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Teaching Artist Trainees Present Their Collaborative Lesson Plans
In this ongoing series, Katie Rainey, reports from inside the Teaching Artist Training and Internship Program. A graduate of the program, Katie shares her insight into the workshops, seminars and personal experience with classroom internships.
On Saturday, November 22nd, 2014, Community-Word Project's Teaching Artist Training & Internship Program (TATIP) had its fourth workshop. In this workshop the new trainees took the helm and essentially ran the show. The trainees, many for the first time, took turns presenting a co-planned and co-taught lesson plan to the other participants. There was a wide variety of collaborations between artists and media, as well as inventive new takes on what it means to teach art in the classroom.
Tiffany Nesbit and Kadeem Gayle started us off with a writing lesson aimed at getting kids to really hear the things they say, think about, and write about. It was a lesson in realistic dialogue and action, and empathy in writing. They had us free write real arguments between two people. We took those and turned them into sketches, tweaking the dialogue to play out as a script. We performed these skits in the last part of the lesson and the results were outstanding. It seemed as if real arguments were happening all around us. We ended with a serious reflection on dialogue and the major and minor things about which people argue.
Next, we had a theatre lesson aimed at fostering community in the classroom and exploring self-expression and identity. The exercise was led by Amanda LaPergola, Ally Tufenkjian and Frank Moran. Their lesson centered on bringing a Shel Silverstein poem to life. The participants each took turns reading a line from the poem "Whatif". They discussed how we related to the poem by giving a gesture to our particular line in the work. It was interesting to track the reactions of the group. Participants fostered an immediate bond by relating to the same line in the poem. The trainees main activity called for a group collaboration to bring the poem to life with participants using a variety of media: visual art, sound, and movement.
Kim Baglieri and Dan Paul Roberts brought the work of two artists to their classroom: Henry Matisse and Kerry James Marshall. They reminded us how important it is to introduce artworks by successful artists to demonstrate that art is something that also lives outside the classroom. It prompts students to think about their personal, creative elements. Their main activity was an exercise called "My Dream Room". Students are asked to create collages with things that they imagine are in their dream room. At the close of the lesson, they put a twist on the traditional Community-Word Project closing by relating it back to their lesson. The call and response:
I have a vision! My vision has power! My vision can change the world!
Katie Cox and Laura Epperson got our logistical brains ticking with a little musical-numbers game. They introduced the concept of nonverbal communication in music and composition by having the group close their eyes and stamp their feet to a certain tempo. Eventually, the participants meandered around the room (carefully of course! Everyone had their eyes closed still) until they found someone else keeping time to the same tempo. Keeping with the theme of nonverbal communication, their main activity had the participants break off into groups and collaboratively, nonverbally act out Shel Silverstein's poem "Backward Bill".
Marlie Decopain and Megan Skelly had the group thinking about compassion and empathy in their communities through the power of visual art and poetry. They redirected our creative thinking by starting out with a quote from Albert Einstein.
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the 'Universe' —a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
This put us in the collective brain space for interacting and feeling as a community. The objective was to raise awareness of space and its collaborative importance to composition. It also got us working as a community to build a "living composition". Marlie and Megan passed out white frames and instructed the participants to arrange themselves within these frames. It was a fresh and exciting community-building activity that sparked our creativity. Their main activity combined their two art forms, creative writing and visual arts. Participants brainstormed metaphors from their own lives, and then translated those into a work of visual art.
Paco Marquez and Javan Howard took the term "kinesthetic learning" to a whole new level with their twist on words and movement. Javan peaked our interest when he asked the group, "How does an 'O' roll?" Participants teamed up and went through the alphabet, acting out each letter as if it could move, figuring out what those movements might look like. They were given words to spell using their bodies while the rest of the class guessed what words they formed. They transitioned quickly to a lesson on metaphors that encouraged students to think about the literary device in their everyday lives. They put an interesting spin on their closing reflection by asking everyone to say what letter of the alphabet they felt like at that moment and why.
We had another trio combine their artistic forces for this next lesson: Cristal Rodriguez, Christina Shedeler and Lawrence Malu. They combined the power of poetry and the visual arts to teach students about alliteration. They used family and diversity as creative elements for the base of this activity. They got the participants warmed up and thinking about these elements by having them arrange themselves silently into different "families," asking them, "How does a family look?" "How does a big family look?" "How does a small family look?"
For their main activity, they had the participants draw their families and what that meant to them. They gave a quick lesson on adjectives and had the participants list adjectives to describe their families. A portion of the time was dedicated to writing poems to accompany these pictures, using repetition or anaphora to make the poem resonate with the reader.
Finally, Felix Morez and Tanya Minhas closed out the presentations with a lesson in visual arts that highlighted their theme of exploration in your neighborhood. They opened their lesson with a fun warm up in which the trainees called out what they wanted to be when they "grew up". Then, they introduced the participants to two artists, Edward Hopper and Vincent Van Gogh. Felix also did something that can make a powerful impact on students, he shared his own work. It's always good for students to learn about famous artists. And it can be just as meaningful for them to be introduced to a regular person creating art. It can bring art closer to them and keep it from becoming this large thing that feels impossible. They centered their main activity around community by combining poetry and the visual arts, which is something we value at CWP. We strive to help students become more aware of their communities and the impact that their voices can make.
"Co-creating a lesson plan with another artist provided many self-revelations. It was wonderful to be able to brainstorm and fine tune the lesson with another creative mind." – Tanya Minhas, Visual Artist
Although the trainees held the reins for the majority of the day, CWP's lovely and talented Program Director, Megan Morrison, helped co-facilitate the seminar part of the day with our fearless leader, Patti Chilsen. Together, they provided vital feedback about each lesson presented in order to help the trainees better communicate their artistic visions with a classroom of students.
Our next and final seminar before the trainees enter CWP classrooms as interns will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2014.


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I've been trying to revise the structural design of the C#.NET-based system I'm currently working on. Sorry, this came rather lengthy, but I cannot describe it shorter - it's a bit complex.
The system has two primary functions:
1)Retrieve rows from an SQL disk-based database, then serve them up using [DataContract]-marked objects via ASP to a web-based client, as well as receive UPDATEs to those and reroute them to the database.
2)Read off and serve the same kinds of objects to server-side / distributed modules which work with these, generate some result, and push it back to the database.
The results (some might ask: "why're you storing generated data?") of module computation do have to be stored in the database due to both size and length of computation required to obtain them, only to be retrieved in parts by the web-client through the (1) function.
Currently, all row-representing objects are defined as separate C# classes with a common trend but little to no inheritance, and no common base class. I want to completely break this pattern, and instigate more extensive inheritance based on a tree of abstract classes and possibly interfaces.
I've whipped up a "due-for-test" implementation in the past few days, but I'm concerned about the sanity of this design. Obviously, there is the object-relational impedance mismatch, which I deal with by only initializing the database-column-backed fields unless the other encapsulated objects are provided to the constructor. I'm not so concerned about that, and it's an issue for the old system design as well.
Here's what I have so far:
A DatabaseColumnAttribute class, which targets fields, and defines
 - name of the column where the data for the field resides.
 - database type (enum-backed locally) for this column. There's a fixed set of database types this system is designed to support, so be it.
 - whether or not the column is nullable.
 - read phrase(i.e. how do we represent this column in a SELECT query within an sql statement): this is generated automatically based on column type. There's a fixed number of types the data can be accessed in, so if there's a conversion involved when reading data from a column this will include it. Otherwise, just the column name.
 - write wrapper (i.e. database function that converts the data sent into the column from C# to the appropriate representation) - also generated based on column type.
All this is used within a DatabaseFieldColumnWrapper object, which contains all the methods required to transfer the data from the column to the field or vice-verse.
The DatabaseFieldColumnWrapper is constructed for each location in the code where a DatabaseColumnAttribute is used, meaning it's not quite "static", but rather class-based, since it modifies fields of derived classes. The fields can back properties, there's a BackedByFieldAttribute class as well, I'll skip it for brevity.
All of these are used within an abstract DataElement class, root of hierarchy. It defines the following abstract members: function that provides the backing-table's name for this class of objects, a read-only public Id property, a private function to set the Id (which corresponds to the primary key of the row in the table).
It also provides a protected static helper function to retrieve the DatabaseFieldColumnWrapper objects for specific fields based on Linq Expressions (to avoid "magic strings"). This can be used in derived types to easily synch the database representation for specific fields/columns.
It provides a Delete() method, which is (not a destructor, but a function) responsible for only deleting the database representation. The whole system is designed to allow asynchrony and multiple memory representations unless otherwise specified.
Here is the "less sane" part:
There is a DataElementAttribute class, which is designed to modify non-abstract derived types. It is not fully constructed completely right away where it's defined, instead filled-in in a thread-safe manner upon the construction of the first object of a derived type. It not inherited, and contains only data specific to the derived class required to speed up construction (i.e. construct all the necessary DatabaseFieldColumnWrapper objects before-hand and associate them with the fields).
This basically violates the C# OO model, since it's "static only with respect to current class in the hierarchy", not static to the whole chain. Basically, it makes the DataElmentAttribute object associate with a particular Type object. Each instance has a reference to it.
I don't know how to circumvent this issue, it seems to be best in terms of "code reuse", but it also seems like I'm violating a lot of things I shouldn't be when I do it. Any ideas, sugguestions?
share|improve this question
closed as off topic by Chris Lively, Ryan, Book Of Zeus, casperOne Feb 16 '12 at 23:02
You might do better with a more specific question rather than just "I think I'm doing something wrong." SO is specifically for Q&A type questions and this seems more like an extended discussion. – cadrell0 Feb 15 '12 at 19:22
are you sure you can't leverage an existing c# orm like linq to sql or entity framwork, or even data sets, to form a sane design basis? – Aaron Anodide Feb 15 '12 at 19:23
Okay, here's a more "question form"-type: how do I mimic class-based, although non-inherited (therefore not static), data [which I can use within the objects themselves] with C# OO model? I'm not looking for a "you don't" kind of answer here. – Greg Kramida Feb 15 '12 at 19:26
Along with cadrell0's remark, this belongs on programmers.se – Chris Lively Feb 15 '12 at 19:27
Alright, thanks, will try there. – Greg Kramida Feb 15 '12 at 19:29


