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article / Health Hazards
Feb 11, 2013 9.0K Views
Is Water Fluoridation In The Best Interests of Public Health?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/warning-this-daily-habit-_b_741635.html
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Amazingly, the United States is only one of eight countries in the entire developed world that fluoridate more than 50 percent of their water supply. The other seven are Australia, Colombia, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. In Europe, Ireland is the only country that fluoridates more than 50 percent of its drinking water, and England fluoridates 10 percent. Most of mainland Europe is not fluoridated, and yet, according to World Health Organization data, their teeth are just as good, if not better, than those of Americans.
One of the central challenges in this debate is that the United States claims to be one of the most advanced scientific countries in the world, yet we're still engaging in a practice that is questionable at best, and harmful at worst.
I recently interviewed Dr. Paul Connett, who is trained as a chemist and specializes in environmental chemistry. He is known throughout the world as a leader in the movement against water fluoridation because of his knowledge base, and during our sit-down, he shared the information I'll cover in this article. This interview is part of an ongoing effort to help provide you with the tools to take action in three primary areas, and help you understand that indeed you can make a real difference in this area.
Is Water Fluoridation Really in the Best Interest of Public Health?
As you may know, the theory behind the introduction of fluoride in your water supply initially seems beneficial: to reduce the incidence of dental caries in children. However, the health dangers of fluoride are so numerous that they far outweigh any potential benefit to your teeth.
You Can't Control The Dose
"First of all, water fluoridation is very bad medicine," Dr. Connett says, "because once you put it in the water, you can't control the dose. You can't control who gets it. There is no oversight. You're allowing a community to do to everyone what a doctor can do to no one, i.e., force a patient to take a particular medication."
Prior to 1945, when communal water fluoridation in the U.S. took effect, fluoride was actually a known toxin. For example, a 1936 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association stated that fluoride at the 1 ppm (part per million) concentration is as toxic as arsenic and lead. Years later, the Journal of the American Medical Association stated in their September 18, 1943 issue that fluorides are general protoplasmic poisons that change the permeability of the cell membrane by certain enzymes. Additionally, an editorial published in the Journal of the American Dental Association on October 1, 1944 stated, "Drinking water containing as little as 1.2 ppm fluoride will cause developmental disturbances. We cannot run the risk of producing such serious systemic disturbances. The potentialities for harm outweigh those for good."
Secondly, water fluoridation is both unnecessary and completely avoidable. Ending water fluoridation is as easy as turning off a spigot. It's not a matter of having to devise costly equipment to somehow take it out of the water supply.
Today, even promoters of fluoridation concede that the major benefits are topical; fluoride works from the outside of the tooth, not from inside of your body, so why swallow it? Why put it in the drinking water when you could just brush your teeth with fluoridated toothpaste if you choose? Please note that I do not believe that you should use fluoride in your toothpaste, but I am just emphasizing the point that it might work topically but does not work at all when you swallow it. There are far better options for decreasing tooth decay than using a topical poison.
Third, water fluoridation is ineffective. There is practically no difference in tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated countries, and no difference between states that have a high or low percentage of their water fluoridated.
The Significant Damage Caused By Fluoride
"We know that 32 percent of American children have been overexposed to fluoride," Connett says, "because you have this telltale sign of dental fluorosis, which in its mildest form is little white specs. But when it gets more serious, it affects more of the surface of your teeth and it becomes colored; yellow, brown and orange mottling of the teeth."
The Unseen Damage
Promoters of fluoridation scoff at these signs, saying that they're "just cosmetic." But, since we already know that water fluoridation does not effectively reduce dental caries, this is an unnecessary cosmetic defect, and, worse yet, it is a worrisome indication that your body has been overexposed to fluoride. If it's having a detrimental, visual effect on the surface of your teeth, you can be virtually guaranteed that it's also damaging something else inside your body, such as your bones.
"The teeth are the window to the bones," Connett says. "If you've seen the damage to the teeth, what damage can you not see?"
Bone is in fact living tissue that is constantly being replaced through cellular turnover. Bone building is a finely balanced, complicated process. Fluoride has been known to disrupt this process ever since the 1930s. We have huge concerns about the potential of fluoride to damage the bone and cause symptoms like arthritis and making them more brittle and more prone to fracture.
How Fluoridated Water Is Lowering Your Child's IQ
"We now have 23 studies from four different countries (Mexico, Iran, India and China) which indicate that moderate exposure to fluoride is lowering I.Q. in children," Connett says. "The lowest level at which they estimate this is happening is 1.9 parts per million of fluoride. If you've got an effect at 1.9 parts per million with a few hundred children in the study, then there is not enough margin of safety to protect every child that's being exposed to fluoride."
You need a much larger margin of safety to protect children living in fluoridated communities! Meanwhile, the U.S. has not yet studied the impact of fluoride on I.Q.. "The countries which are fluoridated are doing practically no health studies," Connett points out. "They are far more concerned about protecting this policy for some reason than protecting health."
In 2003, the National Research Council appointed one of the most balanced and objective panels of experts that has ever objectively investigated fluoride. They spent about three years studying it and determined that the current "safe" drinking water standard of 4 ppm (parts per million) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for fluoride is too high and should be lowered. But in the four years since, the EPA has not completed a new health-risk assessment, and thus we still live with this outdated and unsafe standard, even though the NRC study was specifically requested by the EPA.
You Can't Get Fluoride Without A Prescription!
When evaluating the issue of water fluoridation, it is also important to understand that fluoride is a drug. You can't get fluoride without a prescription! Yet it's being added to your water supply on a mandatory basis at various levels that may not be safe for various individuals, especially children, the sick, and the elderly.
Water fluoridation is thus a major assault on your freedom of choice -- to be drugged or not. Sodium fluoride, which is a far simpler toxin than the fluoride compounds used for most water fluoridation, has also been used for rat and cockroach poisons, so there is no question that it is highly toxic.
How Safe Is Fluoride When We're Told To 'Call Poison Control'?
Connett says: The sad irony here is that the FDA, which does not regulate fluoride in drinking water, does regulate toothpaste and on the back of a tube of fluoridated toothpaste ... it must state that "if your child swallows more than the recommended amount, contact a poison control center."
The amount that they're talking about, the recommended amount, which is a pea-sized amount, is equivalent to one glass of water.
