Here are some FREE apps that will help you on your journey through university life in the UK.
Y-plan – You will never run out of thing to do with this app! This app lists events happening locally to you. Fancy a trip to the theatre? Or a fun night out? This app is filled with crazy and cool things to do and is tailored to your local area wherever you may be in the UK.
Dropbox – Let's face it! In today's technologically advanced and internet driven society, there is no excuse such as 'my computer has crashed and I lost all my work!' and trust me your lecturer will not be impressed. This will ensure that you will never lose your essays no matter what. This app will allow you to access your work from anywhere. So if you don't have it. Get it now : www.dropbox.com!
Mobile banking apps – If you had a crazy night and need to check the damage, most of the banks will have apps which allow the customers to check their balance. Useful for checking how much student loan you have left or how near you are to your overdraft limit!
Living social – You need to treat yourself once in a while. After intense periods of deadlines, exams or even just long, boring lectures! This app has many good deals.
Stumble upon- This app helps you discover loads of interesting content on the internet. It has an excellent selection of posts that you can read and learn from and it allows you to select topics you are interested in. Tap the stumble button and see where it takes you!
Voice recorder: iRig Recorder app – Sometimes it is useful to just sit in lectures and focus rather than hurriedly trying to take notes as your lecturer talks (or you may be too hung-over to listen). This app is very useful as it will store your recordings and allow you to access and edit at any time. Also useful for when conducting interviews during your dissertation months!


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You are here: Latest information - Blog - Building up soil indices
Building up soil indices
The Professional Agricultural Analysis Group (PAAG) laboratories report for 2014/15 shows that the P index was lower than target (2) in 25% of samples from UK arable land and in 34% of samples from grassland. K index was lower than target (2-) in 30% of samples from arable land and in 40% of samples from grassland. Both P and K indices were lower than target in 13% of samples. These percentages haven't changed greatly since the first PAAG report in 2009.
There's plenty of evidence that crop yields are at risk at index 1 and reduced at index 0 so the PAAG figures indicate a fairly widespread need to build soil indices. Questions that then get asked are 'How much phosphate or potash must be applied to raise an index?', 'How quickly can an index be raised?' and 'What is best applied to raise an index?' The 'How much?' and 'How quickly?' questions are linked because you could try small applications over many years or larger applications for a quicker effect. The Fertiliser Manual (RB209) takes the first of these alternatives, recommending for most crops additional build-up applications of 60kg P2O5 or K2O/ha at index 0 and 30kg P2O5 or K2)/ha at index 1. Getting to target index could be a drawn-out affair possibly interrupted by retirement. On the other hand, doing things more quickly can mean a large investment in the short term.
The PDA Nutrient Calculator allows different strategies to be compared. Inputs are current crop species and yield, soil type, current and target indices and the number of years allows for raising the index. The calculator shows offtake of P2O5 and K20 and amounts needed to achieve the change in index. For example, for wheat with a yield of 10 t/ha on a medium soil, soil index could be raised from 0 to 2 over five years by applying 128 kg P2O5/ha above maintenance every year (640 kg P2O5/ha in total). In this situation raising K index from 0 to 2- would involve applying 192 kg K2O5/ha above maintenance every year (960 kg K2O/ha in total). The amount recommended in RB209 (60kg/ha above maintenance) would take 11 years to raise the P index and 16 years to raise the K index from 0 to targets.
Where they are available, livestock manures are good for raising soil indices. They should be the first choice thought he usual care is needed with nitrogen in NVZ's. Failing that, most forms of fertiliser are suitable. TSP, DAP and MAP, the phosphate sources in most compound fertilisers, are all effective. For raising K index, muriate of potash, again the source in nearly all compounds, is the obvious choice. Water-solubility is a common concern with phosphate fertilisers but it's not a good guide to availability. Some materials with zero water solubility are good sources of phosphate - remember basic slag? All that can be said is that high P water-solubility indicates good immediate availability but low or zero water-solubility can indicate good availability depending on the product and soil conditions. Rock phosphates can be effective where soil pH is lower than around 6.5 (as in a lot of grassland) and ash-based products can be useful at any pH.
Having said all this, there are some soils where it can be very difficult if not impossible to raise the P or K index to target. Recent research by AHDB has shown the difficulty of raising P index to 2 on some shallow soils over chalk or limestone - probably due to reactions with calcium forming insoluble compounds. Leaching of potassium from very light soils can prevent K index reaching 2- or staying at that level. In these situations, it's best to accept 1 as a target but to ensure sufficient phosphate or potash is applied every year to prevent deficiency.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


There are a number of effective first-time homebuyer programs available to prospective homebuyers in Georgia upon the purchase of their first house. With these options available to you, you no longer have to live with the misconception that you cannot afford to buy a home thanks to the rising cost of home prices and the fees associated with the purchase of a new home. These programs will allow you to realize your homeownership dreams.
The Georgia Dream Loans program is available to all first-time homebuyers in the State of Georgia. These loans are guaranteed to anyone who meets the minimum requirements for homeownership. They are fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages. The good news is that buyers who qualify for one of these loans as well as any programs offered by the VA or FHA can utilized both.
The Georgia Dream Loans program also offers down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers. As long as the buyer agrees to offer $1,000 of his or her own funds towards the down payment of a new home in Georgia, he or she will qualify for a down payment assistance payment of $5,000 to $7,500.
The USDA Rural Development program is designed to help first-time homebuyers purchase their first home. This program requires you meet a specific set of circumstances and requirements. The program offers not only down payment assistance by affordable payment options. The terms are based on the amount of time in which you reside in the home you purchase. If you stay for the length of the term, the funds given to you are not required to be repaid. However, if you move out of your home before the term is over you will be required to pay a portion of the money given to you to purchase your home.
The only downfall to the CHIP Program is that it is not available in every city in Georgia. It is something worth looking into, however. If you qualify, the program will provide you with down payment assistance to help you purchase your first home.
There are several options available for Georgia residents looking to purchase their first home. If you think you cannot afford to buy a home, you could be mistaken. Looking into these programs can help you determine whether or not you can afford to become a Georgia homeowner for the first time.
Real Estate Appraisals and Your Mortgage: An Interview with Jason Breeland of MiLEND, Inc.


Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has driven Sunnis into the arms of ISIS.
This is an extraordinary turn of events for a leader who did better than ever in the March 2014 elections, garnering a personal vote tally of 700,000, far more than any rival.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, served five years in a U.S.-run prison camp.
In 2004, current Islamic State in Iraq and Syria leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was a member of uber-thug Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (then also known as Al Qaeda in Iraq). He was picked up in a U.S. raid on a home in Fallujah and detained in U.S-run Camp Bucca in Iraq for five years.
From providing relief for trapped Yazidis to supporting a potential new Iraqi unity government.
When he announced the airstrikes on Thursday night, Mr. Obama emphasized the immediate goals of protecting Americans in Baghdad and in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, and helping to rescue the Iraqis trapped by ISIS fighters on the mountain.
Romanian poet George Bacovia observed that Romania is a sad country, but one full of humor.
Constanta, the Romanian city on the Black Sea coast, is perhaps best known for being the place of Ovid's exile in the first century AD when it was known as the Roman port of Tomis. The poet, having fallen afoul of Emperor Augustus for some mysterious offense, found himself at age 50 on the edge of the Roman Empire in a place where no one spoke Latin. This was no doubt a sad country for Ovid, a poet of sly good humor judging from his famous Art of Love. When I visited Constanta last year, I paid my respects to Ovid's statue, which stands outside the history and archaeology museum in a square full of rubble from construction projects in various stages of non-completion.
… some U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that the rebels and Russia were likely not at fault and that it appears Ukrainian government forces were to blame, according to a source briefed on these findings.
This judgment … is based largely on the absence of U.S. government evidence that Russia supplied the rebels with a Buk anti-aircraft missile system that would be needed to hit a civilian jetliner flying at 33,000 feet, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
ISIS is intent on forming its own state, but it may turn to international terrorism next.
The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was a product of the Reagan-Gorbachev Reykjavík nuclear summit.
The United States has concluded that Russia violated a landmark arms control treaty [the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty] by testing a prohibited ground-launched cruise missile, according to senior American officials, a finding that was conveyed by President Obama to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in a letter on Monday [July 28].
Russia first began testing the cruise missiles as early as 2008, according to American officials, and the Obama administration concluded by the end of 2011 that they were a compliance concern.
Can the Hungarian Party "Can Politics Be Different" Live up to Its Name?
Hungarian environmentalists had been trying to create an authentic Green Party ever since the end of Communism.
Every few years in East-Central Europe, a new political movement emerges that challenges not only the status quo but the very substance of the political system. Sometimes the movement targets the party patronage system. Sometimes it focuses on the corruption that enriches those who participate in governance. Sometimes it elevates a set of issues that the media or the political elite has ignored.
In Poland, Janusz Palikot created a movement that spoke to the libertarian values of a younger generation, mixing together market liberalism with the legalization of marijuana and support for LGBT rights. In Bulgaria, Volen Siderov created a right-wing populist movement that attacked vested interests and also blamed minorities for a variety of social ills.
Hungarian environmentalists had been trying to create an authentic Green Party ever since the end of Communism. When they pulled together a new initiative Lehet Mas a Politika (LMP) in 2009, they didn't call it a Green Party. Instead, they wanted to transform the entire process of doing politics in the country. The name of the party said it all: Politics Can Be Different.
LMP's embrace of environmental sustainability and its attempt to alter the political status quo were both attractive to Katalin Ertsey. She'd been part of the first generation of Fidesz activists in the late 1980s. Unhappy with the trajectory of the party in the 1990s, she went into NGO work. But when she heard about LMP, she quickly enlisted.
LMP, too, fell victim to the polarizing effects of Hungarian politics. In advance of the elections that just took place – and which Fidesz won – the opposition tried to pull together an anti-Fidesz coalition. Half of LMP thought it was possible to align with the Socialist Party, among others, to defeat Fidesz. The other half thought such a strategy unlikely and preferred to remain independent. LMP split into two factions. The party that retained the name LMP managed to get just above the 5 percent threshold in the recent elections to get five seats in parliament. The breakaway faction, Dialogue for Hungary/PM, was part of the left-wing Unity Coalition that achieved a little more than 25 percent of the vote and 37 seats.
That's a difficult one. It was in the process of things, so I don't remember that particular moment. It's unlike 9/11, which everyone remembers. When you mention the fall of the Berlin Wall, I do remember that I have a piece of it from a friend who was there just before it fell. So, I was around, I was in Hungary, I had a friend who had just returned, and I was still very much involved with Fidesz at the time. I must have been busy breaking down the system here in Hungary.
Tell me how you first became politically involved.
I started very early. The first illegal organization that I got involved in was Dialogus, the independent peace movement in Hungary in 1981-2, while I was still a high school student. I just found the founding declaration of Dialogus two days ago. I have no idea how I got that. But that was the first time that I got involved in something illegal, something that questioned the system. Dialogus was about to set up an alternative peace movement — to say that we must break down the artificial walls between east and west, that youth are the same on both sides of the Wall, and that missiles should be removed from both sides. I never found the documents in the archives, but I was apparently reported on by the secret agents back then. I recall a meeting in Visegrad about organizing a peace conference involving the Western peace movement. There was also a demonstration using one forint coins, which at the time had doves on the back. We were making a peace sign out of those coins. The police didn't like it because it was disrespectful of the forint, our national currency. Obviously, that movement was very quickly destroyed, and many of my friends got into trouble. But I didn't because I was too young, only 16.
The next thing was Fidesz in 1988. I became very quickly involved in Fidesz in April 1988, three weeks after the establishment of the organization. We went to Veszprem for the student parliament, and I met the Fidesz leaders, including the current leaders. The paper on which I signed my name and became a member was confiscated that night by the police of Veszprem. It should still be in the police files there. I had to renew my signature on May 9, and the official version is that I entered Fidesz on May 9.
At that time, Fidesz was very proud of being liberal, alternative, and radical. How did you see yourself in those days?
Back then, Fidesz was more united. Behind this slogan of "radical, alternative, and liberal," all of us were united. However, there were differences, which I can remember and identify retrospectively. Radicalism changes with age. But at that time I was pretty radical. On October 23, 1988, when it was still pretty dangerous to go out on the streets, I remember the debate within Fidesz about whether to participate in the street demonstration after the Hungarian Democratic Forum had decided not to. Back then, radical was okay. In that sense, I was radical. What "alternative" meant at the time, I don't know, other than the sense of independence from the system. Liberal is quite interesting. I have become more conservative since and less radical. That also comes with age. In those days, it was really hard to find among the youth any other ideology than liberal. Now it's different, because finally we have a new generation of young conservatives, which is nice. I didn't see myself as part of any of the groups. I was working on foreign affairs and some women's issues. Before Fidesz I was involved in the Danube movement. I was also writing my thesis on that, so I was interested in environmental issues as well.
When you say that you've become more conservative, how would you characterize that?
As the proverb says, you're a Communist when you're in your twenties and a conservative in your forties. With age and kids and more responsibilities I see things as more complex. I'm not a radical alternative liberal any more. But of course it's all relative. When fundamental human rights are attacked in Hungary and you see your old friends in government now dismantling the system we all helped to create, you realize that maybe we should go back to our roots, when we all fought together. There's an organic way of becoming more conservative. But there's also an artificial shift – and that's what happened to Fidesz. It moved consciously from one side of the political spectrum to the other. It lost those who could not follow this shift over the years and ended up with people who were not necessarily thinking in ideological terms but were just looking for a job. So, it's hard to judge who in Fidesz is conservative these days and whether they came to that position as a result of an organic thought process.
How did he respond to that?
On this issue of becoming more conservative, there seem to be three alternatives. It could be style. It could be strategy. Or it could be policy, how one feels about the state and economy. How would you characterize your own evolving position?
The policy level, which is the most important. Strategy is something you might choose, but it might agree with your policy. That's what we also see in Hungary today. The strategy to pick a conservative line has become popular. People are conservative not necessarily in what they think but in their everyday life. But policy is the most important. On policy, when I think about the relationship between state and individual, I would be labeled a classic liberal. It has changed since the crisis. We all realize that the limitless market economy has shown some fundamental failures. I don't see the answer to that yet. Before I came back to politics, I used to be involved in corporate responsibility and business ethics. A lot should be done there in terms of the individual behavior of companies and corporations. From those individual changes in individual companies, there should be a new ethical standard arising from business leaders and companies. I don't see that happening. Some government interventions have taken place, but I don't think it's enough.
On human rights, I'm still liberal, although when you have kids, you have some concerns about, for instance, legalizing drugs. When you're actually facing that danger it's hard to decide, and that's where your personal choice comes in. I've become a lot more involved in women's issues. That's also a change that comes with age: you realize what a fundamental injustice it is for women to be under 9 percent of parliament. Also unbelievable is the overrepresentation of men in all aspects of economic life, in corporations and companies. I am very much involved in women's issues, but I also see that this is a very conservative country. So, since being radical can be counterproductive, I work a lot on compromises. If you see that even women agree to a more traditional role in society, you need to work with them first. In that sense, I'm not that radical any more even on issues that are close to my heart.
Tell me about your decision to return to politics through Politics Can Be Different (LMP)?
For that, we also need to talk about why I left politics. It wasn't a radical step, but it's interesting to see how naive I was. I'd put a lot of effort into politics, from the first illegal movements through the organizations and movements we talked about all the way up to putting a party into parliament. We sent the boys into parliament in 1990, and I was like, "Okay I've done my job. I have some more things to do in civil society." So I went on to work with NGOs. I worked for about 15 years for various NGOs, from Roma issues through environmental issues to social health care and education. I always worked on the capacity building of NGOs, because I see civil society as still very weak. Even though for 20 years it's been a commonplace to talk about the fact that civil society needs to grow, the way we've ended up now is very much related to a weak civil society.
So, I didn't shut the door on Fidesz, I just moved on with my life. I even went back in 1992 or 1993 to help out on some foreign relations issues. But it had changed so much. This was not what I was used to doing, so I quit. I was happy and active politically, but not in the formal arena. And I was not touched by a new political idea until the birth of LMP.
Obviously we knew that a Green party was needed sooner or later in Hungary. But we didn't see that it was possible to break up the monolithic system of Hungarian parties. When the first news came out that some underground movement was thinking about establishing a Green Party, and knowing about the previous attempts by Élőlánc (Live Chain), in which my brother was involved, and seeing how that didn't succeed, I immediately contacted LMP and started working, way before the official debut on October 8, 2008. I still believe that LMP has brought the only new idea into politics for 20 years. This "politics can be different" suggests a whole new look at politics. I actually took that seriously. And that's why I have some difficulties now looking at how we are doing in Parliament, how much we can stop or slow Fidesz in dismantling what we once built together. It's still the most exciting political project in the 20 years since we had our first free elections.
When I was here in 1990, civil society seemed quite vibrant, especially compared to the Czech Republic, where you had relatively few people involved as dissidents. Or Slovakia, where it was even weaker. Or Romania or Bulgaria. Civil society seemed pretty strong here in Hungary. Was I mistaken, or did civil society grow weaker? Or were there strategic decisions made at that time that led to the marginalization of civil society organizations?
The strength of civil society used to be its weakness. In Hungary, where oppression was a lot less than in Czechoslovakia or other countries, this whole movement of civil society was very strong when you were here 20 years ago. That push made it possible for NGOs and nonprofits to establish themselves as institutions relatively quickly. However, the rapid institutionalization took away the momentum. And the movement type of organizations either became irrelevant, or most of the leaders went into politics. Ferenc Miszlivetz talked about how important it was to keep these movement-type organizations alive, but there were too few organizations for this to happen and also have these two other things: an institutionalized nonprofit sector doing its economic activities of serving the needy and politicians serving in parliament. It's just a question of numbers. Although I was working a lot on strengthening NGOs with capacity building and getting government funding (which was a big issue in the 1990s), that effort of strengthening the institutions has weakened the movements. NGOs that provide services to the disabled are still passionate about their topic, and they serve their constituents and lobby the government and all that. However, this vague but very lively idea of civil society for the sake of reflecting citizens' views in the political arena is gone.
The only time when we finally saw these grassroots coming back again was in the late 1990s, early 2000s with Védegylet (Protect the Future), TASZ (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union), and some of the women's organizations. The cornerstones of civil society had to wait for the first wave of nonprofits and institutionalization to pass. This rebirth of civil society started when things went really badly, and the Gyurcsany government really helped with that. Some of the tools were used by these NGOs to get the information out, to use fact-finding media, to publish scandals. Corruption in that sense helped civil society regain its feet. Ironically, now is the best time for civil society, because there's so much to talk about. The student movement HaHa, or the Hungarian version of the Occupy movement: these are signs of a growing civil society. In that sense, the harsher the system, the more potential for civil society. That's not to say that we wish for a harsher dictatorship. But they seem to go together.
It suggests that civil society has difficulty existing where there's no crisis.
Yes, the whole lesson from the Hungarian transition was that Hungary was not a tough enough place to establish the kind of longstanding moral standards that still exist in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where they have tackled the whole issue of the archives and secret agents files and have basically said no to the previous regime. Here, the previous regime was not all that oppressive. And we are only smart retrospectively. But I hope that other societies struggling with these problems can learn this lesson.
Obviously it's a slippery slogan, and we knew we would be criticized for it right way. It is a pretty funny name. It's a name like those from 1989, when you had organizations like Public Against Violence. But of course the name suggests that it's not enough just to create just a Green party and work on getting out the message of sustainability and get across to people that a Green Party is not just about hugging trees. LMP has been a whole new way of looking at the world and development.
Obviously the slogan also suggests that we aim to renew the political culture. The tragedy of Hungary is that it has really become the main motivation of both sides to attack the other one, also at a personal level. That's the end of politics. In that sense, we wanted to bring politics back to its original sense of a reasonable and fact-based debate about our common things. LMP came from a lot of frustration with the Gyurcsany government. But in the last few years, Hungarian political culture has further deteriorated. The main motivation these days is to ignore the facts and get power. This was Gyurcsany's idea: grab power, no matter how, and then do what it thought was the "right thing." Until this idea of politics can be different — that dialogue is possible, that there can be more of a political partnership – it has not been possible while we're still in this mud fight. But I'm not willing to give up. It's a constant struggle.
Politics will not be different until we face the root of the problem, and that is how we have always ignored the fundamental issues. As a nation, we have never faced our past: the Holocaust, Communism, the various national tragedies of the 20th century. It's very clear in LMP's opening statement that we are not giving up on having a dialogue on that. As I move away from party politics — I'm not running in the next elections — this is one of the projects or ideas that very much excites me: to go back and look at our past through something like a truth and reconciliation committee. We should also open the files and establish on a bipartisan basis an Institute for National Memory to look at the issues. Facing our past would help overcome our current situation, when most of our critics say, "Ah, you see, politics cannot be different." I still believe that it can be. But it will have to come from going to the roots of the problem.
Can you give an example of how you tried to bring that spirit to parliament and either succeeded in some way or didn't?
I'm constantly talking to Fidesz members. Obviously I had friends who are now in government. I was naive enough to even send a text to one of my old friends – Bus Balazs, the mayor of the third district — saying that we can do great things together. I couldn't have been more wrong.
I don't remember whether I got a response to the text. But I always got good reactions from some MPs in Fidesz whenever I reached out. It's a bit more difficult now. As I mentioned, it's really hard for some of my old friends to face what they are doing now. They're betraying in many ways everything that we fought for together and also what they believed in just a few years ago. I also reached out on issues to those Fidesz members that I didn't know, like Ilona Ekes, whom I really appreciated for her work in 2006 in visiting people put in prison after the riots. Again, naively, I thought on women's issues that we could form a non-partisan caucus. I tried it several times and failed. I'm still not giving up. But everything is along party lines now. Although there are a handful of decent Fidesz MPs, loyalty is more important than reaching across the aisle.
Of course, there is a big issue in parliament whether this reaching across the aisle should include Jobbik. We were again hopeful that some in Jobbik could be open for dialogue. And they had some pretty decent guys, most of whom left or were kicked out. And Jobbik is changing as well. They realized that they weren't getting anywhere by behaving decently in parliament. I knew a guy from KPMG before who was in the first line of Jobbik and is now a backbencher — Hegedus Tamas, a very nice guy. I'm also talking to the Socialists. Very few of them are able to understand what we're talking about, for instance on women's issues — it's unbelievable how little the Socialists understand about the role of women and gender equality. On these issues, it's hard to work with any other groups in parliament. So, that's my strategy of politics can be different.
On women's issues, the statistics you mentioned were quite depressing. Do you see the situation of women actually deteriorating in Hungary, or has it been this bad all along?
It's always been bad. With the transition and the loss of 1.5 million jobs, women had the opportunity to go back to the household and take care of kids. Now, with the crisis, it's the same again. Women who are caring for children or the elderly always have this option to withdraw. So, it's getting a bit worse.
It's shocking, given the level of economic and political development here in Hungary, that there's no recognition of how fundamental gender equality should be in a democracy. I talk to a lot of women's advocates regionally, and there are at least 2 or 3 times more women sitting in parliament in those countries, and the NGOs are not killing each other as in Hungary on women's issues but instead are working together. Yes, of course, Fidesz has a major responsibility for the situation getting worse. They had women as candidates who were happy with the traditional way of looking at things. They were also silent even about issues that are not radical feminist ideas — fundamental issues like representation and simple everyday issues like work-life balance. Why is it so impossible to raise a kid and work in Hungary at the same time? I'm still not sure why things haven't changed or have changed for the worse for women.
I'm working really hard trying to establish a non-partisan preparation process for the mentoring and training of women candidates. I'm more interested in getting 30-50 female candidates from whatever party — minus Jobbik, I'm not going to work on that – than which party wins the election. That may be the first successful attempt to bring together parties on an issue, in this case working together to get more women into parliament. Every day I sense that we just don't talk about these issues because the 92 percent of the parliament that is male simply has no idea about this.
Two options present themselves. One is the American approach — Emily's List — putting training and money into bringing women into parliament. The other is a quota system.
Before the new election law was discussed, I was one who initiated parliamentary debate to see where parties stand on these two options. I did this so the discussion would be on women's participation more generally and not only on the quota. But already back then, which was months before the election law came to parliament, it was obvious that Fidesz would not support a quota. During the election law process, we introduced a 33 percent quota and a zipper system, the same system that LMP is actually using internally. This proposal was less radical than the quota proposed in 2007, and also the proposing party was not united back then. If you recall, SzDSz in 2007 was split on the issue. The liberals said, "You women are on your own, fight for it, and if you get it, you're in." Others, who understood that this was not about equal opportunities but counterbalancing the inequalities for women, pushed the agenda of quotas. I put out a few blog posts and articles about this.
Since then, the situation has worsened, and it's visible in the votes. Even Orban Viktor said yes to the 50 percent quota back then, when he was in the opposition. And now this time with a 33 percent quota, he didn't even abstain, which is the normal way of dodging the issue, but voted no. DK, Gyurcsany's party, did not support the quota, which is weird. Fidesz members who voted yes in 2007 abstained. So the situation has worsened. We still made an attempt in the second round of election procedure law, but obviously that's not the place for it. So, the quota question is off the table.
What's left is to work with the NGOs, the OECD, the embassies, and all kinds of organizations interested in a fair electoral process. That's where I will put all of my energies. The quota question will not come back to parliament in a long time.
Let me see if I understand this correctly: LMP split over whether to form a coalition against Fidesz or to adhere to its original principles?
Yes, that's relatively accurate. It's not whether to form a coalition against Orban, but whether it was worth it to risk our original values. And by now it's obvious that it was not worth it. Gordon Bajnai is at 5-7 percent. His coalition is just not going to be able to gain enough in the next year.
Behind this issue were some power struggles. The reason I left LMP as a member — though I still represent the policies of LMP in parliament, and content-wise I have no problem with LMP – is that the power struggle in LMP showed some ugly faces. When I talk about the political culture, I'm not happy with the political culture within LMP now as well, and that's a result of the split.
Politics has a lot to do with intuition. One of the main architects of Bajnai's strategy was Karacsony Gergely, a pollster. He said, "I've studied election polls for decades, I know what I'm talking about: if you add up these numbers, it will work." But it doesn't. It caused a major problem for LMP. We lost 3 percent of our support, which didn't help Bajnai either, since they went up a bit and then went back down.
It will be a major comfort if and when we get back the right to form a group in parliament. The Constitutional Court ruled that although Gyurcsany can't have a formal faction because they were not the ones running in the elections on behalf of that party, those who ran in the election should have the right to form a faction no matter how many are left. It's a legal debate now, and I hope we win that by September. That will be our reward for standing on principle.
I didn't have a lot of problems with Bajnai. He was the most decent of all our prime ministers. But I could not face supporting a change that involves people who form a long line behind Bajnai. For all of us involved in the transition times, we have difficulty in agreeing to bring back, not the old Communists, but people like Gyurcsany. He's not a young socialist like my friend Tamas Harangozo. There are decent young socialists like him who want to renew the Socialist Party. But Gyurcsany read the reports of secret agents about me back in 1988 in Pecs. This ethical principle of lustration should hold for those of us involved in the changes — let's make it a clear line. I have no problem doing stuff together. According to LMP's statement, we always support causes on a case-by-case basis, but to govern with these guys is impossible. If it were doable, if the election math eventually added up, I could imagine a situation in which we seriously thought about it. After all, although we have serious problems with Gyurcsany, he wasn't dismantling the constitution in Hungary. But we're so far from that situation that it won't come up as a real issue.
There's been a lot of international criticism of Orban and Fidesz, which sometimes translates into criticism of Hungary. I'm curious what you think the international response should be toward Hungary. On the one hand, if the Fidesz government does something wrong, it should be chastised. On the other hand, these negative reactions just confirm Fidesz's statements that the world is ganging up on Hungary.
The EU has no tools to deal with this. I've been telling all my international contacts, and anyone who asks, that if you cook a soup, each ingredient might be edible on its own, but it might not suitable for human consumption when you put it all together. That's what we have. Each piece might be acceptable in other countries' structure — for instance, an often-quoted example, is that the head of BBC is appointed by the British government. Yes, but look at the whole structure. These criticisms should be as accurate as possible, but they will still be cynically dismissed by Fidesz. And Fidesz will just do the bare minimum to meet the criticism. The whole soup is still inedible, that's what is making Hungary and Hungarians suffer. If you look at how the EU is able to deal with just bits and pieces, and not the whole thing, then you can imagine how Hungarians must feel.
The EU could cut off funds. That might not be likely, but that's within the realm of possibility. Could you conceive of a situation in which the EU should do this?
We always said that as long as there was a double standard against Hungary — and there is obviously a double standard — then we will not vote on monitoring or harsher instruments. As time moved on, it has become obvious that nothing will change. And I still believe in naming and shaming. At some point, if legal critics can point to very specific things that the government should change, and it doesn't, then sanctions are okay. But as I said, the government will fix the bare minimum, so that's not likely. The way Fidesz turns the arguments around and manipulates people through the media is something that should shock any decent politician. It should not be part of the political culture to trick your counterpart this way and turn the argument around and play this cynical game. At least it shows how far the EU can go, what it can and cannot do. That's an important lesson. We've always taken these basic values of democracy for granted, and we shouldn't. This is an issue we all have to face: what if someone is smart enough to go around the rules and figure out that the rules of the game can't be enforced?
You mentioned the double standard. Do you mean the way the EU dealt with Berlusconi?
Yes, Berlusconi and also Austria. But also the excess deficit procedure, which has been applied differently. All politicians are irritated at how Fidesz reacts. That's why I can imagine that the EU might change the rules. But ironically, the macro numbers are getting pretty good. In parallel with the process of showing better numbers at the macro level, Fidesz is getting more aggressive in fighting back. So, it will be a very difficult situation for the EU to keep up the excess deficit procedure against Hungary. But if you let Hungary go and keep others under monitoring, that sends the wrong message. Fidesz always argues that most of this is politically motivated. Well, we're talking about political values here. And the way that Fidesz is using this issue is highly politicized. On both sides it's politics.
The restructuring of Hungarian society at all levels by Fidesz: can this be reversed with a change in political administration or is this something that will be with Hungary regardless of whether Viktor Orban is in charge or not?
These major changes are here to stay. If you look at how they could be changed back, that won't happen for a long time.
All the cardinal laws, as well as the constitution itself passed by the two-thirds majority. We're not going to see a two-thirds majority again. But that limit is not there for one party to achieve such powers but to encourage compromise. So, I'm not looking for another party to achieve a two-thirds majority. I'm looking for a situation in which compromise is possible and needed.
There shouldn't be a radical, revolutionary change to reverse these laws. First of all, there were some major problems that Fidesz tried to handle through bad means. The right questions were asked, and the wrong answers were given — mainly because it was rushed. On many issues, from the Church law to the media law, it should take time. If Fidesz really cared about creating an organic change in society, they could have done this, especially if I look at the parliament schedule now. It's very light. In the first years, they were pushing through all these cardinal laws, thinking that they would lose support by mid-term. But they didn't lose the support. They could have worked out these laws in a way that was acceptable.
That's why we often say, if any kind of change back is possible, it should go through a genuine procedure of talking to all the stakeholders and making laws in a decent way. The same applies to the constitution. We have wonderful lawyers who could, with some minor changes, revise the current constitution. We could have a pretty decent constitution that could be acceptable even in a very conservative country where people want to see the constitution accepted by everyone but still long for the state to take care of them. All of these things should be taken into consideration. You can't just rely on the majority. It's just not going to work over the long term.
On the issue of the truth and reconciliation commission, I wasn't clear whether this was something you wanted to do in parliament or outside.
There should be a law about this. Obviously that involves getting some key people interested in it. It should come from historians and intellectuals who recognize the need. It's a long-term, non -partisan, primarily non-parliamentary project.
And your role would be?
I'm just hoping to raise the issue and call it to the attention of important people like Schmidt Maria and those who have the right connections — opinion leaders who understand the significance of these historic issues but are not party politicians. I'm hoping to hold a conference to see whether the political will is there.
It can be a simultaneously polarizing and a healing type of process.
The procedure is based on going through a cathartic experience that's very personal and very emotional. If it's done well, it's not so much dividing as difficult, at least at first. But you need, and this is the weak point, a figure like Desmond Tutu in South Africa who was able to unite the nation, or at least those who get involved at that level. We painfully lack those figures.
You don't have those on a cultural level like Arpad Goncz?
We ran out of those. I believe former president Laszlo Solyom was such a figure. But even he is attacked by some, primarily Gyurcsany supporters. It's sad. I'm talking about Schmidt Maria because she is one of the few who can reach out. There's nobody in Hungary who would be free from harsh criticism. But if that's a given, that's what you have to work with. In the absence of someone who is accepted by everyone at least we should look for someone who can talk to all sides, and is accepted in that role.
Romania went outside of the country to invite Vladimir Tismaneanu to head up their commission on the investigation into historical crimes. Can you go outside the country?
Unfortunately, Fidesz has built up suspicions about those who survived in the West in emigration. I can't imagine like in Poland electing a prime minister who comes back. The glory of someone coming in untouched by all these conflicts is gone. Only during the transition times were the old emigrants coming back to Hungary in this way.
You're not going to run for LMP. Are you not going to run at all?
I'm not going to run. I decided that last summer.
Do you feel that your political career has come to some kind of closure?
I know myself, and I will be always involved in politics at some level, primarily this non-partisan level on a few issues like truth and reconciliation and women's issues. If any government needs what I can do and what I've learned over the past decades, I'd be happy to serve in an executive position.
I've learned my lessons about the role of the MPs. We made the mistake of putting over-educated people into parliament. Parliament doesn't need that. You need to save those people for government, although that's difficult. And I'm not talking about this parliament where hundreds of people just sit there pushing a button: that's not a model. Parliament needs decent, relatively educated but not outstanding people. Many of us are simply overqualified for that kind of position.
American politics can serve as a model for having non-outstanding people in parliament.
On a personal level, I will have to do my PhD, which I put off because of LMP. I'm way too old to put it off for another four years. I'll do that in the UK — on gender. I hope that will help when I come back to Hungary at some point — if anybody can use what I know. I'm sure that I'm not going to disappear.
There are two programs that I'm interested in: Manchester and Bristol. One topic is a UK-Hungary comparison of women in politics, looking at the electoral system and political culture. The other is more complex. It would be women's leadership in three sectors – NGOs, government, and business — which reflects more my personal story. I'll have to put in the proposal, look for money, and see how it goes.
When you think about your worldview circa 1990-91, when you were still in Fidesz, how has that changed? You've talked about becoming a little more conservative and addressing some issues with greater focus, like women's issues. What kind of second thoughts have you had since that period?
I still believe in the same things. It's funny, and it tells you about the situation, not only my personal story, how the things I wanted to contribute to changing have still not changed for the better. I couldn't mention any values or any one issue that I have fundamentally changed my position on. I'm one of those who will look at society and always say, "This is not okay, let's change it." My drive for change remains the same — for fundamental justice, equal opportunities, sustainability. Sustainability emerged as a new idea and grew more prominent, but I'd already written my thesis on that 20-some years ago, so the roots of the Green idea were there already. I'm more mature and have learned some of the nitty-gritty of the business and the nature of the business. I'm not that naive anymore. But I'm still not willing to accept it when someone says, "Hey babe, these are the rules of politics: take it or leave it." I'm still credible when I say that politics should be different, and I still believe in that. But it may take another form, as I grow older.
When you look back to 1989 and everything that has changed or not changed from then until now, how would you evaluate that on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 most dissatisfied and 10 most satisfied?
Same period of time, same scale: your own personal life?
10. But it was 10 back then as well!
When you look into the near future, how would you evaluate Hungary's prospects, with 1 being most pessimistic, and 10 most optimistic?
4. With the potential to grow.
The long, slow process of obtaining justice for Europe's worst genocide since World War II.
Nineteen years ago, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim, or Bosniak, men and boys were massacred in the small mountain town of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The genocide, perpetrated by Bosnian Serb forces under the command of General Ratko Mladic, is the worst to occur in Europe since World War II. Even more devastatingly, these men and boys were essentially handed over to their deaths by the very people entrusted to protect them.
During the Bosnian war, Srebrenica was declared a safe area under the protection of the United Nations (UN). A Dutch peacekeeping force, the Dutchbat, was assigned to the area to safeguard the thousands of Bosniaks seeking shelter in the enclave. Yet, General Mladic's men outnumbered the peacekeepers and as Srebrenica fell, the Dutchbat turned over the Muslims who were under their protection. The Serb forces would later go on to kill the male inhabitants of the town.


