text:
growalabama
~ Local Food from Alabama.
Fresh Vegetable Omelet
Posted by growalabamafood in Uncategorized
Broccoli, Eggs, Green Pepper, onion
6 Grow Alabama eggs (Use 4 to separate for egg whites)
1 teaspoon butter
5 broccoli florets, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
In a small bowl, beat the 4 egg whites, water and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. In a large bowl, beat 2 eggs and salt until thick (about 5 minutes). Fold in the whites.
In a large oven-proof skillet coated with cooking spray, melt butter. Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat or until puffed and lightly browned on the bottom. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until a knife inserted 2 in. from edge comes out clean.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the broccoli, zucchini, onion, green pepper and Italian seasoning until tender. Carefully run a knife around edge of oven-proof skillet to loosen omelet. Place vegetables on one side and sprinkle with cheese; fold other side over filling. Serves 2.
Fox Guarding the Hen House
File under bad idea: G8 asks Big Ag to take the lead in feeding the world
By Tom Laskawy
When President Obama announced a new program during the recent G8 summit to help bolster food and agriculture in developing nations through corporate "pledges," I was most struck by his choice of partners in the effort. A Reuters report on the announcement read:
The initiative includes a new partnership with agribusiness giants such as DuPont, Monsanto and Cargill, along with smaller companies, including almost 20 from Africa, which will commit some $3 billion for projects to help farmers in the developing world build local markets and improve productivity.
Those three companies are the good food movement's equivalent of the law firm Dewey, Cheatem & Howe — not the folks it wants to see put in charge of anything, much less "feeding the world." These companies believe that exporting western-style industrial agriculture to the developing world (Africa in particular) is key to ensuring enough food for a growing population. And they maintain this position despite the growing evidence that industrial agriculture can't solve the problem.
As a recent report in the journal Nature on the best way forward for agriculture explained, current models suggest that industrial ag just won't cut it:
… conventional approaches to intensive agriculture, especially the unbridled use of irrigation and fertilizers, have been major causes of environmental degradation. Closing yield gaps without environmental degradation will require new approaches, including reforming conventional agriculture and adopting lessons from organic systems and precision agriculture.
Unfortunately, this "unbridled use of irrigation and fertilizers" is the form of agriculture that Monsanto, DuPont, and Cargill know best.
So I was concerned when I ran across this new study, which found that to date, human-caused groundwater depletion is a greater contributor to sea-level rise than climate change. The U.K. Guardianexplains:
Trillions of tonnes of water have been pumped up from deep underground reservoirs in every part of the world and then channeled into fields and pipes to keep communities fed and watered. The water then flows into the oceans, but far more quickly than the ancient aquifers are replenished by rains. The global tide would be rising even more quickly but for the fact that man-made reservoirs have, until now, held back the flow by storing huge amounts of water on land.
"The water being taken from deep wells is geologically old – there is no replenishment and so it is a one-way transfer into the ocean," said sea level expert professor Robert Nicholls, at the University of Southampton. "In the long run, I would still be more concerned about the impact of climate change, but this work shows that even if we stabilize the climate, we might still get sea level rise due to how we use water."
Chalk this up alongside dead zones, superweeds, superbugs, antibiotic resistance, and nitrogen pollution as yet another unintended consequence of industrial agriculture.
How does this water study relate to the G8 agriculture initiative? Well, drilling into deep and ancient aquifers using techniques borrowed from oil production is currently a favored technique for improving agricultural productivity in the developing world. And the new G8 program appears designed to do much more of it.
As the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy noted in a post on its blog, these "tube wells" have already been said to cause "an environmental disaster" in Asia. An Agence France-Presse report from several years back noted that:
In the case of India, smallholder farmers have driven 21 million tube wells into their fields and the number is increasing by a million wells per year.
"Nobody knows where the tube wells are or who owns them. There is no way anyone can control what happens to them," Tushaar Shah, head of the International Water Management Institute's groundwater station, based in Gujarat, said.
"When the balloon bursts, untold anarchy will be the lot of rural India."
Half of the country's traditional hand-dug wells have already run dry, as have millions of shallower tube wells, causing some despairing farmers to commit suicide, he said.
In China's north plain, that country's breadbasket, 30 cubic kilometers (1.059 trillion cubic feet) more water are being extracted each year by farmers than are being replaced by the rain, New Scientist said.
Groundwater is used to produce 40 percent of the country's grain.
In June, the state paper China Daily admitted that the nation "may be plunged into a water crisis" by 2030 when its population is scheduled to peak at 1.6 billion.
It just seems that regardless of the evidence that practices like these cause destruction, the U.S. insists on continuing a form of ecological arbitrage which offers short-term gains in productivity that won't be paid for until long after those who've enjoyed them are gone.
Ironically, one of the main motivations behind the G8 plan is that we, the richest nations in the history of the planet, are feeling — as the Reuters report declared in its headline — "cash-strapped" at the moment.
As I see it, the best way to feed billions of people is not through more industrial agriculture, but rather through the expanded application ofagroecological techniques — meaning working with the land, rather than against it. If a crop requires drilling into ancient aquifers for irrigation, it's probably not a crop that's suited for the region in question. And of course, agroecology also calls for minimal inputs of fertilizer and pesticides and no GMOs. I'm not the only one who believes this; the U.N.'s "Save and grow" program for developing world farmers is itself based on agroecology.
Peaches and Your Health
Posted by growalabamafood in News
At just 39 calories each, red yellow peaches are an excellent source of the antioxidant vitamin C. Vitamin-C is required for connective tissue synthesis in the body. A diet rich in vitamin C provides resistance against infectious agents and help scavenge harmful free radicals.
Fresh peaches also provide a moderate source of vitamin A and beta-carotene which converts into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential for good vision. It is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A is known to offer protection from lung and oral cavity cancers.
Peaches offer vital minerals such as potassium, fluoride and iron. Iron is required for red blood cell formation. Fluoride is a component of bones and teeth and is important for prevention of dental caries. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help regulate heart rate and blood pressure.
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Sigma has made a reputation for itself by pushing the envelope in large aperture lens design. I reviewed the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 ART a little over a year ago, and, while I had a few quirks with the autofocus, the image quality was exceptional – unmatched by any other APS-C lens. Sigma has just released a new APS-C Goliath: the new Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART. This is a big lens in every sense of the word, and if it proves as good as expected, will probably sell a lot of copies for Sigma simply because there isn't anything to match it. At nearly $1100, this is the most expensive lens in the ART series, but is a relative bargain compared to the full frame 70-200mm f/2.8 variants. I'll be reviewing the lens primarily on the new Canon EOS 80D body, a perfect match for this high-tech lens. Stay tuned for my findings along the way!
Can't wait for the full review!
It's pretty good. A few quirks, but I think it's going to be an impressive lens.
you are doing great job here. here is my idea: i wanna use this 50-100mm lens with my FX camera at its 80 to 100mm range. because i need it for my job. i work under low light and i shoot sports. this lens will rise quality of my images. However my question is just like other 3rd party lenses how fast and accurate its focus speed and does sharpness good for FX camera? your opinions are important for sure if you can answer. I dont wanna give more than a grand just for assuming it is good.
I am thinking is it possible to see the auto focusing speed of this lens? Like how fast it get the focus and does it hunt when trying to get the correct focus.
Fergus, I'm afraid the lens has been returned now. I only have them for 3-4 weeks on average.


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Toray Pan Pacific Open
Maria Sharapova wins Tokyo title as Jelena Jankovic retires
Maria Sharapova claimed her first title since April 2008 when Jelena Jankovic retired during the first set of their Toray Pan Pacific Open final.
The unseeded Russian, ranked 25th in the world, was leading 5-2 in the first set when the seventh-seeded Serb withdrew because of a right wrist injury.
The 2009 Toray Pan Pacific title is Sharapova's first since her comeback from a shoulder injury in May. The Russian had been out for nine long months.
"To go from not knowing whether you'll ever play the sport again to holding a trophy, it's an unbelievable feeling," said the 22-year-old Grand Slam champion.
Previous articleJelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova move into Tokyo final
Next articleAna Ivanovic puts an end to 2009 tennis season
Top 5 most inspiring success stories in the WTA
Clijsters, Jankovic, Radwanska, Hingis to compete at Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters
maca-oh October 3, 2009 At 11:02 pm
well done masha!!!
I hate when someone says that she didn't deserve it because jankovic reitred, man she was playing there for whole week not only one match!
this is a prove that maria is really back and I'm sure she'll end this season with one more title in Beijing:D
marine October 3, 2009 At 11:05 pm
Maria is back! Looking forward to 2010!
Christian October 4, 2009 At 3:27 am
If Jankovic plays in Beijing…she is gonna prove: i'm a loser!!!!
Go Masha
Katia October 4, 2009 At 10:41 am
Go Masha! You are the best and always will be! Show these loosers who is the real champion here!
Hammad October 4, 2009 At 7:59 pm
Congratulation to Maria sheropova and her fans…. Maria sharopova is great great player……… Best of luck, you'll win more tournaments, Inshallah……

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Home Bay features 261 listings in 30341.
Several types of real estate are available in 30341, and our inventory includes 117 houses, 113 condos and townhouses, and 28 lots for sale.
The average size of a home in 30341, across all listings, is 2,293 square feet, with an average lot size of 68,712 square feet.
The average price of homes for sale in 30341 is $422,705, with the highest listing price at $999,000 and a low of $1,300.
Find your next home in 30341 today at Home Bay!


text:
Kachchatheevu (en tamil: கச்சத்தீவு Kaccatīvu; también escrito como Katchatheevu o Kachativu) es una isla deshabitada perteneciente a Sri Lanka. Esta isla fue cedida a Sri Lanka por la India en 1974. Tiene un santuario católico y ha sido declarada como un área sagrada por el gobierno de Sri Lanka.

Posee 1,15 km² de superficie y está situada en aguas entre la India y Sri Lanka.

