For Vegan Protein smoothie, just blend powders, banana, water and ice. Mix and match to meet protein/calories levels that you need. To add of the powders, you will be making a very filling smoothie. Feel free to leave one or two of the powders out. Also please note the Sun warrior has added stevia, a natural sweetener. It tastes like an artificial sweetener but it very natural. If you don't want added sweetener, I recommend a double spoon of the Pea Protein instead. For my own body weight this smoothie (even with 3-4 protein powders) is more than 50 % the RDA of protein and I like to take this in the morning with any other vitamin supplements I am taking to have it done and dusted for the day.
P.S I have included Peanut butter cos it tastes great, but it often contains a fungus called Aflatoxin which depresses the immune, so I limit it and add in other nut butters as options.
Now lets compare to the average veggie breakfast….
Result : Protein Smoothie has roughly the same amount of calories and over 3 times more protein than the average veggie breakfast.


text:
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Z Nation, Season One, Episode Ten: Going Nuclear
At Northern Light, NSA Command Center, Citizen Z is searching for the team.
In the Black Hills, South Dakota, Warren leads the team, who are tired and frustrated. They pause when they see that Mt. Rushmore has been defaced and Murphy simply says that this is why they cannot have nice things. Doc is certain that it's the same people who defaced the liberty bell. Murphy is frustrated and demands that Warren admit that they are lost. They come across an installation of some sort and Doc uses a crow bar to open one of the buildings for the team. Cassandra makes it clear that she is not at all comfortable. Murphy finds a bottle of water and drinks it despite Doc's concerns. The team are forced to hide when a glow in the dark zombie starts to make its way towards them. Unfortunately, Murphy farts and this attracts the zombies attention. Doc swears that if he dies because Murphy farted, he will take the zombie with him. Doc manages to take out the zombie but it's not long before they realise the zombie was not alone. Warren moves to shoot but finds her gun is out of bullets. Two people burst in the door and start shooting and warn the team not to touch the zombies because the zombies are radioactive.
The team follow Wilbur and Amelia outside, to see a leaking nuclear power plant. Doc simply says, "it looks like it's going be another one of those days."
Wilbur and Amelia welcome the team to the tiny uninhabited town. When Wilbur starts to cough, Amelia reveals that he has radiation poisoning. Wilbur says that he is fine and offers to check the team out and give them some food. Later, Amelia hands out iodine pills. Wilbur assures the team that where they are is safe in terms of radiation but adds that the reactor is heating up, and it could lead to a blast, which would kill everything within a 300 mile radius. Murphy being Murphy, announces that they have places to be and starts to gather his things. Wilbur informs Murphy that every vehicle in town is gone. Murphy suggests they start walking but Wilbur informs Murphy that he won't make it because the reactor is going to blow within 40 hours. Warren questions why Wilbur and Amelia are both still there and Wilbur explains that there is still a good chance to stop the reactor. Wilbur adds that he is already a goner, looking at his hand. Amelia explains that she is staying around to help her father and because she is a pilot, she can fly them out of the hot zone. Wilbur is quick to point out that there is only room for one passenger in the plane and that he has bullets for all of the team, instructing them not to get any ideas. Warren tells Wilbur and Amelia that Murphy is the only survivor of a zombie bite, making Murphy the last best hope for humanity. Wilbur laughs, so Murphy opens his shirt to reveal his scars. Doc tells Wilbur that a lot of people got killed getting Murphy this far and Warren asks for instructions to cool down the reactor.
Outside, Wilbur explains that he needs to get to the control room to figure out why the cooling rods aren't dropping down. Wilbur explains that he hasn't been able to get in there because it is surrounded by zombies. Wilbur explains that the team will be safe for two minutes of interacting with the zombies but warns that they are to keep the zombies far away because of the threat of contamination. Warren orders 10K to stay behind with Murphy, to get him to California if they don't make it. The team enters the cage and starts killing zombies, as Murphy limps his way through. Warren kills a zombie with her sword, in a method that even Michonne would have been jealous of. The team makes their way into the building, with Cassandra dragging Wilbur along. They escort Wilbur to an elevator and he informs them that they are out of time and must return to the safety of outside.
The team head outside, as Amelia gets on the radio to encourage her father to keep going. In the background, the warning siren continues to wail.
In the arctic, Citizen Z continues to send an automated message looking for the team.
Wilbur, still limping, makes his way outside and collapses in front of Amelia. Wilbur tells Amelia that he is not going to make it before dying. Seconds later, Wilbur turns into a zombie and Warren is forced to kill Wilbur.
Later, the siren continues to wail and Doc asks what they are supposed to do about it. Cassandra points out that they cannot run because they are still within the blast zone. Warren suggests that they head in but Doc argues that Wilbur was the only one who knew how to fix the reactor. Warren calls Wilbur a good man and asks if Amelia can shut the reactor down, if they protect her and Amelia reveals that Homer is the only guy who could shut this down. Homer however has been hiding in the woods since the apocalypse. Warren asks how they can find Homer but Amelia is adamant that Homer won't talk to them.
Later, Amelia leads the team into the woods and tells them they have to stop because Homer has the place bobby trapped. Warren consults 10K, who explains that Homer's traps are designed for Z's, suggesting that if they keep a sharp eye, they should be able to avoid the traps. The team heads in, after dividing into two. It's Warren, Doc and Murphy who find Homer. Homer knocks Doc to the ground and points his gun but is stopped by 10K, who puts a cutlass to Homer's throat.
Inside Homer's home, Homer calls Wilbur a good man. Homer is not very interested in helping but Warren talks him into it. Homer grabs a duffel bag, telling the team to load up. Murphy of course uncovers the booze and starts drinking, only to have Warren stop him. 10K examines the building plans for the reactor and Homer notices that one of 10K's weapons looks like one his son carried. Homer and 10K have a brief bonding moment.
Citizen Z continues to look for the team and pauses when he is contacted by a satellite phone. Warren is making her way back to the reactor, desperately calling Citizen Z. Out front of the reactor, Homer is traumatized to see a friend of his son's, who has been turned into a zombie. Homer says that he needs someone to back him up inside the reactor and Warren volunteers. Doc is not pleased and quickly points out that he is not capable of getting Murphy to California. The task falls to 10k and in the control room, Homer realises that something is physically blocking the insertion. Homer grabs a remote control device to get the rods moving. They watch by camera as the drone enters the reactor. Homer seems to greatly enjoy using the drone to blast the Z's. Unfortunately, the zombies pick the drone up off the ground and destroy it.
Outside, Murphy asks what they are to do now and Warren is quick to tell him that he is not being helpful. Homer says that he can do a manual scram and will need heavier suits to reach the control room. Homer explains that the suits are in the lab, not far from where they lost the drone, adding that four people can go in. Murphy asks what happens if the plan does not work and Warren asks Amelia to fly Murphy out of the radiation zone. Amelia admits that she lied to Wilbur and does not have enough fuel but adds that if she had a few gallons, she might be able to get herself and one other person out. Warren suggests converting the vodka to fuel. The team separates to handle their tasks.
10K leads a group back into the reactor, which is set to blow in forty minutes. They message Warren to let them know where they are. Warren is now at the plane with Murphy and Amelia. Amelia explains that they will head to Wyoming, as Warren begins to work. At the plane, Warren hands over some alcohol, explaining to Amelia that they are flying on vodka and not gas, meaning that the mileage might vary. Warren starts to say goodbye to Murphy, who snarks and so she tells him to be grateful for all of the sacrifices everyone has made. Warren starts to walk away and Murphy calls out to Warren and when she turns, he nods and acknowledges her statement. Amelia starts up the plane and Warren steps back to watch it take off.
In the sky, Murphy starts harassing Amelia to find out if they are there yet. Murphy suggests finding more fuel, so they can fly to California but Amelia points out that what they need is vodka because she does not know how to change the corroborator back.
Warren contacts the team inside and reports that Murphy is up in the air. Doc promises to see Warren on the way out.
Amelia questions if Murphy misses his friends, and he refers to them as foxhole buddies. Suddenly, they start to experience turbulence and the engine shuts right off. When we next see Murphy, he is crawling out of the plane which has crash landed. Murphy checks on Amelia, to find that she has turned into a zombie. Murphy struggles to find something to give Amelia mercy. By the time Murphy finds a rock, zombie Amelia has made her way outside of the plane and looks weirdly confused. Murphy starts walking and zombie Amelia begins to follow.
Outside, Warren looks for a vehicle to make their escape. Citizen Z contacts Warren and she asks about glowing zombies and Citizen tells Warren not to allow the zombie splatter anywhere near her. In the background, the siren continues to wail.
Inside the reactor, they have finally made their way to the core. Homer explains that he is going into the core by himself and 10K is insistent that Homer needs back up. The two are quickly attacked and a zombie bites into Homer's suit breaching it. 10k asks if there is something he can do, so Homer suggests that he add to his count. Homer adds that 10k is smart like his son Max was and wishes him better luck. Homer asks 10K to go on for all of them, living the life that Max never had. 10K helps Homer to his feet as a warning continues to sound about the radiation levels. In the center, Homer discovers that two rods didn't go down, instructing 10K not to drop him as he will blow up instantly.
Outside, Cassandra is very worried but Doc points out that they were at their limits and couldn't stay. Doc assures Cassandra that Homer knows what he is doing. Inside, 10K has begun lowering Homer down into the pool. They manage to release one bar and Homer instructs 10K to shoot him and leave once the reactor is fixed because he does not want to become a zombie.
Murphy continues to walk, carrying his bottle of vodka, as Amelia continues to follow. Murphy falls to his knees, thanking the universe for all of the shit he has been through. Zombie Amelia, simply stands a few paces back waiting for Murphy to get to his feet. Murphy tells Amelia that he does not give mercy, ordering her to go home. Murphy throws a rock at Amelia and while she looks bewildered for a moment, Amelia continues to follow Murphy.
In the reactor, Homer has managed to release the other rod and they get an all clear sign. 10K prepares to lift Homer and Homer asks 10K to shoot him now. 10K explains that he already killed his father and does not want to kill Homer as well. Homer simply releases himself into the pool and quickly turns into a zombie.
10K makes his way outside and starts to march away, with Cassandra and Doc hot on his heels. 10K is upset that he was unable to save Homer and Cassandra points out that 10K gave Homer mercy. Warren pulls up in the battery charged golf cart, saying that they are all safe. Doc suggests that they get back on the trail but question where to because Murphy is lost. Murphy makes his way back, saying that the vodka only made good fuel for ten minutes. Warren questions what happened to Amelia and he points to Zombie Amelia, who has been following him. The group is disgusted that Amelia was not given mercy and Murphy explains that it didn't seem right. They prepare to shoot Amelia and Murphy rushes forward saying that Amelia is not hurting them and that maybe it's time for a different kind of mercy. Amelia simply stands and stares, so the group makes their way to the cart and drives away.
This episode touched on a real threat in a zombie apocalypse. There are nuclear reactors all over the world and without someone constantly manning them, they present a real danger. Even if the team manages to escape the blast zone, releasing that kind of radiation into the earth's atmosphere is still going to cause problems.
Z Nation is clearly still trying to figure out what it is going to be. This episode we had the defacement of Mt.Rushmore, which had me cracking up, though it isn't nearly as awesome as what happened to the liberty bell. All of this was juxtaposed to the clear threat of the nuclear reactor shutting down, and 10k's reaction to having to give Wilbur mercy. At this point I think Z Nation needs to decide if it's going to go camp, or serious because the blending of the two doesn't always mesh well. I could have bought 10k's pain over giving Wilbur mercy if they had known each other longer. The you remind me of my loved one thing they had going on, didn't feel right and it was based on the flimsiest of observations.
Murphy's relationship with the zombies continues to more complicated every episode. It's clear at this point that he doesn't see the zombies in the same way as the team. In his mind, Murphy has very much humanised them and this is why he couldn't bring himself to give Amelia mercy. For Murphy mercy meant allowing Amelia to continue on with her zombie existence. I do find it interesting how fast the team acquiesced to Murphy's request, given their clear disgust with his failure to give Amelia their form of mercy in the first place.
Posted by Renee at 9:00 AM
Labels: 3 Fangs, Syfy, television, z nation, zombie apocalypse, Zombies
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New Trailer for 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods' Unleashes the Hunters of Atlas - The Shazam-ily is back folks! A new trailer for Shazam: Fury of the Gods has just dropped, and it's already made more money than Black Adam. Just kidding. ...
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