The FDA is not putting a label on the tap saying don't drink more than one glass of water. If you do, contact a poison center.
There is no question that fluoride - not an excessive amount - can cause serious harm. There have been examples of children who swallowed the gel that is used for topical treatment and they died as a consequence. So fluoride is extremely toxic.
According to Dr. Connett, you also increase your child's risk for dental fluorosis if he brushes his teeth with fluoridated toothpaste twice a day compared to just once. "We're not talking about killing people outright with drinking water," he says. "What we're concerned about is the chronic exposure ... It's poisonous."
Fluoride Breaks Down Your Bones and Damages Your Thyroid
Approximately 50 percent of the fluoride that you ingest each day ends up accumulating in your bones over a lifetime. So you're steadily increasing the fluoride levels in your bones over time. Dr. Connett recounts the evidence gleaned from India and China, where some areas have high natural fluoride levels. There, the initial symptoms of fluoride poisoning are arthritis-like symptoms such as joint pains. Despite these findings, no study has ever been conducted in the U.S. to investigate whether there's an association between people living in fluoridated areas and increasing arthritis rates.
Fluoride also lowers thyroid function. It was used in medicine during the 1930s through 1950s in Europe to treat patients with overactive thyroid glands. This is a very real and significant concern, especially today as millions of people suffer with low thyroid function. Women seem to be particularly sensitive to this.
If you exhibit symptoms of low thyroid function you'll want to get a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. If it's above 1.5, then you probably need to address your thyroid, at which point it becomes mandatory to avoid fluoride from all sources.
Common symptoms of decreased thyroid function include:
Tendency toward constipation
Not sweating well
Your drinking water and fluoridated toothpaste are the two most obvious sources, but you may also be exposed to fluoride from certain drugs, if they are metabolized to free fluoride in the body. This may occur with some antidepressants and some antibiotics, especially the fluoroquinolones. Another source is pesticides, so it also becomes more important to eat organic.
Where Does the Fluoride Come From?
It's important to make a distinction between the natural fluorides found in the environment and the toxic chemicals used for fluoridating your water. Ninety percent of the chemicals used in fluoridation in the United States do not occur naturally.
"It's a substance called hexafluorosilicic acid or its sodium salt: silicon fluorides," Connett explains. "These silicon fluorides are captured pollutants from the phosphate fertilizer industry. When you're making phosphate fertilizers ... the process generates two very toxic gasses: hydrogen fluoride and silicon tetrafluoride."
For about a hundred years, these decimated the local area: they damaged the vegetation, crippled cattle and so on. Eventually, they were required to capture these toxic gasses, using a spray of water. That spray of water produces silicon fluorides. That scrubbing liquor cannot be dumped into the sea by international law. It can't be dumped locally because it's too concentrated. But if someone buys it, it's no longer a hazardous waste, it's a product.
So who buys it?
"The public water utilities buy this stuff and put it in our drinking water. It's absolutely absurd," says Connett.
Dr. William Hirzy from the EPA has pointed out that if it goes into the air, it's a pollutant. If it goes into the local water, it's pollution. But if the public water utilities buy it and pour it in our drinking water, it's no longer a pollutant. All of a sudden, like magic, it's a beneficial public health measure.
"So not only are we doing something quite unique, using the public water supply to deliver medicine ... we're using the public water supply to get rid of hazardous waste from the phosphate industry," Connett says. "It makes a lot of money for them [this way, because otherwise it would cost] a lot of money to get rid of it as hazardous waste."
Making matters worse, if that's even possible, is that in recent times the U.S. has started purchasing these industrial fluoride products from China, as phosphate-producing industry in Florida has been reduced. However, some communities in the U.S. have stopped using China-made fluoride because it was producing a white sludge that jammed up the delivery system.
"The Center for Disease Control engineer said, 'We don't know what this sludge is but we know it's safe,'" Connett says. "But if you don't know what it is, how can you say it's safe?"
The Real Cause of Tooth Decay
As far as tooth decay is concerned, this is not caused by lack of fluoride. Tooth decay is caused by acids in your mouth, typically created from sugar being metabolized by bacteria (Streptococcus mutans), and as you may already know, the number-one source of calories in the United States is high fructose corn syrup.
The acid produced then attacks your enamel. Eventually the bacteria can get into the dentine, at which point tooth decay sets in. You typically don't find dental caries in more primitive societies that do not consume these vast amounts of sugar. "We need education, not fluoridation," Connett agrees. "That education would have a double dividend. By avoiding high fructose sugar, we'll not only score a huge benefit with dental decay but also with obesity and health."
A Special Note About Using Tap Water When Making Infant Formula
Most of the people who are educated about fluoride will avoid drinking municipal tap water that is fluoridated, and will use a reverse osmosis system in your home to rid your water of fluoride. However, there are many who simply don't have the resources or the know-how to protect themselves and their young children.
In November 2006, the American Dental Association (ADA) sent out an email to alert its members of their recommendation to parents to not use fluoridated tap water to make infant formula. A few days later, the CDC followed suit. But neither of them openly informed the public! So there are millions of parents out there using tap water to make up formula, oblivious of the fact that the agencies that promote fluoridation in this country have issued a specific warning against using fluoridated water for this purpose.
Not only that, but by fluoridating the municipal water supply, you doom many low-income families to fail to protect their young children from this dangerous drug, even if they have this information.
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text:
Gregory Roosa
horn, Alan Scott Klee Chair
Gregory Roosa was appointed Second Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Gustavo Dudamel in September 2012. Prior to that he held the Fourth Horn position in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra beginning in 2003. His previous positions include Fourth Horn with the Kennedy Center Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and Fourth Horn with the Colorado Symphony in Denver.
A native of Troy, Michigan, Roosa attended the University of Illinois and studied with Ralph Froelich at the University of South Florida. In 1992, he moved to Chicago to study with Dale Clevenger, Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony. He was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for three seasons. Active as a freelance musician in the Chicago area for eight years, Roosa played in the Broadway shows Ragtime, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon. He also played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including a European tour and two recordings. Roosa has appeared as soloist and clinician at numerous universities and horn workshops around the world.
Roosa has performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Orchestra in Australia, as well as with the Florida Orchestra and Detroit Symphony in the U.S. He was a member of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra from 1999 to 2012, where he met his wife, Amy Jo Rhine, the Third Horn of LA Phil. Together they have two young boys, Norton and Sutton.
Chamber Music by Strauss
Baroque Brass