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Visual representation of information highlights the power of compression. That is the reason why the National Curriculum Framework says "Mathematics is amazingly compressible: one may struggle a lot, work out something, perhaps by trying many methods. But once it is understood it creates one of the great joys of mathematics. A major goal of the upper primary stage is to introduce the student to this particular pleasure. Data handling, representation and visualization are important mathematical skills which can be taught at this stage. They can be of great use as "life skills".
This is an activity for Mathematics class (grade level 6-8). This activity aims at visual representation and its interpretation of data collected from the classroom itself.
Activity byRajkishore Patnaik, Azim Premji Foundation

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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William Joseph Donovan
Donovan, William Joseph (dŏnˈəvən) [key], 1883–1959, U.S. lawyer and government official, b. Buffalo, N.Y., grad. Columbia law school. Distinguished service in World War I won him medals and the nickname Wild Bill Donovan. He was prominent in Republican politics, served (1925–29) in the office of the U.S. attorney general, and made an unsuccessful bid for New York governor (1932). President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent him on several secret foreign missions, and in 1942 he was made head of the newly created Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which he made into a formidable and often successful intelligence agency during World War II. Donovan was given the rank of major general and served until 1945. He later returned to public service as ambassador to Thailand (1953–54). His enthusiasm for covert operations and paramilitary interventions helped shape the psychology of the Central Intelligence Agency, which replaced the OSS as the premier U.S. intelligence agency in 1947.
See biographies by C. Ford (1970), A. C. Brown (1982), R. Dunlop (1982), and D. Waller (2011); S. Alsop, Sub Rosa: the O.S.S. and American Espionage (1963); R. H. Smith, OSS (1977).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Indentations on the buttocks – butt dents – are no fun. Fortunately, you can do something about them – apart from expensive surgery. A smart combination of nutrition and exercise can help you to get rid of butt dimples, while also reducing butt body fat. In this article, I'll present 5 nutritional tips and 5 key exercises to help you get rid of indentations in the buttocks.
Nutrition to Reduce Butt Dents
In order to get rid of butt indentations, you should combine the right exercises with the proper healthy nutrition habits that will allow you to get rid of the cellulite that is covering your glutes. The following habits will help you to do that
Drink More Water
By increasing your water intake, you will be helping to prevent the fat gain that can contribute to increased levels of cellulite around your butt. Increased hydration will also help to remove toxins from the body that can be partially responsible for indentations on the skin. People who drink half a gallon or more of water every day tend to have smoother, firmer skin.
Make it your goal to drink half a gallon of water each day. Sip from a water bottle constantly and, if you feel hunger pangs coming on, drink a full glass of water to fill your stomach.
By creating a caloric deficit, you will be forcing your body to turn to stored body fat, including that on your butt, to provide its energy needs. Reduce your intake by 500 calories per day, and spread it out across your meals. You can achieve this goal by simply reducing your portion sizes and cutting out between-meal snacks.
As well as helping to build muscle, protein promotes weight loss. That is because it is a very filling nutrient. Have lean protein as the basis of every meal and you won't feel hungry between meals. The healthy protein intake will also help you to develop a firm, athletic muscular butt, especially when you do exercises that are targeted toward that area of your body.
Reduce Processed Carbs
Processed carbohydrate foods represent empty nutrition. They are usually very high in sugars, healthy fats, preservatives, additives, flavorings, and other toxins that do not belong in your body. Reducing your intake of processed carbs is a key step toward getting rid of butt indentations.
Replace white bread with whole wheat, change out your sugary breakfast cereals with oatmeal and stop buying packaged meal foods.
Fiber will help to fill you up and will greatly improve your digestion. Increase your intake of fiber by eating more of the following foods:
- Brussels sprouts
5 Exercises to Remove Butt Dents
The following exercises are all designed to target your butt muscles. They will firm, tone, and tighten the butt so that indentations are smoothed out, leaving you with a firm, rounded rear end.
How To Do It:
- Stand in front of a bench or step that is 16-14 inches in height with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Step up onto the bench with your right foot, and then follow through with your left so that you are standing on the bench.
- Reverse the action, right foot first, to return to the floor.
- Repeat this movement in a fast smooth, continuous way to complete your time count.
- Do step-ups for 60 seconds.
How To Do It:
- Stand with your feet together and toes pointed outward. Place your hands on your hips.
- Jump your feet apart and drop down into a half squat position.
- Immediately jump the feedback together to return to a standing position. Be sure to maintain an upright for so throughout this movement.
- Continue to complete your time count.
- Do pop squats for 60 seconds.
How To Do It:
- Stand with your feet at shoulder distance apart and hands on hips.
- Take a big step forward with your left leg and drop down so the right knee almost touches the floor.
- Follow through with your left foot to take another step forward and again dropped the rear knee.
- Take five steps forward in this manner and then turn and return to the start position.
- Continue doing walking lunges – five steps forward and five steps backfor the required time count.
- Do walking lunges for 60 seconds.
Dumbbell Squat to Deadlift
How To Do It:
- Stand with your feet flat on the floor and fairly close together, holding light dumbbells in your hands at your sides.
- Hinge at the hips to descend into a parallel squat. Maintain a neutral spine position and look directly ahead as you do this.
- Shift your arms to a front position, with palms facing your body.
- Now stand up as if you were coming out of a deadlift.
- Move smoothly into the next repetition.
- Do the dumbbell squat to deadlift for 30 seconds.
How To Do It:
- Stand with your feet flat in a staggered position so that the right foot is forward on the left foot back, resting on the toe with the heel elevated. Have your arms at your sides in the runner's position.
- Bend both knees to drop down into a bottom lunge position, where the rear knee is almost touching the ground.
- From this position, jump into the air and switch legs in midflight so that when you come down the left foot is forward and the right foot behind, resting on the toe.
- Continue this fluid action to complete your time count.
- Do jumping lunges for 30 seconds.
Perform these five exercises in a circuit where you do one after the other with no rest. Once you have completed the circuit rest for two minutes and then do it again. Build up to doing four sets of this circuit three times per week on alternative days.
In order to get rid of butt indentations, you need to work on removing cellulite, along with excess body fat stores, while also developing the glute muscles to make them firmer and tighter. Follow the plan outlined above for three months and you will see some pretty drastic improvements to your bottom line (pun intended).
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there treatment options to get rid of butt indentations?
Yes, there are treatment options to get rid of butt indentations. The most common treatment is to work on the body with lasers to remove cellulite. However, this may leave scars on body tissue.
Is it possible to remove cellulite?
It is not possible to get rid of all cellulite from your body. But it is possible to get rid of a large portion of it and produce muscles that are toned, tight, and athletic looking. The best way to do this is with the combination of a balanced diet and full range of motion sculpting and strengthening exercises.
What is cellulite?
Cellulite refers to the skin indentations, dents, and dimples that frequently occur on the hips, thighs, and buttocks of women. It also affects men but is more common among ladies.
Will massage help to remove butt indentations?
Massage may help to remove butt indentations by activating the connective tissue and helping to remove toxins that contribute to sacral dimples.


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Growth Hormone and Endothelial Function in Children
Objective: This study is designed to determine whether growth hormone treatment in children 8 to 18 years of age alters function of the lining of the arteries. This may play a role in increasing or decreasing the risk of heart disease.
Methods. Twenty children, for whom growth hormone therapy will be otherwise provided, will be studied before and 3 months after starting growth hormone. Subjects can be on other hormonal replacements but no other medications.
Each study will be done in the fasting state. The blood vessel function will be determined by measuring the change in forearm blood flow before and after blocking flow to the arm for 5 minutes. Blood will be drawn after the test to measure glucose, insulin and fats.
Growth Hormone Deficiency
Drug: growth hormone
|Study Design:||Allocation: Non-Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Safety Study
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:||Growth Hormone and Endothelial Function in Children|
- Change in Reactive Hyperemic response after 3 months of growth hormone [ Time Frame: 3 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Glucose, Insulin, lipid measurements [ Time Frame: 3 months ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
|Study Start Date:||January 2005|
|Study Completion Date:||December 2007|
|Primary Completion Date:||June 2007 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)|
The purpose of the research is to learn more about how the lining of arteries in the body (called the endothelium) is affected by growth hormone treatment in children and adolescents. Poor function by the blood vessels is associated with increased risk of heart disease or stroke. This research is being done because growth hormone treatment has been shown to make the endothelium work better in adults. Growth hormone treatment may have the same or different effects in children because the dose is larger in children.
Children between 8 and 18 years who are to be started on growth hormone will be eligible to participate. Blood vessel function will be studied before starting growth hormone and 3 months after. This will be done by measuring blood flow to the arm before and after 5 min of stopping blood flow to the arm. The three months of growth hormone will be given free.
|United States, Ohio|
|Ohio State University|
|Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210|
|Study Chair:||Robert P Hoffman, MD||Ohio State University|


