Smedley also disclosed during a keynote address that Sony Entertainment plans on "going big time," with multiple player wireless gaming in the next year or so. Most cell phone games are one-player games that don't offer games against opponents. This month, wireless game maker Jamdat is scheduled to introduce the industry's first cell phone game that can be played between two people. Smedley didn't disclose which Sony game titles, which include the popular online fantasy game "Everquest," would be fitted for wireless multiple player gaming.
Wireless gaming, only in its infancy, suffers when cell phone makers rush out buggy products, a Sony executive says, Bug-filled phones are not only turning off gamers, but also game developers that want to take part in what's supposed to be an $8 billion a year industry by 2007, said John Smedley, chief operating officer of Sony Entertainment, "(Cell phone) carriers are in a huge battle to deliver new phones ASAP," Smedley told a gathering of telephone industry executives attending the Cellular Telecommunication and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless I.T, and Internet 2002 trade show here, "Maybe I'm the only one saying this, but some people leather folio case for apple iphone xs max - dark red are building phones that aren't very stable."..
CNET también está disponible en español. Don't show this again. DragonWave announced Tuesday it raised an $8.3 million third round of funding. Enterprise Partners led the funding, and Best Fund and previous investor Venture Coaches participated in the round. Ottawa, Canada-based DragonWave, which supplies high-performance wireless networks, has raised a total of more than $24.6 million. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.
CNET también está disponible en español, Don't show this again, These and other new wireless products and services will greet industry executives hungry to find the next "killer app" for the wireless market, services that can be sold over just-completed--and expensive--networks, These next-generation networks can handle more voice calls, as well as offer data services such as the wireless Web--at speeds that are often comparable to dial-up services, New wireless applications for the business market will be on the minds of many in the industry, as that's where the top carriers believe they'll find new revenue streams, With corporations in mind, IBM General Manager Adel al-Saleh is expected to announce Wednesday a new relationship between IBM and GoAmerica, a wireless Web leather folio case for apple iphone xs max - dark red provider..
As part of the deal, GoAmerica will offer IBM wireless servers, which allow wireless devices such as cell phones or pagers to access corporate computer networks, to its business clientele. "Carriers will talk about how important enterprise is, but they are not really ready to offer it," al-Saleh said. "We complete the story.". HP and Research In Motion also plan to try their hand at more business-minded applications. The companies will announce Wednesday that BlackBerry pager users will be able to send e-mail and attachments to any printer within the same corporate network as a user's e-mail account.


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Sports Stars Birthdays
Birthdays List
Chetan Anand
Photo Credits: Sb0302 / Wikimedia Commons
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Full Name Chetan Anand
Profession / Role Badminton player
Date of Birth 08 Jul, 1980
Chetan Anand Buradagunta was born on 8th July 1980; Vijayawada is a prominent Indian badminton player who has earned many accolades in national and international events by his intelligent court techniques and energetic shots. He won his first singles title in Chennai in a junior major ranking tournament. In addition, he signed as the first brand ambassador for promoting Li Ning sporting goods in India in 2009. Currently, he is an ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Commission) employee as a senior executive engineer.
His Achievements:-
In 1999, he became the Junior National Champion.
Chetan won his first Asian Satellite tournament in Bangalore in 2001, which was a beginning in series; later on, he won 15 major ranking tournaments in India.
After his victory in the 2004 Le Volant d'Or in France, he became internationally recognised.
He won the National Badminton Championship four times: 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010.
He bagged the South Asian Games Men's Singles Championship in 2004, 2006, and 2010.
Chetan, won the Irish & Scottish Open Badminton tournament in Ireland and Scotland in 2005.
He received the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2006.
In 2008, he won his first Grand Prix title in the Bitburger Open & was the first Indian to win a Grand Prix.
He was also a runner up in the Dutch Grand Prix in 2008.
In 2009, Chetan won two titles; The Dutch Open Grand Prix & the Jaypee Syed Modi Memorial Grand Prix in Lucknow.
In 2009, Chetan bagged the 10th position in the world ranking, which was his career-best.
Chetan won his third Commonwealth Games in 2010 with a silver medal in the mixed team event.
In 2014, Chetan decided to set up the 'Chetan Anand Badminton Academy' to be still involved with the sport, and he has also served as coach of the Indian badminton team.
Updated On : 05 Jan, 2022
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The accuracy of figures and calculations is a fundamental issue that confronts every lab technician at every level. This program provides a clear and unambiguous understanding of the subject. Content includes: Units of Measure, Significant Figures, Rounding, Standard Form, Symbols and review section. Video running time 11 minutes.
In addition to the Cleanroom Training DVD, Cleanroom World offers cleanroom training, ESD training, and GMP training, at our state-of-the-art cleanroom training center, which is located in the Denver metro area.


ST. LOUIS- The city of St. Louis is making progress in correcting problems pointed out in a You Paid For It expose' in the Fall of 2016. That investigation revealed a lot of maintenance problems that had been neglected for years at city recreation centers.
For example, the heat didn't work right in one center, allowing only have the facility to be heated in the cold Winter months. The boxing ring in another center was a mess. Now a new boxing ring has been installed.
Greg Hayes, head of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry plans to spend one million dollars making needed repairs. This time they vow to keep up with the maintenance and not let things get out of hand.


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Also Known For : Self-Help Author, Motivational Speaker
Birth Place : Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
Died On : August 29, 2015
Zodiac Sign : Taurus
Chinese Zodiac : Dragon
Birth Element : Metal
Wayne Dyer Biography, Life, Interesting Facts
Wayne Dyer is a self- help writer and motivational speaker, focusing on self- improvement.
Wayne Walter Dyer was born on 10th of May 1940 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Melvin Lyle Dyer and Hazel Irene Vollick, both from Ontario, Canada.
After his father walked out, leaving his mother with three young boys, Wayne Dyer spent some time in orphanages and foster homes. He studied at Denby High School.
After graduation, Wayne Dyer served as a Navy Officer in the United States Navy from 1958 to 1962.
Wayne Dyer graduated from Wayne State University, receiving a Doctor of Education in Counselling, for a dissertation about Group Counselling Leadership Training.
After gaining his doctorate, he worked as a high school guidance counselor in Detroit, and served as a professor of counseling psychology, lecturing at St. John's University in New York City. Aside from having an academic career, he had a private practice and published in journals.
Wayne Dyer focused on positive thinking and motivational speaking techniques.
Rise In Stardom
Wayne Dyer was asked to document his theories into a book by an agent, 'Your Erroneous Zones' was published in 1976 and became an international bestseller.
The book featured principles of self-discovery and personal growth; he quit his job to promote his book.
The popularity of his first book leads to television talk shows including 'The Today Show,' 'The Tonight Show' and. '
The Oprah Winfrey Show'. Adding to his talk shows, he added lecture tours, PBS programs, and audiotapes into his brand.
In 1992, Wayne Dyer wrote Real Magic, a book that included components of spirituality. He talked about feeling a shift in his thinking that leads to him exploring the spiritual side of human experience.
Wayne Dyer published about thirty books and six children books. He appeared in a spiritual movie called 'The Shift,' starring Portia de Rossi and Michael DeLuise.
Wayne Dyer was accused of plagiarism, t\stealing lines from Tao Te Ching written by author Stephen Mitchell, the suit was dismissed in 2011.
Stephen Mitchell, He was also admonished publicly by psychologist Albert Ellis for failing to give credit when it is due, therefore was unprofessional and unethical. Wayne Dyer never admitted wrongdoing.
Wayne Dyer was awarded the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International in 1987, a recognition of his contribution in fields of communication and leadership. He was inducted into the International Speakers Hall of Fame.
Wayne Dyer established a scholarship fund to Detroit's Wayne State University, to help raise more than $100 million for public broadcasting.
Wayne Dyer married Judy and had a daughter, Tracy. His second wife was Susan Casselman, but they had no children together. He married Marceline, and she had two children from previous marriage.
Wayne Dyer and Marceline had three more children together before separating in 2003 after twenty years of marriage. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009, he had cancer treatments and attributed his remission via spiritual healing.
Wayne Dyer suffered a heart attack on August 29, 2015. He died at age 75, in Maui, Hawaii
More Philosophers
Marquis de Condorcet
Gottfried W. Leibniz
Bernard Mandeville
More People From Michigan
Ivan Boesky
Christian Longo
Meg White
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More Chinese Dragon People
Zach Clayton
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Rayful Edmond III


If you own a car, you will want to make sure that it is efficient and safe. Therefore, you will always ensure that your vehicle is maintained and in excellent condition. This explains why every car will be linked to a compatible engine system and also engine oils. Manufacturers in Grand Prairie and DFW area have come up with a well-developed platform where the exceptional ECM, TCM, and ECU can be provided conveniently. This help to enhance the efficiency of your car. Check out the Cat computer .
These platforms will also allow the provision of improved additional services that will ensure satisfaction. If you are looking to purchase the best ECM, TCM, and ECU, it is vital that you conduct extensive research. This will help you find the best electronic companies that are known for providing the best diesel products.
There is a broad range of options of ECM, TCM and ECU modules that are offered in Grand Prairie and DFW. These options can also be programmed so that they are compatible with the specifications of the buyer's car of particular brands. These brands include Toyota, GM, Audi, Ford, Mercedes, Volvo, and Suzuki. The best thing about the ECM, TCM and ECU companies that are located in Grand Prairie and DFW is that they offer high-quality services. Therefore, you can be sure that your car will have better functionality. Get ready to learn about cummins ecm .
In addition to this, these manufacturers will make sure that they offer delivery services using a free local pickup service. When they are making international deliveries, then they will offer premium shipping options without extra charges. They electronic firms will also provide the latest mobile apps that you can download on your smartphone. Using the app, you can schedule appointments with the technicians. These companies will also ensure that they use the best technicians and engineers with an excellent track record to offer their services.
The best TCM, ECU, and ECM companies will also make sure that all their units pass intensive tests set by the standardizing bodies. You can, therefore, be sure that you are getting high quality and long lasting units for your vehicle. When you go to the websites of these firms, you will find a wide range of units, and you can choose the one that you think is best for you. You can then place your order and are assured of getting regular updates.


