-x^{2}}\mathrm{d} x\intop_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-y^{2}}\mathrm{d} y \] Note: In the second integral, I’ve changed the variable of integration to y. I can do that, because it’s a completely separated integral. Now, notice that the following integral is equivalent to the following:     \[ \intop_{-\infty}^{\infty}\intop_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-x^{2}-y^{2}}\mathrm{d} x\mathrm{d} y \] Well, That’s a bit weird. Now we have a double integral! We’ve made the problem much more complex! Or did we? Well, yes, now we have a double integral, but there is a good reason for that. Now we can change our coordinate system to the polar coordinate system (Meaning: x=r\cos\theta, y=r\sin\theta) and remember to multiply by the Jacobian determinant! In our case, the Jacobian determinant is r. So, we got:     \[ \intop_{0}^{2\pi}\intop_{0}^{\infty}e^{-r^{2}}r\mathrm{d}r\mathrm{d}\theta \] But wait a minute, this looks familiar! Notice that:     \[ =-\frac{1}{2}\intop_{0}^{2\pi}\intop_{0}^{\infty}\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}r}\left(e^{-r^{2}}\right)\mathrm{d}r\mathrm{d}\theta=-\frac{1}{2}2\pi\intop_{0}^{\infty}\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}r}\left(e^{-r^{2}}\right)\mathrm{d}r=\]     \[ =- \pi \left[e^{-r^{2}}\right]_{0}^{\infty}= -\pi\left[0-1\right]=\pi\]     \[ I^{2}=\pi\Rightarrow I=\intop_{-\infty}^{\infty}e^{-x^{2}}\mathrm{d} x = \sqrt{\pi} \] This site is hosted by: One Response to “Gaussian Integral” • Thiago Says: We could try coinectnng the abstract to the real. If its just taught in a vacuum, math is very abstract and dry. It seems like a silly game. But if you connect it to solving real problems that people encounter, then one tends to grasp its utility. I remember when I was in high school and I was introduced to the concept of i –the square root of negative one. I thought the whole concept was useless–until I found out that certain things, including modeling the flow of air around an airplane’s wings, couldn’t be done without it. That made all the difference in the world to me at the time.The very fact that this girl couldn’t see HOW she would ever need algebra is an indictment of the people who were entrusted with teaching her math. If its just taught as an abstract game with no practical application to the real world you can’t really blame students for considering it to be useless. For them, it is useless. Leave a Reply
Perspectives on Artificial General Intelligence and the Singularity12:35 Perspectives on Artificial General Intelligence and the Singularity Artificial General Intelligence is the quest to build a machine intelligence that is generally intelligent, i.e., has open-ended problem solving ability and can solve problems the programmers never considered. Specifically, the term denotes a machine of general problem-solving ability roughly equal to or greater than human beings. The term was popularized by AI researcher Ben Goertzel sometime around 2002 . Later, it became the subject of an edited volume Routes to AGIEdit Proposed routes to AGI usually fall in one of three categories: top-down designs, bottom-up, and hybrid approaches. Around the year 2000, it was uncertain which approach would gain the most traction, but today, it seems clear that top-down designs are favored. The primary bottom-up approach, involving the use of genetic algorithms, has yielded scarce returns. Brain simulation approaches are well-funded, but generally these projects seem oriented towards learning more about the brain rather than building general problem-solvers.  Groups Claiming to Be Pursuing AGIEdit Ad blocker interference detected!
Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories by Thornton W. Burgess 1  2     Next Part Home - Random Browse Author of "Old Mother West Wind," and "The Bed Time Story-Books." Illustrations in Color by HARRISON CADY The Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind are great friends of Striped Chipmunk. They hurry to call on him the very first thing every morning after Old Mother West Wind has brought them down from the Purple Hills. They always beg him to stop and play with them, but often he refuses. But he does it in such a merry way and with such a twinkle in his eyes that the Merry Little Breezes never get cross because he won't play. No, Sir, they never get cross. If anything, they think just a little bit more of Striped Chipmunk because he won't play. You see, they know that the reason he won't play is because he has work to do, and Striped Chipmunk believes and says: "When there is work for me to do The sooner started, sooner through." So every morning they ask him to play, and every morning they laugh when he says he has too much to do. Then they rumple up his hair and pull his whiskers and give him last tag and race down to the Smiling Pool to see Grandfather Frog and beg him for a story. Now Grandfather Frog is very old and very wise, and he knows all about the days when the world was young. When he is feeling just right, he dearly loves to tell about those long-ago days. One morning the Merry Little Breezes found Grandfather Frog sitting as usual on his big green lily-pad, and they knew by the way he folded his hands across his white and yellow waistcoat that it was full of foolish green flies. "Oh, Grandfather Frog, please do tell us why it is that Striped Chipmunk has such beautiful stripes on his coat," begged one of the Merry Little Breezes. "Chug-a-rum! They are stripes of honor," replied Grandfather Frog, in his deep, gruff voice. "Honor! Oh, how lovely! Do tell us about it! Please do!" begged the Merry Little Breezes. "Chug-a-rum!" began Grandfather Frog, his big, goggly eyes twinkling. "Once upon a time, when the world was young, old Mr. Chipmunk, the grandfather a thousand times removed of Striped Chipmunk, lived very much as Striped Chipmunk does now. He was always very busy, very busy, indeed, and it was always about his own affairs. 'By attending strictly to my own business, I have no time to meddle with the affairs of my neighbors, and so I keep out of trouble,' said old Mr. Chipmunk," "Just what Striped Chipmunk says now," broke in one of the Merry Little Breezes. "That shows that he is just as wise as was his grandfather a thousand times removed, about whom I am telling you," replied Grandfather Frog. "Old Mr. Chipmunk wore just a little, plain brown coat. It didn't worry him a bit, not a bit, that his coat was just plain brown. It kept him just as warm as if it were a beautiful red, like that of Mr. Fox, or handsome black and white, like that of Mr. Skunk. He was perfectly satisfied with his little plain brown coat and took the best of care of it. "One day as he was hurrying home to dinner, he climbed up on an old stump to look around and make sure that the way was clear. Over in a little path in the meadow grass was walking old Mr. Meadow Mouse. He was strolling along as if there was nothing in the world to fear. Way back behind him in the same little path, walking very fast but very quietly, was big Mr. Bob Cat. His eyes were yellow, and a hungry look was in them. He didn't see Mr. Meadow Mouse, but he would in a few minutes. Mr. Chipmunk saw that he would, and that there was no place for Mr. Meadow Mouse to hide. "'Humph! I never meddle in other people's affairs, and this is none of my business,' said little Mr. Chipmunk. "But old Mr. Meadow Mouse was a friend. He thought a great deal of Mr. Meadow Mouse, did little Mr. Chipmunk. He couldn't bear to think of what would happen to Mr. Meadow Mouse if big Mr. Bob Cat should catch him. Then, almost without realizing what he was doing, little Mr. Chipmunk began to shout at big Mr. Bob Cat and to call him names. Of course big Mr. Bob Cat looked up right away and saw little Mr. Chipmunk sitting on the old stump. His eyes grew yellower and yellower, he drew his lips back from his long, sharp teeth in a very angry way, and his little bob tail twitched and twitched. Then, with great leaps, he came straight for the old stump on which little Mr. Chipmunk was sitting. "Little Mr. Chipmunk didn't wait for him to get there. Oh, my, no! He took one good look at those fierce, hungry, yellow eyes and long, cruel teeth, and then he whisked into a hole in the old stump. You see, there wasn't time to go anywhere else. Big Mr. Bob Cat found the hole in the stump right away. He snarled when he saw it. You see it was too small, very much too small, for him to get into himself. But he could get one hand and arm in, and he did, feeling all around inside for little Mr. Chipmunk. Little Mr. Chipmunk was frightened almost to death. Yes, Sir, he was frightened almost to death. He made himself just as flat as he could on the bottom of the hollow and held his breath. "'You'd better come out of there, Mr. Chipmunk, or I'll pull you out!' snarled Mr. Bob Cat. "Little Mr. Chipmunk just snuggled down flatter than ever and didn't say a word. Mr. Bob Cat felt round and round inside the hollow stump and raked his long claws on the sides until little Mr. Chipmunk's hair fairly stood up. Yes, Sir, it stood right up on end, he was so scared. When it did that, it tickled the claws of Mr. Bob Cat. Mr. Bob Cat grinned. It was an ugly grin to see. Then he reached in a little farther and made a grab for little Mr. Chipmunk. His wide-spread, sharp claws caught in little Mr. Chipmunk's coat near the neck and tore little strips the whole length of it. "Of course little Mr. Chipmunk squealed with pain, for those claws hurt dreadfully, but he was glad that his coat tore. If it hadn't, Mr. Bob Cat would surely have pulled him out. After a long time, Mr. Bob Cat gave up and went off, growling and snarling. When he thought it was safe, little Mr. Chipmunk crawled out of the old stump and hurried home. He ached and smarted terribly, and his little plain brown coat was torn in long strips. "'This is what I get for meddling in the affairs of other folks!' said little Mr. Chipmunk bitterly. 'If I'd just minded my own business, it wouldn't have happened.' "Just then he happened to look over to the house of Mr. Meadow Mouse. There was Mr. Meadow Mouse playing with his children. He didn't know a thing about what his neighbor, little Mr. Chipmunk, had done for him, for you remember he hadn't seen Mr. Bob Cat at all. Little Mr. Chipmunk grinned as well as he could for the pain. "'I'm glad I did it,' he muttered. 'Yes, Sir, I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad that Neighbor Meadow Mouse doesn't know about it. I'm glad that nobody knows about it. 'A kindly deed's most kindly done In secret wrought, and seen of none. And so I'm glad that no one knows.' "Now just imagine how surprised little Mr. Chipmunk was, when in the fall it came time to put on a new coat, to have Old Mother Nature hand him out a beautiful striped coat instead of the little plain brown coat he had expected. Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled as she said: "'There's a stripe for every tear made in your old coat by the claws of Mr. Bob Cat the day you saved Mr. Meadow Mouse. They are honor stripes, and hereafter you and your children and your children's children shall always wear stripes.' "And that is how it happens that Striped Chipmunk comes by his striped coat, and why he is so proud of it, and takes such good care of it," concluded Grandfather Frog. Happy Jack Squirrel sat with his hands folded across his white waistcoat. He is very fond of sitting with his hands folded that way. A little way from him sat Peter Rabbit. Peter was sitting up very straight, but his hands dropped right down in front. Happy Jack noticed it. "Why don't you fold your hands the way I do, Peter Rabbit?" shouted Happy Jack. "I—I—don't want to," stammered Peter. "You mean you can't!" jeered Happy Jack. Peter pretended not to hear, and a few minutes later he hopped away towards the dear Old Briar-patch, lipperty-lipperty-lip. Happy Jack watched him go, and there was a puzzled look in Happy Jack's eyes. "I really believe he can't fold his hands," said Happy Jack to himself, but speaking aloud. "He can't, and none of his family can," said a gruff voice. Happy Jack turned to find Old Mr. Toad sitting in the Lone Little Path. "Why not?" asked Happy Jack. "Ask Grandfather Frog; he knows," replied Old Mr. Toad, and started on about his business. And this is how it happens that Grandfather Frog told this story to the little meadow and forest people gathered around him on the bank of the Smiling Pool. "Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog. "Old Mr. Rabbit, the grandfather a thousand times removed of Peter Rabbit, was always getting into trouble. Yes, Sir, old Mr. Rabbit was always getting into trouble. Seemed like he wouldn't be happy if he couldn't get into trouble. It was all because he was so dreadfully curious about other people's business, just as Peter Rabbit is now. It seemed that he was just born to be curious and so, of course, to get into trouble. "One day word came to the Green Forest and to the Green Meadows that Old Mother Nature was coming to see how all the little meadow and forest people were getting along, to settle all the little troubles and fusses between them, and to find out who were and who were not obeying the orders she had given them when she had visited them last. My, my, my, such a hurrying and scurrying and worrying as there was! You see, everybody wanted to look his best when Old Mother Nature arrived, Yes, Sir, everybody wanted to look his best. "There was the greatest changing of clothes you ever did see. Old King Bear put on his blackest coat. Mr. Coon and Mr. Mink and Mr. Otter sat up half the night brushing their suits and making them look as fine and handsome as they could. Even Old Mr. Toad put on a new suit under his old one, and planned to pull the old one off and throw it away as soon as Old Mother Nature should arrive. Then everybody began to fix up their homes and make them as neat and nice as they knew how—everybody but Mr. Rabbit. "Now Mr. Rabbit was lazy. He didn't like to work any more than Peter Rabbit does now. No, Sir, old Mr. Rabbit was afraid of work. The very sight of work scared old Mr. Rabbit. You see, he was so busy minding other people's business that he didn't have time to attend to his own. So his brown and gray coat always was rumpled and tumbled and dirty. His house was a tumble-down affair in which no one but Mr. Rabbit would ever have thought of living, and his garden—oh, dear me, such a garden you never did see! It was all weeds and brambles. They filled up the yard, and old Mr. Rabbit actually couldn't have gotten into his own house if he hadn't cut a path through the brambles. "Now when old Mr. Rabbit heard that Old Mother Nature was coming, his heart sank way, way down, for he knew just how angry she would be when she saw his house, his garden and his shabby suit. "'Oh, dear! Oh, dear! What shall I do?' wailed Mr. Rabbit, wringing his hands. "'Get busy and clean up,' advised Mr. Woodchuck, hurrying about his own work. "Now Mr. Woodchuck was a worker and very, very neat. He meant to have his home looking just as fine as he could make it. He brought up some clean yellow sand from deep down in the ground and sprinkled it smoothly over his doorstep. "'I'll help you, if I get through my own work in time,' shouted Mr. Woodchuck over his shoulder. "That gave Mr. Rabbit an idea. He would ask all his neighbors to help him, and perhaps then he could get his house and garden in order by the time Old Mother Nature arrived. So Mr. Rabbit called on Mr. Skunk and Mr. Coon and Mr. Mink and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Chipmunk, and all the rest of his neighbors, telling them of his trouble and asking them to help. Now, in spite of the trouble Mr. Rabbit was forever making for other people by his dreadful curiosity and meddling with other people's affairs, all his neighbors had a warm place in their hearts for Mr. Rabbit, and they all promised that they would help him as soon as they had their own work finished. "Instead of hurrying home and getting to work himself, Mr. Rabbit stopped a while after each call and sat with his arms folded, watching the one he was calling on work. Mr. Rabbit was very fond of sitting with folded arms. It was very comfortable. But this was no time to be doing it, and Mr. Skunk told him so. "'If you want the rest of us to help you, you'd better get things started yourself,' said old Mr. Skunk, carefully combing out his big, plumy tail. "'That's right, Mr. Skunk! That's right!' said Mr. Rabbit, starting along briskly, just as if he was going to hurry right home and begin work that very instant. "But half an hour later, when Mr. Skunk happened to pass the home of Mr. Chipmunk, there sat Mr. Rabbit with his arms folded, watching Mr. Chipmunk hurrying about as only Mr. Chipmunk can. "Finally Mr. Rabbit had made the round of all his friends and neighbors, and he once more reached his tumble-down house. 'Oh, dear,' sighed Mr. Rabbit, as he looked at the tangle of brambles which almost hid the little old house, 'I never, never can clear away all this! It will be a lot easier to work when all my friends are here to help,' So he sighed once more and folded his arms, instead of beginning work as he should have done. And then, because the sun was bright and warm, and he was very, very comfortable, old Mr. Rabbit began to nod, and presently he was fast asleep. "Now Old Mother Nature likes to take people by surprise, and it happened that she chose this very day to make her promised visit. She was greatly pleased with all she saw as she went along, until she came to the home of Mr. Rabbit. "'Mercy me!' exclaimed Old Mother Nature, throwing up her hands as she saw the tumble-down house almost hidden by the brambles and weeds. 'Can it be possible that any one really lives here?' Then, peering through the tangle of brambles, she spied old Mr. Rabbit sitting on his broken-down doorstep with his arms folded and fast asleep. "At first she was very indignant, oh, very indignant, indeed! She decided that Mr. Rabbit should be punished very severely. But as she watched him sitting there, dreaming in the warm sunshine, her anger began to melt away. The fact is, Old Mother Nature was like all the rest of Mr. Rabbit's neighbors—she just couldn't help loving happy-go-lucky Mr. Rabbit in spite of all his faults. With a long stick she reached in and tickled the end of his nose. "Mr. Rabbit sneezed, and this made him wake up. He yawned and blinked, and then his eyes suddenly flew wide open with fright. He had discovered Old Mother Nature frowning at him. She pointed a long forefinger at him and said: 'In every single blessed day There's time for work and time for play. Who folds his arms with work undone Doth cheat himself and spoil his fun.' "'Hereafter, Mr. Rabbit, you and your children and your children's children will never again be able to sit with folded arms until you or they have learned to work.' "And that is why Peter Rabbit cannot fold his arms and still lives in a tumble-down house among the brambles," concluded Grandfather Frog. One thing puzzled Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk a great deal after they had come to know Unc' Billy Possum and his funny ways. They had talked it over and wondered and wondered about it, and tried to understand it, and even had asked Unc' Billy about it. Unc' Billy had just grinned and said that they would have to ask his mammy. Of course they couldn't do that, and Unc' Billy knew they couldn't, for Unc' Billy's mammy had died long before he even thought of coming up from Ol' Virginny to the Green Forest and the Green Meadows where they lived. He said it just to tease them, and when he said it, he chuckled until they chuckled too, just as if it really were the best kind of a joke. Now you know it always is the thing that you try and try to find out and can't find out that you most want to find out. It was just so with Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk. The more they talked about it, the more they wanted to know. Why was it that Unc' Billy Possum played dead instead of trying to run away when he was surprised by his enemies? They always tried to run away. So did everybody else of their acquaintance excepting Unc' Billy Possum. "There must be a reason" said Peter gravely, as he pulled thoughtfully at one of his long ears. "Of course there is a reason," asserted Johnny Chuck, chewing the end of a blade of grass. "There's a reason for everything," added Striped Chipmunk, combing out the hair of his funny little tail. "Then of course Grandfather Frog knows it," said Peter. "Of course! Why didn't we think of him before?" exclaimed the others. "I'll beat you to the Smiling Pool!" shouted Peter. Of course he did, for his legs are long and made for running, but Striped Chipmunk was not far behind. Johnny Chuck took his time, for he knew that he could not keep up with the others. Besides he was so fat that to run made him puff and blow. Grandfather Frog sat just as usual on his big green lily-pad, and he grinned when he saw who his visitors were, for he guessed right away what they had come for. "Chug-a-rum! What is it you want to know now?" he demanded, before Peter could fairly get his breath. "If you please, Grandfather Frog, we want to know why it is that Unc' Billy Possum plays dead," replied Peter as politely as he knew how. Grandfather Frog chuckled. "Just to fool people, stupid!" said he. "Of course we know that," replied Striped Chipmunk, "but what we want to know is how he ever found out that he could fool people that way, and how he knows that he will fool them." "I suspect that his mammy taught him," said Grandfather Frog, with another chuckle way down deep in his throat. "But who taught his mammy?" persisted Striped Chipmunk. Grandfather Frog snapped at a foolish green fly, and when it was safely tucked away inside his white and yellow waistcoat, he turned once more to his three little visitors, and there was a twinkle in his big, goggly eyes. "I see," said he, "that you will have a story, and I suppose that the sooner I tell it to you, the sooner you will leave me in peace. Unc' Billy Possum's grandfather a thousand times removed was—" "Was this way back in the days when the world was young?" interrupted Peter. Grandfather Frog scowled at Peter. "If I have any more interruptions, there will be no story to-day" said he severely. Peter looked ashamed and promised that he would hold his tongue right between his teeth until Grandfather Frog was through. Grandfather Frog cleared his throat and began again. "Unc' Billy Possum's grandfather a thousand times removed was very much as Unc' Billy is now, only he was a little more spry and knew better than to stuff himself so full that he couldn't run. He was always very sly, and he played a great many tricks on his neighbors, and sometimes he got them into trouble. But when he did, he always managed to keep out of their way until they had forgotten all about their anger. "One morning the very imp of mischief seemed to get into old Mr. Possum's head. Yes, Sir, it certainly did seem that way. And when you see Mischief trotting along the Lone Little Path, if you look sharp enough, you'll see Trouble following at his heels like a shadow. I never knew it to fail. It's just as sure as a stomach-ache is to follow overeating." Just here Grandfather Frog paused and looked very hard at Peter Rabbit. But Peter pretended not to notice, and after slowly winking one of his big, goggly eyes at Johnny Chuck, Grandfather Frog continued: "Anyway, as I said before, the imp of mischief seemed to be in old Mr. Possum's head that morning, for he began to play tricks on his neighbors as soon as they were out of bed. He hid Old King Bear's breakfast, while the latter had his head turned, and then pretended that he had just come along. He was very polite and offered to help Old King Bear hunt for his lost breakfast. Then, whenever Old King Bear came near the place where it was hidden, old Mr. Possum would hide it somewhere else. Old King Bear was hungry, and he worked himself up into a terrible rage, for he was in a hurry for his breakfast. Old Mr. Possum was very sympathetic and seemed to be doing his very best to find the lost meal. At last Old King Bear turned his head suddenly and caught sight of old Mr. Possum hiding that breakfast in a new place. My, my, but his temper did boil over! It certainly did. And if he could have laid hands on old Mr. Possum that minute, it surely would have been the end of him. "But old Mr. Possum was mighty spry, and he went off through the Green Forest laughing fit to kill himself. Pretty soon he met Mr. Panther. He was very polite to Mr. Panther. He told him that he had just come from a call on Old King Bear, and hinted that Old King Bear was then enjoying a feast and that there might be enough for Mr. Panther, if he hurried up there at once. "Now, Mr. Panther was hungry, for he had found nothing for his breakfast that morning. So he thanked old Mr. Possum and hurried away to find Old King Bear and share in the good things old Mr. Possum had told about. "Old Mr. Possum himself hurried on, chuckling as he thought of the way Mr. Panther was likely to be received, with Old King Bear in such a temper. Pretty soon along came Mr. Lynx. Old Mr. Possum told him the same story he had told Mr. Panther, and Mr. Lynx went bounding off in a terrible hurry, for fear that he would not be in time to share in that good breakfast. It was such a good joke that old Mr. Possum tried it on Mr. Wolf and Mr. Fisher and Mr. Fox. In fact, he hunted up every one he could think of and sent them to call on Old King Bear, and without really telling them so, he made each one think that he would get a share in that breakfast." "Now, there wasn't any more breakfast than Old King Bear wanted himself, and by the time Mr. Panther arrived, there wasn't so much as a crumb left. Then, one after another, the others came dropping in, each licking his chops, and all very polite to Old King Bear. At first he didn't know what to make of it, but pretty soon Mr. Fox delicately hinted that they had come in response to the invitation sent by Mr. Possum, and that as they were all very hungry, they would like to know when the feast would be ready. Right away Old King Bear knew that old Mr. Possum had been up to some of his tricks, and he told his visitors that they were the victims of a practical joke. "My, my, my, how angry everybody grew! With Old King Bear at their head, they started out to hunt for old Mr. Possum. When he saw them coming, he realized that what he had thought was a joke had become no longer a laughing matter for him. He was too frightened to run, so he scrambled up a tree. He quite forgot that Mr. Panther and Mr. Lynx could climb just as fast as he. Up the tree after him they scrambled, and he crept as far out as he could get on one of the branches. Mr. Panther didn't dare go out there, so he just shook the branch. He shook and shook and shook and shook, and the first thing old Mr. Possum knew, he was flying through the air down to where the others were all ready to pounce on him. "Old Mr. Possum was frightened almost to death. He shut his eyes, and then he landed with a thump that knocked all the wind from his body. When he got his breath again, he still kept his eyes closed, for he couldn't bear the thought of looking at the cruel teeth and claws of Old King Bear and the others. Presently, while he was wondering why they didn't jump on him and tear him to pieces, Old King Bear spoke: "'I guess Mr. Possum won't play any more jokes, Mr. Panther,' said he. 'You just knocked the life out of him when you shook him off that branch.' "Mr. Panther came over and sniffed at Mr. Possum and turned him over with one paw. All the time Mr. Possum lay just as if he were dead, because he was too frightened to move. 'I didn't mean to kill him,' said Mr. Panther. 