Training for Post-Election Violence Scenarios
An Interview with Eli McCarthy from DC Peace Team
Eli McCarthy, top row left
Over the past decade there has been a quantitative growth in organized unarmed civilian protection groups and violence de-escalation trainings within the United States. As people begin to awaken to the fact that the best way to defend democracy and achieve mass-participation in a democratic struggle is through creative nonviolent action, these organizations have seen an increase in the demand for their work and trainings. Especially during the period of this pandemic and increased civil unrest, they have had to work even harder to translate their best practices and trainings from in-person to online. Not an easy task!
One group who has been able to establish dynamic, effective unarmed protection and bystander intervention trainings is the DC Peace Team. To meet the needs of these times, they have included new nonviolent trainings in post-election violence scenarios and restorative practices for healing community tensions. You can find a list to sign up for a training at this link.
I had a chance to ask Eli McCarthy, who helped co-found the organization, a few questions about their work and what makes their trainings practical for these times.
What's the story of the DC Peace Team? How did it come to be?
In late 2010 Cortez McDaniel, a Community Change Agent with the National Homecomers Academy, as a returning citizen from experience in prison, met Eli McCarthy, a local social justice activist and a Professor at Georgetown University. Cortez has been committed to building and rebuilding family and community networks of mutual support, including caring for persons living on the streets at the McKenna Center. Along with community organizing experience, Eli had received training from the Nonviolent Peaceforce, which offers unarmed civilian protection and accompaniment to communities in conflict. The two shared their stories and discovered a common commitment to bringing a sustainable just peace to the city's most violent and longstanding conflict zones. After sharing in an introductory session on the Nonviolent Peaceforce, Cortez and Eli created a coalition of individuals and groups to establish the DC Peace Team.
Over the last ten years, the DCPT has evolved to focus on unleashing the power of ordinary civilians to increasingly become nonviolent people who serve our communities using creative nonviolent skills, with a focus on unarmed accompaniment and protection. We have trained thousands of participants in nonviolent communication, bystander intervention, restorative circles, and unarmed civilian protection. We have offered training in DC, NY, TX, CA, and even China as well as reaching people in Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Belgium, Palestine, and the UK through our online training. We have trained staff at the U.S. Institute of Peace, teachers, social workers, religious communities, farmer's markets, art stores, young adults in juvenile detention, police officers, etc. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have offered online sessions 2 or 3 times a week with a significant increase in participation and hunger for these skills.
We also deploy unarmed civilian protection units to places of potential hostility, such as local neighborhood spaces or events as well as political demonstrations to prevent violence, interrupt dehumanization, and when possible to generate dialogue and empathy. These have included demonstrations such as the Republican national convention (Cleveland, 2016), Unite the right rally, March for life, Black Lives Matter marches, and migration events in Tijuana/San Diego, etc. We have also trained nonpartisan UCP units to offer accompaniment to high profile BIPOC individuals at risk for their just peace work and seeking congressional office.
We also offer restorative circles for the public and various groups such as community leaders in Garfield Hills (Anacostia, DC), returning citizens, persons experiencing homelessness at Fr. McKenna Center, and groups dealing with internal racism issues.
You're really refining the experience of using online technology for skills to de-escalate violence in face to face interactions. What are some key features of your trainings that help engage participants more than just a webinar or online seminar?
We have had an enormous growth in participation through our online training. We use a very participatory process with breakout rooms, stories, and participant google docs to help them follow along and get the key points. We create a safe and brave space for us to learn from each other in a process of mutual discovery.
You're creating trainings for post-election violence scenarios for people across the country. What do these entail and why are they different than other trainings of the DC Peace Team?
These training draw on our core modules of active bystander intervention, unarmed civilian protection, and nonviolent communication. They entail specific plausible scenarios such as at a polling station or at a board of elections office in light of a delay in announcing the winner. The ABI training is for individuals who may happen to be around a harmful or violent situation. The UCP training is for those who might deploy as a team to a potential hotspot. We have an ABI training on Oct. 17th and an UCP training on Oct. 31st focused on election scenarios. We are also happy to set up a specific training for your group at a date/time that would be convenient.
What other trainings do you offer and how do they fit into the larger picture of unarmed civilian protection?
We also offer restorative justice circle training as well as nonviolence and meditation. These along with ABI and NVC training provide essential skills for UCP but also cultivate the habits, character, and way of life or spirituality to actualize UCP well with a broader imagination and commitment to nonviolence even in more difficult situations.
Can you share a story of someone who was changed by your work?
Recent Testimony from a participant:
"I wanted to share with you all an experience I had last Friday that has really validated for me the importance of the work you all are doing.
I've just been learning how to drive, and was out with my cousins Friday night practicing driving through a residential area. I had stopped at a stop-sign and was about to make a turn when a car came speeding down the road, started skidding, there were sparks everywhere, and then it slammed into a tree, all right in front of us. The car started smoking, and I was scared it was going to catch fire and combust.
I took a breath, calmed my mind, and told my cousin to call 911, while I darted out the car, into my trunk, grabbed my pocket knife, and ran towards the car. I was scared it would explode, which is why I had my knife to break open the window or cut the seat belt, if needed. I got to the car, opened the door easily, and there was a 15 year old kid in there. I'm first aid certified, and I did the initial assessment, and helped carry him out of the car and away. People started crowding around the car, and I started yelling at them to stay away from the car because it was smoking. Paramedics came, the kid was okay, and I gave an incident report."
I share this experience for two reasons:
1. First, without realizing it, I had applied the CLARA method which I learned in DCPT training, and was able to find calmness, before reacting very quickly. In past situations like this, I've frozen and not been able to act. I also knew to delegate responsibilities so I could focus on what I could do. and;
2. I knowingly ran into danger, and knew, before I even picked up my knife, that there was a chance that the car could catch fire. However, unlike the time when I was held at knife point and stepped in front of an elderly man, I'm not second guessing my decisions or tormenting myself over it. Eli and Sal, I actually thought of what you said to me, was that in moments of intense stress, we learn things about ourselves and what we're capable of that we weren't expecting. Probably the reason why I'm not going crazy thinking about that night, the way I did after nearly being knifed, was thanks to what you guys said to me all those weeks back, so thanks.
I'm proud to have been an active bystander in that situation, and I credit what I feel was a successful intervention to what I'm learning from you all. Briana and I talk about the DC Peace Team a lot, and we were saying that we learned from you all that we need to practice moral courage in our daily lives, so that we have the strength to step into brave spaces when we need it most, and this Friday all the training paid off.
What kind of training or skills should people have before coming to your training?
Our introductory training sessions are open to anyone. For the UCP or ABI training, it can help to have taken an intro. to NVC and/or have been practicing NVC in one's daily life. We have more advanced training or training for trainers, which we ask participants to have taken the same topic's introductory session.
Where should they go to learn more?
You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter; see our website ( and sign up for our e-list to get updates on training, deployments, etc. You can also contact Eli McCarthy at or _PHONE_.
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text:
As a student editor of a law review, I take issue with Professor Neil Hamilton's argument that the long-standing tradition of student-edited and managed legal journals represents a universal ethical lapse on the part of law school faculty. (Neil Hamilton, The Law Faculty's Ethical Failures Regarding Student-Edited Law Reviews, 23 The Prof'l Law. no. 4 (2016)). The practice of law is not a science. Hamilton's analogy of the law journal editorial process to scientific peer review ignores a crucial distinction. As time passes, we do not learn more about the law as it exists in nature, we learn more about how the law we have created shapes the natural world and society, and what new laws may be needed.
We as members of the legal profession are not furthering the advancement of the law in the same way that scientists advance understanding of the physical universe. We are not applying and refining methods to understand a world that exists independent of ourselves. Rather, we are learning how to create a forum for society to decide its own system of rules and norms, offering different ideas and ways of understanding the choices available to us. Each generation of law students brings a new perspective on the social values, problems and opportunities that await practicing attorneys. This perspective is exactly why students are well-suited to editing and controlling the content of those journals leading the discussion of trending topics in the law.
There is room in the community for student-, academic-, and practitioner-managed journals. Do not ask students to abandon their 100-year, 50-year, or even 20-year legacies of blood, sweat, and tears in the service of law journals. Offer guidance, but do not take control.
Seattle University Law Review | Managing Editor

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Data Entry: Student's t-test
You are about to enter two sets of data so that Student's t-test can be used to determine if the averages of your two samples are significantly different.
For each dataset, enter your data into the given box separating each datum from its neighbor with tabs, commas, or spaces. Very commonly you will already have the data in your computer in some format. You should be able to just copy and paste that data into the appropriate area. This form is designed to handle datasets with between 3 and 1024 items in each dataset. After the t-test you will be given the option of displaying the data as a boxplot.
Click on the Calculate Now button when you have entered your data. Empty boxes will be ignored.
Data for Group A
Data for Group B