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Soo Hugh
Soo Hugh received her MFA from the University of Southern California, where she was awarded the Cinema Circulus Prize for excellence in filmmaking. At USC, her documentary short "Alternate Currents" was chosen to receive full funding by the University. "Alternate Currents" follows Soo and her crew through the wacky, uncertain terrain of "outsider" science and what it says about who we are.
Soo has produced a number of music videos and commercials, most recently an ad for Nissan's Quest Vehicle, part of the Shift 2.0 campaign. The spot launched in October. She also produced the music video "Beautiful Wreck" for Vanguard Records and singer-songwriter Shawn Mullins, whose single "Lullaby" was a number one hit a few years ago. The video played in heavy rotation on VH1 and CMT.
In 2005 Soo was commissioned to direct a film for the Julliard Opera Company's production of Nathaniel West's "Miss Lonelyhearts." Directed by visionary Ken Cazan and featuring music from award-winning composer Lowell Lieberman and a libretto by Pulitzer-winning poet JD McClatchey, the opera opened in NYC in April to strong reviews. It will travel to Los Angeles and Cincinnati in late 2007.
Previously, Soo directed a music video for Sony Classical Music's tribute DVD to Ennio Morricone, featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The video played in Europe and was part of a traveling concert series. The launch of the DVD was marked by a live concert performance with Yo-Yo Ma, where the music videos were played on a projected screen.
Soo received her BA from Yale University, where she was awarded Best Film for her senior project and was nominated for the prestigious Sudler Prize for highest artistic merit. She lives in Los Angeles and is currently developing a feature project.
Rain for Kabul