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The construction of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards and therefore the included Utopia Planitia stations at the beginning of the 23rd century was the direct consequence of the faster and faster proceeding exploration of space with the ships of Starfleet. This organization surveyed and colonized dozens of planetary systems in the first 40 years since its foundation, using the out-of-date, fusion-powered ships of the Valiant class, which were still based on the first Earth warp ship, the Phoenix, and the newly-developed Daedalus, Federation and Seleya classes. With the increasing spreading of mankind and its allies in space, the demand for starships rose - starships which should be faster and more reliable than the established classes. First, this lack lead to the institutionalization and centralization of starship construction and the foundation of the Advanced Starship Design Bureaus (ASDB) in the year 2184, which should drive forward the development of new starship technologies and coordinate the building up of Starfleet at many production locations within the Federation, and subsequently to the construction of new yards inside and outside the solar system. Simultaneously with the beginning of the free colonization of Mars and the erection of Mars colony 1, in 2203 the go-ahead was given for the construction of the first extensive, planetary as well as orbital starship construction center of the still young Federation. While all formerly constructed Starfleet yards were exclusively ground or space stations, the ASDB superiors hoped the newly-developed transporter technology would facilitate an easy and quick combined production process: already few years after the completion of the facility the metal ores extracted from the Mars mines should be processed to starship components on the spot, which would be then put together to complete starships in space - without the loss of time of a conventional orbital transport. Together with further breakthroughs in starship construction techniques, which were realized with the Utopia Planitia Yards for the first time, this concept led to production rates which nobody considered to be possible at the end of the 22nd century. Before, however, the work on mankind's largest construction in space at this time proved to be a special challenge for the constructors of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers (SFCE); within all in all fourteen years, at the Utopia planes the Utopia Planitia administration and a construction center for Starfleet equipment and starship components was built, while in a geosynchronous orbit 16626 m above, first of all three dry docks were constructed, which were based on the already thirty year old San Francisco yard in orbit over Earth, as well as two special stations for the easy maintenance of the newly-developed starship classes with a saucer design, which should replace the Daedalus class ships put out of service in 2196, and two smaller starbases, the Utopia Planitia Stations for ASDB planning and observation tasks. Because of the acute lack of (modern) vessels, after the first construction phase had been completed in 2208, the production at Utopia Planitia, only completed by 41% at that time, was started under the command of the ASDB command staff member Admiral Tiron Narsu, the son of the legendary first commander of Starbase 12. One of the first projects was the large-scale production of the Icarus class produced on a small scale since 2201, a pioneering design followed by many other revolutionary developments in the next hundred years which have been planned in the Utopia Planitia Stations and constructed in the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards.
© _PHONE_ by Star Trek
Dimension / Webmaster. Last update: January 1st, 2001


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A preliminary investigation by UK Transmission System Operator National Grid to UK energy regulator Ofgem into the recent UK power outage has suggested that it resulted from a lightning strike.
The frequency – which is supposed to remain at 50Hz – fell to below 49Hz in a matter of seconds after the "near simultaneous" shutdown of the Little Barford gas-fired power plant and the Hornsea offshore wind farm on 9 August.
National Grid cited that grid issues began when lightning hit part of the network, causing 300MW-400 MW of capacity in the local electricity network to go offline. An outage of this scale should not normally have caused any grid issues.
But a lightning strike could potentially have sent a false frequency reading to both power generation sites causing their automatic systems to shut down as a safety mechanism. National Grid was unable to cover the twin outages as it did not have enough backup.
According to Ørsted, its Hornsea offshore wind farm experienced a "technical fault" which caused the wind farm to shut down, pulling 800 MW of electricity from the grid. "Normally the grid would be able to cope with a loss of this volume. If National Grid had any concerns about the operation of Hornsea One we would not be allowed to generate. The relevant part of the system has been reconfigured and we are fully confident should this extremely rare situation arise again, Hornsea One would respond as required."
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: "According to National Grid's preliminary findings, a lightning strike set in motion a series of factors that caused two different power generation sites – gas and offshore wind – to go offline. This was an unfortunate occurrence which no one generator – wind included – is immune to or can predict in advance. We are still waiting for the full findings of the investigation, but National Grid has clearly said the issue was not related to the expansion of renewables.
"What this incident does highlight is the importance of investing in a flexible, modern energy system that can respond rapidly to changes in supply and demand. Both grid infrastructure and power markets must be fit for the expansion of technologies including wind and electric vehicles that will make up the 21st century energy system. We need to increase the flexibility in the energy system using tools like storage technology, demand response and balancing markets.
"Offshore wind energy is now 2% of all the electricity consumed in Europe. And with a big pipeline of projects, this number will rise significantly. The technology keeps developing: the wind turbines are getting more powerful and efficient so they capture more of the wind more of the time. And the costs keep falling. As offshore wind power continues to grow, the industry will continue to work closely with system operators to ensure it's integrated into the grid in an optimum way."


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There's More To Fixing Food Deserts Than Building Grocery Stores
There has been a lot of talk about what's wrong with food deserts. First lady Michelle Obama, for one, says far too many people can't access the fruits and vegetables they need to be healthy. Last year, she helped persuade several major retailers, foundations and small businesses to bring more healthful food to neighborhoods where supermarkets are scarce.
But researchers are finding that it's more complicated than "if you build it, they will come." A study finds that shoppers don't just care about cost and proximity to fresh produce — they also need choice and quality if they're going to buy it.
"Simply providing fruits and vegetables may not be enough if [they] don't meet the expectations of those people who are supposed to buy them," Jonathan Blitstein, a research psychologist at Research Triangle Institute and lead author of the paper, tells The Salt.
In other words, low-income shoppers dislike wilted lettuce just as much as anyone else. Not shocking.
The study, which recently appeared in the journal Public Health Nutrition, used data from 495 people in six low-income Chicago neighborhoods. Participants were asked whether the place they shopped for fruits and vegetables was convenient, whether that place provided a good selection and whether they thought the fruits and vegetables were high quality.
The researchers found that the answers were closely related to what people ate. "People who had higher ratings for the places they usually shop for fruits and vegetables had greater intake [of produce]," says Blitstein. "[That finding] held across all different types of people, different age groups, ethnicity groups, men and women and regardless of people had greater economic need."
The study is "part of a growing body of evidence that the environment is important in terms of promoting good eating," says Shannon Zenk, a health systems scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who also studies how environment affects health in Chicago neighborhoods.
Zenk says that what can also turn people off from shopping for healthful food is a lack of safety or cleanliness, poor customer service or poor treatment of customers.
Both Zenk and Blitstein say that except for their budgets, there is no difference between what low-income consumers and higher-earning consumers are looking for.
Still, Zenk says that there's no one-size-fits-all solution to increasing fruit and vegetable intake. That's why community members need to be at the table when public health experts try to get more healthful food into them.
Shots - Health Blog


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Future foods: what will we be eating in 20 years' time?
August 6, 2012
Volatile food prices and a growing population mean we have to rethink what we eat, say food futurologists. So what might we be serving up in 20 years' time, asks BBC News?
- Insects will become a staple of our diet: a great source of protein, cost less to raise than cattle, consume less water and do not have much of a carbon footprint.
- Sonic-enhanced food: certain sounds could make things taste sweeter or more bitter.
- Lab-grown meat: a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of putting meat on our plates.
- Algae can be grown in the ocean, a big bonus with land and fresh water in increasingly short supply, and the biofuel derived from algae could help reduce the need for fossil fuels.


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Learning Disability - What the Heck is it? - Emerson Dickman
Learning Disability: What the Heck Is It?
Emerson Dickman, J.D. presented a discussion on learning disability for parents at an in-person and live-streamed event at AIM on January 25th.. In spite of the ubiquitous use of the term, there remains significant disagreement among laymen, educators, and scientists regarding the concept of "learning disability." There must be a common understanding of what is meant when the term "learning disability" is used to clear up myths and misconceptions, to link the public to resources, and to identify meaningful interventions.


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What is it?
A visual mapping technique that shows the multiple, interconnected variables in a system. This technique is similar to Causal Loop Mapping, but specifies both the direction and weight of influence among variables. Thus, it can quantitatively model system dynamics, test possible intervention scenarios, and identify differences in how stakeholders perceive a system. It is helpful in the context of a specific issue or field. For more information, you can read "Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for Modeling Complex Systems" by Maikel Leon et al. and the Mental Modeler online platform for creating cognitive maps.