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Like a Jokes
There's an expression we have in the writers room — Like a Joke.
A "Like a joke" has the rhythms of a joke but is not funny. It's just a straight sentence delivered as a joke line. "I'm so hungry I could eat a meal."
It's the equivalent of playing an air guitar.
Remember a few years ago there was a Robin Williams series, THE CRAZY ONES? It was near the end of his life. In his prime, Robin would just fire off hilarious jokes like a machine gun. His ad libs were amazing. I knew there was something wrong when in this show he delivered a steady stream of "Like a jokes."
For some reason I hear "Like a jokes" on quite a few "dramadies." Maybe they think that by delivering a line in a comic rhythm it will pass for comedy. But when I hear them I think either they're not trying, or (more likely) they aren't really funny. Real comedy writers are always trying to beat jokes. Is there something funnier? Is there a sharper way of phrasing this?
Now some may argue that they're not going for a hard laugh. They're going for irony. Okay, you can convince yourself of that. But you can't fool the audience. If something is not funny, if something is on the nose, or tepid it will fall flat no matter how dazzling the rhythm is.
Just something to keep in mind when you're writing a comedy script. When someone orders an In & Out Burger he knows if you're trying to slip him tofu.
By By Ken Levine at 6:00 AM
Mike Barer said...
Veep had them consistently. I still loved the show.
Troy McClure said...
Most so-called comedy writers nowadays think having a character make a pop culture reference or respond to a situation with a verbal meme is the same as writing a joke. It's not, it's fucking lazy.
An entire generation of writers have absolutely no talent for writing comedy. Their only frame of reference is pop culture. At the risk of sounding bitter (yeah, OK, I'm bitter), these are the ones who have agents and get writing gigs. What's infuriating is that this is what studios now accept as the standard for comedy.
Two examples that made my blood boil. In Spiderman Far From Home, a character observing an aerial battle says it looks like the Power Rangers. Another character says "No, you're thinking of Voltron." Where's the joke?? Where is the fucking joke??! That is not funny.
Someone does something wacky and another character reacts with "Really?" That's been in a hundred films and TV shows. It's never ever funny. But hey, Generation Z think it's, like, totes hilarious.
I recently had to switch off a film after 20 minutes because it had been a nonstop barrage of pop culture references and the main character speaking entirely in millennial memes. Life is too short to sit through boring, unimaginative shit by talentless hacks.
maxdebryn said...
A film that I had to switch off after twenty minutes was the horrible Ready Player One, which entirely depends on pop culture memes. There were a few "Like a jokes" in the otherwise very serious Netflix series called DARK.
RyderDA said...
Is there ever a use for a deliberate "Like a Joke"? I can think of comedy characters that were deliberately, consciously "almost" funny (which was the core of their character) for whom "like a joke" would be a natural.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a meal" made me laugh.
Steve Bailey said...
I thought I was the only one who found Robin Williams unfunny in "The Crazy Ones." Sad to say, by the end of his life, Williams seemed less like a comic genius and more like the annoying uncle who doesn't know when to quit with the corny humor.
Craig Gustafson said...
I keep hearing a commercial for "Two Broke Girls" on the CW. Based on that ad, I would never think of watching the show. They do three jokes and they are ALL Like a Jokes. Not for a second do they say anything funny. All rhythm, no content. Presumably, the commercial uses their best material to entice people. Instead, it's repellant.
tb said...
While you're in writing class mode, maybe you should talk about wrapping up the b-story. I'm seeing a lot of rushed, under-the-credits-attempts and even ones that just leave you hanging. Are they just running out of time? Am I asking too much?
blinky said...
The New Girl is a case in point. I watched it for a few years because, well, who doesn't love Zooey Deschannel? But I don't recall them ever doing a joke. It was all about being cute or odd. "Hey look! Schmidt climbed up a tree!" or Zooey's iPhone cover has bunny ears.
Jay said...
Hey Ken,
Pointless (and fun?) Friday question/survey for you:
Name a movie you like or love that the rest of the world universally hates:
Name a movie a bad movie that you *know* is bad and yet you'd still sit down to watch it:
Name a movie you absolutely hate and would never watch again:
Here are mine:
Name a movie you like or love that the rest of the world universally hates: Speed 2: Cruise Control
Name a movie a bad movie that you *know* is bad and yet you'd still sit down to watch it: All About Steve (what can I say, I have a thing for Sandra Bullock. For me, the awfulness of the movie is actually entertaining); The Sweetest Thing (with Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate...despite a talented cast, there is an arrogance in the "comedy" in the film that is quite something to behold)
Name a movie you absolutely hate and would never watch again: can't think of one myself
G.E. Masana said...
I feel the same way about Henny Youngman's jokes.
Thanks. I've been wanting to get that off my chest now for thirty years.
Jorge González Belmar said...
I watched all the episodes of The Crazy Ones when it came out, since I was very happy to see Robin Williams in something where he was the lead (too young to see the movies from his prime when they came out), but I did get the impression back then that it didn't have many real jokes. At least I found it charming at the time, something I can't say of the Michael J. Fox show that came out around the same time (I found it very unfunny).
I think part of why Mr. Williams was so subdued in that show is that he or the producers didn't want him to draw all the atention from the younger cast, and seeing some talk show appearances from back then where he is as quick witted as ever, I tend to believe that.
It turns out that the showrunner came from procedural dramas, and people back then thought that it didn't have real jokes because of that, but checking on Wikipedia I see it did have experienced comedy writers in the staff, so I don't really know what happened.