'We certainly will miss him. What will we do with him?' "'Leave him here as a warning to others,' growled Old King Bear. "Each in turn came up and sniffed of Mr. Possum, and then they all went about their business. He waited long enough to make sure that they were out of sight, and then took the shortest way home. When he got there and thought it all over, he thought that the best joke of all was the way he had made everybody think that he was dead. And then a bright idea struck him: he would try the same trick whenever he was caught. So the next time he got in trouble, instead of running away, he tried playing dead. It was such a success that he taught his children how to do it, and they taught their children, and so on down to Unc' Billy, whom you know. Unc' Billy says it is a lot easier than running away, and safer, too. Besides, it is always such a joke. Now, don't bother me any more, for I want to take a nap," concluded Grandfather Frog. "Thank you!" cried Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk, and started off to hunt up Unc' Billy Possum. Peter Rabbit sat in the middle of the dear Old Briar-patch making faces and laughing at Reddy Fox. Of course that wasn't a nice thing to do, not a bit nice. But Peter had just had a narrow escape, a very narrow escape, for Reddy Fox had sprung out from behind a bush as Peter came down the Lone Little Path, and had so nearly caught Peter that he had actually pulled some fur out of Peter's coat. Now Peter was safe in the dear Old Briar-patch. He was a little out of breath, because he had had to use his long legs as fast as he knew how, but he was safe. You see, Reddy Fox wouldn't run the risk of tearing his handsome red coat on the brambles. Besides, they scratched terribly. "Never mind, Peter Rabbit, I'll get you yet!" snarled Reddy, as he gave up and started back for the Green Forest. "Reddy Fox is very sly! Reddy Fox is very spry! But sly and spry, 'tis vain to try To be as sly and spry as I." When Peter Rabbit shouted this, Reddy looked back and showed all his teeth, but Peter only laughed, and Reddy trotted on. Peter watched him out of sight. "My! I wish I had such a handsome coat," he said, with a long sigh, for you know Peter's coat is very plain, very plain, indeed. "You wouldn't, if you had to wear it for the same reason that Reddy Fox has to wear his. A good heart and honest ways are better than fine clothes, Peter Rabbit." Peter looked up. There was saucy, pert, little Jenny Wren fussing around in one of the old bramble bushes. "Hello, Jenny!" said Peter. "Why does Reddy wear a red coat?" "Do you mean to say that you don't know?" Jenny Wren looked very hard at Peter with her sharp eyes. "I thought everybody knew that! You certainly are slow, Peter Rabbit. I haven't time to tell you about it now. Go ask Grandfather Frog; he knows all about it." Jenny Wren bustled off before Peter could find his tongue. Now, you all know how full of curiosity Peter Rabbit is. Jenny Wren's busy tongue had set that curiosity fairly boiling over. He just couldn't sit still for wondering and wondering why Reddy Fox wears a red coat. He had never thought anything about it before, but now he couldn't get it out of his head. He just had to know. So, making sure that Reddy Fox had disappeared in the Green Forest, Peter started for the Smiling Pool, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go. There he found Grandfather Frog setting on his big green lily-pad, just as usual. "If you please, Grandfather Frog, why does Reddy Fox wear a red coat?" panted Peter, quite out of breath. "Chug-a-rum!" grunted Grandfather Frog crossly. "Don't you know that it is very impolite to disturb people when they are having a nap?" "I—I'm very sorry. Indeed I am, Grandfather Frog," said Peter very humbly. "Will you tell me if I come again some time when you are not so sleepy?" Now, like everybody else, Grandfather Frog is rather fond of Peter Rabbit, and now Peter looked so truly sorry, and at the same time there was such a look of disappointment in Peter's eyes, that Grandfather Frog forgot all about his crossness. "Chug-a-rum!" said he. "You and your questions are a nuisance, Peter Rabbit, and I may as well get rid of you now as to have you keep coming down here and pestering me to death. Besides, any one who has to keep such a sharp watch for Reddy Fox as you do ought to know why he wears a red coat. If you'll promise to sit perfectly still and ask no foolish questions, I'll tell you the story." Of course Peter promised, and settled himself comfortably to listen. And this is the story that Grandfather Frog told: "A long time ago, when the world was young, old Mr. Fox, the grandfather a thousand times removed of Reddy Fox, was one of the smartest of all the forest and meadow people, just as Reddy is now. He was so smart that he knew enough not to appear smart, and the fact is his neighbors thought him rather dull. He wore just a common, everyday suit of dull brown, like most of the others, and there wasn't anything about him to attract attention. He was always very polite, very polite indeed, to every one. Yes, Sir, Mr. Fox was very polite. He always seemed to be minding his own business, and he never went around asking foolish questions or poking his nose into other people's affairs." Grandfather Frog stopped a minute and looked very hard at Peter after he said this, and Peter looked uncomfortable. "Now, although Mr. Fox didn't appear to take any interest in other people's affairs and never asked questions, he had two of the sharpest ears among all the little meadow and forest people, and while he was going about seeming to be just minding his own business, he was listening and listening to all that was said. Everything he heard he remembered, so that it wasn't long before he knew more about what was going on than all his neighbors together. But he kept his mouth tight closed, did Mr. Fox, and was very humble and polite to everybody. Every night he came home early and went to bed by sundown, and everybody said what good habits Mr. Fox had. "But when everybody else was asleep, Mr. Fox used to steal out and be gone half the night. Yes, Sir, sometimes he'd be gone until almost morning. But he always took care to get home before any of his neighbors were awake, and then he'd wait until everybody was up before he showed himself. When he came out and started to hunt for his breakfast, some one was sure to tell him of mischief done during the darkness of the night. Sometimes it was a storehouse broken into, and the best things taken. Sometimes it was of terrible frights that some of the littlest people had received by being wakened in the night and seeing a fierce face with long, sharp teeth grinning at them. Sometimes it was of worse things that were told in whispers. Mr. Fox used to listen as if very much shocked, and say that something ought to be done about it, and wonder who it could be who would do such dreadful things. "By and by things got so bad that they reached the ears of Old Mother Nature, and she came to find out what it all meant. Now, the very night before she arrived, Mrs. Quack, who lived on the river bank, had a terrible fright. Somebody sprang upon her as she was sleeping, and in the struggle she lost all her tail feathers. She hurried to tell Old Mother Nature all about it, and big tears rolled down her cheeks as she told how she had lost all her beautiful tail feathers. Mother Nature called all the people of the forest and the meadows together. She made them all pass before her, and she looked sharply at each one as they went by. Mr. Fox looked meeker than ever, and he was very humble and polite. "Now when Mr. Fox had paid his respects and turned his back, Old Mother Nature saw something red on the tail of his coat. It was nothing but a little smear of red clay, but that was enough for Old Mother Nature. You see, she knew that Mrs. Quack's home was right at the foot of a red claybank. She didn't say a word until everybody had paid their respects and passed before her. Then she told them how grieved she was to hear of all the trouble there had been, but that she couldn't watch over each one all the time; they must learn to watch out for themselves. "And so that you may know who to watch out for, from now on never trust the one who wears a bright red coat," concluded Old Mother Nature. "All of a sudden Mr. Fox became aware that everybody was looking at him, and in every face was hate. He glanced at his coat. It was bright red! Then Mr. Fox knew that he had been found out, and he sneaked away with his tail between his legs. The first chance he got, he went to Old Mother Nature and begged her to give him back his old coat. She promised that she would when his heart changed, and he changed his ways. But his heart never did change, and his children and his children's children were just like him. They have always been the smartest and the sliest and the most feared and disliked of all the little people on the meadows or in the forest. And now you know why Reddy Fox wears a red coat," concluded Grandfather Frog. Peter Rabbit drew a long breath. "Thank you, thank you, Grandfather Frog!" said he. "I—I think hereafter I'll be quite content with my own suit, even if it isn't handsome. Jenny Wren was right. A good heart and honest ways are better than fine clothes." The Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind had just been released from the big bag in which she carries them every night to their home behind the Purple Hills and every morning brings them back to the Green Meadows to romp and play all day. They romped and raced and danced away, some one way, some another, to see whom they could find to play with. Presently some of them spied Jimmy Skunk slowly ambling down the Crooked Little Path, stopping every few steps to pull over a loose stone or stick. They knew what he was doing that for. They knew that he was looking for fat beetles for his breakfast. They danced over to him and formed a ring around him while they sang: "Who is it never, never hurries? Who is it never, never worries? Who is it does just what he pleases, Just like us Merry Little Breezes? Jimmy Skunk! Jimmy Skunk!" Now not so far away but that he could hear them very plainly sat Peter Rabbit, just finishing his breakfast in a sweet-clover patch. He sat up very straight, so as to hear better. Of course some of the Merry Little Breezes saw him right away. They left Jimmy to come over and dance in a circle around Peter, for Peter is a great favorite with them. And as they danced they sang: "Who is it hops and skips and jumps? Who is it sometimes loudly thumps? Who is it dearly loves to play, But when there's danger runs away? Peter Rabbit! Peter Rabbit!" Peter grinned good-naturedly. He is quite used to being laughed at for always running away, and he doesn't mind it in the least. "When danger's near, who runs away will live to run another day," retorted Peter promptly. Then he began the maddest kind of a frolic with the Merry Little Breezes until they and he were quite tired out and ready for a good rest. "I wish," said Peter, as he stretched himself out in the middle of the patch of sweet clover, "that you would tell me why it is that Jimmy Skunk never hurries." "And we wish that you would tell us the same thing," cried one of the Merry Little Breezes. "But I can't," protested Peter. "Everybody else seems to hurry, at times anyway, but Jimmy never does. He says it is a waste of energy, whatever that means." "I tell you what—let's go over to the Smiling Pool and ask Grandfather Frog about it now. He'll be sure to know," spoke up one of the Merry Little Breezes. "All right," replied Peter, hopping to his feet. "But you'll have to ask him. I've asked him for so many stories that I don't dare ask for another right away, for fear that he will say that I am a nuisance." So it was agreed that the Merry Little Breezes should ask Grandfather Frog why it is that Jimmy Skunk never hurries, and that Peter should keep out of sight until Grandfather Frog had begun the story, for they were sure that there would be a story. Away they all hurried to the Smiling Pool. The Merry Little Breezes raced so hard that they were quite out of breath when they burst through the bulrushes and surrounded Grandfather Frog, as he sat on his big green lily-pad. "Oh, Grandfather Frog, why is it that Jimmy Skunk never hurries?" they panted. "Chug-a-rum!" replied Grandfather Frog in his deepest, gruffest voice. "Chug-a-rum! Probably because he has learned better." "Oh!" said one of the Merry Little Breezes, in a rather faint, disappointed sort of voice. Just then he spied a fat, foolish, green fly and blew it right over to Grandfather Frog, who snapped it up in a flash. Right away all the Merry Little Breezes began to hunt for foolish green flies and blow them over to Grandfather Frog, until he didn't have room for another one inside his white and yellow waistcoat. Indeed the legs of the last one he tried to swallow stuck out of one corner of his big mouth. "Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog, trying very hard to get those legs out of sight. "Chug-a-rum! I always like to do something for those who do something for me, and I suppose now that I ought to tell you why it is that Jimmy Skunk never hurries. I would, if Peter Rabbit were here. If I tell you the story, Peter will be sure to hear of it, and then he will give me no peace until I tell it to him, and I don't like to tell stories twice." "But he is here!" cried one of the Little Breezes. "He's right over behind that little clump of tall grass." "Humph! I thought he wasn't very far away," grunted Grandfather Frog, with a twinkle in his great, goggly eyes. Peter crept out of his hiding-place, looking rather shamefaced and very foolish. Then the Merry Little Breezes settled themselves on the lily-pads in a big circle around Grandfather Frog, and Peter sat down as close to the edge of the bank of the Smiling Pool as he dared to get. After what seemed to them a very long time, Grandfather Frog swallowed the legs of the last foolish green fly, opened his big mouth, and began: "Of course you all know that long, long ago, when the world was young, things were very different from what they are now, very different indeed. The great-great-ever-so-great grandfather of Jimmy Skunk was slimmer and trimmer than Jimmy is. He was more like his cousins, Mr. Weasel and Mr. Mink. He was just as quick moving as they were. Yes, Sir, Mr. Skunk was very lively on his feet. He had to be to keep out of the way of his big neighbors, for in those days he didn't have any means of protecting himself, as Jimmy has now. He was dressed all in black. You know it wasn't until Old Mother Nature found out that he was taking advantage of that black suit to get into mischief on dark nights that she gave him white stripes, so that the darker the night, the harder it would be for him to keep from being seen. "Now Mr. Skunk was very smart and shrewd, oh, very! When the hard times came, which made so many changes in the lives of the people who lived in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows, Mr. Skunk was very quick to see that unless he could think of some way to protect himself, it was only a matter of time when he would furnish a dinner for one of his fierce big neighbors, and of course Mr. Skunk had no desire to do that. It was then that he asked Old Mother Nature to give him a bag of perfume so strong that it would make everybody ill but himself. Mother Nature thought it all over, and then she did, but she made him promise that he would never use it unless he was in great danger. "Mr. Skunk had to try his new defence only once or twice before his enemies took the greatest care to let him alone. He found that he no longer had to run for a safe hiding-place when he met Mr. Wolf or Mr. Lynx or Mr. Panther. They just snarled at him and passed without offering to touch him. So Mr. Skunk grew very independent and went where he pleased when he pleased. And, because he no longer had to run from his enemies, he got out of the habit of running. Then he made a discovery. He watched those of his neighbors who were forever hurrying about looking for food, hurrying because all the time there was great fear upon them that an enemy might be near, hurrying because each was fearful that his neighbor would get more than he. It wasn't long before Mr. Skunk saw that in their hurry they overlooked a great deal. In fact, by just following after them slowly, he found all he wanted to eat. "So Mr. Skunk began to grow fat. His neighbors, who were having hard work to make a living, grew envious, and said unkind things about him, and hinted that he must be stealing, or he never could have so much to eat. But Mr. Skunk didn't mind. He went right on about his business. He never worried, because, you know, he feared nobody. And he never hurried, because he found that it paid best to go slowly. In that way he never missed any of the good things that his hurrying, worrying neighbors did. So he grew fatter and fatter, while others grew thinner. After a while he almost forgot how to run. Being fat and never hurrying or worrying made him good-natured. He kept right on minding his own affairs and never meddling in the affairs of others, so that by and by his neighbors began to respect him. "Of course he taught his children to do as he did, and they taught their children. And so, ever since that long-ago day, when the world was young, that little bag of perfume has been handed down in the Skunk family, and none of them has ever been afraid. Now you know why Jimmy Skunk, whom you all know, is so independent and never hurries." "Thank you! Thank you, Grandfather Frog!" cried the Merry Little Breezes. "When you want some more foolish green flies, just let us know, and we'll get them for you." "Chug-a-rum! What are you looking so wistful for, Peter Rabbit?" demanded Grandfather Frog. "I—I was just wishing that I had a—" began Peter. Then suddenly he made a face. "No, I don't either!" he declared. "I guess I'd better be getting home to the dear Old Briar-patch now. Mrs. Peter probably thinks something has happened to me." And away he went, lipperty-lipperty-lip. Sammy Jay has a very fine coat, a very beautiful coat. Everybody knows that. In fact, Sammy's coat has long been the envy of a great many of his neighbors in the Green Forest. Some of them, you know, have very modest coats. They are not beautiful at all. And yet the owners of some of these plain coats are among the most honest and hard-working of all the little people who live in the Green Forest. They find it hard, very hard indeed, to understand why such a scamp and mischiefmaker as Sammy Jay should be given such a wonderful blue coat with white trimmings. Peter Rabbit often had thought about it. He has a number of feathered friends whom he likes ever so much better than he does Sammy Jay. In fact, he and Sammy are forever falling out, because Sammy delights to tease Peter. He sometimes makes up for it by warning Peter when Granny or Reddy Fox happens to be about, and Peter is honest enough to recognize this and put it to Sammy's credit. But in spite of this, it never seemed to him quite right that Sammy Jay should be so handsomely dressed. "Of course," said Peter to Grandfather Frog, "Old Mother Nature knows a great deal more than I do—" "Really! You don't mean to say so! Chug-a-rum! You don't mean to say so, Peter!" interrupted Grandfather Frog, pretending to be very much surprised at what Peter said. Peter grinned and wrinkled his nose at Grandfather Frog. "Yes," said he, "Old Mother Nature knows a great deal more than I do, but it seems to me as if she had made a mistake in giving Sammy Jay such a handsome coat. There must be a reason, I suppose, but for the life of me I cannot understand it. I should think that she would give such a thief as Sammy Jay the very homeliest suit she could find. You may depend I would, if I were in her place." Grandfather Frog chuckled until he shook all over. "It's lucky for some of us that you are not in her place!" said he. "Chug-a-rum! It certainly is lucky!" "If I were, I would give you a handsome coat, too, Grandfather Frog," replied Peter. Grandfather Frog suddenly swelled out with indignation. "Chug-a-rum! Chug-a-rum! What's the matter with the coat I have got, Peter Rabbit? Tell me that! Who's got a handsomer one?" Grandfather Frog glared with his great, goggly eyes at Peter. "I didn't mean to say that you haven't got a handsome coat. Your coat is handsome, very handsome indeed, Grandfather Frog," Peter hastened to say. "I always did like green. I just love it! And I should think you would be ever so proud of your white and yellow waistcoat. I would if it were mine. What I meant to say is, that if I were in Old Mother Nature's place, I would give some plain folks handsome suits. Certainly, I wouldn't give such a rascal as Sammy Jay one of the handsomest coats in all the Green Forest. Knowing Sammy as well as I do, it is hard work to believe that he came by it honestly." Grandfather Frog chuckled way down deep in his throat. "Sammy came by it honestly enough, Peter. Yes, Sir, he came by it honestly enough, because it was handed down to him by his father, who got it from his father, who got it from his father, and so on, way back to the days when the world was young, but—" Grandfather Frog paused, and that dreamy, far-away look which Peter had seen so often came into his great, goggly eyes. "But what, Grandfather Frog?" asked Peter eagerly, when he could keep still no longer. Grandfather Frog settled himself comfortably on his big green lily-pad and looked very hard at Peter. "I'm going to tell you a story, Peter Rabbit," said he, "so that never again will you be led to doubt that Old Mother Nature knows exactly what she is about. In the first place, Sammy Jay is not wholly to blame for all his bad habits. Some of them were handed down to him with his fine coat, just the same as your troublesome curiosity was handed down to you with the white patch on the seat of your trousers." Peter nodded. He had felt a great many times that he just couldn't help this habit of poking that wobbly little nose of his in where it had no business to be, any more than he could change that funny little bunch of white cotton, which he called a tail, for a really, truly tail. "Of course, you have heard all about what a very fine gentleman Sammy Jay's great-great-ever-so-great grandfather was thought to be until it was discovered that he was all the time stealing from his neighbors and putting the blame on others, and how Old Mother Nature punished him by taking away the beautiful voice of which he was so proud, and giving him instead the harsh voice which Sammy has now, and making him tell just what he is by screaming 'thief, thief, thief!' every time he opens his mouth to speak. "At first Old Mother Nature had intended to take away the fine coat of which Mr. Jay was so proud, but when he discovered that he had lost his fine voice, he was so ashamed that he hurried away to hide himself from the eyes of his neighbors, so that Old Mother Nature didn't have time to change his coat just then. 'I'll wait a bit,' said she to herself, 'and see how he behaves. Perhaps he is truly sorry for what he has done, and I will not have to punish him more.' "But if Mr. Jay was truly sorry, he gave no signs of it. You see, he had cheated his neighbors, and had stolen from them for so long, that he found this the easiest way to get a living. His bad habits had become fixed, as bad habits have a way of doing. Besides, right down in his heart, he wasn't sorry for what he had done, only angry at having been found out. Now that he had been found out, of course every one was on the watch for him, and it wasn't so easy to steal as it had been before. So now, instead of going about openly, with his head held high, he grew very crafty, and sneaked quietly about through the Green Forest, trying to keep out of sight, that he might the easier steal from his neighbors and make trouble for them. "When Old Mother Nature saw this, she changed her mind about taking away his handsome suit. 'If I do that,' thought she, 'it will make it all the easier for him to keep out of sight, and all the harder for his neighbors to know when he is about.' "So instead of giving him the plain, homely suit that she had thought of giving him, she made his coat of blue brighter than before and trimmed it with the whitest of white trimmings, so that Mr. Jay had one of the very handsomest coats in all the Green Forest. At first he was very proud of it, but it wasn't long before he found that it was very hard work to keep out of sight when he wanted to. That bright blue coat was forever giving him away when he was out on mischief. Everybody was all the time on the watch for it, and so where in the past Mr. Jay had been able, without any trouble, to steal all he wanted to eat, now he sometimes actually had to work for his food, and get it honestly or else go hungry. "You would suppose that he would have mended him ways, wouldn't you?" Peter nodded. "But he didn't. He grew more sly and crafty than ever. But in spite of this, he didn't begin to make as much trouble as before. He couldn't, you know, because of his bright coat. When Old Mother Nature found that Mr. Jay had passed along his bad habits to his children, she passed along his handsome blue coat, too, and so it has been from that long-ago day right down to this. Sammy Jay's fine coat isn't a reward for goodness, as is Winsome Bluebird's, but is to help the other little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows to protect themselves, and keep track of Sammy when he is sneaking and snooping around looking for mischief. Now what do you think, Peter Rabbit?" Peter scratched one long ear and then the other long ear thoughtfully, and he looked a wee bit ashamed as he replied: "I guess Old Mother Nature makes no mistakes and always knows just what she is doing." "Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog in his deepest voice. "You may be sure she does. And another thing, Peter Rabbit: Never judge any one by his clothes. It is a great mistake, a very great mistake. Plain clothes sometimes cover the kindest hearts, and fine clothes often are a warning to beware of mischief." "I—I don't know but you are right," admitted Peter. "I know I am," said Grandfather Frog. Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck had gone down to the Smiling Pool for a call on their old friend, Jerry Muskrat. But Jerry was nowhere to be seen. They waited and waited, but no Jerry Muskrat. "Probably he is taking a nap in that big house of his," said Johnny Chuck, "and if he is we'll have to sit here until he wakes up, or else go back home and visit him some other time." "That's so," replied Peter. "I don't see what he has his house in the water for, anyway. If he had built it on land, like sensible people, we might be able to waken him. Funny place to build a house, isn't it?" Johnny Chuck scratched his head thoughtfully. "It does seem a funny place," he admitted. "It certainly does seem a funny place. But then, Jerry Muskrat is a funny fellow. You know how much of the time he stays in the water. That seems funny to me. I suppose there is a reason for it, and probably there is a reason for building his house where it is. I've found that there is a reason for most things. Probably Jerry's great-great-grandfather built his house that way, and so Jerry does the same thing." Peter Rabbit suddenly brightened up. "I do believe you are right, Johnny Chuck, and if you are, there must be a story about it, and if there is a story, Grandfather Frog will be sure to know it. There he is, over on his big green lily-pad, and he looks as if he might be feeling very good-natured this morning. Let's go ask him why Jerry Muskrat builds his house in the water." Grandfather Frog saw them coming, and he guessed right away that they were coming for a story. He grinned to himself and pretended to go to sleep. "Good morning, Grandfather Frog," said Johnny Chuck. Grandfather Frog didn't answer. Johnny tried again, and still no reply. "He's asleep," said Johnny, looking dreadfully disappointed, "and I guess we'd better not disturb him, for he might wake up cross, and of course we wouldn't get a story if he did." Peter looked at Grandfather Frog sharply. He wasn't so sure that that was a real nap. It seemed to him that there was just the least little hint of a smile in the corners of Grandfather Frog's big mouth. "You sit here a minute," he whispered in Johnny Chuck's ear. So Johnny Chuck sat down where he was, which was right where Grandfather Frog could see him by lifting one eyelid just the teeniest bit, and Peter hopped along the bank until he was right behind Grandfather Frog. Now just at that place on the bank was growing a toadstool. Peter looked over at Johnny Chuck and winked. Then he turned around, and with one of his long hind-feet, he kicked the toadstool with all his might. Now toadstools, as you all know, are not very well fastened at the roots, and this one was no different from the rest. When Peter kicked it it flew out into the air and landed with a great splash in the Smiling Pool, close beside the big green lily-pad on which Grandfather Frog was sitting. Of course he didn't see it coming, and of course it gave him a great start. "Chug-a-rum!" exclaimed Grandfather Frog and dived head first into the water. A minute later Peter's sharp eyes saw him peeping out from under a lily-pad to see what had frightened him so. "Ha, ha, ha!" shouted Peter, dancing about on the bank. "Ha, ha, ha! Grandfather Frog, afraid of a toadstool! Ha, ha, ha!" At first Grandfather Frog was angry, very angry indeed. But he is too old and too wise to lose his temper for long over a joke, especially when he has been fairly caught trying to play a joke himself. So presently he climbed back on to his big green lily-pad, blinking his great, goggly eyes and looking just a wee bit foolish. "Chug-a-rum! I might have known that that was some of your work, Peter Rabbit," said he, "but I thought it surely was a stone thrown by Farmer Brown's boy. What do you mean by frightening an old fellow like me this way?" "Just trying to get even with you for trying to fool us into thinking that you were asleep when you were wide awake," replied Peter. "Oh, Grandfather Frog, do tell us why it is that Jerry Muskrat builds his house in the water. Please do!" "I have a mind not to, just to get even with you," said Grandfather Frog, settling himself comfortably, "but I believe I will, to show you that there are some folks who can take a joke without losing their temper." "Goody!" cried Peter and Johnny Chuck together, sitting down side by side on the very edge of the bank. Grandfather Frog folded his hands across his white and yellow waistcoat and half closed his eyes, as if looking way, way back into the past. "Chug-a-rum!" he began. "A long, long time ago, when the world was young, there was very little dry land, and most of the animals lived in the water. Yes, Sir, most of the animals lived in the water, as sensible animals do to-day." Peter nudged Johnny Chuck. "He means himself and his family," he whispered with a chuckle. "After a time," continued Grandfather Frog, "there began to be more land and still more. Then some of the animals began to spend most of their time on the land. As there got to be more and more land, more and more of the animals left the water, until finally most of them were spending nearly all of the time on land. Now Old Mother Nature had been keeping a sharp watch, as she always does, and when she found that they were foolish enough to like the land best, she did all that she could to make things comfortable for them. She taught them how to run and jump and climb and dig, according to which things they liked best to do, so that it wasn't very long before a lot of them forgot that they ever had lived in the water, and they began to look down on those who still lived in the water, and to put on airs and hold their heads very high. "Now, of course, Old Mother Nature didn't like this, and to punish them she said that they should no longer be able to live in the water, even if they wanted to. At first they only laughed, but after a while they found that quite often there were times when it would be very nice to be at home in the water as they once had been. But it was of no use. Some could swim as long as they could keep their heads above water, but as soon as they put their heads under water they were likely to drown. You know that is the way with you to-day, Peter Rabbit." Peter nodded. He knew that he could swim if he had to, but only for a very little way, and he hated the thought of it. "Now there were a few animals, of whom old Mr. Muskrat, the grandfather a thousand times removed of Jerry Muskrat, was one, who learned to walk and run on dry land, but who still loved the water," continued Grandfather Frog. "One day Old Mother Nature found Mr. Muskrat sitting on a rock, looking very mournful. "'What's the matter, Mr. Muskrat?' she asked. "Mr. Muskrat looked very much ashamed as he finally owned up that he was envious of his cousins and some of the other animals, because they had such fine houses on the land. "'Then why don't you build you a fine house on the land?' asked Old Mother Nature. "Mr. Muskrat hesitated. 'I—I—love the water too well to want to stay on land all the time,' said he, 'and—and—well, I was put in the water in the first place, and I ought to be contented with what I have got and make the best of it.' "Old Mother Nature was so pleased with Mr. Muskrat's reply that right away she made up her mind that he should have a finer house than any of the others, so she took him over to a quiet little pool, where the water was not too deep and she showed him how to build a wonderful house of mud and rushes and twigs, with a nice warm bedroom lined with grass above the water, and an entrance down under the water, so that no one except those who still lived most of the time in the water could possibly get into it. None of his friends on land had such a big, fine house, and Mr. Muskrat was very proud of it. But with all his pride he never forgot that it was a reward for trying to be content with his surroundings and making the best of them. "So from that day to this, the Muskrats have built their houses in the water, and have been among the most industrious, contented, and happy of all the animals. And that is why Jerry Muskrat has built that fine house in the Smiling Pool and has so few enemies," concluded Grandfather Frog. Peter Rabbit drew a long breath, which was almost a sigh. "I almost wish my grandfather a thousand times removed had been content to stay in the water, too," he said. "Chug-a-rum!" retorted Grandfather Frog. "If he had, you wouldn't have the dear Old Briar-patch. Be content with what you've got," "I think I will," said Peter. Of course Old Man Coyote has only one voice, but that one is such a wonderful voice that he can make it sound like a great many voices, all yelping and howling and shouting and laughing at the same time. So those who hear him always say that he has many voices, and that certainly is the way it seems. The first time Peter Rabbit heard Old Man Coyote, he was sure, absolutely sure, that there was a whole crowd of strangers on the Green Meadows, and you may be sure that he kept very close to his dear Old Briar-patch. If you had been there and tried to tell Peter that all that noise was made by just one voice, he wouldn't have believed you. No, Sir, he wouldn't have believed you. And you couldn't have blamed him. It was the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind who first told Peter who the stranger was and warned him to watch out, because Old Man Coyote is just as fond of Rabbit as Granny or Reddy Fox, and is even more crafty and sly than they. Peter thanked the Merry Little Breezes for the warning, and then he asked them how many of his family Old Man Coyote had brought with him. Of course the Merry Little Breezes told Peter that Old Man Coyote was all alone, and they became very indignant when Peter laughed at them. He just couldn't help it. "Why," said he, "every night I hear a whole crowd yelping and howling together." "But you don't!" insisted the Merry Little Breezes. "It is Old Man Coyote alone who makes all that noise." "Don't you suppose I know what I hear?" demanded Peter. "No!" retorted the Merry Little Breezes. "You may have big ears and be able to hear a great deal, sometimes a great deal more than you have any business to hear, but you are old enough by this time to have learned that you cannot believe all you hear." And with that the Merry Little Breezes indignantly raced away to spread the news all over the Green Meadows. Now Peter was quite as indignant because they thought he couldn't or shouldn't believe his own ears, as they were because he wouldn't believe what they told him, and all the rest of that day he couldn't put the matter out of his mind. He was still thinking of it as the Black Shadows came creeping down from the Purple Hills across the Green Meadows. Suddenly Peter saw a dark form skulking among the Black Shadows. At first he thought it was Reddy Fox, only somehow it looked bigger. Peter, safe in the dear Old Briar-patch, watched. Presently the dark form came out from among the Black Shadows where Peter could see it clearly, sat down, pointed a sharp nose up at the first twinkling little stars, opened a big mouth, and out of it poured such a yelping and howling as made Peter shiver with fright. And now Peter had to believe his eyes rather than his ears. His ears told him that there were many voices, but his eyes told him that all that dreadful sound was coming out of one mouth. It was hard, very hard, to believe, but it was so. "The Merry Little Breezes were right," muttered Peter to himself, as Old Man Coyote trotted away in the direction of the Green Forest, and he felt a wee bit ashamed to think that he had refused to believe them. After that, Peter could think of nothing but Old Man Coyote's wonderful voice that sounded like many voices, and at the very first opportunity he hurried over to the Smiling Pool to ask Grandfather Frog what it meant. "Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog. "It means simply that Old Man Coyote comes of a very smart family, and that he knows how to make the most of the gift of Old Mother Nature to his grandfather a thousand times removed." This sounded so much like a story that Peter straightway teased Grandfather Frog to tell him all about it. At last, to get rid of him and enjoy a little quiet and peace, Grandfather Frog did so. "Chug-a-rum!" he began, as he always does. "The great-great-ever-so-great grandfather of Old Man Coyote, who lived long, long ago when the world was young, was very much as Old Man Coyote is to-day. He was just as smart and just as clever. Indeed, he was smart enough and clever enough not to let his neighbors know that he was smart and clever at all. Those were very peaceful times at first, and everybody was on the best of terms with everybody else, as you know. There was plenty to eat without the trouble to steal, and everybody was honest simply because it was easier to be honest than it was to be dishonest. So Old King Bear ruled in the Green Forest, and everybody was happy and contented. "But there came a time when food was scarce, and it was no longer easy to get plenty to eat. It was then that the stronger began to steal from the weaker, and by and by even to prey upon those smaller than themselves. The times grew harder and harder, and because hunger is a hard and cruel master, it made the larger and stronger people hard and cruel, too. Some of them it made very sly and cunning, like old Mr. Fox. Mr. Coyote was another whom it made sly and cunning. He was smart in the first place, even smarter than Mr. Fox, and he very early made up his mind that if he would live, it must be by his wits, for he wasn't big enough or strong enough to fight with his neighbors such as his big cousin, Mr. Timber Wolf, or Mr. Lynx, or Mr. Panther or Old King Bear, who was king no longer. And yet he liked the same things to eat. "So he used to study and plan how he could outwit them without danger to himself. 'A whole skin is better than a full stomach, but both a whole skin and a full stomach are better still,' said he to himself; as he thought and schemed. For a while he was content to catch what he could without danger to himself, and to eat what his bigger and stronger neighbors left when they happened to get more than they wanted for themselves. Little by little he got the habit of slyly following them when they were hunting, always keeping out of sight. In this way, he managed to get many meals of scraps. But these scraps never wholly satisfied him, and his mouth used to water as he watched the others feast on the very best when they had had a successful hunt. He knew it wouldn't be of the least use to go out and boldly ask for some, for in those hard times everybody was very, very selfish. "The times grew harder and harder, until it seemed as if Old Mother Nature had wholly forgotten her little people of the Green Meadows and the Green Forest. Mr. Coyote still managed to pick up a living, but he was hungry most of the time, and the less he had to put in his stomach, the sharper his wits grew. At last one day, as he stole soft-footed through the Green Forest, he discovered Mr. Lynx having a great feast. To keep still and watch him was almost more than Mr. Coyote could stand, for he was so hungry that it seemed as if the sides of his stomach almost met, it was so empty. "'If I could make myself into three, we could take that dinner away from Mr. Lynx!" thought he, and right on top of that thought came a great idea. Why not make Mr. Lynx think he had a lot of friends with him? It would do no harm to try. So Mr. Coyote put his nose up in the air and howled. Mr. Lynx looked up and grinned. He had no fear of Mr. Coyote. Then Mr. Coyote hurried around to the other side of Mr. Lynx, all the time keeping out of sight, and howled again, and this time he tried to make his voice sound different. Mr. Lynx stopped eating and looked up a little surprised. 'I wonder if Mr. Coyote has got a brother with him,' thought he. A minute later Mr. Coyote howled again from the place where he had howled in the first place. 'He certainly has,' thought Mr. Lynx, 'but I'm a match for two of them,' and once more he went on eating. "Then Mr. Coyote began to run in a circle around Mr. Lynx, always keeping out of sight in the thick brush, and every few steps he yelped or howled, and each yelp or howl he tried to make sound different. Now Mr. Coyote could run very fast, and he ran now as hard as ever he could in a big circle, yelping and howling and making his voice sound as different as possible each time. Mr. Lynx grew anxious and lost his appetite. 'Mr. Coyote must have a whole crowd of brothers,' thought he. 'I guess this is no place for me!' With that he started to sneak away. "Mr. Coyote followed him, still trying to make his voice sound like the voices of many. Mr. Lynx gave a hurried look over his shoulder and began to run. Mr. Coyote kept after him, yelping and howling, until he was sure that Mr. Lynx was so frightened that he wouldn't dare come back. Then Mr. Coyote returned to the dinner Mr. Lynx had left, and ate and ate until he couldn't hold another mouthful. His throat was very raw and sore because he had strained it trying to make his voice change so often, but he didn't mind this, because, you know, it felt so good to have all he could eat at one time once more. "Now it just happened that Old Mother Nature had come along just in time to see and hear Mr. Coyote, and it tickled her so to think that Mr. Coyote had been so smart that what do you think she did? Why, while he slept that night, she healed his sore throat, and she gave him a new voice; and this voice was very wonderful, for it sounded for all the world like many voices, all yelping and howling at the same time. After that, all Mr. Coyote had to do when he wanted to frighten some one bigger and stronger than himself was to open his mouth and send forth his new voice, which sounded like many voices. "So he had plenty to eat from that time on. And all his children and his children's children had that same wonderful voice, just as Old Man Coyote has now. Chug-a-rum! Now scamper home, Peter Rabbit, and see that you don't let Old Man Coyote's sharp wits get you into trouble." "Thank you, Grandfather Frog!" cried Peter and scampered as fast as he could go for the dear, safe Old Briar-patch. Striped Chipmunk sat staring at a little ridge where the grass was raised up. He had often seen little ridges like that without thinking much about them. He knew that they were made by Miner the Mole. He had known that ever since he was big enough to begin to ask questions. But now as he looked at this one, it suddenly struck him that he had not seen Miner the Mole more than once or twice in all his life. "What a queer way of living!" thought Striped Chipmunk. "It's all very well to have a snug house under the ground, where one can sleep the long cold winter away and be perfectly safe, but what any one wants to live under the ground all the time for, in the beautiful springtime and summertime and autumntime, I can't understand. Just think of all that Miner misses—the sunshine, the flowers, the songs of the birds, and the Merry Little Breezes to play with! I wonder—" "What do you wonder?" The voice was so close to Striped Chipmunk that it made him jump. He whirled about. There was Johnny Chuck, who had tiptoed up as softly as he knew how, to give Striped Chipmunk a scare. Johnny grinned. "What do you wonder?" he repeated. Striped Chipmunk made a face at Johnny. "I wonder something that I bet you don't know," he replied. "That's easy," replied Johnny. "There are more things I don't know than I do know, but I'm always ready to learn. What is it this time?" "Why does Miner the Mole live under ground all the time?" Striped Chipmunk pointed to the ridge made by Miner. Johnny Chuck scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't know," he confessed finally. "I never thought of it before. Of course there must be a reason. He never comes out to play with the rest of us—just spends all his time by himself down in the dark, digging and digging. I wonder—" "Well, what do you wonder?" "The same thing you wonder," laughed Johnny Chuck. "If you haven't got anything else to do, let's go down to the Smiling Pool and ask Grandfather Frog; he'll be sure to know." Striped Chipmunk hadn't anything else to do, so off they started. On the way they met Jimmy Skunk and Danny Meadow Mouse. Neither of them knew why Miner the Mole lives under ground, and because they hadn't anything better to do, they also started for the Smiling Pool. Grandfather Frog was sitting on his big green lily-pad in the warm sunshine, and for once he didn't have to be teased for a story. "Chug-a-rum!" said he in his deep voice. "It's very strange to me how little some folks know about their nearest neighbors." He looked up and winked at jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun. Striped Chipmunk, Johnny Chuck, Jimmy Skunk, and Danny Meadow Mouse looked as though they felt very foolish, as indeed they did. You see, all their lives Miner the Mole had been one of their nearest neighbors, and yet they didn't know the first thing about him. "It happened a long time ago," continued Grandfather Frog. "When the world was young?" interrupted Danny Meadow Mouse. "Of course," replied Grandfather Frog, pretending to be very much put out at such a foolish question. Danny hung his head and resolved that he would bite his tongue before he asked another question. "In those days Miner's great-great-grandfather a thousand times removed didn't live under ground," continued Grandfather Frog. "Nobody did. He wasn't so very different from a lot of other animals. Food was plenty, and everybody was on the best of terms with everybody else. Mr. Mole lived just as the rest did. He went and came as he pleased, and enjoyed the sunshine and took part in all the good times of his neighbors. Everybody liked him, and whenever he made a call, he was sure of a welcome. But one thing Mr. Mole never did; he never meddled in other people's affairs. No, Sir, Mr. Mole never poked his nose in where he had no business. "For a long time everything went smoothly with all the people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows. Then came hard times. They grew harder and harder. Food was scarce and kept growing more scarce. Everybody was hungry, and you know how it is with hungry people—they grow ugly and quarrelsome. Matters grew worse and worse, and then it was that fear was born. The big people, like Old King Bear and Mr. Wolf and Mr. Panther and Mr. Lynx, began to look with hungry eyes on the little people, and the little people began to grow afraid and hide from the big people, and all the time they were continually quarreling among themselves and stealing from each other to get enough to eat. "Now, as I said before, Mr. Mole never had meddled with other people's business, and he didn't now. He went off by himself to think things over. 'It isn't safe to run around any more,' said he. 'I met Mr. Wolf this morning, and he looked at me with such a hungry look in his eyes that it gave me the cold shivers. I believe he would have eaten me, if I hadn't crawled into an old hollow stump. Now I can't run fast, because my legs are too short. I can't climb trees like Mr. Squirrel, and I can't swim like Mr. Muskrat. The only thing I can do is to dig.' "You see, Mr. Mole always had been very fond of digging, and he had done so much of it that his front legs and claws had grown very stout. "'Now if I dig a hole and keep out of sight, I won't have to worry about Mr. Wolf or anybody else,' continued Mr. Mole to himself. So he went to work at once and dug a hole on the Green Meadows, and, because he wanted to be comfortable, he made a big hole. When it was finished, he was tired, so he curled up at the bottom for a nap. He was awakened by hearing voices outside. He knew those voices right away. They were the voices of Mr. Fox and Mr. Badger. "'These are terrible times,' said Mr. Fox. 'I'm so hungry that I'm wasting away to a shadow. I wonder who has dug this hole.' "'Mr. Mole,' replied Mr. Badger. 'I saw him at work here this morning. Have you noticed how very plump he looks?' "'Yes,' replied Mr. Fox. 'He made my mouth water the very last time I saw him. Seems to me I can smell him now. If he had made this hole just a little bit bigger I would go down and pull him out, but I am too tired to do any digging now.' "'I tell you what,' replied Mr. Badger. 'We'll hunt together a little longer, and then if we can't find anything to eat, we'll come back, and I'll help you dig, I hate to hurt Mr. Mole, because he always minds his own business, but these are hard times, and each one must look out for himself.' "With that they went away, leaving Mr. Mole shaking with fright at the bottom of his hole. 'It's of no use,' thought Mr. Mole. 'If I go outside, they will soon find me, and if I stay here, they will dig me out. Oh, dear, oh, dear! What ever can I do?' "He lay there feeling very helpless and miserable, when all of a sudden a thought came to him. If he had made his hole small, just big enough for him to crawl into, Mr. Badger and Mr. Fox would have had to do a great deal of digging to make it big enough for either of them to get in! He would make a little tunnel off one side and hide in that. So he went to work and made a little tunnel off one side just big enough for him to squeeze into. He worked very hard and very fast, and by the time Mr. Badger and Mr. Fox returned, Mr. Mole was at the end of a long tunnel, so far from the hole he had first dug that he knew it would take them a long time to dig him out, even if they noticed his tunnel. "But they didn't. They dug down to the bottom of his hole and then, because they didn't find him there, they straightway fell to quarreling, each blaming the other for suggesting such a lot of hard work for nothing. Finally they went away, still calling each other names, and from that day to this, Foxes and Badgers have never been friends. "Mr. Mole was very thankful for his narrow escape, and it set him to thinking. If he had a lot of these underground tunnels, no one would be able to catch him. It was a splendid idea! He went to work on it at once. And then he made a discovery—such a splendid discovery! There was plenty of food to eat right down under ground—worms and grubs—all he needed. After that, Mr. Mole spent all his time in his tunnels and seldom put his nose outside. He was safe, and he was comfortable, and he could always find something to eat by digging for it. "Little by little his old neighbors forgot all about him. Because he had little use for them, his eyes grew smaller and smaller, and when he did come up into the light, they hurt him so that he was glad to go back into the dark again. He was perfectly happy and satisfied there, and what is there in life better than to be happy and satisfied?" "Nothing," replied Striped Chipmunk, at whom Grandfather Frog happened to be looking when he asked the question. "Right!" replied Grandfather Frog. "And now you know why Miner the Mole lives under ground—because he is perfectly happy and satisfied there." Just then up came Peter Rabbit, all out of breath. "Has Grandfather Frog been telling a story?" he panted. "Yes," replied Striped Chipmunk, winking at Grandfather Frog, "and now we are going back home perfectly happy and satisfied." And to this day Peter Rabbit wonders what the story was that he missed. Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck were playing tag on the Green Meadows. Of course Peter can run so much faster than Johnny Chuck that he would never have been "it" if he had tried his best to keep out of the way. But he didn't. No, Sir, Peter Rabbit didn't do anything of the kind. He pretended that one of his long hind-legs was lame so that he had to run on three legs, while Johnny Chuck could use all four. It was great fun. They raced and dodged and twisted and turned. Sometimes Peter was so excited that he would forget and use all four legs. Then Johnny Chuck would shout "No fair!" Peter would say that he didn't mean to, and to make up for it would be "it" and try to catch Johnny. Peter was thinking of this as he and Johnny Chuck stretched out in a sunny spot to get their breath and rest. He had never thought of it before, but now that he had noticed it, he couldn't remember that he ever had seen little Mr. Greensnake wink, nor any of Mr. Greensnake's relatives. He mentioned the matter to Johnny Chuck. "That's so," replied Johnny thoughtfully. "I never have seen any of them wink, either. Do you suppose they can wink?" "Let's go ask Mr. Greensnake," said Peter. "I tell you what, let's go over to the Smiling Pool and ask Grandfather Frog. He'll be sure to know, and perhaps, if he is feeling good, he'll tell us a story," said Peter. "Good morning," said he gruffly. "If you please, Grandfather Frog, why doesn't Mr. Greensnake wink at us when we wink at him?" he asked. "Chug-a-rum! Because he can't," replied Grandfather Frog. "Can't!" cried Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck together. "That's what I said—can't," replied Grandfather Frog. "And no more can Mr. Blacksnake, or Mr. Rattlesnake, or Mr. Gophersnake, or any other member of the Snake family." "Why not?" cried Peter and Johnny, all in the same breath. "Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog, folding his hands across his white and yellow waistcoat, "if you will sit still until I finish, I'll tell you; but if you move or ask any foolish questions, I'll stop right where I am, and you'll never hear the end of the story, for no one else knows it." Of course Peter and Johnny promised to sit perfectly still and not say a word. After they had made themselves comfortable, Grandfather Frog cleared his throat as if to begin, but for a long time he didn't say a word. Once Peter opened his mouth to ask why, but remembered in time and closed it again without making a sound. "You see," he continued, "as soon as he found that out, he began to take advantage of his neighbors and cheat them, but he would do it so smoothly that they never once suspected that they were being cheated. Mr. Snake would go about all day cheating everybody he met. At night he would go home and chuckle over his smartness. It wasn't long before he began to look down on his neighbors for being so honest that they didn't suspect other people of being dishonest, and for being so easily cheated. "So Mr. Snake found that lying helped him to cheat and steal, and all the time he kept thinking how smart he was. But even Mr. Snake had a little bit of conscience, and once in a while it would trouble him. So what do you think he did? Why, cheating had become such a habit with him that he actually tried to cheat himself—to cheat his conscience! When he was telling a lie, he would wink one eye. 