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12.10.2020 New Music
Chance the Rapper and Jeremih Drop Holiday Album 'Merry Christmas Lil Mama'
Chance the Rapper and Jeremih keep on giving.
The Chicago rapper and R&B singer unwrap their collaborative holiday project, Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving, which is available on all streaming platforms for the first time.
The 12-track compilation includes previously-released music from their 2016 and 2017 mixtapes, along with two new original songs, "The Return" and "Who's to Say." Inspired by Chicago's rich musical history, the duo makes spirits bright on festive tracks like "Let It Snow," "Stranger at the Table," and "Are U Live," which inspired the viral "Woah" dance.
And this Christmas will be a very special one for Jeremih, who is recovering from his weeks-long battle with COVID-19. He returned to Twitter this week to thank his supporters after being released from the hospital earlier this month.
Stream Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving below.
Fabolous Says Being a Rapper Is the 'Most Dangerous Job in America'
Rappers are public enemy number one, according to Fabolous. In the wake of the violence in the hip-hop community, the Brooklyn …
Stream Jack Harlow's Debut Album 'Thats What They All Say'
It's been a big year for Jack Harlow. After ruling the charts with his 3x platinum hit "Whats Poppin" and earning …


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Eyota ist eine Stadt im Olmsted County in Minnesota, Vereinigte Staaten. Das U.S. Census Bureau hat bei der Volkszählung 2020 eine Einwohnerzahl von 2.006 ermittelt. Eyota gehört zum Schulbezirk Dover-Eyota.

Geografie
Nach den Angaben des United States Census Bureaus hat die Stadt eine Fläche von 4,0 km², die vollständig auf Land entfallen.

Der südliche Zweig des Whitewater Rivers verläuft am nördlichen Rand der Stadt.

U.S. Highway 14 and Minnesota State Route 42 sind die beiden Hauptstraßen im Stadtgebiet. Interstate 90 führt unmittelbar südlich vorbei.

Demografische Daten
Zum Zeitpunkt des United States Census 2000 bewohnten Eyota 1644 Personen. Die Bevölkerungsdichte betrug 409,5 Personen pro km². Es gab 614 Wohneinheiten, durchschnittlich 152,9 pro km². Die Bevölkerung Hoquiams bestand zu 98,36 % aus Weißen, 0,18 % Schwarzen oder African American, 0,12 % Native American, 0,43 % Asian, 0,06 % gaben an, anderen Rassen anzugehören und 0,85 % nannten zwei oder mehr Rassen. 0,43 % der Bevölkerung erklärten, Hispanos oder Latinos jeglicher Rasse zu sein.

Die Bewohner Eyotas verteilten sich auf 597 Haushalte, von denen in 44,6 % Kinder unter 18 Jahren lebten. 60,1 % der Haushalte stellten Verheiratete, 10,4 % hatten einen weiblichen Haushaltsvorstand ohne Ehemann und 23,5 % bildeten keine Familien. 19,4 % der Haushalte bestanden aus Einzelpersonen und in 7,4 % aller Haushalte lebte jemand im Alter von 65 Jahren oder mehr alleine. Die durchschnittliche Haushaltsgröße betrug 2,75 und die durchschnittliche Familiengröße 3,15 Personen.

Die Stadtbevölkerung verteilte sich auf 31,7 % Minderjährige, 8,2 % 18–24-Jährige, 30,8 % 25–44-Jährige, 20,2 % 45–64-Jährige und 9,1 % im Alter von 65 Jahren oder mehr. Das Durchschnittsalter betrug 32 Jahre. Auf jeweils 100 Frauen entfielen 92,3 Männer. Bei den über 18-Jährigen entfielen auf 100 Frauen 96,0 Männer.

Das mittlere Haushaltseinkommen in Eyota betrug 47.500 US-Dollar und das mittlere Familieneinkommen erreichte die Höhe von 53.036 US-Dollar. Das Durchschnittseinkommen der Männer betrug 36.548 US-Dollar, gegenüber 28.259 US-Dollar bei den Frauen. Das Pro-Kopf-Einkommen in Eyota war 18.471 US-Dollar. 3,2 % der Bevölkerung und 2,8 % der Familien hatten ein Einkommen unterhalb der Armutsgrenze, davon waren 3,5 % der Minderjährigen und 8,1 % der Altersgruppe 65 Jahre und mehr betroffen.

Stadtverwaltung
Die Stadtverwaltung wird durch einen Bürgermeister und vier Stadträte gebildet. Die Amtszeit des Bürgermeisters beträgt jeweils zwei Jahre.

Ortsname
Der Name "Eyota" ist der Sprache der Ureinwohner entlehnt und hat die Bedeutung "superieur". Nach einer Auslegung verdeutlicht dieser Name die Ansicht der ersten Siedler, dass das Land hier von guter Qualität ist und man hoffte, damit weitere Siedler anzuziehen. Eine andere Theorie bezieht sich darauf, dass der Ort höher als seine Umgebung liegt.

Einzelnachweise

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Iphone 6 leak lie…lol
Feb 14, 2014 Compton Pauncefoot
Excited about pictures of the new iphone 6? Well according to a number of sources listed below and as detailed here – the "exclusive" leaked pictures that got the cyber geeks….leaking, are in fact fakes.
But did we really think Apple would be so sloppy at this stage of the design process? It would probably be easier to shake the hand of Steve Jobs than it would be to smuggle out pictures of the new iphone 6….assuming they call it that. They could go rouge like they did with their IOS Mavericks release and called it – the iphone Indefinite
So, come on twitter…let's get a grip and hold on to our knickers!!! (although I did sooo fall for this myself and tweeted the pictures…ooops!). Lesson learned…till the next time 🙂
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/12/alleged-iphone-6-prototype/
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/12/5406148/iphone-6-purported-part-leak-rear-case
http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1xrsfy/the_new_iphone_6_images_are_confirmed_fake_they/
applefakeiphone 6jason mccrossanleakmacrumorsMartin Hajekmobile phonetechnologythe verge
What do you see…3 or 4?
Image Feb 13, 2014 Compton Pauncefoot
3 or 4funnyhumourPictures]
Monday Matters 3rd February
Audio Feb 13, 2014 Compton Pauncefoot
Jessica Zhu
On this programme Jason speaks to musician and Chinese-American pianist Jessica Zhu. Jessica made her orchestral debut in 2006 at the University of Houston, when she played Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Houston Symphony. She's since performed with many orchestras in America. In 2009 Jessica was awarded the highly coveted Marshall Scholarship with which she completed a Masters programme with distinction at the the Guildhall School of Music & Dramas.
Also on the show, the featured group is The Kinks as we say happy birthday to Dave Davies, guitarist and founding member who celebrated his 67th birthday today.
Also, Kyra brings us her all round geeky knowledge, the gig guide and latest music news.
We feature music from: Blondie, Crystal Fighters, Buddy Holly, Sara Bareilles, Empire Of The Sun, Trench City, Fickle Friends, The Waifs and Tori Amos.
And we give The Last Word to American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who died on 2nd February 2014. Philip had won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 2005 biographical film Capote, was nominated three times for Best Supporting Actor, and received three Tony Award nominations for his work in theatre.
For more information about Jessica Zhu you can visit her website http://www.jessicazhu.com/
BlondieBuddy Hollyclassical musicCrystal FightersEmpire Of The SunenglandFickle Friendsjason mccrossanJessica Zhukentlive radioradio showSara Bareillessfm radiosittingbourneThe WaifsTori AmosTrench City
Justice, Politics, World Affairs
Accused of genocide? Better get here quick….
We have a peculiar set up in 21st century Britain whereby If I was to say or write something derogatory about someone in another country – if they were to protest and take me to court – chances are I'd be hauled in front of a Judge to defend my words. It seems, however, if someone abroad commits horrendous acts of slaughter, rape or genocide and then flees to our country, our Government is rendered incapacitated to extradite them back to their country of origin by our Courts – in case to do so leads to their torture or death.
And so, they flood here, knowing that our strong humanist beliefs will shelter them from their past indiscretions and enable them, sometimes people who have killed many, to share the same bus or restaurant as our unsuspecting non-murderous citizens who'd be affronted if they knew the true unpleasant history of the person(s) that shares their space.
We wonder why our country has such a bad reputation the further East one sails – we are seen to espouse standards and export morals that we ourselves do not abide by. If you live in Africa, Iran, Afghanistan or Iraq and know, or even simply suspect, that a man who'd killed, tortured and maimed many people – including some of your own relatives, was walking free and protected by England and English law you'd be sick to your stomach. You'd wonder at the double standards that doesn't allow this man who'd brutalised your friends, neighbours, your children to be brought back to your country and account for the crimes committed.
And they are right. We often condemn Russia for protecting known hitmen and I'm sure there would be absolute outrage in this country if a person killed hundreds of our citizens, fled to Iran and was then protected by the state. Yes, you can argue that once returned we would not torture and we would not executed. However, with regard to the latter these are our standards that are not universally excepted.
Human rights are crucial and come from one of the worst moments in our history on this planet – Hitler and the Nazi's. We must not forget the circumstances that brought in these laws, however, must not allow the continual reinterpretation between different generations of judges and lawyers to decimate credibility in what is about protecting the innocent – not harbouring the guilty.
AfghanistanBritaincourtscriminalsgenocidegovernmentIranIraqjason mccrossanjusticemurdererspoliticsukworld
LBC goes national
(there is a graffic with ladies on it too but couldn't find it at the point of posting)
Today, LBC went from being merely 97.3 (London frequency) to being on our national dial – for those who tune in to digital anyway. By the looks of things, LBC owner Global radio, whom don't shy away from ambition (as can be seen by the name they give themselves) – have spent a fair amount of money on this launch – getting new presenters lined up…even having a big photo shoot to make their website and publications that little bit more glossy.
LBC's presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer
Getting on a national dial isn't the same as getting into the national consciousness, but unlike so many other music based commercial radio stations – LBC really does seem to care about the content they broadcast and also don't mind forking out a pretty penny for presenters/journalists as well (I don't see any former children's TV presenters or singers whose hits now mainly involve the ground – stumbling out a taxi after attending another envelope opening) [think the Birds of a Feather lot].
It's good that we have another station that deals with speech based current affairs, as when Talk Radio – turned into Talksport, like the fans of West Ham, I felt deflated and beaten. So, I really do hope that LBC are not only able to hold their own against the big boys – both BBC radio 4 and mostly BBC radio 5, but also hold a national conversation – NOT on their own.
BBCBritainian daleJames O'Brienjason mccrossanJulia Hartley-Brewerlbcnationalnick ferrariradioradio 4radio 5talktalksport
Useful Tips of Life
Gallery Feb 12, 2014 Compton Pauncefoot
There is a twitter account @WeirdLifeTips which tweets useful and interesting tips on making your general life better. Well, ok. I need all the help I can get with most things. I have a low attention span that leads me to start something else before I've fin
jason mccrossanlife tipstwitterusefulweird tips
Customer Service suprise
I had to update information on my insurance today and was struck by how the female customer service adviser dealt with each segment of information I divulged – in a surprised/impressed tone.
She sounded surprised when I gave her my post code. Impressed when I gave her my phone number. Grateful that I'd spoken to her when we parted. To go through life being surprised and impressed by the minutia of postcodes and addresses can't be bad….until a pet dies. I hope her pet doesn't die.
customer servicepet
The pains of a new beginning
Ok, so I'm new to word press.
In fact, this is only the 3rd post I've done since i created this account…maybe a year ago.
Not sure I'm won over by the posting posibilities on offer here – especially as I can't seem to embed my podcast links!! Kinda the whole point.
My chat with Giles Brandreth
Gyles's show is called "In Search Of Happiness"
I've always been a fan of Mr Brandreth. Well, ok, in the 1990s I thought of him as a bit of a buffoon – but then, didn't everyone? However, he has redeem himself in spades through his brilliant novels and wonderful contributions to Just A Minute.
So, I was very happy when he agreed to chat with me – even it it was for 15 minutes. If you like Gyles, just know that he is performing up and down the country on his one man show "In Search for Happiness" – and I can only imagine it is nothing short of fabulous…just like Gyles.
On Saturday Breakfast on 15th February I will be giving away a pair of tickets to his show taking place the same evening. Listen to http://www.sfmradio.com to win.
BBCComedycultureenglandgyles brandrethIn Search Of Happinessinterviewjason mccrossankentMaidstoneradioradio showsfm radiosittingbournetalkTheatreTour