Headacher said...
"I'm so hungry, I could eat a meal." To me, that line could be funny depending on the character that delivers it. I immediately imagined Steve Carell's character, Michael Scott on "The Office" saying it. That character would, himself, think that what he had just said was hysterical. Carell, as Michael Scott, might then add a "Hah!" with one of the character's self-congratulatory smiles. So again, to me, that would be funny.
What irritates me much more is the current need to have every character shoot off rapid-fire, supposedly "incredibly humorous" responses - back and forth, back and forth - no matter what the topic is. Real people just simply do not speak this way. Especially children/teenagers.
(And Henny Youngman jokes? "Take my wife... Please!" That is absolute brilliance right there!")
Mike Bloodworth said...
Will Sasso's last sitcom, "United We Fall" is a perfect example of when "Like a joke" does not work.
I liked Will on "MAD TV" and other guest shots, so I thought I'd give the show a look. Virtually every line was "Like a joke." And even the lines intended as jokes didn't have a proper punchline. The show had an empty feeling and was very unsatisfying, and NOT funny!
On the other hand, "CHEERS" is an example of "Like a joke" done right. As Ken has said many times before there weren't many jokes on "CHEERS." Most of the humor came from the relationships between the characters. One of my favorite "Like a joke" lines comes from the episode, "Truce or Consequences." (One of Ken and David's) Sam wants Carla and Diane to stop sniping at each other. He leaves them alone together to work things out. Carla gets Diane drunk and she passes out. When Sam comes back He sees Diane and says, "Carla, you made her an 'Open Grave!'" It got a big laugh on the show and is one of my favorite lines of the whole series. And yet it's not a joke.
Troy McClure, blinky and I actually agree on something.
I'm scared.
Not an F.Q., but do you have any opinions on the alleged, future sitcom with Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammar?
Cowboy Surfer said...
Dated a girl who would always say, "all your jokes, are like, a joke"...she was from the valley
Correction: Grammer
Robin Williams was subdued and "unfunny" in The Crazy Ones because he was already in the early stages of Lewy Body Dementia, which sapped him of his usual energy and spark.
Regarding the new multicamera sitcom with Kelsey Grammer and Alec Baldwin, I read that it's from your friend Chris Lloyd. So it begs the question: are you and David going to work on it?
E. B. White: "Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind." ("Some Remarks on Humor," preface to White's A Subtreasury of American Humor (1941))
NEVERTHELESS
1. "I'm so hungry I could eat a meal" might evoke a smile merely for the word switch, but would've scored more heavily if said by a character long-established as being spindly or forever dieting - e.g. Olive Oyl; radio bandleader Skinnay Ennis, or 1940s Sinatra.
Not so funny - in retrospect - if it had been said by Karen Carpenter or other anorexics or bulimics ... just as drug use jokes by comedians who subsequently overdosed now leave a bitter taste.
2. If I correctly recall the Roger Vadim Jane Fonda film - They Eat Horses, Don't They? - French carnivores show no speed prejudice when choosing their main course, feeling comfortable gnawing either snails or thoroughbreds. So, how is the phrase/joke "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" translated by French waiters when said by American tourists? And do the ravenous French, when talking among themselves, say "I'm so hungry, I could eat a stable?"
These are the unanswered questions I worry about when alone — which, as you might guess .....
Anthony Hoffman said...
Had trouble memorizing lines, sadly.
gottacook said...
Anonymous: Just two days ago I decided to donate my copy of the Subtreasury of American Humor; the only item I still enjoyed (after many years of not looking at it) was a short excerpt from Samuel Hoffenstein's "Poems in Praise of Practically Nothing," and there's a much larger Hoffenstein sampling in Gene Shalit's humor anthology Laughing Matters from the late 1980s - and even that book now seems 90% stale. (It does include some cartoons, though.)
mbk said...
Ere I Saw Elba said...
I'm with you--shows should be genuinely funny, with real jokes, not just side-eye pseudo-ironic humor and "like-a-jokes". Maybe pop-cultural reference jokes are the height of humor in junior high, now they make my skin crawl with existential dread. Really, they are usually just witless, lazy writing.
I could make an exception for the better skits on shows like SNL and other late-night comedy shows, because they are supposed to be topical. I find that kind of humor funny in the right balance with, you know, real comedic writing.
Character is the key. Once a show has a familiar premise with its audience, they can turn off the gag machine and get a lot of mileage out of situation-based and character-driven humor, which to me is the most rewarding and genuinely funny.
And now I sound like a doddering old man explaining humor--and there's nothing funny about that.
Dammit, I'm doing it again.
Here's George W Bush with a Like A Joke about Botswana delivered with perfect comic cadence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdG1Hczh2Zg
Letterman loved this and showed it often.
Audrey Hepburn "Oh, I could eat a horse."
Cary Grant "I think that's what you ordered."
Charade Stanley Donen Peter Stone Marc Behm (1963)
Public Domain in Youtube
@RyderDA I was just watching one of the classic episodes of Friends, "The One with the Prom Video." It's the episode where Ross and Rachel finally become a couple, and it's full of Like a Jokes. The thing is: in context, they're not meant as jokes. They're lines of dialogue that are designed to set up other lines. They're plot exposition, or they're straight lines. The writer just made them a little more colorful, to keep the script from sounding bland. Some of the lines even earned a laugh from the audience, because the phrasing and delivery were so skillful (and, maybe, because the structure has trained us to expect a laugh).
Jane Espenson has a blog about writing for television, "Jane in Progress," and she's written a number of columns about making jokes bad on purpose, usually as a way of defining character. They're very much worth reading, as are the other entries in the blog.
Weekend Post
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SAVE THE COUNTRY