Pop Psych
Unpacking evolutionary psychology
Where Did I Leave My Arousal?
Some psychologists think our brains are bad at keeping arousal from fear separate from arousal from sex. I think they happen to be looking at the mind from the entirely wrong perspective. Read More
Same circuitry
Can't it be just because fear and sexual arousal share the same neurological pathways? Maybe arousal needs a qualifier before triggering a reaction, and such qualifiers are faster / less stable than arousal itself, so they can switch from one to the other not because some evolutionary advantage, but because of the quirky way brains happened to evolve? In the bridge experiment, subjects didn't have less confidence in their future _after_ they've crossed the bridge.
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Jesse Marczyk, M.A., is a Ph.D. student at New Mexico State University; he studies evolutionary psychology and writes the blog Pop Psychology: The Internet's evolutionary psycholo-guy.
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E How to Complete Installation Prerequisite Tasks Manually
This appendix provides instructions for how to complete configuration tasks manually that Cluster Verification Utility (CVU) and the installer (OUI) normally complete during installation. Use this appendix as a guide if you cannot use the fixup script.
This appendix contains the following information:
E.1 Configuring SSH Manually on All Cluster Nodes
Passwordless SSH configuration is a mandatory installation requirement. SSH is used during installation to configure cluster member nodes, and SSH is used after installation by configuration assistants, Oracle Enterprise Manager, OPatch, and other features.
Automatic Passwordless SSH configuration using OUI creates RSA encryption keys on all nodes of the cluster. If you have system restrictions that require you to set up SSH manually, such as using DSA keys, then use this procedure as a guide to set up passwordless SSH.
In the examples that follow, the Oracle software owner listed is the grid user.
If SSH is not available, then OUI attempts to use rsh and rcp instead. However, these services are disabled by default on most Linux systems.
The supported version of SSH for Linux distributions is OpenSSH.
This section contains the following:
E.1.1 Checking Existing SSH Configuration on the System
To determine if SSH is running, enter the following command:
$ pgrep sshd
If SSH is running, then the response to this command is one or more process ID numbers. In the home directory of the installation software owner (grid, oracle), use the command ls -al to ensure that the.ssh directory is owned and writable only by the user.
You need either an RSA or a DSA key for the SSH protocol. RSA is used with the SSH 1.5 protocol, while DSA is the default for the SSH 2.0 protocol. With OpenSSH, you can use either RSA or DSA. The instructions that follow are for SSH1. If you have an SSH2 installation, and you cannot use SSH1, then refer to your SSH distribution documentation to configure SSH1 compatibility or to configure SSH2 with DSA.
E.1.2 Configuring SSH on Cluster Nodes
To configure SSH, you must first create RSA or DSA keys on each cluster node, and then copy all the keys generated on all cluster node members into an authorized keys file that is identical on each node. Note that the SSH files must be readable only by root and by the software installation user (oracle, grid), as SSH ignores a private key file if it is accessible by others. In the examples that follow, the DSA key is used.
You must configure SSH separately for each Oracle software installation owner that you intend to use for installation.
To configure SSH, complete the following:
E.1.2.1 Create SSH Directory, and Create SSH Keys On Each Node
Complete the following steps on each node:
 1. Log in as the software owner (in this example, the grid user).
 2. To ensure that you are logged in as grid, and to verify that the user ID matches the expected user ID you have assigned to the grid user, enter the commands id and id grid. Ensure that Oracle user group and user and the user terminal window process you are using have group and user IDs are identical. For example:
 $ id
 uid=502(grid) gid=501(oinstall) groups=501(oinstall),502(grid,asmadmin,asmdba)
 $ id grid
 3. If necessary, create the.ssh directory in the grid user's home directory, and set permissions on it to ensure that only the oracle user has read and write permissions:
 $ mkdir ~/.ssh
 $ chmod 700 ~/.ssh
 SSH configuration will fail if the permissions are not set to 700.
 4. Enter the following command:
 $ /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -t dsa
 At the prompts, accept the default location for the key file (press Enter).
 SSH with passphrase is not supported for Oracle Clusterware 11g release 2 and later releases.
 This command writes the DSA public key to the ~/.ssh/ file and the private key to the ~/.ssh/id_dsa file.
 Never distribute the private key to anyone not authorized to perform Oracle software installations.
 5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 on each node that you intend to make a member of the cluster, using the DSA key.
E.1.2.2 Add All Keys to a Common authorized_keys File
Complete the following steps:
 1. On the local node, change directories to the.ssh directory in the Oracle Grid Infrastructure owner's home directory (typically, either grid or oracle).
 Then, add the DSA key to the authorized_keys file using the following commands:
 $ cat >> authorized_keys
 $ ls
 In the ssh directory, you should see the keys that you have created, and the file authorized_keys.
 2. On the local node, use SCP (Secure Copy) or SFTP (Secure FTP) to copy the authorized_keys file to the oracle user.ssh directory on a remote node. The following example is with SCP, on a node called node2, with the Oracle Grid Infrastructure owner grid, where the grid user path is /home/grid:
 [_EMAIL_]$ scp authorized_keys node2:/home/grid/.ssh/
 You are prompted to accept a DSA key. Enter Yes, and you see that the node you are copying to is added to the known_hosts file.
 When prompted, provide the password for the grid user, which should be the same on all nodes in the cluster. The authorized_keys file is copied to the remote node.
 Your output should be similar to the following, where xxx represents parts of a valid IP address:
 The authenticity of host 'node2 ( can't be established.
 DSA key fingerprint is 7e:60:60:ae:40:40:d1:a6:f7:4e:zz:me:a7:48:ae:f6:7e.
 Warning: Permanently added 'node1,' (dsa) to the list
 of known hosts
 grid@node2's password:
 authorized_keys 100% 828 7.5MB/s 00:00
 3. Using SSH, log in to the node where you copied the authorized_keys file. Then change to the.ssh directory, and using the cat command, add the DSA keys for the second node to the authorized_keys file, clicking Enter when you are prompted for a password, so that passwordless SSH is set up:
 [_EMAIL_]$ ssh node2
 [grid@node2 grid]$ cd.ssh
 [grid@node2 ssh]$ cat >> authorized_keys
 Repeat steps 2 and 3 from each node to each other member node in the cluster.
 When you have added keys from each cluster node member to the authorized_keys file on the last node you want to have as a cluster node member, then use scp to copy the authorized_keys file with the keys from all nodes back to each cluster node member, overwriting the existing version on the other nodes.
 To confirm that you have all nodes in the authorized_keys file, enter the command more authorized_keys, and determine if there is a DSA key for each member node. The file lists the type of key (ssh-dsa), followed by the key, and then followed by the user and server. For example:
 ssh-dsa AAAABBBB... = grid@node1
 The grid user's /.ssh/authorized_keys file on every node must contain the contents from all of the /.ssh/ files that you generated on all cluster nodes.
E.1.3 Enabling SSH User Equivalency on Cluster Nodes
After you have copied the authorized_keys file that contains all keys to each node in the cluster, complete the following procedure, in the order listed. In this example, the Oracle Grid Infrastructure software owner is named grid:
 1. On the system where you want to run OUI, log in as the grid user.
 2. Use the following command syntax, where hostname1, hostname2, and so on, are the public host names (alias and fully qualified domain name) of nodes in the cluster to run SSH from the local node to each node, including from the local node to itself, and from each node to each other node:
 [grid@nodename]$ ssh hostname1 date
 [grid@nodename]$ ssh hostname2 date
 For example:
 [grid@node1 grid]$ ssh node1 date
 The authenticity of host 'node1 (' can't be established.
 DSA key fingerprint is 7z:60:60:zz:48:48:z1:a0:f7:4e.
 Warning: Permanently added 'node1,' (DSA) to the list of
 known hosts.
 Mon Dec 4 11:08:13 PST 2006
 [grid@node1 grid]$ ssh date
 The authenticity of host'(' can't be
 Warning: Permanently added ',' (DSA) to the


text:
Provided by: libacl1-dev_2.2.49-2_i386
acl_from_text - create an ACL from text
Linux Access Control Lists library (libacl, -lacl).
acl_from_text(const char *buf_p);
The acl_from_text() function converts the text form of the ACL referred
to by buf_p into the internal form of an ACL and returns a pointer to the
working storage that contains the ACL. The acl_from_text() function
accepts as input the long text form and short text form of an ACL as
described in acl(5).
This function may cause memory to be allocated. The caller should free
any releasable memory, when the new ACL is no longer required, by calling
acl_free(3) with the (void*)acl_t returned by acl_from_text() as an
On success, this function returns a pointer to the working storage. On
error, a value of (acl_t)NULL is returned, and errno is set
If any of the following conditions occur, the acl_from_text() function
returns a value of (acl_t)NULL and sets errno to the corresponding value:
[EINVAL] The argument buf_p cannot be translated into an ACL.
[ENOMEM] The acl_t to be returned requires more memory than is
allowed by the hardware or system-imposed memory
IEEE Std 1003.1e draft 17 ("POSIX.1e", abandoned)
acl_free(3), acl_get_entry(3), acl(5)
Derived from the FreeBSD manual pages written by Robert N M Watson
〈_EMAIL_〉, and adapted for Linux by Andreas Gruenbacher