'That,' said he to himself, 'means that it isn't true, and if these folks are not smart enough to see me wink and know what it means, it is their own fault if they believe what I am telling them.' But always he took care to wink the eye that was turned away from the one he was talking to. "Now, with all his smartness, Mr. Snake had forgotten one thing, one very important thing. It was this: You can't fool Old Mother Nature, and it is of no use to try. He hadn't been talking three minutes before she knew who was at the bottom of all the trouble. She let him finish, then called all the others about her and told them who had made all the trouble. Mr. Snake was very bold. He held his head very high in the air and pretended not to care. When Old Mother Nature turned her head, he even ran out his tongue at her, just as all the Snake family do at you and me to-day. When she had finished telling them how cheating and stealing and lying isn't smart at all, but very, very dreadful, she turned to Mr. Snake and said: "'From this time on, no one will believe anything you say, and you shall have no friends. You will never wink again, for you and your children and your children's children forever will have no eyelids, that all the world may know that those who make a wrong use of the things given them shall have them taken away.' "And now you know why little Mr. Greensnake cannot wink at you; he hasn't any eyelids to wink with" finished Grandfather Frog. Peter Rabbit drew a long breath. "Thank you, oh, thank you ever so much, Grandfather Frog," he said. "Will you tell us next time why Bobby Coon wears rings on his tail?" "Perhaps," replied Grandfather Frog. Peter Rabbit would give Grandfather Frog no peace. Every day Peter visited the Smiling Pool to tease Grandfather Frog for a story—for one particular story. He wanted to know why it is that Bobby Coon wears rings on his tail. You see, Peter had admired Bobby Coon's tail for a long time. Peter has such a funny little tail himself, just a little white bunch of cotton, that such a handsome tail as Bobby Coon's sometimes stirs just a wee bit of envy in Peter's heart. But it wasn't envy so much as curiosity that prompted Peter to tease for that story. Bobby Coon's tail is very handsome, you know. It has beautiful rings of black and gray, and Peter didn't know of any other tail at all like it. Somehow, he felt right down deep in his heart that there must be a reason for those rings, just as there is a reason for his own long ears and long legs. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he simply must know, and the only way he could find out was from Grandfather Frog, who is very old and very wise. So he teased and he teased until finally Grandfather Frog promised him that on the next afternoon he would tell Peter why Bobby Coon has rings on his tail. Peter hurried away to tell all the little meadow and forest people, and the next afternoon they were all on hand on the bank of the Smiling Pool to hear the story about Bobby Coon's tail. "Chug-a-rum!" began Grandfather Frog, smoothing down his white and yellow waistcoat. "Chug-a-rum! Some folks seem to think that what they do doesn't matter to anybody but themselves. That was the way with old Mr. Rabbit, who lived a long time ago when the world was young. He thought he could make all the trouble he pleased by his dreadful curiosity, and if he was found out, no one would suffer but himself. But it wasn't so. Here is Peter Rabbit, his grandchild a thousand times removed, with long legs and long ears, and the bad habit of curiosity, all because old Mr. Rabbit had a bad habit and didn't try to overcome it. "It was the same way with old Mr. Coon. He was dishonest and stole from Old King Bear. Old Mother Nature punished him by putting mustard in his food, and Mr. Coon thought he was so smart that he could get ahead of Old Mother Nature by washing all his food before he ate it. Old Mother Nature didn't say anything, but watched him and smiled to herself. You see, she knew that Mr. Coon was beginning a good habit, a very good habit indeed—the habit of neatness. So, though she knew perfectly well that he was doing it just to get ahead of her, she was glad, for she was fond of Mr. Coon in spite of the bad ways he had grown into, and she knew that good habits are like bad habits—once started they grow and grow, and are very likely to lead to more good habits. "It was so with Mr. Coon. He found that his food tasted better for being so clean, and he grew very fussy about what he ate. No matter where he found it or how tempting it looked, he wouldn't eat it until he had carried it to the nearest water and washed it. He still remembered the mustard and tried to fool himself into thinking that he was simply spiting Old Mother Nature, but right down in his heart he knew that even if he should be told that never again would there be mustard in his food, he would wash it just the same. "One day, as he sat beside the Laughing Brook eating his supper, he noticed that while his food had been washed clean, his hands were dirty. They spoiled his supper. Yes, Sir, they spoiled his supper. "'What good does it do to wash my food, if I eat it out of dirty hands?' said Mr. Coon to himself, and he hurried to a quiet little pool to give them a good scrubbing. Then he washed his face and brushed his coat. 'Now I feel better, and I know my supper will taste better,' said he. "From that time he began to be particular, very particular, about keeping himself clean, until finally there was no one on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest quite so neat as Mr. Coon. "Now at this time Mr. Coon had a very plain tail. It was all of one color, a grayish white, not at all pretty. Mr. Coon used to think a great deal about that tail and wish and wish that it was handsome. Sometimes he used to envy Mr. Fox his beautiful red tail with its black and white tip. One day, as he sat on an old log with his chin in his hands, thinking about his tail, who should come along but Old Mother Nature. "'Good morning, Mr. Coon,' said she in her pleasantest voice. "Mr. Coon got up and made a very low bow. 'Good morning, Mother Nature,' he replied in his politest manner, which was very polite indeed. "'What were you thinking about so hard?' asked Old Mother Nature. "Mr. Coon looked a little bit ashamed. Then he sighed. 'I was wishing that my tail was handsomer,' said he. 'But it is a very good tail as it is,' he added hastily. "Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled. She sat down beside Mr. Coon and asked him all about his affairs, just as if she didn't know all about them already. She told him how pleased she was to find him so neat and clean, and Mr. Coon just tingled all over with pleasure. At last she got up to go, and her eyes twinkled more than ever, as she said: "'By the way, Mr. Coon, I am so pleased with your neatness that I am leaving you a reward. I hope you will like it.' "Mr. Coon didn't see any reward, but he thanked her just the same, and Old Mother Nature went on her way. Mr. Coon watched her out of sight. Then he sat down on the old log again and scratched his head thoughtfully as he looked this way and that. "'I wonder what she meant by reward. I don't see any anywhere,' he said to himself. "By and by he just happened to glance at his tail. 'Oh!' cried Mr. Coon, and then for a long time he couldn't say another word, but just looked and looked with shining eyes and such a queer feeling of happiness in his heart. You see, Old Mother Nature had left a beautiful, broad, black ring around his tail. Mr. Coon couldn't do anything the rest of that day but look at and admire that ring, until his neck ached from twisting it around so long. 1  2     Next Part Home - Random Browse
A Locust Locusts were the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers. They could breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory. They could travel great distances, rapidly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops. Plague of locusts Edit In 1132 the famine grew in Rokugan, untended lands and continuous Clan War left the warehouses empty. [1] The plague of locust worsened the situation. [2] External Links Edit 1. Hidden Emperor, p. 42 2. Plague of Locusts (Ambition's Debt flavor) Smallwikipedialogo This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Locust. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with L5r: Legend of the Five Rings Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. Ad blocker interference detected!
Generating Colors Colors are indicated by strings. Most normal colors such as "red", "purple", "green", "cyan", etc. should be available. Many colors come in various shades, such as "red1", "red2","red3", "red4", which are increasingly darker shades of red. For a full list, look up X11 color names on the web. The graphics module also provides a function for mixing your own colors numerically. The function color_rgb(red, green, blue) will return a string representing a color that is a mixture of the intensities of red, green and blue specified. These should be ints in the range 0-255. Thus color_rgb(255, 0, 0) is a bright red, while color_rgb(130, 0, 130) is a medium magenta. Example: aCircle.setFill(color_rgb(130, 0, 130)) zelle 2016-08-26
A Basis for Morality From both political (social, cultural) and genetic directions, the human is on a collision course with extinction. The worldwide cultural issues must be settled before the genetic problems can be properly approached. The cultural problem may be settled through social integration, in turn allowing a tight mobilization of the species to solve the genetic issues. Cultural integration requires a consistent, dependable and provable moral and ethical value system. Within the human sub-cultures across the earth there is a chaotic mixture of personal behavior systems. All descended from ancient tribal cultures and are based on opinion, conjecture, spirituality, philosophy, imagination, political ideology and other forms of dogma. Since the bases of these behavioral systems are variable, the resulting behaviors are also variable. These differences in behavior can be quite severe. Acceptable behavior in one sub-culture is often viewed with loathing by another. Individual movement between sub-cultures can be quite difficult, often requiring several generations to make the transition. If an individual moves into one sub-culture from another sub-culture and makes no attempt to change his behavior to match the new, he remains an outcast. Due to variations in language and behavioral systems, worldwide human interaction and communication suffers, often to the point of warfare. The productivity (intellectual advancement, invention) of the species is thereby diminished by the amount of intellectual assets lost in dealing with these variations, a loss that could be eliminated through a uniform ethical and moral behavior system. Why is a uniform ethical and moral behavior system needed across the species? The answer is two-fold. One lies in current social problems which are so severe that war and terrorism may well end the species, if large scale deprivation and massive infectious (social) disease epidemics do not perform that function first. The other lies in a current but not yet realized genetic problem which is even now closing in on the extinction of the species. During the two million years of human development as Homo erectus, tribes were small and isolated, and the entire worldwide population of the species was quite small. Each tribe developed genetic and social differences. These differences were in both outward appearance and inner neural mechanisms. Each tribe developed unique behaviors, dress, customs and speech. In some cases the difference was so marked as to become racial rather than ethnic differences. Each tribe was economically isolated and self-sufficient. Although some trade between tribes was probable, it was inconsequential to the survival of the tribe. Even then tribal conflict was common and, in fact, may have been a major factor in the intellectual and social development of the human during that period. These tribes still exist, though now swollen in population and geographically overlapping. Some geographic areas contain many tribes within the same boundaries. Geographic isolation, once so necessary for controlling conflict, has essentially disappeared with huge overlapping populations and modern transportation. Communication has become even more chaotic with the advent of voice, video and digital communication via the internet and satellites. Different languages and customs, as well as other tribal behaviors, become quite troublesome. Cheek to jowl, the human struggles, often violently, to retain its individual tribal identity. As the population expands, tribal conflict can only become worse. Another major problem is the lack of human goals. Evolution formed us with no plan in mind. As a product of evolution, the human also lives without knowing its use or purpose. It would be helpful in developing a uniform moral and ethical behavioral system based on real knowledge, to first determine, if possible, the proper goals for the human species. (For human goals see A Philosophy) What is the end purpose of life? Of the human? Perhaps the answers to these questions will never be known, but, through a study of life itself, and the development of the human through evolution, a real process may be established. Like an arrow with a shaft that is 4.5 billion years long, it points in the direction that each species must inevitably follow, or it, as a species, will perish. In the event that the human should become extinct, all life will likely eventually perish, for if the development of intellect by life is not sufficient for its survival, then the extinction of life itself is likely inevitable. Species other than the human also have their developmental directions. The cheetah and the antelope are good examples. Each has been getting faster over the past millions of years. If, for any reason, that development should slow in either species, the result would be disastrous to that species. If the antelope should gain on the cheetah in its development of speed, the cheetah starves. If the cheetah should gain on the antelope in its development of speed, the antelope may be over-hunted to extinction. Each must continue developing in its own direction, or perish. Eventually one will falter and cease to exist. The race facing the human is far different from that of the cheetah or antelope. The human is faced with a race in time with the very evolution which developed it. The major essence of the human developmental direction has been the ever-increasing application of the intellect to human behavior. The intellect has been quite successful in nullifying environmental effects. That feature has made the human the most successful mobile species on earth. However, in doing so, it has damaged its own evolutionary controls, resulting in a steady and rapid degradation of the human intellect. The only way this degradation can be reversed is by human intellectual intervention in and control of its own evolution. This, alone, is a mammoth undertaking for the species. For the determination of proper human behavior based on real knowledge it is necessary to build a chain of evidence for use as a basis. This evidence must begin with the first life and extend through the dawn of Homo sapiens sapiens. It must contain the mechanisms of life and the process by which life evolves into its various forms. Having established the formation of life and its development process, there are obvious conclusions that may be drawn concerning proper human behavior. If the conclusions thereby drawn are proper, they carry the authority of the underlying real knowledge and may be disputed only by denying that real knowledge. Conclusion 1: In the presence of a known evolutionary direction, even in the absence of known goals, the desired current behavior for a species may be determined. Life (DNA, the underlying structure of all life) began on earth about 4.5 billion years ago. It has competed with the environment and survived for that period. Life survives. It survives by competing, in many cases even with itself. Life can be shown to be universal. There is only one life and all living things share in that life (see OneLife). Although the organisms (biological mechanisms, species) developed by life in competing are mortal - they face natural death - life (DNA) is immortal, since it does not face natural death. In its survival, life has developed many functional forms (organisms, species). Each of these forms competes to survive. That competition commonly includes: (1) competition with the external environment, (2) competition between species and (3) competition between individuals within a species. Evolution is a natural process in life. All modern species evolved from other prior species. All species either develop into other species or, failing to survive, become extinct (see Evolution). Each species is a self-replicating group of organisms. Homo sapiens sapiens (the modern human) is one of these (see The Evolution of the Human for a chronicle of the evolutionary path from the ancient primate to the modern human). In its present (natural) form, the evolution process is a senseless one, without planning or goals. The opportunity for organism change (mutation accidents in the DNA replication process) is largely a matter of chance. The selection of those changes for permanency in the gene pool is also largely determined by chance, though tending to favor those changes which enhance survival. Evolution is a reactive system since the evolving life forms develop to survive in an environment which they do not control. Within a given species, and other factors being equal, the survival of the species depends on the behavior (culture) of that species. If it fits the current collective environment and the species does not become extinct, then the overall behavior of that species is good (normal). In a like sense, the behavior of the species is the summation of the behaviors of the individuals within that species. Since the culture of a species is the sum of the behaviors of the individuals within that culture, then the appropriateness of the individual action can be evaluated in terms of the characteristics of the culture. The process of evolution is senseless and merciless. Among other deficient and undesirable characteristics of natural evolution, it creates species that are deadly to other species. The resultant competition (often deadly) between species adds another dimension to the environment which shapes a particular species. Life makes no distinction. Since it does not reason and has no inherent direction, it merely creates life-forms. It is then the competition between life-forms and the competition between the life-forms and the physical environment that determines the set of life-forms which have the best survival. Although not by design, this system insures that all possible physical life-forms and all possible combinations of life-forms are tested for survivability. Life, in its myriad creations, has tried a multitude of survival mechanisms. In the case of the human species, the distinguishing factor is intellect. The question remains unanswered whether this is the ultimate form, the one which will shape all life-forms for ultimate survivability, thereby achieving immortality for life itself. Until that question is answered, each species must develop in its assigned notch and seek survivability for itself. If the human should not be the answer to the survival of life, care must be taken that the failure of the human does not harm life. In choosing between behavior alternatives, the survival of life is paramount. The survival of the species is next in importance. The survival of the individual is the least important. Since it can be assumed, however, under present conditions, that the survival of the human species is the best chance for life itself to survive, then it is reasonable to assume that the survival of the human species must take precedence in all decisions. Since the human cannot survive without many other forms of life, those other species necessary for the human to survive will carry the same priority. Conclusion 2: Since the product of life is survival, normal (expected, natural) behavior within a species is that which provides the optimum opportunity for species survival. Individual or group behavior which supplies less than optimum opportunity for species survival, is perverted (not normal). Conclusion 3: In the evolution process, mutations occur to individuals primarily by chance, without regard to the safety or comfort of the individual. The environment then removes those mutations which are deleterious to species survival through death and suffering to the individual. The natural process of life includes both mutations and merciless screening. The end result is the survival of the species (community) as opposed to the survival of the individual. In the natural process of life, the behavior and survival of the individual are subservient to the species welfare. For the first 180,000 years of species existence, the modern human (Homo sapiens sapiens) was a tribal/warrior/hunter. He still is. The hominid has been a tribal animal for the past four million years, the human (Homo) for the past two million years. Tribal behavior is instinctive. All social drives (care of children, cooperation, compassion, tool and weapon invention, territorial defense, language, dress, song, dance, art, competition, etc.) can be shown to be based on instinct, though the final form and execution is influenced by intellect. All of these facets of culture are directly related and interdependent and most exist in some form in all of the higher organisms. All modern cultures are based on these social drives. The details of culture may be quite variable from group to group, depending on the group viewpoint. Whereas technology requires factual knowledge, and therefore is uniformly applied from group to group, all cultural studies are based on dogma of one sort or another. Whereas in technology a truth is a truth, in culture a truth is a matter of group opinion, and, in fact, is quite variable even within a given group. Individual social behavior within a particular cultural group becomes a matter of accumulated dogma (opinion, philosophy, conjecture, hearsay, imagination, etc.), to be applied under a given set of circumstances. It is no wonder that every possible behavior may be found in one culture or another. The question is asked: If there are necessary behavioral rules, why can't they be expressed in the same objective manner as our technology - thereby ending the cultural variability? Such a resulting culture would be knowledge based instead of dogma based - a uniform intellectual culture instead of many dogma based cultures. It would go a long way toward developing a benign culture under which all humans could live productively while being free of the tribal conflicts (war, terrorism, genocide, ethnic and racial bigotry, etc.) now prevalent. All species have immoral individuals, though the individuals in many species do not have the intellectual capability of understanding it in order to correct it. All individuals in every species have some immoral behavior. Evolution is not a planned (engineered) process. It makes no attempt to build the optimum individual. Conclusion 4: Since with the human there is choice in behavior, its behavior is not classified as normal or perverted as is with the animals without intellect. The human has the intellectual ability to understand his instinctive behavioral drives and to modify them to bring his behavior in line with a consistent moral and ethical cultural system. All of his actions, therefore, may be classified as moral, immoral, ethical or unethical. When the human exercises intellectual control over his instincts, and thereby obtains moral behavior, he is being more 'human' whereas when he succumbs to his instincts and behaves in a manner which is contrary to intellectual control, he is more 'animal-like'. It is quite probable that life will never be of consequence in the universe. Chances are it will sputter for a while then disappear, possibly not even lasting until the demise of earth itself. A glimmer of hope for an effect on the universe by life exists in the human intellect. The universe has no purpose. It only exists. Intelligent design is a new concept in the universe. Until it developed in the human there was no intellect to endow the universe with purpose. To bring about purpose in the universe, it must be modified. Conclusion 5: Modification of natural systems to bring value and purpose is revolutionary in the universe but native (normal, moral, ethical) in the human. The human adapts the materials around him to his own needs. Yet the power of his intelligence is still in its infancy. Perhaps a redesign of the total ecosystem on earth would be a worthwhile task someday. Or consider our solar system. There is enough useless debris in our solar system to construct a thousand earths in a ring around the sun - just another real estate project. Then there is the human. Having been created by a process employing trial and error, one without goal or purpose, the human is beginning to realize that his own design has serious flaws. The human intellect is also an excellent tool for designing the human. It is very likely that future Homo species will be designed by man rather than by the idiocy of a merciless and chaotic evolution. Therein lies the hope in the future of life. As it survived in competition with the environment, it created a species of life that possesses the creativity of intelligence. That special quality must be protected and nourished. The survival of the human species becomes paramount. All other forms of life that are compatible with and needed by the human species fall under the same need for protection. Conclusion 6: Only the human has the intellectual ability to understand the environment, including its own instinctive drives, and therefore has an intellectual choice among possible behaviors. That behavior which can be expected of the human is therefore intellectual, ethical and moral. If put to the test, therefore, any human behavior may be intellectually analyzed and if it is an optimum step in the path to human species survival it is ethical and moral, otherwise it is suspect. The degree of morality of a human behavior may be determined by judging its efficiency (as compared with alternate behaviors) in its contribution to the long term welfare and survival of the human species and in particular the intellectual attributes of that species. Teaching a child provable fact, as an example, is moral behavior. Teaching a child fantasy, fiction and ideological dogma is immoral behavior. The intellectual capability in the human is superimposed over an instinctive behavioral system. The development of the human over its four million year history produced an intelligent warrior/hunter/explorer. The human became brave, smart, tenacious and capable of surviving under terrible mental and physical conditions, but had little time or need for objective intellectual pursuits. The instinctive system is primarily concerned with the current real environment, both social and physical, and it takes precedence over objective thought, even to the extent of commandeering the intellect for the furthering of instinctive (subjective) needs. Only when the instinctive system is at ease can the intellectual system function objectively. Creative thought is simply not available when the instinctive system is activated by such things as: fear, hunger, dread, greed, lust, outrage, etc. Conclusion 7: If the human species is to survive it must provide a benign, worldwide, uniform culture as a working environment. This is essential for a creative species. An intellectual culture, one based on real knowledge, is required to provide the creative atmosphere so essential for human invention, and thereby survival. Although the primary loyalty is to the human, any behavior concerning other species which are compatible (we don't need to protect the HIV virus for example) and which can effect the survivability of the the human (and man does not live by bread alone) falls within this definition of morality. The human is a definable biological survival mechanism, one developed to modern form some 200,000 years ago, in an environment that can also be defined. Its expected individual behavior may be determined from a study of that dynamic interactive system. A culture (behavioral system) developed from this real knowledge would be an intellectual culture. All prior dogma must give way in case of conflict. The distinguishing feature of the survival pattern developed by evolution in the human species is the ability to modify and control natural (instinctive) behaviors with intellectual considerations. The intellectual component of human behavior has been very successful in solving human environmental problems. Unfortunately that very success has distorted the natural evolutionary process resulting in a destructive evolution that will degenerate the human species into extinction unless order is brought by human intervention. This intervention will require great invention and dedication. The survival and fulfillment of the human species, therefore, depends on the continued development and use of the human intellect, which, in turn, may only be achieved through proper human behavior. The primary behavioral controls for all mobile species are reactive. Under these controls, current behavior is a direct result of current environment. These controls are called instincts. Superimposed over these instincts in the human, and largely in competition with those instincts, are various intellectual controls. These developed as modifiers to the instinctive controls (see The Human Brain) because