After many months of fart and poop jokes and occasional therapist wisdom, Brian must take his leave. We talk about what goodbyes mean in therapy and for this show. Plus we somehow end up prank calling some 800 numbers.


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     }];
}

- (BOOL)compressFileAtPath:(NSString *)filePath intoZIPFileAtPath:(NSString *)zipPath error:(NSError **)error
{
    __block BOOL success = YES;
    dispatch_semaphore_t completion = dispatch_semaphore_create(0);
    [self compressFileAtPath:filePath intoZIPFileAtPath:zipPath completionHandler:^(NSError *e) {
        if (e)
        {
            success = NO;
            if (*error) *error = e;
        }
        dispatch_semaphore_signal(completion);
    }];
    dispatch_semaphore_wait(completion, DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER);
    return success;
}

- (void)compressFileAtPath:(NSString *)filePath
         intoZIPFileAtPath:(NSString *)zipPath
         completionHandler:(void(^)(NSError *e))completionHandler
{
    NSDate *start = [NSDate date];

    dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0),
                   ^{
                       NSFileManager *fm = [[NSFileManager alloc] init];
                       BOOL isDir = NO;
                       BOOL fileExists = [fm fileExistsAtPath:filePath isDirectory:&isDir];

                       ZipFile *zipFile = [[ZipFile alloc] initWithFileName:zipPath mode:ZipFileModeCreate];

                       if (fileExists && isDir)
                       {
                           dispatch_group_t compressions = dispatch_group_create();

                           __block NSError *err = nil;

                           NSURL *directoryURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:filePath];
                           NSArray *keys = @[NSURLIsDirectoryKey];

                           NSDirectoryEnumerator *enumerator =
                           [fm enumeratorAtURL:directoryURL includingPropertiesForKeys:keys
                                       options:0
                                  errorHandler:^(NSURL *url, NSError *error)
                            { err = error; completionHandler(error); return NO; }];

                           for (NSURL *url in enumerator)
                           {
                               if (err) break;

                               NSNumber *isDirectory = nil;
                               if (![url getResourceValue:&isDirectory forKey:NSURLIsDirectoryKey error:&err])
                               {
                                   break;
                               }
                               else if (![isDirectory boolValue]) // a regular file under the enumerated dir
                               {
                                   dispatch_group_enter(compressions);
                                   NSString *relativePath = [[url path] pathRelativeToDirectory:filePath];
                                   [self compressFileAtPath:[url path]
                                                intoZIPFile:zipFile
                                                ZIPFilePath:relativePath
                                          completionHandler:^(NSError *compressionError)
                                    {
                                        if (compressionError) { err = compressionError; }
                                        dispatch_group_leave(compressions);
                                    }];
                               }
                           }

                           dispatch_group_notify(compressions, dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0),
                                                 ^{
                                                     [zipFile close];
                                                     completionHandler(err);
                                                     NSLog(@"Total compression time: %f.1", [[NSDate date] timeIntervalSinceDate:start]);
                                                 });
                           return;
                       }
                       else if (fileExists) // a single regular file to compress
                       {

                           [self compressFileAtPath:filePath
                                        intoZIPFile:zipFile
                                        ZIPFilePath:[filePath lastPathComponent]
                                  completionHandler:^(NSError *error) { completionHandler(error); }];
                           [zipFile close];
                           return;
                       }
                       else
                       {
                           completionHandler([NSError errorWithDomain:MTZIPCompressorErrorDomain
                                                                 code:MTZIPCompressorErrorCodeFileNotFound
                                                             userInfo:@{NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: [NSString stringWithFormat:@"Compressing file failed because file could not be found at path '%@'", filePath]}]);
                           return;
                       }
                   });
}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
namespace RedBlueGames.MulliganRenamer
{
    using System.Collections;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using UnityEngine;
    using UnityEditor;

    public abstract class RenameOperationDrawer<T> : IRenameOperationDrawer where T : IRenameOperation
    {
        protected readonly Color32 ReplaceColor = new Color32(17, 138, 178, 255);
        protected readonly Color32 AddColor = new Color32(6, 214, 160, 255);
        protected readonly Color32 DeleteColor = new Color32(239, 71, 111, 255);
        protected readonly Color32 ModifyColor = new Color32(255, 209, 102, 255);

        protected const float LineSpacing = 2.0f;

        private readonly RectOffset Padding = new RectOffset(4, 4, 4, 6);
        private readonly float HeaderHeight = EditorGUIUtility.singleLineHeight;
        private const float HeaderAndContentSpacing = 2.0f;

        private string queuedControlToFocus;

        private T renameOperation;