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Ferris Independent School District
Ferris High School
Ferris Intermediate School
Ferris Junior High School
Hazel Ingram Elementary School
Lucy Mae McDonald Elementary School
Hazel Ingram Elementary SchoolEducating Students. Enriching Lives.
Teacher test
Parent Engagement Plan
Dress Code Examples
Student of the Month for May
Kindergarten Student, Jacqueline Gonzalez, from Miss P. Mendoza's class
Drop Off/Pick Up Change Notice
This message is to inform you about our new addition to our campus and the changes to drop off/pick up.
Upcoming events for the Summer Months
Latest Remind Update!
We're thrilled to share the news: Thanks to you, Verizon has informed us that they will #ReverseTheFee. As a result, we can continue to offer text notifications as part of the Remind service. There will be no service disruption for Verizon Wireless customers. We're grateful to Verizon for making a public commitment to supporting accessible communication for all Remind users.
Reminder Car Seats Are Required By Law
Remind Communication Update
Ingram S.T.E.A.M. Lab
The Ingram S.T.E.A.M. lab expands students thinking by allowing them to explore many different solutions to a problem.
TEA Accountability Rating
Welcome to Hazel Ingram Elementary School, "Where the Yellowjacket Tradition Begins." We are so glad you are visiting our campus website. I am Vickie Griffith, campus principal. It is my honor to lead this wonderful campus where I had the privilege of attending Kindergarten through 3rd grade many years ago. This campus holds so many great memories for me, as a child, and it is a dream come true to be leading it as campus principal.
Here is a little bit about our campus: Hazel Ingram Elementary School is an early childhood center, with about 420 students from diverse backgrounds. We have grades Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4, PPCD (Pre-School Programs for Children with Disabilities) and Kindergarten. We are a Dual Language Campus with bilingual sections in all of our grade levels. We offer a S.T.E.A.M. lab(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and Outdoor Learning Center for our students as well as two computer labs. Each classroom has a wealth of technology with 10 i-pads and Promethian boards. We are glad to say that our students are given lots of opportunities in many educational areas with "hands-on" activities to help them grow their learning. At Hazel Ingram Elementary School, we are all about building the foundations of early literacy and numeracy while making learning fun for our students.
Don't Forget: You are always welcome at Hazel Ingram Elementary School, "Where the Yellowjacket Tradition Begins."
Vickie Griffith, Principal
600 South Central, Ferris, TX 75125 | Phone 972-544-3212 | Fax 972-544-3405


Program to be held at the Department of Cultural Resources Building, 109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Staff from the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office will discuss different methods of research to uncover the genealogy of your house.
Claudia Brown, Survey & National Register Branch Supervisor and Architectural Survey Coordinator will discuss resources for research.
Michael Southern, GIS coordinator and senior architectural historian will give a live demonstration of HPOWEB, web-based historic properties GIS mapping tool.
Mitch Wilds, Restoration Services Branch supervisor will talk about analyzing a property's building elements in order to date it.
*This program is part of the Government and Heritage Library and State Archives of North Carolina's Saturday genealogy workshop series.
This entry was posted in Events, News and tagged events, press releases, research, State Historic Preservation Office, State Library of North Carolina, workshops on February 6, 2014 by Ashley.
Staff at the State Archives will present three topics of instruction that may help researchers who are searching for African-American ancestors who lived prior to the end of the American Civil War (pre-1865). The three part workshop will include a session on laws concerning slaves and free persons of color, a methodology on investigating a slave narrative and records to explore when searching for information about African-Americans before the end of slavery (1865).
The workshop includes a catered lunch.
Please see the flyer for registration information and date, time and location of the workshop.
The workshop is sponsored by the Friends of the Archives, Inc. and members of the Friends of the Archives receive a discounted registration fee.
Please print and fill out the registration section of the flyer; mail registration and fee to the address listed.
This entry was posted in News and tagged African American History, Genealogy, United States Civil War, workshops on August 9, 2013 by Chris.
Oct. 22, from 10:00-3:00 – Civil War to Civil Rights in North Carolina; a display documents and photographs relating to the Archives Week theme, "Journeys to Justice: Civil Rights in North Carolina." This free event will be held on Monday in the State Archives Search Room at 109 East Jones Street.
Oct. 22, from 10:30-11:30 – Armchair Historians: tools you use at home or on the go; archivist Ashley Yandle guides you through online tools and social media including the State Archives' catalog and the North Carolina Digital Collections. This free event will be held On Monday, October 22, in the auditorium at 109 East Jones Street.
We'd love for you to join us as we take part in this week-long celebration of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our state.
And to celebrate Electronic Records Day, Rachel passed along some tips for taking control over your electronic records.
This entry was posted in County Records, Electronic Records, Events, State Agency Records, Western Regional Archives and tagged Dept. of Cultural Resources, events, exhibits, Government Records Branch, lectures, North Carolina Archives Week, Regional history, workshops on October 19, 2012 by Ashley.
For those of you not familiar with the Friends of the Archives, this non-profit group does a lot to support the programming and operations of the State Archives of North Carolina. Over the years the Friends, or FOA as they are often referred to, has funded conservation work on the treasures of the Archives, purchased private collections for the Archives, and provided valuable programming support to the Archives. The FOA also holds periodic workshops on topics such as beginning genealogy. If you aren't already a member of the Friends of the Archives, I encourage you to join. Your $30 membership is tax-deductible. Membership brochures are available in the Search Room and upon request.
During Archives Week in North Carolina the Friends of the Archives is sponsoring a workshop on the preservation of digital family papers. If you have questions about how to manage your digital pictures or family papers, this is the place to start. Preservation of digital photographs and best practices for managing and preserving files will be discussed. The workshop will also cover ways to share your digital family history. The workshop will be held On October 25 from 9 a.m.-noon in the auditorium of the State Archives' building at 109 East Jones Street. Cost is $10, but FOA members get in free. To register, simply call 919-807-7310 and reserve your space.
This entry was posted in Events, News and tagged events, Friends of the Archives, Genealogy, North Carolina Archives Week, workshops on October 12, 2012 by Sarah K.
Are You Ready For Archives Week?
North Carolina Archives Week is an annual, week-long observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people. The events are a celebration of the work that we and our organizations do, but it is also a time to raise public awareness about the important role archives play in their communities.
Every year the State Archives takes part in North Carolina Archives Week, usually providing a series of lectures, exhibits, and other events. A flyer of this year's events is available through our website or you can find the events on the Dept. of Cultural Resources events page.
This entry was posted in News and tagged Civil Rights, events, lectures, North Carolina Archives Week, Triangle Home Movie Day, United States Civil War, workshops on October 5, 2012 by Ashley.


PORT OF SPAIN – The Dangerous Dogs Act will be enforced, with some minor adjustments, said Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.
Speaking with the media at his office on St Vincent Street, Port of Spain, yesterday afternoon, Ramlogan said the Government would accommodate the changes and the suggestions that made sense when the Bill was initially passed in Parliament.
"I feel very strongly about this matter that dog-specific legislation is a must. The idea that we should have control for all dogs is what I don't subscribe to.
"So that I will go back in the new term when the Parliament reopens where we can in fact get the amendments in both houses. Parliament is scheduled to open some time in September and as soon as we get the budget out of the way I propose to take the amendments of the Dangerous Dogs Act so that we can in fact implement it and operationalise it," Ramlogan said.
He added that he has spoken with Minister of Local Government Dr. Suruj Rambachan to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is put in place to facilitate the Act.
Concerns of the breed identification raised by various groups will be addressed, including those of the Veterinary Association, who he has met with on the issue of genetic testing of the dogs and they will be addressed since the legislation does exist in other countries.
"Whatever issue the Veterinary Association has we will treat with it, but I want to forewarn persons that I am not about to let technicality and nicety lead to the death of another person," said Ramlogan.
"It can't be that other countries know how to identify the genetics of a pitbull and in Trinidad it cannot be done.
"We have to find a formula that will allow for the implementation of this law…it is badly needed in our society so I commit to finding that solution," he added.
As it relates to insurance matters and the Act, Ramlogan said they have met with the Association of Trinidad and Tobago Insurance Companies and are coming up with a proposal so that dog insurance will be an element of the homeowners' property insurance policy.