they provided more optimum survival behavior than available with the raw instincts. The human substitutes intellectual control for instinct, when determining proper action (behavior). That substitution is called 'self-discipline' or 'self-control'. From the beginning, the human has used its intellect to make its lot easier. Rather than endure the stresses of the environment, it first invented clothing, shelter, and hunting tools. Later it invented agriculture, manufacturing, medical care and compassionate cultures. All of these subsidized deleterious mutations that would have otherwise been culled by the environment. A new field in human ethics is dawning, one concerning human intervention in the genetic structure of the human. Surely we need not suffer the thousands upon thousands of genetic defects now resident in our gene pool. A large portion of those defects are neural and therefore adversely effect the community culture. Conceivably this intervention could become quite extensive even to the point, in the far future, of the creation of a new human species to replace our own. Modern sub-cultures (group behavior systems) are based on dogma. Most of these will strenuously object. Many modern philosophers on the subject predict dire results from tampering with the human DNA configuration. Most objections are on ethical grounds. Some of these fears are quite valid. Many call for extremely limited or no intervention. What they all fail to see is that we have no choice. We will either gain engineering control over our evolution or we will become extinct. That is fact. It is as simple as that. And the timing is critical. We do not have a lot of time left to bring human evolution under control. Even now the social structure of the world is degenerating rapidly. If we fail to gain engineering control before the degeneration collapses our society, the human will become history. The area of concern in the behavior of the human is the degeneration of the human instinct due to conflict with the developing human intellect. The following is a quotation from The Degeneration of Man. For more detailed background on this subject refer to that study. The human species has developed an unusual and deadly evolutionary process. The natural process of evolution, a process which has produced many wondrous life forms, depends on 2 factors: (1) a defective replication process which produces offspring with various, almost random, genetic afflictions, most of which are damaging to the organism, and (2) a demanding and harsh environment which quickly eliminates those changes which are not beneficial, allowing only the few which are beneficial to survive. This process constantly improves the survivability of the species at the cost of much suffering and death. Evolution is a merciless, trial and error process without goals or plans. A species which suffers the pain of a harsh environment will have a high birth rate, high death rate and short life, but its gene pool will be tightly maintained by evolution. If the environment becomes, or is changed to be, benign, deleterious mutations which would have been eliminated from the gene pool will instead be subsidized by the benign environment and allowed to propagate through the species. A species in fat city is a degenerating species. Note: Wars, famine, natural disasters, and disease epidemics have little effect on evolution since there is no selection for individual survivability. Modern social degeneration is occurring as the result of reverting to damaged instincts. The process that brought this about is not reversible - we cannot return to the jungle. It is not that the human species is degenerating back to the base primate configuration, it is degenerating toward an inability to survive. The species must develop out of this condition through its own intervention in the process of evolution or it will become extinct. If the human species is to become viable in the long term it must be through use of its intellect. Will the human species be able to advance in its ability to control its own evolution rapidly enough to gain control before the degenerative nature of a one-sided evolution reduces the species to uniform incompetence, thereby leading to its extinction? It appears to be a close race. The ethics and morality of a given human behavior may be evaluated in terms of the effect of the action with respect to the survivability of life, the species and the individual, in that order. A given behavior may have an end value that ranges from quite damaging through a neutral result to one which is invigorating or life enhancing. In order to apply the general conclusions about morality and ethics to real life decisions, it is necessary to segment the field of ethics into at least four main groups of ethical consideration: • behavior resulting in effects on the survivability of life, • behavior resulting in effects on the survivability of the species, • behavior resulting in effects on the survivability of the individual, and • ethical considerations concerning human intervention in human DNA. The ultimate survivability of life is paramount. Any action which damages the general survivability of life is ethically neutral only if accompanied by associated repair action and the diligent development of ways to avoid that action completely. Any less coordinated action is unethical and immoral. To be positively ethical even further steps must be taken. If pollution is generated, for example, there must be efforts to minimize the amount, to clean up that which is accidental or unavoidable, and to develop processes and procedures to eventually eliminate the pollution itself. Once having considered the effects of the behavior on life, the next consideration is to the survival and well-being of the human species. Here again the same evaluation procedure applies. There can be no exceptions on the trade-off between the survival of the human species or subcultures thereof and the overall survivability of life itself. Life takes precedence. If the human should become extinct (due to its own foolishness) care must be taken that life survives and in fact is not harmed in its survival. Once having considered the effects of a given human behavior on life and the species, the next consideration is to the survival and well-being of the human individual. Here again the same evaluation procedure applies. There can be no exceptions on the trade-off between the survival of the human and the overall survivability of the human species and life. Life takes precedence. The human species is next in importance. The individual is least important. Still, it must be remembered that for life to survive, the human must survive and for the human to survive the individual must also. With a reasonable and proper culture, one based on real knowledge and designed for the productivity of man, the human should be relatively safe and should enjoy a fulfilling life of accomplishing more than his share toward the survival of life and the human species. Any other action would be immoral, unethical and perverted. The ethics of a particular genetic intervention may also be evaluated using the above steps. The primary intervention effort should be directed toward improving the species gene pool, with first effort directed toward a high and consistent species intellect and uniform and correct instincts. All other work is of lesser importance and is therefore lesser in ethics and morality. The lowest priority, and therefore the most unethical would be intervention directed toward an individual solely for purposes of vanity, a form of genetic plastic surgery. The primary worry in a free enterprise world would be the development of genetic intervention methods that would add value only to a select family tree (those with power or money). Such effort would further widen the current gap between the have and have-nots. Without question, such work, unless it clearly leads to a future benefit for the entire species, would be unethical. A second worry would be in a socialist world, where under government guidance there would be development of genetic intervention methods that would enhance the power of the state. This would also be entirely unethical. In the beginning there will be much experimentation primarily aimed at correcting the genetic problems of an individual. Most of this work will be valuable for where it leads but is of little value for the work it accomplishes since to be universal it would need to be applied to every human, present and future. Far more ethical to spend the same time working on a universal correction that can be fed into the gene pool, one which will propagate to future generations. Reader's Comments READER'S COMMENT:You're missing many aspects of the human condition needed in order to comprehend morality and the purpose to human life. Those missing aspects are deliberately missing. The human condition, desires, wants, goals, history and needs are not relevant in the establishment of human morality. In spite of current cultural practice, morality is not a matter of polls. Man-made morality is an oxymoron. If he makes it up to suit himself then follows it, it is not a moral action. It is man that needs the rules to follow. The idea that a study of man can provide morality standards for himself is intellectual incest. We are creatures of the universe and we must fit within its processes. If human behavior fits these natural processes, the human as a species might survive. If human behavior works contrary to these processes, the human as a species is certain to become extinct. The interface between the human and the universe, is the same as all life. It is a process called evolution. We are now operating contrary to that process. If we continue to do so we will become extinct and the definition of morality becomes moot. The product of evolution and its process on life is survival. Within that life are specie. Within each species there are individuals. Within the survival of life there is order. It is the survival of life which is paramount, the survival of the species which is next in importance (many survive for millions of years) and the individual organism, although it struggles to survive, it does not. It is my contention that human behavior is based (or could be based) on intellect, therefore, morality should be based on the behavior he should take and that action is not contingent on what he wants, what he thinks he needs, how he feels about it, how hard his childhood was, what his skin color or sexual preference is, etc. The universe was not created for the human to do with as he pleases (although if the human does as he should it is possible that he may control the universe sometime in the future). And finally, there is no purpose for the human species at this point in time. Living a fun life is not a purpose. Doing what comes naturally is not a purpose. The human as the product of a natural process has no more purpose than the rest of the universe, which is zero. The universe is and does. The human is and does at the present time. Purpose and value are human concepts and do not apply to natural processes. They may, however, in the case of the human. The human has intellect and with that intellect he often modifies natural processes to his own use. When he does so, he modifies nature and thereby gains value and purpose. That action is natural to the human, but novel in the universe. The human may do the same with himself, and gain intellectual control over the evolution of his form, intellect and culture . In fact, if he does not, he will become extinct. If he does, then by his own action he will have created his own value and purpose. READER'S COMMENT: What I question is calling most people "reaction" machines. It is generally understood that only psychopaths are true "reaction" machines, and the mental health community is careful to reserve the psychopath label for adults in this genre, most likely because they recognize that most children start off with behavior that would be classified as psychopathic in adults. The rationalization is that such children shouldn't be blamed, because the process is "unthinking". If we continue to have brutal murders by children, perhaps the psychiatrists will have to re-evaluate their position on this. AUTHOR'S REPLY: A behavior response to only current sensory conditions is an extremely primitive neural mechanism response, one found only in the most primitive of mobile organisms. All of the higher animals use past experience as an important part of their behavior decisions. The behavior of the human, as with many other species, is in response to current conditions as perceived in the context of past experience. In the case of the human species, this past experience includes both past training and education as well as past hands-on experience. That's why proper training and experience is so important for the young. Even in the case of apparently human instigated behavior, a sudden invention of behavior with no apparent driving force in the environment, the need for that behavior was the product of past experience and current environment, and it was expressed in an appropriate environment and time. It was, therefore, reactive. Modern psychology and psychiatry are still laboring under the illusion that the human uniquely possesses some form of undefinable 'spiritual' component, one which is modified by environment from person to person to form the psychopath, the genius or the imbecile. In fact the human is a highly complex biological mechanism, one produced with no planning, engineering or quality control, and is, therefore, widely variable. Though reactive, the human is highly variable in its reaction (behavior) and produces a wide variability in environmental assessment and behavioral response. Children are born, if normal, with the proper thinking and memory apparatus but with clean slate memories - zero experience. As they develop (gain experience) and are taught, they gain that other half of the necessary total environment for proper behavior decisions. Most children know they should not hurt other children by the age of four or five. If they are strong enough to kill, they are old enough to be punished for doing so. READER'S COMMENT: Reference your argument about restricting education to the hard sciences. The weakness in that position is that it ignores the needs of children for aids to growth and maturity. Some of that process includes something extra beyond the study of facts. Receptors into the brain do include senses such as ordinary touch. Again, the missing element is interactive feedback. AUTHOR'S REPLY: A general knowledge of the hard sciences (biology, astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics) is essential for a human to understand its relationship with the universe. These need not be taught as rote subjects. Each applies to the very basis of human thought. There is a vast difference (or should be) between teaching these subjects for purposes of orientation and teaching them as a skilled life's work. Even the hard sciences can be made quite palatable to the younger ones by emphasizing relationships (how they directly relate to the student) rather than hard facts. There are many subjects other than the hard sciences that may be taught truthfully, such as law, history, geography, languages, architecture, economics, commerce, and, of course, all of the trades. Then there are communications skills, that are a must for in-depth teaching. The schools are also charged with training the student in proper social behavior. This is a time consuming task but one infinitely necessary. It is totally beyond me why there is a widespread belief that truth cannot be taught with the same sensitivity, empathy, kindness, consideration, etc. as fiction, fantasy, opinion, conjecture and dogma. READER'S COMMENT: I wish you well in your philosophical endeavor. In the end, I think the social utility of morality proves its value to human society - but deeper explanations escape me. AUTHOR'S REPLY: If what I am writing is indeed only another philosophical endeavor, then I have failed. Although often quite enlightening and inspiring, a philosophy is no more than imagination and conjecture, even from the most brilliant of philosophers. Even if many philosophers agree on a particular human behavior, there is no real knowledge expressed. Another group may have the opposite opinion and their opinions are as valid. The human mind cannot create real knowledge, it can only discover it. I seek to move behavioral rules to a plane far more factual, one based on known fact, one devoid of opinion, one that cannot be denied without denying the underlying real knowledge. My approach is to base moral behavior on real and accepted fact. If it is properly done so, my 'philosophy' is no more of a philosophy than an arithmetic times table. I do admit it takes 'technical' knowledge to find 'deeper explanations'. One must analyze a mechanism before prescribing its proper maintenance and care. Such knowledge requires an investment in time and effort. If modern psychology was a science rather than a philosophy it would be able to answer our questions for us. Unfortunately, modern psychology is quite archaic, a pseudo-science based on philosophy rather than on science. It is easy to find polar opposites in opinion among the psychologists. It is impossible to find polar opposites in a science (one based on fact) such as chemistry or physics. In the meantime writers on both sides of every social fence can only argue based on opinion. Such writing is the dogma of our time. We have more than enough dogma already. Yet this discourse is leading our society, a contradictory discourse based on opinion, imagination and conjecture on both sides. No wonder our world wide chaotic human culture. READER'S COMMENT: ......how arrogant!!!!!! To believe that because the human should become extinct, all life is likely to also become extinct! The human is only one species. If it fails, another will take its place. And under what kind of convoluted reasoning is it certain that intelligence is the only solution to immortality for life? AUTHOR'S REPLY: Life is finite. It has finite restrictions in its construction. There are a finite number of methods (survivable DNA combinations) available for life to survive. Physical characteristics such as: faster, stronger, more vicious, more offspring, offspring who need no help, offspring that need extensive help, etc. have all been used. Behavior characteristics such as tree dwelling, burrowing, cannibalism, group coordination, isolation, etc. have all been used. Construction techniques such as fixed, mobile, external skeletons, internal skeletons, no skeletons, fur, scales, feathers, hair, etc. have all been used. These have been tried in millions of combinations over billions of years. Most such combinations (species) have already perished. All were developed for the very narrow benign conditions here on earth, and are restricted to those conditions. If any life should prevail that long, when our sun fails and our earth becomes a cinder, it will cease to be. To survive, life must not only solve its problems here on earth; but life, itself, must be carried to the stars. None of the above techniques do more than sustain a species for a short time. All of these techniques have one thing in common, the organism is still at the mercy of the physical environment. Even intellect is not peculiar to the human species, but it has gained enough strength in the human to modify the environment and the ability to proceed along that path. Human intellect not only has the power to modify the environment, it has the power to modify the human itself, and thereby escape the inevitable extinction that all natural species will endure. Perhaps there is some other power which evolution has not yet invented, one not yet imagined, one that is superior to intellect. But, intellect is here now, and it can do the job. If the other one comes along, we will bow out of the way since the survival of life, not the human, is paramount. READER'S COMMENT:Darwinian evolution shows that human ethics have evolved during human development and that it continues to evolve to this day. He has shown how behavior has been modified by evolution over the ages. The very basis of evolution is that something is changing. How can you say that there are absolute rules? AUTHOR'S REPLY: I have recently read two texts on 'Darwinian natural right': The Biological Ethics of Human Nature by Larry Arnhart and Taking Darwin Seriously by Michael Ruse. Both are interesting. The subject matter is much the same in both. Both authors are excellent in their research and in their presentation. If you are interested in how cultures evolved from a historical perspective, either text is excellent. Unfortunately, although Darwin visualized the evolution process, he did not have the knowledge of genetic structure and function that we have today. He understood how form and function evolved from the standpoint of the organisms but he was ignorant of the molecular process by which that evolution functioned. He could tell the story of how it occurred in historical terms, but he had no inkling of the molecular mechanism and its functional laws. The same applies for his profound ideas on the evolution of culture (where a culture is the collection of behaviors - the ethics and morality - of a group). My text is not interested in how culture (behavioral rights and wrongs) developed under the combined physical and social environment of the human over its development period. Nor is it interested in its future forms if allowed to evolve naturally from the present condition into the cultural future. It is deeply interested in what the culture of the human (and therefore its proper individual behavior) should be given the physical reality of its evolutionary mechanism and its fit in the universe. It projects a cultural eugenics for the intellectual control of the evolution of culture in the same manner that eugenics projects an intellectual control of the evolution of the human form. The history of both the form and culture of the human shows a chaotic evolution that was mindless and without goal or purpose. It provided a cut and try process which thrived on death and misery. Intellectual control of both gives the human species an evolution that is planned and reasoned, one which provides the species with goals and fulfillment as opposed to blind survival. So in this text I have recognized the idiocy of natural evolution in providing the human species with both form and culture. All of its form and cultural ills are caused by this idiot process. I have recognized that the human is intellectual and therefore capable of analysis, goal setting, and planning. Bringing the two together so that the human can work toward optimizing both its form and its culture is now the challenge I offer. Biologists have learned to move from the organism to the molecular level in their analysis of life forms. The form of the organism is controlled by the molecules in its DNA. Those who seek wisdom in the behavior of the human must do the same. Once having ascertained the rules for proper behavior of the human through determining the basic forces of life on a molecular level, an analysis of the history of culture from that viewpoint is entirely different. It shows the direction and magnitude of human cultural error that was caused by the natural (idiot) process of cultural evolution. The two texts cited show an expected direction for human culture, instead that history should be viewed as a chronicle of cultural error, something to use to learn what not to allow our culture to experience. URL: http://www.onelife.com/ethics/brule.html
New Patient Form Book an Appointment Now! periodontal disease salvaggio_brampton_dentist What is Periodontal Disease / Peridontitis? Your dentist or dental hygienist may have told you that you have periodontal disease or periodontitis, but what does that mean? Periodontitis involves the breakdown of gum tissue and bone tissue that surrounds and supports the teeth. It may affect one or more areas of the mouth. Smoking is probably the most important risk factor that contributes to developing peridontitis. Gum disease, also referred to as gingivitis, causes inflammation of the gums and bleeding. This condition can be reversed with regular and proper oral care. Gingivitis can progress to periodontal disease, if left untreated however. Unlike gum disease, periodontitis causes permanent damage to the gum and bone tissue. In some cases, tissue grafting may be done to help restore the affected areas. periodontal disease brampton dentist dr salvaggio What Can I Do To Avoid It? Prevention is always the best approach. Regular dental cleanings and exams are important to detect potential issues before they result in pain or invasive surgery. Your daily oral care routine is very important. While having regular dental cleanings are necessary to ensure that all debris are removed, your regular home care contributes the most to your oral health. When you do not brush your teeth or floss regularly, plaque buildup begins to form on your teeth and causes gum disease. Gum disease is characterized by bleeding and swollen gums. If proper oral care is implemented at this stage, no permanent damage will occur. If the plaque is left undisturbed, it will harden into what is referred to as calculus or tartar. The calculus or tartar will cause more plaque to buildup around it and will eventually lead to breakdown of the gum and bone tissue. Smoking has been shown to affect the level of bone loss in the mouth as well. Smoking has been shown to accelerate bone loss and increase the risk of developing periodontal disease. As the severity of periodontal disease progresses, there is an increased risk for tooth loss that is associated with low bone levels. If you have signs or symptoms of gingivitis or periodontal disease, contact us today. Write a comment: You must be logged in to post a comment. 2017 © Copyright - Privacy Policy - Salvaggio Dentistry      Powered by
Social Icons Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Composite Fabrication : Filament Winding FILAMENT WINDING is a process for fabricating a composite structure in which continuous reinforcements (filament, wire, yarn, tape, or other), either previously impregnated with a matrix material or impregnated during winding, are placed over a rotating form or mandrel in a prescribed way to meet certain stress conditions. When the required number of layers is applied, the wound form is cured and the mandrel can be removed or left as part of the structure. High-speed, precise lay-down of continuous reinforcement in predescribed patterns is the basis of filament winding. The filament-winding machine traverses the wind eye at speeds that are synchronized with the mandrel rotation, controlling the winding angle of the reinforcement and the fiber lay-down rate. The deposition can be controlled either by computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines or by simple mechanically controlled winders; the latter are less convenient, but require a lower capital investment. Figure below shows the basic six axes of the CNC machines. Usually, the mechanical machines are limited to three axes or less, whereas the CNC machines can accommodate up to seven axes. Thermoset resins, generally used as binders for reinforcements, can be applied to the dry roving at the time of winding, which is known as wet winding. They may also be applied prior to winding as a tow or tape prepreg and used promptly or refrigerated. Usually the cure of the filament-wound composite is conducted at elevated temperatures without vacuum bagging or autoclave compaction. Mandrel removal, trimming, and other finishing operations complete the process. Six axes of filament-winding machine motion. Courtesy of McClean Anderson, Inc Axis 1- Spindle/ Mandrel rotation Axis 2-Horizontal Carriage Motion Axis 3-Cross or Radial Carriage Motion Axis 4- Axis 5-Eye Motion Axis 6-Yaw Motion The mandrel can be cylindrical, spherical, or any other shape as long as it does not have reentrant (concave) curvature—although several manufacturers have been able to incorporate complex reentrant curves in filament wound structures (Fig. 4 and 5). Large or thick-walled structures, particularly structures of revolution such as cylinders or pressure vessels, are most easily wound. A Complex Winding Pattern synthesis said... Synthesis India - Coil Winding Machines, Automatic Winding Machines comprises of various Automatic Winding Machines that are specifically designed to cater to the winding needs of various Sectors like auto component, Electrical and Electronics, white goods, etc.