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm using Visual Studio 2010 with C#. Is there a concept in Windows Forms development of somehow linking a label with is text box? Something so that they move together as a unit? In the ASP.NET world, there is the AssociatedControlId property of the label control. I also think I remember MS Access form designer having some way of associating (or linking) labels with controls. Does this feature even exist in Visual Studio world?
If not, how do you group labels with controls such that if you move a text box you don't have to manually move the label also?
share|improve this question
6 Answers 6
up vote 4 down vote accepted
No there is not - at least with the out of the box controls. If you want this you could achieve it with a user control.
In general the winforms is not line driven in the same way as HTML is.
share|improve this answer
There doesn't appear to be a built in one. You can roll your own Field class though. Below is a complete example.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Drawing;
namespace FieldClassTest
 class Field : FlowLayoutPanel
 public Label label;
 public TextBox text_box;
 public Field(string label_text)
 : base()
 AutoSize = true;
 label = new Label();
 label.Text = label_text;
 label.AutoSize = true;
 label.Anchor = AnchorStyles.Left;
 label.TextAlign = ContentAlignment.MiddleLeft;
 text_box = new TextBox();
 static class Program
 static void Main(string[] args)
 var form = new Form();
 var panel = new FlowLayoutPanel();
 panel.FlowDirection = FlowDirection.TopDown;
 panel.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
 var first_name = new Field("First Name");
 var last_name = new Field("Last Name");
Here's what the example program looks like on my system:
enter image description here
share|improve this answer
I 2nd _USER_ answer of just creating a user control with a textbox in it. The panel can be used to group controls, but it can be pretty tedious if you have a lot of controls on the form.
If you want to support more than just textboxes, WinForms allows you to create your own designer. If you inherit your designer from the ParentControlDesigner class, you can drop any control you want into your custom label control.
share|improve this answer
If you want to group labels with other controls (or group controls in general), then use the System.Windows.Forms.Panel control. The specific purpose of the Panel control is to group collections of controls.
More information Panel Class (System.Windows.Forms)
If you want a higher degree of control (rather than using a Panel), then you could create a UserControl, that encapsulates a Label and a Control.
share|improve this answer
i think the best bet would be to use a GroupBox.
share|improve this answer
You can use extension methods to do it, follow example:
Private associatedLabels As New Dictionary(Of Control, Label)
Public Sub AssociateLabel(ByVal control As Control, ByVal label As Label)
 If (Not associatedLabels.ContainsKey(control)) Then
 associatedLabels.Add(control, label)
 End If
End Sub
Public Function GetAssociatedLabel(ByVal control As Control) As Label
 If (associatedLabels.ContainsKey(control)) Then
 Return associatedLabels(control)
 Throw New Exception("There is no associated label")
 End If
End Function
share|improve this answer
Your Answer


For our teens, we use the basic learning and coordination that comes with advancing from young childhood to start building a strong, confident and fit young adult.
A number of our classes for teens are teens/adult classes. This enables the teens to interact with adults as peers in a safe environment. This can be a fast boost to confidence, reducing the stress they'll encounter as they enter college or professional life.
We are looking to create great dancers who dance for the sheer joy of it, rather than solely focusing on competitive or professional dance. For those students who are looking at dance as a possible avenue to college, or if professional dance is their drive, we help them identify a path and work diligently to help them achieve their goals.
We focus on safety in every aspect. Our instructors spot acrobatic maneuvers while the students are learning, and until they have mastered the moves. We focus on healthy eating and exercise habits, ensuring that our students reach real fitness rather than "skinny." We work with every student to ensure that they are fully comfortable when we have any pair or group routines.
We have a lot of fun in these classes, but expect that everyone come to class with a preparedness to learn and help each other grow as dancers. A key part of our philosophy is that the only drama we want to see in the studio is that expressed through dance.
All of our teens can sign up for our online classes, and as soon as the Coronavirus social distancing is lifted, they can sign up for our recreational classes or Lifestyle Programs.


Khorfakkan Youth Center
Khorfakkan Youth Center
 - Throughout the year: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
 - Holy month of Ramadan: 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm.
Telephone: 092385207
Khorfakkan Youth Center opened its doors in 2005, and it offers several activities within five main tracks: Literature and Languages, Science and Technology, Entrepreneurship, Arts, and Sports.
The center offers a number of activities in the area of Literature and Languages including reading, appreciation for literature, and other cultural activities such as writing short stories and poetry, debates, and a variety of literary elements. Youth can improve their reading habits and develop literary and critical skills.
As for the Science and Technology track, it offers activities related to robotics, programming, scientific inventions, and innovation.
In the field of Entrepreneurship, the center offers many activities related to leadership and personal development, in addition to human capital investment, financial investment, volunteerism, and developing initiatives. Youth entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to solve problems, communicate effectively and initiate initiatives.
In the field of Arts, youth can benefit from a variety of activities such as music, visual and plastic arts, theater, and cinema.
In the field of Sports, the center's facilities are an integral part of its offerings, with many activities available. These include indoor football, swimming, water polo, table tennis, martial arts, and archery. Youth will have the opportunity to acquire the skills they need in a variety of sports.


Observe what is right
"Thus says the Lord: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation us about to come, my justice about to be revealed," Isaiah 56:1
We might know the right thing to do, but do we do it? We might know what God asks of us: to be kind to one another, do what is right and love Him and our neighbor, but do we choose these things over selfishness and what is self-serving?
Choosing to do the right thing actually must become a habit, like flossing our teeth before bed, because we know it's good for us. Just like making time to do what we know is right for our bodies, choosing to do what is right and just takes time, too. For most of us, it must become a habit and won't be spontaneous until it is a habit.
If we think about some of the holiest people we know, perhaps someone from your church, your Great Aunt Betty or someone from long ago, you might be tempted to think they were just born that way. Perhaps that being kind is a disposition they inherited and not anything they had to choose or into which they had to invest any effort.
Actually, what we're talking about is everyday holiness, and true, experienced holiness is a habit that is formed every day, through the small gestures of gentleness, kindness and thoughtfulness toward others. What could you do today to become a holier person? Remember that in doing so, you will be forming a habit that will be transformative of your immediate world, and will also have implications far beyond anything you will ever see or know.
up arrow


text:
Before diving into solutions, I'm curious about what problem you're trying to solve. Are you hoping to generate actual GUI code from a mock-up image? Is this more of an academic exercise? Something else entirely?
I have done something like this in the past for the purposes of finding rendering differences between two images. To accomplish that task, we used connected components to break down the image into segments onto which we could apply heuristics about what different GUI components should look like. That allowed us to ignore a set of allowable differences while pointing out any other per-pixel differences as well as higher-level layout issues.
Another approach could be to try to define templates for what these different GUI objects should look like (with some parameterization to allow for sizing, etc.), and then searching for instances within your image that adhere to these template definitions.
But here are some considerations to take into account. How well can you describe the GUI elements in your input images? For instance, if they all come from one mock-up program, then you may have a small set for which to search. However, if you are using screen shots from different platforms, from different browsers on the same platform, or from the same platform with different display settings, you will find differences ranging from subtle to dramatic. So limiting your input will be critical.
If you use connected components you will probably find that either you need to look for relationships between different connected components (because they make up part of the same GUI object) or you need to control how the connected component algorithm connects sets of pixels to make sure that you end up with the component set that you want. I bet that you will find a lot of ambiguity here. For instance, perhaps in one GUI object you want two shades of gray to be considered part of the same object, but in another situation you want those two grays to be kept in separate components.