By Christine Lubinski on July 24, 2014 .
Science Speaks is live-blogging from AIDS 2014 in Melbourne, Australia this week, with updates on research, policy and insights from the 20th International AIDS Conference.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Professor David Cooper kicked off the final opening plenary in Melbourne today with a review on antiretroviral therapy including a look at recommended drug regimens for first- and second-line treatment, the impact of antiretroviral therapy on transmission and the state of treatment roll out.
Cooper flagged studies looking at the effectiveness of lower doses of efavirenz, a vitally important drug for HIV globally and the prospect of long-acting antiretrovirals as future prospects for continued scale-up.
He summarized some of the reasons for early antiretroviral therapy including the biology of continuous viral replication and accompanying immune deficiency, the availability of simpler regimens with higher efficacy, the impact of antiretroviral therapy on serious opportunistic infections like tuberculosis and HIV, and the public health impact of treatment as prevention.
"Why the push back on early therapy?" Cooper asked. Compelling data from randomized controlled trials, doesn't exist, "event" rates are low at high CD4 counts, current guidelines on treatment are based on expert opinion, not hard data, and life expectancy for patients on ART under currently guidelines is essentially normal.
Cooper updated conference delegates on the START trial which is looking at outcomes in persons who receive immediate antiretroviral therapy compared to a group who start therapy when the CD4 counts drop below 350. The study is now full enrolled.
Speculating on the impact of study results on practice and guidelines, Cooper suggested that if immediate treatment is found to be superior, guidelines will change to call for immediate treatment for all; if immediate treatment is found to be inferior, the status quo in guidelines will likely be maintained. He noted that if the approaches are found to be equivalent, prevention of transmission will be paramount in recommending antiretroviral therapy.
In looking at the current rollout of HIV treatment across the world, Cooper said that most people, especially in Africa, continue to initiate antiretroviral very late — at CD4 counts under 200 in many sub-Saharan African countries.
He called for more testing and the decentralization of testing, better linkage to care, better retention in care for persons before treatment initiation, task-shifting and financial support for transportation allowances for patients. He asked for consideration of home-delivered antiretroviral therapy and for the development of health information systems to track patients lost-to-follow-up.
Concluding his talk, he expressed concern about flat funding for the global AIDS response.
This entry was posted in AIDS 2014 on July 24, 2014 .


We listened, and we're making some changes. We'll keep the great topics, but we are adjusting the schedule. We'll try Tuesday classes following some of the Go Shows and Huddles in July. We will continue to have other learn-fests on Thursdays in Durham and Mondays in the Holla. To find all the specific events, just tune into your office calendars through your Google accounts. We'll promo each class a day or two before it happens as well.


text:
using System;

using ShadowsOfShadows.Renderables;

namespace ShadowsOfShadows.Entities
{
    public abstract class NonInteractive : Thing
    {
        public NonInteractive() : base() { }
        public NonInteractive(IRenderable renderable) : base(renderable) { }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


MONSAVON BT13 is a detergent for the automatic washing of cotton fabrics and its blends with synthetic fibers and high degreasing power.
MONSAVON BT13 is a formulation complete with surfactants and optics, balanced to exert an adequate emulsifying, wetting and dispersing action on the dirt typical of cotton / polyester fabrics, and to give bright white and bright colors.
MONSAVON BT13 is neutral and contains a special dye dispersant that protects the light garments from the redeposit of the unfixed dye of dark and red colors resulting in an excellent wash result for the mixed washing machines.


text:
Home MMO News Age of Conan goes free and unrated!
Age of Conan goes free and unrated!
Funcom announced that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures will receive a digital re-launch this summer under the new name "Age of Conan: Unrated". As well as reaffirming its position as the sexiest and most savage MMO in the world, "Age of Conan: Unrated" will also feature a hybrid business model allowing anyone to freely roam the vast lands of Hyboria either as free players or premium subscribers with access to extra content.
"With over 1.4 million copies sold, glowing reviews for both the core game as well as the expansion, and a healthy player base ever since launch in 2008, there is no doubt that Age of Conan has been a true success story for Funcom," says SVP of Sales & Marketing Morten Larssen. "Now we turn to another chapter in this story as we thrust 'Age of Conan: Unrated' into the world of free-to-play games, a gaming space that is becoming rapidly more popular and profitable across the board."
The new business model will give players the opportunity to choose whether they want to play for free or become premium subscribers, and Funcom is also introducing an in-game store to the game where both free players and premium subscribers can purchase exclusive content such as weaponry and mounts. For a full overview of what differs from the free and premium offerings, you can view the Frequently Asked Questions now available on Age of Conan community website.
Age of Conan has always been a Mature gaming experience, but going Unrated gives the development team freedom to stay even more true to the original works of Conan author Robert E. Howard, and use even more of the barbaric, brutal and sexy setting that is Howard's Hyboria. Funcom is already in the process of developing new locations, monsters, equipment and storylines for 'Age of Conan: Unrated'. This includes the movie tie-in adventure pack announced yesterday, that will introduce content and characters from the upcoming 'Conan the Barbarian' movie.
"Everyone on the team is excited about opening up our world to an even larger audience," says Creative Director and Executive Producer Craig Morrison. "The online world of Hyboria is constantly expanding as we continue to introduce new gameplay features and new content, and we truly believe that 'Age of Conan: Unrated' will offer something truly new and unique to both new players and to those have already experienced the brutal online world of Conan the Barbarian."
Launching in May 2008 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.4 million copies around the world. In the weeks after launch Age of Conan simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. Age of Conan is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish localized versions, and has also launched in Korea.
To learn more about Age of Conan, visit the official site at: http://ageofconan.com/
Age of Conan: Unrated
Xebulba June 24, 2011 at 3:16 pm
So what you're saying is that Funcom is going to start handling AOC just like they have Anarchy Online since it came out in 2001ish. A developer falling back on the same business plan they used previously which has worked out rather well thus far…who would've thunk it.
EpixPixel June 7, 2011 at 4:54 am
agreed the game looks good I hope my computer can run it, I have relatively dated graphic cards and a ton of viruses. anyone know where I can get better cards?
bacon June 6, 2011 at 2:16 am
This game is 26GB in size, that is completely insane. How does any game manage to take up 26 gigs?!
xreaper217 June 5, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Damn it… I just uninstalled AoC because my trial ended….. -.-
birdcrazy22 May 28, 2011 at 8:42 pm
looks good just hope my computer is good enough 😀
quickman007 May 26, 2011 at 2:08 am
I think a lot of people saw this coming for a long time now. I'm a little disappointed about the "unrated" bit though. Do we really need all that?
themannliche May 25, 2011 at 9:58 pm
most free to play end up living a long time….f2p isnt bad it just mean item malls and item and money pits but hell ur damned if you do and damned if you dont its a toss up like anything but the economy is y alot of p2p are slowly going to f2p i bet f2p item malls generate as much if not more then the revenue they made while being p2p…i bet AOC will grow with it being f2p
demirian May 25, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Hate those F2P i mean when game was P2p and now F2P so sad really , 1 more game ruined by F2P .. So sad , so sad … Money Means Everythinge ((((
Germaximus May 25, 2011 at 5:46 pm
That doesnt really make sense. Pay to play=more money if the game is really good. WoW dominated, that doesnt mean LOTRO, DDO, and AOC arent great games, they just got blown out of the water really.
Both LOTRO and DDO apparently became much more successful switching over to free to play. I think it will be a good thing.
I dont like cash shops at all personally, i hate the idea, i would rather play a game that has a subscription without a cash shop. But we're past that it seems. Even WoW basically has a cash shop now and that disgusts me. Aion: cash shop, Lineage: cash shop and these are all pay to play games! its freaking ridiculous.
Im hoping that AoC going F2P just isnt doing it too late. I really like this game, i hope the switch brings them a lot more players, it should but you never know. People are already bored of this kind of game now that theyve played it so long and every time a new mmorpg comes out its just a rehash.
I personally feel AoC is different enough, but the similarities are there and people will see them right away.
This is such awesome news! I really loved this game when i trialed it but i had just quit playing WoW and honestly didnt want to pay to play another game similar to it. Same reason i dont play Rift and why i havent played the average F2P mmorpg, theyre just the same old boring crap.
Conan's combat is different enough to me tho, it feels more involved and i had a ton of fun with it.
Im looking forward to this.
ArcBR May 25, 2011 at 2:45 pm
it sure will have a lot of restrictions
i have seen on the FAQ
i recommend everyone checking out 😐
mariot May 25, 2011 at 11:54 am
-_- weird
LORDA May 25, 2011 at 10:42 am
Finally! I have no patience already