Encrypted Container Secrets with Terraform and S3
Using Terraform to manage containers on ECS gives an excellent workflow. All your infrastructure, your entire app, from servers to the processes running on them can be defined in a single place. But, one place people often fall down with Terraform is secret management. Too often a (perfectly reasonable) desire to keep the entire app definition in a single repository, and mange it with Terraform leads to database passwords, TLS certificates, and other sensitive information being checked into the repository.
Checking in secrets makes it far too easy to accidentally leak them. You also get no granular access control of any sort. Anyone with access to the manifests repository now has the keys to the kingdom.
There are several proposed solutions to managing secrets for ECS, either using Parameter Store, or using S3. Both of these are better than nothing, but both also sacrifice your ability to securely manage the secrets with Terraform. While the S3 solution does give us server-side encryption for the secrets while on S3, they must still be stored decrypted in the Terraform repo.
The Key
At the core of solving this conundrum is KMS, AWS' Key Management Service. By creating your master key in KMS and controlling who has access to it, you can get granular access control to your secrets. By using the key in KMS to encrypt secrets stored in the Terraform repo, you can manage the system while keeping secrets completely opaque to anyone looking in the repository.
Creating the KMS Key
First, create the master encryption key in KMS. The key will never leave KMS, so you will have to send data to it to be encrypted/decrypted.
resource "aws_kms_key" "secrets" {
 description = "master encryption key for secrets"
Creating an alias to the key makes it easier to work with on the command-line. By creating the alias, you can refer to the key as alias/secrets, instead of by it's long ARN ID.
resource "aws_kms_alias" "secrets" {
 name = "alias/secrets"
 target_key_id = "${aws_kms_key.secrets.key_id}"
Finally, you'll create an s3 bucket to store your secrets in. Because S3 bucket names are global, you need to pick a name unique to you, and unique to your environment. Secrets are often one of the things which varies between environments. The staging DB password should never be the same as the production DB password. To manage secrets for both you want a separate bucket for each.
# Bucket where you store the encrypted secrets (one-per-object)
resource "aws_s3_bucket" "secrets" {
 bucket = "${terraform.env}-secrets"
 acl = "private"
Once you've added these stanzas to your Terraform config, you should run them to create the empty infrastructure for your secret storage.
Adding Your Secrets
Now that your infrastructure is ready, you can begin adding your first secrets.
To do that, you'll add this (slightly magic) Terraform expression:
variable "files" {
 description = "List of encrypted secret files to upload for this environment. Files must be in.///*"
 type = "list"
 default = []
# Upload every file listed in var.files. This lets us specify different
# secret files for different environments, which makes it easier to set up new
# environments.
resource "aws_s3_bucket_object" "files" {
 count = "${length(var.files)}"
 bucket = "${aws_s3_bucket.secrets.id}"
 key = "${element(var.files, count.index)}"
 source = "${terraform.env}/${element(var.files, count.index)}"
 etag = "${md5(file("${terraform.env}/${element(var.files, count.index)}"))}"
When you run this, it will look at a ${var.files}, and upload each of them to the the S3 bucket you just created. Files are organized first by environment, then by service. This is arbitrary, but I find it an easy way to stay organized.
To add a secret to your bucket, you need to encrypt it with the AWS cli tool, put the encrypted result into your repository to be uploaded, and add it to your files variable.
If you are encrypting a password for a service called api, you'd run something like:
$ echo'master-password' > plaintext-password
$ aws kms encrypt \
 --key-id alias/secrets \
 --plaintext fileb://plaintext-password \
 --output text --query CiphertextBlob | \
 base64 --decode >./staging/api/encrypted-password
$ rm plaintext-password
This command will use your personal AWS credentials to send the master-password off to be encrypted using the KMS key created earlier. The resulting ciphertext is written out to./staging/api/encrypted-password.
Add the file to the tfvars file of your environment. For example, for staging, to staging.tfvars.
# staging.tfvars
files = [ "api/encrypted-password" ]
Then, when you run aws_s3_bucket_object.files, the file(s) listed will be uploaded to the S3 bucket. If you need to change a secret (to rotate passwords), all you need to do is update the file with the new ciphertext and re-run Terraform.
Checking the Secrets
To decrypt and check the secrets you would also use your personal credentials to ask KMS to decrypt the secret file. Note, you don't need to specify which key to use. The encryption format that the AWS cli uses includes the KMS key ID in the encrypted ciphertext.
$ aws s3 cp s3://staging-secrets-bucket/api/encrypted-password.
$ aws kms decrypt \
 --ciphertext-blob fileb://encrypted-password \
 --output text --query Plaintext | \
 base64 --decode
To load the secrets in your program you do the same. Either with a container entrypoint, such as:
# Check that the environment variable has been set correctly
if [ -z "$SECRETS_BUCKET_NAME" ]; then
 echo >&2 'error: missing SECRETS_BUCKET_NAME environment variable'
 exit 1
# Load the S3 secrets file contents into the environment variables
DB_PASSWORD="$(aws kms decrypt \
 --ciphertext-blob s3://${SECRETS_BUCKET_NAME}/api/encrypted-password \
 --output text --query Plaintext | \
 base64 --decode)"
# Call the original entry-point script
"[email protected]"
If you wanted to be really generic, and a bit too clever, the above script could even be extended to automatically detect and install new secrets from the s3 folder:
# Recursively download an entire secrets subfolder
aws s3 cp --recursive s3://${SECRETS_BUCKET_NAME}/api /tmp/secrets/.
# Decrypt and install each secret as an environment variable
for f in $(ls /tmp/secrets); do
 let decrypted="$(aws kms decrypt \
 --ciphertext-blob fileb://${f} \
 --output text --query Plaintext | \
 base64 --decode)"
 eval "export ${f}=${decrypted}"
However, it is much more straightforward, and less error-prone to load the secrets via in-application code. For Go (with error-handling omitted), this looks like:
 sess, err := session.NewSession()
 cipher, err := s3.New(sess).GetObject(&s3.GetObjectInput{
 Bucket: "staging-secrets-bucket",
 Key: "api/encrypted-password",
 defer cipher.Body.Close()
 cipherBody, err := ioutil.ReadAll(cipher.Body)
 out, err := kms.New(sess).Decrypt(&kms.DecryptInput{
 CiphertextBlob: cipherBody,
 // Print the plaintext
Note, this does not use the s3crypto Go library, which is part of the aws-sdk, as it makes different assumptions about how files are stored on S3, than the AWS cli does, so they are incompatible.
Giving Our Container Access
The tricky bit with this system is giving your ECS container permissions to access only its own secrets. When you are defining your ECS task, you have to set the task_role_arn option.
resource "aws_ecs_task_definition" "api_task" {
 task_role_arn = "${aws_iam_role.api_task_role.arn}"
This task role should be given a policy like:
data "aws_iam_policy_document" "api_task_policy" {
 # Note: For more security you probably want to only tasks services
 # to Decrypt secrets, not Encrypt.
 statement {
 sid = "AllowEncryptDecryptWithSecretsKey",
 effect = "Allow"
 actions = ["kms:Encrypt","kms:Decrypt"]
 resources = ["${aws_kms_key.secrets.arn}"]
 statement {
 sid = "AllowListingOfAPIFolder"
 effect = "Allow"
 actions = ["s3:ListBucket"]
 resources = ["${aws_s3_bucket.secrets.arn}"]
 condition {
 test = "StringLike"
 variable = "s3:prefix"
 values = ["api/*"]
 # Note: For more security you probably want to scope the actions
 # down to only include the s3:GetObject action.
 statement {
 sid = "AllowFullAccessInAPIFolder"
 effect = "Allow"
 actions = ["s3:*"]
 resources = ["${aws_s3_bucket.secrets.arn}/api/*"]
With this policy attached to your ECS task, it should now be able to read secrets from the given s3 bucket.
Altern


text:
By Sarah Major
If a potential client asked one of your front-line employees about the history of your brand, would they be able to tell you? Would they know why the company was started and by whom? Would they know the product ingredients and why those specific ingredients were selected? Would they know why your specific manufacturing processes were selected? Would they be able to share the personal brand stories that make people lean in for more?
And most importantly, would they know your brand truths?
As often happens with successful, growing companies, brand truths get misplaced along the way as employees come and go, and as small, local facilities become multiple, specialized facilities around the world. Unfortunately, forgetting brand truths can also mean forgetting what makes a brand truly great, those unique brand characteristics that set an extraordinary brand apart from an ordinary brand.
Companies that know their brand truths use them to discover meaningful insights and ideas. These truths create a way in for new products and new product bundles that deliver on consumer needs in an authentic way. They allow everyone to have a clear understanding of important product elements on the way to building authentic consumer stories.
To create brand truths, a clear understanding of a range of product elements is imperative. Here are four to consider.
- Cultural Elements: Part of every brand truth includes understanding consumer held beliefs of the category, the language used, and the visuals. Cultural semiotics can help you to better understand the conscious and unconscious codes and visuals used by the product and category. For example, in this post, we demonstrate how semiotics can be used to learn that a simple apple is far more than an apple. It's also important to consider the established norms and permissions of the category. What are the generally agreed upon rules for using and not using the product?
- How It's Made: Brand truths should also consider the craftsmanship of the product including both the ingredients and processes used to create the product. Consider the brand promises that these things offer to consumers, including the limits of those promises. Especially consider how product features, benefits, and experiences specifically relate to consumer needs.
- Edge Cases: It's also important to consider the edges of what can and cannot be said about any features or benefits. Consider what you'd like to be able to say and what you can't say (and perhaps while you're there, think about whether innovations to allow those claims are appropriate). It's important to understand and respect the legal boundaries for claims within with your category, particularly if you're playing in medical, pharmaceutical, alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis (are you ready, Canadians?) categories.
- Competitive Market: While you're rediscovering your own product truths, it's imperative to consider the competitive landscape. Work to understand the brand truths of your competitors so that you can identify the truths that are unique to you.