gave away the most important piece of information.
Here's what happens inside the brains of the people involved:
 - Perception (Player, system) -> Trap (GM, fact)
Mediocre: "You notice this tile is a pressure plate." OK, better. This is a clue; but still not a good clue. Obviously a pressure plate goes to something bad. Maybe it's a trap. Maybe an alarm. Maybe a switch for a shifting wall. But the GM is explaining the tile's function, not giving a clue about it. The only inference the player has to make is "what is the pressure plate's function?"
Here's what happens inside the brains of the people involved:
 - Perception (Player, system) -> Pressure Plate (GM, fact) -> Trap (Player, imagination)
I like this a little better, because the player has to use their imagination to guess what the pressure plate might do.
Good: "You notice that this floor tile has no mortar around its edges." This is a clue. It's a pretty obvious clue, but it's still a clue.
Here's what happens inside the brains of the people involved.
 - Perception (Player, system) -> No Mortar (GM, clue) -> Pressure Plate (Player, inference) -> Trap (Player, inference)
Here we have two fairly easy steps, but it compels the player to use literally twice as much imagination. First the player imagines reasons why the tile has no mortar. Is it a secret passage? A hidden pit trap? A mimic? A poorly-crafted illusion? A hidden treasure cache? A pressure plate? Just a coincidence? It seems most likely it's a pressure plate; so the next step is imagining what it might do, as above. Trap? Alarm? Switch?
Errors of Inference
When you give a good clue, there are more places for the players to screw up. Those places are called the chain of inference. Here's the chain of inference for our example, above:
 - No Mortar -> Pressure Plate -> Trap
What if the player decided that the floor tile was a trap door that led to either a pit trap, secret passage, or treasure cache, and decided to smash it? This player has less information than the player in the "bad" and "mediocre" examples, so it seems like they're getting cheated!
Yes, they're getting less information. No, they're not being cheated. In fact, as you will see, you're cheating the player more if you give them all the information.
More Information
But first, let's talk about what to do if the player is uncertain. Players know they can continue to investigate. When they do, the GM can give them the next clue in the chain of inference toward the correct conclusion. Here's what happens if the player reverts to using system (game frame, see the frame analysis in Gary Allen Fine's Shared Fantasy: Role Playing Games as Social Worlds) to investigate:
Player: "I want to examine the tile. Can I see whether it's a lid or trap door or whatever?"
GM: "Sure. Give me an Investigation check." (in GUMSHOE, the GM would call for an investigative ability spend)
Player succeeds (or, in GUMSHOE, the player spends an investigative ability point)
GM: "Looks like it's some sort of pressure plate."
Player: "Ah! Probably a trap, guys."
System cuts out some of the imagination work of the player, shortening the chain of inference:
 - Pressure Plate -> Trap
But that might be OK, if the player is really stumped.
The player can also investigate by asking simple questions, without using the system. In this case, the GM should not feed the next clue in the chain to the player. Instead, the GM should feed additional "parallel" clues that hint at the next clue in the chain.
Player: "I try to pry the tile up. What happens?"
GM: "It doesn't go up. You feel like it might go down, though."
Player: "Ah! So it could be a pressure plate. Probably a trap, guys."
Investigating on the diagetic level, in the game world frame, only embellishes the chain of inference:
 - No Mortar, only goes down -> Pressure Plate -> Trap
This is the ideal, for a lot of players and GMs.
The longer and more detailed the chain of inference, the more the players are rendering the game world in their heads.
By lengthening the chain of inference, it seems like you're cheating a player out of hard-earned success. I argue it's just the opposite. Let's look at the trade-offs between a long chain of inference and skipping straight to the important information.
First, let's look at what the player gains in the "bad" example. This GM doesn't require any inference from the player:
 - Perception -> Trap
The player gains a clear, unambiguous piece of valuable information that may save the party a lot of pain and suffering. There's no chance they could misinterpret the information.
Next, let's look at what the player gains in the "good" example. This GM requires two inferences from the player:
 - Perception -> No Mortar -> Pressure Plate -> Trap
The player gains a clue that, without too much effort, will probably save the party a lot of pain and suffering. If the player makes the correct inference, it's the same benefit as the "bad" example. If the player is unsure, they can investigate further, and eventually gain the same benefit as the "bad" example.
In addition, the player spends a little more time thinking in the game world frame, as their character, about the world around them. Their imagination is stimulated, and they gain more character immersion. If the player is unsure and has to investigate further, they might choose to do so without system, gaining even more world detail to stimulate their imagination; and they will gain more character immersion.
They also gain the satisfaction of correctly solving a small puzzle, which generates task immersion (being absorbed in an activity). Even though it's not incredibly detailed or challenging, they have determined that no mortar means that the tile is probably a pressure plate. And then the player gets the satisfaction of solving the second puzzle in the chain of inference: If there is a pressure plate, it probably activates a trap.
Next, let's look at what the player is "cheated out of" with the "good" example.
 - Skill Success -> Clue -> Inference -> Inference
If the GM doesn't come right out and say it, the player has a chance of failing to realize that this is a trap. If the player is unsure, it's not a problem: They can investigate further. The only danger is if the player gets cocky.
"Oh, this is probably a secret stairway! I bash it open!"
But if you're an experienced GM, you can employ the old standby... "Are you sure you want to do that?"
If the player persists, well... sometimes you screw up. So yes, the player does lose something when you use clues with a good chain of inference.
Finally, let's look at what the player is "cheated out of" with the "bad" example.
If the GM makes all the inferences for the player, the player is cheated out of the feeling of immersion they get from interpreting a clue in the game world, as their character. They also lose the feeling of accomplishment from solving those little puzzles. That's a big deal!
When Not to use Chains of Inference
Using good clues takes more time - especially if the player has to investigate further. If the mystery the clue hints at is not very important, make the clues more obvious or just give them all the info.
If you need to hurry for session pacing purposes, cut the inference down.
If you want to establish a faster pace for the action in general, say, because you're approaching the adventure climax, suddenly a lot of little mysteries become unimportant, and you can drop them.
November 16, 2015
We talked about Main Action, or "what you're actually doing most of the time" in RPGs. Now let's talk about Stakes, or "why you're doing what you're doing" in RPGs. Stakes are related to the dramatic question or conflict of a scene.
Historically, RPGs have included random tables and die rolls to give the GM an air of impartiality. No, I didn't kill your character. The dice killed your character.
Stakes are different from "let's just see what happens," though. Stakes are not the same as Tasks. Stakes are "if I roll well, I get X; but if I roll poorly, you get Y." So stakes are about conflict, not just pushing buttons to see what happens.
Stakes are related to Hooks. A hook is something one or more players cares about. Hooks can be restated as


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The Five Senses —Part 2: 25 Advertising Platforms' Reach and Engagement Levels
For decades, some marketers have been aware of the potential advantages of appealing to more than what consumers see or hear, as the typical consumer has five senses that can be targeted: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The topic was the subject of recent articles in Harvard Business Review and The Wall Street Journal and was the focus of our previous Insights brief.
This Insights brief, the second part of a series, follows up on how Shullman Pulse survey respondents, who represent the 242 million American adults age 18 or older, responded to the following request: "Of the five senses that most people use in everyday life, please rank your own senses in order of their importance to you." It focuses on platforms where advertising was seen or heard among two market segments: the majority (about three quarters of adults) who ranked sight as their most important sense, and the remainder who selected one of the other four senses as "most important."
According to our most recent survey findings, sight is the most important sense for a large majority of consumers, and this finding obviously will influence how consumers respond to advertising. While television remains the number one advertising medium, there are many variations as to where the sense of sight has the greatest impact.
Those consumers who did not rank sight as their number one sense use fewer ad platforms (6 platforms on average) compared with their vision-centric counterparts (8 platforms on average). Traditional ad platforms (i.e., television, magazines, and others) have greater appeal to the vision-centric, while the newer digital, non-traditional ad platforms (i.e., Twitter, Instagram, Google+, etc.) attract considerable attention from those digitally-oriented consumers for whom sight was not their "most important" sense. Also, consumers who do not rank sight as their number one sense tend to be materially more engaged with the advertising they consume on the platforms they actually use.
While the differences between the sight-centric and non-sight-centric segments may be subtle, they must still be taken into account by marketers and their agencies when determining the focus of their ad campaigns and the advertising platforms they select to deliver their messages.


What's terrible in the satellites of Mars?
Somehow the American astronomer Asafu The pole tired of learning Mars, and he decided to go to bed. But his wife, whom he feared, insisted that he continue research - and that night he opened two satellites of Mars. Witty astronomer called them Phobos (fear) and Deimos (horror).
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Nose, eyes, ears
Cesar recommends this article for you:
Portrait of a dog with nose, eyes, ears in that order
Principle 6 for Achieving Balance: Nose, eyes, ears
A dog's senses form her reality. She perceives the world through her nose, eyes, and ears (in that order). That's very different from our human way of eyes, ears and nose.


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Sharing your Mac with other members of your family serves as the best way to access family photos, videos, albums and even shopping lists, without the need for a nearby iPhone or iPad. While this is pretty convenient, one major drawback is that your children can access your personal data on a shared Mac.
Fortunately, macOS allows you to set up parental controls on your shared Mac. This is a great feature, as it disables access to your personal apps, websites, and stores. In other words, you are setting limits for a child's computer's usage.
In this tutorial, we will run you through the steps to set up parental controls on your Mac. Before proceeding with our step-by-step guide, make sure that your PC is now running macOS Sierra or newer.
Steps to set up a user account
To set up parental controls on your Mac, you first need to set up a separate account for your child (note that this is a restricted account and you can decide exactly what your children can or cannot do on your computer)
Step one: First off, you need to head to Apple Menu and select System Preferences from the pull-down menu
Step two: Next up, click on Parental Controls and then hit the Lock icon at the bottom to enable the ability to make changes to your account. (You will be asked to enter your password to complete the task)
Step three: Hit the Add (+) button in the bottom left to add a new user. From the popup window, fill in the information for each section given and then click Create User to complete the task.
Steps to use parental controls on your Mac
Once you have created an account for your child, the next step is to limit the child's Mac access to specific applications. Here is how.
Step one: Click on Open Parental Controls at the button to get started. On the next screen, you can decide which apps your child should have access to on your computer
Step two: Next up, check the box next to Limit Applications on this Mac. Check out the box below, and check/uncheck Other Apps or Utilities to allow or disallow all apps at the same time.
Step three: If you want to allow your child's access to website with appropriate content, select the Web tab. From here, select the third option "Allow access to only these websites" and hit the plus button at the bottom. After that, select Add Bookmark to add a link
Step four: If you want to disable access to the iTunes Store, head to the Stores tab. Here, check or uncheck the options.
If you have got any issues during the process, feel free to let us know in the comments below.


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KENERELA partnered with IAVI to conduct baseline dialogue training that sought to address the issue of HIV vaccines and also understand the knowledge, attitude and practices of religious leaders so as to galvanize them to be a voice towards stigma reduction.Studies conducted within faith communities have found out that there exists a knowledge gap in articulation of new prevention technologies among religious groups. This makes it difficult for them to reach out to the over 97% of Kenyans who subscribe to a certain religion. In order to overcome existing barriers to access, uptake and appreciation of the place of new prevention technologies by masses, religious leaders' capacity need to built so that they can become ambassadors of the same.The place of religious leaders and the unique role they play in the society gives them an opportunity to be agents of change in shaping society's perspectives towards vaccines. As trusted and respected leaders of influence, religious leaders can, collectively, arrest HIV related stigma towards new HIV prevention technologies. By building the capacity of religious leaders living with and personally affected by HIV as 'Heralds of Change' would increase their ability to address the above issues many of them having experienced stigma in various forms.
Objectives of partnership
- To disseminate the information to the religious leaders on the HIV vaccines and initiate dialogue among the leaders within their faith communities
- To cluster pre baseline knowledge, attitude that the faith communities have in regards to HIV vaccines.
- Build consensus around an advocacy agenda on the new preventive measures on HIV
The expected outcome of the meeting includes;
- Conducting a baseline survey focusing on the existing knowledge, attitude and develop a possible advocacy agenda based on the findings for future reference
- Development of appropriate advocacy agenda for use by religious leaders on the new HIV prevention technologies
- Developing a safe platform for faith communities to give their opinions on issues of the new HIV vaccines
- Development of data for use in advocacy in local, national, regional and international forums.
The way forward
- Conduct a consensus for the baseline(INERELA+KENYA) has already conducted the survery and the dissemination process is underway.
- Enhance the roles and responsibilities among religious in ensuing effective baseline survey among faith communities
Overall Project Completion


Small. Fast. Reliable.
Choose any three.
SQL As Understood By SQLite
syntax diagram drop-view-stmt
The DROP VIEW statement removes a view created by the CREATE VIEW statement. The view definition is removed from the database schema, but no actual data in the underlying base tables is modified.
The view to drop is identified by the view-name and optional database-name specified as part of the DROP VIEW statement. This reference is resolved using the standard procedure for object resolution.
If the specified view cannot be found and the IF EXISTS clause is not present, it is an error. If the specified view cannot be found and an IF EXISTS clause is present in the DROP VIEW statement, then the statement is a no-op.