Over at UCL (University College London), near Euston tube, in amongst all of the academic departments you'll find the free Grant Museum of Zoology and its collection of animal specimens.
It's well signposted so should be fairly easy to find on the campus however it is in a teaching building so you you'll need to advise security when you enter in order to get buzzed through the barriers.
As the name suggests this smallish museum looks at the animal kingdom. Upon entering you'll see rows of display cabinets and every other piece of available space seemingly filled with different specimens. While not dark and musty it is still atmospheric, a cross between modern student and Victorian collector.
The first part details the development of the collection and the influence of its subsequent curators. The second section (and bulk of the floorspace) is devoted to each of the classes with multiple examples (generally skeletons, some in jars) in the cabinets.
The overview panels in each area provide just enough information to enlighten without boring a general reader. Each specimen will have a name tag and a number will provide more in-depth information.
Besides the general museum goer you may come across students and artists drawing some of the specimens.
For those with an interest in zoology and don't want to go to the natural history museum then this is an excellent option .
The Petrie museum is also located nearby within the UCL campus.


Two South American nations are stiffening entry requirements for the flood of Venezuelans fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis, a move that could make their plight even more arduous.
Peru's top immigration official said Friday that two Venezuelan civilians whom Caracas alleges were involved in recent drone blasts during a speech by President Nicolas Maduro do not appear to have set foot in Peru.
Two South American nations are stiffening entry requirements for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants fleeing their nation's economic and humanitarian crisis.


Requests to borrow MCZ specimens for exhibit purposes are coordinated through MCZ Collections Operations as well as the pertinent MCZ collection.
For consideration of an exhibit proposal, please review the MCZ exhibit loan procedures for standard requirements. In addition, the MCZ Exhibition Loan agreement is subject to a standard, best-practice set of conditions and may include specialized concerns set by the relevant collection(s).
For more information on MCZ Exhibition Loans, contact MCZ Collections Operations.
Some MCZ researchers utilize live animals in their research and have occasionally loaned live animals for breeding purposes. These loans involve possessory and use rights during the duration of the contract. For more information on the MCZ Breeding Loan agreement, contact MCZ Collections Operations.


text:
Robynne's Story
On 30 October at 2:14am my little miracle, Ethan, was born. He weighed just 800g (1lb 120z) and was delivered via emergency C-section due to my severe pre-eclampsia. He also had Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR), meaning his growth had slowed down while he was in the uterus.
After six minutes of his birth, he filled the room with a huge cry! His daddy and I both had tears rolling down our cheeks. He was taken straight to the neonatal unit and I was taken to the high dependency unit to be cared for. It was the next day when I was wheeled down to meet him for the very first time.
When he was two days old, they were getting him ready to be transferred to our local hospital. However, a last minute X-ray to check his long line was in place revealed a spontaneous perforation in his bowel. So it was decided he would stay in Nottingham and have emergency surgery straight away. It all happened so quickly, one minute he was getting ready to go closer to home, the next I'm signing a consent form for my critically ill son to go to surgery. He had surgery to form an Ileostomy (stoma), which would help him get rid of his waste into a little bag attached to his side.
A few days after that we were called into a family room by one of the doctors. We were told that Ethan had contracted severe sepsis; he was going into renal failure. The Doctor said he had 24 to 48 hours to pull himself through as they had done all they could. They gave him a blood transfusion. He looked so poorly, his poor belly was so swollen and purple and he looked like he was so weak and in so much pain.
Miraculously, he pulled through. He was taken off the ventilator, his stoma started working and he was passing urine. The next stage was to get him up to full feeds and then he could go to our local hospital. He was on expressed breast milk and got up to full feeds quite quickly, we were transferred three and half weeks after his birth.
We were on the neonatal unit in Coventry for just over a week before being put into the special care unit. He was moved from CPAP to high flow oxygen, and then just on nasal prongs and he'd sit at 0.1, just clinging onto the last little bit of oxygen. The only real trouble Ethan faced was his very high stoma losses, this was rectified by the dietician putting him on a medicated milk called pepti junior. I had trouble producing my milk and so this milk was the best for Ethan. His stoma losses calmed down and he piled on the weight!
He came off oxygen altogether and was put into an open top cot. Then the word 'home' started being mentioned. Then everything just happened so quickly! He was off all his monitors, on full bottle feeds and on 30 December I roomed in for the night with him. I was terrified, for the first eight weeks off his life I'd got used to the beeps and noises of his machines watching his oxygen saturation monitor, and now I was in a side room with my tiny baby in a cot in silence! But I soon got into the swing of things, although I only got about 30 minutes sleep as I spent most of it lying there staring at him.
On 31 December 2013 (New Year's Eve), Ethan was allowed home, nine weeks after being born. He was on medicated milk and six different medicines, I was trained in how to change his stoma bags, give his medicines, and everything else. He weighed 4lb 7oz and he barely fitted in his car seat properly, he was that small!
Coming home he has had no real problems, he's just gone from strength to strength. He had his stoma reversal in March and was only in hospital for four days.
We have been in hospital once after that with suspected meningitis but we were only there for two nights and he was all clear – it was more than likely a viral infection!
He is now nearly a year old, he's cheeky, chubby and just a pure blessing! He weighs 15lb 130z and is doing everything a baby his age would. We have developmental appointments and physiotherapy appointments every few months both of which he is doing very well in!
He is a miracle and has taught me so much about myself as a mother. He is my true hero.