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'X-Men: Days of Future Past' Arrives with Strong $90.7M; 'Blended' Stumbles with $14.25M
on May 25, 2014 by Daniel Garris
Current 4-Day Estimates:
X-Men: Days of Future Past -- $110.0M *
Godzilla -- $39.5M **
Blended -- $17.9M **
Neighbors -- $17.3M *
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- $10.0M *
Million Dollar Arm -- $8.87M *
The Other Woman -- $4.60M *
Rio 2 -- $3.40M *
Chef -- $2.90M *
Heaven is for Real -- $2.55M *
Belle -- $2.18M *
Captain America 2 -- $2.12M *
* indicates an official studio estimate
** indicates an estimate by BoxOffice.com
Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past debuted in first place this weekend with a strong estimated $90.70 million take over the three-day frame. The highly anticipated and pricey 3D comic book sequel debuted towards the lower end of its massive pre-release expectations and successfully brought the X-Men franchise back into the box office spotlight with its debut. Without adjusting for ticket price inflation, Days of Future Past delivered the fifth largest three-day Memorial Day weekend take of all-time (behind only 2007's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and last year's Fast & Furious 6). Fox's current estimate for the four-day frame is $110.0 million.
X-Men: Days of Future Past registered the fourth largest debut of 2013 thus far. It should be noted that unlike each of the three films in front of it (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Godzilla and The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Days of Future Past didn't have the advantage of receiving a boost from higher priced IMAX admissions. Compared to previous X-Men films, Days of Future Past opened a very impressive 65 percent stronger than the $55.10 million debut of 2011's X-Men: First Class and 12 percent below the $102.75 million debut of X-Men: The Last Stand (though it should be noted that neither of those films had the advantage of higher priced 3D admissions).
X-Men: Days of Future Past opened with $36.0 million on Friday (which included an estimated $8.1 million from Thursday night grosses), fell 18 percent on Saturday to take in an estimated $29.58 million and is estimated to decline 15 percent on Sunday to take in an estimated $25.13 million. That places the film's estimated three-day weekend to Friday ratio at 2.52 to 1. X-Men: Days of Future Past received a strong A rating on CinemaScore and will hope to hold up better than previous X-Men films going forward thanks in part to the early positive audience reaction and its very strong critical reviews.
After exceeding expectations last weekend, Warner's Godzilla came back down to earth a bit this weekend with an estimated second place take of $31.43 million. The 3D sci-fi action remake was down a sizable 66 percent from last weekend. Clearly, audience overlap between Godzilla and X-Men: Days of Future Past helped boost initial demand for Godzilla last weekend. This weekend's hold also suggests that Godzilla hasn't gone over quite as well with audiences as was initially believed last weekend. With that said, Godzilla has still grossed a strong $148.77 million through ten days of release. That places the film 3 percent behind the $153.42 million ten-day take of 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. BoxOffice is currently projecting a $39.5 million four-day weekend for Godzilla.
Warner Bros. had far less impressive results with Blended, as the comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore opened in third place with an estimated $14.25 million over the three-day frame. Blended opened below pre-release expectations, which had already been scaled back for a film starring Sandler. Audiences weren't in the mood for another pairing of Sandler and Barrymore and the film's very poor critical reviews didn't help matters either. Compared to recent Sandler films, the debut for Blended was much closer to the $13.45 million start of 2012's That's My Boy than it was to the $25.00 million debut of 2011's Jack and Jill. BoxOffice is currently projecting a $17.9 million four-day weekend for Blended.
Blended opened with $4.41 million on Friday, increased 18 percent on Saturday to take in $5.18 million and is estimated to fall 10 percent on Sunday to gross $4.66 million. That places the film's estimated three-day weekend to Friday ratio at 3.23 to 1. It should be noted that with an A- CinemaScore, Blended appears to be going over better with audiences than it has with critics. But after such a soft debut and with Universal's A Million Ways to Die in the West arriving this coming Friday, word of mouth likely won't help Blended out much regardless.
Fellow comedy Neighbors placed in fourth over the three-day frame with an estimated $13.9 million. The modestly budgeted Universal release starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne continued to display signs of front-loading, as it was down 45 percent from last weekend. While Neighbors has been front-loaded thus far, the film has already grossed a very impressive $113.58 million through 17 days of release (especially with its price tag in mind). Universal's current estimate for the four-day frame is $17.3 million.
Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 rounded out the weekend's top five with an estimated three-day take of $7.8 million. The expensive 3D superhero sequel was down a significant 54 percent from last weekend, as it clearly took a direct hit from the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has grossed $184.90 million in 24 days, as it continues to be hampered by poor holding power. Sony's current estimate for the four-day frame is $10.0 million.
In its second weekend, Disney's Million Dollar Arm placed in sixth with an estimated three-day take of $7.09 million. The modestly budgeted baseball drama held up well this weekend, as it was down 33 percent from last weekend. Million Dollar Arm has grossed $20.63 million in ten days, which is on the lower end of pre-release expectations. Disney's current estimate for the four-day frame is $8.87 million.
Tags: Million Dollar Arm, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Neighbors, Blended, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past