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Optimization: Finding optima in multi-funnel functions
High-dimensional optimization problems in which no gradient information is available dominate in many applications, ranging from image processing over molecular biophysics to parameter identification. Evolution strategies and other stochastic optimization algorithms have been particularly successful in this area. A large class of functions, however, could not be solved by any of the available algorithms so far. These so-called multi-funnel functions have several local minima that are distributed across multiple valleys (funnels). These functions thus are multi-modal (non-convex) and have no global structure. In such functions, local minima cannot be interpreted as perturbations to an underlying convex topology. Prominent examples of such multi-funnel functions are the free energy landscapes of gases and bio-molecules such as proteins.
We have recently presented a hybrid adaptive evolutionary optimization algorithm, combining the powerful CMA evolution strategy with concepts from swarm intelligence. Including non-local information into CMA made it possible to solve certain multi-funnel functions for the first time. On multi-funnel, strongly multi-modal, and noisy functions, the new algorithm shows superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods. The new algorithm is implemented in a computationally efficient and fully parallel software library, which allows exploiting the parallelism of modern multi-core computer hardware and large computer clusters.
The image above shows an example of a multi-funnel function in two dimensions. The function has two funnels that both contain several local minima. The global minimum in funnel 2 is hard to find in higher dimensions. Such functions are, e.g., characteristic for the free-energy landscapes of proteins, where the minima in funnel 1 would correspond to the "unfolded state" and the isolated deep minimum in funnel 2 to the native structure.
C. L. Müller, B. Baumgartner, and I. F. Sbalzarini. Particle swarm CMA evolution strategy for the optimization of multi-funnel landscapes. In Proc. IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC), pages 2685-2692, Trondheim, Norway, May 2009.
C. L. Müller, B. Baumgartner, G. Ofenbeck, B. Schrader, and I. F. Sbalzarini. pCMALib: a parallel FORTRAN 90 library for the evolution strategy with covariance matrix adaptation. In Proc. ACM Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO'09), Montreal, Canada, July 2009.
C. L. Müller and I. F. Sbalzarini. A tunable real-world multi-funnel benchmark problem for evolutionary optimization (and why parallel island models might remedy the failure of CMA-ES on it). In Proc. Intl. Conf. Evolutionary Computation (ICEC), Madeira, Portugal, October 2009.


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A new camera technology developed by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) can take sharp, colour images without using a lens and colour filters. Using only a piece of ground glass and a monochrome sensor, the scientists created multi-coloured images by "reverse engineering" the light that is scattered by the translucent matt surface of the ground glass, thus obtaining the original image that was projected on to it.
Since different wavelengths of light are scattered differently by the ground glass, the NTU scientists created an algorithm to reconstruct the image. To do this they created a library of "speckle patterns" linked to each wavelength of light, including those in the infrared and ultraviolet spectral regions. In a conventional camera, optics made from glass or plastic lenses capture light and guide it onto the colour filters and camera sensor to obtain sharp colour images. These lenses are usually bulky in size and expensive due to the precision manufacturing required. By removing the need for a lens and colour filters and replacing them with ground glass, this innovation could potentially be used in compact cameras and smart phones to make them slimmer.
Assistant Professor Steve Cuong Dang from the NTU School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who led the research, said their new imaging technique could help to improve imaging applications in biomedical and scientific applications as well as opening new doors for other industries.
"Our technology can also reconstruct images in other multiple wavelengths invisible to the naked eye, like infrared and ultraviolet, which are used in imaging purposes for medicine, surveillance and astrophysics. It can also reconstruct images taken at the microscopic scale," explained Professor Dang. "Our multispectral imaging technique uses a monochromic (black and white) camera coupled with a simple piece of ground glass, making it very cost-effective compared to existing multispectral cameras on the market. The unique feature of our camera is that it can capture any range of light spectrum, unlike existing cameras on the market which are pre-fixed. It is also less affected by optical alignment issues like conventional cameras, because there are no moving parts and no focusing optics."
With only a snapshot picture and a computational algorithm, this multispectral imaging technique combines the strengths of vision technology and spectroscopy to do multiple analysis at very high speeds. A patent has been filed for this new technology by NTU's innovation and enterprise arm, NTUitive, and the research team will be engaging industry partners to see how they can adapt their technology for real-world applications.
Details of the research was published in Optica in October 2017.


Monday, August 20, 2007
Group Profile: The Cultural Anthropologists
[The next-to-last installation of a Monday series profiling Group of 88 members, which has included posts on miriam cooke, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Wahneema Lubiano, Pete Sigal, Grant Farred, Sally Deutsch, Joseph Harris, Paula McClain, Jocelyn Olcott, Irene Silverblatt, Maurice Wallace, Antonio Viego, and Kathy Rudy. The posts examine the scholarship and teaching of Group members, delving into the mindset of professors who last spring abandoned both the tenets of Duke's Faculty Handbook and the academy's traditional fidelity to due process. An item to keep in mind: in higher education, professors control the hiring process. The people profiled in this series will craft future job descriptions for Duke professors; and then, for positions assigned to their departments, select new hires.]
Only the African-American Studies (80 percent) and Women's Studies (72.2 percent) programs had a higher percentage of their members sign the Group of 88's statement than did the Cultural Anthropology Department, where 60 percent of the professors rushed to judgment last April.
Diane Nelson (B.A., Wellesley, Ph.D., Stanford) is a tenured associate professor in the department. She has published one book— A Finger in the Wound: Body Politics in Quincenntenial Guatemala—and lists other forthcoming projects, all from Duke University Press. The book, according to the University of California Press website, asks "Why use a body metaphor? What body is wounded, and how does it react to apparent further torture? If this is the condition of the body politic, how do human bodies relate to it—those literally wounded in thirty-five years of war and those locked in the equivocal embrace of sexual conquest, domestic labor, mestizaje, and social change movements?" The book, the press claims, "has special relevance to ongoing discussions of power, hegemony, and the production of subject positions, as well as gender issues and histories of violence as they relate to postcolonial nation-state formation."
Nelson has taught such courses as "Cyborgs" ("an introduction to the emerging field of 'cyborg anthropology' which... melds ethnography, philosophy, film, science fiction, critical studies of science and technology, political economy, and feminist and anti-racist engagements with Big Science"); "Medical Anthropology" (where "ethic, power and the effects of inequality on health will be central, addressing gender, race, and national differentials in health rates; and asking what is the cure for so-called 'diseases of poverty'?"); and "Cannibal Cultures" (which had "an emphasis on ethnicity/raciology, class, sexuality, and gender"). In other words: Race/Class/Gender: I, II, and III.
Nelson's fall 2007 course, "Anthropology of Numbers," deals with the same sorts of themes as her recent lecture, "Who Counts? Reckoning the After/Math of War in Guatemala." She's also produced such only-in-academia offerings as "Dispossession and Possession: The Maya, Identi/ties, and 'Post' War Guatemala"; "Phantom Limbs and Invisible Hands: Bodies, Prosthetics, and Late Capitalist Identities"; and "A Social Science Fiction of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery: The Calcutta Chromosome, the Colonial Laboratory, and the Postcolonial New Human." (Nelson is fond of the trendy s/lash style of writing.)
Nelson has been a fixture in fringe protests on campus. In 2003, she walked out of class to protest the Bush administration's foreign policy. (There's an easy prep!) She has frequently invoked comparisons with World War II to justify her current foreign policy positions, though she often seemed to get her facts wrong. For instance, in 2003, she urged Chronicle readers to "actively make alternative histories," as she observed how "massive unprovoked attacks on a sovereign nation, killing soldiers and civilians alike, were carried out by Germany against Poland and Austria." (She offered the examples as an "analogy" to the U.S. war in Iraq.) Professor emeritus Lawrence Evans responded,
It may be, as Diane Nelson wrote, that we need "to actively make alternative histories." She's off to a good start when she asserts that in World War II Germany carried out an unprovoked attack on Austria. In 1938 Austria became part of Germany in a mostly non-violent coup aided by German troops. Austria then fought in WWII as part of Germany. Perhaps Nelson has an alternative story.
A few weeks later, Nelson compared herself to Danes who wore the Star of David in World War II—again taking liberties with the historical record. For someone so concerned with the fate of World War II Jews, she has shown far less concerns for Jews today: she has both signed and publicly endorsed a petition demanding that Duke divest from companies doing business with Israel on defense issues. (The petition made no such demand for divestment regarding companies doing business with any other country, including such nations with poor human rights records as Sudan, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan.) Former Harvard president Larry Summers termed similar proposals on his campus "anti-Semitic in their effect, if not their intent."
In 2004, Nelson broadened her usual Nazi analogy, asserting that "the US in not Berlin 1941, but it bears striking similarities to 1933, and to Santiago, Chile 1973 [when General August Pinochet was about to assume power in a brutal military coup], and Buenos Aires, Argentina 1976, just before those countries descended into dirty wars."
Nelson has every right to offer such utterances. But surely Duke alums have every right to question how a person who repeatedly makes such intellectually facile comparisons obtained a job at one of the nation's leading universities?
Nelson has admitted that an ideological imbalance exists among Duke's humanities faculty. In 2004, she responded the DCU study by asserting:
While there are important differences, we must keep in mind that the Democrats and Republicans show negligible divergence on major domestic and foreign policy issues... Given this, I also want to know, where is the diversity? Where are the Greens, Labour, the Christian Democrats, the Socialists, the Communists, the Workers Party, the Black Panthers, Puerto Rican independistas, etc...? Where is the truly wide range of partisan organizing that, across the globe, offers diversity in imagining options for the future?
Imagine if the DCU's findings had revealed the opposite total among Duke's humanities faculty (i.e.: 142 registered Republicans, eight registered Democrats). Does anyone believe Nelson would have been so blasé about the findings, perhaps speculating that the real problem was that Duke lacked a sufficient number of Fascists, clericalists, and monarchists?
Shortly before the lacrosse party, Nelson was back in the news, this time for heckling David Horowitz when the conservative speaker came to campus. Pratt student Ben Grant had an appropriate response:
It's one thing to disagree with Horowitz; I certainly do as do many others. It's another thing altogether to attend a University as esteemed as Duke and not be able to get to hear every side of every issue. The immature behavior of Nelson and her comrades was absolutely astounding to me and many of my friends. Interrupting while Horowitz was speaking, not allowing his voice to be heard and making a mockery of the concept of free speech—I truly am astounded these are professors at the school that I love and attend... I speak for myself and many of my friends when I say that it was truly embarrassing to Duke as a collective body of mature, free-thinking adults to witness a professor act in such a juvenile, unprofessional manner.
Even though Nelson's behavior contradicted provisions of the Faculty Handbook, she does not seem to have experienced any disciplinary action.
In the lacrosse affair, Nelson was one of five Group members to speak at the "Shut Up and Teach" forum. The Chronicle's Naureen Khan described Nelson's presentation:
To demonstrate the importance of articulating one's views and connecting with the public, Nelson passed around string that linked members of the audience to one another. As she spoke of repression, she hacked off the connecting string to emphasize how such actions cut people off from one another.
While kindergarten teachers nationally doubtless use such stratagems, college professors might be expected to produce something a little more substantive.
A few weeks later, Nelson and Group member Pedro Lasch complained to the Chronicle that the Group had been victims of a "conspiracy." Peopled by whom? Orchestrated by whom? For what purpose? Through what tactics?
Nelson supplied no details—perhaps in keeping with her preference for professors "actively mak[ing] alternative histories." Facts, after all, can be inconvenient things.
Nelson's colleague, Rebecca Stein, also signed both the Group statement and the "clarifying" letter. She is author of the forthcoming Itineraries in Conflict: The Political Life of Tourism in Israel and the Middle East. A critic of "dominant Jewish Israeli popular culture" (which, she argued in a 2000 essay, "has sought to defend the cultural integrity of Israel, to shore up its Jewishness and to preserve the fantasy of a Euro-Jewish nation-state"), Stein has championed alternative conceptions of culture in the area.
Stein has especially celebrated the "resistive work" of Israeli Arab rap and hip-hop artists Dam and MWR—who, she asserted, highlighted issues of "Israeli-Jewish racism."
In a 2004 article