Esta transferencia de la isla que es de importancia cultural para los pescadores del estado de Tamil Nadu en la India ha llevado a algunas agitaciones en ese estado, puesto que algunos políticos regionales creen que debe ser devuelta a la soberanía india. La isla también es importante por las zonas de pesca utilizadas por los pobladores de ambos países. Según el acuerdo del tratado de cesión de 1974, los pescadores indios tienen derecho a la riqueza pesquera en las aguas territoriales de Sri Lanka, en los alrededores de Kachchativu.

Véase también
 Geografía de Sri Lanka
 Geografía de Asia

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 Mapa de localización de la Isla en Wikimapia

Archipiélagos e islas de Sri Lanka

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Celebs is back to satisfy the thirsty fashion souls by presenting pure leather jackets in all sizes and colors which will fulfill your need and requirement. We are capable to understand the desires of our customers. The black leather jacket with stylish design is here available now at celebs leather jackets which will make you classy. Will smith, the most amazing personality who wore this costume and acted as a hero in his movie Hancock. Hancock was entertaining and one of the finest movie at the time of release. The jacket is not simple black it has a yellow and grey lining front on chest and inside, as well. It is stitched with genuine leather.
Really fine stuff!! This is Hancock Will Smith leather jacket is so pretty thank you so much.
I placed a order, hopefully looking forward for it to see in my hands. I am so excited to wear it in bike show, love the price and features!


Item#: 1158 Size: 1 1/4" x 2 1/2"
Distinctive auto key tags ensure that the right car keys get back to the right customers. List car make, color, year, serial number and stock number on back.
Tear-resistant chrome poly film on sturdy tag stock, pre-punched at both ends for easy hanging.
Room on back to list car make, color, year, serial number and stock number.


THE VIBE: Austin, Texas is quickly becoming one of the top places to visit in the United States. Known for its booming tech scene, emerging foodie paradise, and amazing art collections, there are many things that make this spot #WorthTravelingFor. Previously home to The Crest Hotel, The LINE Austin has become a legacy in this bustling city. After recently undergoing a redesign by local architect Michael Hsu and LA-based designer Sean Knibb, the space now has a chic and contemporary vibe that is best described as a continuation of the youthful, yet classic vibe that Austin is known for. The LINE is conveniently located in downtown Austin, which means you're waking up right next to museums like The Blanton and The Contemporary, live shows at the Paramount Theater, or a stroll through the South Congress district.
THE SLEEP: If you're looking for a solid place to rest your head at night after hitting a honky tonk, pack a bag (take your furry friend too!) and book one of the 428 rooms at The LINE. When we're not obsessing over the custom artwork by emerging local artists, light fixtures reminiscent of fireflies, or libraries of vintage books on the history of Texas, we're definitely fawning over the views. Each guestroom at The LINE has floor-to-ceiling windows, with spectacular views of downtown Austin and the serene Town Lake.
THE TONE: Spruce up your wellness routine during your stay at The LINE. Spend some time exercising at the 24-hour fitness studio, which is complete with full body exercise equipment and cardio machines. If you're more of a group fitness person, give one of LINE's wellness classes a try. When you're done hitting the gym, take advantage of The LINE's partnership with Priority; this dynamic duo offers guests complimentary bike rentals, so you can explore downtown Austin while getting in a workout. If the water is calling your name, The LINE also has a gorgeous lakeside infinity pool; so peaceful you'll forget there's a bustling city on the other side of the trees.


This page displays sold house prices for Hall Park Orchards in Leeds.
Hall Park Orchards in Kippax, Leeds consists predominantly of semi-detached houses. Properties on Hall Park Orchards typically have values around £150,000 - £200,000, ranging upwards of £200,000 for larger semi-detached houses.
Map showing Hall Park Orchards in Leeds.


I'm always drawn to the historic side of the places we visit. I love walking streets that have been trodden for centuries, standing on spots where history was made and visiting buildings that were home to legends. My mind boggles at all of those moments from the past that still echo in these places. Historic attractions also appeal to young travellers. What child doesn't love a good story? One of our favourite family city breaks was to Barcelona – a location steeped in history. So here are our top historic Barcelona attractions for families to help mark the launch of a new city guide by car rental experts Avis.
Barcelona is a place that offers plenty of historic attractions families will love. We visited with our two pre-school girls in 2016. It really is a great place for a city break with babies and toddlers. Prior to that we had enjoyed a visit there before becoming parents. So we knew a bit of what to expect and where to go. However, we still have so much of Barcelona to explore in the city and beyond in the Costa Barcelona region which I have also visited solo.
You can't visit Barcelona without seeing the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia…except I have. And a shocking three times! The closest Mr Tin Box and I have gotten is standing on the steps outside having not been organised enough to buy tickets in advance. Top tip: the queues for tours on the day are enormous, so always buy ahead online*.
The Sagrada Familia – infamous for being designed by Antoni Gaudi and, so far, taking 135 years to build – is a piece of history in the making. When completed, its central tower will measure 566ft, making it the tallest cathedral in Europe. Being there during its construction is a memory to share for a lifetime. One of the best parts for families to see is the Nativity facade, which was the first part of the cathedral to be built. It depicts the birth of Jesus and incorporates symbolic creatures such as turtles and chameleons – perfect for spotting with young children.
Continuing on a Gaudi theme, we can recommend a visit to Casa Batllo. This fantastical building is a legend in itself. From the facade that is reminiscent of a sea monster to the free flowing interior of curves and light.
Mr Tin Box and I took a self-guided audio tour about ten years ago. I'd now love to return with our girls for one of their family friendly theatrical visits. You can choose to be guided by actors playing either Antoni Gaudi himself or the loose lipped housekeeper, Lady Ramona. It looks like a really fun way to bring the story of the building and its design to life for kids.
This fortress overlooking the city has a chequered history of suppression and imprisonment. It was a key defence point in the War of the Spanish Succession (1705 to 1714) – the first world war of modern times. The castle bombarded the Catalan city of Barcelona on a number of occasions and was the setting for the torture of political prisoners during the Spanish civil war (1936 to 1939).
Montjuïc's stories are sure to appeal to fans of Horrible Histories. Young visitors will also enjoy travelling on the 2,754ft Teleferic de Montjuïc cable car to reach the top of Montjuïc Hill. Top tip: avoid visiting at peak times to get the best views of the city and marina from the cable car.
Tibidabo Amusement Park is Spain's oldest amusement park and one of the oldest of its kind in the world. It sits on top of Mount Tibidabo – part of the world's largest metropolitan parks and on the edge of the city.
Barcelona's amusement park was founded in 1889 and has more than 25 family-friendly, vintage rides – many with bird's-eye view of Barcelona. As well as white-knuckle rides that will attract teenage visitors there are puppet shows, play areas and a ferris wheel to entertain younger children.
Apart from being another of Antoni Gaudi's lasting masterpieces, Park Güell is a wonderful place to take children to burn off steam. There's fascinating architectural structures in Gaudi's naturalist style, winding walkways and plenty of street sellers offering colourful wares.
We took the Tin Box girls here last summer after visiting ourselves a decade before. I love the artistic surprises around every corner, from mosaics to architecture inspired by nature. You can also enjoy beautiful views across the city towards the Mediterranean Sea. Top tip: the majority of the park is free to roam around but if you'd like to enter the memorial gardens where you'll see a hive of Gaudi's best designs then it's a good idea to book a tour of Parc Guell* in advance.
This is one of my overriding memories of our first trip to Barcelona as a couple. I'd love to return to see it with our girls. The Montjuïc Magic Fountain was built in 1929 for the International Exhibition. The fountain in front of the National Museum of Art is now one of Barcelona's most popular attractions.
Four evenings a week during the peak holiday season it puts on a light, music and water show for hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators. The dancing water jets are bound to pique children's interest.
What's your favourite historic Barcelona attraction?
Disclosure: this post has been written in partnership with Avis which can help with car hire in Barcelona. Images courtesy of Pixabay. This post also contains some affiliate links. This means if you click on a link marked with * and buy something I may get some commission. It does not affect the price you pay. Thank you!
I also do the same and imagine who had trodden the path before me! I've only been to Barcelona with friends and I've not taken the girls yet but I really like the look of Parc Guell and the Castell. Did you find it easy to move around and get to all the places?
Yes, the metro system was fab and usually quite quiet. You have to take your time about the walk up to Parc Guell but there are escalators up parts of the hill. I would recommend going out of the main summer season so it's not so hot for walking around.
I love this post – and the fact that a lot of the historic places in Barcelona are flamboyant and fabulous! Gaudi really was a genius. I must take the kids here – they'd love it.
We watched a local 'water show' at the weekend that was here as part of an event and we all commented it wasn't a patch on the fountains of Barcelona – you just can't beat them.
They are brilliant, aren't they. We must take our girls next time we're in Barcelona. Hopefully they'll be a bit older and it won't be such a late night for them.
We love Barcelona! We only spend a few days there and are hoping to return soon.
There are some love sight in Barcelona. I can't wait to go back one day.
I am hopefully – finally – heading back to Barcelona in a couple of weeks after a rather disastrous first trip (rain, my husband was ill…). It'll be a rare child-free visit but I'd love to go back with my daughter as well so am going to keep these all in mind. A city that wins me over despite weather and germs deserves more than one trip.
Yes, it's definitely worth planning in a few trips. I'd love to visit again soon. Have a fabulous time!
Absolutely! Antoni Gaudi made quite an architectural mark on the city.
My second visit was part of a road trip around Europe. We can over the boarder from France and it is definitely doable. We thought it was really family friendly, rom getting around to the people we spoke to.
I can definitely recommend a visit to Barcelona if you get the chance.
Totally agree, we love it there.
These are great suggestions. I'm so pleased to read I'm not the only one who hasn't stepped inside the Sagrada Familia, but one day I'll get there! I'd definitely like to take my kids to Park Güell, I think they would love to explore there.
They are fabulous and this is just the historic attractions list. We can also recommend the beach, the aquarium and a walk down La Ramblas to see the living statues.
I'm so jealous! I'd love to have plans to go back, but it's sadly not going to be this year. Have an amazing time!!
LOVE Barcelona, so much to do for the whole family. I am overdue a visit, must start hinting at hubby!
It's definitely somewhere I'd like to explore more. We found so much to do with our girls in just a few days.
We went to Barcelona pre-kids probably almost 20 years ago now. I'd love to visit again with the boys in tow as I'm sure it's changed lots since our last visit!
The views look amazing, right?! We still have a lot of Barcelona to explore. I'd love to return soon.