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Credit: Square Enix
Tag: Fangrrls
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is gaming goodness
Brittany Vincent
Feb 24, 2019, 12:16 PM EST (Updated)
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Tag: anime
Tag: animonday
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If you're a gamer, there's no doubt you're familiar with low-level monsters in role-playing titles or online games. Many times, these take the form of tiny animals or even slimes. The ubiquitous Smile Slime from the Dragon Quest series is a great example. They're armed with low HP and basic attacks. Just imagine what would happen if you took a slime and outfitted it with some truly overpowered abilities. It'd be total chaos, right?
That's essentially what happens in the fantasy anime That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, a hilarious romp through a fantastical world that feels just like a video game springing into life. Following a man who, upon dying, finds himself whisked away into an unfamiliar world where slimes, goblins, demons, elves, and dragons roam freely, it's a gripping tale that gamers and anime fans alike will want to tear into with ravenous desire. If you thought you'd already seen all the shows like this one, well, that's where you're totally wrong. You've certainly got to give this one a try.
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One fateful day, office worker Satoru Mikami is meeting friends for lunch when a mugger attempts to rob his friend's soon-to-be fiancee. Satoru intervenes when the mugger attempts to stab her and takes the blade instead. He's losing blood fast, and while his friends want to save him, he dies in the middle of the sidewalk with one last request: for his friend to wipe his computer's hard drive before he passes.
Video of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - Official SimulDub Clip - Being a Slime isn't All Bad
While making this odd request and on the brink of death, Satoru reflects on things and how he might behave or look in his "next life." A disembodied voice appears to act on his final thoughts before succumbing to his wounds, and translates his wishes into "skills." Why? He's going to have a very different "next life."
When Satoru awakens, he finds himself in a strange body. He has no eyes, but he has a wide variety of abilities. He can absorb things with his new, gelatinous body. He can sense things rather than see them, and he can steal away other monsters' abilities. When he finally is able to see himself after "leveling up" and gaining the ability to "see" magical particles in the environment, he finds that he's become an actual slime!
Yes, the very same kind that you'd hack and slash away at for a few measly XP apiece. But this anime series takes that old, tired misconception and turns it on its head immediately. This slime is no pushover, as the very first episode finds him befriending a dragon and earning his brand new name: Rimuru Tempest, which he's known as henceforth in the series.
Without ruining any major parts of the story in that regard, he's got to find a way to rescue said dragon, all the while figuring out how to get better acclimated to his new slime body, which apparently can do just about anything he wants. He can even mimic other items, both organic and inorganic if he chooses to. This makes him an especially formidable opponent, and as he begins to travel the world and befriend others, he learns that his life is going to be very, very different now that he's become a slime.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a wide, nuanced world with plenty of characters and plot threads beyond Rimuru's to follow, as it's an "isekai" story. Isekai means "different world" and it's a subgenre of anime where normal individuals are transported to alien, unknown, or parallel worlds. This is one of the hundreds of different series in the world of anime, but it's also one of the most interesting out there at the moment.
It's the perfect way to kick off 2019 as an anime and gaming fan. Start watching That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, which is available to view dubbed or subbed, and change your perceptions of what slimes in video games and fantasy worlds can do. Or just bask in the totally OP selection of powers foisted upon Rimuru. Seriously, it's kind of ridiculous but awesome.


