The root of many workplace problems can be traced to a lack of communication or misperceptions that result from ineffective communication. In my coaching practice, workers often tell me they are reluctant to speak up candidly with one another about their concerns or what's up for them. They fear office politics, losing a job, angering someone or retribution. Many also simply lack the skills to address difficult conversations directly. Unfortunately what many do instead is gossip and "triangle" in a third person (thereby avoiding talking to the offending person directly).
It's easy to get sucked unconsciously into negative workplace energy. A colleague vents about someone else and pretty soon you find yourself nodding your head in agreement about how "so and so" is lousy at something. Bad feelings get shared, absorbed and co-workers develop negative perceptions about those they need to count on.
To a degree, it is human nature to complain. Yet, gossiping about others when they aren't present damages trust, respect, morale and relationships. We pay a high price for the gossip or "triangle" approach. Most importantly, the issues don't get resolved, particularly if the offending party is left in the dark. Additionally, gossip is toxic to workplace morale, camaraderie and team. It often spirals out of control leaving a wake of negativity, suspicion, resentment and broken communication. Team collaboration, creativity and productivity suffer because a lack of trust impedes healthy debate and open dialogue.
Notice your energy the next time you are engaged in a negative complaining or gossip conversation about someone else. Odds are you will notice a drop in your energy and enthusiasm. You may even note a weight on your shoulders that now burdens your body, emotions and mind. How is this serving you?
Are you unconsciously or automatically looking at situations and people with a "critical" eye? Challenge yourself to use an "appreciative" eye and look for what's right about others vs. looking for what's wrong on auto pilot.
If you are feeling angry, identify and own your "judgments" and then identify what you are needing/wanting that you aren't getting. Do you have a need for more information, inclusion, equality or respect? Express your feelings and unmet needs to the other.
Be authentic. Say what is true for you while being conscious of respectful delivery of the information. Ask for what you need to be successful with a workplace task or role.
Hold interpersonal judgments lightly and consider that you may have the information wrong. Test your perceptions.
Discourage coworkers from gossiping. Either change the subject or refuse to take part in a conversation about someone when they aren't present.
Take stock of the facts before you automatically become the judge and jury of a coworker. We humans are remarkably adept at making up stories and meaning to situations we don't fully understand. We frequently leap to conclusions often with little or no data. Check and verify your perceptions before taking action that might result in harmful consequences.
Be intentional about how you speak about others when they aren't present. Ask yourself how what you will say may serve either you or others?
If something is bothering you or there has been a missed expectation, take it up with the person directly. This takes courage and as long as the delivery of the message is handled with care and intention, most often the relationship will be improved.
Prepare for difficult workplace conversations. Begin with the end in mind—where do you want to end up as a result of this conversation? How can you deliver the message in a way that the other person can hear?


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Q: How to create .zshrc in Mac home directory? I have started using Mac for the first time and I am trying to set up flutter. One of the steps is to add path in file .zshrc. For this I have to first create this file. In Windows, whenever I had to create file, I used Git Bash and use touch <filename> in any directory and the file was created. Some websites mention that touch works in Mac terminal also.
How to create this file in home directory? I tried going to the home directory using cd ~ and then touch .zshrc and touch ~/.zshrc but they don't seem to work. I also tried to save file with this extension using TextEdit but doesn't work either. I have checked Show all filename extensions in Finder > Preferences > Advanced.
So what is the way to create this file in home directory either using Finder or terminal?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Peerless' Montreal factory is the most efficient factory in the world today, producing men's fine tailored clothing.
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An Overview of the JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act"). As the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to develop rules necessary to implement several key provisions of the JOBS Act, this is a good time to review the key provisions of the JOBS Act and the status of SEC rulemaking.
The JOBS Act is designed to stimulate the growth of small companies by improving access to capital markets and reducing the regulatory reporting requirements on certain publicly-held companies. Certain provisions of the JOBS Act are effective immediately. However, several important provisions will not become effective until the SEC completes rulemaking as well as studies required by the JOBS Act.
Due to the significant rulemaking obligations that have been imposed on the SEC under both the Dodd-Frank Act and the JOBS Act, the SEC has failed to comply with most of its rulemaking deadlines under these acts.
The principal provisions of the JOBS Act appear in Titles I though VI of the Act. These provisions are summarized in the table below. The table is followed by a more detailed discussion of these provisions.
Title I – Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies
The JOBS Act creates a new category of issuer under both the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") called an "emerging growth company." An emerging growth company is any entity that had less than $1 billion in annual revenue during its most recently completed fiscal year.
Emerging growth companies will be allowed to file for an initial public offering under less burdensome regulations than other companies. Under the relaxed requirements, emerging growth companies are able to file a registration statement confidentially with the SEC; engage in certain "test the waters" communications with institutional buyers; provide just two years of audited financial statements (instead of the usual three years) in the registration statement; take advantage of certain streamlined disclosure requirements in the registration statement and in Exchange Act filings; and be covered more quickly by research published by investment banking firms.
After registering with the SEC, an emerging growth company will not be subject to full compliance with SEC reporting requirements until the first to occur of:
achieving $1 billion or more in annual revenue;
being deemed a large accelerated filer by having at least a $700 million in public float;
raising in excess of $1 billion in non-convertible debt over a three-year period; or
the last day of the fiscal year in which the fifth anniversary of the pricing date of the IPO falls.
Title II – Access to Capital for Job Creators
The JOBS Act requires that the SEC revise Rule 506 of Regulation D in order to permit general solicitation or general advertising in offerings exempt from registration under Rule 506, provided that all purchasers in the offering are "accredited investors" as defined in Regulation D. The rules to be issued in connection with these revisions will require issuers to take "reasonable steps" to confirm that all purchasers in such offerings are accredited investors.
On August 29, 2012, the SEC issued proposed changes to Rule 506 for public comment. The proposed rule changes do not clearly establish what "reasonable steps" an issuer should take to confirm status as accredited investors. Instead, the proposed changes provide that an issuer must make this determination in light of the facts and circumstances of each situation. The SEC received extensive public comments on the proposed rule changes, and to date the SEC has not adopted or re-proposed the rule.
Until the SEC amends Rule 506 in accordance with the JOBS Act, general solicitation and general advertising will continue to be prohibited, even if all purchasers of securities sold in a Rule 506 offering are accredited investors.
Title III – Crowdfunding
The JOBS Act creates a new exemption, Section 4(6) of the Securities Act, which allows an issuer to sell securities in small amounts to a large number of investors through a distribution method known as "crowdfunding." Securities in a crowdfunding transaction must be sold by either a registered broker-dealer or a funding portal that is registered with the SEC and FINRA as a financial intermediary.
Section 4(6) limits the dollar amount that an issuer may sell in any 12-month period. Section 4(6) also limits the dollar amount that individual investors may invest in crowdfunding transactions. In particular:
The total amount of securities that may be sold to all investors by an issuer, including any amount sold in reliance on the new Section 4(6) exemption during the previous 12-month period, is $1 million.
If an investor's net worth or annual income is less than $100,000, then the amount sold to such investor in any 12-month period may not exceed the greater of $2,000 or 5 percent of such investor's net worth or annual income.
If an investor's net worth or annual income equals or exceeds $100,000, then the amount sold to such investor in any 12-month period may not exceed 10 percent of the net worth or annual income of such investor, subject to an investment cap of $100,000.
To qualify for an exemption from registration under Section 4(6), the securities must be sold through a broker or funding portal that complies with the requirements of newly created Section 4A(a) of the Securities Act.
The terms of a Section 4(6) offering may not be advertised except by directing investors to the appropriate broker or funding portal through which the securities are sold.
Issuers will be subject to various disclosure and filing obligations in crowdfunding transactions, and broker-dealers and portals will be obligated to perform certain due diligence and compliance obligations. Although Section 4(6) is effective, extensive SEC and FINRA rulemaking are required in order to implement the crowdfunding exemption.
Title IV – Small Company Capital Formation
Regulation A is an exemption from registration under the Securities Act that allows non-SEC reporting companies to raise up to $5 million through a public offering. Regulation A requires that an offering document resembling a public offering registration statement be filed with and reviewed by the SEC.
The JOBS Act increases the amount that may be raised in a Regulation A offering from $5 million to $50 million. Implementation of the changes to Regulation A requires SEC rulemaking, which has not yet occurred.
Title V – Private Company Flexibility
Prior to the JOBS Act, issuers with more than $10 million in assets and with securities held by more than 500 record holders were required to register under the Exchange Act and become reporting companies. The JOBS Act increases these thresholds from 500 record holders to 2,000 record holders, provided that there are less than 500 non-accredited investors. Shareholders who acquired their shares in crowdfunding transactions or through employee compensation plans are generally excluded from these calculations.
Title VI – Capital Expansion
Title VI raises the threshold for registration of banks or bank holding companies under the Exchange Act to 2,000 record holders (with no limitation for non-accredited investors).
Certain provisions of the JOBS Act are highly controversial. Many lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern that the JOBS Act will compromise investor protections and increase fraudulent activity in securities offerings. In particular, crowdfunding and the introduction of general advertising and general solicitation in Rule 506 offerings have generated significant controversy. All of that has complicated and contributed to delays in SEC rulemaking.
Can You Afford to Wait to Sell Your Business?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Do you have a messy marriage? Join the club.
I realized yesterday that one problem I have with marriage is this: embracing my union with Christ. That changes everything. Our culture tells us that being pursued is great, but once you're married, the fun is over. Marriage is all work and messes.
Hollywood reinforces this idea. My heart leaps when Meg Ryan's email dings. You've Got Mail! Someone mysterious is pursuing her. Her heart begins to pound. She responds tentatively at first, but gradually begins to open herself to this stranger/friend. Her hopes rise, then fall. Confusion enters, tension builds. Then comes the moment in Central Park. Tom Hanks appears over the hill, his dog running ahead like some kind of peace offering.
It's him! At last! She falls into his arms as the credits roll.
Why do all those romantic comedies end here? Because the fun part is being pursued by a mysterious, persistent lover. After that it's laundry and dishes, budgets and babies.
Then God spoke to me. Why do you make your marriage the picture of mine? You've never seen marriage like it's really meant to be. You're my betrothed now. But on that day when the Bride comes down and the marriage supper of the Lamb is celebrated, then you'll see it. The glory of marriage.
Let's face it. This is all a profound mystery. We're swimming in the deep end of the pool…make that ocean. Look at Genesis 2:23. It's the first poem in the Bible. That's because only poetry can do justice to mystery. Let's take a moment to see Adam and Eve's romance in the light of Jesus, the True Adam.
Adam was made from the earth. Jesus was created from ovum and Spirit. This second Adam was different from the first. God and man had been united forever in this first act of the new creation.
"It is not good for the man to be alone." The Father speaks over the Son. "I will make a helper fit for him." As Jesus walked the earth in his incarnation, he shared so much of our life experience, but he never married. Why? Because there was no suitable partner anywhere on the earth.
"So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man." The Father caused the Son to sleep the sleep of death. Yes, the same death that atoned for our sins, that the Son bore willingly, that death was the sleep from which his bride was born. From his wounded side she–we–emerged.
"At last!" The shout of recognition rings through history and into my ears. "It's her!" He claims me as his own, his very flesh and blood. I fall into his arms.
But that's the best part…it doesn't! As Elyse says in Found In Him, p. 155, "Marriage with him is more than a metaphor; it is the reality that all the other metaphors describe." It's true. And it will be true forever. The Bride will come down like a gorgeous cosmopolitan city with no slums or trash-filled gutters. We will see our Savior's beauty and he will see ours. This is the true "marriage made in heaven." It won't be boring or messy or filled with endless, repetitive chores. It will be the romantic comedy (and adventure) that never ends!
Let's face it. All this seems a little unreal. How do I get my mind around it, let alone my heart?
After my wedding day, it took a long time for me to get used to the idea that I was a married woman. The ring on my finger would catch my eye, distracting me with its newness. When the hotel clerk asked, "Mrs. Lauterbach?" I looked behind me to see who he was talking to. The word "wife" sounded strange to me, like the label didn't yet fit.
But over time I have settled into my new identity. I love being Mark's wife. I own the new name and all that goes with it.
Be patient sisters. Look at your wedding ring often, the Holy Spirit who was given as a seal of the promise. Call yourself by your new name, His Beloved. Remember how he has pursued you, personally, passionately.
You'll come to embrace this new identity more and more. And as you do, you will fall into his arms.