text:
Chlamisus flavomaculatus is een keversoort uit de familie bladkevers (Chrysomelidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd in 1995 gepubliceerd door Tan & Zhou in Zhou & Tan.

flavomaculatus


text:
Environment, Scarcity, and Violence
Thomas F. Homer-Dixon
Paperback ISBN: 9780691089799 $47.00/£35.00
17 line illus., 6 tables
The Earth's human population is expected to pass eight billion by the year 2025, while rapid growth in the global economy will spur ever increasing demands for natural resources. The world will consequently face growing scarcities of such vital renewable resources as cropland, fresh water, and forests. Thomas Homer-Dixon argues in this sobering book that these environmental scarcities will have profound social consequences — contributing to insurrections, ethnic clashes, urban unrest, and other forms of civil violence, especially in the developing world.
Homer-Dixon synthesizes work from a wide range of international research projects to develop a detailed model of the sources of environmental scarcity. He refers to water shortages in China, population growth in sub-Saharan Africa, and land distribution in Mexico, for example, to show that scarcities stem from the degradation and depletion of renewable resources, the increased demand for these resources, and/or their unequal distribution. He shows that these scarcities can lead to deepened poverty, large-scale migrations, sharpened social cleavages, and weakened institutions. And he describes the kinds of violence that can result from these social effects, arguing that conflicts in Chiapas, Mexico and ongoing turmoil in many African and Asian countries, for instance, are already partly a consequence of scarcity.
Homer-Dixon is careful to point out that the effects of environmental scarcity are indirect and act in combination with other social, political, and economic stresses. He also acknowledges that human ingenuity can reduce the likelihood of conflict, particularly in countries with efficient markets, capable states, and an educated populace. But he argues that the violent consequences of scarcity should not be underestimated — especially when about half the world's population depends directly on local renewables for their day-to-day well-being. In the next decades, he writes, growing scarcities will affect billions of people with unprecedented severity and at an unparalleled scale and pace.
Clearly written and forcefully argued, this book will become the standard work on the complex relationship between environmental scarcities and human violence.
Winner of the 2000 Lynton Keith Caldwell Prize, American Political Science Association
Thomas F. Homer-Dixon is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Environmental Scarcity and Global Security and the forthcoming book The Ingenuity Gap.
"[The book's] assertion that violence and the environment may be linked, and its conclusion that most big developing countries appear to be hurtling toward more internal conflict, are too important and intriguing to be left to an academic audience."—John Stackhouse, Toronto Globe and Mail
"This volume is for anyone with professional or deep personal interests in the relationships of natural resource management to economic development and human societies."—Joseph P. Dudley, The Quarterly Review of Biology
"[A] comprehensible model linking environmental scarcity and violence."—Stephen P. Adamian, Boston Book Review
"Important and intriguing."—John Stackhouse, Globe and Mail
"Clearly written and forcefully argued, Environment, Scarcity, and Violence is an excellent work."—Biology Digest
"Thomas Homer-Dixon . . . has conducted extensive research on the links between environmental stress and violence in developing countries. . . . The book addresses the fact that environmental scarcity is not in itself a necessary or sufficient cause of conflict. Homer-Dixon evaluates why some societies are able to adapt well to environmental scarcity while others are not."—Nikola Smith, Journal of International Affairs
"This is an important book. Homer-Dixon moves the arguments about environmental scarcity and violent conflict forward a big step. I doubt if much will be written about the subjects in the next ten years that does not build on it, follow out some of its leads, or try to refute it."—Robert Jervis, Institute for War and Peace Studies, Columbia University
"Thomas Homer-Dixon has thought more deeply, reasoned more carefully, and written more coherently about the environment/scarcity/violence nexus than anyone else I know of. This is a brilliant book—must reading for anyone concerned about the human condition in the twenty-first century."—John P. Holdren, Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Seeking the Bomb
Vipin Narang
Cult of the Irrelevant
Michael C. Desch
Subtle Tools
Karen J. Greenberg
Winners and Losers
Diana C. Mutz
Sharing Responsibility
Luke Glanville


text:
#include <clib/os.h>
#include <clib/time.h>
#include <clib/format.h>

#ifdef CLIB_UNIX

#include <math.h>
#include <sys/time.h>
#include <fcntl.h>

/* Not very accurate way of determining cpu clock frequency
   for unix.  Better to use /proc/cpuinfo on linux. */
static f64 estimate_clock_frequency (f64 sample_time)
{
  /* Round to nearest 100KHz. */
  const f64 round_to_units = 100e5;

  f64 time_now, time_start, time_limit, freq;
  u64 ifreq, t[2];

  time_start = time_now = unix_time_now ();
  time_limit = time_now + sample_time;
  t[0] = clib_cpu_time_now ();
  while (time_now < time_limit)
    time_now = unix_time_now ();
  t[1] = clib_cpu_time_now ();

  freq = (t[1] - t[0]) / (time_now - time_start);
  ifreq = flt_round_nearest (freq / round_to_units);
  freq = ifreq * round_to_units;

  return freq;
}

/* Fetch cpu frequency via parseing /proc/cpuinfo.
   Only works for Linux. */
static f64 clock_frequency_from_proc_filesystem (void)
{
  f64 cpu_freq;
  f64 ppc_timebase;
  int fd;
  unformat_input_t input;

  cpu_freq = 0;
  fd = open ("/proc/cpuinfo", 0);
  if (fd < 0)
    goto done;

  unformat_init_unix_file (&input, fd);

  ppc_timebase = 0;
  while (unformat_check_input (&input) != UNFORMAT_END_OF_INPUT)
    {
      if (unformat (&input, "cpu MHz : %f", &cpu_freq))
	cpu_freq *= 1e6;
      else if (unformat (&input, "timebase : %f", &ppc_timebase))
	;
      else
	unformat_skip_line (&input);
    }

  unformat_free (&input);
 done:
  close (fd);

  /* Override CPU frequency with time base for PPC. */
  if (ppc_timebase != 0)
    cpu_freq = ppc_timebase;

  return cpu_freq;
}

/* Fetch cpu frequency via reading /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_max_freq
   Only works for Linux. */
static f64 clock_frequency_from_sys_filesystem (void)
{
  f64 cpu_freq;
  int fd;
  unformat_input_t input;

  /* Time stamp always runs at max frequency. */
  cpu_freq = 0;
  fd = open ("/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_max_freq", 0);
  if (fd < 0)
    goto done;

  unformat_init_unix_file (&input, fd);
  unformat (&input, "%f", &cpu_freq);
  cpu_freq *= 1e3;		/* measured in kHz */
  unformat_free (&input);
  close (fd);
 done:
  return cpu_freq;
}

f64 os_cpu_clock_frequency (void)
{
  f64 cpu_freq;

  /* First try /sys version. */
  cpu_freq = clock_frequency_from_sys_filesystem ();
  if (cpu_freq != 0)
    return cpu_freq;

  /* Next try /proc version. */
  cpu_freq = clock_frequency_from_proc_filesystem ();
  if (cpu_freq != 0)
    return cpu_freq;

  /* If /proc/cpuinfo fails (e.g. not running on Linux) fall back to
     gettimeofday based estimated clock frequency. */
  return estimate_clock_frequency (1e-3);
}

#endif /* CLIB_UNIX */

/* Initialize time. */
void clib_time_init (clib_time_t * c)
{
  memset (c, 0, sizeof (c[0]));
  c->clocks_per_second = os_cpu_clock_frequency ();
  c->seconds_per_clock = 1 / c->clocks_per_second;
  c->log2_clocks_per_second = min_log2_u64 ((u64) c->clocks_per_second);

  /* Initially verify frequency every 1/2 sec */
  c->log2_clocks_per_frequency_verify = c->log2_clocks_per_second - 1;

  c->last_verify_reference_time = unix_time_now ();
  c->last_cpu_time = clib_cpu_time_now ();
  c->init_cpu_time = c->last_verify_cpu_time = c->last_cpu_time;
}

void clib_time_verify_frequency (clib_time_t * c)
{
  f64 now_reference = unix_time_now ();
  f64 dtr = now_reference - c->last_verify_reference_time;
  u64 dtc = c->last_cpu_time - c->last_verify_cpu_time;
  f64 round_units = 100e5;

  c->last_verify_cpu_time = c->last_cpu_time;
  c->last_verify_reference_time = now_reference;
  c->clocks_per_second = flt_round_nearest ((f64) dtc / (dtr * round_units)) * round_units;
  c->seconds_per_clock = 1 / c->clocks_per_second;

  /* Double time between verifies; max at 64 secs ~ 1 minute. */
  if (c->log2_clocks_per_frequency_verify < c->log2_clocks_per_second + 8)
    c->log2_clocks_per_frequency_verify += 1;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


gyratory crusher jaw crusher vs. difference between jaw crusher impact crusher and cone crusher. The comparison between Gyratory Crusher with Jaw Crusher . The comparison between Gyratory Crusher with Jaw Crusher. Crusher is a equipment designed to reduce large rocks into small rocks. Get a Price.
The comparison between Gyratory Crusher with Jaw Crusher . The comparison between Gyratory Crusher with Jaw Crusher. Crusher is a equipment designed to reduce large rocks into small rocks. get price . Mintap - Mining Technology.
Home» gyratory crusher vs jaw crusher » jaw crusher vs gyratory crusher The Jaw Crusher is widely used in mining, » Learn More. gyratory crusher vs jaw crusher. Kobe and have not sold any mining jaw crusher in Europe In the crushing circuit, gyratory and jaw crushers are normally.
Jaw crusher VS gyratory crusher in mining plant In choosing which to install for the specific purpose TAGGART suggested a law according to which "if the hourly tonnage to be crushed divided by the square of the gape expressed in inches a quotient less than 0.115, use a jaw crusher, otherwise a gyratory crusher.