A Day of Botanical Art Techniques for All Levels
by Deb Shaw
Sunday, January 27, 2019 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
Cost, BAGSC Members: $50 Non-Members: $60
Register online at: _URL_ Bring your own lunch or purchase from the Arboretum Café.
 1. Creating 3D forms by light to dark shading in graphite
 2. How to do a watercolor wash
 3. Easy color mixing in watercolor (NEW—just added!)
 4. Dry brush techniques (NEW—just added!)
 5. Using pen and ink in scientific illustration
 6. Drawing with silverpoint
 7. Color pencil techniques in botanical art
 8. Labeling your painting with calligraphy
 9. Creating 3D forms by light to dark in watercolor
 10. How to draw a leaf in graphite
 11. Using mixed media in scientific illustration
 12. Graphite tips and tricks
 13. Perspective for plants
 14. Watercolor pencil techniques
 1. Cristina Baltayian
 2. Diane Daly
 3. Akiko Enokido (NEW—just added!)
 4. Sally Jacobs
 5. Lesley Randall
 6. Olga Ryabtsova
 7. Gilly Shaeffer
 8. Deborah Shaw
 9. Ellie Yun-Hui Tu
Questions about the Workshop? Contact the BAGSC Education Chair.
_TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_ _TAG_


Plantas Sagradas
Plantas Sagradas
Regular price $80.00
Handmade bracelet handmade by the Kamentsa tribe of the Colombian Amazon.
The Kamentsa are a deeply spiritual people, and still inhabit their ancestral territory of the Sibundoy Valley in what is known as Alto Putumayo, along the Western fringe of the Colombian Amazon.
Shamanism and "Shamanic Visions" are a deep part of their beliefs and resulting symbolism, which is preserved through their celebrations, music, dances, traditional medicine, and artisan work. Shamans are known as Taitas in the Kamentsa's native language, Kamsa, and the Taita's visionary interpretations are projected into symbolism that represents the tribe's unity with, and dependance upon, the natural world, and to their spiritual Worldviews, or "Cosmovision."
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This is a culture
"It is indigenous art that my grandmothers taught me and they sent me to do it; I do it with the respect of being in front of an inheritance."
A tool for empowerment
Whether it be a necklace (okama) or an earring, each of these pieces speak to the journey of life and serve to to protect and highlight beauty.
Handcrafts are one of the main resources of survival for these women. Buying one of these pieces directly supports artisans of light and we hope it inspires creativity and connection to this wild, colorful and beautiful planet.


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What Is a Cantor?
Jeremiah Lockwood tells (and demonstrates) the duty and power of a cantor during the synagogue service.
What is a cantor? The Jewish prayer leader, also known as a hazzan or chazan, isn't just a singer--the hazzan is the central figure who conducts weekday, Shabbat, and holiday services in a synagogue. Jeremiah Lockwood of the band The Sway Machinery explains.


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A Content Component is a chunk
A content component may also contain a dynamic and interactive element that implements a Web Application
For example, a login form may be implemented in a Content Block
. And navigation
elements are interactive content.
The term component has a long history outside of content management that influences its use in CM. In DCOM
, the distributed component is an object with code and data capable of providing a remote service by executing internal methods or procedures.
In the Page Generation?
phase, a Content Management
assembles chunks of content into a full web page by executing server-side procedures for each chunk, which they often refer to as content components or objects.
Programming and Design also uses the term component to describe an object.
Major Enterprise Content Management
system providers sell their systems as a collection of independently purchasable modules or components.
coined the term Component Content Management and wrote a white paper
on the CCMS