With intimate and unprecedented access, Peter Bratt's Dolores tells the story of Dolores Huerta, among the most important, yet least-known, activists in American history. Co-founder of the first farmworkers union with Cesar Chavez, she tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the 20th century.
Watch this film up to May 6th.
Meet the indomitable Dolores Huerta, who led the fight for racial and labor justice.
Watch this film up to March 21st.
Watch this film up to March 11th.
Dolores premieres on PBS's Independent Lens on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.
Watch this film through October 21st.
Watch this film up to December 31st.
Watch this film now through October 9.
Watch this film now through October 8.


text:
Identification of novel mutational drivers reveals oncogene dependencies in multiple myeloma
Walker BA (1), Mavrommatis K (2), Wardell CP (3), Ashby TC (3), Bauer M (3), Davies FE (3), Rosenthal A (4), Wang H (4), Qu P (4), Hoering A (4), Samur M (5), Towfic F (6), Ortiz M (7), Flynt E (6), Yu Z (6), Yang Z (6), Rozelle D (8), Obenauer J (9), Trotter M (7), Auclair D (10), Keats J (11), Bolli N (12), Fulciniti M (5), Szalat R (5), Moreau P (13), Durie B (14), Stewart AK (15), Goldschmidt H (16), Raab MS (17), Einsele H (18), Sonneveld P (19), San Miguel J (20), Lonial S (21), Jackson GH (22), Anderson KC (5), Avet-Loiseau H (23), Munshi N (5), Thakurta A (6), Morgan GJ (3).
(1) Myeloma Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
(2) Celgene Corporation, San Francisco, CA, United States.
(3) Myeloma Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States.
(4) Cancer Research and Biostatistics, Seattle, WA, United States.
(5) Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
(6) Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ, United States.
(7) Celgene Institute of Translational Research Europe, Sevilla, Spain.
(8) Rancho BioSciences, San Diego, CA, United States.
(9) Rancho BioSciences, San Diego, CA, United Kingdom.
(10) Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Norwalk, CT, United States.
(11) Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States.
(12) University of Milan, Italy.
(13) University of Nantes, France.
(14) Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
(15) Department of Hematology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, United States.
(16) Department of Medicine V, Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
(17) German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
(18) Department of Internal Medicine II, Wurzburg University, Wurzburg, Germany.
(19) Department of Hematology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
(20) Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Centro Investigacion Medica Aplicada (CIMA), IDISNA, CIBERONC, Pamplona, Spain.
(21) Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.
(22) Department of Haematology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.
(23) L'Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse Oncopole, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Toulouse, France.
Magazine: Blood
Hematología y Hemoterapia [SP]
Understanding the profile of oncogene and tumor suppressor gene mutations with their interactions and impact on the prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) can improve the definition of disease subsets and identify pathways important in disease pathobiology.
Using integrated genomics of 1,273 newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma we identify 63 driver genes, some of which are novel including IDH1, IDH2, HUWE1, KLHL6, and PTPN11 Oncogene mutations are significantly more clonal than tumor suppressor mutations, indicating they may exert a bigger selective pressure.
Patients with more mutations in driver genes are associated with a worse outcome, as are those with identified mechanisms of genomic instability.
Oncogenic dependencies were identified between mutations in driver genes, common regions of copy number change, and primary translocation and hyperdiploidy events.
These dependencies included associations with t(4;14) and mutations in FGFR3, DIS3 and PRKD2; t(11;14) with mutations in CCND1 and IRF4; t(14;16) with mutations in MAF, BRAF, DIS3 and ATM; and hyperdiploidy with gain 11q, mutations in FAM46C and MYC rearrangements.
These associations indicate that the genomic landscape of myeloma is pre-determined by the primary events upon which further dependencies are built, giving rise to a non-random accumulation of genetic hits. Understanding these dependencies may elucidate potential evolutionary patterns and lead to better treatment regimens.
CITATION Blood. 2018 Jun 8. pii: blood-2018-03-840132. doi: 10.1182/blood-2018-03-840132.


text:
Q: convert data frame column to factor I want just to convert two columns of a data frame to factors.
I use the apply function but the result is characters, not factors.
Any idea what I am doing wrong ?
aa <- c(1,2,3,4)
bb <- c(6,7,8,9)
xx <- data.frame(aa, bb)
xx

yy <- apply(xx, 2, function(xx) as.factor(xx))
#      aa  bb
# [1,] "1" "6"
# [2,] "2" "7"
# [3,] "3" "8"
# [4,] "4" "9"

When I am implementing the same to a stand alone vector, it works:
nn <- c(1,2,3,4)
mm <- as.factor(nn)
mm

A: apply is usually not suitable for data.frames, because it returns a matrix. You could use lapply instead:
yy <- data.frame(lapply(xx, as.factor))
str(yy)
#'data.frame':  4 obs. of  2 variables:
# $ aa: Factor w/ 4 levels "1","2","3","4": 1 2 3 4
# $ bb: Factor w/ 4 levels "6","7","8","9": 1 2 3 4

I assume you realize you could also just do
xx <- data.frame(aa = as.factor(aa), bb = as.factor(bb))

A: I would do something like:
library(dplyr)
yy = xx %>% mutate_each(funs(as.factor))

This applies as.factor to each column in xx.

A: Or you can do
library(data.table)
setDT(xx)[, lapply(.SD, as.factor)]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Chinese fighter goes down near South China Sea island, both pilots lost
Alex Hollings No Comments Military Aviation, News
An unspecified two-seater Chinese fighter jet crashed into the South China Sea on Tuesday while conducting training operations near the island of Hainan. According to the limited details released by the People's Liberation Army, both crew members died in the incident.
According to official reports, the aircraft crashed in Ledong County of the Hainan Province — one of a number of islands in the South China Sea that the nation has militarized in order to further justify and potentially defend China's claims of sovereignty over the majority of the waterway. A video uploaded to YouTube shortly after the crash reportedly shows its aftermath, but does little to clarify what type of aircraft was involved in the incident.
However, despite the limited details available, it seems entirely plausible that they type of fighter that went down may have been the People's Liberation Army-Navy's workhorse J-15. The platform, which is largely based on the Russian Sukhoi Su-33, was developed by reverse engineering an unfinished prototype of the Russian jet acquired from Ukraine in 2001. However, the J-15 is notably heavier and has had a far worse track record than the Russian jet it was based on.
"Years ago the Chinese decided to save some money and, instead of buying several Su-33s from Russia for their subsequent license production in China, they opted for a Su-33 prototype in Ukraine," Russian military analyst Vasily Kashin was quoted as saying in a Russian media piece accusing China of design theft.
"As a result, the development of the J-15 took more time and more money than expected, and the first planes proved less than reliable."
Last year, reports began to emerge about China's trouble with the J-15, which included a number of crashes, some of which were not reported on by Chinese media outlets that are beholden to the nation's government. As China's primary carrier-based fighter, the J-15 currently plays an important role in the nation's force projection capabilities, though at this point, even the PLA acknowledges that plans are moving forward to replace it.
With only around 20 or so total J-15s built in China, the platform has already seen four unconfirmed crashes; Chinese authorities have only acknowledged two. There are one and two seater variants of the platform, meaning Tuesday's crash could potentially have been China's troubled Navy fighter… the question is, will China choose to acknowledge it or not?
Feature image: J-15 conducting carrier operations. Courtesy of the People's Liberation Army-Navy.
Alex Hollings Alex Hollings writes on a breadth of subjects ranging from fitness to foreign policy, all presented through the lens of his experiences as a U.S. Marine, athlete and scholar. A football player, rugby player and fighter, Hollings has spent the better part of his adult life competing in some of the most physically demanding sports on the planet. Hollings possesses a master's degree in communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.
China plans to have 6 aircraft carriers by 2035 – how will they stack up compared to the US Navy?
China will soon have 3 aircraft carriers and lots of pilots, but no fighters for them to fly
Listen to the Chinese Navy demand US Navy recon plane leave international airspace over South China Sea
Intense WWII footage is a stark reminder of what massive naval and air battles were really like (and could be again)
China likes the F-35 so much they're probably going to put copies of it on their carriers
Ask A Fighter Pilot: Hornet vs Super Hornet!