Tampa General will remain open to care for its patients and any victims from a hurricane or other disaster. Since the hospital may have to remain self-sufficient for an unknown period of time, it must be able to provide essential services for patients and staff. To ensure adequate resources for patients and staff, TGH cannot serve as a shelter. For information on special needs shelters in your area call the Hillsborough InfoLine at (813) 272-5900.
TGH has taken considerable precautions to ensure the safety of patients and staff. Steps have been taken to protect the building, maintain communications and provide essential medical services in the event of a major storm.
All visitors and family members of patients will be asked to leave the hospital once evacuations are announced for Davis Islands, or when local officials advise that travel is becoming dangerous due to wind or flooding.


A lot of cute and some scary things were out and about during Halloween. The day started with the Halloween Parade down Main Street with hundreds of kids showing off their costumes. (Left photo) the overall winners of Halloween Costume judging were (left) Justin Hernandez as a "Mad Scientist" holding some creepy stuff (center) the Ortega Family "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears" (right) Madeleine Cookson as the "Bride of Frankenstein." (Right Photo) this unidentified clown (you can see why) wandered down Main Street just looking scary.
By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula TimesHundreds of Santa Paula's finest goblins, princesses, witches, cowboys, space heroes, queens, puppy dogs, cats, and other creatures that go bump in the night paraded down Main Street Saturday for the 20th Annual Optimist Club Halloween Parade, where kids dressed up in all matters of costumes showed their - at times - scary stuff.The only thing that stopped the paraders in their tracks was when they passed the Odd Fellows Lodge and Clock Tower, where ghoulish decorations, lights and sound effects warranted the pause and a mouth-opened glance. Kids - and plenty of good-natured adults - marched from Ebell Park to Veterans Park, where they received candy treats courtesy of the Santa Paula Kiwanis Club."I've been to every parade," said Santa Paula Police Sergeant Jimmy Fogata, who pointed out the SPPD Citizens Patrol was leading the procession, "the first time they've ever been able to lead the parade," in a blue and white Community Services car holding Reserve Alan Hernandez and CP Martha Brown.Barbara Webster School had a strong showing, with cheerleaders and its Bobcat Drill Team followed by the winners in each grade category. Mayor Ralph Fernandez was seen leading a little princess along the route jammed with spectators, who cheered as the kids strolled by. The Isbell Middle School Band brought up the rear playing Michael Jackson's "Thriller," a Halloween classic also heard on several boom boxes that blared the distinctive tune along the parade route.
Winners of the 20th Annual Optimist Club Halloween Parade were: the Ortega Family, which garnered the Cutest Award for their furry depiction of Goldilocks and the Three Bears; Scariest went to the terrifyingly attractive "Bride of Frankenstein" Madeleine Cookson; and Most Original was mad - we're talking really bonkers! - scientist Justin Hernandez.Other big winners per grade division were: Preschool, 1st Layne Allen, 2nd Adam Lopez, 3rd Andrew Macias; Kindergarten, 1st Maya Love Hernandez,2nd Jonathan Perez, 3rd Devon Antolin; 1st Grade, 1st Megan Lowe, 2nd Diana Perez, 3rd Eneding Hernandez; 2nd Grade, 1st Madeline Cookson, 2nd Bella Hernandez, 3rd Alex Rodriquez; 3rd Grade, 1st Justin Hernandez, 2nd Vanessa Luna, 3rd Tylo Medrano; 4th Grade, 1st Teddy Arellano, 2nd Julio Icelo, 3rd Diana Meza; 5th & 6th Grade, 1st Gabriel Ortage, 2nd Zack Lowe, 3rd Natalie Aguirre. In the Group Category 1st was the Ortega Family, 2nd the McKaig Family and 3rd the Arenas Family.


I can't pretend I was shocked by the findings of a survey I commissioned of comms professionals in housing.
The results, revealed this week, show people dedicated and passionate about their jobs – but held back by lack of management buy-in and tiny budgets.
It seems the housing sector has a love/hate relationship with public relations and communicators. When a crisis hits, we're heroic experts who should take the lead. But day-to-day, we're often treated like an expensive post-box – the simple deliverers of messages.
And this is the story that emerged as I analysed the data.
It can be frustrating for communicators when colleagues underestimate what it takes to build relationships online and formulate creative content.
So how CAN we ensure a housing organisation's communications function is effective, and our communications professionals have what they need to do the job brilliantly?
Comms teams need to create a vision for the organisation's comms. Otherwise we're always in reactive mode, aimlessly trying to do the right thing.
Creating a comms strategy means the organisation has very clear priorities. It means you become proactive in working towards achieving something specific.
It also means that some good work takes a back seat. Or gets scrapped completely. If everything's important, nothing is.
A comms strategy will identify and prioritise audiences. It helps you talk to the people who can help you achieve your aim, in the places they want to talk to you.
This comment also rings true for me: "Sometimes our output is very fractured and a bit 'stale'".
A strategy brings your content to life. If you know what you want and who you need to have conversations with, it SO much easier to be creative.
Support is fundamental, and you can increase this with the most useful part of a comms strategy: evaluation. This is not just measuring data, but finding insights on what have you achieved and where should you go next.
Leaders will champion work that informs them of something valuable, and advises them of what to do next.
So there we have it – the comms professionals of UK housing have spoken and we want to get strategic.
Of course, if you ever want any help with that, I'll always be excited to help you boldly take your comms from good to amazing.


In response to the case of rabies that was reported to the Livingston County Department of Public Health, we would like to educate all animal owners about the disease.
Rabies is an often fatal disease caused by the rabies virus. It is usually transferred from the saliva of an affected animal, most likely as the result of a bite wound. Many animals can pass rabies to people. Wild animals are the most likely hosts of the disease. Commonly effected species include: raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes and coyotes. However it is possible for dogs, cats, cows, horses or any other warm blooded animal to become infected and pass rabies to people.
Signs of rabies exposure in animals include, but are not limited to, changes in attitude, erratic behavior, lethargy, fever, excessive salivation, inability to swallow, jaw paralysis, disorientation, stumbling and ataxia.
Rabies is a fatal disease, but also a very preventable disease. The dog that tested positive was an unvaccinated animal that was exposed to a rabid skunk. Below are some recommendations to minimize the chance of exposure to Rabies.
Keep vaccinations up to date on all dogs, cats, ferrets and horses.
Keep your pets under direct supervision so they do not come into contact with wild animals. If your pet is bitten call your veterinarian, they may want to booster your pet's Rabies vaccine.
Call your local animal control to remove any stray animal, domestic or wild from your neighborhood. They may be unvaccinated or infected by the disease.
Spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the population of feral pets that may not receive the appropriate care or vaccinations.
Enjoy wild animals from a distance. Do not handle, feed, or attract a wild animal with open garbage cans or litter.
Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home. Do not try to nurse sick animals to health, call wildlife services.
Prevent bats from entering living quarters or occupied spaces in homes or other places they may come into contact with people and pets.
When traveling abroad, avoid direct contact with wild animals and be especially careful around dogs in developing countries. Rabies is common in Latin America, Asia, and Africa where dogs are the major reservoir of Rabies. Tens of thousands of people die of rabies each year in these countries. Before traveling abroad consult with your health care provider about the risk of exposure to rabies.
For more information about rabies and its prevention can be found at the Centers for Disease Control website www.cdc.gov.


text:
Farrell, Phillip (c. 1762–?)
Phillip Farrell (c.1762- ), a former seaman, was found guilty on 15 September 1784 at the Old Bailey, London, of pickpocketing a handkerchief. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, he was sent to the Dunkirk hulk on 5 April 1785. Discharged to the Scarborough in February 1787 he arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Farrell received 24 lashes on 20 May 1787 for being one of the suspected ringleaders in an attempted mutiny on the Scarborough just after the Fleet sailed and was transferred to the Prince of Wales.
On 30 April 1788 Farrell was acquitted, with five other convicts, of theft from the storehouse. There are no records for Farrell after 1790 when he was the victim of a robbery. As a former seaman he would have had no trouble working his passage back to England on one of the Third Fleet ships arriving at the colony from July 1791.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 124
proceedings of trial, Old Bailey, London, 15 September 1784 (pdf)
Griffiths, Thomas (acquaintance)
'Farrell, Phillip (c. 1762–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/farrell-phillip-31110/text38481, accessed 1 February 2023.
Farrell, Philip
Farel, Philip
Farell, Philip
Farrel, Phillip
Prince of Wales (1788)
First Fleet (1788)
Key Places
Justitia hulk (Woolwich, London)
criminal punishment
Crime: theft (pickpocketing)


Why oil and water do not mix?
There are two reasons why oil and water don't mix, even if they are in the same container. The first reason is because their molecules are packed differently. The molecules of water are packed very densely so there will be more molecules of water. The second reason is that water molecules are positively charged. Since only opposites attract and oil has no charge at all, there is no force between the substances that allow them to mix.


text:
package org.apache.log4j.spi;

import org.apache.log4j.Appender;
import org.apache.log4j.Level;
import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
import org.apache.log4j.Priority;

import java.util.Enumeration;
import java.util.ResourceBundle;
import java.util.Vector;

/**
 * No-operation implementation of Logger used by NOPLoggerRepository.
 *
 * @since 1.2.15
 */
public final class NOPLogger extends Logger {
    /**
     * Create instance of Logger.
     *
     * @param repo repository, may not be null.
     * @param name name, may not be null, use "root" for root logger.
     */
    public NOPLogger(NOPLoggerRepository repo, final String name) {
	super(name);
	this.repository = repo;
	this.level = Level.OFF;
	this.parent = this;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void addAppender(final Appender newAppender) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void assertLog(final boolean assertion, final String msg) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void callAppenders(final LoggingEvent event) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    void closeNestedAppenders() {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void debug(final Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void debug(final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void error(final Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void error(final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void fatal(final Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void fatal(final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public Enumeration getAllAppenders() {
	return new Vector().elements();
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public Appender getAppender(final String name) {
	return null;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public Level getEffectiveLevel() {
	return Level.OFF;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public Priority getChainedPriority() {
	return getEffectiveLevel();
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public ResourceBundle getResourceBundle() {
	return null;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void info(final Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void info(final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public boolean isAttached(Appender appender) {
	return false;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public boolean isDebugEnabled() {
	return false;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public boolean isEnabledFor(final Priority level) {
	return false;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public boolean isInfoEnabled() {
	return false;
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void l7dlog(final Priority priority, final String key, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void l7dlog(final Priority priority, final String key, final Object[] params, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void log(final Priority priority, final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void log(final Priority priority, final Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void log(final String callerFQCN, final Priority level, final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void removeAllAppenders() {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void removeAppender(Appender appender) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void removeAppender(final String name) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void setLevel(final Level level) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void setPriority(final Priority priority) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void setResourceBundle(final ResourceBundle bundle) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void warn(final Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void warn(final Object message, final Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void trace(Object message) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public void trace(Object message, Throwable t) {
    }