As this is a guaranteed booking (we keep your reservation no matter what arrival time you have selected) we have to charge the amount of your first night's stay on your credit card in case of a no-show.
Thank you for reserving with us at wombat's CITY HOSTEL Budapest!
Here is the most important stuff summed up for you. If you miss something, also check out our website/facebook OR feel free to mail or call us!
We have a 24 hours reception - check-in starts at 2pm, unless your room is already cleaned, then you are lucky and can check-in immediately.
We wish you a nice trip to Budapest and look forward to welcoming you.


The Agilent Z5623A K07 Distribution Network is designed for use with the E8267D Options HCC and H1G.
The test set provides the capability to phase lock two signals sources of the same family.
The test set has two modes of operation, Coherent Mode and Independent Mode.
It also has four Reference Clock Outputs that are driven from either the internal 400 MHz oscillator or an external source.
The test set is controlled thru a 9 pin connector on the rear panel via an external switch controller (not included).
Includes power cord. No other accessories included.
Used item, pulled from a working environment. It has been power-on tested only.
There are no plastic feet on the bottom.


The film documents the thoughts and theories of Five hopeful Mars One astronauts as they contemplate the reality of leaving planet Earth forever, for a new home on Mars.
In this film, team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory share the challenges of the Curiosity Mars rover's final minutes to landing on the surface of Mars.
Take an astounding look at the red planet in this interplanetary adventure realized with animations, interviews, archive footage and more.