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04/13/2019 Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid said he was playing through pain, had to adjust during Philadelphia 76ers Game 1 loss to Brooklyn Nets
"I decided about 15 minutes before the game, 20 maybe," Joel Embiid stated on his last minute decision to play Game 1 vs. Nets.
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By Kyle Irving @KyleIrv_
Getty Images https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/30/44/joel-embiid_rtd71h7sh9y01v20aybnaov24.jpg?t=-1990405329&w=500
It was a frustrating Game 1 for the Philadelphia 76ers' All-Star centre, as his team fell to the Brooklyn Nets 111-102.
Prior to the game, Joel Embiid was listed as doubtful - just moments before opening tip, he decided to play.
"I decided about 15 minutes before the game, 20 maybe," Embiid told the media after the game. "I was out there just thinking 'oh my gosh, push through the pain', and obviously, it came with a loss, but I was just trying to do the right thing."
"I thought Joel looked like he hadn't played in a while, yet was still dominant," 76ers' head coach Brett Brown stated. And he wasn't wrong - Embiid's stat-line doesn't tell the story as he still finished with a double-double of 22 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four assists.
You could tell that his knee was bothering him, but it was getting back into game-speed condition that affected him more. "It was clear that with the pace of the game and speed of the game, that he was tired," Brown said on the topic.
When Embiid was asked about his conditioning, he said he felt out of shape, but followed up by stating he's fine and he'll get it back quickly.
As for the pain in his knee and how it affected his play, "I shot more jumpers and they didn't go in, we'll move on." Embiid struggled shooting, going 5-for-15 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
When he was asked again if he felt pain in his knee he stated, "ah yeah, but I'm fine ... it's whatever."
Embiid will have two days to rest before the 76ers and Nets take the court again on Monday.
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Clarke may be the steal of the draft
7m ago Memphis Grizzlies


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Museum releases new report on arrival of first Africans at Point Comfort in 1619
The Hampton History Museum has prepared a new report detailing the arrival almost 400 years ago of a small group of Africans at Point Comfort in Hampton. The report, "1619: Virginia's First Africans," tells how the Africans came to be aboard the English privateer ship that landed at Point Comfort – they were the first recorded Africans to arrive in England's mainland colonies – and the role their arrival played in the future of America.
The 400th anniversary of the 1619 arrival will be celebrated locally, statewide and nationally this August.
The museum already has a special exhibit highlighting the arrival. According to the museum: "The landing of the first Africans in Virginia is one of the most significant events we interpret. Although English colonists in Virginia did not invent slavery, and the transition from a handful of bound African laborers to a legalized system of full-blown chattel slavery took many decades, 1619 marks the beginning of race-based bondage that defined the African American experience."
Hampton's status as the location for the first landing is a double-edged sword. We are uniquely positioned to tell a powerful story, but it is a challenging narrative fraught with controversy, myth, and contradictions that strike at the heart of the intersection between American slavery and American freedom."
Museum Director Luci Cochran said: "If for no other reason, it is important we have a conversation about what took place at Point Comfort in 1619 because it forever changed the course of the country. The legacy of this event affects us all and understanding this complex history and legacy helps us to come together as Americans."
The report was prepared by museum historian Beth Austin. Along with several frequently asked questions and other information, it can be found at www.hamptonhistorymuseum.org/1619. You can also go online to learn more about the 1619 commemoration that will be held in Hampton Aug. 19-21.


Broadside combines the talents of winemakers Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars and Brian Terrizzi of Giornata to produce artisanal, balanced wine from interesting vineyards in small quantities that are priced for people to drink. Their winemaking favors a natural approach in that all wines are minimally handled to best express the grape, site and vintage. The commitment is to wines of balance and finesse that make sense on the dinner table. They harvest at lower sugars, employ native fermentation and use little to no new oak.


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Home Local COVID-19: Vancouver police issue four tickets for illegal partying
COVID-19: Vancouver police issue four tickets for illegal partying
© Mark van Manen The Vancouver police says it issued four tickets on the weekend at downtown house parties held in violation of B.C.'s social gathering restrictions.
VANCOUVER SUN-The Vancouver police says it issued four tickets on the weekend at downtown house parties held in violation of B.C.'s social gathering restrictions.
The first violation ticket , which carries a $2,300 fine, was handed out on Friday night to a party host who had 10 people packed into a Yaletown home.
Another ticket was dispensed the same night after police responded to a party on the 58th floor of a building on West Georgia Street.
The VPD says officers also attended two parties on Saturday and Sunday that were hosted in the same building.
"Both calls were for the same unit. On Saturday night, there were 10 people at the party. On Sunday, there were 14 partygoers," police said in a release. "In addition to breaking the rules around gatherings, none of the people in the suite were wearing masks or practising physical distancing."
The tenant received two tickets, totalling $4,600, for each party.
The social gathering restrictions, which prohibit indoor social interactions with people outside of one's household or core bubble of one or two people, were put in place by the provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Previous articleU.S. plans to ship 6 million Moderna Covid vaccine doses once FDA gives OK, as early as week's end
Next articleWATCH: B.C.'s daily coronavirus update with Dr. Bonnie Henry, Dec. 14
'It can shut down and collapse units': Victoria's Police Union says department declared state of emergency due to Omicron
Home sales in Metro Vancouver reached record high in 2021, latest real estate report says
Time for an equity tax? Experts look for solutions to increasingly unaffordable housing


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Home Cities Bengaluru
New Year parties in Bengaluru will depend on Covid scenario, says BBMP
DCs of Bengaluru Urban and Rural to watch for clusters and also rising cases
Published: 30th November 2021 07:03 AM | Last Updated: 30th November 2021 10:53 AM | A+A A-
(Photo | AP)
By Express News Service
BENGALURU: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on Monday stated that the decision on granting permission for New Year celebrations in the city, depends upon the situation around the rising cases of Covid-19.
He said a clear picture will be known in the next 8-10 days, depending upon the number of Covid cases. So far, no case of the new variant 'Omicron' has been reported in Bengaluru, but directions have been given to the Deputy Commissioners of Bengaluru Urban and Rural to closely watch for clusters and also rising cases.
All international travellers are being tested and their samples are being sent for genome sequencing, while they are also under constant watch.
Speaking to reporters, Gupta added that a few days ago, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai held a meeting with the health department, technical advisory committee members and experts to assess the situation.
It was decided that all advisories issued by the World Health Organisation and Union Health Ministry will be adhered to.
In addition, Gupta said that experts and TAC members are also holding discussions every day and expressing their opinions.
The State Health Department meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, where more clarity will be obtained on the prevailing situation.
Meanwhile, a decision on New Year celebrations will only be taken depending on the situation. Clusters are also being reported in different schools.
It has also been decided to intensify checks on people not wearing masks and not following Covid safety guidelines.
BBMP Gaurav Gupta bengaluru COVID 19


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Monthly Newsletter and Updates
Anthony Sciarratta
The 1970s Produced the Best Films in American History
I adore the 1970s from an artistic standpoint. In my person opinion, 1970s America produced some of the greatest art in American history.
Legendary artists and bands gained stardom during 1970s. A few names that come to my mind are Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, AC/DC, Boston, Foreigner, Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, Barbara Streisand, Kool & The Gang, and Stevie Wonder.
There are more bands and artists I could name, but I'd be starting to pen an essay.
Even more so than music, 1970s likely produced the best collection of films in American history across a ten-year period.
Here's a list of notable films released during this decade:
1. Patton (1970)
2. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
3. The French Connection (1971)
4. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
5. The Godfather (1972)
6. American Graffiti (1973)
7. The Exorcist (1973)
8. The Godfather Part 2 (1974)
9. Chinatown (1974)
10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
11. Nashville (1975)
12. Jaws (1975)
13. Taxi Driver (1976)
14. Rocky (1976)
15. Network (1976)
16. Annie Hall (1977)
17. Close Encounters of the Third Mind (1977)
18. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
19. Star Wars (1977)
20. Halloween (1978)
21. Grease (1978)
22. The Deer Hunter (1978)
23. Superman (1978)
24. Animal House (1978)
25. Apocalypse Now (1979)
26. Alien (1979)
Forgive me if I left out a few notable films in the list above.
The 1970s questioned conventional filmmaking, putting groundbreaking material on the screen for the first time ushering in an era many call, "New Hollywood"
Among the films I listed above, nineteen of them are listed on IMBD's Top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.
George Lucas literally created an entire universe with Star Wars. Francis Ford Coppola created what many deem to be the greatest film of all time with The Godfather. He also directed The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, and Patton in the same decade. Coppola arguably has one of the greatest resumes for a film director ever.
The 1970s also provided us some very risky films that had questionable content. I do have to say the first time I saw A Clockwork Orange, I was a little disturbed and questioned Stanley Kubrick's sanity. It took me a while to see the genius behind his film.
Rocky, Halloween, and American Graffiti are a few of the most profitable low budget movies ever. American Graffiti scored five Oscar nominations. Rocky scored nine Oscar nominations including three wins for best picture, best director, and best film editing.
Plenty of decades in filmmaking have produced some of the most memorable films in history, but from an overall standpoint, I believe the 1970s takes first place. This decade introduced the world to an entirely new type of filmmaking that changed the entertainment industry forever.
Lesson 5 – Take Notes!
New York Giants: An Open Letter to Eli Manning
Lesson 4 – Find the Right Inspiration
©2020 by Anthony Sciarratta