    /** {@inheritDoc} */
    public boolean isTraceEnabled() {
	return false;
    }

}


text:
Bellingham police investigating claim Oak Harbor developer assaulted Democratic videographer
by Jessie Stensland
Thursday, July 23, 2020 12:07pm
Detectives with the Bellingham Police Department are investigating a Fourth of July incident in Oak Harbor in which a political videographer was allegedly assaulted by a well-known Whidbey developer and a political activist.
Seattle resident Zach Wurtz said he suffered a concussion that landed him in the hospital and that one of the men, whom he identified as Oak Harbor developer Scott Thompson, grabbed his video camera from him and erased part of the video.
Oak Harbor Police Chief Kevin Dresker said he asked the Bellingham police to take over the investigation because at least one of the people involved in the incident has current dealings with the city and that he's talked to this person several times.
Also, the chief said Wurtz has made accusations about the police being biased.
"We want to make sure we are being very transparent," Dresker said, "and that there's no appearance of favoritism."
Lt. Chad Cristelli with the Bellingham police said two detectives are assigned to the case.
They've interviewed four or five people and have several other people they are trying to reach. He said the investigation may be completed in a week or so and then it goes to the prosecutor for any possible charging decision.
In an interview, Wurtz explained that his job is to record political candidates speaking at events, which is called "tracking" and is standard practice in politics. He works as a freelancer and sells video to Democratic candidates.
Wurtz said he saw that Tim Eyman, Republican candidate for governor, Republican state attorney general candidate Brett Rogers, state Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, and state representative candidate Bill Bruch, R-La Conner, were scheduled to speak at a political event in Oak Harbor on the property on the hill above Walmart.
He described it as a "target rich environment."
Wurtz said it was the only political event in all of Washington state in which candidates were speaking because of the surge in COVID-19 cases. Also, he added he really enjoys North Whidbey, so he decided to go to the event and have a picnic with his girlfriend.
Wurtz said the first thing he did when arriving at the event on the Fourth of July was to track down organizer Eric Rohde to explain who he is and why he was there. Rohde, a South Whidbey resident, told him he was welcome. Wurtz said Rohde described himself as a "three percenter"; Rohde later clarified that he's involved with the Washington state Three Percenters, not the national group.
While Wurtz was videotaping outside of a roped-off area, a man stood in front of his video cameras and Wurtz asked him to move. The man recognized Wurtz from other events and announced that "Antifa" was at the event, referring to Wurtz. A video that Wurtz posted on Facebook shows that several people at the event started yelling that he was "Antifa" and a "commie," adding a vulgar term.
Antifa stands for "anti-fascist" and is a loosely-affiliated group that tracks the activities of neo-Nazis and other racist and fascist groups and protests against them, sometimes violently.
Wurtz said he is not a member and has never met anyone in Antifa.
Wurtz said people seated in front of him turned around to see Antifa.
"The guys look so disappointed," he said. "They were looking past me to see Antifa and were discouraged to see they were pointing to this chubby guy in a Hawaiian shirt."
At that point, Worth said, nothing was out of the ordinary. People around him started being "grabby" and touching him without permission, but it was something that happens "at a lot of these events," he said. He said most of the people at the event had been drinking, noting that cans of Coors Light were on tables all over the event.
Wurtz emphasized that organizers and candidates can be heard on the video repeatedly saying that he was welcome to stay.
As Muzzall took the stage, however, things started getting more heated, Wurtz claimed. He loudly asked Muzzall to say something to stop people at the event from harassing and assaulting him.
Wurtz said Rohde, who was the emcee for the event, jumped in and told attendees to leave Wurtz alone.
Wurtz said he was about to leave after Muzzall spoke when the emcee referred to Dan Evans, a candidate for Island County commissioner. For a moment he thought it might be the former governor running for office, so he kept on videotaping the event.
But, at that point, Thompson, who is Evans' biggest financial supporter, approached Wurtz, identified himself as the landowner and told him to leave. Wurtz said he immediately agreed to leave and walked in the most straightforward route off the property.
Then, for an unclear reason, Rohde allegedly tackled him from behind, causing him to strike his head on the ground, and pinned his arms to his side, according to Wurtz. Rohde then started hitting him on the back and shoulder. Wurtz said he purposely didn't fight back because he had learned that the "Proud Boys" would use it as an excuse to assault him further.
Thompson told Rohde to "knock it off," Wurtz said, and he was released.
But Thompson grabbed Wurtz' camera and said he needed to delete himself from the memory card, Wurtz said.
After fumbling with the camera, Thompson erased everything from the video camera following the introduction of Evans, according to Wurtz.
After getting away from the men, Wurtz called 911 and a police officer responded. Wurtz said the officer appeared to take the case very seriously and took his statement, but then advised Wurtz to immediately leave the island over the bridge because of the possibility of being followed and attacked by conservative extremists.
"It was the first time I was advised by law enforcement to adjust my travel on a state highway for my own safety," he said.
Wurtz said he doesn't remember much of the drive home and was groggy and nauseous when he arrived. He woke up with a "really bad" headache and neck pain, so he went to the emergency room at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
After a CAT scan, an X-ray and blood tests, the doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, deep tissue bruising and neck pain, he said.
Wurtz claims he called the Oak Harbor police to check on the investigation and was told by a "rude" records clerk — who allegedly hung up on him — that the investigation was closed. He said the clerk, who he thought was a public information officer, told him that a police officer characterized him as "a well-known member of Antifa" in his report.
Dresker, however, said the investigation was not closed. He said it is always the policy for officers' report to be passed on to detectives for follow-up investigations, which occurred as usual in this case.
In addition, Dresker said the officer's report did not conclude that Wurtz was a "well-known member of Antifa," but that the officer accurately quoted a witness from the event who claimed this.
In an interview, Muzzall said he remembers Wurtz yelling while he was on stage and he announced that, essentially, Wurtz was welcome and that "we are very accepting here." He said he saw Wurtz being escorted off the property but that he didn't witness what happened, although he heard yelling.
According to Wurtz, about 50 people were at the event at a time, which is legal limit under the rules for the Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan for the COVID-10 pandemic.
Wurtz said almost nobody was wearing masks at the event on private property, which is clear in the video he posted on his Facebook page.
Muzzall, however, said people were wearing masks; he said he wore a mask and that he was speaking with people in masks when the incident occurred.
According to Wurtz, he's contacting a tech company to try to recover the video that was erased and that the Bellingham detectives, who came to his Seattle home and interviewed him for a couple of hours, have a copy of the memory disk to analyze.
Thompson and Rohde did not return calls for comment.
Four in running to fill OH council position | Corrected
Man arrested at Walmart in Oak Harbor with stolen truck
An Anacortes business owner reported the truck as stolen. It was found at the Oak Harbor Walmart.
Court day delayed due to psychosis
The woman was arrested on suspicion of assault in the first degree, a domestic violence crime.
Washington's vaccination schedule draws criticism from Island County
Island County commissioners are upset about where certain groups fall in the vaccination phases.
Public comment sought for Navy's parks proposal
Those with comments must register by 5 p.m. on Jan. 20 on the state parks' website.
Capital projects includes funds for big projects to sewer, parks
Several notable projects are planned for this year and next.
Co-sponsored by Muzzall, bill would speed up state reopening
The bill would allow indoor dining, gyms and social gatherings to resume, all with safety protocols
Prosecutor calls commissioner 'a terrible person' during public meeting
The two have had a tense relationship for years.
Madrona to make way for bigger McDonald's
An Oak Harbor woman hoped to save the large tree that is to be cut down for an upcoming renovation.
Prowler aircraft monument still in works years later
The Oak Harbor Park Board learned the donated monument will probably be installed this year.
Windstorm wreaks havoc across island
Power was knocked out to thousands of customers in the first big storm of the year.
Woman sues Uber over injury suffered in 2018
The woman is suing the car-for-hire company over an injury that occurred in Oak Harbor in 2018.
Oak Harbor council decides on marina environmental restoration plan
The boat ramp will be getting a makeover, but no pocket beach is planned for Catalina Park.
State ferries ridership reaches a 50-year low
The Mukilteo-Clinton route ridership dropped in 2020, but not as much as others in the ferry system.