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the heading label for the Rename Operation.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The heading label.</value>
        public abstract string HeadingLabel { get; }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the color to use for highlighting the operation.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The color of the highlight.</value>
        public abstract Color32 HighlightColor { get; }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the path that's displayed when this rename op is used in the Add Op menu.
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The display path.</value>
        public abstract string MenuDisplayPath { get; }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the name of the control to focus when this operation is focused
        /// </summary>
        /// <value>The name of the control to focus.</value>
        public abstract string ControlToFocus { get; }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the RenameOperation this drawer represents.
        /// </summary>
        public T RenameOperation
        {
            get
            {
                return this.renameOperation;
            }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Sets the RenameOperation instance represented by the drawer.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="renameOperationInstance">RenameOperation instance.</param>
        public void SetModel(IRenameOperation renameOperationInstance)
        {
            // This cast is a *bit* of an assumption, that the passed instance can be
            // downcasted to a more derived type (T : IRenameOperation) than IRenameOperation.
            this.renameOperation = (T)renameOperationInstance;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the preferred height for the operation GUI.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The preferred height for the GUI.</returns>
        public float GetPreferredHeight()
        {
            var headerHeight = EditorGUIUtility.singleLineHeight + HeaderAndContentSpacing;
            return headerHeight + this.GetPreferredHeightForContents() + Padding.top + Padding.bottom;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Draws the element, returning an event that indicates how the minibuttons are pressed.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="containingRect">The rect to draw the element inside.</param>
        /// <param name = "guiOptions">Options to use when drawing the operation GUI.</param>
        /// <returns>A ListButtonEvent indicating if a button was clicked.</returns>
        public RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent DrawGUI(Rect containingRect, RenameOperationGUIOptions guiOptions)
        {
            var paddedContainer = containingRect.AddPadding(Padding.left, Padding.right, Padding.top, Padding.bottom);
            var operationStyle = new GUIStyle("ScriptText");
            GUI.Box(containingRect, "", operationStyle);
            var headerRect = new Rect(paddedContainer);
            headerRect.height = HeaderHeight;
            RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent buttonEvent = this.DrawHeaderAndReorderButtons(
                                              headerRect,
                                              this.HeadingLabel,
                                              guiOptions.DisableUpButton,
                                              guiOptions.DisableDownButton);
            EditorGUI.indentLevel++;
            var contentsRect = new Rect(paddedContainer);
            contentsRect.y += headerRect.height + HeaderAndContentSpacing;
            contentsRect.height -= headerRect.height;
            this.DrawContents(contentsRect, guiOptions.ControlPrefix);
            EditorGUI.indentLevel--;

            var coloredHighlightRect = new Rect(containingRect);
            coloredHighlightRect.yMin += 2.0f;
            coloredHighlightRect.yMax -= 1.0f;
            coloredHighlightRect.xMin += 2.0f;
            coloredHighlightRect.width = 3.0f;
            var oldColor = GUI.color;
            GUI.color = this.HighlightColor;
            GUI.DrawTexture(coloredHighlightRect, Texture2D.whiteTexture);
            GUI.color = oldColor;

            return buttonEvent;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Gets the preferred height for the contents of the operation.
        /// This allows inherited operations to specify their height.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The preferred height for contents.</returns>
        protected abstract float GetPreferredHeightForContents();

        /// <summary>
        /// Draws the contents of the Rename Op.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="controlPrefix">The prefix of the control to assign to the control names</param>
        protected abstract void DrawContents(Rect operationRect, int controlPrefix);

        /// <summary>
        /// Utility method for rename operations to use a consistent height based on a number of lines needed.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The height for the number of lines.</returns>
        /// <param name="numLines">Number of lines to measure.</param>
        protected float CalculateGUIHeightForLines(int numLines)
        {
            // Unity includes spacing at the end of the last element, so we can just
            // add it into the line height.
            return (EditorGUIUtility.singleLineHeight + LineSpacing) * numLines;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Draws the header and reorder buttons.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The header and reorder buttons.</returns>
        /// <param name="header">Header text to display.</param>
        /// <param name="disableUpButton">If set to <c>true</c> disable the MoveUp button.</param>
        /// <param name="disableDownButton">If set to <c>true</c> disable the MoveDown button.</param>
        protected RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent DrawHeaderAndReorderButtons(Rect containingRect, string header, bool disableUpButton, bool disableDownButton)
        {
            // Add some padding for the colored highlight
            var labelRect = new Rect(containingRect);
            var labelPaddingX = 4.0f;
            labelRect.x += labelPaddingX;
            labelRect.width -= labelPaddingX;
            EditorGUI.LabelField(labelRect, header, EditorStyles.boldLabel);

            RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent buttonEvent = RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent.None;
            var buttonPaddingTop = 1.0f;
            var buttonPaddingBottom = 1.0f;
            var buttonGroupWidth = 60.0f;
            var buttonRect = new Rect(
                labelRect.x + labelRect.width - buttonGroupWidth,
                labelRect.y + buttonPaddingTop,
                buttonGroupWidth,
                labelRect.height - (buttonPaddingBottom + buttonPaddingTop));
            buttonEvent = this.DrawReorderingButtons(buttonRect, disableUpButton, disableDownButton);

            return buttonEvent;
        }

        // <summary>
        /// Returns the path for the operation localized;
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>The path for the operation localized</returns>
        /// <param name="folder">The folder of the operation.</param>
        /// <param name="name">The name of the operation</param>
        protected string GetOperationPath(string folder, string name)
        {
            return LocalizationManager.Instance.GetTranslation(folder) + "/" + LocalizationManager.Instance.GetTranslation(name);
        }

        private RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent DrawReorderingButtons(Rect containingRect, bool disableUpButton, bool disableDownButton)
        {
            const string BigUpArrowUnicode = "\u25B2";
            const string BigDownArrowUnicode = "\u25BC";
            RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent buttonEvent = RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent.None;