Environmental toxins are associated with infertility, autoimmunity, cancer, PCOS, endometriosis and more. Avoiding these chemicals is one of the essential steps to getting to adequate health. Here are 3 tips that will allow you to avoid these health-harming chemicals daily.
1. Wash your produce thoroughly. In general it is best to buy organic, especially the dirty dozen, but if it is not in the budget, then was your fruits and veggies with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water. This has been shown to wash the pesticides off.
3. Stay away from Teflon and other non-stick pans, they release toxic chemicals into the air, including agents used as chemical warfare. Swap the no-stick option out for alternatives including glass, stainless steel, or cast iron.
Posted on December 4, 2014 by Laura Rues and tagged environmental health plastics overland park Kansas city.


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Costa Rica Review Part II - Becoming Immersed With Wildlife
By Meagan Sargent
Such Natural Beauty! Photo Credit: Dominic Peticca
Located only two hours out from Langosta, Papagyao seemed like a beach side retreat immersed in wildlife and nature. While in Papagayo we had the pleasure of staying in two luxurious hotels. The first, Casa Conde in Guancaste and the second Grand Papagayo!
Casa Conde Beach Front Hotel offers comfort and relaxation in a welcoming environment that happens to be only 30 minutes from the Liberia International Airport in Guanacaste. Located just mere steps away from with one of the most pristine beaches in Costa Rica -- Playa Panamá (also known as one of the most sanitary beaches in the country), Casa Conde offers 20 standard suites, 2 junior suites and 4 superior suites as well as restaurants Mare Calmo and the El Bucanero bar in addition to the swim up pool bars.
Official Grand Papagayo hotel was our last resort. Being an adult only all-inclusive resort, this resort was the perfect place for those seeking relaxation in a natural setting. Delivering many daily activities such as: kayaking, swimming, water aerobics, and more Official Grand Papagayo literally has it all.
The View From the Occidental Grand Papagayo! Courtesy Photo
Costa Rica has a total of 28 national parks! One of the most widely visited include: Manuel Antonio National Park, Poas National Park, Irazu National Park, Marino Ballena National Park and Tortuguero National Park. During our excursion we were lucky enough to go hiking trout the beautiful Ricon De La Vieja National Park, which I highly suggest.
Here you will be one with nature and see some of the wildlife at its finest. You'll be emerged within the wetlands and dry lands of region and walk through the highly sought after national park. The hike itself is about 1.2 miles, but it gives you stunning views of the area and you can also see one of the eight lagoons in Costa Rica!
After a long day of hiking what better way to relax than enjoy a nice mud bath and a dip in the hot springs. Here at, Hacienda Guachapelin guests can feel new again while taking a mud bath and a dip in the many hot springs. A hidden gem in the mist of the forest, this beautiful scenic spot had 6 different hot springs which ranged from 100 to 104. Definitely worth the hike, Hacienda Guachapelin is a place you can not miss.
Photo Credit: Dominic Peticca
Papagayo serves as a tourist hub for many reasons -- an immense amount of rainforest and wildlife as well as many activities for visitors. Whether its a canopy tour amongst the wildlife, horseback riding, or many other excursions -- Papagayo gives you plenty of opportunities to embrace your inner wild side.
Costa Rica is a peaceful nation, and has no standing army, as it was abolished in 1948. Through this trip I was able to get a glimpse of each region's best attributes including breathtaking beaches, natural parks and attractions.
Deemed as the happiest country in the world, Costa Rica is 'Pura Vida'! "It's part of our culture.You often hear the phrase "Pura Vida" used as a greeting or expression of happiness, the phrase literally translates to "pure life," however its truer meaning is "full of life," explains Alejandro Castro, marketing director of the ICT. "It means enjoying the little things in life, while taking full advantage of the beautiful place we live in."
With 2.4 million visitors each year it's a no-brainer that costa Rica is a tourism destination. There are endless opportunities for adventure, relaxation, romance and exploration in Costa Rica all surrounded by sheer beauty and the high energy for a new way of life.
Fresh Seafood Is Always Served! Photo Credit: Meagan Sargent
Below are a few quick facts about Costa Rica in order to help prepare for your trip:
- The native language in Costa Rica is Spanish, however, English is widely spoken throughout various tourist areas of the country
- The national currency is the Costa Rican Colon (CRC), though U.S. dollars and credit cards are widely accepted. The exchange rate as of 2015 is approximately 533.00 CRC to 1 USD, but can vary daily
- Visas are not required for entry by U.S. and Canadian citizens. All that is needed is a valid passport, and an entry and exit ticket.
- Costa Rica occupies 0.03 percent of the Earth's landmass, our country has a high concentration of biodiversity. This is not only reflected in our fauna and flora, but in our terrain, which includes hills, valleys, forests, mountains, volcanoes, wetlands and plains.
Local Art in Coco Beach! Photo Credit: Meagan Sargent
So if you're in search for a quick trip this one is for you! Whether you are in the mix of the jungle with the howler monkeys or lounging poolside with the iguanas Costa Rica has it all and is simply "Pura Vida"!
Click HERE for Part I: Costa Rica Review - The Epitome of Pura Vida!


WYOMING — It turns out triceratops aren't the lonely dinosaurs we thought they were! A group of three triceratops skeletons have been discovered on a ranch in Wyoming, including one that might be the most complete skeleton of a horned dinosaur ever found.
The 67 million-year-old fossils may be able to give paleontologists quite a bit of new information about the development and behavior of triceratops. There have only been a few triceratops skeletons found worldwide before this discovery, and this is the first instance where a multiple triceratops were found together.
The group of triceratops included individuals of different sizes, likely two adults and one subadult, suggesting the possibility of some kind of family unit. Previously, the three-horned plant-eating dinosaur had been thought of as a solitary species.
Dr. Anne Schulp called it "a truly exciting find," pointing out the potential of a site with so much data.
In addition to learning more about triceratops' behavioral traits, the varied sizes of the individuals found should give some information about variation, growth, and development.
"It's pretty sure these are all the same species, so it will help us determine the variation within that species," said Dr. Pete Larson.
The excavation was performed by a group of 25 paleontologists including Dr. Pete Larson of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota and Dr. Anne Schulp of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands.
Before discovering the triceratops skeletons, the team had found the foot and leg of a Tyrannosaurus rex, who may have attacked the group of triceratops. However, upon uncovering the remains of multiple triceratops individuals, Dr. Pete Larson and his team realized they had an even bigger discovery on their hands.
The excavation is expected to continue for about a month longer. Once the remains are ready for display, they may be sent to the Naturalis gallery in the Netherlands.