Penhorn Plaza in Dartmouth | Papyrus Watch - Exposing the overuse of the Papyrus font.
Even driving in a car on the highway I spotted this Papyrus sign from hundreds of feet away.
The Penhorn Plaza in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia recently changed their name from Penhorn Mall and got a fancy new sign, too. Who keeps getting paid to do this stuff? I'm assuming for not very much money.


text:
Cuba and Good Health: Looking at the High Standards of Cuban Healthcare
We take a look at the high standards of Cuban healthcare, focusing the preventative measures taken to monitor the health of the population, to rapid developments in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostic technology.
Cuba's healthcare system has been praised around the world for its efficiency, scientific innovation and high standards, not only as a Third World country, but even when compared to countries like the U.S. The access to health services for the Cuban population is remarkable, and the results rival those of far more developed countries.
Since the 1950s Cuba's doctor-to-patient ratio has grown significantly. And in the 1960s, the government implemented a program that saw the entire population gain access to vaccinations, which helped wipe out a range of contagious diseases like polio and rubella. A new focus on maternal care from the 1970s onward also saw infant mortality rates plummet significantly.
The infant mortality rate in Cuba is one of the lowest in the world – roughly the same as Australia. Whereas life expectancy is one of the highest – around 78.7 years! It is also a leader in medical biotech and pharmaceutical development, and has become renowned for its diagnostic technology.
Let's take a look at the Cuban healthcare system, from its emphasis on prevention, to its effective use of traditional medicines, and its innovative approach to health sciences.
World Renowned Excellence
Today, healthcare in Cuba is free and is considered amongst the country's leadership and population a universal right. Preventative care is fundamental to the Cuban healthcare model, and with limited resources at hand, this really the only option. But prevention isn't easy!
In 2014, Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), visited Havana and was impressed by what she saw.
"Cuba is the only country that has a health care system closely linked to research and development. This is the way to go, because human health can only improve through innovation," she said, going on to praise the efforts of the country's leadership for placing "health as an essential pillar of development."
Prevention Through Determination
The key to Cuba's efficient healthcare system is its comprehensive approach. The country offers yearly check-ups for all of its citizens, which helps monitor the health of the entire population thoroughly and without prejudice. Most municipalities in Cuba have a dedicated medical centre, staffed by trained doctors, and supplemented by nurses and specialists who work between clinics.
Seem impossible? Not without a lot of doctors. And Cuba has a lot of doctors. In 2005, the country became the world leader in the ratio of doctors to citizens, with 67 doctors per 10,000 people. In 2015, this rose to roughly 80 doctors per 10,000 people. Or eight for every 1,000.
This balance allows Cuban doctors to assess their patients more thoroughly with the aim of preventing disease or illness before it arises. Which is a very efficient and cost-effective approach to healthcare.
Medical Biotech and Pharmaceutical Development in Cuba
Cuba is currently leading the way when it comes to medical biotech and pharmaceutical development too, particularly with advancements in anti-cancer, and cardiovascular agents, amongst others.
The Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) near Havana is a brilliant example of the robust infrastructure for medical science and biotechnology in Cuba. It's a modern complex of labs and research facilities that developed out of Cuba's National Institute of Oncology and Radiology.
Clinical trials in the disciplines of health, pharmacology, immunology and genetic and biological sciences have led to countless innovations, and with the government investing so much in scientific research, it is institutions like the CIM that are revered for developing the cutting edge medical treatments that Cuba is now known for.
The BioCubaFarma Enterprise Group is another shining example of Cuba leading the way in the health sciences, tirelessly working on a range of scientific projects, developing innovate and world-class medicines, diagnostic systems and medical equipment, among other health products. The institution also undertakes projects in the field of agricultural and livestock biotech as part of its mission to contribute to food production in the country.
As Cuba Inside The World note, Cuba became the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child HIV-AIDS transmission in 2015 – an impressive accomplishment, made possible thanks to innovative diagnostic equipment and antiretroviral medicines to treat HIV and AIDS patients supplied by BioCubaFarma. Very impressive indeed!
Looking Back: A Traditional Approach to Healthcare
The Cuban healthcare system holds great stead in the effectiveness of traditional medicine, which is far more accessible and affordable for the general population. Since the 1990s, the government has promoted cost-effective healthcare solutions provided by green medicine, homeopathy and acupuncture.
Traditional Chinese medicines are relatively popular in Cuba, albeit they are not approved by Cuba State Centre for Drugs and Device Control (CECMED). Ingenious use of natural resources, a practice which traces back to traditions of herbal medicine, is prevalent throughout the country. As is the research and development of effective and efficient ways to use natural resources to treat and prevent disease.
There are roughly ten local Natural and Traditional Medicine (NTM) production facilities across the same number of Cuban provinces set to receive certification from the CECMED for meeting pharmaceutical practice standards by the end of 2017, according to Johann Perdomo Delgado, head of the Ministry of Health's NTM department. The main objective of the certification process is to improve the centres' infrastructure and technology, and ensure that they receive plant biomass from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Traditional Medicine in Cuba Today
Today, traditional medicine remains an integral part of Cuba's healthcare model, co-existing alongside modern medicine as part of a holistic approach. Perdomo Delgado notes that natural medications and traditional remedies were given to millions of people in 2017. And that in addition to providing phytodrugs and bee-derived products, the MNT also includes acupuncture and related techniques, homeopathy, flower-therapy, hydrotherapy (sun and seawater treatments), traditional therapeutic exercises, among the main trends. The growth of this area in the last years is a consequence of the lack of most common medications in Cuba.
Each of Cuba's state-run municipal medical clinics offer traditional medical services, and many pharmacies supply a range of natural medicines and homeopathic remedies. And when you consider how healthy the country is overall, it appears we could benefit from a little green healing.
References avaliable on request.
By admin | November 27th, 2017 | cuban biotech , cuban diagnostic technology , cuban healthcare positives , Cuban healthcare system , cuban pharmaceuticals