            EditorGUI.BeginDisabledGroup(disableUpButton);

            var leftButtonStyle = new GUIStyle(EditorStyles.miniButtonLeft);
            leftButtonStyle.margin = new RectOffset(-1, -1, leftButtonStyle.margin.top, leftButtonStyle.margin.bottom);
            leftButtonStyle.fontSize = 8;
            var leftSplit = containingRect.GetSplitHorizontal(1, 3, 0.0f);
            if (GUI.Button(leftSplit, BigUpArrowUnicode, leftButtonStyle))
            {
                buttonEvent = RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent.MoveUp;
            }

            EditorGUI.EndDisabledGroup();

            EditorGUI.BeginDisabledGroup(disableDownButton);

            var midButtonStyle = new GUIStyle(EditorStyles.miniButtonMid);
            midButtonStyle.margin = new RectOffset(-1, -1, midButtonStyle.margin.top, midButtonStyle.margin.bottom);
            midButtonStyle.fontSize = 8;
            var midSplit = containingRect.GetSplitHorizontal(2, 3, 0.0f);
            if (GUI.Button(midSplit, BigDownArrowUnicode, midButtonStyle))
            {
                buttonEvent = RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent.MoveDown;
            }

            EditorGUI.EndDisabledGroup();

            var rightButtonStyle = new GUIStyle(EditorStyles.miniButtonRight);
            rightButtonStyle.margin = new RectOffset(-1, -1, rightButtonStyle.margin.top, rightButtonStyle.margin.bottom);
            rightButtonStyle.fontSize = 10;
            var rightSplit = containingRect.GetSplitHorizontal(3, 3, 0.0f);
            if (GUI.Button(rightSplit, "X", rightButtonStyle))
            {
                buttonEvent = RenameOperationSortingButtonEvent.Delete;
            }

            return buttonEvent;
        }
    }
}


Pittsburg State Gorillas Koozball Cooler $14.99 Get the perfect accessory to let everyone know you are a loyal Pittsburg State Gorillas fan! This Koozball cooler features a bold Pittsburg State Gorillas graphic on one side so you can hold on your beverage with some added team flair. It's also aerodynamic, so if you need someone to throw it your way, it can easily be heaved and caught in style. FansEdge is your trusted source for all the latest Pittsburg State Gorillas gear.
Although we do encourage fans to show their Gorilla spirit by using coolers.
Director of Strength Training and Nutrition Phone.
Enters his fifth year as Pittsburg State.
Gorillas athletics. Make Yahoo Your Home Page.
Breaking news more every time you open your browser Missouri Tigers Mini Ponytail Streamer. They participate in the NCAA Division II and in the. Pittsburg State offers fans and visitors one of the best GameDay experiences in the.
Maybe you would like to learn more about one of these? Ships Free.
The Pittsburg State Gorillas are the sports teams of Pittsburg State University located in Pittsburg Kansas Wincraft Milwaukee Brewers Patriotic 8 X 8 Color Decal. Pittsburg State Gorillas Womens Team Strong Pullover Hoodie Scarlet.
Promotional Results For You. We did not find results for Pittsburg.


In line with the recommendations of the five year external review of ERSA which submitted its recommendations in November 2009, ERSA was registered as a Section 21 Company on 23 June 2010. As such, ERSA is no longer reliant on support from any university structures.
Section 21 company status required the development of independent systems of financial control and governance, as well as the development of logistical and financial systems for service delivery under the various ERSA programmes.
While there have been start-up and transition costs involved in the move to independence, the net effect has been an improvement in the efficiency of service delivery, and considerably improved oversight and management of financial processes in particular. In addition overhead costs have been able to be reduced substantially.
For the Working and Policy Paper series of ERSA, the number of published Working Papers has now risen to 217, while 20 Policy Papers and 1 Occasional Paper has been published. The coverage of the papers remains broad, with publications appearing in 17 of the 20 feasible specialization categories that the Journal of Economic Literature recognizes.
Publications in peer reviewed journals associated with the ERSA paper series also continues to rise steadily. The number of published papers has now risen to 89, of which 49 have appeared in international journals, and 40 in South African journals.


text:
Scotmid Co-op grows sales and profits in "challenging" year
Scotmid Co-op grew its trading profit by 5.7% to £5.6m in the year ended 25 January 2020, the society has announced.
Turnover was up 1.9% to £385m driven by "strong sales figures from Scotmid's food convenience business". The figures include revenue from the society's funeral services and Semichem pharmacy divisions as well as its food stores.
Commenting on the results, John Brodie, chief executive of Scotmid Co-op said: "This was achieved in a year dominated by Brexit uncertainty and without the benefit of the exceptional summer that boosted sales in 2018.
"The background market conditions for Semichem continued to be poor, particularly in Northern Ireland, but actions taken helped to deliver an underlying result ahead of last year. Tight management of the cost base and rebasing of the supply chain were essential in the delivery of our year-end result."
He continued: "Our co-operative and community development activity in the year was focussed on celebrating 160 years as a successful and thriving co-operative business.
"Last year I highlighted the cumulative burden of costs and the need to focus on innovation, effective investment and tight control of costs to continue to make progress. Once again the Society has delivered despite the Brexit saga and another challenging year for retailers generally.
"Scotmid can therefore reflect on a positive 160th anniversary year but be mindful of the ever-growing cost challenge and the uncertainty around global events, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic. In the short-term we must manage the significant issues arising from the virus outbreak, however, I am sure everyone in the Society will rise to the challenge."
The Co-op Group
Is becoming a franchise operator the right move for you?
Why is Sandeep Bains moving from Simply Fresh to Southern Co-op to become franchise operator?
Co-op launches night shift worker campaign
The Co-op has launched a new report to highlight night shift workers whose mental and physical health may be at risk.
The Convenience Awards 2020 winners: the celebration continues
We catch up with The Convenience Awards winners to see how they're displaying their hard-won trophies in stores.
Costcutter acquired by Bestway Wholesale
Retailers express own brand concerns over Costcutter acquisition by Bestway Wholesale.
Simply Fresh and Sainsbury's wholesale partnership expands
Following a successful trial, Simply Fresh and Sainsbury's are expanding their supply partnership
How offering gluten-free and vegetarian products can increase spending in your store
Retailers embracing a free-from range have the opportunity to grow sales in their stores.