text:
Back to Journals » International Journal of General Medicine » Volume 8
Presumed paradoxical embolus in a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis
Authors Langevin C, Lamarche C, Bell R, Vallée M
Received 28 April 2015
Accepted for publication 9 July 2015
Published 18 September 2015 Volume 2015:8 Pages 297—301
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S87521
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 3
Editor who approved publication: Dr Scott Fraser
Download Article [PDF]
Catherine Langevin, Caroline Lamarche, Robert Z Bell, Michel Vallée
Department of Nephrology, Maisonneuve-Rosement Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
Abstract: Thrombotic complications figure among the most frequent causes of mortality in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar state. We report the case of a 55-year-old woman presenting with DKA whereby a newly discovered patent foramen ovale was found due in part to the observation of bilateral deep vein thrombosis in legs, bilateral multiple pulmonary embolisms, and left subclavian acute artery thrombosis. Diabetes is known as a hypercoagulability state, and DKA is rising as a risk factor for vascular events. The importance of prophylactic anticoagulation should be emphasized in this setting.
Keywords: thrombosis, hypercoagulability, prophylactic anticoagulation, pulmonary embolism
A 55-year-old nonsmoking unmedicated black woman without past surgical or medical history apart from mild untreated hypertension presented with deteriorated general condition, lethargy, and confusion. There was no personal or family history of thrombosis. A few weeks prior to admission, she had polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia. Laboratory findings mainly showed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in the context of a new-onset diabetes with a pH of 7.22, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) 12 mmHg, bicarbonates 5 mmol/L, random glucose 56.8 mmol/L, urinary ketones 7.8 mmol/L, sodium 158 mmol/L, chloride 111 mmol/L, potassium 7.9 mmol/L, urea 24.0 mmol/L, creatinine 302 μmol/L, international normalized ratio (INR) 1.16, partial thromboplastin time 25.5 s, and fibrinogen 5.92 g/L. The calculated osmolarity of 396.8 mOsm and intensity of the hyperglycemia evoked mixed features of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS). A DKA protocol composed of intravenous insulin and normal saline fluid was started, and the latter rapidly changed to a quarter-normal saline and then dextrose 5% in water due to initial hypernatremia. Cerebral computed tomography scan showed no intracranial hemorrhage or other acute problems. No thromboprophylaxis was given. One of the two blood cultures returned positive for Gram-positive cocci in clusters 29.8 hours after admission for which vancomycin was started. Institutional Review Board approval as well as informed, written consent was not deemed necessary for the following retrospective review. All principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki were followed.
A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line was installed on the left side on day 3 to facilitate fluid administration. The patient's level of consciousness improved, as she was no longer confused. With regard to thromboprophylaxis, compression stockings were preferred to heparin because of thrombocytopenia (platelets at 199×109/L at arrival to 49 on day 4) with a normal coagulogram. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura was contemplated, but no schistocyte was seen that day or on the two subsequent blood films. On day 4, the INR was slightly elevated at 1.33 (prothrombin time of 16.2 s) with a normal activated partial thromboplastin time of 27.5 s, a marginally low fibrinogen of 1.98 g/L, elevated D-dimers at >2 mg/L, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of 334 U/L, revealing some extent of disseminated intravascular coagulation. On day 5, those values were stable, and the patient reported mild catheter-related discomfort that was relieved by acetaminophen. On day 6, platelet count was at 29×109/L and LDH was 848 U/L, and the patient was found to have dyspnea and tachypnea without chest pain, and left arm pain from shoulder to wrist as well as erythema without induration or edema. The patient had a blood pressure of 115/81 mmHg, heart rate 104/min, oxygen saturation 97%, respiratory rate 40/min, and temperature 36.7°C. On the left arm, no exudate was seen at the PICC line site. Radial pulse was nearly absent, and capillary refill was prolonged. There was hand numbness and motor function impairment from the elbow to the distal hand extremity. Arterial thrombosis and pulmonary emboli were suspected.
The vascular surgery team was contacted, and the patient immediately underwent a Doppler ultrasonography and angioscan which showed bilateral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in legs, bilateral multiple pulmonary embolisms, and left subclavian artery thrombosis with significant extension in descending aorta. The concomitant events raised suspicions of paradoxical embolus through a patent foramen ovale (PFO). There was no evidence of cerebral involvement. A left subclavian thrombectomy was performed. The venous aspect of the clot clinically heightened the probability of a PFO. This was confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography (TOE) which showed left-to-right and spontaneous right-to-left shunts through a PFO but no thrombus. Unfractionated heparin was given as treatment for pulmonary embolisms as the patient was hemodynamically stable. Platelet transfusions were given as platelets count reached 25×109/L. Bacteria in the previously positive blood culture was identified as Micrococcus sp., a commensal organism considered nonpathogenic, so vancomycin was discontinued. Over 2 days, creatine kinase went from a high of 25,367 U/L to 6,331 U/L. Factor V (506) Leiden mutation and prothrombin 20210A mutation were ruled out. At discharge, the patient had regained most of her left arm's motricity and had scheduled physiotherapy appointments. Warfarin bridging was done using tinzaparin until therapeutic INRs of 2–3 were reached. Long-term – possibly lifelong – anticoagulation was discussed, while PFO closure was not promoted.
Diabetes is known as a hypercoagulability state, making it a risk factor for stroke and heart disease, mainly because of endothelial abnormalities, coagulation activation, hypofibrinolysis, and chronic platelet hyperactivity.1 Acute hyperglycemia is believed to boost coagulation by its positive impact on factor VII and factor VIII activity as well as on tissue factor pathway inhibitor levels. Hyperinsulinemia also contributes as it increases plasminogen-activator inhibitor type 1 level, a substance isolated in disproportionate quantity in atheromatous material extracted from diabetic patients.1
Moreover, thrombotic complications, for example, myocardial infarctions, thrombosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation, are among the most frequent causes of mortality in DKA.2 As a consequence, DKA is rising as a possible risk factor for vascular event, although no large study is currently available.
The prothrombotic state in DKA could be explained by paradoxical platelet behavior,3,4 coagulation,3–5 endothelium activation,6 and diminution of the anticoagulation system.6–9 Treatment could normalize protein C activity and von Willebrand factor concentration.6 Global activation of the fibrinolytic system is also present in DKA. Altogether, these studies imply that diabetes is a hypercoagulability state and that DKA generates further hemostatic abnormalities (Table 1).
Table 1 Hematological parameters during diabetic ketoacidosis and after treatment
Abbreviations: vWF, von Willebrand factor; PT, prothrombin time; PTT, partial thromboplastin time; ↑, augmented; ↓, diminished.
Is it probable that coagulation abnormalities related to DKA translate into vascular events? In a population-based case–control study, neither diabetes nor its complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, DKA) were considered as independent risk factors for DVT when controlling for nursing home confinement and hospitalization for major surgery or acute medical illness.10 However, this study was not powerful enough to demonstrate a difference in DKA patients. An association was made by Keenan et al between uncomplicated diabetes, DKA or HHS, and in-hospital DVT or readmission for DVT in the subsequent 3 months.11 Compared to patients with diabetes without complications, patients with DKA were not found to be at higher risk, while the HHS group did (hazard ratio =3.0).11 It has been hypothesized that this difference is due to some risk factors of thrombosis as dehydration, hyperosmolarity, and hyperglycemia being possibly more pronounced in HHS. Therefore, although we know that DKA modifies coagulation dynamics, experimental design does not allow the identification of a direct link between DKA and vascular events. What about the risk of DVT associated with central venous catheter (CVC)? Two retrospective pediatric studies found an increase in the incidence of CVC-associated DVT in DKA patients.7,12
At the moment, DVT prophylaxis is not officially indicated as part of the management protocol of DKA, although some care centers have implemented DVT prophylaxis in DKA with signs of HHS.13 HHS is recognized as a risk factor for DVT, and the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine of 2014 advises using DVT thromboprophylaxis in case of hyperosmolar nonketotic diabetic coma, while it only mentions thrombosis as a complication of DKA without recommending prevention.14,15 As we previously saw, even with aggressive hydration, the hypercoagulability state persisted until resolution of DKA and sometimes after. Some cases of thrombosis in DKA occurred in patients receiving prophylactic anticoagulation, but it is thought that it can at least lower the risk in a context of accumulating cases of vascular events in DKA, for example, pulmonary embolism as initial presentation or within 72 hours.16–18 In this context, we agree that our relatively healthy patient would have benefited from DVT prophylaxis at arrival due to her DKA and complete immobility for 6 days. Anyhow, the HHS traits identified could have been stated as an indication for prophylaxis as there is evidence that this condition increases the risk of thrombosis, adding to our patient's burden at arrival. It should also be emphasized that asymptomatic thrombocytopenia was a strong red flag of the platelet consumption due to the underlying developing thrombosis. It is thought that the patient developed her DVTs in the context of the DKA, which then traveled directly to the lungs, and via the PFO, to the left arm (Figure 1). It might be argued that this supplementary thrombosis was part of a "thrombotic crisis" as venous and arterial thromboses are being studied as a continuous spectrum.19 In situ arterial thrombosis surely remains a reasonable explanation to acknowledge and could be precipitated by DKA with mixed HHS features. However, the sudden onset in a previously asymptomatic patient and the proximity in timing with the venous thrombosis oriented us in another direction.
Figure 1 Schematic representation of deep venous thromboembolisms in the legs, bilateral pulmonary embolisms, and a paradoxical embolus in the left subclavian artery through a patent foramen ovale.
Abbreviations: Ao, aorta; PA, pulmonary artery; PV, pulmonary vein; LA, left atrium; LV, left ventricle; RA, right atrium; RV, right ventricle.
Suspicion for PFO was raised by the context of concomitant venous and arterial thrombosis and by the venous aspect of the clot noted during the thrombectomy. This visual constatation was based on the macroscopic particularities described between an arterial thrombus and a venous thrombus due to their composition differences. The first is usually depicted as a firm and white material made of platelets and fibrin, while the latter tends to be spongy with ill-defined layers of red material rich in erythrocytes, which is what was seen in this case.20,21 No histopathological examination of the thrombus was done, but it might be interesting to compare the clinical classification with the images of the angioscan as this technique appears to give satisfactory results for estimating the proportion of erythrocytes in a thrombus.22 Thus, the combination of DVTs, pulmonary emboli, acute arterial thrombosis containing what was said to be a venous thrombus, and a PFO with a spontaneous right-to-left shunt certainly qualifies as a presumptive case of paradoxical embolus, while a definitive diagnosis would have required a thrombus to be seen during TOE. Medical treatment was chosen over surgical management as the added benefit to PFO closure remained unclear in this case. Studies about secondary prevention of embolic events among patients with PFO did not offer convincing evidence, although they mainly addressed cryptogenic stroke instead of peripheral thromboembolism.23–25
Recognizing the possible link between DKA and thromboembolism should prompt high suspicion for thrombosis, especially in a context of thrombocytopenia. It should raise awareness about the importance of prophylactic anticoagulation, since pulmonary embolism is a serious condition and approximately 25% of people have a PFO, making it possible for paradoxical embolism to happen as seen in this case of ischemic limb. In the light of the literature and our experience, a patient with DKA should be considered at increased risk of thrombosis until proven otherwise and benefit from thromboprophylaxis from admission if there is no contraindication.
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in this work.
Carr ME. Diabetes mellitus: a hypercoagulable state. J Diabetes Complications. 2001;15:44–54.
Hamblin PS, Topliss DJ, Chosich N, Lording DW, Stockigt JR. Deaths associated with diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar coma. 1973–1988. Med J Aust. 1989;151:41–42.
Buyukasik Y, Ileri NS, Haznedaroglu IC, et al. Enhanced subclinical coagulation activation during diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetes Care. 1998;21:868–870.
Ileri NS, Buyukasik Y, Karaahmetoglu S, et al. Evaluation of the haemostatic system during ketoacidotic deterioration of diabetes mellitus. Haemostasis. 1999;29:318–325.
Bilici M, Tavil B, Dogru O, Davutoglu M, Bosnak M. Diabetic ketoasidosis is associated with prothrombotic tendency in children. Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2011;28:418–424.
Carl GF, Hoffman WH, Passmore GG, et al. Diabetic ketoacidosis promotes a prothrombotic state. Endocr Res. 2003;29:73–82.
Worly JM, Fortenberry JD, Hansen I, Chambliss CR, Stockwell J. Deep venous thrombosis in children with diabetic ketoacidosis and femoral central venous catheters. Pediatrics. 2004;113:e57–e60.
Sdogou T, Kossiva L, Kakleas K, et al. Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in a child with diabetic ketoacidosis and protein s deficiency: a case report. Horm Res Paediatr. 2013;79:114–118.
Alfred R, Wright-Pascoe R. Acute limb ischaemia in a septic patient with diabetic ketoacidosis. West Indian Med J. 2011;60:214–216.
Heit JA, Leibson CL, Ashrani AA, Petterson TM, Bailey KR, Melton LJ 3rd. Is diabetes mellitus an independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism?: a population-based case-control study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009;29:1399–1405.
Keenan CR, Murin S, White RH. High risk for venous thromboembolism in diabetics with hyperosmolar state: comparison with other acute medical illnesses. J Thromb Haemost. 2007;5:1185–1190.
Gutierrez JA, Bagatell R, Samson MP, Theodorou AA, Berg RA. Femoral central venous catheter-associated deep venous thrombosis in children with diabetic ketoacidosis. Crit Care Med. 2003;31:80–83.
Burzynski J. DKA and thrombosis. CMAJ. 2005;173:132. [author reply – 3].
Longmore JM. In: Wilkinson I, Baldwin A, Wallin E, editors. Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. 9th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2014. 842–844.
Kian K, Eiger G. Anticoagulant therapy in hyperosmolar non-ketotic diabetic coma. Diabet Med. 2003;20:603.
Quigley RL, Curran RD, Stagl RD, Alexander JC Jr. Management of massive pulmonary thromboembolism complicating diabetic ketoacidosis. Ann Thorac Surg. 1994;57:1322–1324.
El Ghoussein H, Hegazi M, Alajmi M. Diabetic ketoacidosis presenting with saddle pulmonary embolism. Acta Endo (Buc). 2009;5:117–120.
Shujaat ASJ. Massive pulmonary embolism in diabetic ketoacidosis and non-ketotic hyperosmolar state: case series and review of the literature. Clin Intensive Care. 2004;15:73–77.
Jerjes-Sanchez C. Venous and arterial thrombosis: a continuous spectrum of the same disease? Eur Heart J. 2005;26(1):3–4.
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Lippi G, Franchini M, Targher G. Arterial thrombus formation in cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2011;8(9):502–512.
Kirchhof K, Welzel T, Mecke C, Zoubaa S, Sartor K. Differentiation of white, mixed, and red thrombi: value of CT in estimation of the prognosis of thrombolysis phantom study. Radiology. 2003;228(1):126–130.
Furlan AJ, Reisman M, Massaro J, et al; CLOSURE I Investigators. Closure or medical therapy for cryptogenic stroke with patent foramen ovale. N Engl J Med. 2012;366(11):991–999.
Meier B, Kalesan B, Mattle HP, et al; PC Trial Investigators. Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale in cryptogenic embolism. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(12):1083–1091.
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© 2015 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.