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THC molecules binding to the cannabinoid receptor. The receptor appears mainly in the nervous system and is involved in appetite, pain sensation, mood and memory.
This Is Your Endocannabinoid System Malfunctioning. So, What Part Does Cannabis Consumption Play?
By Steve Davis | Published: August 5, 2018
If you love cannabis because you feel bad unless you consume it, then you could be suffering with a little-known medical syndrome called clinical endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD), which may be impacting your health and happiness.
To fully understand how CECD could be affecting your life, you must first understand how your body works.
Your body keeps itself alive via a network of neurohormonal regulatory systems, which operate via creation, circulation, transfer and actions of chemicals called neurotransmitters that bind with neuroreceptors within our cells.
A neurotransmitter and neuroreceptor function like a lock-and-key mechanism, with the neurotransmitter the key and the neuroreceptor the lock.
When a neurotransmitter (including cannabis compounds that enter the body and function as neurotransmitters) binds with a neuroreceptor, it unlocks cellular activity to create a cascade of wide-reaching physiological changes. When neurohormonal systems malfunction, as is the case with CECD, then you suffer.
To make this complicated topic easier, check out the below video for a visual explanation of the endocannabinoid system.
Now, let's dig deeper into the specifics of the endocannabinoid system and CECD, so you can better understand why these things are so important for a healthy, functional body.
The Clinical Endocannabinoid System Explained
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is the body's major neural-hormonal regulatory mechanism consisting of neuroreceptors, (labeled as CB1 and CB2), and endocannabinoid neurotransmitters, such as anandamide. The system also includes enzymes that affect the production, storage, function and longevity of endocannabinoids in the bloodstream and at neuroreceptor sites.
The endocannabinoid system plays a leadership role in a mind-boggling number of body functions. It modulates such physical and psychological functions as embryological development, neural plasticity, neuroprotection, immune system responses, inflammation, apoptosis (i.e., the natural death of cells), carcinogenesis, pain, emotional memory, hunger, thermoregulation (i.e., body temperature regulation), metabolism and mood.
Endocannabinoids are neurotransmitters produced inside the body. The primary endocannabinoids identified by science so far are anandamide (arachidonoyl ethanolamide), and 2-arachidonoylglycerol.
Cannabis produces compounds called cannabinoids that mimic endocannabinoids. Cannabinoids from cannabis taken into the body are called exogenous cannabinoids (the "exo" prefix denotes that they come from outside the body).
Cannabinoid receptors are present throughout the body, with especially dense presence in brain areas, the gut, organs and peripheral tissue.
Endocannabinoids and exo-cannabinoids chemically and physically bind with and otherwise affect endocannabinoid receptors.
Cannabis consumption floods CB1 and CB2 receptors with cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol (THC and CBD). The flood of exo-cannabinoids radically and quickly alter the endocannabinoid system, creating what you subjectively experience as a marijuana high as well as any medicinal effects. Your neural-hormonal systems are likely to experience this as a disruptive event.
The cannabis plant contains at least 60 known compounds that affect CB1 and CB2 receptors. Cannabis also produces hundreds of terpenoids and flavonoids. Many of these compounds affect CB1 and CB2 receptors, as well as other neuroreceptors.
At its foundation, the primary purpose of the endocannabinoid system and other neural-hormonal systems is to help your body maintain homeostasis, i.e., to auto-regulate its internal environment to allow for stable conditions necessary for survival and adaptive behavior. Homeostasis systems are infinitely complex and interlinked. They're responsible for how our bodies maintains safe levels of temperature, water, salt, sugar, protein, fat, calcium, oxygenation, blood flow, heart rate and neurological function. When homeostasis is interrupted, then disease, dysfunction and even death can result.
In a person who has never consumed cannabis or used it only a handful of times, the brain and body have a natural endocannabinoid system "tone" created by the body's genetic and adaptive mechanisms. But when you chronically consume cannabis, you radically alter natural endocannabinoid system tone in ways that have unintended consequences, and could have permanent, harmful effects on your body.
Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Can Lead To Health Problems
Now that we have a basic understanding of endocannabinoids, exo-cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system, we can explore clinical endocannabinoid deficiency. The CECD hypothesis was first proposed nearly 20 years ago, but at the time there wasn't enough hard evidence to validate its existence.
Since then, objective proof in the form of clinical trial data has shown significant differences in cerebrospinal fluid anandamide levels in people with disorders such as migraine, while high-tech imaging studies demonstrated endocannabinoid system deficits associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Although medical science has yet to formally acknowledge clinical endocannabinoid deficiency as a verified medical condition, cannabis researchers have put forth reams of credible evidence proving that CECD does exist.
That evidence now indicates that all humans have an underlying endocannabinoid tone that's a reflection of levels, production and metabolism of endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, along with the relative abundance and functional efficiency of cannabinoid receptors.
Healthy ECS tone becomes unhealthy when congenital or acquired dysfunction creates physiological syndromes. When endocannabinoid system function is defective, you most commonly experience increased physical pain, along with derangements of digestion, mood and sleep.
Regarding CECD, there have been many claims within the field of psychiatry that depression and psychological conditions are caused by shortages, imbalances and dysfunction in neurotransmitter systems. When psychiatrists prescribe antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety and mental disorders, they're attempting to alter and repair neurotransmitter systems that are implicated in the production of serotonin, dopamine and choline.
The endocannabinoid system is dynamically involved with other neurotransmitter systems, especially those that modulate production of dopamine and serotonin. CB1 receptors are among the most common receptors in your brain, and this plethora of cannabinoid receptors and interlinking networks affect such crucial physiological or psychological states as motivation, sleep, pain, mood, hunger, happiness and sadness.
The endocannabinoid system acts as a connector between the body and mind, and has an impact on our immune system, nervous system and all the body's organs.
Medical Marijuana For, Migraine, IBS, PTSD & Fibromyalgia
Pioneering neurologist Dr. Ethan Russo is a leading expert on clinical endocannabinoid deficiency disorders. Currently director of research and development at the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute, Russo's findings indicate that CECD is implicated in medical conditions that affect tens of millions of people.
Migraines are only one of the many medical conditions Russo has examined in relation to clinical endocannabinoid deficiency. According to the Migraine Research Foundation, this neurological disease affects around 12 percent of the US population, and 18 percent of women. Indeed, the US experiences a health care and lost productivity cost as high as $36 billion per year due to these debilitating headaches.
In his research, Russo points out that anandamide influences serotonin receptor systems to reduce migraine frequency and pain. Also, exo-cannabinoid treatments can benefit migraine sufferers and have been found to be safer and more effective than pharmaceutical medicines.
In the US, cannabis was used as a preventive and curative for headaches in the 1800s, until marijuana prohibition in 1937.
Gastrointestinal and digestive disorders are also conditions that anandamide and exo-cannabinoids help with. For hundreds of years, until the onset of international cannabis prohibition in the 20th century, marijuana was commonly used to quell stomach pain, diarrhea and general gastrointestinal problems. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most prevalent of these disorders. IBS includes a bewildering cycle of diarrhea, constipation, stomach spasms and pain, and digestive disruptions.
With patients using medical marijuana to treat gastrointestinal disorders, it would come as no surprised to learn that cannabinoid receptors are densely present in the digestive system, with the ECS appearing to regulate key gastrointestinal functions.
Medical marijuana legalization allows increasing numbers of IBS patients to turn to cannabis because standard medical interventions such as antidepressants, anti-inflammatories and opioids create negative side effects including colitis and cardiovascular issues.
The endocannabinoid system also plays a part in fibromyalgia, a puzzling and oft-misdiagnosed rheumatic chronic condition that creates areas of intense, intermittent pain, stiffness, and dysfunction in muscle, connective tissue and joints.
Fibromyalgia is often accompanied by depression and anxiety and affects women more than men. It's also been commonly confused with conditions such as arthritis and neuropathic pain, and makes it difficult for patients to carry on a normal life because it impedes movement, sleep and energy.
Malfunctions in the endocannabinoid and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems cause onset or worsening of fibromyalgia, but consumption of exo-cannabinoids have had restorative effects that reduce or eliminate fibromyalgia symptoms.
The endocannabinoid system plays a part in many other conditions that are mitigated by medical marijuana, including motion sickness, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, PTSD, depression, anorexia nervosa, bulimia and autism.
Now that you have a better understanding of the endocannabinoid system, you'll probably want to know if your system is malfunctioning. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our post, in which we discuss signs of CECD and what you can do to combat it.
Growing Medical Marijuana As A Treatment For Parkinson's Disease
Medical marijuana as a treatment option for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease is increasing, and for good reason. According to a study published in the medical journal Clinical Neuropharmacology,…
Juicing Marijuana Provides Unique Medical Cannabis Benefits
Juicing marijuana plants is gaining popularity because raw marijuana juice is said to cure many health problems. Much like juicing veggies and fruits, or the "raw food diet," juicing marijuana…
New Jersey Governor Expands Medical Marijuana Access, But Are Garden State Patients Pleased?
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently announced a major expansion to the state's Medical Marijuana Program. According to NBC Philadelphia, the governor recently held a press conference to announce the…
2-arachidonoylglycerol, anandamide, anorexia nervosa, Anxiety, arachidonoyl ethanolamide, arthritis, autism, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, CB1, CB2, CBD, CECD, chronic pain, clinical endocannabinoid deficiency, Depression, endocannabinoid, epilepsy, Ethan Russo, featured, fibromyalgia, flavonoids, Huntington's disease, IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, marijuana, Medical Marijuana, migraine, motion sickness, Multiple Sclerosis, neuroreceptor, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Terpenoids, THC
The Good Soil: All The Dirt On Supercharging Soil For Successful Growing
Stirring The Pot: Here's What Congress Is Doing For Veterans When It Comes To Cannabis


Whether online or in person, we all will leave a legacy. You can create a lasting legacy at the American Friends Service Committee by including us in your future plans. Contact Alyssa Chatten at GiftPlanning@afsc.org or 888-588-2372 to learn more.