text:
Food Safety Program for Farmers
Potential risks to food safety and product integrity from initial inputs such as feed, livestock, fertilisers, water and chemicals are assessed by Government and national industry agencies on an ongoing basis.
The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) determines the types of chemicals that can be used in the production of stockfeed and veterinary chemicals used for treatment of animals as well as the recommended withholding periods after treatment.
Vendor declarations providing background information must be supplied with stockfeed consignments and animals sourced from off-farm.
The stockfeed and grain industries have HACCP-based accredited quality assurance programs to ensure the feed is safe for use by dairy animals.
Electronic ear tags used to identify all animals on the farm provide a key tool for traceability of animals from birth to death or slaughter. The National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) provides the framework for the identification of Australian livestock.
State legislation ensures fertilisers are appropriately labelled and maximum limits are set for elements that may pose a risk to agriculture.
Farm food safety programs must ensure water supplies are suitable to protect animal health and prevent contamination of milk.
Environment Protection Authorities (EPAs) regulate the disposal of farm effluent on-farm.
All Australian dairy farms are required to have a documented food safety program (FSP). State Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) approve the FSP before a dairy farm licence is granted. Approved auditors conduct regular audits of the farm FSP.
Core elements of the FSP include:
- Control of contaminants – physical, chemical and microbiological
- Dairy milking premises
- Hygienic milking
- Water supply and quality
- Cleaning and sanitising
- Traceability and records
- Personnel competency
All animals are individually identified from birth to death. Farmers actively monitor the health and wellbeing of animals with the assistance of registered veterinarians.
Vendor declarations are required for animals and stockfeed purchased from external sources.
Risks from agricultural, veterinary and cleaning chemicals are minimised by using only chemicals registered by the APVMA. Instructions for use and withholding periods for milk and meat are described on the label and users must adhere to label instructions.
Trained operators use clean and sanitised equipment to milk cows with minimal stress. Water used for cleaning is monitored to ensure it will not contaminate the milk. Milk is cooled promptly and stored until collection under temperatures to minimise the growth of microbial hazards.
Comprehensive records of key parts of the farm food safety program are maintained, including the use of chemicals, audit results and action taken if deviations are detected.


text:
The Darling Wildflower Show
The Darling Wildflower Show has been presented by the Darling Wildflower Society since 1917, and the work is substantiallly done by volunteers. The work of the society focusses on two significant aspects of renosterveld, namely its unique character and the urgent need for its conservation. This has led to the recent founding of the Darling Wildflower Trust, and whilst continuing to support local charities, the income from the show now mainly goes towards conservation initiatives like the Darling Flora Project.
As there are too many plants on show to label each individually, an example of each plant is provided on the specimen tables. Here you can find the full name of each plant, and view related species. In addition, this year, there is a unique display of lichens compiled by the experienced and respected amateur botanist Dr. Pixie Littlewort.The show is designed around the different soil types found in the Darling district. The marked difference between the plantlife of the various soil types is due to the variations in humidity and in physical and chemical composition, although many plants happily grow in more than one habitat. Renosterveld is mostly found in the rich clay-soils of the Western and Eastern Cape, and is often confused with fynbos which grows in poorer soils. Most of the rain occurs between April and September (150 – 300mm). The show therefore represents a concentration of plants which flower in spring, although many of the plants also flower throughout the year. The Darling district represents a diverse flora of about 1200 species. Approximately 80 (6,5%) are endemic, whilst the rest also occur in other areas. One should keep in mind that during springtime there are a myriad of pollinators at work, such as wasps, flies, mice and sunbirds; the conservation of our local flora ensures healthy biodiversity of the whole area.
Renosterveld is primarily the flora of the Swartland. It is named after the key plant species renosterbos. Because the soil is very fertile, about 90% has been eradicated by agriculture. Fineand granular-leaved shrubs like Eriocephalus, Elytropappus and Stoebe are typical. Geophytes like Geissorhiza, Babiana and Gladioli have some of the loveliest flowers of this region. Where water collects it causes marshy conditions and this is known locally as renosterveld "vlei". Here one typically finds Zantedescia aethiopica (arum), Drosera (sundew), Watsonia marginata (pink/mauve watsonia), Ornithogalum thyrsoides (chinkerinchee) and Onixotis stricta (rice flower).
Granite Hills can be regarded as another type of renosterveld, but is especially rich in succulents such as Aloe perfoliata (wreath aloe), Mesembryanthemaceae (vygies/mesembs) and Orbea variegata (carrion flower). Geophytes like Ixia monadelpha (mottled ixia), Gladiolus alatus (kalkoentjie/turkey), Lachenalia aloides (rock violet) and Romulea eximia (Darling romulea) are some of the more spectacular bulbs flowering on these hills. Typical shrubs are Eriocephalus africanus (capoc bush) en Lobostemon fruticosus (pyjama bush).
Sandveld consists of deep, sandy, and sometimes chalky soil. Restios like Wildenowia incurvata (sonqua reed), Chondropetalum tectorum (elephant reed) and Thamnochortus spicigerus (dune reed) are typical. This soil is relatively poor and there are few large shrubs, although smaller shrubs like Phylica stipularis (honde-gesiggie/doggy face), Staavia radiata (altyd/ever bush), Stoebe plumosa (snake bush) en Metalasia densa (blombos/flower bush) grow profusely. Typical spring flowering plants are ground-covers Asteraceae and Scrophulariaciae. The Sandveld also features marshy areas and here one finds plants that thrive near or in water, such as Lachenalia unicolor (purple violet), the edible waterplant Aponogeton distachyos (water urchin) and Gladiolus angustus (long pypie).
Strandveld shows open shrubby plant growth and features few endemic or rare species. Woody plants like Chrysanthemoides monilifera (bietou), Olea capensis (iron wood), Euclea racemosa (candle bush), and Rhus glauca (taaiblaar/tough leaf) are typical. The relatively rich soil causes most plants to bear fleshy fruits and this attracts large numbers of birds.
96th Darling Wildflower Show 20 -22 Sept 2013
The Darling Wildflower Show takes place annually over the third weekend in September at the Darling Club.
Opens: Friday 20 September at 09:00
Dates: 20, 21 and 22 September 2013
Venue: The Sports Club in Darling
Entry: To be advised
The entrance fee includes entry to the landscaped hall and as well as a free ride on a tractor drawn wagon to see the Oude Post wetland that can only be seen during the show.
A hall will be landscaped with Darling wildflowers, from the most fragile and rare to the ones easily found. Craft and fun stalls with goodies await you. There are also many and various food and refreshment stalls to cater for the inner man. This year your entrance ticket of only R30 includes a lazy tractor ride to a private vlei that is otherwise inaccessible to the public where you will be able to view some of the most spectacular flowers in situ.
For more information:
Tel: _PHONE_


text:
Submitted to: Natural Resources Research Update (NRRU)
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: April 13, 2009
Publication Date: April 13, 2009
Repository URL: _URL_
Citation: Dunn, G.H. 2009. Effect of Precipitation During Key Months on Forage Growth Potential. Natural Resources Research Update (NRRU). Update #239537. Technical Abstract: Ranchers and range managers find themselves at the mercy of Mother Nature when making stocking decisions early in the spring. Most forage growth potential is determined by precipitation during key months in the spring (Heitschmidt et al., 1999) – often multiple spring months are important with respect to forage growth but one month is usually more important than the other months (Derner and Hart, 2007). Research results indicate that for Streeter, ND, May and June are the key months. For Miles City, MT, April plus May are key, while for Cheyenne, WY, three months, April, May and June, are the key months. The single most important month for Cheyenne, WY, and Streeter, ND, is May but for Miles City the month is April (Dunn et al. 2008, submitted). The object of the research in this paper is to find ways to advise ranchers and range managers on the forage growth potential for their areas based on early precipitation. Scientists with the Agricultural Systems Research Unit and the Water Management Unit of USDA-ARS in Fort Collins, CO, have used long-term climate and yield data from three locations in the Great Plains to determine what month and/or months are the most important in determining forage growth potential. The locations were the Central Grasslands Extension Research Center near Streeter, ND, the Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, MT, and the High Plains Grassland Research Station near Cheyenne, WY. All three are listed as "mixed-grass prairie" and have somewhat similar dominant grass species, but have different elevations and different average annual rainfall amounts. For two locations, Streeter, ND, and Cheyenne, WY, May was the single most important month. For Miles City, April was the most important month. In all cases the key month was the first month of the key months. Key months were May plus June for Streeter, ND, April plus May for Miles City, MT, and April, May and June for Cheyenne, WY. The Streeter data showed two time periods when precipitation was closely related to forage growth potential: May + June and January through June. The January through June time period was not as well related to forage growth but the longer time period gives the rancher more information. What this means for the ranchers and range managers is, depending on location, if precipitation is lacking during these key months and particularly the key month then there will be a negative effect on potential forage growth in that season. The severity of this negative effect will depend on how far below average the precipitation is in each key month and how many of the key months are below average. One way to use this information is to consider the consequences of below average precipitation during the key month(s) For instance, if May precipitation is slightly below normal for Streeter, ND, but June is normal or above, the effect won't be as severe as if both months were below normal. At the same time if May is significantly below normal then even a normal or a slightly above normal precipitation in June will not completely off-set the negative effect. If both months are below normal then a significant reduction in forage growth can be expected. A rule of thumb might be, if only half the normal precipitation falls during the key months then only about half the normal forage growth is likely to occur. If 40% of normal precipitation falls in the key month and/or months it is likely forage growth will be around 40% as well. Precipitation during the key month and months can be used as an early warning system for forage growth on grazinglands. Derner, J.D., and R.H. Hart. 2007.Grazing induced modifications to peak standing crop in northern mixed-grass prairie. Rangeland Ecology and Management 60(3):270-276. Dunn, G.H., L.J. Wiles, J. Printz, B. Patton, and A. Nyren. 2009. Effect of annual, growing season, and spring precipitation on peak standing crop at three locations. Rangeland Ecology and Management submitted Heitschmidt, M.R. Haferkamp, M.G. Karl, and A.L. Hild. 1999. Drought and grazing: I. Effects on quality of forage produced. Journal of Range Management 52(5):440-446.