text:
education, music, musings
Repost: There's life beyond your senior year… confessions of a C student
September 17, 2021 knottyabsolute pitch, adjunct professors, Armenia, Camerata Singers, college, growing up, high school, Longwood, mediocre school performance, repost, University of South Carolina Leave a comment
Here's a repost from the original blog, written March 28, 2018. It appears as/is. I know it's not currently college application season, but I think this post could be useful for some people.
Yesterday, my alma mater did a fundraising drive called #LoveYourLongwood. This is apparently a new development. For many years after my graduation in 1994, Longwood University was rather relaxed about fundraising efforts. I'd say in the past ten years or so, they have become much more assertive about pushing alums to donate money. I usually ignore the pleas, although I did donate during the holiday season.
I probably would have made a donation yesterday, had I not looked at our rather paltry bank balance. March still has three days left in it. Still, as I get older and our finances have improved, I have given some thought to donating more money to my college. The truth is, I owe a lot to Longwood. Maybe my time there didn't lead to a smashing career, but it did leave me with a lot of intangible gifts like wonderful friends, some excellent experiences, and the opportunity to study music simply because I love it. It was a warm, nurturing place to go to college. Today, almost 24 years after I graduated, I still reap the benefits of my four years there.
I have written about my college admissions experiences before, but I'm going to briefly repeat the tale for anyone out there in Internet land who is currently experiencing the pain of rejection from college. I'm inspired to write about this after reading an article in the Boston Globe about the immense pressure high school seniors are dealing with at this time of year. It takes me back to the spring of 1990, when I was myself trying to find a place to go to school.
I may call myself "The Overeducated Housewife", but the simple truth is, I was a very ordinary student. I didn't earn great grades in high school and didn't have super high SAT scores. I did do well on standardized tests, particularly in writing. However, I was a singularly unimpressive student in high school, even in English class. I would get praises for my writing, but I didn't care enough about the books we were reading to put a lot of effort into my papers. Consequently, I earned average grades.
My parents, who had already raised my three sisters, didn't really care too much about my performance. I got through high school pretty much on my own efforts, with lots of Bs and Cs and the occasional D. I remember working hard in school, particularly in my math and science classes, but not as hard as I probably should have. I didn't have any extra help, nor did I have anyone pushing me to excel. I was also completely unmedicated, which isn't a bad thing, but I think if I had grown up ten years later, I probably would have taken meds for depression or perhaps ADD. I was encouraged to get good grades, but it was entirely up to me to accomplish that. I didn't really know how.
In high school, I spent most of my free time riding horses. I did do well in that activity, although I wasn't particularly talented. My success in riding was mainly due to my fabulous pony, Rusty, a dedicated riding coach, and a lot of dogged hard work. I was definitely not "born in the saddle".
When it came time to decide on a college, I had sort of a beer budget and champagne tastes on every level. I didn't have the money to consider attending private schools. I didn't have the grades or impressive resume to consider trying to get scholarships or applying to super competitive schools. My mother, ever the pragmatist, told me I shouldn't bother applying to the one school I really wanted to attend. She didn't think I'd get in there. She was right. In fact, Longwood was the ONLY school out of the four I applied to that accepted me.
Looking back on it, I think I would have had more choices if I had applied to a couple more schools. The other three that I'd applied to, besides Longwood, were in a slightly higher league– too high for me at the time. I do think I would have ultimately succeeded if I had gotten into any of the other three schools, but they were very popular choices among my peers. My crummy grades and mediocre test scores were simply not competitive enough and I got the dreaded rejection letters. Even Longwood accepted me conditionally, mainly because I was struggling in math. Fortunately, I had a wonderful math teacher my senior year who made sure I got through with the required C.
My trend of mediocre academic performances mostly continued at Longwood. I never once made the Dean's List; however, I did blossom in other ways. It was at Longwood that I finally started doing what I was probably born to do.
People who knew me when I was growing up didn't know that I could sing. My mom knew that I had absolute (perfect) pitch, because I took piano lessons when I was very young. My piano teacher noticed I could name pitches without a reference note. But I would never sing in front of anyone because I was (and still am) very sensitive to bad singing. I knew I could sing on key, but didn't think I sounded particularly good. So I wouldn't sing in front of other people, and was never encouraged to try. My parents were both musicians, though, so it makes sense that I'd have a knack for music.
To earn a bachelor of arts degree at Longwood, I needed to take a course in one of the fine arts. I chose music appreciation and a one credit voice class. I ended up excelling in the voice class and my teacher invited me to study privately. Before I knew it, I had joined Longwood's Camerata Singers, which required an audition. I was soon singing with people who had been in choirs all through high school. That experience was truly life changing for me. Making music is now something I do most days, even if not many people hear my efforts. It's made me a much happier person.
It may seem like a minor thing now, but that one voice class opened up a whole new world to me. I only wish I had taken it sooner. I might have majored in music instead of English. I both excelled in and loved my music classes. I got straight As in them, with the lone exception of that one music appreciation class I took. By contrast, I was a mediocre English major, except when I took writing classes. In my writing classes, I excelled like I did in music.
It was an adjunct music professor at Longwood who cared enough about me to encourage me to study music, even if she couldn't persuade me to change my major. I can't help but wonder if I would have gotten the same attention at any of the other schools I had considered. Looking back on it, it seems as if I was destined to go to Longwood. Maybe I wasn't a superstar student, but I think I flourished there. Even today, I communicate with professors who knew me in the 90s. My husband, Bill, attended much more prestigious American University and he hasn't seen or spoken to any of his former professors since the 80s. Sometimes, the less famous college offers a better value. I know I've often mused about how much more I got out of my time at Longwood than I did the University of South Carolina.
After Longwood, I joined the Peace Corps kind of on a whim. I was soon exposed to people from other parts of the country and then the Republic of Armenia, a place that had been mostly off limits to Americans only four years prior to my arrival. I used my music skills a lot in Armenia. Then I went to graduate school and earned those two master's degrees that I don't use… which became the reason I call myself "overeducated". Still, I recognize that I was able to compete with people who went to "better" schools, both as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a graduate student. I don't regret any of those experiences now, but sometimes I wonder how in the world I ended up here. In some ways, I have been extraordinarily lucky. I often feel kind of like a fraud, but I know deep down that I'm not one.
I empathize with high school seniors who are now dealing with the hell of trying to get into college. I don't envy them at all. They're dealing with so many things that I didn't have to deal with. Life has gotten super competitive on many levels. I thought it was bad in 1990, but my generation had nothing on their generation.
It's harder and more expensive to go to college these days. So many young people are racking up huge debts, and competition for well-paid work is stiff. Young people are having to worry about gun toting lunatics invading their schools and killing random people. We have a total buffoon in the White House who doesn't care about anything but making rich people even richer (ETA: Remember, I am writing about Trump, not Biden).
I don't envy you young folks at all, although I am very impressed by how young people are standing up and making their voices heard. And young people today are doing such incredible things… things that perfectly average, mediocre people can't conceive of doing. I would imagine that the pressure to stand out must be insane… and yet it gets harder and harder every year.
I'm impressed by that insane drive to succeed that some young people have, but I have a heart for those who were perfectly average folks like me. It's true that life is not a dress rehearsal, but most people end up okay, even if they aren't stars. These years on the brink of adulthood can be tough going, but eventually, most people come to a place where grades and test scores no longer matter. So take heart. There's life beyond the spring of your senior year. You just have to get through it and keep your eyes on the prize.
A musical project I completed at the time I wrote this piece. Lately, I've focused more on playing guitar than singing. I'm better at singing than guitar playing, though.
healthcare, history, nostalgia
Repost: Remembering David Vetter, the boy in the plastic bubble…
May 19, 2021 knottyaplastic anemia, Armenian earthquake of 1988, David Vetter, high school, John Travolta, Mike Haury, nostlalgia, rare genetic diseases, repost, severe combined immunodeficiency, Ted DeVita Leave a comment
This post originally appeared on January 31, 2016. I am reposting it as/is today because it accompanies a book review I will repost after this.
The 70s and 80s were an interesting time to grow up. They don't seem like they were that long ago to me, but now that I've reached middle age, I can say with honesty that they were. One story that intrigued millions of people when I was growing up was the story of David Vetter.
David Phillip Vetter was born on September 21, 1971, about the time my parents conceived me. He was from Conroe, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He had an older brother, David Joseph Vetter III, who died the year prior to his birth. Both David and his brother had a genetic disease called SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency). It meant that they were born without immune systems that could effectively fight off infections. The slightest illness could be fatal to someone with SCID.
A program about David Vetter.
Because David had this disease at a time before there was a treatment for it, he was forced to spend all but two weeks of his life in a plastic bubble. I distinctly remember hearing and reading about David. I also remember the 1976 film John Travolta, Robert Reed, and Diana Hyland famously starred in called The Boy in The Plastic Bubble. I saw the movie many times when I was growing up. It was based on the real life story of Ted DeVita, a teenager who had severe aplastic anemia. Ted DeVita lived in a sterile hospital room for over eight years. DeVita's and Vetter's experiences were fascinating to people all over the world. DeVita died in 1980 of iron overload, caused by too many blood transfusions.
A preview of John Travolta's movie loosely based on David Vetter's case. At this writing, you can see the whole thing on YouTube.
I'm reminded of David's story this morning. There was a link to a New York Times retro report on my Facebook feed. Though I hadn't thought about David Vetter in a very long time, I quickly found myself recalling him as I watched the 12 minute video and read the accompanying article.
Had he lived, David would be my age. He had a bone marrow transplant that initially worked. Unfortunately, the marrow had a dormant strain of the Epstein Barr virus in it. The virus activated and David ended up with a virulent cancer that overwhelmed his body. He died on February 22, 1984.
On David's grave, the epitaph reads "He never touched the world… but the world was touched by him." Even now, knowing that children with SCID are no longer kept in plastic bubbles, I can't help but wonder what life would have been like for David had he managed to become an adult. Though he was able to accomplish a lot in his twelve years and provided science and medicine with new knowledge about a rare disease, there were so many things he couldn't do.
A New York Times video about David Vetter.
NASA made David a space suit, which he wore a handful of times. The suit allowed him to emerge from the bubble, though he remained tethered to it by an eight foot long cloth tube. He never felt his mother's kiss until he emerged from the bubble for the bone marrow transplant. He never would have been able to have sex. I even wonder if he ever saw a dentist… though, I guess if you live in a sterile environment, bacteria is not an issue. Doctors worried what life would be like for David if he made it to teenhood or even adulthood. Would he be able to tolerate life in the plastic bubble for en entire normal lifespan?
I am amazed by what David Vetter's twelve years on earth did for the advancement of science, ethics, and medicine. I am also amazed at how old I am now. It seems like yesterday, I was just a youngster. I look at those photos and videos of David Vetter in his germ free environment, knowing that was state of the art medicine for the 1970s and 80s. What happened to him then would never work today. Nowadays, kids who are identified with SCID before they get sick are given bone marrow transplants. In fact, in the video posted with the New York Times story, there is even a story about a woman whose son had SCID identified in utero. He had a bone marrow transplant before he was even born.
When I was in high school, one of the most popular guys school developed aplastic anemia. He ended up going to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he died just weeks later. The day Mike Haury died was coincidentally also the day 55,000 Armenians died in a massive earthquake… December 7, 1988. I have read that aplastic anemia is now much more successfully treated than it was in the 80s. Again, it just doesn't seem like it was that long ago. I guess it was.
Edited to add: Although I know that COVID-19 life is nothing like it must have been for David Vetter, in a weird way, the constant focus on contagion and masking kind of reminds me of him. I'm looking forward to having the next vaccine.
education, poor judgment, stupid people, true crime
I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record!
March 17, 2021 knottycheerleaders, computer crimes, crazy moms, cybercrimes, deep fakes, Felicity Huffman, Florida, fraud, harassment, high school, Laura Rose Carroll, Lori Loughlin, Pennsylvania, permanent records, Rafaela Spone, true crimes, Violent Femmes, Wanda Holloway 3 Comments
Good morning, y'all… It's my third Wednesday as a pseudo single person. Bill is supposed to come home sometime between tomorrow night and Friday night. Originally, the plan was for him to come back Friday night, but he needs to get a new ID card or he can't work. Our cards expire on the 23rd, even though we just updated them in September. Bill is now on a new contract and that means new cards. Come to think of it, before long, I'll also need a new regular military ID– the one I'd use in the USA if we were there.
In any case, Bill tried to get a new card made at an installation somewhat close to where he is right now, but that office ran out of ID cards on the day he was going to go. The other ID office near his current location is closed until the 29th. So then Bill said maybe he'd come home on Thursday night and get new cards made in Wiesbaden. I assume he'd be taking me, too, since I also need a new card, not that I spend any time on the installation during the COVID-19 mess. But then last night, he said getting one in Wiesbaden is also not possible. So now he says he will try to get one in Hohenfels, which was his original plan. Maybe they have a restock of IDs by now. If he does that, he says maybe he'll be home Friday morning. That would be good.
It occurs to me how lucky we are to like each other so much. Yes, we love each other, but we also LIKE each other a lot. And we miss each other when we aren't together. Bill's business trips are boring for both of us. Sometimes I go with him, but then I end up hanging out by myself all day in a hotel room or wandering aimlessly. I am actually glad I got to go with him to Poland in November 2019, though. That was a pretty interesting trip. It would have been even better if we could have driven ourselves there rather than flown.
Anyway… on to today's topic. I cannot, for the life of me, understand the mentality of some people– mothers especially– who feel the need to commit crimes on behalf of their children. Especially crimes that are more about their egos than preserving life or limb. I mean, I can understand a woman going all "mama bear" on someone who literally threatens or hurts her child somehow. But what about the moms who feel like they need to engage in fraud, harassment, or computer crimes to make sure her little darling(s) is/are on top of the heap? We've spent the last two years hearing about Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin committing fraud and cheating to get their daughters into good schools. But more ordinary moms of more modest means also commit these crimes on behalf of their children.
I ran across two such stories yesterday involving meddlesome moms who are now in legal trouble because they couldn't or wouldn't let their daughters achieve things on their own. In one case, the mom and daughter were both involved and BOTH of them got arrested. I'm sure that will look good on the girl's permanent record.
Meet Raffaela Spone, a 50 year old mom from Chalfont, Pennsylvania. She is currently facing misdemeanor charges for producing "deep fake" nudes of her daughters' rivals on her high school cheerleading team. Ms. Spone was arrested on March 5, having been charged with three counts of cyber harassment of a child and three counts of harassment. In her mug shot, she stares blank faced at the camera, her heavily lined eyes glaring, her thin, maroon lips pursed into a line. She wears a chartreuse colored top and a necklace, indicating that fashion and looking snappy is important to her.
Ms. Spone allegedly doctored photos of her daughters' rivals on a Doylestown area cheerleading team, creating realistic looking images that make it look like the girls were photographed nude, vaping, or drinking beer in bikinis. She sent these fake photos to cheerleading coaches in an effort to get the girls kicked off their team. She also texted the photos to the girls themselves and suggested that at least one of them should kill herself. The three victimized girls were all on the same team as Spone's daughter, but investigators don't think she had anything to do with the harassment or was aware of what her mother was doing.
A case like this has all the trappings of a Lifetime movie. In fact, back in the 1993, HBO made a satirical movie about Wanda Holloway, a mother in Texas who actually hired a hitman to kill her daughter's cheerleading rival. Fortunately, the would be hitman turned Wanda in and the plot failed. In that film rendition, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, Holly Hunter played Wanda Holloway. In 1992, ABC also made a movie about Wanda Holloway, Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story, with Lesley Ann Warren playing Wanda. I haven't seen either film. Maybe I'll seek them out today.
I wonder if Raffaela Spone thinks someone might portray her on film someday. I'm sure Lifetime would be all over it. At least in this case, no one was physically hurt and murder was never on the table. If she is convicted, Raffaela Spone could spend six months to a year in prison. Mitigating matters is the fact that in one of the doctored photos that was supposed to appear to be a nude, Spone had digitally removed the bikini in the photo and overlaid flesh colored bars that gave the photo a "Barbie doll" effect, with no genitalia showing. Had anything private been showing, Spone would be facing much more serious charges.
Meanwhile, I'm sure everyone in their town now knows who Spone's daughter is, even though she wasn't implicated in the case. In her quest to cheat for her daughter, Spone has made things much worse for her. Even though the daughter wasn't involved, her permanent record now has a blight. Hopefully, the people of that community are empathetic. I can only imagine Spone is probably a nightmare when she's behind closed doors, particularly if she's willing to go to these lengths to cheat for her daughter.
We now move south to Florida, where a 17 year old high school student and her mother, Laura Rose Carroll, who also happens to be an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, have been arrested for hacking the school's computer system. Ms. Carroll is alleged to have logged into the school's computer system and casted 246 votes for her daughter, who was on the Homecoming Court. Ms. Carroll's efforts, had they not been discovered, would have resulted in her daughter winning the contest under false pretenses.
The list of charges against Laura Rose Carroll and her daughter is long. According to The Hill, "the mother and daughter will be charged with offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, criminal use of personally identifiable information and conspiracy to commit these offenses." Arrest records also indicate that Ms. Carroll's daughter also had improper access to her mother's "FOCUS" account. I'm assuming that FOCUS is some kind of school computer system that has all of the permanent records of the students in the school system. Naturally, that would include personal information that should not be accessible to anyone who doesn't specifically need access to such personal and confidential information. A witness claims that the daughter had access to the FOCUS account for a long time and use it frequently to get information about test scores and grades. The daughter also allegedly divulged private information about other students to her friends.
Given who Ms. Carroll is, it's highly likely that everyone knows who her daughter is, despite her name not being printed in the media due to her age. Not knowing anything at all about this duo and not finding the news articles about them particularly illuminating, I wonder what the conditions were that led to this mother-daughter crime spree. Which one of them is the more toxically ambitious of the two? Is it mom who wants to see her daughter crowned in a means to stroke her own ego and, perhaps, vicariously live through her daughter's achievements, even if they were ill gotten? Or is it the daughter who convinced her mother to help her cheat? It will be interesting to see if the media reveals any more details about this case.
I suspect Ms. Carroll is now unemployed. If she's not unemployed yet, she probably will be very soon. Her bond was set at $8500, while her daughter was carted off to juvenile hall. I wonder if it was worth it to them.
These cases make me appreciate my mom more. I mean, hell, my mom won a beauty contest when she was 16 years old. I'm sure she would have loved it if I had been pretty and popular instead of outspoken and obnoxious. Fortunately, my mom is not ambitious for anyone but herself, and she pretty much stayed out of my life once I was at puberty. She stuck to paying the bills and encouraging me to get a job and GTFO on my own. She sure as hell wasn't involved in my horse shows, which was what I was doing when I was a teen. She didn't even look at my report cards. At the time, I thought that made her uncaring, but now I think she did me a solid. Anything I achieved, I did so legitimately and mostly on my own. At least neither of us were ever arrested for cheating or harassment or any other embarrassing misdeed that would have wound up on my permanent record. I have the satisfaction of knowing I can do things on my own… which I've been unhappily proving for almost three weeks now.
On another note… for some reason, as I type this, I am reminded of this classic song by Violent Femmes… the album this song comes from never ages, even though the lead singer can't sing. What he has is vocal charisma. I'm sure it's served him well over the years.
"I hope you know that this will go down on your PERMANENT RECORD!" Oh yeah?
memories, mental health, true crime
I wouldn't want to go back to high school… would you?
January 5, 2021 knottyCobra Kai, Facebook, high school, Jeff Maysh, mental illness, strange stories, The Atlantic, true crime 8 Comments
Yesterday, I was binge watching the third season of Cobra Kai. It was a YouTube Premium show, but now it's on Netflix, which makes it nice for me. Now, I don't have to wait for it to show up on iTunes. Watching the third season of Cobra Kai led to my having some rather vivid dreams this morning, but happily, they weren't nightmares. I was actually kind of afraid I would have bad dreams, because the last episode had many snakes in it. I don't hate snakes… I think they're misunderstood. But I would not want to fall into a snake pit, either. Yikes!
Anyway, as I was watching Cobra Kai, I noticed an article that was being re-shared by The Atlantic magazine. It was originally posted July 6, 2016 by Jeff Maysh, and it was titled "Why One Woman Pretended to Be a High-School Cheerleader". I was intrigued, especially since in 2016, we neither had Donald Trump as president nor any worries about COVID-19. I figured it was the perfect thing to read as the headlines grow more alarming.
Maysh's story was about a woman named Wendy Brown, who in 2008, decided to pose as a high school student at Ashwaubenon High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Although many of us would like to forget our high school years, Wendy Brown had wanted a do-over ever since she'd quit school in the early 1990s.
Wendy had two children, Joey and Jaimi. At the time of Wendy's strange trip back to high school in Wisconsin, her children were enrolled in a high school in Nevada, where they were being cared for by Brown's parents, Joe and Judith. Joey, named after Wendy's dad, was conceived when Wendy Brown was a high school student at Harold L. Richards High School in Illinois, where she was on the track team. When Wendy started throwing up after races, her mother suspected she was pregnant. Sure enough, she was, and she delivered her son on her 17th birthday. Her son's father abandoned them both, and Wendy's school career abruptly stalled.
Three months later, Wendy got pregnant again, this time by another boy. Her daughter, Jaimi, was born nine months later. High school had been a misery for Wendy, and she'd never managed to finish. Besides being pregnant when she was a teen, Wendy also had a speech impediment that caused her to mispronounce words her r's. Instead of saying "rabbit", she'd say "wabbit". Other kids made fun of her.
Making matters worse was the fact that Wendy had siblings who did comparatively well in school. She had a younger sister named Jennifer, who was a social butterfly and a cheerleader. She had an older brother who was a football player. Both got through high school unscathed, while Wendy floundered. She was very jealous of Jennifer, who got to wear the school's black and gold colors on her cheerleading uniform and seemed to have a great life.
Throughout her 20s, Wendy drifted through dead end jobs at discount stores like Walmart and K-Mart. She waited tables and worked in fast food places. She'd even worked as a stripper as she migrated from state to state. Stripping turned out to be her longest lasting paying gig.
Freshly married in June 2006, Wendy and her new husband went six months before domestic violence became a problem. In Cass County, Illinois, where Wendy was living when she was first married, the police were frequently called to their home to break up their fights. Wendy's husband would lose his temper and knock out all of the windows in the home.
In 2008, the pair moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, while Wendy's kids moved to Nevada. Wendy had an old friend who lived there and she thought maybe she and her husband could make a fresh start. They rented a small apartment near Ashwaubenon High School. Wendy could hear the football team practice. She was sad that her children weren't living with her anymore, and was feeling hopeless. That's when she got the idea to go back to high school, posing as a fifteen year old kid and prospective cheerleader.
Wendy was a very petite woman who could pass for fifteen. She weighed just 103 pounds and easily fit into junior sized clothes. She put on a girlish speaking voice, styled her hair the way kids in 2008 did, and bought herself a new bookbag. She enrolled in school by herself, telling the guidance counselor that her name was Jaimi and her mom was "hard to reach" when she was at work. The counselor apparently took Wendy (posing as Jaimi) at her word, and for a several weeks, Wendy went to classes and even tried out for the cheerleading team, which she made. She also got into a choral group, in which the teacher noted her unusually "mature" singing voice. It was hard for Wendy to get used to being called by her daughter's name, Jaimi. One time, a teacher called on Wendy three times before she realized she was being addressed. The teacher chalked it up to Wendy "daydreaming" because she was new.
Wendy Brown's ruse was destined to fail. She got busted for truancy when she didn't return to school after her first day. One of the principals called the school where Wendy had noted she had studied previously– the school in Nevada where her daughter, Jaimi, was a student. The staff there informed Ashwaubenon High School's associate principal that Jaimi was in school in Nevada. The principal called the real Jaimi's grandmother, who explained that her daughter, Wendy, had a history of committing identity thefts. Meanwhile, Wendy had posed as the manager at her apartment building and ripped off a security deposit from a prospective renter.
In the end, Wendy wound up being found not guilty "by reason of mental disease or defect" to a charge of identity theft. She was subsequently committed to the Winnebago mental health facility in Wisconsin for three years, having been diagnosed with bi-polar II disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and two personality disorders. While she was locked up, Wendy was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent chemotherapy and two surgeries, all alone. She also divorced her husband and earned her G.E.D., but was not able to get her certificate until after she was released from the psychiatric hospital where she was incarcerated.
Apparently, all she'd really wanted was a "do-over" of her high school years. And although this case was very embarrassing to the staff at Ashwaubenon High School, no real harm had been done. No one at the school wanted to speak to Jeff Maysh about this case, though. Sadly, Wendy's children were also estranged from her, as of 2016, and Wendy had yet to meet her grandchild.
There's more to this story, of course, and you can read it for yourself. I was left kind of flabbergasted when I read it. I suppose there are times when I kind of miss high school a little. Those were simpler days, and I spent a lot of them hanging out with my horse. On the other hand, they weren't the happiest of times for me, and I didn't have a particularly enjoyable experience in high school. I mean, on one hand, it's kind of exciting because that's when you start making plans for your future. You have your whole life ahead of you. On the other hand, it's also when a lot of youngsters are insecure and immature, and if you're not "popular", it can be a lonely time.
Me in high school, aged 17… That hair is killer.
I also would not want to go back to living with my parents. Wendy Brown didn't do that, of course. She would fake being a teen by day, then go home to her depressing apartment and be a wife to her abusive husband. But the idea of going back to high school, even if I could do it as an actual teen, doesn't really appeal to me much. The only thing I might have done differently was take some different courses and study music. But if I had done that, I wouldn't be where I am today. Things might have turned out very differently. Maybe they would have been better. Maybe they would have been worse.
Anyway… I don't know why The Atlantic is currently sharing these old stories on Facebook. I'm glad they did share that one, though, because it was a nice distraction from politics yesterday, and I've only been a subscriber for about a year. And it gave me a reminder that I'd rather be 48 than 15 again, even though it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was in high school. I think today's students have it a hell of a lot worse than I did. For one thing, we didn't have school shootings. For another, COVID-19 wasn't a thing, either. Neither was social media, for that matter. I think Facebook probably makes high school much worse.
You can't lick our Cocks…
May 3, 2020 knottycollege, feeling bitchy, football, graduate school, high school, mascots, sexism, sexists, silliness, testicles
This morning, as I was sitting here thinking about what I wanted to write about today, I remembered a post I wrote for my original blog back in March 2015. At that point, we had only been in Stuttgart for about nine months. I was a member of way too many local Facebook groups. There was a lot of drama in those groups… drama that I haven't seen up here in Wiesbaden. In many ways, I enjoy the lack of drama because I don't end up nearly as annoyed or upset as I regularly did in Stuttgart. On the other hand, I almost never lacked for topics to write about.
Back in March 2015, the American high school for the children of military and government service members, Patch High School, was still located on Patch Barracks. The Stuttgart area high school has since moved to Panzer Kaserne, as a brand new facility was built and opened in the fall of 2015. The new high school's mascot is the Panther, as it was for Patch High School. However, the community sports team's mascot was the stallion, as is the mascot for Patch Elementary School.
A flag with the famous Stuttgart stallion on it.
The choice of a stallion as a mascot was locally significant, since Stuttgart's coat of arms has a stallion on it. Car buffs might also notice that Porsche, which is a sports car brand made and based in Stuttgart, also has a horse on its logo. Sometime in the past, when it came time to name the local sports team's mascot, someone decided on the stallion. The teams for the female athletes were known as "Lady Stallions". Back in March 2015, the local sports team coordinators were looking for people to join the "Lady Stallions" softball team.
I am a lover of words. I'm also a lover of horses. A stallion is, by definition, an uncastrated male horse. Because I was feeling saucy, I mentioned this fact in a snarky Facebook group I used to be part of back in the day. Some brave soul decided to share my thoughts with the sports team coordinator, who wrote this cranky response:
I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume that Ms. ****** has no prior experience or dealings with OCONUS community level sports. We did not name ourselves Stallions. That is the mascot for the Stuttgart community, therefore we don't have the authority nor the desire to change it simply because a stallion is a male horse. Every community level sport here has a men's team and a women's team, both of which are Stallions. Just like any other community… Lady Rams, Sabres, Mustangs, Generals, etc. So, if there is more concern about what we are called than actually playing the sport, that is not someone who we are looking to add to the team.
Well excuuuuuuseeee ME!!!
I was amused by the bitchy response, which wasn't directed to me personally, but to the woman who had decided to comment that stallions are, in fact, male horses by definition. But then I started thinking about it some more. I wrote this in my original blog:
Okay, fair enough… but have they considered what makes a stallion a stallion? I used to judge horses and I've seen quite a few sets of stallion genitalia. They have balls the size of grapefruits. They have very impressive penises, too. I was thinking about including a photo for reference, but given that apparently a lot of people like to use horses for their own twisted fantasies, I decided against it.
Notice that the person who responded lists examples of other "lady" teams as "proof" that Stuttgart is not the only area where a mascot is obviously male, yet has teams designated for the ladies. But only one of her examples isn't gender neutral. One can be a female mustang or general, for instance, though I don't think sabres actually have genders. I do realize, though, that sexist mascots are very common.
My high school's mascot, the Duke of Gloucester– hence the Gloucester Dukes.
Now, at my high school, our mascot was "The Dukes". No, it wasn't because of the Dukes of Hazzard; it was because of the Duke of Gloucester. If you grow up near Yorktown, Virginia, you quickly become acquainted with the names of people who were important in the American Revolution. And yes, we did have "Lady Dukes" instead of Duchesses.
Long, hard, and pointy… just like something else we all know…
After I graduated from Gloucester High School, I went to Longwood College– now known as Longwood University. Our mascot was, and still is, the Lancers. Back when I was a student, we didn't have an actual mascot. Now, there's Elwood, who is a horse. Longwood was an all women's school until 1976. Still, we have a rather phallic looking symbol on our mascot…
Elwood the horse… He didn't exist when I went to Longwood. I guess the sports teams have gotten better since the 90s.
It wasn't lost on me that my college had a rather phallic mascot. I mean, the horse isn't so much… except that I think Elwood is male, and if he's a stallion, he's got impressive genitalia. Trust me, I've seen a lot of equine genitalia.
I used to have this sticker on my car. I had to remove it due to force protection rules.
So then I went to the University of South Carolina, where the mascot is the Gamecock. Gamecocks are fighting roosters. Roosters are males. I remember that the female athletes at my graduate school were not known as Hens, but Lady Gamecocks. And, in fact, they were all collectively referred to as "Cocks". I have a Facebook friend who went to the University of South Carolina as an undergraduate. I like to tease him by writing "Go Cocks" on his posts.
I used to wear a garnet colored t-shirt that read, "You can't lick our Cocks." It looked just like today's featured photo looks. Unfortunately, back at that time, it was just before Lou Holtz took over coaching the football team and, in fact, a whole lot of other teams "licked our Cocks" quite soundly. Like Lou Holtz, I started my time at USC in 1999, and Mr. Holtz was indeed able to turn the football team around. They became a very formidable force that year. Lou Holtz left USC in 2004, having vastly improved their stats.
I don't actually follow football or any other sports. I just think it's interesting that so many sports teams are named after male animals, and a lot of those names end up being shortened to references to genitalia. Especially when you consider what happens when when a male gets hit in that part of the body…
3:22… that was all she wrote for that fight. OUCH!
Sheesh! Game over!
Given this obvious weakness in a male's anatomy, I wonder why we glorify a male's genitals in sports contests and in naming sports teams. What's wrong with having a team called the Stuttgart Mares? Mares are pretty tough. And when they get hit in the genitals, it probably doesn't hurt as much.
This mare looks like she can handle herself quite well.
Anyway… I'm glad that Stuttgart's high school has adopted a gender neutral mascot in their Panthers. Here in Wiesbaden, the mascot is a nice, somewhat gender neutral Warrior. I guess there are female warriors out there, right? When I went looking to find the featured photo for today's post, I found a picture of the t-shirt I used to own. I also found a lot of x-rated photos of the slang use of the word "cock". It's not just for male chickens, that's for damned sure.
Actually, I'm reminded of something funny from my glory days in high school. Back then, Gloucester County still played in the AA league, which meant our school was considered "smaller". It has since moved to the AAA league– I think that happened the year after my graduation. Teams were playing bigger schools in Hampton and Newport News and, unfortunately, getting soundly beaten a lot. But my senior year, we were still AA, and for Homecoming that year, we played the Bruton Panthers. Bruton is a small community in York County, near Williamsburg. Anyway… I distinctly remember my friends trying to come up with fight slogans for the floats in the Homecoming parade– you know, things like "Pierce the Panthers" or "Pop the Panthers". One of my grosser male friends suggested "Panther Pap Smear". Knowing my friends, I'm surprised no one suggested "Pork the Panthers".