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Q: PostgreSQL: Change the origin for geometric types to upper left corner I'm working with Postgresql with imagery data.  We normally have the 0,0 as the upper left corner of the image.  When I try to store BOX objects in a table Postgresql is sorting the first and second parameters so the origin is the lower left.  Is there anyway to change where postgresql things the origin should be?
I'm using Posgresql 9.3.  The query would be something like 'INSERT INTO table (bbox) VALUES('(0,100),(100,0)')'
I would like:

*

*upper left =0,0

*upper right =0,100

*lower left = 100,0

*lower right = 100,100

what gets put into the database is: (100,100),(0,0). so it is 90 degrees off.

A: Negate the y axis when storing, and negate it again when loading. That should transform your co-ordinate space (origin 0,0 at top-left) to PostgreSQL's (origin 0,0 at bottom left) by mirroring it across the x axis.
regress=> SELECT box ('(0,100),(100,0)');
       box
-----------------
 (100,100),(0,0)
(1 row)

regress=> SELECT box ('(0,-100),(100,0)');
       box
------------------
 (100,0),(0,-100)
(1 row)

Do this consistently and all your in-database work with geometries will still be fine and consistent.
Alternately, just let Pg store the boxes how it wants. The same box is represented either way, and you can do whatever you want with it when you load it.


Why is this annoying? Well… take a look at the following screenshot.
What doesn't seem like it belongs in this list?
If you guessed, "Dwarf dinosaur fossil found in Germany"... you guessed right!
I wish that they had just a Science category as I hardly see how this needs to be grouped with news about Nintendo or new voip phone applications.
This morning, Brian Ford and I headed over to Powell's Technical Bookstore to pick up their one used copy of Code Complete, 2nd ed. While we both stood there reviewing the contents, I felt somewhat unsatisfied with the purchase that I was about to make. It then occurred to me that what I was looking for was quite different and while the programmer side of me felt the need to make the purchase, there was another void to fill. Requirements gathering, prototyping, use cases, and delivery are areas where I am really focusing a lot of my attention to. Brian and I discussed how Test-Driven Development solves some of the problems surrounding application development and Behavior Driven Development might pick up on some of that slack as well.. but what about the stuff that happens prior to sitting down to code these units of work? How do we define them? How do we extract meaningful requirements from the client and allow them to participate in a sign-off process where they confirm that they are confident that you understand what their problem is and that you have a clear picture of a solution? These are questions that I have been trying to answer for myself.
I was immediately drawn to the book at that point and decided to purchase up both books for the PLANET ARGON library. It's written by Suzanne and James Robertson and published by Addison Wesley.
I came across a review of Code Complete, 2nd Ed. last night… and saw the following quotes.
I'd like to apologize for not keeping you updated on Project Borat. If you'd like some background, please read Project Borat, an introduction.
When User does X, what information should they be presented with?
What types of users will use this application?
What are some of the goals and intentions of the users?
Might a user want to do z before x?
Are users interested in doing something completely different?
During this Iteration we also hit a major milestone for the client. For the first time since they came up with their idea, they were able to see something visual and had semi-functional to play with. The prototype resembled what they had been thinking about conceptually for several months. It can be easy as a developer to forget the importance and excitement that goes along with seeing something that consolidates your ideas… visually for the first time. This process requires a good stream of feedback and asking specific questions about functionality possibilities and not burdening the user with too much information in certain contexts… while still providing them with enough to keep them interested.
In The Art of Project Management, Scott Berkun raises the following questions for iterations and prototypes.
What did we learn from this design that we should keep in the next attempt? Eliminate?
Are there any other idea groupings or from other prototypes that we should include?
Another important thing to do during any iteration is to keep a list of open-issues. Berkun suggests using a simple tool for this. We're using plain text files in subversion and using Textile for markup.
1 Alan Cooper & Robert Reimann, About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design. Wiley 2003.
Jacob Harris, a very nice guy that I have the pleasure of chatting with online almost every day during the week. Not only is he a hosting customer… he's my East Coast buddy that I hope to meet in person for the first time in a few months… should he make it out to Portland for OSCON 2006! The PLANET ARGON team loves harrisj!
Earlier this evening, I noticed that today he wrote a blog entry titled, Are You Happy?
He gives a good introduction into something that I actually had not heard of before… Flow.


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Иван Львович Слезкин (, Москва — , Москва) — генерал-лейтенант, начальник Московского губернского жандармского управления, участник дела об убийстве студента Иванова (1869).

Биография
На службе в корпусе жандармов с 1848 г.

Начальник Московского губернского жандармского управления с 1867 г.

После опознания тела сокурсниками студента Иванова, лично взял под контроль дело как шеф губернского жандармского управления (такое внимание было связано с тем, что Иванов состоял на учёте у жандармов как революционер).

Собирал показания на революционера Сергея Нечаева. В частности, студент университета П. И. Махин 2 июня 1869 года написал следующее: «С Нечаевым я встретился назад тому 2 года (Махин забыл, 4 года. — Ф. Л.), или несколько более, в Москве следующим образом. Я в то время был в Университете и часто на лекциях встречался с вольнослушателем Нефедовым, а вскоре по дешевизне номеров, где квартировал (дом Ностиц — на Дмитровке, в номерах Романникова), занял один из номеров рядом с его. У него-то в это время встретил некоего Нечаева, готовящегося держать экзамен на домашнего учителя и уроженца с. Иванова, откуда сам был родом и Нефедов. Нефедов мне говорил, что Нечаев очень беден, и общая квартира была бы для него удобною. Ради соблюдения собственного интереса и экономии я согласился занять общий номер с Нечаевым и прожил вместе месяцев 4 или 6. <…> К концу нашей 5-месячной жизни Нечаев перешел жить на месяц к Погодину в качестве секретаря. Возвратясь оттуда, мы с ним серьезно поссорились по той причине, что он вышедшего из корпуса моего брата хотел подчинить своему влиянию не в смысле политическом, а в домашних отношениях; просто обижал его. Вследствие ссоры и получа из дому деньги, — кажется 25 руб., — он уехал в Петербург, не сказав мне даже, с какой целью, и даже не рассчитавшись со мной, ибо остался должен мне 6 рублей за квартиру, которые и доселе не отдал. Во время нашей обшей жизни он хлопотал более всего о получении диплома на звание учителя, так как он был в крайности и никакими политическими затеями не занимался, а потому и со мною о них разговоров не имел. Уехал он, на меня рассердившись очень сильно, и переписки не вел, что делал в Петербурге, не знаю, а почему пишет письмо, если это только он пишет, не могу понять. Разве только с целью насолить мне и скомпрометировать меня перед правительством».

Был женат. Похоронен в Москве на кладбище Ново-Алексеевского женского монастыря.

Примечания

Литература

Генерал-лейтенанты (Российская империя)
Нечаевское дело
Похороненные на кладбище московского Новоалексеевского монастыря

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A note on Stitched Shapes Framelits: Stampin' Up! has announced that this hot new product will be available again in January. If you missed the availability in November, I urge you to mark your calendars and place an order as soon as they become available. I'll keep you posted.
One of the tricks I've found for getting a clear impression when using a solid photopolymer stamp is to clean the stamp on the Stampin' Scrub BEFORE inking it. I spritz the Scrub with some Stampin' Mist and give the stamp a good scrub, and it seems to condition the surface and give me better results. This isn't scientific, it's just what I do!
On the back of the easel is a little pocket for a note, a little cash, or a gift card. The Easel fits nicely in our 3″ gusset bags, and with a bit of ribbon and a tag on the top it dresses up beautifully for a more elegant presentation.
If you're planning on making a DIY Calendar this year, I'm all out of Easel Kits at the moment. There are half a dozen or so Calendar refills available, and I don't envision printing any more. The point is that if you'd like a Calendar Refill, you need to let me know sooner than later.
The Refill is $6 plus postage. One calendar fits in a regular envelope and will ship First Class for $.68. More than that – I'll have to quote you. Send your request to AnneMatasci@gmail.com and I'll get back to you with an invoice.
Holiday and Annual catalog product that Stampin' Up! has in excess and has offered at a discount through January 3.
Clearance Rack products which are in limited supply. Some may be offered beyond January 3 at the discretion of Stampin' Up!