text:
Stöpis är en istyp som uppstår av att snö vattenbedränks och sedan fryser, vilket är att jämför med ordet "stöpa" (doppa i vätska) som i att "stöpa stearinljus". Stöpis kallas även ibland för snöis. Stöpis har normalt kärnis under sig, men kärnis kan saknas på underfrätta partier. Stöpis är ogenomskinlig och vit på grund av innesluten luft. Stöpis är en vanlig istyp på svenska sjöar.

Egenskaper
Stöpisens styrka är relaterad till kärnisens tjocklek. Eftersom man inte kan se något om detta är den svår att bedöma med synen, utan man får lita till ispiken och resonemang om hur kärnisens tjocklek kan variera.

Ytan på stöpis kan variera, om stöpet varit tillräckligt blött blir ytan ofta väldigt bra för skridskoåkning, förutsatt att det är kallt i luften. I plusgrader blir icke vattentäckt stöpis mjuk och skridskon kan skära igenom. Den vattentäckta stöpisen brukar behålla sin ythårdhet bättre vid plusgrader i luften.

En fara med stöpis är att det ställvis kan vara icke helt frusen slask. Om man kör ner i ett sådant område med skridsko eller isjakt kan det leda till fallskador.

Bildning
Stöpis kan bildas på flera olika sätt.

Det vanligaste sättet är att det snöar på relativt tunn is. Snön kommer då att tynga ner isen så mycket att vatten tränger upp i snön som blir till slask. Detta kan kallas för "dränkstöp". När sedan detta slask fryser har stöpis bildats.

Ett annat sätt är ur snöis.

Ett tredje sätt är när det regnar på snö som ligger på isen. Snön kommer då att bli till slask. Detta kan kallas för "regnstöp". Om detta slask fryser har vi fått stöpis.

Problem för flygplan
Skidförsedda flygplan kan slå runt vid landning i stöp om det övre skiktet bara bär delvis. De kan också frysa fast i stöp som håller på att frysa till. Knut Gunnerfeldt, flygambulansförare i Boden på 1930-talet, berättar målande om stöp i sin bok Flygande samarit:

Referenser

  (Om problem med stöp vid start från fjällsjö.)

Is

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Record haul from wealthy taxpayers
A specialist unit dealing with the country's wealthiest taxpayers brought in a record £220million of extra tax last year, HM Revenue and Customs has revealed.
HMRC's High Net Worth Unit (HNWU) - which deals with the tax affairs of 5800 people with assets in excess of £20million - increased its yield from tax enquiries by 10% in the 2012/13 tax year, having collected £200million in 2011/12.
The unit has increased its revenues from the UK's richest taxpayers every year since it was established in 2009, raising a total of £665million in additional tax over the last four years. This revenue is in addition to the taxes HMRC normally collects from this group of wealthy individuals and is the result of enquiries.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said: "HMRC's High Net Worth Unit provides the specialist attention they require in ensuring the wealthy pay the tax they owe. This Government has reinvested almost £1billion in HMRC and expects them to deliver almost £22billion in 2014-15.
"Since 2010, the unit has raised £582million, increasing its revenue year on year which, at a time when the Government is focused on reducing the deficit, is delivering real results for the country."
HNWU Head, Martin Randall, said: "The tax affairs of the richest people in the country can be complex as they have large tax bills, and that's why we've focused resources on getting their tax right.
"The majority of the wealthiest taxpayers play by the rules, paying the right tax at the right time, but we take action against the minority who don't."
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The Golden Hills School Division is very pleased to announce the appointment of Shelley Friesen to the position of Associate Principal of Greentree Elementary School commencing the 2018/2019 school year.
Shelley holds a BGS from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Education Degree in Leadership Information Technology from the University of Lethbridge. She has previous teaching experience at the high school, secondary and elementary levels. In 2014 she was hired as an Instructional Coach in Golden Hills where she worked with teachers in the areas of planning, instruction, assessment, critical thinking, information technology, classroom management and other areas of need. Her varied teaching experience, along with the knowledge and skills she has developed as an Instructional Coach and more recently as a school administrator with placements at Trochu Valley School as Acting Principal and at Greentree Elementary School as Acting Associate Principal will serve her well in her new administrative role.
Please join me in congratulating Shelley and wishing her every success in her new leadership position.


Almost every application needs some kind of config. We can store it in file, database or cloud. But have we got any solution to help us manage those configs?
Configuration builder provides a way to manage name-value configuration even from multiple sources.
I will focus on console project and show how to set it all up.
Next step is to set up the configuration builder.
We create the ConfigurationBuilder, set base path for our configs and add Json file. We also use a new parameter available in .net core 1.1 reload on change which controls whether the configuration should be reloaded if the file changes.
As you can see simple and nested form can be used to store settings.
As we could see .NET Core gives us pretty nice tool to manage our configurations even if we store them in few different places. The first impression was nice and I will play with it and test it in my other projects.