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A Ranking Of Beyonce's 'I Am…Sasha Fierce' Deluxe Tracklist
November 18, 2018 November 19, 2018 ~ Princess Gabbara	~ Leave a comment
Credit: Tidal
With two wildly successful solo albums and 10 Grammy wins already behind her, Beyoncé's desire to grow as an artist led her to experiment with new concepts and genres on 2008's I Am… Sasha Fierce, including folk ("If I Were a Boy"), alternative rock ("Smash Into You") and electropop ("Sweet Dreams").
Beyoncé, a true renaissance woman, is notoriously private in interviews, leaving the Beyhive to wonder what the superstar is like off stage. Luckily for us, the hardest-working woman in show business made a conscious effort to give fans a glimpse into her world on her third studio LP, I Am… Sasha Fierce– a double-disc album intended to show off the two facets of Beyoncé's personality. The I Am… disc consists of all stripped-down ballads, whilst the edgy material on Sasha Fierce boasts Bey's sexy alter ego and reinforces female empowerment.
"I know that people see celebrities, and they seem like they're so perfect—they seem like their life is so great, and they have money and fame," Beyoncé told MTV News at the time of the album's release. "But I'm a human being. I cry. I'm very passionate and sensitive. My feelings get hurt. I get scared and nervous like everyone else. And I wanted to show that about myself."
The entertainer's transparency was rewarded in the coming weeks, months and years. Debuting atop the Billboard 200, I Am… Sasha Fierce sold 482,000 units in its first week and went on to sell over eight million copies worldwide. In addition, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and racked up a record-breaking six Grammy awards in one night, including Song of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)."
To celebrate I Am… Sasha Fierce's 10th anniversary, VIBE ranked every song on the album's deluxe edition.
Read my latest story for Vibe [here].