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El Teatro Campesino: Talk with Diane Rodriguez
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El Teatro Campesino: Talk with Diane Rodriguez, early member of the collective, accompanied by Professor María Elena Fernández and Professor David Román.
Sunday July 30th, 2017 1-3PM
Director and playwright, Diane Rodriguez, will talk about her experience as an early member of El Teatro Campesino. Additionally, she will discuss her provocative project Latins Anonymous that examines Latinx stereotypes in Hollywood productions, as well as her meaningful contributions to theater arts. She will be joined by Professor María Elena Fernández and Professor David Román. Professor Fernández will talk about the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the Chicano Movement with a specific focus on womxn's social, political, and artistic contributions. And Professor Román will comment on Diane Rodriguez's leadership, advocacy work, and more recent projects while providing an overview of Latinx womxn theater today.
El Teatro Campesino was created in 1965 to assist the United Farm Workers' (UFW) monumental grape strike in Delano, California. They performed actos (short plays) on the back beds of trucks, at marches that lasted hundreds of miles, and at college campuses. Their theater, an early example of art as social practice, utilized humor and satire to critique widespread labor rights abuses and the lackluster political response to these abuses.
Diane Rodriguez is an anthologized writer, regional theatre director and the recipient of an Obie Award in 2007. She began her career with one of the most politically explosive theatre companies of it's era, El Teatro Campesino. In 1988, Rodriguez along with other Latinx actors, founded the theater collective Latins Anonymous as a response to Hollywood's normalized practice of employing Latinx stereotypes in productions. Her two-play anthology, written collectively with Latins Anonymous, is in its 16th printing. As of January 2017, she will have been at Center Theatre Group for over twenty-two years and is currently Associate Artistic Director and President of the Theatre Communications Group Board. Her recent work includes the successful and critically acclaimed production of The Sweetheart Deal, which she wrote and directed, at the Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC).
María Elena Fernández Born and raised in L.A., the daughter of Mexico City immigrants, María Elena Fernández is a professor, writer and performer. She teaches history, literature and the arts in the Chicana/o Studies Department at Cal State Northridge. Her first person essays have been published in the anthologies Waking Up American, Remembering Frida and others. She wrote about Latino music, books and film for the LA Weekly and toured her hilarious autobiographical solo show Confessions of a Cha Cha Feminist to sold-out audiences across the country. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and an M.A. in U.S. History from UCLA.
David Román is a Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Southern California. Professor Román's research focuses on theatre and performance studies, Latina/o studies with an emphasis on popular culture; and queer studies with an emphasis on archival practices, subcultural histories, and artistic production, primarily in twentieth century America. He has written and edited books about AIDS and the arts, Latino studies, and contemporary US culture and performance.
This event is a part of LACE's newest program Se habla español and instantaneous Spanish translation will be available.
Support for Se habla español is provided by the California Arts Council.
This bilingual event is realized in collaboration with Antena Los Angeles.
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2017, Diane Rodriguez, El Teatro Campesino
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What shall I do with my proud little mushroom cap?
Lou Spence
I'd been on testosterone about six months when suddenly I looked in the mirror and saw this guy. Not unlike my brother as a teenager but smaller, blonder, a bit prettier. When I wasn't looking at myself I didn't feel any different, really, but when my appearance changed, I started to get ideas. Where is my cock? I wondered. Doesn't a teenage boy need a cock for pissing on things, tugging on, fucking? I should say, I was twenty-seven years old—in the eyes of the law, a grown woman.
I started watching online reviews of all the various cocks I might have, big and small, cut and uncut, ones for pissing, fucking, wearing, all three. While I watched these prosthesis reviews, I masturbated feverishly. I laid on my stomach and ground my crotch against my clasped fists with my chin poised on the pillow so I could see the laptop screen. The trans guy in the video tried on the cocks in underwear and jeans; pissed through one, held it up close to the camera so I could see the fake blue veins, the stretchy foreskin that didn't retract, the clumsy bulk of the balls. When it became too much, I pressed my cheek on the pillow to finish. After jerking off this way, my chin always felt abraded and sensitive, and I worried that it made the skin look weird in a way that people might notice.
I did this every night for a week until, at three o'clock one morning, flush with cash from selling my ADD meds, I bought a cock on a whim: one I could supposedly do everything with, humbly-sized and pretty. It was a three-hundred dollar chunk of silicone.
It showed up in the mail in a discreet box and then in a less discreet bag and then in a clear plastic pouch I clumsily tore apart. It was cold, but soft and heavy like a body, like my body. I put it in my favorite underwear and looked at my little bulge in the mirror. The dick warmed up quickly against my skin. I zipped pants over it and trekked through the garden from my bungalow into the main house to get a beer from the fridge. I hoped my housemates wouldn't see me, or if they did, I hoped they wouldn't notice my dick. If they did notice, I hoped they would think, Yeah, hot dick, he's always had that hot dick, what a cool guy.
I wanted to piss. I'd watched the videos, and it was supposed to be easy. You were meant to be able to pull out your cock at a urinal and let it rip and nobody would know the difference. I guzzled my beer breathlessly and paced around my room. I kneaded my crotch and looked at myself in the mirror until finally I felt the urge to go.
In the bathroom I stood over the toilet bowl, unzipped my jeans, pulled my cock through the slit in my undies and pointed it at the bowl. I tried to let go, but my brain couldn't stand it, it was screaming you are going to piss your pants. My knees started shaking with excitement. I could feel myself getting turned on, I could feel the piss desperate to burst out of me. My ears were hot. I pictured it streaming casually out of my dick into the bowl, or straight down into my clothes, and I didn't know which one thrilled me more. My legs shook so hard I laughed, and the laughing made the pee come. At first it funnelled like magic into the recess inside the balls and dribbled out the tip, but then it started coming too fast and bubbling warm up over the front lip, fizzing through my pubes, and out over the back, tickling my asshole and running in streaks down my jeans. I was gasping, still shaking, kind of laughing, and incredibly hot all over with shame and disbelief. There was nothing I could do but keep pissing. Finally, I was done. I tucked my dripping silicone dick back into my jocks, carefully redid my fly, and squelched as quietly as possible—hoping not to rouse my housemates—back through the house to my bungalow.
I laid down all wet on the only clear part of my floor, a narrow strip of bald, blue carpet between my desk and my bed. Above me was a ceiling of warped, white plyboard with a bare light bulb gleaming in the middle. The walls were encrusted with drawings and wood carvings and things torn out of magazines. Everything I owned surrounded me in that seven-foot by twelve-foot space and seemed to hem me in, keep me to scale. I couldn't stop breathing out little exclamations to myself—Jesus, ooookay, so this is happening—still kind of laughing, incredulous, aroused. I closed my eyes, unzipped my pants, and let my hands roam over the cooling denim, amazed to find it actually soaked through, like some familiar but forgotten emotion from childhood. I imagined myself as a ruined twink in a gutter, getting pissed on by three laughing, fat guys in leather. I pictured myself standing on a stage, singing in a high, tremulous voice, piss noticeably and uncontrollably spurting out of me while the audience snickered and blushed. I imagined chuting down a birth canal, like a water slide, pursued by a wave of mucus and blood, a stream of piss pouring straight onto my newborn head.
I clasped my dick and rubbed the stinky, wet silicone against my clit, and within seconds I came, like someone dropping shutters over a window—that kind of cumming that's all about disgust and shame and really winds you. Afterwards, I thought, if I'd done that shit on webcam, I would have made money, and gotten some compliments too.
I realized over the next few days that walking around with the cock in my pants was a hazard. It turned me on and made me think about sex constantly. I downloaded Grindr. All the messages I received were totally hopeless—pics of dry-looking dicks, like corky, tropical trees; opening salvos, like hi I have experience with ftm and stoners, come over and suck it?; and guys who were looking for the hung top that I would never be. I went on one date with an old uni friend. She shoved her dick down my throat and said good boy. It was hot for a second, but then I think the image of it triggered both of us: her dominance, my submission—it brought us each too close in some way to our confused pre-transition selves. We couldn't tell if it was subversive anymore, or just a reenactment. Afterwards, we couldn't look at each other, and we didn't talk again.
I hated dating, anyway, because all there was to do was talk about yourself, construct some hologram and then try to date the other person with it. But I kept thinking about the shiny, purply head of a cock, really swollen and hard like a plum—that most urgent and mucusy part, with all its nerve endings. I wanted it to touch the most urgent and mucusy part of me, with all its nerve endings, like a lightning strike. No barrier—a condom would have ruined everything. A silicone dick wasn't going to cut it either. I wanted it to be slick and obscene, like sticking two snails together by their wet bases and then making them grind. I was tormented by the image. I knew I could get it somehow.
Getting sex is never impossible. I learned this at twenty-one when I first put on a wig and lipstick in a brothel, walked into a room with a stranger, and walked out richer. I learned it in dyke bars, in hypercharged queer theory tutorials at uni, on Chaturbate. I learned it in public men's rooms, kneeling on the floor for strangers. I learned it when I was thirteen and guys pretended to believe I was older. If you're not at all picky and you cast your net wide enough, the universe will always deliver.
I was in the midst of hunting for porn that contained moments like that—junk stickily touching junk, usually just one or two seconds out of a twenty-eight-minute-long video—when my phone vibrated. I was bored with jerking off and stopped to check it. The message was from a client who bought my meds, and he was bugging me to deliver to Chelsea. I fucked my knee and I can't drive, he said. My girl left me. I'll pay you for petrol. I'll throw in some lorazepam. Please, bro, he said, I need you. I looked up the drive on maps—seventy-four minutes. What about weed, I asked, do you have any weed? Only a nug, he said, but it's yours.
I stuffed my cock in my pants and went.
It was a cold night and hardly anyone was on the road. The world had a secret, exclusive feeling, like it does at five a.m. The sky above me was like spilled ink on a slide projector; deeply pigmented blues and purples, a strange green, pink and orange harmonizing in a real high pitch at the horizon. The blue band was perforated by the thinnest possible line of moon, like a tear pressed through paper by a fingernail.
As I broke out of the city southside onto a long, curving, beachside highway, everything felt for a moment like poetry in motion, like my destiny was being made right here and now, the way it only ever feels when you're alone and nobody knows where you are. Dick in my pants, dexies in my pocket, a car, the world blurring by.
It reminded me of my gym. It was one of those 24-hour joints, and I always went at, like, two in the afternoon when nobody was there, just TVs strobing, horrible music blaring, and overhead fans circling. When I walked in, the slumbering room would kind of sense me and the lights would falter dutifully on, illuminating the still equipment, the dusty mirrors, and me—the only disturbance. Soon though, they'd vacillate back into dim fluorescent stillness, like a fridge with the door closed. While I ran in place on the treadmill, the lights would keep circling this question; suddenly they'd notice me, and I'd feel reborn in some more substantial form, real suddenly, filled with energy and life. Seconds or minutes later, doubt would return and they'd cast me back in shadow. I reveled in that feeling of being utterly anonymous and unreal—catching the world when it didn't think it was being looked at. I felt it now, too, the lonely freedom of a ghost.
The customer lived in one of those townhouses for people who want all garage, all driveway, all security blinds, all the ugliest features as the most prominent, and not one crack for a blade of grass to penetrate. It all took on a blank and dreamy texture under the orange streetlights.
I texted him as I pulled up. I thought he'd come to my car to do the trade, but he just came and stood in the driveway, made eye contact through my side mirror, turned, and hobbled on his crutches back to the house. I followed. The outside felt cold and still.
I walked through the open garage and up three stairs to the lounge room. His house looked like his girl really had left him. Dirty tiled floor, bong, bottles, barbells. He had one of those low, black leather couches men get to sit and play Xbox on, and an Xbox. He offered me a seat. I sat, handed him a little baggie of pills. He handed me a bottle with everything he'd promised me inside: two hundred and fifty dollars, a nug, and ten lorazepam. I stood up to go, and he said, Hang on—stay and get on one with me. He had this low, croaky voice. He was hot, muscly, and tough in a weirdly reassuring way. Always wore workout gear. Shaved legs and a pupil in one eye that leaked black into the iris. He handed me a plate with lines on it and a rolled up a fifty-dollar note. What is it, I said, and he said, Ativan. I only snorted half a line, thinking I still had to drive home, but within a minute, sound had started coming to me twice, once slow and deep and then a millisecond later as high and too fast to make out. My body felt heavy and gummy. My eyes widened, like duh. I realized that I had made a serious drug mistake and now had to surrender to it. I turned in slow motion and watched him do a line. He smiled.
Hey, bro? he asked. I just kept looking at him. Can I suck your dick, he said. I laughed, and the sound kept bisecting and bisecting in my ears until it dissolved into a whine and disappeared. He reached over and put his hand on my crotch and I couldn't even begin to explain, so I pulled out my rubber dick and laid it between us on the sofa, watching its jellyish bounce. His throat made a sound, and I tugged down my track pants. My clit was big and hard with a prominent vein running down what was essentially a foreskin, a shiny mauve head poking out like a fingertip. It sat there nestled between what were unmistakably pussy lips. I thought it was cute and self-explanatory, but when I looked up at his face, he looked stricken. A long moment passed, and I was about to pull my pants up and snatch back my dick when he said, That's fucken hot, bro, without looking away.
I felt two things: a wave of relief registering behind my stupor, and a wave of blood rushing to my clit, twitching it. He got on his knees in front of the couch, wincing as he bent one of them, and started sucking me off, sticking his big blunt fingers in me, groaning. The best thing, I'm sorry to say, is fucking people who aren't trans-conscious, because they don't simper about how big your cock is or how much of a man you are or whatever, they just get in there. They're easy to trust, like dogs. At some point, I got what I was craving too, got the hard, shiny plum of him to kiss my wet slug pussy, got it to nudge into my asshole like it was trying on a beanie. I even got him to roll over, so I could trap my clit between his ass cheeks and buck, feeling it nosing curiously at his hole, wanting to be tugged in, falling short. Those images didn't take long to play out in real time, though I tried to suspend them as long as possible. They were just threshold moments, and once they were crossed, there was the rest of sex, the stuff I always skipped over in porn. Long minutes of him pumping towards release once I had already gotten what I wanted. But I didn't mind this. As a sex worker, I'd learned that sex was always a trade of what you didn't want for what you did. I'd gotten cash, drugs, validation, the satisfaction of an urge, and he'd gotten to fuck me without feeling too gay. This seemed fair. When I was stuffing my dick back in and leaving, he said, You've been really good to me, bro.
I drove off with that feeling you get when you've just had unprotected sex with a sketchy stranger—all shame and exhilaration, like you've stepped through banality and into some rarer, uglier realm. I didn't know if I should reel myself in or keep going. I thought about taking my cash and hitting a brothel, getting intros from the girls, maybe even booking someone. There were brothels everywhere southside, I was passing through the thick of them, their glowing, red lights and neon signs promising a familiar netherworld. I'd never entered one as a client, but I knew those spaces intimately. It hadn't been that long since I'd been a sex worker myself, wobbling down those halls in my high heels, stepping into alcoves to flirt with men who rarely glanced away from the flat screens on the walls that flickered with silent porn. I knew the way the regulars and the girls cycled endlessly from one brothel to the next—for novelty, for variety, to escape from petty dramas—and I couldn't be sure I wouldn't be recognized anywhere. Anyway, I didn't think I could act sexually selfish enough, even with someone I'd paid, to really enjoy that. I was still only a counterfeit man. I wanted my body to be either so desirable to another, or so abject and disturbing, that I could separate from it, step out of it through that person's gaze and stand on the other shore with them. It didn't work if they didn't really, personally, want to fuck me. So I kept moving. Soon the neighborhood changed and the brothels thinned out, replaced by apartments and convenience stores and kebab vans, closed businesses and empty taxi ranks, nothing glimmering with opportunity.
When I got home, I was greeted by two barking dogs and six half-drunk women sprawled on the floor in the lounge room. I'd only come through the house because I assumed no one would be up, and I wanted to brush my teeth. Usually I just slipped undetected through the backyard to my bungalow. Hey, I said to the only person I recognized, my housemate Kim. The room went from a din of voices and barking to near-silence. This is my book club, said Kim, a bit apologetic, this is my housemate, Ren. Her hand gestured limply in both directions. I waved, smiling tightly, and when I ducked out of the room to go brush my teeth I heard one of the women stage-whisper, Ask him to join us!
And there it was, the night's next invitation.
Her name was Phoebe. When I walked back in, summoned by Kim calling my name, Phoebe caught my gaze and patted the floor next to her. Obediently, I sat. Our bodies were so close that every time she moved, some part of her body or clothing touched me, and she made this seem very casual. I could barely follow the group conversation, which centered around a book I'd never heard of, but occasionally Phoebe would turn and make a statement right to me, looking into my eyes with a pushy, daring meaningfulness. It's not enough to write about how empty and horrible the world is, she told me. Any bozo can see that. The job of literature is to elevate the discourse. I hadn't talked like that since university, when people seemed to be distinguished by the quality and forcefulness of their opinions, and it took me a while to decide whether I still had those kinds of thoughts. My mind felt hermetic, like there was no one around to push against or oppose, so it had gone soft and permissive. But I realized I agreed with her. I want to read about a kind of subjectivity I aspire to, not some bombed-out, technology-addicted drone reality, she said. I want the narrator's thoughts to be so deep that they put me to shame, make me question whether I am even remotely a person of substance. You know? I plucked her wine glass out of her hand and drank from it so she knew that she and I were the only people here that mattered, like a curtain had been pulled around us. It's because of the internet, I said, guessing. There's a flattening of everything, a self-conscious staginess. Nobody has any patience for sincerity or ugliness. Everything needs aesthetic framing and a punchline or it doesn't feel real. It creeps into everything, every moment. I mean, even within. There's like this imaginary viewer, or maybe we see ourselves as the viewer, not as the person things are really happening to. I don't even know who I am unless I'm watching myself at at least one remove. Phoebe nodded deeply, took her wine back, drank.
The others weren't content to let us talk behind a psychic curtain. They kept drawing Phoebe back in. Phoebe still turned to me to make all of her pronouncements, which were strenuous, elaborate and funny, also angry, and needy in a way I suspected she kept secret from herself. I liked watching her hands move when she talked about things she hated, fingers tall and rigid and prohibitive, like stop signs. It was when she turned to me and said, apropos of not much, I'm not into 'enthusiastic consent' as a compulsory factor in sex that everyone started to have somewhere else to be all of a sudden.
I led Phoebe out to my bungalow and closed the door behind us, and she kissed me. I became suddenly embarrassed about my rubber penis, and unsure how I was going to field the situation. Um, I'm packing with like a fake silicone dick right now, and I want to get rid of it, but I also feel really awkward, I blurted. Whatever, Phoebe said with a careless handwave, so I pulled it out and threw it into my laundry basket. We both kind of laughed, watching a dick and balls flying through the air like a critique of phallocentric cisheteropatriarchy, and also at the sticky, wobbly sound it made. We kissed again, our faces touching, skin and jawbones involved, so personal somehow. When Phoebe pulled my shirt off and saw my tits were taped flat with blue kinesiology tape, she said nothing, like my body was just what she'd expected. We had sex without talking, and so much time passed that it seemed like the moment would just keep expanding forever. Her touch was loving and exacting and alien, and I felt defenceless against her total lack of aggression. I slept in her arms all night. Whenever I woke up, she'd wake up too, kiss my shoulders, and I'd turn my head backwards to kiss her lazily, and it would all start up again.
Are you lonely? I asked her, hours or days later, and she smiled.
Yes, and no, she said, tilting her head left for yes and right for no. Loneliness is the forever knife in my gut, always there, yes. I used to think I would die of it. But in a way, that loneliness is what makes me feel like part of everything—because, like, what could be more human than feeling desperately alone? So I have this feeling of being a node, like a mushroom in a mycelium network—crucial, in its little way, but here today, feeding on rotting plant matter and moisture and sun, and gone tomorrow. Overbaked, bruised, and pulverized back into compost. So when I'm lonely I ask myself, well, what shall I do with my proud little mushroom cap today?
Are you lonely? she said.
I wanted to offer her a metaphor in return, something neat and finite, and I laid there for a long moment, cycling through abstractions and images, building up little stories in my mind—about my gym, that customer, Chaturbate, the brothel—but none of them really captured it, so finally I just said, Yeah.