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< GoodTherapy Blog >
How New Health Care Bill Could Affect Mental Health, and Other News
June 30, 2017 • Contributed by Zawn Villines, GoodTherapy.org Correspondent
United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced this week that the Senate will delay a vote on the Republican-led bill to overhaul the Affordable Care Act until after the July 4 recess.
The bill has been the subject of intense criticism, including by some Republicans. Now, a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals how the bill might affect care. The CBO says 22 million people will lose coverage over the next 10 years. By 2020, the CBO says few low-income people would be able to purchase any plan. Out-of-pocket costs would likely rise for most people. People in states with more lax consumer protection laws, however, might see lower premiums due to fewer benefits.
The Affordable Care Act expanded access to mental health coverage and mandated mental health parity in coverage decisions. Analysts warn that Medicaid cuts could eliminate care for many people in need of mental health services, including addiction treatment. Mental health care could become more expensive for millions of Americans.
Federal Judge in SPLC Case Orders Drastic Overhaul of Alabama Prison Mental Health Care System
A federal judge in a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lawsuit has deemed the Alabama prison mental health care system "horrendously inadequate." Suicide rates are rising in the Alabama prison system. One prisoner who testified at a trial lawsuit died by suicide less than a month after his testimony. In his order, Judge Myron Thompson demanded significant reforms under the direction of the SPLC.
With Health Care Cuts Looming, Low-Cost Magnesium a Welcome Option for Treating Depression
New research suggests magnesium, a low-cost supplement, could alleviate symptoms of depression. This makes it an affordable alternative to other more expensive forms of mental health treatment or medication. Magnesium produced clinically significant improvements in 112 of 126 adults seeking outpatient care for depression symptoms.
Alzheimer's Gene Associated with Failure to Adapt to Cognitive Challenge in Healthy Adults
A gene for Alzheimer's does not make the disease inevitable, but does dramatically increase the risk. The gene, known as APOE4, is also linked to other cognitive issues. New research suggests adults who carry this gene may struggle to adapt to cognitive demands as they age.
Depression: How to Get Treatment If You Can't Afford It or It Isn't Covered
When financial considerations place depression treatment out of reach, self-care strategies such as exercise, mindfulness, and dietary changes may help. For people with more severe symptoms, prescription assistance programs and sliding-scale psychotherapy clinics can help reduce the costs of treatment.
'Exaggerations' Threaten Public Trust in Science, Says Leading Statistician
Misleading, inflated claims can undermine public trust in science. Science critics may claim hyperbolic headlines are "fake news." Statistician David Spiegelhalter says the pressure to publish at all costs, even if the results are marginal or the data don't support exciting claims, contributes to a tendency to exaggerate the value and significance of study findings.
How Do You Treat a Dog with OCD?
Dogs can develop compulsive behavior similar to obsessive-compulsive (OCD) behavior in humans. Dogs showing signs of OCD might compulsively chase things or engage in self-harm, such as excessive licking or chasing their tails. Some veterinarians already use human drugs to treat these symptoms, and preliminary research supports the practice.
© Copyright 2017 GoodTherapy.org. All rights reserved.
The preceding article was solely written by the author named above. Any views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the preceding article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment below.
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Health Care Bill, and Other News
Mental Health Matters: Why Do You Work in Mental Health Care?
4 Big Ways We Can Change Mental Health Care in America
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All we have been hearing for the past couple of years is what a great plan they were going to roll out once they repealed and replaced ACA. and now what do they have? apparently nothing that any of them can even agree on. I wish that for once they would allow people who actually know a think or two have some say so instead of decisions being made on high by a very small minority which wind up impacting us all.
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Team Kolamaavu Kokila ups the ante with a unique promotional strategy!
The makers of Kolamavu Kokila are surely coming up with kickass promotional strategies.
Producers and makers are coming up with more and more unique strategies to promote their films; via social media. It has become a norm to see song visuals from the film being launched on YouTube prior to the film's release. However, the team of Kolamaavu Kokila has gone a step ahead, coming out with custom-made music videos for the hit numbers from the soundtrack.
For the title song, the team brought in some trending comedians such as Bijili Ramesh, Lollu Sabha Manohar, Theepetti Ganesan and so on for a music video that was received well by the youngsters. The video has now crossed more than a million views on YouTube.
Next from the team, would be the custom-made music video of Thittam Poda Theriyala, a beautiful track from the album. Apart from penning the lyrics for the song, director Vignesh Shivn has directed the video which will be unveiled soon. The teaser of the same was put out last night, featuring composer Anirudh in the backdrop of a ruined house.
Vada Chennai teaser: Dhanush rocks in this killer gangster plot!
Here's the film's director Nelson thanking Vignesh Shivn for the video.
Though the makers of Kolamaavu Kokila had initially announced the release date as August 10th, they have pushed it by a week to the 17th, in order to avoid the clash with Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam 2.


There's no better way to get to know a city than to meet up with the locals. Check out the latest community events and experience the OC's famous spirit.
If you have an event that you'd like us to post email hi@lagunabeachliving.com.


Malignant thymoma is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the tissues of the thymus. The thymus is a small organ that lies under the breastbone. It makes white blood cells called lymphocytes, which travel through the body and fight infection. People with malignant thymoma often have other diseases of their immune system. The most common disease in people with thymoma is one in which the muscles are weak, called myasthenia gravis.
A doctor should be seen if a person has a cough that won't go away, weakness in the muscles, or pain in the chest.
If there are symptoms, the doctor may take an x-ray of the chest. The doctor may also do a CT scan, a special x-ray that uses a computer to make a picture of part of the body.
The chance of recovery (prognosis) and choice of treatment depend on the stage of the cancer (whether it is just in the thymus or has spread to other places), the types of cells found in the cancer, and the patient's general state of health.
Stage I malignant thymoma may be referred to as noninvasive malignant thymoma. Stages II through IVb malignant thymoma may be referred to as invasive malignant thymoma.
Chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells) is being studied in clinical trials.
Surgery to remove the tumor is the most common treatment of malignant thymoma. A doctor also may take out lymph nodes or tissue around the cancer.
Radiation therapy uses x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation for thymoma usually comes from a machine outside the body (external beam radiation therapy). Radiation therapy can be used alone or in addition to surgery.
If the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the operation, the patient may be given radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Radiation therapy given after an operation when no cancer cells can be seen is called adjuvant radiation therapy.
Hormone therapy uses hormones to stop cancer cells from growing. Hormones called steroids may be given to stop the tumor from growing.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the thymus.
Treatment of malignant thymoma depends on the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and overall condition.
Standard treatment may be considered because of its effectiveness in patients in past studies, or participation in a clinical trial may be considered. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information. Clinical trials are ongoing in many parts of the country for patients with malignant thymoma.
2. Radiation therapy in rare cases.
1. Surgery to remove the cancer followed by adjuvant radiation therapy.
2. Radiation therapy alone, if the cancer cannot be removed by surgery.
4. A clinical trial of chemotherapy followed by surgery.
cannot be removed by surgery.
3. Hormone therapy with steroids.
4. A clinical trial of chemotherapy.