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Why a long autonomy is not a good idea in an electric car
According to Ademe, a battery that is too large reduces the interest of the electric vehicle economical and ecological.
A few days before the opening of the Paris Motor Show, Ademe, the ecological transition agency, gave its "opinion on the electric vehicle". For her, the electrification of the automobile fleet is an "essential lever" to decarbonise transport.
But Ademe reminds that the electric car is obviously not carbon neutral and you have to pay attention to its formula to have a more interesting pollution balance than a thermal model. Criterion number 1 is battery size, which should be reasonable. Ademe therefore recommends not exceeding 60 kWh.
With fast charging, costs skyrocket
Next, "an electric car circulating in France has a carbon impact two to three times lower than that of a similar thermal model." Beyond that, the environmental interest will not be guaranteed. In question: the natural resources required and the weight of the vehicle. The larger the battery, the heavier the car, which will increase consumption. Ademe estimates that, compared to a diesel model, "the carbon debt is amortized after about 15,000 km" for an electric city car, while it will be after 100,000 km for a high-end electric SUV.
Data never seen before about the electric car in France
A battery of up to 60 kWh also has an economic advantage. Always according to Ademe's analysis, a model with a battery of around 60 kWh will have, throughout its useful life, a total cost lower than that of a comparable thermal battery. Please note, however: this is valid in case of charging at home.
In this case, the agency estimates the cost price of electricity at €10 to travel 300 km. With a thermal, it would be more like €30. The problem comes from fast charging: the bill would go up to €40! Ademe is also not at all in favor of fast charging, which raises concerns in terms of infrastructure and electricity demand.
The agency points out that "recharging a 60 kWh battery in two minutes like refueling a thermal vehicle would mean a power demand of 1.8 MW of electricity, that is, the equivalent of the average electrical power demanded simultaneously by 1,500 homes".
For long distances, take the train!
In summary, Ademe therefore advocates urban or compact electric cars, which remain light thanks to a reasonable battery, lighter still going to the essentials in terms of equipment, and that are recharged at home, at the right time of day… that is to say the night!
Therefore, electricity must meet the expectations of those who need an electric car on a daily basis. With 60 kWh, a family model today has a range of around 450 km, more than enough to go to work during the week and make weekend getaways. And improving efficiency, we can have more autonomy from 60 kWh, or stay at 450 km by reducing the size of the battery.
The deployment of long-range vehicles, of 600 km or more, associated with ultra-fast charging stations "raises many questions: carbon impact, energy prices and vehicles that are not accessible to most households, reinforcement of the electricity grid… " and that it would only correspond to occasional needs.
The Ademe, therefore, invites us to rethink the use of the car. According to its formula, electric cannot replace thermal for all uses, it must become "a brick among a broader and more diversified range of mobility services". For long trips, it refers to public transport, in particular the train.
#long #autonomy #good #idea #electric #car