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Queen's Windsor estate suffers security breach after two suspected intruders are arrested
(Image credit: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
By Roxy James
published 2 May 2021
The Queen's Windsor estate suffered a security breach after two suspected intruders gained access to the grounds of the Royal Lodge on the afternoon of April 25.
Two intruders sparked a security scare when they broke into the Queen's sprawling estate in Windsor
A man and his girlfriend have been arrested after they reportedly scaled fences close to the Royal Lodge, where Prince Andrew lives
This royal news (opens in new tab) follows a new photo released to mark Princess Charlotte's sixth birthday (opens in new tab) taken by the Duchess of Cambridge (opens in new tab)
The suspects - a 31-year-old man and his 29-year-old girlfriend - reportedly scaled a fence at the lodge, close to where the 95-year-old Queen goes for walks with her corgis (opens in new tab) and rides horses.
The lodge is also Prince Andrew's official residence, where he lives with former wife Sarah Ferguson, and he was at home at the time of the incident, reports the Daily Mail.
A police spokesman said, 'Two people, a 29-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, both from London, were arrested on suspicion of being found in or upon enclosed premises and have been released under investigation while inquiries continue.
'There was no risk to any individual on the site.'
It is the second alleged incident to have happened in the grounds of Royal Lodge within days of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.
Police were also called to Prince Andrew's home on April 19 after a 44-year-old woman reportedly talked her way into the home after convincing security guards she was there to see the Queen and Prince Andrew, according to The Sun.
She later made her way into the home and was held after asking a member of staff where she could find Prince Andrew, saying she was his fiancée and had come to marry him, the newspaper reported.
Thames Valley Police said the woman was stopped and later sectioned under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act but there was no risk to anyone on the site.
Reacting to last Sunday's incident, a source told The Sun, 'This is an astonishing lapse.
'Everyone was on high alert after the first intruder, now this happens. Heads could roll.'
Roxy James
Celebrity Writer
Roxy James is a freelance Celebrity Writer at GoodTo, covering all things royal, entertainment and reality TV. Be it the latest Royal Family happenings, behind-the-scenes gossip at Strictly Come Dancing or breaking engagement, divorce or baby news - Roxy has it covered.


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Democracy During a Pandemic
by Diana Gilday
The sticker a person might get after voting early (Image via Diana Gilday)
Due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 election is a very different one to years past.
In a survey conducted via Instagram, 102 people answered on how they planned on voting; whether it was mail-in/absentee, early voting or on Nov. 3.
Out of the 102 people who answered, 31 of them said that they were voting absentee. One of the main reasons people chose to vote absentee was because of being away from their district because of college.
One of the people who is voting early is Tom Sullivan, a sophomore at SUNY Oswego. "It was easy," said Sullivan. "I'm at school so I got an absentee."
Being away at college is not the only reason why someone would choose to vote absentee, however.
"I wanted to vote as early as possible," said Purchase College sophomore Jude.
"The quickest and fastest option for me," said Lucy Bankole, a freshman at Morgan State University. "They received both my mom and I's ballot on the 23d."
An example of an absentee ballot (Image via https://www.wsbtv.com/news/politics/how-do-i-vote-by-absentee-ballot-georgia/D7STONI7LJDUZLKX7TWGW6KYK4/)
Besides absentee, many people decided to utilize early voting. Early voting has become an increasingly popular option this year, especially in New York where citizens can early vote for the President for the first time. 36 people who responded to the Instagram survey said that they were planning on voting early.
Teddy Byrne, a senior at Ithaca College who is currently home due to COVID-19 said that he is planning on voting early because "It's in-person but without having to worry about not being able to vote because of the lines."
"To ignore the huge crowds as Nov. 3 comes up," said Kennedy Douglas, a college sophomore.
"I was going to wait until Nov.3, but I was too excited to vote the fucker out," said Stephanie Meditz, a freshman at Molloy College.
The line on the first day of early voting in Bayside, Queens (Image via Diana Gilday)
The remaining 35 responders to the poll said that they were planning on waiting until Nov. 3 to cast their ballot.
Lawrence Vodopivic, who is currently training for the US Marine Corps, said that he will be voting Nov.3. "I'm healthy enough to work in person, so I'm healthy enough to vote in person," said Vodopivic.
"Voting early morning on the 3rd," said Cian Walsh. "It works best with my schedule."
"So I can ensure my vote will count," said Maddy Mecca, a senior at Purchase.
Regardless of how one plans on voting, something everyone agreed on was the importance of voting.
Alexa Lugo, a college junior, said "I'm voting for my rights." This sentiment was shared by another college junior, Marisa.
She says she is voting, "To protect my rights and the rights of my fellow POC, women and the LGBT community."
"Voting is as patriotic as serving in the army," said Alex Belyaniov, a Purchase College junior. "You have a voice and it matters, especially now."
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These necklaces are made from two deer jawbones and a brass ring. They feature an adjustable cord and various tribal themed designs or etchings on the bone. As a natural material, bones may vary slightly from those pictured. Special orders are welcomed if we are out of stock, or if there is a design consideration you would like.