Do Bearded Dragons Play Dead? How To React
Do bearded dragons play dead?The worst situation ever is the one in which you come up to your bearded dragon's habitat only to find them in a position indicating they are dead. You begin to worry. You may touch your dragon, in hopes that they will come back to life. But are they really deceased?
Do bearded dragons play dead? Bearded dragons have the ability to hold their breath for a REALLY long period of time. In some cases, the vet may have to intubate because they cannot get the animal to breathe in the anesthesia. If you suspect your dragon may be deceased, wait a while to make sure they are not playing dead.
 Now you know that bearded dragons can play dead. Why do they do this, and what can owners do to help bring them back to their normal way of life? Keep reading to find out.
Why Is My Bearded Dragon Playing Dead?
Stories from around the internet from other bearded dragon owners indicate such instances happening when the dragon is under some sort of stress.
For instance, one owner told a story in which her dragon would do this every time he had to undergo a bath. Another user told a story similar to that in which her dragon opened up an eye as soon as she picked him up again.
In the wild, they do that to escape predators. Some predators lose interest when their prey is dead or they start to relax and don't pay close attention anymore because dead prey can't run away.
As soon as the predator starts to relax and does not pay close attention to the "dead" bearded dragon, the dragon takes advantage of the situation and runs away.
The video below shows a bearded dragon that seems to be very stressed during bath time. As you can see it also plays dead for a while either to "escape" the situation or the water might be too cold.
How To React When Your Bearded Dragon Is Playing Dead
Bearded dragons can hold their breath for ten minutes, so don't jump to conclusions right away if you see your bearded dragon lying motionless. Give it some time and come back to check on the dragon.
However, bearded dragons do not play dead for fun. If you see this behavior in your bearded dragon, you might have done something wrong.
It is very important to reflect on the situation that could have caused that behavior and to do things differently in the future so that your bearded dragons can live stress-free.
Another thing to take into consideration is the possibility of brumation. It is a time in which bearded dragon owners who are inexperienced get nervous about their beardie. Let's learn what it is and how you can know what to expect.
Brumation 101: Know the Signs
Brumation is the reptile version of going into hibernation, which is what bears do during the wintertime.
The metabolism of the bearded dragon slows down and leaves them looking lethargic and lacking in appetite.
The bearded dragon actually has evolved to do this action over the years. It is a response to the seasons changing.
Signs that your bearded dragon is getting ready to begin brumation:
 - They don't want to be handled
 - They don't want to bask
 - They have trouble waking up
 - They lose their appetite
 - They lack energy
 - They bury themselves in their sand
 - They eliminate less and less
Many beardie owners who don't know about these dragons may assume their reptile has contracted a disease or parasite or is impacted.
Dragon owners not in the know may try to force-feed or play with their reptile as a means of waking him up, but don't do this. Brumation is a natural process, and your dragon is just following his instincts.
When Will Brumation Happen?
Brumation depends on whichever hemisphere you reside in. When it comes to beardies that live in the Southern Hemisphere, like Australia, their brumation will start around March or April, and they can stay brumating as late as August.
And then, when THOSE beardies begin waking up, the Northern Hemisphere dragon will start falling into brumation! These include dragons in Canada, the USA, UK, and Europe. You can expect a beardie in these hemispheres to brumate during September to March.
The point? Your bearded dragon will brumate as a way of answering the change in seasons. When temps get low around winter and autumn, you can be sure your dragon will probably start brumating around that time.
It should also be noted that not every bearded dragon who lives in captivity will brumate. It is very possible that your bearded dragon will never brumate, meanwhile others will go through that every year.
You may even see some bearded dragons go into brumation during the spring and summer months, even when they live in the Northern Hemisphere.
During brumation, you should offer a hide, which gives the dragon a place to settle down and stay safe during brumation.
Many dragons enjoy this on the cool side of the tank, so put it there for the best results. These hides come in many sizes to accommodate bearded dragons of all lengths.why do bearded dragons play dead?
How Do I Know If My Dragon Is Sick, Brumating, or Deceased?
In this section, we will take a look at the difference between sick, brumating, and deceased dragons.
Brumation Vs Death
First, don't make any quick decisions or jump to conclusions. Bearded dragons are very good at playing dead. Dead beardies have rigor mortis set in, and they are also very cold to the touch.
Their color will be different, and they may have a foul smell as a result of being deceased.
Here is a test you can do: Lay the dragon on his side and see if he moves. If no movement is spotted, try putting them on their back. A dragon that is alive will try to upright themselves, but if you see no movement, chances are the dragon is deceased.
Brumation Vs Illness
Look at the physical condition of your bearded dragon for the best results.
A dragon that is sick may have fat pads that have been totally depleted, mouth mucus, abnormally colored scales, or sunken in eyes. Mostly, these dragons do not look like themselves at all.
A dragon entering brumation will not display any of these signs. Dragons getting ready for brumation most often change up their behavior patterns as compared to their physical ones.
How To Become Better At Telling If Something Might Be Wrong With Your Bearded Dragon
Seeing a bearded dragon playing dead can be a shock. However, that is not the only behavior that can shock you when it comes to bearded dragons.
Have you ever entered the room, just to see your bearded dragon colored completely black? That can be extremely scary and stressful!
I know that most people are worried about their bearded dragons all the time even if their beardies don't show extreme behavior like that. They are just afraid that they are doing something wrong and their beardie might end up sick.
I totally get that, because I also worried a lot about my reptiles in the past. The good thing is, that you can actually become more confident when it comes to your bearded dragon's behavior.
All you need for that is knowledge.
If you know how to distinguish between a sick bearded dragon and a healthy bearded dragon, or if you know (for example) how to tell by your beardie's body language that the tank is too cold or too hot, you will be a much more confident beardie keeper.
Just because you know how to read your dragon.
To help you with that, we have created the Beardie Behavior 'n' Health ebook.
This ebook will show you how to spot diseases in your beardie and how to help, how to read a bearded dragon's body language, how to care for a beardie during brumation, and much, much more. You can get our ebook here!
Bearded dragons can and will play dead when they feel like it. Often this takes place when they feel afraid or threatened in some way. It is crucial for owners to understand what this looks like, so they know not to jump to conclusions or act in a rash way.
Bearded dragons can hold their breath for ten minutes, so don't worry just yet. If your reptile appears motionless, give him some time to come back. You should also try the test I mentioned earlier where you place the dragon on his side and then his back.
Dragons are great, but they sometimes can alarm us-know what to look for, so you don't end up scared or confused!
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text:
Walleye Telemetry – Use of Lake Erie's Ohio reef complex by Walleye during the spring spawning season
Andrew Bade – PhD Student
This project seeks to identify how both environmental (e.g., temperature, photoperiod) and biological (e.g., sex, size) variables influence the timing and duration of movement of adult walleye onto Lake Erie's Ohio reef complex. We are also interested in determining if individuals are showing spawning-site fidelity to the Ohio reef complex and other western basin spawning populations. We are answering these questions using acoustic telemetry data provided by the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System in conjunction with egg collections and monitoring of environmental data. This research will inform management on the potential need to protect spawning aggregations on the reef complex, help explain variation in recruitment, provide insight into future population responses to climate change, and inform the need for multi-stock management.
Find more information on the Aquatic Ecology Lab project page.