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It's the economics, not the politics
A reflection on rereading an old paper
Regular readers will have noticed that I'm not a great fan of the current government's economic policies, or its Chancellor (with the very important exception of setting up the OBR). Some will assume that this reflects a political bias - indeed those who are political animals often cannot conceive that everything is not politically driven. If you are looking for evidence either way, this post is about that.
Yesterday I received an email advertising 'The Economics of Austerity', which is a collection of essays published by Edward Elgar and chosen by Suzanne Konzelmann. There are 47 in all, but as this includes pieces by Hume, Smith, Ricardo and Mill, you can see that this collection aims to give a historical perspective on the subject. To be honest the email might have got lost in my in-tray if I hadn't noticed it started 'Dear Contributor'. Sure enough, in the eight essays dealing with the period after the financial crisis, there was my name alongside others, including some guy named Krugman.
I should have been flattered, but instead my heart sank. The selected paper was originally published in OXREP in 2010, and I remember it now as being hopelessly optimistic. It was written before the Euro crisis, so before austerity became almost universal. Little over a year later I wrote a paper with the title 'Lessons from failure: fiscal policy, indulgence and ideology', which seems much more appropriate in the current environment. Yet I thought I ought to reread my OXREP article, to confirm just how dated it had become.
Actually it really is not that bad. The key points are still things I believe. The financial crisis was primarily a crisis involving financial regulation rather than monetary policy or global imbalances. The idea that the Great Moderation was due to improved monetary policy was sound, but it always came with a caveat involving large negative shocks, because of the zero lower bound (ZLB). The ZLB could be mitigated using what I now call a 'forward commitment' to higher future inflation, but time inconsistency would make central banks reluctant to pursue that. The obvious alternative was expansionary fiscal policy. If concerns over debt where a constraint, then an effective measure was balanced budget increases in government spending.
This last point is so important, yet it can get lost in the debate. If you want to plug a demand gap at the ZLB, temporary increases in government spending financed by temporary increases in taxes work, because a lot of the tax increase comes out of saving rather than consumption. As the tax increase is temporary and only happens while there is widespread unemployment, concerns about the incentive effects of higher taxes on labour supply are at worst irrelevant. This is basic macroeconomics. But then I wrote this:
"The main problem with fiscal measures to expand the economy which do not raise debt is political. Higher government spending, even if it is temporary, raises taxes and temporarily increases the size of the state, which is unpopular on the right of the political spectrum. Fiscal transfers that move money from unconstrained savers to those who are credit constrained also tend to involve transfers from the rich to the poor. Although useful from the point of view of stimulating effective demand, they may not be politically acceptable."
Quite. What was missing was an equivalent paragraph saying that, even if there was no economic problem with raising debt, debt financed fiscal expansion might be resisted for political reasons. However, I now want to return to where I started. The OXREP paper was written before the current coalition was elected. It set out how I saw the macroeconomics. At the ZLB you could use unconventional monetary policy, but in addition you should use fiscal stimulus, whether debt was a constraint or not.
It was politics - and ideology - that got in the way of good macroeconomics, which is why the UK and global recession has been so prolonged. And it is that tendency that is personified by George Osborne. Even if debt was erroneously thought to be a constraint, we should have had tax financed increases in public investment rather than cuts. This extra investment could have been on politically neutral things, like flood defences.
Unfortunately austerity turns out to be part of a pattern. There is another example from the OXREP paper. When talking about an environment of low real interest rates, I noted the danger of housing bubbles, but also how specific fiscal instruments could be effective (relative to raising interest rates) in dampening these bubbles. A corollary, of course, is that these same instruments used in reverse can be used to make bubbles much worse, or indeed to initiate them, as in Help to Buy. House prices are now above their previous 2008 (bubble?) peak. Maybe this is good politics, but it is lousy economics.
So I do not think the complaint of political bias stands up. What you could perhaps argue is that I'm being politically naive: that all Chancellors maximise political advantage at the expense of national economic interest. The fact that Gordon Brown's scorecard seems much better (including resisting Blair to stay out of the Euro) could just reflect opportunities and circumstances rather than anything else. It is certainly true that the position George Osborne inherited, as a result of the financial crash, was much more difficult than Brown's inheritance. But go back to the time I wrote the OXREP article. At the end of 2008 Labour did undertake fiscal expansion, and it was opposed by Cameron and Osborne. As I noted here, Osborne in April 2009 argued that monetary policy should "bear the strain of stimulating demand", seemingly oblivious to interest rates being as low as they could go. So Labour's policy was consistent with the arguments in my OXREP article (which in turn reflected basic macroeconomics), while Conservative policy just ignored them.
So thank you Dr. Konzelmann, for including me in such good company. But also thank you for making me reread the paper and revise my memory of it. [1]
[1] I fear I cannot also thank the publishers, who tell me that unfortunately I cannot have a complimentary copy, because of the large number of contributors. I'll leave it to Hume, Smith, Ricardo and Mill to complain directly. I guess Keynes, who has 5 essays in the book, probably got a copy!
Labels: bias, Osborne, OXREP, politics
Ah, it's fun to rewrite history to give it that "Keynesian" bias.
At the time the 2008 fiscal stimulus was announced, Bank Rate was at 3%, not 0%. Is it now "basic macroeconomics" to do fiscal stimulus with interest rates at 3%, or do we need a bit more nuance there?
Cameron's speech to the CBI on the evening of the PBR specifically called out his support for "monetary activism" as an alternative to fiscal stimulus. Cameron explained "monetary activism" as lower rates plus credit easing. The former is hardly anti-Keynesian, the latter is certainly an idea embraced by many New Keynesians from Prof Woodford down.
But of course Cameron was "ignorant" of basic macroeconomics in opposing fiscal stimulus in 2008, sure. In 2009/10 Osborne's approach to macro was broadly similar to that of Mervyn King, another ignorant nobody who knows nothing of "basic macroeconomics". It is a wonder these people ever get into a position of power.
Mainly Macro 26 March 2014 at 09:54
I think by late 2008 many people could see what might be coming - and Darling and the Treasury should get your praise for doing so. The MPC were still worrying about inflation! In my OXREP paper I talk about why fiscal stimulus may be needed if there is a significant chance that we might hit the ZLB.
The speech by Osborne I referred to
(old link to speech broken - this one works:
http://www.thersa.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/193416/George-Osborne-speech-at-RSA---080409.pdf)
was to the RSA in April 2009, when interest rates were 0.5%. Zero lower bound or liquidity trap not mentioned!
I never said Cameron was ignorant. He chose to ignore basic macro. I do not know what Mervyn King would have thought about a tax financed increase in public investment, but I know it did not happen under Cameron/Osborne.
So how exactly am I rewriting history? And I'm afraid fiscal tightening reducing output at the ZLB is basic macro!
Your post is pretty clear. Basic macro says fiscal stimulus at the ZLB. Cameron opposed fiscal stimulus in 2008. Ergo Cameron ignores basic macro, QED. You clearly want to make the link between the stimulus and being at the ZLB with that quote from Osborne, and it is revisionist because Bank Rate was 3% at the time of the stimulus.
Cameron's CBI speech (I only have a broken link to hand, annoyingly) on the day of the PBR was calling explicitly for lower interest rates, which was a reasonable and "Keynesian" way to call for more stimulus.
"I think by late 2008 many people could see what might be coming"
This is a more nuanced argument, but the 2008 PBR itself contains no reference to the ZLB or a Keynesian liquidity trap, and as you say the MPC itself kept Bank Rate high enough to get that CPI rate coming down, so it is not clear who the "many people" are unless they were all called Danny Blanchflower.
correct ..smart too thank you
Ralph Musgrave 27 March 2014 at 01:47
You claim "It was politics - and ideology - that got in the way of good macroeconomics…". I suspect the problem was to a significant extent incompetence by economists: in particular the economists advising Osborne.
The root problem is the tendency by everyone to equate national debts with microeconomic debts, like debts of a household or firm. The two are in fact chalk and cheese.
You can't blame politicians for not understanding the difference: most of them haven't got a GCSE in economics. But one would hope economists in the Treasury could explain to Chancellors of the Exchequer that there is little difference in nature between national debt and money (monetary base to be exact).
One would also hope that Treasury economists understand the point that if government borrows £X and spends it, and the BoE then QEs the relevant debt, then it is totally absurd to regard the relevant Gilts in the hands of the BoE as a debt of any sort. They are effectively just a book-keeping entry corresponding to a chunk of base money in the hands of the private sector. And that book-keeping entry is of no economic significance whatever.
Unfortunately to judge by some of the nonsense we get from the economics profession on the subject of deficits, national debts, etc, I don't have much confidence that Osborne gets good advice from Treasury economists.
Simon 28 March 2014 at 04:41
Another excellent post which highlights the absurdness of perhaps one of the most ideologically driven governments the UK has known...dismissing fiscal stimulus as an option when interest rates were being slashed, but more importantly continuing to do so through 2009-2012 at the ZLB when monetary policy was having little/no impact makes no economic sense. But its not about the economy and economic sense with Osborne and Cameron is it.
I haul this from the BBC's archive, Stephanie Flanders 1 February 2011 blog:
"If you heard my interview on the Today programme this morning (0840) you'll know that Larry Summers declined to make any strong predictions about the UK…but Summers allowed more content to slip into his assessment of the government's case for rapid budget cuts…in his view, we are in - or close to - what J M Keynes called a 'liquidity trap', in which there is a near infinite demand for liquid assets, and monetary policy is largely ineffective, because interest rates cannot fall any lower, and businesses and consumers want to save, not spend. In these extra-ordinary circumstances, he thinks that the usual rules do not apply, and fiscal policy has to step up to the plate to support demand. The implication is that the coalition is indeed taking a risk with the recovery, and putting their deficit targets at risk as well. Because, if Summers is right, the private sector may well not come to the economy's rescue: growth will be lower than forecast - and borrowing is likely to be higher."
I see that David Runciman has a book out called 'The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present'.
From liquidity trap to confidence trap: what an unpleasant journey.
Victor Venema 28 March 2014 at 11:55
To stimulate consumption you do not have to increase the size of government, you could also redistribute stronger. The "rich" do not invest their savings in a recession, but the "poor" will mostly use the additional money for consumption, which would stimulate the economy. I wonder why this option is never discussed, am I overlooking something as a non-economist?
Hard to say whether the right would object stronger to larger government or to more redistribution.
Great stuff on "It's the economics, not the politics "Bedrijfsovername & MBI & Bedrijfsopvolging
The Left and Economic Policy
Pensions and neoliberal fantasies
Time inconsistency and debt
More thoughts on 'expectations driven' liquidity t...
Bank says money multiplier is wrong - should we be...
What place do applied middlebrow models have?
Price level targeting intuition
See no evil
I got to the third sentence of Osborne's speech
Greece and denying responsibility
Inequality and the media
The sharp but effectual remedy
Economics, Politics and Naivety
Forward Guidance is not Forward Commitment


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Общество авиации и воздухоплавания Украины и Крыма («ТАПУК» ,) — добровольное, оборонно-патриотическое объединение лётчиков-любителей, существовавшее на Украине в 1923—1925 годы.