How did ww2 affect American life at home?
How did ww2 affect American life at home?
What was life like after ww2 in America?
What impact did ww2 have on the American economy?
What kept the US economy strong after World War II?
What kept the US economy strong after WWII? The demand for consumer goods rose sharply after the war. The staggering number of casualties in the final 2 months of the Korean War showed that: both sides were willing to lose many soldiers to gain small amounts of victory.
Did the US make money from ww2?
What happened to the US economy after ww1?
After the war ended, the global economy began to decline. In the United States, 1918–1919 saw a modest economic retreat, but the second part of 1919 saw a mild recovery. A more severe recession hit the United States in 19, when the global economy fell very sharply.
Which country was not affected by the Great Depression?
the Soviet Union
What country was hit the hardest by the Great Depression?


text:
In this lesson students will attempt to recreate a journal that traces a typical draftee's path from recruitment, training, deployment and assimilation to home using background knowledge of WWI and conditions in the segregated south.
Click here to download the full lesson with attached handouts. The Red Hand Division
The 371st Infantry Regiment in WWI was an all-Black army unit that fought in WWI. "This African American unit was trained at Camp Jackson in Columbia, SC, and fought alongside French troops using French weapons and equipment. The 157th French Division to which they were attached became known as the "Red Hand Division" under the command of French General Mariano Goybet. Enlisted members (African American) of the 371st earned 12 American Distinguished Service Crosses, and 89 French Croix de Guerre. The 371st fought consistently on the front lines during WWI and consistently drove back the German lines resulting in the "Red Hand" moniker."
Emmett J. Smith was a personal adviser and speech writer to Booker T. Washington, and served in Woodrow Wilson's administration as an adviser on black affairs. During that time he published two reports on conditions facing African Americans during the period, which were published as The American Negro in the World War (1919) and Negro Migration during the First World War (1920). The link below is to an excerpt in The American Negro in the World War (1919) focusing on the 371st Regiment.
South Carolina Social Studies Support Document, Grade 8, 2008 _URL_
South Carolina Standards
8-6.2 Explain the impact of World War I on South Carolina, including the building of new military bases and the economic impact of emigration to industrial jobs in the North.
- Students will analyze and gather information from primary and secondary sources.
- Students will attempt to recreate a journal that traces a typical draftee's path from recruitment, training, deployment and assimilation to home using background knowledge of WWI and conditions in the segregated south
Time Required Recommended Grade Level
1 week (Homework/Classwork Project) Middle/High School
- E.J. Scott-Chapter on experiences of 371st Regiment with primary quotes from unit members.
- Image of unnamed soldier from 371st. Note "Red Hand" shoulder patch.
- Download the picture "Unknown African-American Soldier and Daughter" from the University of South Carolina's Digital Collections Library.
- Print Journal Questions to hand out to students.
- Project the image of the Unknown Soldier to the class.
- Have students analyze the photograph by asking the following questions and getting verbal responses:
- Describe what you see in the photograph.
- What do you notice first?
- What if any words do you see?
- What other details can you see?
- What do these details tell you about the photograph?
- When do you think this picture was taken?
- If someone took this photograph today, what would be different? What would be the same?
- Which branch of the military do you think the gentleman was in? Explain your response.
- What do you wonder about? (Have students write these questions down. They will need to keep track of the answers they find that answer their own questions.)
- Explain to students that they will be working on a project for the next week that will help them better understand who this man was and what his role was in WWI.
- Their goal is to create a fictitious journal tracing the path of a typical African American draftee in the 371st Regiment.
- Provide students with the guided inquiry below.
- Explain grading procedures and deadlines.
- When students have turned in their projects allow them ½ of a class period to debrief, sharing with the class what they learned. During debriefing, students should share answers to the questions they had at the beginning of the project.
25 points for each journal section
Lesson Extension Options
Have students research to find other photographs related to the Red Hand Division. Offer as extra credit
Digital Collections Information
This lesson plan is based on images and/or documents derived from the University of South Carolina's Digital Collections Library.


text:
An email message must contain certain pieces of information, called headers, which specify the message's sender, recipient(s), and so on.
At the top of the mail buffer is a set of header fields, where you can enter this information. You can insert and edit header fields using ordinary editing commands. See Header Editing, for commands specific to editing header fields.
Some header fields are automatically pre-initialized in the buffer, when appropriate; other headers, such as 'Date' and 'Message-Id', are normally omitted from the mail buffer and created automatically when the message is sent.
The line in the buffer that says
--text follows this line--
separates the header fields from the body (or text) of the
message. Everything above this line is treated as part of the
headers; everything below it is treated as the body. The delimiter
line itself does not appear in the message actually sent. The text
used for the delimiter line is controlled by the variable
Here is an example of what the headers and text in the mail buffer might look like.
To: _EMAIL_ CC: _EMAIL_, _EMAIL_ Subject: The Emacs Manual --text follows this line-- Please ignore this message.blog comments powered by Disqus


text:
A GCI Publication
For millennia, people of all cultures have decorated the surfaces of their domestic, religious, and public buildings. Earthen architecture in particular has been, and continues to be, a common ground for surface decoration such as paintings, sculpted bas-relief, and ornamental plasterwork. This volume explores the complex issues associated with preserving these surfaces. Case studies from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas are presented.
The publication is the result of a colloquium held in 2004, at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, co-organized by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the National Park Service (NPS). The meeting brought together fifty-five conservators, cultural resource managers, materials scientists, engineers, architects, archaeologists, anthropologists, and artists from eleven countries to present recent conservation work and discuss possibilities for future research and collaboration.
Divided into four themes—Archaeological Sites, Museum Practice, Historic Buildings, and Living Traditionsthe papers examine the conservation of decorated surfaces on earthen architecture within these different contexts.


devaluation of the truth.
I'm not referring to the mercenaries and opportunists who are perfectly willing to use calumny and other lies to further their end. I'm referring to partisans who in their hearts consider themselves fair and truthful, and who may well be so on other topics.
I'd say such truth-devaluing partisanship has two phases:
 1. First, the partisan reaches a conclusion -- on whom to vote for, say, or on whether to support a certain bill.
 - It doesn't matter how the partisan reaches the conclusion. It could be a coin flip, yellow-dog party loyalty, or game theory optimization based on Catholic Social Teaching. What matters is that the conclusion is reached.
 - It doesn't even matter if the conclusion is true, if the common good really would be best served by electing the chosen candidate or enacting the chosen legislation. What matters is that the conclusion is reached.
 2. The conclusion having been reached, the truth-devaluing partisan moves forward in the public arena to construct arguments that support the conclusion and destroy arguments that deny the conclusion.
 - The weights to be given various factors -- including factors not considered when the partisan first reached the conclusion -- are chosen such that the conclusion follows. These weights are effectively treated as self-evident.
 - Counterarguments are for the most part regarded as the product of ignorance, foolishness, or wickedness. While reasonable people might disagree, no one who disagrees is being reasonable.
The key point is that, once the partisan enters Phase 2, he is in a state of judging arguments by the quality of their conclusions, instead of the other way around.
This devalues truth both internally and externally.
External devaluation is pretty straightforward. The interest of the partisan is not answering the question, "What is best?" The partisan has already answered that question. A real dialogue or disputatio is not possible with him. He feels no need in walking together with you to the truth. He's already there. His interest is in calling you to join him, or if that proves impossible in ensuring that you don't manage to call anyone to join you.
Truth is devalued externally because it is treated as a means to an end. Any truth that does not lead to the proper end must be discounted -- as unimportant, perhaps, or irrelevant, or buried under a mountain of rhetoric.
This sort of external devaluation is harmful, certainly, and frustrating for those who want to have a dialog with the partisan. (It's frustrating for counter-partisans, too, of course, whose interest is in ensuring that the partisan doesn't manage to call anyone to join him.)
But the internal devaluation may be worse. The internal devaluation is the inability for the partisan, in reviewing his own behavior, to see how he is devaluing the truth in his debates.
The partisan doesn't say, "How can I twist or distort this inconvenient fact so that it does no harm to, or even supports, my conclusion?" He doesn't even perceive the fact as inconvenient; to do so would require going back to Phase 1 and reevaluating his conclusion. The inconvenient fact is perceived by him pre-twisted, pre-distorted by his commitment to the conclusion.
If we're deliberating on a jury, and I say, "I don't really see what the defendant's bloody knife had to do with the man being stabbed to death," you can draw me out on the point (as it were). But if I say, "What bloody knife? That was a flashlight!," then we're at something of a conversational impasse. And if I perceive a flashlight when I'm looking at a knife, I'm not likely to cede the point any time soon.
Note, by the way, that though I'm writing in the context of political partisanship, most of the above holds for partisanship in any matter, including religion.
Monday, September 01, 2008
A future full of hope
Let's face it: it's quite likely that some day you will be dead.
In fact, there's a good chance you will be dead for many, many days, before the Last Day.
And people have found that, if they have to be dead, they can't do much better than to have Dominican nuns praying for them.
Here's your chance to have Dominican nuns pray for you when you're dead.
The Dominican Nuns of Summit, New Jersey, are looking to raise -- well, seven million dollars would build them the monastery of their dreams (which, though they don't mention it, probably includes a creamery so they can make fresh ice cream on those days they're permitted to have fun).
But you don't go to heaven with the monastery you want, you go to heaven with the monastery you have, and the monastery the Summit Dominicans have is in need of about $500,000 in renovations. An additional million dollars would let them establish an endowment to pay for the daily upkeep.
Now, far be it from me to promise that, if you send a few dollars their way, you'll whisk through purgatory so fast your ears will ring. (Dominicans have learned the hard way about promises like that.)
But hope is a virtue, is all I'm saying.
The Purity of the Church Turf, cont.
"I tell you, Reeves, I handled it masterfully!"
"A most gratifying sensation, your Excellency."
"Once old Cardinal Henley blanched at the mention of St. Leonides -- and I must say, I wouldn't have thought a chap with a face that red could blanch -- Berggo would give no better than even money on a head to head with Ginger's pile."
I finished my brandy, and shook my head as Reeves stepped forward to refill the glass. The Sub-Committee would be reconvening at eleven the next morning, so I had to make an early night of it.
"I bided my time," I continued, "until I could get Poleslip alone, then talked my way round to his giving three to two against the field as a side bet."
"A not altogether reckless bet on Bishop Pulverhampton's part, your Excellency."
"Absolutely, Reeves. I didn't want to press him too hard, or he might suspect that I'll be bringing a ringer to the contest."
"A ringer, your Excellency?"
"A dead cert. And you're the one who put me onto it."
"Are you referring to the refurbished Lady's Chapel of the Cathedral of St. Glaphyra, your Excellency?"
"Got it in one, Reeves. Your niece, was it, who sent you some snaps of the grand unveiling?"
"Yes, your Excellency. My second eldest sister's daughter Amelia. She has an understanding with the young architect Bishop Legendre hired for the renovation, and wished to know my unbiased opinion regarding his work."
The brow rose. "That must have taken some tact."
"Indeed, your Excellency. I was at some pains striking the right balance between aesthetic criticism and concern for my niece's feelings."
"I should jolly well think so, Reeves! How was it you described it to me? The absolute nadir of something, wasn't it?"
"'The absolute end of unthinking anti-incarnationalism' was one form I gave to my thoughts, your Excellency. Another was 'embracing the nadir of iconoclastic nihilism.'"
"A bit industrial strength for tender hearted youth, what? No girl wants to hear her sweet baa lamb called an anti-incarnational nihilist."
"She has never referred to the gentleman as her'sweet baa lamb' in my hearing, your Excellency, but I share your opinion of the inadvisability of presuming her willingness to discuss the topic in a purely objective manner."
"Sentiment aside, Reeves, would you say that the Lady's Chapel of the Cathedral of St. Glaphyra is, pound for pound, the ugliest thing to be found within consecrated walls from sea to shining sea?"
"In my aesthetic judgment, your Excellency, yes."
"Then, as your aesthetic judgment is known to be flawless, I have but to convince old Pimples Legendre to enter it in the contest, and Poleslip's covering three USCCB meetings for me is as certain as things get in this vale of tears."
There was the briefest of hesitations, no longer than the time an Aberdeen terrier spends deciding on the perfect spot on your leg to sink his teeth into, before Reeves said, "So it would seem, your Excellency."
I've worked with Reeves long enough to know that a hesitation like that is fraught.