text:
Check Blue
All Blue. All the Time.
The Best Of Vin Scully
Machado, Turner Stay Hot For Sweep
Dodgers • Games
Written by: Micah Gutman
Justin Turner continued his hot hitting on Sunday when he collected three hits and five RBIs in the Dodgers' 7-3 victory over the Padres. Manny Machado's power surge continued as well when he smacked a go-ahead two-run homer that proved to be what the Dodgers needed to sweep the Padres.
It took a while before Machado started hitting but he's really heated up. His home run on Sunday afternoon was his seventh as a Dodger. Because of the score and the day he hit the homer, this one may have been his most impactful longball as a Dodger. The homer proved to be the decisive run in the Dodgers' win, which kept them 2 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks.
While Machado's been getting a lot of the positive attention and the bullpen's been getting the negative attention, there's been another Dodger who's been really hot. His name: Justin Turner. I wrote about this yesterday, but Turner's been just as hot as the summer in California.
After yesterday's game, Turner's hitting .308 with a .398 OBP. In the last two weeks, Turner's been slashing .400/.474/.760. He continued to hit well on Sunday when he went 3-5 and tied a career-high 5 RBI. Turner claims that his wrist is feeling 100%, and, from the way he's playing, I have no reason to doubt him.
After a game like this, and especially a series sweep, it's easy to forget about the starting pitcher. Hyun-Jin Ryu took on a big task: following up Kershaw's eight-inning outing. But Ryu did a pretty good job. He lasted 5.2 innings and allowed two earned runs. I'm not really sure how he managed it, given the fact that he gave up eleven hits, but he still did it. He also collected two hits. One of these hits sparked a rally.
Ryu's second hit sparked a two-out fifth-inning rally for the Dodgers. The Dodgers found themselves with Ryu on second and Brian Dozier on first with Turner at the plate. Turner ripped a two-run double down the line. This was immediately followed by Machado's two-run homer.
Look At That Defense!
If there's one thing we know about Yasiel Puig, it's that he has an amazing arm. We don't get to see him show off his arm very much anymore, however, because opposing baserunners have a healthy fear of it. But in the fourth inning, Manuel Margot foolishly decided to test Puig.
The "Wild Horse" had bobbled the ball in right field so Margot decided to try for third base. Puig picked up the ball, fired it to third, and made up for his mistake. Take a look:
The Dodgers will try to keep their momentum moving in a positive direction as they head to Texas for a two-game series against the Rangers. They absolutely destroyed the Rangers in a two-game set at Dodger Stadium earlier this year. Walker Buehler will take the mound for the Dodgers against Ariel Jurado.
Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu Justin Turner Manny Machado Padres Win
Dodgers Get Walk-Off Magic On Players' Weekend
Machado, Dozier Propel Dodgers To Clutch Win
About the Author / Micah Gutman
Hi there! My name is Micah. I'm a junior in high school and I play on the school baseball team. I've had a passion for the Dodgers for many years and I enjoy writing about them. Beyond baseball, I love playing guitar, chilling with my friends, and reading memes.
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The volcanic region of Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, has many natural hot springs. The Blue Lagoon is an artificial lake fed by the surplus water drawn from the geothermic power station at Svartsengi. The colour of the lagoon results from the mineral mixture of silica and chalk from the basin combined with the presence of decomposing algae. Rich in mineral salts and organic matter, the hot waters, approximately 40°C, (104°F) of the Blue Lagoon are known for their curative properties, particularly for skin ailments. The use of geothermic energy, a renewable, clean, and inexpensive energy source, is relatively recent, but it is being used with growing frequency. In Iceland, in 1960 less than 25 percent of the population benefited from this source of heat, whereas today it meets the needs of 85 percent of Icelanders. By using geothermic energy to produce hydrogen fuel cells, Iceland plans to make its economy oil-free by 2040.


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WCU: China buying lifts ag sector hopes
Ole Hansen
Head of Commodity Strategy
Summary: Commodities led by agriculture and industrial metals trade higher for a third week as US and Chinese leaders look to lower tensions ahead of October trade talks. Gold remains supported despite rising yields while crude oil struggle amid the risk of an emerging supply glut.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index has traded higher for a third week and during this time all three sectors have taken turns in the lead. In late August it was precious metals which surged in response to falling bond yields and reduced risk appetite. A thaw in the US China trade relations then helped trigger a strong week for crude oil and HG copper before the agriculture sector, following weeks of selling, moved higher last week.
Grains found support after a government report lowered the expected output from the coming harvest, together with renewed Chinese buying of soybeans. Precious metals continued to consolidate with gold finding support despite the recent 35 bp rise in US ten-year notes to 1.8%, a five-week high. Industrial metals maintained a bid amid optimism over signs of easing trade tensions. Crude oil markets meanwhile quickly reversed their recent gains with OPEC and Russia at a meeting in Abu Dhabi struggling to find a response to the current slowdown in demand, something that led the International Energy Agency to warn about a looming supply glut into 2020.
Ahead of the expected rate cut from the US FOMC next week the ECB gave the market an opportunity to test current market themes and assumptions. However, after delivering several measures to stimulate the economic activity, the subsequent market reaction took most by surprise. The euro rallied strongly, and bond yields jumped after it emerged that key core countries Germany, France and the Netherlands objected against the new QE. We conclude that the ECB has reached the end of the road in terms of what it can do with fiscal policies potentially taking over.
Ahead of the early October trade talks between the US and China, both countries have made steps to improve their relationship thereby raising market expectations for a breakthrough. US agriculture products have for the past 18 months been caught in the crossfire, but this past week China was seen in the market buying US produced soybeans, cotton and hogs. This comes at a time where hedge funds are holding net-short positions in all but a couple of the major agriculture futures markets.
Source: Saxo Bank
Hopes were raised ahead of the OPEC+ JMMC meeting in Abu Dhabi that the group would do more to support the price of oil. This after Saudi Arabia, in need of $80/b to balance its budget, appointed oil veteran Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman (ABS), as its new Energy Minister. Despite promises from Iraq, Nigeria and Russia to cut production to their agreed target levels, the market again turned lower. This after monthly oil market reports from the three major forecasters all raised concerns about the continued decline in global demand growth. Something that led the International Energy Agency to warn that the market may face a looming supply glut into 2020.
Brent and WTI crude oil's attempted breakout lasted less than a week and both have returned to their respective ranges around $60/b and $55/b. We suspect that nervous rangebound trading will continue with any renewed risk-off from failed trade talks or deteriorating economic data keeping the market on the defensive.
Gold's high correlation to US bond yield movements has triggered the first major challenge to the rally that began back in June when bond yields turned sharply lower. While the short-term risk of a correction to $1450/oz or in worst case scenario $1380/oz exist, we maintain a bullish outlook for gold. We view the current setback, however painful, as being necessary to breathe fresh life into a rally that had gone stale.
Previous bull markets in gold, most noticeable the one from 2000 to 2010 were littered with aggressive corrections which despite the strong gains that decade made it a difficult market to trade for short-term tactical traders. The reasons behind our bullish view on gold and precious metals in general are:
The US Federal Reserve is likely to continue to cut rates
US-China trade war is raising recessionary risks
Nominal and real bond yields are expected to stay low and, in some places negative. Thereby removing the opportunity cost associated with holding a non-coupon and non-interest paying asset
Continued buying by central banks looking to diversify and for some to reduce the dependency on the dollar, so called de-dollarization
The dollar is potentially on its final legs with the emerging risk of US action to weaken the Greenback
The chart below shows the risk of a retracement back towards the $1450/oz, a level which would still only reflect a weak correction within a strong uptrend. It would take an unlikely break below $1380/oz, the multi-year resistance area turned support, for the technical outlook to turn back to negative.
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French President Macron resigns
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Many a Montreal family has virtually the same photo as this one – the same grouping (parents and child(ren), posing at the Lookout located at Mount Royal's Chalet.
Off to War… and Home Again!
My grandmother (Bubby) worried all through World War Two, while several of her children and their spouses served in the armed forces. I think it's fitting this year – the 70th anniversary of that terrible war's end – to pay tribute to them, my brave aunt and uncles.