История

Решением Правительства Украинской ССР в марте 1923 года было создано Общество авиации и воздухоплавания Украины и Крыма — ОАВУК, с центром в столице республики — Харькове.
Общество насчитывало по состоянию на 1925 год 416 тысяч членов, объединённых в 7115 кружков.

Общество руководило кружками планеризма, организовывало обучение лекторов, проводило лотереи в пользу авиа- и планеростроения, выпускало журнал «Воздушный флот».

Общество содействовало созданию Центрального аероклуба в Харькове и Харьковской авиационной школы, Киевской школы инструкторов планерного спорта, 72 планерных и 97 авиамодельных кружков, были открыты 1475 библиотек с авиационной тематикой. Общество собрало на развитие воздушного флота более 1,5 млн карбованцев.

Членом ОАВУК в 1923 году стал С. П. Королёв. Сохранилась его характеристика члена: «Дано сие тов. Королёву С. П. в том, что он в кружке планеристов Губотдела ОВУАК с июня 1923 года принимал активное участие во всех работах».

В 1925 году Общество авиации и воздухоплавания Украины и Крыма и общество «Укрдоброхим» были объединены в Общество друзей авиахимической обороны и промышленности «Авиахим», которое в свою очередь в 1927 образовано в Осоавиахим.

Известные члены общества
 Королёв, Сергей Павлович (1906—1966)
 Проскура, Георгий Фёдорович (1876—1958)
 Гризодубов, Степан Васильевич (1884—1965)
 Гуревич, Михаил Иосифович (1892/1893—1976)

Примечания

История Крыма 1917—1991 годов
История Украины
Авиация СССР
Планеризм
Организации по алфавиту
1923 год в Крыму
Исчезнувшие организации Украины

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Response to playback from a pair (same as in XC154980) in Prosopis brushland with open grassy understory. In response to playback, both birds circled over my head, then moved back out of view where they, I presume, perched and gave the metallic clinking vocalization while interacting. Rasps were given in flight. Moon was 2/3 full and waxing, giving off much light. Lots of vocalizations from night birds this night.
Response to playback from a pair in Prosopis brushland with open grassy understory. In response to playback, both birds circled over my head, then moved back out of view where they, I presume, perched and gave the metallic clinking vocalization while interacting. Rasps were given in flight. Moon was 2/3 full and waxing, giving off much light. Lots of vocalizations from night birds this night.
Natural metallic clinking notes from unseen birds (same as in XC154980) from static perch in open Prosopis brushland. Moon was 2/3 full and waxing, giving off much light. Lots of vocalizations from night birds this night.
Response to playback from a pair. One of this pair passed overhead six times in response to playback before uttering a sound (the other was not detected until duetting). Perched about 6m up in bottomland forest.
Natural song from an unseen individual (presumably the same one as in XC154972) in open Prosopis brushland. Moon was 2/3 full and waxing, giving off much light. Lots of vocalizations from night birds this night.
Response to playback from a pair (presumed male same as in XC154978) in Prosopis brushland with open grassy understory. The presumed male vocalized both times, with the presumed female flying by and giving a clipped, higher-pitched vocalization. Presumed male about 2.5-3 m up, and changing perches actively (in response to playback?); a grayish or gray-brown individual. Moon was 2/3 full and waxing, giving off much light. Lots of vocalizations from night birds this night.
Natural nocturnal flight call from unseen bird over bottomland forest.
Alarm calls to my presence from bird that had been singing, but called, then departed building roof upon my arrival.
Response to playback (of a Ted Parker recording) by a captive bird at night.
Natural calls from two individuals in deciduous trees along margin of lake. Most vocalizations were given as birds changed perches.
Natural calls from an unseen bird in dense Live Oak near lake.
Vocalizations from a congregation of >500 birds sitting on the water (a few flying over it) on the lake. Most birds were first-winter plumaged with a few second-winter, but virtually no adults.
Vocalizations from a congregation of >500 individuals (mostly first and second winter birds). Largely perched on water, but when vocalizations become loudest, a large group took to the air, circled, and landed... sometimes squabbling over food being thrown in by a woman feeding bread to ducks.
Calls from a male that was among several actively chasing in grassy marsh with some scattered trees amid rice paddies and Mauritia palms.
Calls and a song from two males and a female that were actively chasing in grassy marsh with some scattered trees amid rice paddies and Mauritia palms.
Calls from two males and a female that were actively chasing in grassy marsh with some scattered trees amid rice paddies and Mauritia palms. Passing cars edited out.
Disturbance calls from several birds at roost in bare baldcypresses at edge of suburban lake.
Vocalizations from a bird (different from others recorded at this site and date) largely in breeding plumage (and with an all-dark bill) in a low field between golf course and Kahuku ponds in response to our approach.
A single vocalization from a bird (probably the same as in XC174849) in a low field between golf course and Kahuku ponds in response to whistled imitation.
A single vocalization from a bird (probably one of those from XC174848) in a low field between golf course and Kahuku ponds in response to whistled imitation.
Vocalizations from two birds in a low field between golf course and Kahuku ponds, one of which flew (the very first vocalization) and the other a bird that was probably uttering its call in response to our presence. My announcements between the first several vocalizations and the last are edited out.
Sounds at a roost site (several baldcypresses out in shallow water amid suburban neighborhood) as two birds arrived to perch, displacing others and the resultant ruckus.
Distant natural vocalizations from one or two birds along fencerow at edge of seaside fields with some shrub growth. Wind and wave noise.
Natural calls from several individuals in a low field between golf course and Kahuku ponds. At one point (0:58), one bird got up and flew towards another, landing and both then performing an elaborate song-like vocalization with wings raised. Wind and ocean noise. Vocalization at 0:20 and a few times thereafter is probably from Numenius tahitiensis.
Natural vocalizations from a group of about 20+ individuals perched in trees around a sodium street light, singing, then calling (after several Zenaida macroura flushed out). Probably not local breeders.