text:
Maximum and Minimum Air Temperature Lapse Rates in the Andean region of Ecuador and Peru
To know the vertical distribution of air temperature is complex, and this is necessary for different applications. The main explanatory variable of air temperature is elevation above sea level, whose relationship with air temperature is measured by air temperature lapse rates (LRs). LRs can vary considerably spatiotemporally due to a wide spectrum of geographical, environmental, and other atmospheric factors. Our study presents the first comprehensive assessment of spatiotemporal changes of LRs over the Tropical Andes. Our study is focused on the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Andes, divided in two subregions by the parallel 9.5° (i.e., north and south). Maximum and minimum air temperatures were employed from 115 quality checked weather stations, for the period 1994–2011. Maximum (LRmax) and minimum (LRmin) air temperature lapse rates have been calculated for the whole study period. The effects of seasonality, humidity content and ENSO on the variability of LRs have been analyzed. Results show that LRs have large spatiotemporal variability, since references values of LRmax range from −3.57 (South, dry season) to −4.77 (North, wet season), and LRmin range from −3.78 (North, dry season) to −4.93°C km−1 (South, dry season), in function of season and subregion. Results indicate that the ENSO phases contribute significantly to the variability of southern subregion LRs. This study also presents that minimum air temperatures were more unpredictable than maximum air temperatures in terms of error and uncertainty, as a consequence of the larger spatial variability of nocturnal air temperatures, mainly influenced by local topography. In conclusion, this work goes deeper into the need to obtain precise LRs adapted to the study region, and shows that the use of standard LR values can cause significant failures in modeling air temperature in regions of complex terrain, such as the Andes.


text:
Does the Brain Prefer Paper?
April 17, 2014
In our tech savie world where young children are using digital devices to the point of not grasping how a printed magazine works – for example the viral YouTube video in the past two years where a one-year-old girl plays with an iPad, sweeping her fingers across its touch screen and shuffling groups of icons. In following scenes, she appears to pinch, swipe and prod the pages of paper magazines as though they, too, are screens. Melodramatically, the video replays these gestures in close-up. A question needs to be asked, "What do our brains prefer?"
"Kids remembered more details from stories they read on paper than ones they read in e-books enhanced with interactive animations, videos and games. These bells and whistles deflected attention away from the narrative toward the device itself. In a follow-up survey of 1,226 parents, the majority reported that they and their children prefer print books over e-books when reading together."
From the magazine "Scientific American": "Since at least the 1980s researchers in psychology, computer engineering, and library and information science have published more than 100 studies exploring differences in how people read on paper and on screens. Before 1992 most experiments concluded that people read stories and articles on screens more slowly and remember less about them. As the resolution of screens on all kinds of devices sharpened, however, a more mixed set of findings began to emerge. Recent surveys suggest that although most people still prefer paper—especially when they need to concentrate for a long time—attitudes are changing as tablets and e-reading technology improve and as reading digital texts for facts and fun becomes more common. In the U.S., e-books currently make up more than 20 percent of all books sold to the general public.
"At least a few studies suggest that screens sometimes impair comprehension precisely because they distort people's sense of place in a text. In a January 2013 study by Anne Mangen of the University of Stavanger in Norway and her colleagues, 72 10th grade students studied one narrative and one expository text.
Half the students read on paper, and half read PDF files on computers. Afterward, students completed reading comprehension tests, during which they had access to the texts. Students who read the texts on computers performed a little worse, most likely because they had to scroll or click through the PDFs one section at a time, whereas students reading on paper held the entire texts in their hands and quickly switched between different pages. "The ease with which you can find out the beginning, end, and everything in between and the constant connection to your path, your progress in the text, might be some way of making it less taxing cognitively," Mangen says. "You have more free capacity for comprehension."
Read the full article by by FERRIS JABR here.


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Pronunciation: (stärch), [key]
1. a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, occurring in the form of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetable foods.
2. a commercial preparation of this substance used to stiffen textile fabrics in laundering.
3. starches,foods rich in natural starch.
4. stiffness or formality, as of manner: He is so full of starch he can't relax.
5. Informal.vigor; energy; stamina; boldness.
1. to stiffen or treat with starch.
2. to make stiff or rigidly formal (sometimes fol. by up).
Star CarrStar Chamber
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text: We proudly provide background-checked, thoroughly trained and well-supervised security officers for over 30 California schools. We teach our officers to evaluate each school, situation, or school event to determine the best proactive approach to each shift. Working with a diverse group of pre-teens, teens and young adults can present a unique and challenging environment. Whether it's providing traffic control, securing a sporting event, school dance, or after school program, our personnel have been trained to approach each individual and situation with respect and understanding. Our personnel have been trained to recognize and mitigate any potential problem before it escalates.


text:
The RaptorXML Python API enables data in XML documents and XML Schema documents to be accessed and manipulated in Python scripts. Some typical use cases of the Python API include:
-implement custom validation rules and error messages
-export content from XML documents to a database
-export content from XML documents to custom data formats
-interactively navigate and query the data model of XML documents within a Python shell or Jupyter notebook (_URL_
The Python APIs
The Python APIs (for XML and XSD) provide access to the meta-information, structural information, and data contained in XML and XSD documents. As a result, Python scripts can be created that make use of the APIs to access and process document information. For example, a Python script can be passed to RaptorXML Server that writes data from an XML document to a database or to a CSV file.
Example scripts for Raptor's Python APIs are available at: _URL_
The Python APIs are described in their API references:
|Note:||Raptor's Python API v1 is deprecated. Please use Python API v2.|
RaptorXML Server package for Python
In your installation of RaptorXML Server, you will also find a Python package in wheel format. You can use Python's pip command to install this package as a module of your Python installation. After the RaptorXML module has been installed, you can use the module's functions within your code. In this way, RaptorXML's functionality can be used easily in any Python program you write, together with other third-party Python libraries, such as graphics libraries.
For information about how to use RaptorXML Server's Python package, see the section RaptorXML Server as a Python Package.
|Note:||The Python wheel is compatible with Python version 3.7 only.|
A user-created Python script is submitted with the --script parameter of the following commands:
These commands invoking Python scripts can be used both on the Command Line Interface (CLI) and via the HTTP Interface. The usage of Python scripts with the Python APIs of RaptorXML Server are described at: _URL_
Making Python scripts safe
When a Python script is specified in a command via HTTP to RaptorXML Server, the script will only work if it is located in the trusted directory. The script is executed from the trusted directory. Specifying a Python script from any other directory will result in an error. The trusted directory is specified in the server.script-root-dir setting of the server configuration file, and a trusted directory must be specified if you wish to use Python scripts. Make sure that all Python scripts to be used are saved in this directory.
Though all output generated by the server for HTTP job requests is written to the job output directory (which is a sub-directory of the output-root-directory), this limitation does not apply to Python scripts, which can write to any location. The server administrator must review the Python scripts in the trusted directory for potential vulnerability issues.