February 28, 2008 Nature Lends a Hand Removing Contaminants from Water In 2002, Bruce Rittmann, PhD, director of the Biodesign Institute's Center for Environmental Biotechnology, received a patent for an innovative way to use nature to lend society a hand. He invented a treatment system, called the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), which uses naturally occurring microorganisms to remove contaminants from water. Now Rittmann and his research team, which includes Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and Jinwook Chung, recently published a paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology for a new application that removes a problematic contaminant that has made local headlines. The chlorinated solvent trichloroethene (TCE) has been found to be an increasingly problematic contaminant in groundwater. The detection of TCE recently forced the shut down of the water supply for the Greater Phoenix area municipalities of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale. TCE has been widely used as a cleaning agent and solvent for many military, commercial, and industrial applications. Its widespread use, along with its improper handling, storage, and disposal, has resulted in frequent detection of TCE in the groundwater. TCE has the potential to cause liver damage, malfunctions in the central nervous system and it is considered a likely human carcinogen. "As with other elements, the chlorine cycle is becoming a key concern to many environmental pollution scientists," said Krajmalnik-Brown, a researcher in the Biodesign Institute's Center for Environmental Biotechnology and assistant professor in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Transforming the chlorinated solvent to a harmless product is the best way to eliminate the harmful effects of TCE. In the case of TCE, Mother Nature is the best helper. Scientists have discovered specialized microorganisms that can replace the chlorine in the chlorinated molecules with hydrogen, a process called reductive dechlorination. While other methods are possible, they are often more costly than reductive dechlorination on a large scale, and many do not transform TCE into a harmless end product. In the paper, the Rittmann team utilized the MBfR and a naturally occurring group of microorganisms able to remove TCE from water. Surprisingly, these microorganisms, called dehalogenerators, have an affinity for chlorinated organics and can be found all throughout nature, even in clean water supplies, the soil, and groundwater. "These bacteria respire TCE, that is, they can use TCE like we use oxygen to breathe," said Krajmalnik-Brown. "They take in the TCE and they start removing the chlorines, step by step. In the ideal case, the dehalogenators remove all the chlorines, converting TCE to ethene, which is harmless." With this knowledge in hand, the challenge for the research team was to adapt their existing MfBR system, which can remove other water contaminants, to see if it could now handle TCE. A version of the reactor that addresses perchlorate, a byproduct of rocket fuel, is already in the commercialization pipeline. "A key challenge with using these bacteria is that, if they don't dechlorinate all the way, the TCE can be converted to vinyl chloride, which is a known human carcinogen," said Krajmalnik-Brown. "In other words, if you don't have complete dechlorination, you can end up having something worse than what you started with. So, it is critical to have the right mix of microorganisms for complete dechlorination." Their approach was simple in execution. They took an existing MBfR that was handling perchlorate removal and then introduced TCE into the system. Rittmann's MBfR works by delivering hydrogen gas to the bacteria through tiny hollow tubes submerged in water. In the right environment, the tubes become coated with a biofilm containing microorganisms. The system provides the microorganisms with hydrogen gas, which must be present for the microorganisms to change the chemical composition of a contaminant and render it harmless. Their results indicated that the MBfR could be an incredibly versatile system, quickly adapting to now handle TCE. "This was really surprising, because there wasn't any TCE at our pilot plant experiments prior to switching," said Krajmalnik-Brown. "So there must have been really small amounts of the critical microorganisms in the culture. When shifted to TCE, they thrived and handled the contaminants." By assessing the MBfR community, they found the special dehalogenating bacteria that can take the hydrogen supplied by the MBfR and reduce TCE all the way to harmless ethene. Using the latest molecular techniques, they could not only identify the bacterial population to handle TCE, but also the genes within these populations that make enzymes that detoxify TCE to ethene. The team found one particular organism, a new type of Dehalococcoides, the bacteria known to dechlorinate TCE all the way to ethene. They were also the first group to grow these dehalogenating bacteria in a biofilm in the lab. "The bacteria are notoriously difficult to grow into a biofilm in the lab and study because they need hydrogen as an electron donor. An advantage of our system is that the MBfR can provide hydrogen through a membrane, which allows the microbial community to grow and naturally form a biofilm surrounding the membrane," said Krajmalnik-Brown. Next, the team hopes to drive the TCE system toward commercialization. Other oxidized contaminants that the system has been effective in reducing in the laboratory setting include perchlorate, selenate (found in coal wastes and agricultural drainage), chromate (found in industrial wastes), and other chlorinated solvents. Photo Caption: Bruce Rittmann's Biodesign Institute research team has utilized a system, called the microbial biofilm reactor, that uses a naturally occurring group of microorganisms to remove TCE from water. Here, ASU assistant professor Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and graduate research assistant Michal Ziv-El assemble a membrane biofilm reactor to test against TCE. Credit: Barb Backes, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University On the Net: Arizona State University Biodesign Institute's Center for Environmental Biotechnology Journal Environmental Science & Technology
Sneak peek at the Vampire Dancer Saga Part 5, Fan Fiction: In 2017 Slavery never ended Copyright 2017 Shalimar Ali In 2017, Slavery never ended 800px-Thomas_Edison2Sallie Cherry is a light-skinned slave in 1890. She has never worked the fields. But kept inside Master’s house to keep her skin light. This made her more acceptable to do light duties like washing dishes, laundry and tending to her slave master’s children. Even though slavery ended officially on Dec. 8, 1865, the house niggers and field niggers were not aware that it ended. Ro’Zha and Drake had travelled back to 1890 to continue their quest to change the outcome of slavery. They asked each other, how and why a situation like slavery ever came to be? They looked this situation from the perspective of the Slave Owner and the Slave. How did this come to being? From the slave master perspective it was 100% win-win. They can play GOD! BillyBobThorntonHWOFFeb2012cropThis means they can kill any human. Rape any black girl or woman. And to boot, get free labor to build their county? How and why would a slave go along with this unfair existence? A simple answer: BRAINWASHING! This does not mean that the slaves were stupid, ignorant or dumb. It just means that they were outnumbered and had a language barrier. It is pretty easy to be brainwashed if you don’t understand the language. And see the white men lynch other blacks on a daily basis. Also rape black girls and women everyday. And kill and torture all blacks. There was a sense of hopelessness for your survival. If you just simply wanted to live, you had to abide by what the white man said. This form of brainwashing to survive to live, endured, even to the year 2017. Not as subtle as it was in 1890, but a road map to make sure that you lived, even through compliance. Halle_Berry_by_Gage_SkidmoreSallie Cherry was no different. Even though she was light-skinned, she had been raped by many white men on the plantation and was also beaten. The slave owner, Bobby Billy, often entertained celebrities like Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison visited visited Bobby’s plantation in St. Louis, MO. Thomas was there to show off his new movie picture and get entries into his movie contest called the Racso Awards for the best movies. Even though this award show was pretty new, no slaves had been nominated, except for Pattie Daniels for her role playing the black mammy in the Winds are Gone. Leanna Thorne was a successful actress loved by both blacks and whites. But she insisted that her film roles be successful and truthful to the fact that slavery was over. So she refused to play mammy roles or slave master concubine roles. Leanna Thorne also refused to allow nudity or sex in any of her movies. So when her movie, the Weather is Stormy was released, there was the utmost respect for her as an actress and for the positive role model she portrayed. Thomas Edison bragged about how he had so much respect from the movie industry. He said that his movie studio, Gate of the Lion, wanted entries for the Rasco Awards. Charlize_Theron_Cannes_2015_2Bobby Billy was good friends with two actresses, Thera Charlize and Janet Gaynor. Janet Gaynor was best known for her work in 7th Heaven. Thera Charlize was interested in getting nominated for a movie similar to Mandingo. Thera wanted to be nude and have sex with a black prison guard. She proposed having Den Wash play her leading man to Gate of the Lion pictures. Louie Mayer Oscar was outraged. He threatened to lynch Den Wash for even considering having sex with a nude white woman. He said if Thera ever made that type of movie, she would be tarred and feathered and then lynched like a nigger. When Sallie heard that Thera was threatened, she volunteered to be nude and have sex with a white man on screen. They forced her to have sex with them anyway, so why not? Denzel_Washington_croppedShe felt there was nothing wrong with being a slave masters concubine, so why not get paid for it? She was a free slave, so why not be a whore? So Sallie begged Thomas Edison to film her and Bobby Billy having sex in a film that had a similar plot to Mandingo, but reversed. Then she asked Tom Edison to nominate her for a Rasco award. The Slaves had a support group called the pecans or PCAAN for short. The PCAAN group was mighty pissed about blacks not being nominated for leading roles for the Rasco awards, The PCAAN was going to boycott the Rasco awards and made sure Louie Mayer Oscar knew about the boycott. Louie did not want a boycott. So he devised a plan. Lets make sure those niggers get an award. But the award has to be one where the niggers are degraded. Lena_Horne_1961So that means that Leanna Thorne will never be nominated. Her films show a positive portrayal of black womanhood. Thera Charlize and Den Wash went ahead and filmed the movie Mandingo because they thought it might win an award. Before the Rasco ceremony, both actors where found hanging from a tree, lynched. The reverse of Mandingo was accepted by the Rasco awards and in fact gave Sallie Cherry a Rasco for best lead actress. Drake and Ro’Zha had snuck into the Award ceremony and watched from the kitchen. Since Sallie could not accept her award. Sallie gave her Rasco acceptance speech in the kitchen, surrounded by only black slaves, Drake and Ro’Zha. Janet_Gaynor-publicityRo’Zha interrupted her speech and simply asked why, are you brainwashed? Product Details Product Details Product Details TVDS3 Front Cover JPEG Front Cover ACX Happy Birthday Michael Jackson; Dancing Queens of Outer Space and OZ! Fivver Oz PaintingChapter 8 Dancing Queens of Outer Space August 1940; Wichita, KS Another concept better elaborated on by science in the 3000’s, were those of heaven and hell. Heaven and Hell were proven not to be just ideological concepts, but actually a series of planets where spirits were transported after their mortal deaths on earth. It was not uncommon to see planets that were absolute paradise, though only accessible to those who died, living well and who wanted to go to a particular planet. Somehow, through a VITAS 1939 Wizard of Ozerror of security, The Wicked Bitches of the East, South, West and North got through to one of these paradise planets. The Bitches left absolute chaos and destruction in their wake, having set fire to several levels of the VITAS Nexus and having decapitated many vampires older than Christ or Methuselah. The operation, while devilishly planned and devastating in its nature, had a flaw. Rather than ruin the Paradise of Men Who Like Beer as they had intended, the Bitches came through on the Paradise of Women Who Act Kindly, a mostly male devoid planet indeed. Nevertheless, the Bitches went to work, burning and slicing and sending out flying monkeys alongside other various minions, knowing that even if The Wizthey were somehow defeated, they could come back, and maybe with the Nexus of the VITAS so damaged, would be able to destroy all paradises. This particular paradise was based on the beloved Gizzard of Woz story, as luck would have it, and each of the Wicked Bitches became uncomfortably aware of what happened to the witch at the very end. They attacked without mercy and without hesitation. Small 1940’s looking towns were burned, with people still inside.  Trees that could talk and sing were cut down without hesitation, their red sap thick and sticky. The Bitches conjured up the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion in wicked parody and marched upon the Bellow Urick Road towards the Sapphire City, and center of the Paradise. WickedJust when it appeared that all had been lost to the wrath of the bitches, seven people appeared up the road, surprisingly, three of them male dancers sent after the Bitches from VITAS. Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Zooey Deschanel, Idina Menzel, Buddy Ebsen, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr, all previously associated with Gizzard of Woz works in their own lifetime, now stood to defend what had become their heaven. The Wicked Bitches, unable to match the Jitterbug the team forced upon them, sent their flying monkeys in a hail to bite and tear the dancers limb from limb.  As it was, with hardly Kathleen Robertson Evil Witch Tin Mana break in step, Zooey clicked her ruby slippered heels three times and disappeared.  The others did the same.  Enraged, the Wicked Bitch of the North flew high above the Bellow Urick Road and scanned the surrounding countryside madly for those who had dared to challenge her.  The three men were far to the north west, beside the city gates, while the women had gone far south, amidst the destruction the Bitches had left in their wake.  And still they did their maddening jitterbug, which made the Bitches feel compelled to flee the planet without delay.  The witches sent their summoned Tin man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion after women, while they went for the men from VITAS. Jackson Please sign my petition to make August 29th a Michael Jackson Holiday! Judy GarlandDiana Ross and Toto the WizZooey in Tin Man Glinda Good Witch 1939Wiz Good Witch Lena Horne Wizard of Oz backgroundGyro Greek Salad Product Details Product Details Product Details VampireDancer1A fictional tale of dances from the 1900s-2010s But what happened to Regent and Kief? Elvis2 cha Entertainer Tribute 4/12/12: RuPaul (San Diego, CA). Who is your most beautiful entertainer? Rupaul1Entertainer Tribute 4/12/12: RuPaul (San Diego, CA) I was upset when I read those headlines today.  I agree with Ashley 100% that it is woman-hating! Men are never dissed for having puffy faces, puffy bellies, gray hair, wrinkles or stretch marks.  Only women.Rupaul2 This is such a narcissistic society that only in America do you see crazy headlines like this. It is to me a form of bullying as well.  Why are people picking on Ashley and being so critical of her looks? She is a great actress and I always enjoy her movies.  I don’t watch her movies for beauty, I watch them for her acting talent.  Regardless, that is so shallow and stupid for people to even bring that up. Rupaul3Which brings up the question: WHO IS YOUR MOST BEAUTIFUL ENTERTAINER? I have always thought performers like Diana Ross, Cher, Lena Horne, Elizabeth Taylor and including Ashley Judd are both talented and beautiful. But one performer sticks out in my mind as the most BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.  Guess who?  RUPAUL!!! Rupaul4That sounds crazy, but Rupaul looks better than most women, even though he is a man in drag. If I could meet any performer in person and ask for tips on great makeup for entertainers, hair styling tips and fashion sense, it would be Rupaul. Hell, he looks way better than me! He works the makeup, wigs and costumes better than most women. Sure, sometimes he goes overboard and looks too much like a DRAG QUEEN.  But most of the time, he does look like a very beautiful woman.  Puffy cheeks and all.  I am truly envious of RuPaul.  I agree with Rupaul’s statement about wigs and makeup being so important in show business.  I would LOVE to have Rupaul give me a makeover.  Check out his/her shows on Logo TV. Who is your most beautiful entertainer? Dancer Tribute 1/11/12: Katherine Dunham (Glen Ellyn, IL) Katherine1Dancer Tribute 1/11/12: Katherine Dunham (Glen Ellyn, IL) An amazing dance pioneer! Outstanding dancer, choreographer and innovator! One of the all time dance great! Katherine Dunham. In 1945, she opened and directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theatre near Times Square in New York City after her Dance Company was provided with rent-free studio space for 3 years by an admirer, Lee Shubert; it had an initial enrollment of 350 students. Her alumni included many future celebrities, such as Eartha Kitt, who, as a teenager, won a scholarship to her school and later became one of her dancers before moving on to a successful singing career. Others who attended her school included James Dean, Gregory Peck, Jose Ferrer, Jennifer Jones, Shelley Winters, Sidney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine, Doris Duke and Warren Beatty. Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. Known for her many innovations, she developed a dance pedagogy named the Dunham Technique which won international acclaim and is now taught as a modern dance style in dance schools, including at the Harkness Dance Center of the 92nd Street Y. One of my all time favorite movies is Stormy Weathers.  I love and admire many of the performers in it like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway and Fats Waller (both appearing as themselves), the Nicholas Brothers dancing duo, comedy team Miller and Lyles, singer Ada Brown, and Katherine Dunham with her dance troupe.
Writing Software Documentation From EG1003 Lab Manual Jump to: navigation, search Adapted from Writing Software Documentation: A Task-Oriented Approach, by Thomas T. Barker Computer documentation, when done correctly, enhances the value of the software described by making it easier to use and therefore more accessible. Think of the first time that you used a new program. How did you learn it? Chances are that at some point you referred to a manual or used on-line help. It's also likely that some of the support provided may have frustrated you because of its lack of clarity. Most documentation projects today use a task-oriented approach. Information is presented in chronological order based upon the job being performed. Here is an example from a quick start guide for a Palm Pilot: Deleting a Note: 1. Select the note you want to delete. 2. Tap Delete. 3. Tap OK. You can also delete a note by opening it, selecting Note from the Record menu, and then tapping This how-to approach to all forms of computer documentation, including on-line documents with links to related topics and help files that guide even beginning users, has made more sophisticated software accessible to everyone. The first requirement for task-oriented software documentation is an understanding of the jobs your users perform. Technical writers gather this information by conducting interviews designed to determine what people do and how they do it with an eye on how the software will make their jobs easier. Let's say you were going to write the manual for Microsoft Word. Your programmers have already shown you all the things the software can do. Now it is up to you to provide this information to others. Because you have interviewed them, you understand the tasks your users perform each day, and you are prepared to show them how all the functions the engineers designed will help make word processing easier. Without the writer, even the best software can remain a mystery to its audience. There are three types of users. The first is the novice. This user is inexperienced and therefore anxious about learning new applications. It takes novices longer to learn a program, and they do not like vague instructions. For the beginner, tutorials and guided tours are the documentarian's most effective tools. Novices frequently prefer learning from instructors or other users than from a manual. The experienced user is open to learning in new ways. They see the computer as a tool and are not anxious about mastering new applications. An experienced user is significantly more receptive to manual usage and on-line help and will be willing to be flexible in taking instruction. The expert user, unlike the other two, understands and cares about how a program works. These users will occasionally refer to the manual and will use on-line help a lot. They will master a program quickly and will grasp many functions with little or no instruction at all. Now that you understand your user, its time to design tools to help them. Software documentation can take many forms. There are user guides, manuals, tutorials, help systems, quick reference cards and Getting Started sections, often used for installation and set-up, as well as reference guides designed for referral only. For our purposes, we will concentrate on the manual. When you write software documentation in EG1003, begin with an Introduction. In this section you should explain what the software does, briefly, so that the user has some idea of what to expect. Think of it as a definition of the program. This example is from the manual for a Palm m100 personal digital assistant: Palm m100 series handhelds will help you get to meetings and appointments on time, remember people's names and personal details, and track items on your To Do list. You can enter your schedule in Date Book; keep all your contact names, addresses, phone numbers, and other details in Address Book; prioritize and assign your asks a due date in To Do list; and jot quick notes directly on the screen in Notepad. To keep your data extra safe, you can synchronize your data with the Palm Desktop organizer software on your Windows or Macintosh computer so you always have a backup copy. Remember, you cannot write a whole manual in one paragraph. Your Introduction is like a highlight reel that will get the reader acclimated. Keep in mind as you write that readers of manuals often skip the paragraphs and go on to the instructions. To avoid this, keep it short. Paragraphs work best when they support simple concepts, such as a definition of terms, but they must read quickly and easily. Following your introduction will be the procedures section. You will begin with a scenario, and then provide step-by-step instructions. We will use a standard format. It consists of steps, notes, screens and other elements aligned on the left margin and continuing in a single column in a numbered sequence from first step to last. A scenario reminds the user what the task about to be described will help him accomplish. It has the dual function of introducing the task and suggesting workplace applications. The scenario should set the user up to perform the steps. Here are a few examples of scenarios: You can use the Display command on the Options menu to change the colors in the MSDOS Editor window, display or hide scroll bars, and set tabs. You can remove programs that you don't want to appear in the Scan to Application window, or change the default format for each program's files. The edit menu is available with any screen where you enter or edit text. In general, commands available in the Edit menu apply to text that you select in an The procedure section describes step-by-step what you want the user to do. They are typically numbered lists of instructions that follow chronologically with as little digression as possible. This example is from the manual for an Epson Stylus Scan 2500: Removing and installing ink cartridges: 1. Remove the new ink cartridge from its package. 2. Remove only the yellow part of the tape seal on top. Don't pull off the blue portion or try to remove the clear seal underneath the cartridge. 3. Make sure the EPSON Stylus Scan is turned on and not printing. Open the document cover, and then open the maintenance cover. The internal cover opens automatically. 4. Press the cleaning button and hold it for about three seconds until the print head moves left and the Operate light begins flashing. 6. Lift the cartridge out of the EPSON Stylus Scan and dispose of it carefully. 7. Lower the new ink cartridge into its holder with the label facing up and toward the back of the printer. Don't press down on the cartridge. 8. Press down the ink cartridge clamp until it locks in place. 9. If you need to replace the other ink cartridge, repeat the preceding steps before going on to Step 10. 10. Close the maintenance and document covers, and then press the cleaning button. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind as you begin your writing. Focus on actions rather than functions. Talk about what the user will do, not how the program will work. Unlike the style we employ in Lab Reports, in Software Documentation use the active voice. The File menu can be used to […] You can use the File menu to […] Remember, simplicity helps in every aspect of software manual writing. This cannot be over emphasized. If your writing is clear and direct, your manual will be easier to use. The tone you adopt should not be overly formal. The manual you write should sound conversational. Pretend you are talking your user through the software. However, do not go overboard and forget the importance of correct grammar and syntax. And do not forget to use articles. Software documentation is increasing handled by technical professionals. Mastering these skills will make you more employable. Even if you are never called upon to actually perform the task, you will work with others who do. Your understanding of their objectives will make you a better colleague. Return to Table of Contents Continue to next topic: Instructions for Preparing your Final Proposal Cover Letter Continue to previous topic: Graphics in Technical Reports
Theistic Notebook March 22, 2011 An Intro to the Philosophy of Religion, Ch. 4 Intro to the Philosophy of ReligionThe nature of faith Murray and Rea offer their account of faith as follows: “…to say that a person S has faith in proposition p is to say that S believes p despite the fact that (a) there are alternatives to p that are compatible with whatever evidence supports S’s belief that p, and b) there is genuine and somewhat weighty evidence in favor of one or more of those alternatives.” Since they classify faith as a kind of belief, there can be degrees of faith just as there can be degrees of belief (credences).  In addition, their definition of faith implies that faith can be judged as rational or irrational depending on the evidential context.  But what counts as evidence? Reliabilism and Evidentialism The evidentialist maintains that the rationality of a religious belief (merely) depends on the degree to which the belief is supported by arguments–in other words, only propositional evidence counts.  On the other hand, the reliabilist maintains that a belief is rationally held when (a) produced by reliable, properly functioning cognitive faculties, and (b) unaccompanied by overriding reasons to deem the belief irrational.  This implies that experiential evidence (e.g., religious experience) can justify a belief under the right conditions.  Properly basic beliefs are ones which can be justified or held without relying on other beliefs; for instance, perceptual belief is held on the basis of perceptual experience.  Likewise, Rea and Murray think that religious experience might justify a religious belief so long as it satisfies the criterion mentioned above.  What kinds of evidence might defeat our confidence in religious experiences? Religious disagreement Just as scientific theories explain sensory experience, Rea and Murray construe religious theories as collective attempts to explain religious experience.  A problem comes to light here: while scientific theories enjoy a fair level agreement, most religious theories are quite the opposite.  In light of this disagreement, one might ask some questions: 1. Do religious theories track truth about reality? 2. Are the arguments for any religious positions successful? 3. If not, should religious belief and practice be abandoned? The religious skeptic generally replies in the negative to the first two questions, but affirms the last one.  Religious pluralism holds that no religion has a weighter share of (religious) truth than the others.  Pluralists maintain that many religions can capture isolated truths about reality, but none of the religions are superior in this sense.  The third view is religious exclusivism.  The exclusivist affirms what the skeptic denies: that religious theories track truth about reality.  He also affirms what the pluralist denies: that there is one objectively true religious narrative.  This doesn’t entail that all religious truths are known with certainty, but merely that we can have substantial knowledge of the truth about spiritual reality, and we can use this knowledge to judge disparate religious views. Religious diversity poses a problem for exclusivists, and Rea and Murray undertake to show that this problem doesn’t render exclusivism unreasonable.  Putting aside pragmatic reasons for embracing pluralism, they examine how widespread religious disagreement might constitute evidence against exclusivity.  They conclude (as reliabilists) that it depends on whether or not disagreement should cast doubt on the believer’s reliability to judge the facts at hand.[1]  The mere fact of disagreement is insufficient.  Disagreement plus backgrounds beliefs (beliefs about the supernatural, morality, your own memory) work together to determine how heavily the evidence weighs.  Unfortunately, we don’t have adequate background beliefs about “a typical person’s ability to judge religious matters.”  More importantly, Christian background beliefs predict religious diversity.  So, the evidential force of religious diversity might be weakened.  Rea and Murray acknowledge that this only scratches the surface of the debate over exclusivity. Is atheism irrational? Alvin Plantinga has fashioned an argument which, if successful, renders atheism irrational.  Imagine that you’ve acquired evidence that your cognitive faculties are completely unreliable.  What should you make of the following proposition? (R) Your cognitive faculties are reliable. Well, firstly, you couldn’t have evidence for (R) that hasn’t already assumed (R), since reliable cognitive faculties are a prerequisite for assessing propositions about reliable cognitive faculties.  More importantly, if you have reason to reject (R), on the basis of the evidence you’ve acquired, then now you have a reason to doubt all of your beliefs, including the belief that (R) is true!  Defeating (R) defeats everything … resulting in global skepticism. Why should we think that atheism gives us evidence of unreliable faculties?  According to Plantinga, evolutionary theory is concerned with survival and reproduction, and doesn’t give a fig for true beliefs.  Thus, conjoining naturalism with evolutionary theory leads us to believe that our cognitive faculties are unreliable.  Why?  The ability to arrive at truth about the world might be (and Plantinga would say is) irrelevant to the function of enabling us to survive and reproduce.  For example, consider a man who wants to die and he believes that the best way to secure death is to run away from tigers and mate frequently with women.  He’ll do just as well as the man who doesn’t want to die, and believes the best way to secure life is the same.  Thus, Plantinga argues that the probability of our faculties being reliable–given evolution and naturalism–is low.  But if so, then the atheist who accepts evolutionary theory and naturalism has a defeater for his belief that naturalism is true … and a defeater for all his other beliefs too.  Rea and Murray suggest that a more modest version of this argument might work: arguing that natural selection might produce some true beliefs, but why should we think our philosophical and religious beliefs are among these? [2] 1 There are “undercutting” and “opposing” defeaters.  It sounds like Rea and Murray are arguing that an undercutting defeater is needed, since presumably there is no opposing defeater for basic beliefs such as my belief that I was at work yesterday morning.  See this article for more information on defeaters. 2 See Plantinga’s paper “Naturalism Defeated.” Stephen Law has been working up a response.  Also, see Fitelson and Sober’s response. 1. ‘According to Plantinga, evolutionary theory is concerned with survival and reproduction, and doesn’t give a fig for true beliefs.’ There is a lot of force in this. Evolution could have designed us to move our limbs away from dangerous situations without pain being involved. We could have evolved the belief that fire was nice and warming and move our hands out of a fire because of a belief that that was the best way to get them warm. There is no reason to think that evolution would give the true belief that pain is unpleasant, when we could have evolved to have all the benefits of pain-avoidance behaviour without experiencing pain. After all, a belief that pain is unpleasant is not something that is selected for. Comment by Steven Carr — April 14, 2011 @ 7:36 am | Reply 2. Interesting example with pain Steven. My favorite example is here. Comment by David — April 14, 2011 @ 6:54 pm | Reply 3. Steven, I think you are missing the point here. Evolution could have designed us to move our limbs away from dangerous situations without an causal relationship with beliefs whatsoever. A bird has no beliefs about fire being hot. It has a nervous system that moves its body through space in response to stimuli. Comment by David P — May 16, 2011 @ 12:44 pm | Reply RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a Reply You are commenting using your account. 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What does it mean to be Black, African American, or maybe just a minority in America? Hello, Curls! This month’s “Dealing with it” post will discuss what it means to be a black person in America to me, and things that I face personally. It is only right that this is the topic of discussion because it is black history month! There are so many awesome things happening this month beyond our struggles. Although we face many struggles, I wanted to shed light on some greatness that has come from that struggle. We continue to break boundaries, glass ceilings, and walls in different aspects. February couldn’t have been a better month for black excellence. You need some examples, you say? Here are a few: 1. Fences, Moonlight, Hidden Figures are films (not representing black people as slaves or maids) that have won remarkable awards that we worked so hard to obtain. 1. Viola Davis is the first black woman to win an Oscar, Tony, and Emmy, all for acting for her role in Fences. (Whoopi Goldberg was the first black woman to win an Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy for numerous categories.) 2. Moonlight received an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, which is one of the highest achievements to receive. 3. Hidden Figures received numerous awards, along with the actresses receiving awards for the works of the film. These are only a few things in the acting/film world we have been recognized for within the month of February. Since I am on the topic of movies, there is a movie that recently released called Get Out. The movie involves an interracial couple, a black man and a white woman, visiting the woman’s parents for the weekend. I won’t spill all the tea on the movie because I would hope you have seen it before reading this, but if you haven’t I would stop and watch it before reading further. I do hint at some events that occur in the movie, so I don’t want to ruin your experience. I will talk about the themes that are presented in the movie and how they are relevant to myself and other black people today. • Mental Slavery • We often don’t realize this, but the majority of our communities are in a mental slavery. This involves several aspects: the representation of ourselves to other races that often submerges itself over to our own communities because of how we are presented in the media, the generational divide in the black community, and social injustices. This is how it compares to Get Out: 1. Chris finally escapes the terror of what was going on in the house, and he is approached with police lights. His first reaction was the hold his hands up and show that he was no threat. I grew up being taught that you are to respect officer’s of service and do what they ask without resistance. This same teaching, along with numerous others are being passed down, and this handicaps us from learning our basic rights. 2. “The sunken place is similar to the actual paralyzing state of being when you are unable to defend yourself against racism in certain settings like the workplace.  The hypnosis is a satirical/extreme example of the psychology associated with enduring racism of all kinds.  You are aware that it is happening, but the need to keep your job, or not go to jail prevents you from being able to react.  The mind of the actual black person was trapped in the sunken place, and while they were aware, they were unable to react (source: notcarriebradshaw.com). ” This explains how most of us are aware of social injustices, and although we try to fight it, we still have to deal with it. This often handicaps us because we began to believe that we are the blame for a lot of those social injustices. 3. Before arriving at the house, Rose and Chris hit a deer. Rose’s dad, Dean, explains he is glad that they killed the deer.  He believes that deer need to be eradicated, because of how they are ruining the ecosystem are a waste, he’s glad they hit the deer. This compares to what is believed about black people and their communities. The perception is that black people devalue the area they reside. And because of this representation in the media, it is often believed in the black community as well. • Black people are particularly more athletic than most other races. • Although, we know we are better because we are magic. The innuendos are quite disturbing through the movie. Assuming we know every athletic black person because we are athletic, or feeling the need to bring up a black person’s name just to make a point. We get it, but we have always got it. We already know we take a massive percentage of sports, but there is no reason to point out the obvious. • The realization that even long time white friends can be covert racists. In an interview with Vulture, Daniel Kaluuya answered a question involving this exact topic. • Interviewer: “What I was so taken aback by in this movie was just the perfectly banal scenario of going to meet, essentially, your in-laws, and how well that translates into the language of horror. You see the opposing experiences of Rose and Chris even when they’re just talking about this meeting, and from those very beginning moments, I felt so incredibly uncomfortable and tense. Rose not hearing Chris’s concerns isn’t just a couple’s disagreement; it’s that something terrible is going to happen to him.” Daniel Kaluuya: “That’s what racism feels like. That’s everyday racism. That’s something you can’t describe. That’s not someone calling you a “nigger.” That’s … you live in that shit. That’s tough. Every day. And it’s like, I’ll be saying this: People think horror films have monsters and aliens and darkness and all this shit. In the real world, there’s probably nothing more horrifying than racism. Living racism is a horrifying experience. And then, having to normalize it and internalize it. Sexism or homophobia, all that shit is the same shit. It’s an everyday thing, and it’s so common, and that’s hard to really put your head around. And you having to stomach it in order to keep your job, or to get further in life. You’re having to compromise, and if you don’t, you’re a nuisance. And there’s a paranoia, ’cause you’re like, This is fuckin’ … am I going crazy? Is that person …” This scenario perfectly explains how even when some is listening to someone of another race explain their struggles, they simply are complaining and are lazy. Don’t tell me, “You would’ve voted for Obama for a second term.”, “I have black friends, so I’m not racist.”, or “I don’t see color.” Those are all literally ways to say, I’m racist because you silly ignoring the issues at hand. There is no reason for you to make those statements in defense when you are not racist. Although, I know the people who should read his isn’t going to read it. I want to just express that you are not alone in how you’re feeling. You aren’t “just complaining” or “lazy”. The things you are facing and struggling with are real things. Since this post is getting lengthy and I know I hate reading long blog posts, I will just wrap it up here. I really appreciate you reading this month’s “Dealing with it” post. Did you find this post helpful? Do you have any things you face as a black person in America? Did you watch any of the movies above? If so, we would like to know in the comments below! Thank you for reading, Curls!