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Tag Archives: Conference
Ansgar Koene, Conference, Engagement, General, ICT and society, Parliamentary inquiry, Policy, RRI, UnBias
Rebooting The Expert, Routes to Policy Impact
11th August 2017 Ansgar Koene	1 Comment
Having previously been postponed due to Pre-election period Prudah restriction, the "Rebooting the Expert" a.k.a. "Routes to Policy Impact" event finally took place on July 6th 2017.
Continue reading Rebooting The Expert, Routes to Policy Impact →
Ansgar KoeneCaSMaConferenceParliamentary inquiryPolicyRRIUnBiasUniversity of NottinghamWorkshop Event
Responsible Governance for Healthy and Sustainable Smart Platforms: Policy directions for the collaborative economy
Smart online platforms will be a vital enabler of future economic growth across the EU and a key component of the EU single digital market. They also promise new ways to pool and mobilise society's resources with the potential to address various impending social and environmental crises.
However, to reap these benefits, new thinking is required around the regulation and governance of smart online platforms to ensure balanced interests, and to promote fair and safe forms of participation, particularly relating to the role played by algorithms and data in driving economies of scale.
This policy event will provide a forum to address the following questions:
What are the challenges and opportunities for public policy of Smart Online Platforms?
How can we leverage platforms for a more equal, just, and knowledgeable society?
How can platforms play a role in reducing the social divide and retain hard-won rights and protections?
What are the challenges and opportunities for existing industries from their disruptive business models?
How should the regulatory environment change and what new regulatory institutions or instruments may be needed?
How can these technologies support public objectives and help policy makers deliver solutions at greater scale and of greater impact?
This event is being organised by the Smart Society EU FET project which has been exploring technologies and governance models for the next generation of Smart Platforms. The event will include the launch of the Smart Society Social Charter, and high-profile keynote talks.
9.30 - 10.00 Registration
10.00 - 10.45 Keynote:The landscape of the collaborative economy, Helen Goulden (Nesta)
10.45 - 11.30 Keynote: Responsibility in Collaborative Economies (TBC)
11.30 - 12.00 Coffee
12.00 - 13.00 A Social Charter for Smart Platforms
13.00 - 13.30 Questions and Discussion
13.30 - 14.30 Lunch
14.30 - 15.15 Panel Session
15.15 - 16.00 Closing plenary session
Ansgar KoeneConferenceDigital RightsEUInformed consentPolicyPrivacyRRISurveillanceWorkshop Event
Digital Government Summit: Agile Policy Making
"It's not about making existing things just a little bit better: it's about completely rethinking what we do and how we do it." Stephen Foreshew-Cain, Executive Director, Government Digital Service
Substantial change is underway across government and public services to transform the relationship between the citizen and the state. The goal is to make it easier for people to access the services they want, when and where they want, and to deal with government in a simple, secure and speedy way. We are in the digital age but is not just about new technology, big data or moving services online. It is about thinking in a completely different way. Being agile and flexible enough to implement service design as it forms, to test different versions of the same services and pick the winner at low cost, to have feedback and public consultation in real time. This event will explore how to build services that meet citizen's needs and rethink policy making and service design so they are closely tied.
This summit of digital leaders will focus on how government and civil service is changing, both in the UK and across the world, and what the future might mean for national and local democracy, for policy making and implementation, and for data and information sharing. The agenda will explore how to make services simpler, clearer and faster for citizens and ensure your organisation has the right skills in place to make it happen.
Join us at the Digital Government Summit: Agile Policy Making to hear from the latest thinking, strategies and cutting-edge projects that are transforming how public services are being designed, commissioned and delivered on a national, regional and local level. You will learn what the future direction for government and the public sector is and how to transform your organisation to benefit from new innovations and new ways of working.
Programme overview is available here.
Ansgar KoeneBig DataConferencePolicy
2016 UK Internet Governance Forum
The programme for the 2016 UK-IGF, to be held on 17 November at One Drummond Gate, will include the sessions set out below. Further topics and speakers will be confirmed shortly and this page will be updated. In the meantime you can submit your views on what you would like to see discussed at the event. You can also keep up to date by following @UKIGF on Twitter.
If you are interested in attending, please sign up today.
The global policy landscape
Former culture minister Rt Hon Ed Vaizey MP (@edvaizey) will give a short address on the changing global policy landscape. What does the result of the US Presidential election and the increasingly assertive stances of Russia and China mean for the free and open internet?
Brexit: what next for UK internet policy?
Five months after the EU referendum, TechUK's Charlotte Holloway (@CharlotteHollo) will lead a discussion on the practical and philosophical impacts of Brexit for the internet sector. Can the UK maintain its influence on internet governance outside of the EU?
e-Identification: The future of privacy?
The rise of new forms of electronic identification potential offers improved security and easier access to public and private services. Access Partnership's Matthew McDermott (@AccessAlerts) will be leading a workshop to consider how can we make sure these are secure and interoperable, and what might be the killer app to drive adoption?
What is the impact of the internet on political debate?
With political debate across the West apparently becoming more polarised, we will be asking has the internet empowered more people to engage in politics, widened our horizons, or simply made us more entrenched in our particular world-view?
A panel including NationBuilder's Toni Cowan-Brown (@ToniCowanBrown) and Demos' Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) will consider these questions and whether internet companies have a role to play in widening people's exposure to other points of view?
The UK's cyber-preparedness: In conversation with Anthony Finkelstein
With the number of high profile cyber-attacks targeting UK and international businesses rising on a weekly basis, we will hear from UCL's Professor Anthony Finkelstein (@profserious) the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security.
Preparation for the global IGF
Global Partner Digital's Andrew Puddephatt (@AndrewPuddephat) and the LSE's David Souter (@DavidNSouter) will lead a round-up of the headlines from the day's discussions and look ahead to the global IGF in December.
If you have any questions about the event or require any further information please contact info@ukigf.org.uk.
anonymityAnsgar KoeneConferenceDigital RightsInformed consentInternet or ThingsPolicyPoliticsPrivacysocial mediaSurveillance
MAPPING Project FP7: Second General Assembly
Online business, Security and Fundamental Human Rights – Enabling trust on the Internet
The MAPPING project consortium is looking forward to the next meeting of invited stakeholders, interested in debating the existing innovation policies, business models and legal framework related to three major, interrelated focus areas: Internet governance, Privacy, Intellectual property rights.
After the success of the First General Assembly in Hanover in September 2015, in the Prague 2016 General Assembly we expect the continuation of the dialogue with key experts and policy and decision makers, who are involved in research and innovation in the above mentioned areas within Europe's political, social and economic context.
Following recommendations from the participants of previous General Assemblies, the event in Prague will take place over three full days.
Ansgar KoeneConferenceDigital RightsEUInformed consentInternet or ThingsPolicyPoliticsPrivacysocial mediaSocial Media AnalysisSurveillance
Policy Summit – What's working to foster digital growth
We believe that the digital economy holds enormous opportunities for businesses and societies in Europe, but also poses challenges in areas such as job automation and the impact of the sharing economy. Readie's Digital Policy Summit in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung takes place on 11 October in Berlin.
Together, delegates from national governments will share practical insights and investigate existing high-quality policies that have the potential to:
provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to start up new digital businesses;
enable existing businesses to scale using digital technology;
create digital growth across Europe which is inclusive and sustainable.
Ansgar KoeneBig DataConferenceInternet or ThingsNestaPolicyPolitics
Data for Policy 2016: Frontiers of Data Science for Government – Ideas, Practices and Projections
Data Science is emerging as a key interdisciplinary research field to address major contemporary challenges across sectors. Particular focus on the government sector offers huge potentials to advance citizen services and collective decision-making processes. To reflect the diversity of skills and knowledge required to tackle challenges in this domain, the conference offers an open discussion forum for all stakeholders. We invite individual and/or group submissions from all relevant disciplines and application domains. Topics covered include but are not limited to the following:
Government & Policy: Digital era governance and citizen services, public demand vs. government response, using data in the policy process, open source and open data movements, policy laboratories, citizen expertise for government, public opinion and participation in democratic processes, distributed data bases and data streams, information and evidence in policy context, case studies and best practices.
Policy for Data & Management: Data collection, storage, and access; psychology/behaviour of decision; privacy, trust, public rights, free speech, ethics and law; data security/ownership/linkage; provenance, curation, expiration; private/public sector/non-profit collaboration and partnership, etc.
Data Analysis: Computational procedures for data collection, storage, and access; large-scale data processing, dealing with biased/imperfect/uncertain data, human interaction with data, statistical/computational models, technical challenges, communicating results, visualisation, etc.
Methodologies: Qualitative/quantitative/mixed methods, gaps in theory and practice, secondary data analysis, web scraping, randomised controlled trials, sentiment analysis, Bayesian approaches and graphical models, biologically inspired models, real-time and historical data processing, simulation and modeling, small area estimation, correlation & causality based models, and other relevant methods.
Data Sources: Government administrative data, official statistics, commercial and non-profit data, user-generated web content (blogs, wikis, discussion forums, posts, chats, tweets, podcasting, pins, digital images, video, audio files, advertisements, etc.), search engine data, data gathered by connected people and devices (e.g. wearable technology, mobile devices, Internet of Things), tracking data (including GPS/geolocation data, traffic and other transport sensor data, CCTV images etc.,), satellite and aerial imagery, and other relevant data sources.
Policy/Application Domains: Security, health, cities, public administration, economy, science and innovation, finance, energy, environment, social policy areas (education, migration, etc.) and other relevant domains.
Data for Policy 2016 Conference Programme is available here!
Ansgar KoeneBig DataConferenceInternet mediated researchPolicyPoliticssocial mediaSocial Media Analysis
Children's and Young People's Rights in the Digital Age: An IAMCR 2016 pre-conference
Are children's rights being newly infringed or enhanced in the digital age? Such questions concern researchers, child rights' advocates, and internet governance experts. Yet children's needs and experiences in the digital age are often neglected in high-level debates about global internet provision and governance and children's rights are treated as a minority interest and seen as demanding exceptional treatment from adult society. Further, current debates frequently emphasise the risks children potentially face online and underline their right to protection, but much less attention is gven to children's provision and participation rights online.
The conference will foster an international debate on key issues related to children's and young people's rights in the digital age, including: child and youth participation rights; online opportunities and risks; inequalities and digital exclusion; policy and multi-stakeholder governance; the role of peers and peer culture; participatory research; e-learning, health promotion and creativity in the digital environment; cross-generational dynamics of online engagement.
The conference includes a plenary presentation from Global Kids Online. It will begin at midday on 26 July and close at midday on 27 July to enable delegates to make the journey to Leicester for the opening of IAMCR 2016 (approximately one-hour train journey). For more details, visit the conference website.
Download the programme (PDF)
Download the original call for proposals (PDF)
ConferenceDigital RightsElvira Perez VallejosiRightssocial media
Contemporary Political Youth Culture and Communication
Marking the launch of the Centre for Political Youth Culture and Communication (CPAC) this two-day international symposium explores the socio-cultural factors influencing the civic engagement of young people and its means of communicative expression. Young networking citizens in many parts of the world today play a crucial role in shaping the future prospects for democratic societies. The styles, nature and means of their political engagement is therefore of increasing importance to policy-makers and academics alike. This event is focused upon the communicative, emotional, embodied, and aesthetical modes of youth citizenship. It examines the social construction of the political identities of young people within the context of widening social inequality, climate change, reflexive individualism and a networked social media ecology.
ConferenceDigital RightsElvira Perez VallejosGadaPoliticssocial mediaSocial Media Analysis
Ansgar Koene, Conference, ICT and society, Privacy, Researchers, Social Media usage, Uncategorised
CaSMa presenting POET at Social Media & Society 2016
15th July 2016 Ansgar Koene	Leave a comment
The Social Media & Society conference series has been bringing together social media researchers annually since 2010. This year's meeting in London (UK) was the first time it was held outside of Canada. For CaSMa this offered an excellent opportunity to present the results of the work Andrew Moffat at the Horizon CDT did for our POET project. Follow these links for more information about Andrew's project, poster he presented at SM&S 16 and the report he wrote about his work.
Continue reading CaSMa presenting POET at Social Media & Society 2016 →
Ansgar KoeneConferenceInternet mediated researchPrivacysocial mediaSocial Media Analysis