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Storm Watchers; The Invention of Clouds
Reviewed by James Woodford
February 22 2003
Out of all we know about weather, the only real certainty is its unpredictability.
STORM WATCHERS: The Turbulent History of Weather Prediction from Franklin's Kite to El Nino
By John D.Cox
John Wiley, 252pp, $44.95
THE INVENTION OF CLOUDS: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies
By Richard Hamblyn
Picador, 291pp, $40
As Canberra burned in January, I was on a remote beach on the south coast of NSW. Swimming in icy water, turned almost algae green by the weird light, I saw clearly that a rare weather event was unfolding - the sky was broadcasting a story of horror from the national capital. For days there had been so much smoke in the atmosphere that the shadows of clouds had been cast not only on the ground but up in the air, looking like strange grey smudges. That afternoon the sun shone like a sick, pink bauble, as did the moon that night.
It is no wonder humans are obsessed by the weather and feel so small when extreme weather strikes. Even on normal days it is our climate that decides what we can do and wear. When the sky loses its temper, however, it can slam jumbos down to earth as if they were toys hurled in a tantrum, fan flames that incinerate more than 500 homes in a few hours, and send a barrage of hail so fierce that more than a billion dollars worth of property can be destroyed in a few minutes. As a new generation of Australians has learnt over the past few years, weather is the original weapon of mass destruction.
If the skies were always kind then they would be boring. But they're not, which is what makes a book like Storm Watchers so engrossing. It contains 28 essays by the author, John D.Cox, and is most fascinating because he details the process of meteorological discovery rather than focusing on the science. Cox reveals how important personality seems to be to each modern breakthrough in the understanding of weather.
In an age where meteorologists have access to supercomputers and full-disk satellite images that show one side of the Earth in its entirety, it is hard to imagine what a revelation it was to discover that hurricanes rotate and storms move.
After the Great September Gale hit New York in 1821, a merchant and naval engineer, William C.Redfield, took a journey across New England. Cox writes: "Redfield happened to observe an interesting detail about the ravaged forests and fields across the landscape. It was there for anyone to see, of course, but it was not something that anybody had ever noticed before about the wreckage of such storms. In the apparent chaos was a large-scale pattern in the orientation of the trees blown down on September 3. Near his home in Middleton, Connecticut, the fallen trees were generally facing one direction, toward the north-west, and, in western Massachusetts, less than 70 miles distant, the trees were facing the opposite way.
"Only someone of an especially astute and open frame of mind was likely ever to see it: in the pattern of debris was an imprint of the shape of the storm... What Redfield envisioned was an enormous progressive whirlwind, a violent flow of air rotating counterclockwise around the axis of a centre that was travelling from the south-west to the north-east with the prevailing winds."
The author also deals succinctly with another breakthrough in the understanding of weather - Luke Howard's classification of clouds in 1802. "Every meteorologist in every country of the world would learn to speak Luke Howard's Latin: cirrus, cumulus, stratus, nimbus," Cox writes.
Richard Hamblyn, in The Invention of Clouds, dedicates an entire book to the subject of Howard. Where Cox's book is like a buffet meal, full of delicious morsels, Hamblyn's is more like being forced to eat an oversized plate of stew. The idea of a book dedicated to how one man came up with some Latin names for clouds is better than the result.
In Hamblyn's book, there are indeed great moments and some wonderful insights into philosophy and 19th-century England. But you encounter too many sentences where the author seems to be trying to convince his audience of the greatness of Howard.
Of the night Howard presented his paper "On the Modification of Clouds", Hamblyn writes: "Everyone in the room was struck by the realisation of their presence at a moment of clarity, a moment when the world seemed suddenly to have been pulled more sharply, more richly, into focus. It was a moment of unparalleled insight: in naming the clouds, in bestowing their language over the course of an evening's lecture, Luke Howard had presided over a defining event in a new kind of natural history."
Hamblyn seems hell-bent on convincing the reader that their attention for 253 pages is justified. More than 100 pages later, he is still telling the reader how important Howard is.
By contrast, Cox deals with Howard in just four elegant pages before continuing his tour through meteorology. As Cox's book is as much about character as tempest, one of its themes is that a serious obstacle to weather forecasting has been jealousy and political manoeuvring.
There is no better example than the tragic tale of Mark W.Harrington, the first civilian chief of the US Weather Bureau. Regarded as a gifted scientist, Harrington ran up against Julius Morton, the agriculture secretary.
Morton, whom Cox describes as "immaculate of science", set about the long, slow professional torture of his weather bureau chief. The harassment of Harrington culminated in presidential intervention, which bought the scientist some time, but no reprieve from Morton. Eventually, the president agreed to Harrington's dismissal.
In 1899, Harrington left home and disappeared for a decade. He was found by his wife in 1908, a John Doe in a mental asylum.
Meteorology has more than its fair share of drama and scientists who have put their lives on the line for their research. In April 1924, for instance, Clarence Leroy Meisinger was in a balloon sailing through a thunderstorm above Illinois when he was fatally struck by a bolt of lightning.
There is the pivotal drama of the weather forecasters struggling to advise on the conditions likely to prevail for the D-Day landings during World War II. There is El Nino, thunderstorm downbursts and detailed descriptions of the people who developed the technology that brings us the weather report each evening.
For all the distance forecasting has travelled, perhaps the most important insight gained by scientists is that weather, in its detail, is chaotic.
No matter what science throws at the sky, anyone who tries to see more than a few days into the future is doomed to fail. As the discoverer of the chaos of weather, Edward Lorenz, said: "To the often-heard question: 'Why can't we make better weather forecasts?' I have been tempted to reply: 'Well, why should we be able to make any forecasts at all?"'
James Woodford is a Herald writer and the author of The Secret Life of Wombats (Text).
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Ethiopia - a Tourist Paradise
Ethiopia - a Tourist Paradise
Ethiopian culture is many-sided, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the country; with over 80 different ethnic groups priding themselves in their own individual language, culture and tradition
The Hammar are a tribal people in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. They live in Hamer Bena woreda (or district), a fertile part of the Omo River valley. They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle. Cow jumping, this rite of passage for men coming of age must be done before a man is permitted to marry.
The man-to-be must "jump the cattle" four times to be successful and only castrated male cattle and cows may be used to jump over. This test is performed while naked (except for a few cords bound across the chest) as a symbol of the childhood he is about to leave behind him. On completion of this test, the young man joins the ranks of the maza - other men who have recently passed the same test and who spend the next few months of their lives supervising these events in villages throughout the Hamar territory. Unlike the Minoan bull-leaping, the cattle are held still by the maza, so the physical risk is limited.
Women commonly end up as the heads of families because they marry men who are much older than themselves while they are young. When her husband dies, she is left in control of the family's affairs and livestock. She is also in control of his younger brother's and their livestock if their parents are dead. Widows may not re-marry. One Hamar woman who had long since left the village and begun life in a larger town spoke out against the (whipping) practice as unfit for an educated person.
The ceremonies end with several days of feasting, including the typical jumping dances, accompanied by as much sorghum beer as the cow-jumper's family can provide to the visitors.
Mursi is the name of a closely related sedentary pastoral Nubian people whose language is over 80% cognate with Suri. They are located next to the Suri in the center of the Omo Region and the lowlands southwest of Jinka in Ethiopia. The Mursi do not regard themselves as Surma, despite the cultural and linguistic similarities. They have a macho culture, with an obsession for stick fighting called donga bringing great prestige to men - it is especially important when seeking a bride - and they are very competitive, at the risk of serious injury and occasional death. The males are often shaved bald, and frequently wear little or no clothes, even during stick fights.
Mursi Woman,
At a young age, to beautify themselves for marriage, most women have their bottom teeth removed and their bottom lips pierced, then stretched, so as to allow insertion of a clay lip plate. Some women have stretched their lips so as to allow plates up to five inches in diameter. With exposure to other cultures, however, a growing number of girls now refrain from this practice. The tribe's children are sometimes painted with white clay paint, which may be dotted on the face or body. Village life is largely communal, sharing the produce of the cattle (milk and blood, as do the Maasai ). Though their chief (styled komaro ) wears the fur crown of a pagan priest-king, he is merely the most respected elder and can be removed. Few are familiar with Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and their literacy level is very low.
The Amhara women wear dresses that are tight-bodied and full skirted. The dresses are bright white with colored embroidery and woven borders. Although originally most of the border designs were based on the varied design of the Ethiopian cross, These days you can see an array of fine-looking designs.
The Muslims of Harar wear colorful dress. The men often dress in red, purple or black. The women of Harar part their hair in the middle and make large buns behind their ears. Harari women have been known for their basketwork for centuries and still weave intricate creations from coloured fibers and grasses. Harar is also famous for the work of its silversmiths.
The Afar, most of whom occupy one of the most unfriendly desert or semi-desert areas in the world, have long been regarded as a fierce and warlike people. They are certainly proud and individualistic, and somehow manage to eke a living out of the challenging wilderness in which many of them live. The majority of the Afar are semi-nomadic pastoralists, but a minority have settled, notably those in the Aussa oasis. Almost all are Muslims, and are organized into confederacies of tribes, and clans. The nomads live in small, isolated groups with the camel as their beast of burden, and keep sheep, goats, and cattle.
The Anuak people are found in the Gambella region. The indigenous Anuak people are mainly fishermen in this region, and the crops they do grow, such as sorghum, does not reach its full potential because of the extremely basic methods employed. There are few large villages, as people prefer instead to group
The Oromo people comprise the largest ethnic group of approximately thirty million, they offer their products for sale in open markets. They produce the more familiar grains and vegetables of established agriculture. Coffee, one of the world's favorite beverages, is believed to have been 'born' in this region
The lowland Somali wear long, often brightly coloured cotton wraps, while some of the cattle-herders in the lake district have clothing made of skins.
The cornerstone of Konso culture, is highly specialized and successful agricultural economy that, through terracing buttressed with stone, enable them to extract a productive living from the none-too-fertile hills and valleys that surround them.
The women of Tigray wear dozens of plaits (shuruba) tightly braided to the head and fuzzing out at the shoulders. Young children often hav e their heads shaved, except for a tuft or a small tail of plaits, which are left so that if God calls them 'He will have a handle by which to lift them up to Heaven'.
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The History and Chemistry of Rock–not the Rolling Stones, the Dolomites
The Brentan Dolomites, the only dolomitic group west of the Adige River, photographed by the author at Madonna di Campiglio
If you take a sample of rock from one of the main peaks of Northern Italy's Dolomite Mountains and add hydrochloric acid, the effervescence will be quite weak. The streaming of carbon dioxide bubbles will be far more vigorous if you add the same acid to rocks from most Alpine peaks. Both samples contain carbonate, the source of CO2, but the rates differ because the Dolomites consist of mostly CaMg(CO3)2 *, a mineral known as dolomite, whereas the Alps are mostly limestone, which contains calcite mineral CaCO3.
How does dolomite form?
Dinosaur tracks, south of Trento in the Dolomites. They date back to 200 million years ago, around the time that the dolomite material formed. Source:
First, there has to be some calcium carbonate in the environment. In warm areas, especially in reservoirs of magnesium richwater in shallow lagoons, magnesium ions will penetrate the calcite and get incorporated into the crystal to yield dolomite:
Mg2+(aq) + 2 CaCO3 (s) –> CaMg(CO3)2 (s) + 2 Ca2+(aq)
The material of the Dolomite peaks was made in the Upper Triassic Period, about 200 million years ago when Pangea was splitting up and 70% of species were becoming extinct due to massive volcanism and ensuing global warming. It helped dinosaurs extend a long-lasting advantage over mammals.
How does calcium carbonate form?
Artificial micelles embedded in calcite simulate a similar process in nature. From Nature.
It's well known that algae, bacteria and especially molluscs are capable of precipitating calcium carbonate. But not to be to reductionist, it should be pointed out that the approximately 5% of a shell that does not consist of CaCO3 makes the shell much stronger. The minor component consists of a protein micelle embedded within the calcium carbonate crystal. Furthermore, the crystal growth itself depends on the protein matrix binding to Ca2+.
But where does the carbonate ion come from?
Calcium carbonate is not very water-soluble, so carbonate cannot be obtained directly from limestone in the ocean. Molluscs and bacteria rely on urea hydrolysis. With the help of an enzyme, urea reacts with water to produce both carbamic acid and the alkaline molecule ammonia. Carbamic acid, in turn, can be hydrolyzed to produce carbonic acid (H2CO3) and more ammonia. Since carbonic acid is in equilibrium with hydrogen carbonate and H+ ions, the hydroxide from the aqueous ammonia-equilibrium can then make carbonate according to the following:
H+(aq) + HCO3 – (aq) +2 OH(aq) –> CO3 2-(aq) + 2 H 2O
What are other sources of hydrogen carbonate?
Also found in baking soda and in every living cell, hydrogen carbonate ion abounds in the sea. And most of it does not come from the hydrolysis of urea. That biochemical cycle serves mostly to provide the ammonia which raises the pH in order to precipitate carbonate. So where does most of the hydrogen carbonate come from? When carbon dioxide dissolves in rainwater, it forms carbonic acid which weathers a variety of rocks, ranging from feldspar to mica.
Scanning electron micrograph of a coccosphere of Emiliania huxleyi, composed of plate-shaped calcium carbonate coccoliths. From
Feldspars are characterized by Si3O84-, while micas contain Si3O108-. When they react with carbonic acid, they liberate positive ions, transform the silicate polyatomic to a different silicate in the form of clay and also release quartz and hydrogen carbonate ion. Rivers then deliver the ions to the sea where some serve as a reactant for calcium carbonate production in shell material and coccoliths, which originated at the time that the Dolomites' material was formed.
How did dolomite from the sea become mountains that now reach the clouds?
The Earth's most common intrinsic igneous rock is granite, which contains quartz along with two forms of feldspar and mica. Granite, has large crystals, suggesting that they cooled slowly underground. The solidified rock only became exposed by uplifting through plate tectonics. The same mechanism is also what lifted the dolomite material out of the sea as the African plate collided with the European one, a process that's been ongoing for 40 million years and will continue to do so, perhaps closing off the Mediterranean. The collision not only created the Dolomites but the Alps and the Pyrenees.
Other Sources
Physical Geology, fourth edition, 1988. Plummer and McGeary.
Britannica Macropedia. Minerals. Last Printed Edition, 2010;jsessionid=EF3999A595CC9E41472559F36FA1CC15.f02t04
 - * postscript:
*In Lake Huron's Bruce peninsula there are a combination of minerals present. The more erosion-resistant dolomite is at times underneath layers of other sedimentary rock. The less resistant layers have been carved out of the cliffs, leading to the attractive formation known as the Grotto.
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