Business, Management, and Administration, Grade 9 - 12, Computer Management and Support, 2009 1.) Explain functions of personal computer (PC) hardware components and peripheral devices. 2.) Demonstrate procedures for installing a printer to a personal or home computer. 3.) Apply procedures for computer optimization, including performing scandisk, performing disk defragmentation, installing random access memory (RAM), and installing and uninstalling programs. •  Identifying startup process and other service management components •  Analyzing disk space for availability 4.) Analyze disk space for availability. 5.) Discuss the evolution of computer operating systems. •  Comparing the capabilities and limitations of various computer operating systems 6.) Utilize research results to analyze new and emerging operating systems for optimization. 7.) Determine procedures for downloading and uploading files to external devices. 8.) Utilize file structures to create folders and copy and move files. 9.) Demonstrate password, user rights, and folder privileges on a personal computer. 10.) Evaluate virus safeguards, firewalls, and security on a personal computer. 11.) Compare types of networks, including copper, fiber optic, and wireless. 12.) Utilize technical research materials to determine the process for customizing user interface on a personal or home computer. Examples: desktop setup, monitor configuration 13.) Identify functions of a protocol. 14.) Determine network address for verifying network connectivity. 15.) Determine troubleshooting procedures for problems pertaining to limited or no network connectivity. 16.) Compare a variety of network designs, including local area networks and wide area networks. 17.) Apply the procedure for constructing a local area network for home use, including selecting network devices and configuring a home network. 18.) Configure Internet and e-mail settings. 19.) Determine career and entrepreneurial opportunities, responsibilities, and educational and credentialing requirements related to computer maintenance and home networking. Alabama Virtual Library Alabama Virtual Library Hosted by Alabama Supercomputer Authority The University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham The Malone Family Foundation The Malone Family Foundation Best of the Web
Black Tea From Ingredientia Jump to: navigation, search Black Teas are fully fermented teas; the Chinese call them red teas. Black teas are used classic English tea blends, Indian chai teas and American sweet teas. Most black teas come from Africa, India and Sri Lanka, with some lighter black teas coming from China. Black Leaf Teas China Teas China is the birthplace of tea, discovered over 5,000 years ago. China is the second largest producer of teas in the world, but most importantly benefits from the greatest diversity of types and flavours of tea. Unfortunately, many of the teas have high levels of chemical contamination from pollutants and overuse of agrochemicals. Sometimes these teas are called "red teas". Indian Teas India is the leading producer of tea in the world. There are three main tea-growing regions in India, with Assam the key region, and it is these regions that determine the taste of the teas: Smaller tea growing areas also flourish in the south of India, e.g. Annamalai. Sri Lankan (Ceylon) Teas Ceylon Teas come from Sri Lanka. Ceylon teas are delicate and fragrant teas, grown at high altitude. Ceylon are high quality teas. There is no real winter in Sri Lanka, which means the tea plucking season is all year round, with less tip from new spring growth than for Darjeeling, for example. Only 2% of Sri Lankan tea is Orange Pekoe (OP) teas, with 80% BOP and BOPF. Sri Lankan small leaf teas are smaller than the equivalent teas from Assam, but cleaner, neater and less dusty and have a lower tannin content. Other Tea Areas Blended Teas Processing Black Teas How Chinese Black Teas are Made China produces black teas, predominantly in the south in Anhui and Fujian Provinces. The Chinese often call them "red teas", because of the copper-red colour of their infusion. Generally, black teas are made from more mature tea leaves. The process is: 1. Withering: is carried out on the ground or bamboo racks for 5 - 6 hours, to enable them to soften and lose 60% of their moisture. The leaves must be stirred regularly during withering. During mechanical withering, the plucked tea leaves are placed on sieves in brick containers for 4 hours; these containers are heated by wood fires which gives them a slightly smoky quality. 2. Rolling: when softened, the withered leaves are rolled to break down the cell structure and release the oxidase enzymes that cause fermentation. 3. Oxidation: oxidation takes between 8 - 12 hours. The tea leaves are spread on the ground and covered with large wet cloths to stimulate the chemical reaction at a temperature of about 22oC (72oF). Because oxidation arises in milder conditions than for Indian teas, Chinese black teas have an earthy aroma and a burnt, sweet taste. 4. Drying: any residual moisture is driven out at this stage, usually by passing the leaves along conveyor belts through which warm air is blown from a wood-heated machine. 5. Sorting and Sifting: the processed black tea leaves are sorted and sifted either manually or mechanically into different grades (sorting) and to remove twigs, dust and other unwanted objects (sifting). 6. Firing: sometimes an additional firing stage is added to lower the moisture content even further. Associated Pages Further Reading
Teaching Mass Q&A: Why did only Fr Hall drink the wine? Canon Law states:  “Holy communion is to be given under the species of bread alone or, in accordance with the liturgical laws, under both species or, in case of necessity, even under the species of wine alone.” (Can. 925)  Theologically, both the Sacred Host and the Precious Blood communicate the “whole Jesus” to the recipient.  For many years in England and Wales it has been permitted, (and indeed encouraged), for not only the celebrating priest(s) but also others who assist at the Mass, to receive Holy Communion under the forms of both bread and wine. However the “liturgical laws” that the Canon refers to specify that communion under both kinds should only happen when a) there is no danger of irreverent treatment of the Precious Blood and b) where communion in both kinds would not unduly lengthen the celebration of the Mass. Because in many larger school Masses these safeguards need to be ensured, our custom is to have communion under the species of bread alone.  However, on certain occasions (such as Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart), it is highly appropriate for all to be offered the opportunity to receive under both species. The celebrating priest (and any concelebrants) must receive in both kinds to complete the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published.
Emile Durkheim, pictured below, was a philosopher and sociologist with much to say. He lived and wrote during the last half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. I first became aware of him through his masterful study, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.  He conceived of religion as the mother of thought, and posited that it is "primarily a system of ideas with which … individuals represent to themselves the society of which they are members, and the obscure but intimate relations which they have with it."  Religion, in other words, is about social solidarity. Durkheim believed that there is a limit to the amount of deviant behavior that a society can "afford to recognize."  A community of malefactors, or a lawless "no man's land," will recognize the same amount of deviancy as a community such as the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  The bar of normalcy rises when behavior is saintly and falls when it is reprehensible, but the amount of deviant behavior recognized is constant. I thought of "Durkheim's constant" as I recently read the book, Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy, by Jeff Manza and Christopher Uggen.  The authors note that over 5 million people are currently "locked out" of America's electoral system because of their having committed felonies. In the name of "democracy" and "universal suffrage," the authors make a case for giving the ballot to both felons and ex-felons. All states, except Maine and Vermont, once had laws in place prohibiting both from voting. Beginning in the 1950s, such prohibitions were generally amended to disenfranchise only incarcerated inmates.  Ex-felons have been gradually allowed to become re-enfranchised in many states.  Manza and Uggen want to go a step further.  They suggest that, just as prisoners have a right to practice their religion and to send and to receive mail while incarcerated, their "right" to vote should also not be abridged.  A rapist, murderer, or child molester must, while serving his sentence, have a voice in our "democratic state."  That voice might sway an election or two as well.  Most of the felon population lean toward the left and would vote Democratic, and Florida claims in excess of a million felons (more than any other state).  Manza and Uggen think that, had we been more democratic in 2000 than we were, Al Gore would have won the presidency hands down.  (Is that reason to cheer?)  How a group votes should not, according to our authors, affect "whether" it is given the right to do so.  Yet one wonders if Manza's and Uggen's argument would be quite so impassioned were felons and ex-felons Ann Coulter-style conservatives. It is definitely a point to ponder. All that aside, did you know that there are more felons and ex-felons now living in the United States than there are people in Cuba or in Sweden?  If and when we give the vote to all those who have committed felonies, are we not proclaiming in effect that the consequences of their actions are not sufficiently serious to result in "civil death"?   Are we not "defining deviancy down," to use the words of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, by discounting the social consequences of such behavior?  Are we not closing our eyes to what our society is becoming?  Are we not running headlong into Durkheim's constant? "Oh, but most felons," our authors argue, "have not committed violent offenses.  They are imprisoned only for drug trafficking."  "Also, the word 'felony,'" our authors remind us, "refers to no standardized set of crimes."  The definition broadly varies from state to state, and sometimes includes rather trivial offenses.  My question is whether a drug dealer, past or present, ever deserves to have a political voice in any civilized society.  He is, or has been, responsible for untold misery and death. Moreover, if a community does not like what is or is not defined as a "felony," the community may appeal to the legislature.  Is that not why legislatures exist?  The primary problem with America is not its economic woes.   Greed, mismanagement, and wasteulness are unquestionably serious, but they are mere symptoms of another malady.  The quintessential problem besetting this country is that we are sinking into a cultural abyss, where absolute values are derided as fascist.  As Gertrude Himmelfarb has explained it, "[I]n a thoroughly relativistic age such as ours, any assertion of value – any distinction between the publication of Ulysses and the public performance of sodomy – is thought to be arbitrary and authoritarian."  So why not enfranchise felons?  Why not appoint a homosexual to the Supreme Court?  Why not cover one's body with tattoos?  Who is to say what is moral or immoral, beautiful or ugly, true or false?  It's all in the eye of the beholder, right? We are a country which continues to turn its back on every traditional value for which it has stood.  That is why America is in trouble, deep trouble. That's why the country's social fabric is unraveling.  Unless there is a U-Turn at some point in our immediate future, we will eventually crumble from the inside. May 9, 2009
Home Chapter 7 BS2 with a switch to LED outputs BS2 with a switch to LED outputs So far you have learned to program the flashing of two LEDs in the process of programming and downloading your code into the Basic Stamp 2. In order to turn either LED off and on, you must program your voltage to change at the output pins of your BASIC Stamp. To turn the LED on, you momentarily turned pin 0 and pin 1 to 5 volts by using the command HIGH 0 and HIGH 1. To turn the LEDs off, you switched the output of pin 0 and pin 1 to logic low, or 0 volts DC, by using the command LOW 0 and LOW 1. In both cases, the HIGH and LOW command is smart enough to also know that you want these pins to function as outputs. Output means you are sending voltage and current out of the pin as opposed to looking to accept a voltage into the Stamp to make something change. One of the amazing elements of the BS2 is that you can also program a pin, which was formerly an input, to function as an output. This is exciting, as it means you will be able to configure any of the 16 input/output pins to drive devices by providing voltages from the BS2 and to accept voltages from other devices. By accepting voltages into the pins you will be able to use switches and sensors, which allow you to have the BS2 make decisions based on these inputs and your programming. In this activity you will learn to install and program a small micro switch to turn on two LEDs and in this process, you will have learned to program and relate an input to a programmed output, thus completing the notion of feedback. By pressing the micro switch provided, you will make a series of LED's flash, which gives you visual feedback and lets you know that your pressing action was what triggered the LED's. These switches are devices that allow human hands to make and break electrical connections. This next exercise will be practiced in many variations in this book, where various kinds of devices and switches will be used to cause some change within the BS2 to allow some change outside of the BS2, as with the LEDs, for instance. In this exercise, you will learn to use a command called IN and another command called IF…THEN, which is a conditional logic statement, used to make decisions about what the BS2 will be doing. You will begin by using your multimeter to test a small micro switch and determine the normally open position and the normally closed position of the switch. Normally open or “NO” means the switch contacts are not complete until you press and activate the switch. Normally closed or “NC” means the connection is always complete unless you press the switch, breaking the contact. Parts Required 1 Mini switch 1 10k ohm resistor 1 220 ohm resistor  Connecting wires Introducing switches Switches are devices that come in all shapes and forms and allow you to make and break electrical connections. There are literally thousands of varieties of switches, which can be activated in numerous ways, but all perform the same basic function. Mini switch enlarged, Normally open push button switch. This is the one in your kit and is good for human fingers. FA limit switch (actual size) is a very useful switch as it is used in making and breaking electrical connections in mechanical operations with cams for instance. This is not in the kit but provided as an example and is one that is good for machine “fingers” so-to-speak. The key parameters for switches are: 1. Their maximum current rating or the highest current the switch can handle. The micro switch below is fine for small currents, but certainly would not work for the 25 amps that you are familiar with using to switch your house lights on and off. The micro switch wires are just not fat enough to handle the number of electrons. 2. How much voltage the switch can handle. The switch below is fine for 5 volts DC, but is not capable of handling 120 volts AC, for instance, as again, it is just not beefy enough. 3. How much resistance is there across the two connecting points of the switch. 4. How fast the switch can make and break its connection. 5. How many times you can use the switch. All mechanical parts have a limited life span and some will go for a few hundred-switch activations while others can function for millions of activations. 6. The type of switch and other characteristics such as the amount of force needed to activate the switch. Some common switch types are rotary, pushbutton, illuminated, or snap action, and different forces are required to activate them. Limit switches, for example, require different amounts of force to activate them. Try doing a GOOGLE image search on these key phrases: rotary switch, push button switch, illuminated switch, snap action switch and see what you discover. 7. Some switches do not require human hands for activation, but can be triggered by infrared light or by sound. These can be explored further in the section on sensors in chapter 17- The micro pushbutton switch that is part of this project is especially good for prototyping electronics on your breadboard and for testing software. This same software will function with much larger switches. In order to use this switch, you must first determine its normally open position often designated NO in ordering catalogs. 8. Place the switch in the breadboard on the Board of Education, as shown below.  Switch on Board of EDU 10. Set the multimeter to 200 Ohm’s or to the continuity tester if you have one with a beeping capability. 11. Now, touch the tip of the meter probes to the leads of the switch, as shown in Figure 7-19 12. Use one hand to hold both probes or get help from a friend and press the small pushbutton. 13. Using continuity tester to check switch 14. Keeping your multimeter on the same settings, move the probes over to the other two electrical leads underneath the switch. With one hand holding the two multimeter probes, as above test the switch. 15. Now, press the button with your finger and see what the reading is. If the switch is closed, the meter will read between .2 and .7, which is the same as finding continuity between two electrical points, as in Chapter 3 where you used your multimeter to test an electrical connection between the two wire ends. Testing a switch In the second example, the numbers changed, which means that those two points are the normally open part of the switch. Because the numbers didn’t change in the first example, it means that the points are connected together. Now that you have determined the position of the switch for its normally open configuration, you are ready to hook up the circuit.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 Have You Ever Wondered About Cookies? Do you remember the first time you was offered a cookie from a web site? If you were new to the Internet it was a surprise. A web site wanted to put a cookie on your Maybe your first thoughts were, “What’s a cookie? Should I accept it or reject it?" Some sites never asked to give you a cookie... Other sites required your acceptance of cookies to get information, to read articles or look through their products or get their free According to Netscape, "Cookies are a general mechanism which server side connections (such as CGI scripts) can use to both store and retrieve information on the client side of the connection." Most cookies are set once and then go away when you turn off your browser. The other type of cookie, the persistent cookie, is set and remains on your hard drive until either your space for cookies is full or the time stamp on it expires. A site has access to any information you provide (including information like your IP address, browser type, and the page that referred you to their site, as well as forms you fill out) without using any cookies at all. So, it's more important to know the privacy policies of a site than to worry about whether they use cookies. Cookies are small pieces of information gathered from you and/or your computer by a web server and stored in your computer, ready for future access by the server or web site. Cookies are embedded in the HTML information flowing back and forth between your computer and the web sites and servers. What’s The Purpose of Cookies? They allow user side customization of web information. For example, cookies are used to personalize web sites. They allow you to participate in surveys, contests... And, making sure you participate only once... And to store shopping lists of items you have selected while browsing through a list of products or a virtual shopping mall. Some sites require YOU accept cookies to access their information, tips or articles from their web site. Cookies make use of specific information you prefer. That specific information is transmitted by your web server into your computer cookie file so the information is available for later access by itself and other servers. In most cases, not only does the storage of personal information into your cookie file go unnoticed, so does access to it. Web servers automatically gain access to relevant cookies whenever you establish a connection to Cookies are based on a two-stage process. First, the cookie is stored in your computer sometimes without your consent or knowledge. But... On Netscape browsers you can go to preferences, set your browser to alert you before accepting a cookie. On Internet Explorer follow the Tools/Internet Options/Security menu to set cookie preferences. It's your choice. For example... Some web pages are customizable so you can select categories of interest to you from the web page. The web server then creates a cookie that is a string of text containing your preferences, and puts this small cookie text file in your computer. If your web browser is set to receive cookies... the cookie text is stored on your computer in a file called a cookie file. This happens without your consent unless your have set your browser to notify you before accepting a cookie and before it is stored on your computer. Would you like to see your cookie file? On a Macintosh you can do a find for 'magiccookie' on your hard drive... On a PC do a find for 'cookies.txt' on your hard drive. Each cookie file is a small text file. After you find the file you can open it by double clicking it. Looking at the files doesn’t tell you much unless you get deeper into writing and setting Remember... a site only knows what information you’ve entered and your browser type and ISP. Cookies are neither good nor bad, they can provide convenience for you and do serve useful functions on the web. You CAN delete the entire cookies file on your computer if cookies concern you. Just find the file and delete it. Then set your browser preferences to NOT accept cookies. "I’ve always accepted cookies and have noticed no bad effects. So my personal preference is to continue accepting them,"... Now It’s Your Choice! bocahcs said... Post a Comment
Featured Post 401, 401V, 501V: English-Language Reading Diary Source .   Loading... Monday, December 12, 2016 Newspapers: What is literature? Full article. More questions: What is "mass media"? Do blogs qualify? Are blogs a newer version of the old "op-ed"? This blog, "Browbeat," is hosted by the media site slate.com. The specific article we're looking at now represents an almost immediate response by blogger and cultural commentator Stephen Metcalf to the news, back in October, that Bob Dylan had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Metcalf is also the host of a weekly Slate podcast, the Culture Gabfest. Shortly after his blog post on Dylan was published, he discussed the post with his fellow Gabfest participants, and after a gentle debate he may have reversed the position he took on his blog. Judge for yourself -- the discussion begins at the 16-minute point. The award ceremony for this prize took place in Stockholm, Sweden, last Saturday (December 10). Coverage of the ceremony, speeches, and concert included these articles: Bob Dylan Nobel Prize Speech A Transcendent Patti Smith Accepts Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize (Official Nobel site) Horace Engdahl's presentation speech (Official Nobel site) Bob Dylan's speech, delivered by the U.S. ambassador to Sweden. To help you prepare for our discussion of Stephen Metcalf's article... 1. How is the article structured? Examples: • as a personal story or stories, • narrative of an event, • essay (series of arguments advocating an idea or point of view), • analysis with bullet points, • etc. 2. Given the structure as you’ve described it, list the segments of the article 3. Summarize or paraphrase each segment of the article 4. Is there a ‘take-away’? (One point that the author wants you to remember?)  If yes, please describe. 5. Is there another thing you will remember, in addition or instead, a week or so from now? 6. What are three good discussion points that the article brings up? Anything that made you think or question? 7. Did you notice anything illogical in the article's arguments? Do you have information that tends to contradict or supplement the info or perspective in the article? (For example: see Metcalf's comparison of Wilbur's poem and Dylan's song "Up to Me" ... and then look at the Dylan song Patti Smith sang at the Nobel concert in Stockholm.) 8. Describe the voice and register (formal, informal, personal, or others -- see list here). 9. What audience does the author have in mind? How do you know?  Useful or unusual words and phrases: apropos of nothing house of cards butterfly effect (as a verb!) No comments: Post a Comment