text:
LGBTQ Activism
How the US Shapes Queer Activism in Liberia
Outsiders have both helped and harmed Liberia's LGBT community.
By Robbie Corey-Boulet
In May 2019, Kenya's High Court upheld sections of the penal code that criminalize same-sex relations, a disappointment for gay-rights activists across Africa. (AP / Ben Curtis)
As the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean, dozens of queer Liberians and their friends and family gathered on a stretch of beach outside Monrovia, the West African nation's capital. It was a Sunday night in November 2016, and they had been invited to an event marking Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Adapted from Love Falls on Us: A Story of American Ideas and African LGBT Lives. © 2019 by Robbie Corey-Boulet. Reprinted by permission of Zed Books.
The program, though, looked to the future as much as it reflected on the past. In addition to honoring transgender Liberians who had died in the previous 12 months, activists planned to introduce candidates for the Miss Trans Diva pageant, one of the local LGBT community's most important, and high-spirited, annual parties.
After a moment of silence, the up-tempo beat of Beyoncé's 2013 hit "Grown Woman" pulsed through the speakers, and the pageant's seven contestants began their first passes down a red carpet spread over the wooden stage. Over the next few hours, each woman modeled three outfits—casual wear, evening wear, and "traditional" wear, meaning bright Liberian lappa prints—as the crowd danced and drank Club Beer, the more exuberant among them jokingly shouting marriage proposals. When it was over, a panel of judges selected the evening's "winner," presenting her with a pink-and-blue cake.
The security guards hired for the event left soon after that, but most of the partygoers lingered long past midnight. At around 4 am, the winner walked out, cake in hand, with her mother and boyfriend. The pageant had already attracted attention from nearby residents. As soon as those residents saw the cake, they started crying out that the event was, in fact, a gay wedding. Armed with knives, machetes, and sticks, a group of them chased the winner and her entourage back onto the beach, then began threatening to attack everyone there. As the crowd huddled inside a private-event space set back from the shoreline, the would-be assailants tried to force their way in, rattling the locked doors and windows.
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The situation was defused only after a Liberian activist managed to place a call to a commander for the Liberia National Police. Officers soon arrived at the scene, where they were met with hostility from the residents. "When the police came," one witness recalled, "the community even jumped on the police, started fighting the police, saying, 'Oh, you guys are promoting this thing in Liberia. It will not hold. This is not America.'"
The officers took statements and invited residents to file complaints if they had seen anything illegal. But they also admonished them not to threaten members of the LGBT community. By midmorning, they had managed to disperse the crowd, escorting everyone to safety.
The residents' warning that "this is not America" underscored a chief misconception animating antigay sentiment in Liberia and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa: that the United States and other Western democracies are introducing behaviors, identities, and rights that are inherently foreign to the continent. This idea is, of course, baseless. As in other African countries, Liberian sexual minorities, whether open or not, activists or not, have formed part of the fabric of their society since long before LGBT liberation came into fashion in the United States or anywhere else.
At the same time, the incident on the beach hinted at the various ways the experiences of LGBT Liberians have been shaped, for good and for ill, by outsiders, notably Americans. On the positive side, collaborations with these outsiders, including at conferences held abroad, were critical to the formation of a network of local activists catering specifically to transgender Liberians. These conferences have also helped Liberian activists sharpen tools necessary to navigate dicey security situations—in this case, the ability to cultivate contacts with law-enforcement officials who can come to their aid when they're threatened with physical violence.
On the other hand, the policies and rhetoric of the past two US administrations have, at various times, rendered LGBT life in Liberia more hazardous than it would otherwise be. For example, the decision, taken in 2011, by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to publicly champion the human rights of sexual minorities overseas sparked an unprecedented homophobic and transphobic backlash in Liberia, shades of which can still be seen in the reaction to events like the Miss Trans Diva pageant.
More recently, Liberian activists' work has been undermined by indications that the Trump administration is turning away from the Obama-era policy, primarily by proposing budget cuts that would hobble the programmatic support that Liberian activists receive. This renewed sense of precariousness has strengthened the view among LGBT activists—not just in Liberia but across the region—that as their movement continues to grow and evolve, they must find ways to stand on their own.
The birth of modern-day LGBT activism in Liberia took place two decades before Obama was elected, with the founding in 1998 of Stop AIDS in Liberia, or SAIL, a group that, as its name suggests, focuses on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. For years, the group, and the mostly male population it served, operated with little difficulty.
That changed after the Obama administration released a memorandum in 2011 directing "all agencies engaged abroad" to promote the human rights of LGBT people. In a speech at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Clinton became the public face of the policy, declaring, "Gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights."
The unique positioning of the United States in the national consciousness of Liberia—a country founded by freed American slaves—ensured that the policy would be heavily scrutinized and that the outcry would be especially acute. Sure enough, in the weeks that followed, the Liberian press devoted ample space to reactions that were overheated and dangerously misinformed. Though US officials insisted otherwise, many Liberians assumed the policy would result in aid cuts for countries where the rights of LGBT people were being violated. Additionally, a remarkable number of Liberian journalists seemed to think Washington was demanding that Liberia adopt same-sex marriage. On the streets, this translated into an uptick in anti-LGBT violence, with some LGBT-community members' being targeted by angry mobs.
Under Liberian law, "voluntary sodomy" is a misdemeanor fetching prison sentences of up to one year, though this provision is rarely invoked by police and the courts. As the anti-LGBT backlash gathered momentum, several Liberian elected officials decided in 2012 that the existing law was insufficient. In the House of Representatives, Clarence Massaquoi introduced a bill that would have classified "same-sex sexual practices" as a second-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. In the Senate, Jewel Howard Taylor, the ex-wife of former President Charles Taylor, pushed to make same-sex marriage a first-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years behind bars.
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Amid this mounting hostility, LGBT Liberians were silenced, left out of media accounts questioning their status as full citizens of the country. Few allies, foreign or domestic, came to their defense. This isolation was on prominent display in March 2012, when President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, fresh from accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, seemed to defend the anti-sodomy law in an interview with The Guardian. Sitting next to former British prime minister Tony Blair, who was in town to promote the work of his Africa Governance Initiative in Liberia and who refused to answer any questions on LGBT rights himself, Sirleaf said, "We've got certain traditional values in our society that we'd like to preserve."
Four months after that interview was published, the Senate approved Jewel Howard Taylor's bill criminalizing same-sex marriage, but that was as far as either piece of antigay legislation advanced. Eventually, in the press and among the political class, the debate over LGBT rights died down, and Liberian LGBT activists mounted a quiet counteroffensive.
Their leaders quickly learned how to take advantage of the support foreign embassies were now willing to provide. American diplomats, in particular, proved to be a consistent source of low-profile encouragement, offering to send representatives to court cases involving community members who ran into trouble with the police; to make embassy facilities available for the groups' activities; and to raise the concerns of LGBT Liberians with government officials.
With Washington now in its corner, SAIL experienced dramatic growth. At the time of Clinton's speech, the organization had just seven members, and was operating out of a cramped office in downtown Monrovia that offered little security. But within just a few years, it had moved into a much larger building in Monrovia's Mamba Point neighborhood, right next to the ocean, and its staff had quadrupled to 28. Whereas previously the funds SAIL received were earmarked almost exclusively for HIV/AIDS programming, about half a dozen groups, most of which were based in the United States, began financing SAIL's work on both public health and human rights. This backing allowed SAIL to be more inclusive, serving lesbian and bisexual women and transgender Liberians.
But despite SAIL's newfound influence, and despite its attempts to reach beyond the men it had traditionally served, Kay, a transgender woman whose name has been changed for her safety, couldn't shake the feeling that her specific interests were still being sidelined, and that transgender Liberians remained marginalized even within a community of marginalized people. It was this feeling that prompted her, in 2014, to found the Transgender Network of Liberia, the group behind the Transgender Day of Remembrance event.
All her life, Kay had an aversion to the male identity she was given at birth. Well before she became aware of her sexual attraction to men, she knew that she was female, even if no one around her could see it. "People used to recognize me as, 'Oh, you sissy boy,' like a fag," she told me. "But I knew who I was. I knew that I was different."