How MongoDB balance your data?
migration_steps3We have already studied the chunk concept What is a MongoDB chunk? and also how MongoDB splits it when grows beyond the maximum size established by default Four steps to split a MongoDB chunk. At this post we are going to study the steps that MongoDB follows to balance our cluster.
The first thing we must know is that we choose the data to balance in our shards. So, we decide the collections to divide. You can read at this post Two steps to shard a MongoDB collection how to split a collection.
The balancing process does not disturb the normal cluster work, it is a background process. There is only one migration at a time, per cluster, in order to do not overload it. Therefore, only two shards will be working on (its primaries). If we do not change the by default chunk size, 64MB, this is the maximum amount of data that MongoDB will migrate at a time. This is a size so big so that there will not be too much migrations, and at the same time, it is little in order to do not overload our database.
Balancing round
Any of the mongos can begin a round balancing, but only can be an active one at a time. So, the mongos must check this through the locks collection at the configdb.
Only when the value equals 0 the mongos can begin the balancing round.
Is the cluster balanced?
The mongos checks the number of chunks per shard and decides whether the collection/collections is balanced. At this post What is a MongoDB chunk? I explain how MongoDB determines this. When the collection is not balanced the balancer will move the necessary chunks to get it. When the migration has been finished the mongos will update the locks collection and the round balancer will be finished.
Does the chunk need to be split?
Ok, the collection is not well balanced. The mongos will choose a chunk to move it to another shard. How MongoDB chooses this chunk is studied at this post What is a MongoDB chunk?
Before moving the chunk the mongos asks the shard which owns it (shard FROM) if this is too big and must be split.
The balancing begins
The mongos orders to the shard FROM that begins the transfer, but before beginning this shard makes sure that it is not removing data from a chunk previously migrated.
Please, read this chunk
The shard FROM asks shard TO (shard chunk destination) to read the chosen chunk to been migrated.
The transfer begins
The chunk belongs to shard FROM until the transfer will be finished. Until then, there can be write operations on this chunk that must also be transferred to shard TO.
The transfer ends
The FROM TO (Alex, thanks for your input) shard updates the chunk migration at the config servers.
The transferred data is deleted
The shard FROM begins to delete the data that has been moved.
The cache is refreshed
The mongos refreshes its cache. The remaining mongos will look for this data at the shard FROM and will get an STALE CONFIG EXCEPTION. This will cause them to read the metadata at the config servers for refreshing its cache. The clients will not realize it.
I wish that this post helps you to understand how MongoDB chooses the chunks to move between shards and the steps it follows for balancing the cluster. Please, if you read something wrong or something is omitted do not hesitate to use the comments. We will learn each other.
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text: A center, in the dynamic sense of the term, acts as a focus from which energy radiates into the environment. The forces issuing from the center are distributed around it in what we shall call the center's visual field. In the simplest case the energy is evenly distributed in all directions; the field of forces is centrically symmetrical. Constraints can narrow the field to particular directions, as in the case of a floodlight...


Adult Sabbath School Lesson Study Outlines
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Lesson 5: Forgiveness and Guilt *
Introduction: Guilt has gotten a bad reputation these days. I have a friend who never attends church, is sure that what he learned about God when he was young is enough to carry him through the rest of his life, and who has turned to secular counseling to eliminate any feelings of guilt from his life. He fears that going back to church will revive feelings of guilt. On the rare occasions when we speak on this topic I tell him, "Guilt is good." He disagrees. What do you think? Is the answer different for different people? Let's jump into our lesson and explore this subject!
 1. Guilt at the Beginning
 1. Adam and Eve are created by God, placed in charge of the creation and warned about sin. Satan shows up to tempt them to eat the fruit. Let's pick up the story by reading Genesis 3:5-7. When Satan says "Your eyes will be opened," what does he mean?
 1. Is knowing evil the beginning of guilt? (Knowing you have done evil is the beginning of guilt.)
 2. In verse 7 we have a repetition of the phrase "the eyes of both of them were opened." Was that guilt?
 1. How did covering themselves with fig leaves make things better?
 1. Is this an early illustration of righteousness by works? Do our works cover guilt?
 2. If realizing they had sinned (their eyes being opened) is really a feeling of guilt, what is the modern equivalent of covering ourselves with fig leaves?
 2. Read Genesis 3:8-10. Why did Adam and Eve hid from God? (They felt guilty.)
 1. Why would guilt cause us to hide from God?
 1. Have you hidden from God when you felt guilty?
 2. Adam admits that he is afraid. What relationship is there between fear and guilt?
 3. God calls out "Where are you?" Did God know where they were? Why did God ask this?
 1. What lesson do you find about God and guilt in this question? (God comes looking for us. He wants to enter into a dialog with us about our sin and guilt.)
 3. Read Genesis 3:11. Let's answer God's first question. Who told them they were naked? (Their conscience. Guilt comes from conscience.)
 1. What is the source of our conscience? (Paul, in Romans 9:1, writes of a conscience shaped by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can and does work through our conscience.)
 4. Read Genesis 3:12. How does Adam answer God's second question (v.11) about whether he sinned?
 1. How does Adam handle his guilt? (He first blames Eve, and then blames God for giving him Eve.)
 1. What do you think about Adam's approach to guilt?
 2. Have you ever used it?
 5. Read Genesis 3:13. How does Eve answer God's question? (She blames Satan. Modern translation, "The devil made me do it.")
 6. Consider the questions that God asks in verses 11 and 13. Does He know the answers? (Yes.)
 1. Why does God ask these questions if He knows the answers? (God wants us to face our sin and guilt.)
 1. Does God ask you these kinds of questions?
 2. Were Adam and Eve giving God the answers that He wanted? (No.)
 7. As you consider this series of events, has guilt done any good so far? What has it produced? (It does not seem to have done much good so far. It has caused Adam and Eve to try to "fix" their sins first by their own works (making fig leaf garments) and then by blaming someone else for their sins.)
 1. What would you say if Adam and Eve came to you for advice about their feelings of guilt? Would you counsel them that feelings of guilt were just unnecessary baggage in life and they should get beyond those feelings?
 8. If Adam and Eve had immediately confessed their sins, would things have been different? Would they have avoided the curses found in Genesis 3:16-19?
 1. What impact do you think the curses ultimately had upon Adam and Eve's view of their sins?
 9. Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain, kills his brother Abel because of jealousy. Read Genesis 4:9. How does Cain react to God's question?
 10. Read Genesis 4:10-14. How would you characterize Cain's remorse? (He never confesses his sin. He is simply sorry for himself.)
 1. How would you counsel Cain if he came to you for help about his feelings of guilt? Would you tell him to just ignore them?
 2. Our Guilt
 1. Read Romans 3:10-18. Paul is quoting and paraphrasing from several of the Psalms. Does this describe Adam, Eve and Cain?
 1. Does this describe those around you?
 2. Does this describe you?
 2. Let's read on. Read Romans 3:19-20. Paul has just painted (vv. 10-18) a pretty hopeless situation. Some might say that he is too negative. Is Paul trying to discourage us? After painting this dark picture of our lives, is there any hope in verses 19-20? (Paul is building an argument. He says in verses 10-18 we are all rotten. But then, in verses 19-20, he adds, "If you think you are going to be found righteous by observing the law, buddy, you better think again.")
 1. What does the law have to do with guilt according to verse 20? Is guilt put in a good light? (We cannot become righteous by observing the law because we are a pretty rotten group, according to Paul. However, what the law does for us is to show that we are sinners. At this point in Paul's argument, at least, it seems that guilt is good. Guilt is a consciousness of our sins.)
 3. Read Romans 3:21-24. Paul now tells us rotten, guilty people that there is a way out of our sins, a way to become righteous. What is it? (Faith in Jesus.)
 1. What is Paul telling us when he says "there is no difference?" (He is saying that we all come to Jesus as sinners. None are better, none are worse.)
 2. How has Jesus made us all righteous - regardless of the nature of past sin? (Read Romans 3:25-26. Paul reminds us of the sanctuary system, where the sacrifice of an animal was required to remove sin. Paul tells us that Jesus was the Divine sacrifice on our behalf that, if accepted, will take away our sins and make us righteous.)
 4. If Jesus' righteousness covers your sins, what should it do for your guilt? (It should take it away. The point of guilt is to drive us to God, to drive us to repent (change our attitude) of our sins.)
 5. Read Romans 3:27-28. What problem is Paul addressing? Is he writing to those who are suffering under a load of guilt? (Paul is concerned about boasting about how great we are. He is not arguing that we should stop feeling guilty. Rather, we should stop saying we are so good.)
 1. As you look at those around you, what do you think is the biggest problem? Is guilt so widespread that it is the major problem? Or, is an attitude of self-righteousness so widespread that we need (like in verses 10-18) to spread around a little more guilt? Should we at least (verse 28)spread around a better understanding that works will not make us righteous?
 2. What is the purpose of guilt? What is Paul's purpose in outlining how rotten we are in vv. 10-18? (He wants us to stop thinking we are OK on our own, and drive us to Jesus and the righteousness that He offers through His sacrifice on our behalf.)
 3. Let's look back at Adam, Eve and Cain for a moment. Did they need more or less guilt? (None of them admitted sin. Adam and Eve blamed someone else. Cain was worried about his future, rather than being sorry for his sins. While I feel confident that ultimately Adam and Eve felt very guilty, at the point recorded in Genesis it seems they could use a little more, not less, guilt.)
 1. How about you? If you had to look realistically at your life, are you suffering from too great a feeling of guilt, or too great a feeling of self-righteousness?
 3. The Cure for Guilt
 1. No doubt there are those who suffer unduly from feelings of guilt. Let's look at two texts that will help us. Read Hebrews 10:19-22. If we suffer from feelings of guilt, what will cleanse us from that? (Having our hearts sprinkled.)
 1. Anyone want to explain what "having our hearts sprinkled means?" (This is an illusion to the Old Testament sanctuary service and the sacrificial system. The