Friday, February 08, 2008 Were Gender Roles for Men and Women Established Before the Fall of Mankind? The importance of understanding what gender roles consisted of, if indeed there was such a thing as gender "roles" before the fall of mankind, cannot be underestimated when attempting to achieve an understanding of gender roles from a biblical perspective. Evangelical leaders know this, and that is why the gender "roles," as seen in the first two chapters of Genesis are a frequent source of discussion and debate. Understanding gender roles, as defined before the fall, is important for the simple fact that the entire body of conservative evangelical theology concerning this issue rests on what is contained within the first two chapters of the book of Genesis. And even though the biblical evidence is vigorously denied by many, the record shows that gender roles were radically different before the fall of mankind than after. In fact there is no biblical record of gender "roles" [as we understand them today] before sin entered the kosmos. According to Pastor David L. Brown Ph.D., God has ordained a rigid caste system in regards to gender roles in which men assume the leadership "role" in the church and home, and women are to assume the support "role." He cites Genesis 2:18 and Genesis 2:20 as the basis for his conclusions. Brown contends that the scriptures which say there was not an "help meet" to be found for Adam ( so God was compelled to create one for him), prove the support role of women was established before the fall of mankind, and that Eve was created for the sole purpose of being an obedient, submissive, support person for Adam. The writings of Pastor Brown reflect the general consensus of conservative, evangelicals in regards to gender roles within the Christian Church and home. "If man had not sinned," Brown declares, "he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness." Pastor Brown has some serious flaws in his theology concerning original (un-fallen) gender roles in the following areas: • He assumes that the use of the words help and meet (meaning proper [or appropriate] help) in conjunction with the creation of woman implies she was created for the purpose of subordinate obedience to man • He assumes that the man was originally created to rule over other people, most especially his wife -Vs- receiveing a mandate to rule over the plant and animal kingdoms only. In Psalms 33:20, the shepherd/prophet/king David, declared that the Lord was his "help." In this verse, he used the same Hebrew word "help" that was used in Genesis chapter two concerning the woman in relation to the man. Does this imply that David was to rule over God with wisdom and love? Or that God was to obey David with humility and meekness? God was to be a submissive, support person in helping David succeed? Is it possible that the word "help" can be used without any connotation of subordinate subservience? We see it used it that way many times in scripture. God indeed was David's help. And the scriptures are clear, that he is our help as well. But he is certainly not our subordinate servant. The word "help," in Genesis chapter two in regards to the woman, has no implication of subordinate servitude whatsoever. And the word that follows it, "meet," simply means "proper" or appropriate. The argument can be made that Adam was also an appropriate help for Eve, for the simple fact that they were both humans. In Genesis 2:20 (one of the verses used by Brown to prove that women were created to serve men), we are told that Adam gave names to all the cattle and all the fowls, but there was no appropriate "help" to be found for him. Why? Because there was no one else like him on the planet. The implication of this verse is clear; each of the animals, both male and female, already had an appropriate help--its own male or female counterpart. But the man did not have an appropriate help. He had no female counterpart. On the other hand, the woman came into being with an appropriate help already in place--her human counterpart, the man. Was mankind (males in particular) created to rule over other men and women? The bible says humans (both male and female) were created in God's image and that both were instructed to have dominion over all the rest of His creation. We see no command given, in either the first or second chapter of Genesis, in regards to mankind ruling over any other human being. It is simply not there. The female human was given the same benefit as the male human concerning the privilege of subduing the earth by being given dominion over the plant and animal kingdoms. Neither Genesis 2:18 nor 2:20 proves that the present gender role distinctions defended so fervently by conservative evangelicals were ordained of God before the fall. The rigid gender role, caste system, we see enforced among evangelicals today are nothing less than the result of sin. They have not been mandated by God but, rather, by men. 1 comment: Anonymous said... While fanciful as the authors portrays the article, it is incomplete. It obviously is taken from the viewpoint of a woman. Ephesians 5:22 et al and 1Timothy2 both clarify the roles of women. "Man is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church" "Wives submit to your husbands in all things" Women are therefore reduced to chattel, property of a man. And domestic violence is a political term. It doesn't exist. Man has the authority and right to discipline his wife any way he sees fit but not murder. Just as Christ does. Stuff rolls downhill so to speak. They are to obey him in everything except violating the word of God. Women are NEVER to exercise authority over a man. This means they cannot be judges, bosses, cops, politicians, any job where they can, do, or might have authority over a man. Apparently they aren't smart enough to make proper judgments and any decisions are 'female based - (AKA liberal or communist in today's vernacular). The Bible also talks about court testimony of women. As a minimum it takes 2 women to equal one man's testimony in court. And in some things her word does not count. A man's testimony is takes and fact and above that of a woman. The value of a woman is between 1/2 and 2/3 that of a man. Leviticus 27:3-7 Therefore equal pay for equal work is a sin. Women were bought from the father (dowry or sorts) with things like a cow or gold or other things of value. Women were commonly bought, sold, and traded like a commodity. Example is Moses. He bought his 2 wives with 14 years of labor. And God saw this as good or he wouldn't have let it happen. Polygamy (more than one wife, but not the reverse) IS legal and proper according to the bible. Ever see a young man ask her father for 'permission' to marry his daughter? There are reasons why throughout the eons of time that matriarchal societies never last. And societies revert back to patriarchal types. The main reason is their thought processes are inconsistent with reality. They are emotionally driven whereas life is logic driven. The two are incompatible. "Feel Good" behavior and laws are based on the feminine ideals and are not following God's word. God made Adam in his own likeness (image). Eve came from Adam. Eve was to be his helpmate (an employee or slave of sorts). Adam was in charge, not eve. God made it this way. God gave Adam dominion over all things and eve is one of those things. Unless you believe God is a liar? Eve was seduced by the serpent and in turn Eve seduced Adam into eating the fruit. She basically "passed the buck" and figured if she was gong down for sinning she wouldn't go down alone. Adam, not wanting to be alone again nor desiring to lose ANOTHER body part joined her. And her evil treachery was complete. In earlier Pagan civilizations, women were in charge. They failed because women are not genetically or religiously supposed to control anything. When they do, disaster soon follows. Otherwise Matriarchal societies would have lasted. They would be right up there with the well know societies like the Pharaohs, Romans, Greeks, etc. Since they aren't, this is evidence that women are not to rule. All of this is history. To answer the topic question, yes, roles were established. God created man with a purpose and then woman with a purpose. You do not create anything without a 'blueprint' of sorts. And the above information is part of the blueprint.
Babbitting, Babbitt Bearings & Babbitt Metal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia babbitt metal plain bearing shells babbitt metal plain bearing shells Babbitt metal, also called white metal, is an alloy used to provide the bearing surface in a plain bearing. It was invented in 1839 by Isaac Babbitt in Taunton, Massachusetts, USA. The term is used today to describe a series of alloys used as a bearing metal. Babbit metal is characterized by its resistance to gall. Common compositions for Babbitt alloys: Originally used as a cast in place bulk bearing material, it is now more commonly used as a thin surface layer in a complex, multi metal structure. Babbitt metal is soft and easily damaged, and seems at first sight an unlikely candidate for a bearing surface, but this appearance is deceptive. The structure of the alloy is made up of small hard crystals dispersed in a matrix of softer alloy. As the bearing wears the harder crystal is exposed, with the matrix eroding somewhat to provide a path for the lubricant between the high spots that provide the actual bearing surface. Traditional babbitt bearings In the traditional style of white metal bearing, a cast iron pillow block is assembled as a loose fit around the shaft, with the shaft in approximately its final position. The inner face of the cast iron pillow block is often drilled to form a key to locate the bearing metal as it is cast into place. The ends of the bearing are packed with clay and molten white metal poured into the cavity around the shaft, initially half filling the pillow block. The bearing is stripped, and the white metal trimmed back to the top surface of the pillow block. Hardened white metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife or sharp chisel. A steel shim is inserted to protect the face of the lower bearing and to space the cap of the pillow block away from the shaft. After resealing the ends with clay, more white metal is then poured to fill the cap of the pillow block through the hole in the top of the pillow block cap that will eventually be a lubrication hole. Before the wide availability of cheap electric motors, power was distributed through factories from a central engine via overhead shafts running in hundreds of bearings of this form. The expression a "run bearing" also derives from this style of bearing, since failure of lubrication will lead to heat build up due to friction in the bearing, eventually leading to the white metal liquefying and literally running out of the pillow block. Modern Babbitt bearings In more modern practice, the crankshaft and connecting rod big end bearings in a modern automobile engine have bearings made of a replaceable steel shell, keyed to the bearing caps. The inner surface of the steel shell is plated with a coating of bronze which is in turn coated with a thin layer of Babbitt metal as the bearing surface. The process of laying down this layer of white metal is known is Babbitting. Alternative Bearings In many applications rolling-element bearings such as ball, or roller bearings have replaced Babbitt bearings. Though such bearings can offer a lower coefficient of friction than plain bearings, their key advantage is that they can operate reliably without a continuous pressurized supply of lubricant. Ball and roller bearings can also be used in designs and configurations which are required to carry radial as well as axial thrusts. Copyright (c) 2006 W. Karr, Inc. under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; Free Documentation License". Hit Counter
Culture - organizational culture, Business Management Culture - Organizational Culture Some people think of culture as the character or personality of an organization. How an organization looks and "feels" when you enter it is a manifestation of the organi- zational culture. For example, you might visit one company where you get a sense of formality the minute you walk in the door. Desks are neat and orderly, employees wear professional business attire, and there are few personal items such as family photos or other decorations on walls and desks. At another company, employees may be wearing jeans and sweaters, have empty pizza boxes and cola cans on their desks, and bring their dogs to work with them. Both companies may be highly successful, but the underlying cultures are very different. Culture can be defined as the set of key values, assumptions, understandings, and norms that is shared by members of an organization and taught to new members as eorreet.0 Norms are shared standards that define what behaviours are accept- able and desirable within a group of people. At its most basic, culture is a pattern of shared assumptions about how things are done in an organization. As organizational members cope with internal and external problems, they develop shared assumptions and norms of behaviour that are taught to new members as the correct way to think, feel, and act in relation to those problems.' Culture can be thought of as consisting of three levels, with each level becoming less obvious. At the surface level are visible artifacts such as manner of dress, patterns of behaviour, physical symbols, organizational ceremonies, and office layout-all the things one can see, hear, and observe by watching members of the organization. For example, Commerce Bank's mascots and employees dressing in red for Red Fridays are visible manifestations of the corporate culture. At a deeper level are the expressed values and beliefs, which are not observable but can be discerned from how people explain and justify what they do. These are values that members of the organization hold at a conscious level. Commerce Bank's employees consciously know that service is highly valued and rewarded in the company culture. Some values become so deeply embedded in a culture that organizational members may not be consciously aware of them. These basic, underlying assumptions are the deepest essence of the culture. At Commerce Bank, these assumptions might include (1) That the bank cares about its employees as much as it expects them to care about customers, (2) That individual employees should think for themselves and do what they believe is right to provide exceptional customer service, and (3) That work should be as natural and joyful a part of life as play. Assumptions generally start out as expressed values, but over time they become more deeply embedded and less open to question-organization members take them for granted and often are not even aware of the assumptions that guide their behaviour, language, and patterns of social interaction. Posted Date: 3/1/2013 1:43:32 AM | Location : United States Related Discussions:- Culture - organizational culture, Assignment Help, Ask Question on Culture - organizational culture, Get Answer, Expert's Help, Culture - organizational culture Discussions Write discussion on Culture - organizational culture Your posts are moderated Related Questions Question 1 Write the types of mergers and acquisitions. Describe the steps to a successful merger Question 2 Explain the process of merger. Write down the goals of a merger QUESTION 1 (a) Summarize and briefly explain the problem solving process? (b) List techniques that have been developed to help individual and groups make better decisions Technology has transformed organisations, industries and ways of doing business.  Explain the reasons for the growth of business-to-consumer (B2C) trading through onlin Firms are concerned about the cost of absenteeism (employees either arriving late to work or leaving early from work). When firms tell employees that their pay will be deducted for A) "Diffusion of innovation theory is relevant to software, where software is considered as an innovation. In particular, the elements of diffusion, the innovation decision process Production Process in a Company Depicted below is the production process flow for company with timing requirement for set ups and related processes to take place for all the Nature of Business Activity a) The fashion magazine is probable to contain text and coloured photos which bring in outlying greater value to the consumer than 100 pages of pap Question 1 Explain the economic and social objectives of Business Question 2 Explain the concept Co-operative Sector and its types Question 3 Explain Logistics Networkin Discuss what kind of organisational culture promotes organisational learning.
Ask Question, Ask an Expert Ask Homework Help/Study Tips Expert Estes, Mintz and Gunter state, 'The thought attainment model is flexible and can be adapted in diversity of ways and with a diversity of materials' (Estes et al, 2011). View the video 'Guided Discovery of Dictionaries'. Then reflect on what you have observed in the video and respond to the given problems: a) Concept attainment lessons take time and imagination to plan. Is it worth by using our limited time to teach with this model? b) Describe the benefits of using this approach? c) When would it be suitable to use this model? Give specific illustrations. d) How can this model be employed to meet up the requirements of a diverse group of learners? e) How can we maximize the time which we spend organizing a concept attainment lesson? Homework Help/Study Tips, Others • Category:- Homework Help/Study Tips • Reference No.:- M920236 Have any Question?  Related Questions in Homework Help/Study Tips Employee engagementemployee engagement surveys are valuable Assignment criminal defenses and criminal punishmentsit is Employee health insurance planspart iconsider the four Assignment community agency observationthis project will Create a powerpoint presentation of 9 to 12 slidesnbsp in Walk in my shoes - probationparole officer allison Does not need to be in apa format need two references and Communicating the impact of current and emerging policiesas Historical event influence please responds to the following "Historical Event Influence" Please responds to the following: Choose one (1) historical event and discuss the effect that it has had on you. Provide a rationale for your response. This week's discussion seems to be uncl ... Imagine you are the head of state for a country and must • 4,153,160 Questions Asked • 13,132 Experts • 2,558,936 Questions Answered Ask Experts for help!! Looking for Assignment Help? Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer Section onea in an atwood machine suppose two objects of Part 1you work in hr for a company that operates a factory Details on advanced accounting paperthis paper is intended Create a provider database and related reports and queries Describe what you learned about the impact of economic
Jazz and Fundamentals, Part 3: Improvisation It’s often suggested that, with the evolution of technology and accessibility of information, we don’t really need to memorize fundamentals anymore. Why not outsource them? Aren’t they Google-able, we think. And sure: if you know you need to look something up, this seems reasonable. Heck, Einstein famously looked things up. However, in suggesting that the new standard is to look up information rather than memorize it, we likely put our creative intelligence at a serious disadvantage. How? If you haven’t internalized everything you need to think creatively—all the details that comprise the context in which you’re working—your creativity hinges on recognizing that your existing body of information is incomplete, researching the missing pieces, and then connecting them. Let me reiterate (and I don’t mean to be ridiculous here), but, if you don’t thoroughly understand a fact or formula, you’re not very likely to think about, use it, or invent something related to it. The Math Example: Direct Problem Solving In Geometry there are a few triangles that are often referred to as “special triangles.” The length of a special triangle’s legs are always proportional to each other in a simple, easy to recognize way (just like a pattern for a shirt— same shape, but it comes in different sizes). Without giving you a complete geometry lesson, let’s just say that if I give you a special triangle and the length of one of its sides, you should be able to easily find the lengths of the other two sides (provided you know that special triangle’s ratio of the lengths its the sides—the formula—and you’re handy with a proportion). Now, the SAT folks are kind enough to provide these ratios at the beginning of every SAT test in a little reference section. Yes, they give the formula at the front of the test that, occasionally, provides a direct answer to a test question.So, shouldn’t we expect that every time one of these special triangle questions pops up, students should get it right? After all, the formula is right there. Right? Students still get these questions wrong because they neglect to memorize the formula specifically because they know it’s given in the resources. By not memorizing formulas, students deprive themselves of the awareness of the need to use those formulas in more complex situations. Because the information isn’t stored internally, they don’t intuitively access and employ it. What Does This Have to Do With Improvisation? I want to get back to Charlie Parker, Winton Marsalis, and  jazz musicians who excel at creativity and problem solving on-the-fly. In his advice for growing musicians, Parker recommends: “practice, practice, practice” and then “forget all that and just wail.” Forget??? How badly we’d like to believe that to “forget” could mean that all those boring fundamentals are intrinsically worthless; however, on the tail of “practice, practice, practice,” it couldn’t possibly be so. When Parker says “forget,” he means put the rules and parameters out of your direct consciousness. “Practice, practice, practice” is creativity training. Here’s an idea: the way to think outside the box is to know the box like the back of your hand. Now that you’ve examined every aspect of the box, you’re free to get out of it. Fundamentals are not “because I said so” facts and figures; they’re the tools, the equipment, we need to get to the real stuff, the critical thinking and the creativity in any endeavor. When you hear a jazz musician riffing at a million miles an hour, he is absolutely improvising; he is not winging it. He’s giving his brain the freedom to be brave, to explore, unencumbered by the burden of needing to actively cogitate on those fundamentals. He knows his art so thoroughly that he has the discipline to toe the line, the freedom to confidently act outside preconceived parameters, and—most importantly—the wisdom to know when to do one or the other. That's great improvisation. Your subconscious can’t chew on something stored outside your brain. Without the most robust mental network of fundamentals, we compromise our creative intelligence. Lack of rigor begets neither creativity nor skill. Elizabeth KingComment
Portal:Saudi Arabia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search The Saudi Arabia Portal - بوابة المملكة العربية السعودية Flag of Saudi Arabia Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia's location on a map of the world. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia KSA, or Saudi Arabia (pronounced in English /ˈsɒdɪ əˈɹeɪ̯bɪə/), السعودية /ælʕɑrɑˈbiː æsːæʕuːˈdijːæ/ or, less commonly, It is the largest state in the Middle East and is located in the south-west of Asia. It is the largest part of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of ​​about 2 million square kilometers. Iraq and Jordan are bounded by Kuwait from the north-east, and from the east by Qatar and United Arab Emirates. In addition to Bahrain which is connected to Saudi Arabia through King Fahd Causeway is located on the Arabian Gulf, and to the south is bordered by Yemen and, Oman from the southeast and by the Red Sea to the west. Saudi Arabia enjoys a stable political and economic position in generally its economy depends on oil as it has the 2nd largest oil reserves, six gas reserves and the largest crude oil exporter in the world, which accounts for nearly 90% of exports. The Kingdom ranks 19th among the world's largest economies, the IMF and the World Bank, and veto power of 3% in the International Monetary Fund. Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most influential political and economic forces in the world for its Islamic position, its economic wealth, its control over oil prices, its global supply, and its large media presence in a number of satellite channels and print newspapers. Saudi Arabia is a membership in the GCC, League of Arab States, United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, G-20, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and OPEC. Selected article King Abdullah in Washington 2005 Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 2005 to his death in 2015. He ascended to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. Abdullah, like Fahd, was one of the many sons of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life. In 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office. The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king. He also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when Fahd took the throne in 1982. After King Fahd suffered a serious stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until ascending the throne a decade later. Selected building Abraj Al Bait, in Mecca, is the tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia. With a height of 601m, it is considered the 2nd tallest building in the world. Featured picture Kaaba, Al-Masjid Haram Photo credit: Bluemangoa2z The Kaaba or Ka'aba also referred as Kaaba Muazzama (Grand Kaaba), is a building at the center of Islam's most sacred mosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Selected Pictures Did you know... Did you know? This Portal is maintained by WikiProject Saudi Arabia. Things you can do Appunti architetto franc 01.svg Featured content Selected City King Fahd's Fountain in Jeddah Jeddah is one of the provinces of Makkah and is located in the west of the Red Sea. The province is located 949 km from the capital Riyadh, and is 79 km from Mecca, and 420 km away from Medina it is a economic and tourism capital for Saudi Arabia The first in the Kingdom for tourists both inside and outside the Kingdom, and is the first in terms of projects towers and skyscrapers. With a population of 3,456,259 million Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Mecca, The largest seaport on the Red Sea. It is considered to be a financial and business center in Saudi Arabia and a major port for the export of non-oil goods and for the import of local needs. There are 135 international skyscrapers under construction in the city. Selected biography Sultan bin Salman Prince Sultan bin Salman was a colonel in the Royal Saudi Air Force and astronaut. He is a grandson of King Ibn Saud and is the only Saudi citizen to travel in space. He was also the first Arab, the first Muslim and the first member of royalty in space. Prince Sultan was born 27 June 1956, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the second son of Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz. He completed his elementary and secondary education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He obtained master'sdDegree in social and political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, USA. He is a certified civil pilot (FAA, USA-1976) and a fighter pilot, Colonel (retired)- Royal Saudi Air Force. In 1982, he was appointed to the position of researcher in the Department of International Communications at the Ministry of Information in Saudi Arabia. In 1984, he served as Deputy Director for the Saudi Arabian Olympic Information Committee at the Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Later that year, when the Department of Advertising was created at the Ministry of Information, he was appointed its Acting Director. In 1985, he flew as a Payload Specialist on STS-51-G Discovery (17-24 June 1985). As one of a seven member international crew, which also included American and French astronauts, he represented the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) in deploying their satellite, ARABSAT-1B. Upon conclusion of his space flight, he helped in founding the Association of Space Explorers, an international organization comprising all astronauts and cosmonauts who have been in space, and served on its Board of Directors for several years. In 1985, he was commissioned as an officer into the Royal Saudi Air Force. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and is qualified in several military and civilian aircraft. Important topics