Bitcoin is a revolutionary, fast and cheap way to transfer money or make payments all over the internet. Just like email, you can send Bitcoin directly to the person you want to pay. For this reason Bitcoin is called a peer-to-peer currency and it is independent of national borders or any (central) banks. Unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin cannot be indefinitely created as it has a limited number of units. This makes Bitcoin very similar to gold or silver.
In 2008, the year of the beginning of the financial crisis, Satoshi Nakamoto (probably a pseudonym) published a paper explaining a new technology enabling the transfer of value from computer A to computer B in a safe and irreversible way. Early 2009 he distributed the first software for a digital currency easy to transfer all over the web.
Nobody prints Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a digital currency that has to be mined by powerful computers by means of complex algorithms. In this way, Bitcoin is independent from any central bank.
Investment – Some people find investing in Bitcoin a good idea. The total number of Bitcoin that can be mined is a fixed number. This means no inflationary risk for the value of your Bitcoin. However, the Bitcoin market is a true open market and the value of Bitcoin is determined by demand and supply and just like the value of any other good traded on exchanges it could suddenly drop.
Fast and cheap transactions all over the world – If you own a web shop it could be a good idea to accept Bitcoin as payment method. In this way you can reach a much larger number of users, because everyone on the Internet can easily pay you in Bitcoin. Also, you can accept Bitcoin if you are a "brick and mortar" shop. In this way you offer an alternative way of paying that can be used by everyone with a phone in his pocket. Many shops preceded you and some cities are even famous for the many retailers accepting crypto currency.
Help create a better world – Using Crypto currencies contributes to a better world. Many people around the world don't have access to traditional financial infrastructures. People in rural areas of developing countries simply don't have a bank where they live. But even in rich countries the lack of credit history for example, can make it difficult for someone to receive financial support. The access to Crypyo currency infrastructure is very simple: just an internet connection. In this way crowd funding projects are easily supported and microcredit can target directly individuals in need.
Bitcoin transactions respect your privacy. You don't need to send your personal information all over the web like with credit cards. That makes identity theft much more difficult and Bitcoin transactions much safer. However, Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. So make sure to send your Bitcoin to the right Bitcoin address.
You are the only owner of your Bitcoin. This ownership is published and settled on the blockchain. The blockchain is a distributed public ledger on the internet that keeps all the Bitcoin transactions listed. In this way double spending is prevented and you don't need a third party (for example a bank) to qualify your transactions as valid. With crypto currency you are your own bank.
I really want to use Bitcoin, but are they legal?
Yes, they are, at least in most countries. But they are not a so called legal tender. That means that you cannot pay your taxes with Bitcoin and you still have to change them in a legal tender like for example your national currency to do so (same as for gold).
Start using Bitcoin and empower your financial freedom!


We regularly respond to consultations that are relevant to the delivery of our work in Scotland. This page lists the consultations we've responded to and also the ones we support.
For further information, please contact our campaigns and policy manager Helen Todd at helen.todd@ramblers.org.uk.


BEST DAYS, LAST DAYS OR WARNING DAYS?
I'm sharing this video below to get your attention. Let's be honest about our condition, we are not in good shape as Americans. I challenge you to be honest about your own personal journey with Jesus Christ as it relates to your engaging faith in culture. PLEASE ADJUST YOUR SCHEDULE AND JOIN ME IN PRAYER THIS SUNDAY JUNE 28TH @ 5 P.M. AS WE FALL ON OUR KNEES AND SEEK THE MERCY OF GOD FOR OUR NATION.
On the brighter side of the reality of our times, I truly believe the best days could be ahead of America if we truly repent, change and go into our culture and win and infleunce people for God's kingdom purposes. God's mission for us is not to give up and let sin conquer any land, but rather for God's people to arise with His anointing and go forth and see a culture and nation transformed. I still believe it , do you? I believe our actions in prayer and our attention to the local church involvement tells that story better then anything that comes off our lips. I believe it's not too late, but before you make up your mind please watch the video below. All I could say was WOW!
Hope to see you all this Sunday !