In 2003, when Kay was 13, her family, angered by what they perceived as Kay's stubborn unwillingness to conform, kicked her out of the house. She spent the next six years supporting herself as a sex worker on the streets of Monrovia, which was just beginning to recover from 14 years of civil conflict. When she wasn't spending the night with clients, she slept on the beach or in unfinished or abandoned buildings.
As she approached 20, Kay decided that she needed to finish her education, which had been cut short when she became homeless. "I'm a very optimistic person," she said. "I had to do everything to make life possible." She also began making inroads in Liberia's community of sexual minorities, eventually connecting with the leaders of SAIL. It was 2010, and many activists seemed to be engaging with issues related to gender identity for the first time.
Though Kay was not yet referring to herself as transgender, she found that her story had a certain currency she hadn't expected, especially with foreigners. By dint of some savvy networking, she managed to transform herself into what Liberian activists call—sometimes with respect, sometimes with jealousy and disdain—a "travel diva": a regular on the global LGBT-rights conference circuit. On panels and over dinners in hotels in foreign capitals, she was often asked to describe for American and European donors the challenges faced by Liberian sexual minorities, and how well-meaning outsiders might help.
The transfer of knowledge went both ways. While attending meetings and pursuing internships in places like London, Johannesburg, and Bangkok, Kay, who first educated herself on transgender issues online, met and befriended transgender activists from other countries, learning in the process what the word means and how it is generally lived. Though wary of the identity in the beginning, having first encountered it while reading an article about a transgender woman who was murdered in Los Angeles, she ultimately concluded that she fully identified with it, and that it answered outstanding questions about who she was. Since then, she has been working toward building a transgender community in her own country.
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Part of Kay's mission with TNOL is to create a space where people can have conversations about gender, but it's not an easy task. In a country where any kind of gender nonconformity carries a high risk of violence and police harassment, to present as a gender other than the gender everyone understands you to be is often unthinkable. Many of Liberia's trans women therefore present as male much of the time, with the primary exceptions being TNOL meetings and private parties. As the Transgender Day of Remembrance event underscored, even those brief respites from social restrictions can come with dangers.
It is precisely because the United States has been so central to the evolution of Liberia's LGBT movement that the election of Donald Trump in 2016 alarmed Liberian activists, who feared an immediate drop in material and moral support. In the days after the results were announced, as he processed the news of Trump's victory, Elliot, SAIL's chief program officer, said he worried first about cuts for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to which the United States is the biggest contributor. But he was also deeply troubled by reports that the new administration was deleting LGBT-related content from government websites. And he watched with concern as the White House let Pride Month come and go unacknowledged in 2017 and again in 2018, and as Trump called for a ban on transgender people serving in the military.
Many Liberians, Elliot said, view such measures as signs that LGBT rights are no longer a matter of concern for Washington even at home, much less in Africa, meaning there will no longer be any outside pressure to uphold them. The consequences, in a country that has already demonstrated a willingness to single out its LGBT citizens for abuse, could be stark. "Everything we do in this country," Elliot said, "is just centered around the United States."
To some LGBT activists, the situation encapsulates the biggest problem facing LGBT activism, not only in Liberia but across the continent. After all, a movement dependent on outside support is not only exposed to allegations of pushing a foreign agenda. It is also vulnerable to the vagaries of global politics, which can stall progress regardless of what's happening on the ground. Cyriaque Ako, a seasoned LGBT-rights activist from Ivory Coast who has worked in recent years to build up Liberia's movement, is not alone when he says it's essential to cultivate an African donor base to finance the activities of the emerging coterie of African activists.
"I'm very practical in my approach. I very much appreciate foreign donors, and I thank those who have supported our cause," Ako said. But he emphasized that the movement will only realize its full potential when it becomes self-sustaining. "I think," he said, "that we need to work toward finding our own champions."
As Kay strives to build on the gains TNOL has made, lately she has also tried to introduce some balance to her life, including by devoting time and energy to her relationship with a man named Prince, whom she started dating after they met in a nightclub a few years ago.
Over time, Prince became interested in her activism, and also in examining his own sexual orientation. He says that before meeting Kay, he identified as bisexual. These days, he says he's "attracted to men, 100 percent," even though Kay identifies as a woman. He says that if Kay were to undergo gender-affirmation surgery, it "wouldn't change anything" in their relationship, and that he would continue to identify as gay.
Their dynamic is an example of how labels, in their inflexibility, fail to capture the complexity of individual lives. At the end of the day, Prince thinks less about how he identifies than about his specific relationship. This is all the more true now that the two refer to themselves as a married couple, having gone through an ad hoc ceremony in 2016.
The wedding was Prince's idea, though Kay says she was instantly on board. For the ceremony, dozens of guests gathered at a residential compound. Those in attendance included friends, fellow activists, and some family members. Kay had two of her sisters there. Prince had two of his brothers as well as an uncle, a pastor who officiated.
The crowd sat on plastic chairs facing the altar. Before the ceremony started, Prince stood at the altar by himself, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, a sky-blue vest, and a matching sky-blue bow tie.
Beyoncé's "Grown Woman" came through the speakers as heads turned to watch Kay make her entrance. She wore more or less the same outfit as Prince, though she had on a necktie instead of a bow tie, and she had fashioned a piece of blue fabric into a train that ran behind her.
"I'm a grown woman, I can do whatever I want," Beyoncé could be heard singing as Kay walked down the aisle. Then it was time for the couple to exchange vows. "I told him whether in sickness or not, I would always love him," Kay said. "Whether he's rich or poor I would always love him, and regardless of if there is a meal on the table or no meal on the table, I'm going to love him, in the rain, in the sun, I'm always going to love him, and I accept to be his wife till death do us part."
To which Prince responded: "From the day I saw you, I always knew you were my wife. I don't think I can stop loving you.… I'm proud of who you are and I'm proud of who I am."
Robbie Corey-BouletRobbie Corey-Boulet is a journalist and the author of Love Falls On Us: A Story of American Ideas and African LGBT Lives.
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With so many mattress types in the market with their long list of pros and cons, it's easy for shoppers to get confused about which mattress type and brand to purchase. However, one of the major factors modern consumers are looking into when purchasing a new mattress is if it can provide some health benefits, aside from its primary function of giving comfort and support.
More than just a good night's sleep, buyers are looking for products that can actually help prevent them from getting sick. For this reason, organic mattresses have the marketing edge as almost everything labeled 'organic' seem to entice the health-conscious consumers to choose their products instead of the more conventional brands.
The term 'organic' is already almost synonymous to the definitions of 'wholesome' and 'positive' – something that is definitely good for your health. Unfortunately, even mattress manufacturers tend to use the label 'organic' too loosely as some try to market mattresses that use pesticide laden cotton fibers as one. They are not technically wrong, as the cotton fibers came from natural sources, but the fact that it has been in contact with toxic pesticides certainly defeats the purpose of consumers looking to buy a truly organic mattress.
To settle this dilemma, stores that carry organic mattresses advise their clients to look for mattresses certified by globally-renowned organizations such as the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS). The products that proudly bear the logo of either of these two organizations are what marketers call certified organic mattresses.
As it is the centerpiece of any bedroom, mattresses shouldn't just depend on how good or luxurious it looks. Most mattress stores actually encourage their clients to do a comprehensive 'rest test' and actually ask their salespersons pertinent questions regarding the certifications and possible health benefits of their chosen mattress.
The main concern regarding conventional mattresses is the fact that they are mainly processed using several harmful chemicals that tend to off-gas regardless of the mattress' age. Chemicals like formaldehyde, flame retardants, and polyurethane as just a few of the problematic chemicals that bed buyers tend to run away from.
The gases that these chemicals release are suspected to be the main causes of the increasing incidence of asthma and other respiratory illnesses among kids. Despite most consumers giving their brand new mattress a good airing, it usually takes time for the off-gas aroma to go away (just think new car smell).
Despite the fact that certified organic mattresses cost significantly higher than conventional mattresses, the peace of mind that a purchase imparts to their buyers makes the few extra dollars' worth the investment.


Organizing the lower kitchen cabinets is a more challenging process. Items can be hard to see and hard to reach, and space is typically limited. To maximize this space, consider purchasing a sliding cabinet drawer as it will help you reach items that are difficult to find. Additionally, you can purchase three-tier cabinet shelving and mount it to the inside of the cabinet; this will give you extra storage.