Shaalom 2 Salaam: A Muslimah's Journey Along the Way From Judaism to Islam: Islamic Writers Alliance: Poetry and Short Story Contests Begin Today!
Islamic Writers Alliance: Poetry and Short Story Contests Begin Today!
This Year EVERYBODY Can Write!
The Islamic Writers Alliance Short Story Contest!
The THEME for both contests is Open so whether you are a poet or a writer or a combination of both, there is an opportunity this year to write what you believe is a winning poem or short story and show the world you believe in what you write.
my quarter cenury mark at that.
Hmm did they show what last year's wining poem and story were?
I wil have to check it out more insha'Allah... Oooh the poems to write! oooh the stories to tell!
If you go to our site at http://www.islamicwritersalliance.net and scroll down to almost the bottom of the opening page, you will see which poems won last year.
May Allah (swt) guide your pen as you write your entry/Ameen!
I will say dua that you are one of the winners!
Also, please help us to advertise the contest (anyone else can, too). You can link back here or link to our site for the details.


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Surrey seam bowler Tim Linley has announced his retirement because of a knee injury.
The Yorkshire-born 33-year-old made only one Championship appearance this season, and two in the T20 Blast.
"Professional cricket was my dream job and the only one that I ever wanted to do," he told the Surrey website.
"I feel incredibly grateful I was able to achieve that ambition and fortunate I have been able to lead the life that I always dreamed about as a kid."
Linley made his first-class debut for Oxford MCCU in 2003 and made his Surrey debut in 2009 following a spell at Sussex.
He took 73 first-class wickets for The Oval side as they won promotion from Division Two in 2011.
In total he picked up 200 wickets at an average of 27.59 in 64 first-class appearances.


You've probably seen some of the old photographs of the Civil War, including some taken after the battle of Gettysburg. Of course they're all in black & white, making the subjects look rather dull – ancient, long ago and far away. But in this book we've converted those photos to color, and for the first time you'll see what the subjects really looked liked – the battlefield, the town, and the people. Colorizing these photos gives them a much more contemporary look, making you realize that the Civil War wasn't all that long ago, and color brings out the small details usually that often go unnoticed in older black & white photos.
The intent of the colorizing process was not to make the photos look "pretty," but to make them look realistic – how the scene actually looked at the time in full color.
Although no photos were taken during the actual battle, many were taken within two or three days of the event, and the best of them are included in this book, along with many additional photos previously only seen in black & white, and the book includes excellent commentary explaining the circumstances surrounding each photo.
This book is available on Amazon in paperback format.


Some frequently asked questions are answered as we approach registration day this Saturday September 6. Full registration details were in a previous post, and will be repeated tomorrow.
1)Question: I have heard that you have to be at the school at 4 am to get signed up is that true?
Answer: No. In the past there have been some hardy souls that camped out overnight to be the first in line but that has not been the case for a number of years. We do recommend that you get there early, and we will make sure that the school is open as soon as possible to give those in line access to the washroom facilities. As you line up we ask that you remain orderly and take the chance to get to know some of the other parents in the league.
2) Question: What are the age cut off dates between divisions?
Answer: The ages for all of our divisions this season is the age that the player will be on April 1, 2015.
3) Question: "What if we are not in town that weekend?
Answer: There is no pre registration, but someone else can register your player for you if you are away on September 6. They will need to know the player name, contact information and bring proof of age for the player (if possible). If they can't bring proof of age, we will still need to know the date of birth to get them registered in the right division. They should also have the $10 registration fee. A copy of the permission form will then be given to the person registering for you to be completed and brought to the evaluation night practice. Registration forms can only be signed by the player's parent or guardian. Members of the league executive cannot do this for you so please do not ask.
4) Question: What are the game nights for each division this season?
Answer: All ages referred to below are the age that a player will be on April 1, 2015. Graduate Division (boys 13-15) Monday nights at Ecole Cathedrale; Biddy Division (boys 11-12) Monday night at St. Pat's; Little Guys Division (boys 8-10) Tuesday night at St. Pat's; Girls Division (11-14) Wednesday Night at St. Pat's; Little Gals Division (girls 8-10) Thursday night at St. Pat's.


A look at daily practices and strategies for managing the stress that comes with having a family member addicted to drugs or alcohol. From expert interventionist, Dr. Louise Stanger, Ed.D.
I have been ruminating about the way in which the people I work with – families and their loved ones experiencing substance abuse, chronic pain, mental health and process disorders – live in a land of confusing messages, confabulations, and catastrophes.
When a family member calls, frantic that their loved one has maxed out credit cards from shopping, gambled their money away or lied and cheated, the caller is confused by the copious, conflicting messages their loved one has given them.
When confusing messages like these come at you, your perception of reality can become twisted, a reversal of ideas that leaves you wondering which way is up.
In this way, the person receiving the conflicting messages may catastrophize, or believe things will never get better, or that the worst possible thing could happen. "I will never have another peaceful moment," or "My loved one will never speak to me again," are common narratives that play in the mind. As such, the mind will play tricks on the person, in which perception and reality bleed into each other.
Catastrophizing, a term in behavioral science used to describe the inventions in the mind when stress, emotions, and trauma play tricks on the person, is the mind jumping to the worst possible outcome. "Making a mountain out of a molehill," as an old friend used to tell me. And unfortunately this type of mental health issue may have an adverse impact on present situations or even future goals.
"Falling prey to catastrophizing is like striking out in your mind before you even get to the plate," writes John Grohol, a psychology expert and CEO of Psych Central, an online resource for human psychology. Grohol writes that catastrophizing takes two forms: one in the present and another futurebound.
For the present, an example could take place at work. You're the creative executive at an upscale advertising agency and haven't signed a new account in a month. You catastrophize by irrationally assuming it's because you're bad at your job and incapable of signing new accounts. The pressure builds with an executive meeting at the end of the week to review company accounts, and you decide in your mind that you'll be fired because… well, you get the picture.
The other form of catastrophizing concerns unknown future events. Perhaps you plan to visit your family for a long holiday weekend, and since you're new in recovery, you're worried your family will look at you differently and ask strange questions. You fear that those who knew you in your disease will not accept you in your recovery. The catastrophizing inflates so big, you begin to create a "reality" around this line of thought, in which it ruins your whole weekend and interactions with your family.
In both cases, catastrophizing puts a dour mood on everything. "It can affect our entire outlook on life, and creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure, disappointment and underachievement," says Grohol.
As an interventionist and clinician, I work with clients who describe these kinds of thoughts in great detail. It's not uncommon to doubt and catastrophize. The truth is catastrophizing, at its core, is a defense mechanism for dealing with the uncomfortable vulnerability of living in the moment and having the courage to be seen, to live our truth. In many cases, catastrophizing bubbles up due to past traumas and hurts, constructing an invisible barrier between who we are and the world out there. If we stand at the gate, mind flooded with hows, whys and what ifs, a whirling cacophony of you're not good enough, then we don't step into the arena and give it our all, a lost opportunity to engage with our hearts open.
Catastrophizing isn't the only enemy. A kissing cousin is confabulations, a psychiatric term describing a person who fills gaps in their memory with false or invented memories that they believe to be true. This type of mental disturbance can influence one's actions and beliefs about themselves and others.
Goodtherapy.org, an online resource for finding ethical therapists, writes that "mundane confabulations can be caused by extreme emotions ranging from sadness to joy." So when you're certain your partner or spouse is being neglectful, take time to examine how often they actually spend time with you (rather than confabulate that it's not enough).
"However, more serious confabulations – such as the manufacture of something that never occurred – can be caused by mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress and depression," writes Good Therapy. For instance, people who experience depression often have a difficult time remembering positive experiences. In turn, they confabulate that only bad has happened in their life.
Despite these mental tricksters, strong mental health is closely linked to a positive outlook and daily practices that ground us in living in the moment. A good exercise to combat catastrophizing and confabulating is to complete a decisional balance worksheet. I work through these with clients to help them parse perception (influenced by emotions) from reality (grounded in basic truths). In essence, this worksheet lets the user create a list of pragmatic outcomes in the event of making a change. This helps to give my clients an honest perspective, one that takes in the full picture.
help to calm nerves. For confabulating, it's important to seize the thought in your mind, evaluate it and remind yourself of the actual events that have taken place and try not to predict the future. As I tell my clients, don't confuse the temporary for the permanent.
Learning to see the world with truth and compassion for oneself and others triggers growth, renewal and recovery.
Yes, we can have a relationship!
Yes, I can speak the truth!
Yes, I can see the part I have played in the addiction cycle!
Yes, I am changing my behaviors!
Yes, I am setting healthy boundaries!
Yes, I am navigating a new beginning!
These are the antidotes we may empower our clients with so that confabulations, catastrophizing and confusing messages take a back seat to renewal.
Substance abuse and aging: Are my retired parents addicted?