VIDEO: How To Make Basic Green Tea | 2TGreenTea.com - Green Tea Information - All You Need To Know About Green Tea.
A lot of people when they drink green tea, will basically buy tea bags, cover them with boiling water, and then leave to stew for far too long, leaving them with a bitter and unpleasant green tea. This video shows you the proper way to make a basic green tea. You get a look at the different equipment that you need, basic info on why loose leaf tea is superior to tea bags, and which temperature of water is optimal for the perfect cup of green tea, which in this video, happens to be Japanese Sencha. Thanks to the narrator, the instructions are virtually impossible to get wrong, and will provide you with the ultimate cup of Sencha green tea.
Previous articleDoes green tea contain caffeine?


How different Shakespeare's plays would have been had bicycles existed in his day.
Richard III might have declared: "A bike! A bike! My kingdom for a bike!" and that famous stage direction in The Winter's Tale "exit, pursued by a bear" may not have resulted in the death of poor Antigonus.
This month an all-bicycling theatre company giving new meaning to the phrase 'play cycle' by pedaling more than 1,000 miles across the country to perform Shakespeare.
The Handlebards are two acting troupes (one male, one female) with four members each. They load up their bicycles with set, props and costumes and perform Shakespeare on the hoof in a manner they describe as "energetic, charmingly chaotic and environmentally sustainable".
On a national tour of more than 50 venues, the group's all-female crew will be stopping off at the Geffrye Museum for "knee-slapping, inventive, off-the-wall," performances of two Shakespeare classics: Romeo and Juliet, his tale of star-crossed lovers, and early comedy The Taming of the Shrew.
The cycling actors embarked on their first tour in 2013 and have performed in schools across the country as well as performing in India, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar.
In 2014 the group won the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award for saving 50.2 tonnes of CO2 by travelling by bike.


text:
Jack Ma Missing Alibaba Founder China Tech Billionaire Arrested Embracing Supervision
After reports that Alibaba founder and tech billionaire Jack Ma "disappeared" from public life for over two months after his conflict with the Chinese government, it has now rumoured that the business leader is 'embracing supervision'. The tech giant in November criticized China's regulators and state-owned banks. Also Read: Central Vista Project: SC Gives A Go-Ahead To Redevelopment Plan Of Parliament Building
A Hong Kong-based news media The Asia Times, has quoted Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily as saying Jack Ma is 'embracing supervision' at an undisclosed location. The People's Daily in a November piece also noted that the entrepreneur couldn't take Alibaba to such heights without the Chinese government's policies: "Ma Yun is savvy, but without the support of national policies, Ali will not be able to become a trillion business empire."
Hence speculations are rife that the tech entrepreneur is either arrested or placed under house arrest. The communist country has a track record of keeping information under wraps, especially arrest of big personalities. Hence the term 'embracing supervision' could also hint at jail. The disappearance of the Chinese tycoon has come at a time when the the state media has turned critical of the online mogul. After the recent tiff of the leader with the China's authoritarian regime over the regulatory issues, Chinese media outlets have tried to portray him as money-grabbing "vampire" businessman changing his image from "Uncle Horse" (Ma in Chinese means horse)".
Now, the business leader is being depicted as someone who loves to exploit the poor in various government-leaning media outlets.
Also, Jack Ma is not the only businessman in grip of supervision, JD.com Liu Qiangdong, has been brought down in the public eye. Liu Qiangdong led JD.com to make two public apologies, after he quickly made a decision and began to replace the management of JD.com to avoid the painful path of Ma and Ant Group.
Last month, as China's top market watchdog, began an investigation into alleged anti-competition practices by the e-commerce giant Alibaba, the country also laid out a "rectification plan" for Ma's fintech venture Ant Group. According to a report in TechCrunch, the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, "summoned Ant Group for regulatory talks on December 26th, announcing a sweeping plan for the fintech firm to 'rectify' its regulatory violations".
Previous articleTop 10 News Today | ABP LIVE Afternoon Bulletin: Top News Headlines From 5 January 2021
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Finest 10 Traces Essay on Hindi Diwas in Hindi for Youngsters of Class 1,2,3,4,5


text:
Academics ›
Majors and Programs ›
Theatre ›
The Augustana Theatre Company showcases student talent in a variety of theatrical productions each year — one of which is always a musical. Brand Name Improv (BNi) is a student-led improvisation company performing regularly on campus and in the community. Augustana Collaborative Theatrical Society (ACTS) is a student production company producing a three-show independent season in the Mary Harum Hart Actor's Studio.
The theatre in the Edith Mortenson Center theatre seats 286 people in a thrust stage configuration. The building's renovated facilities also include the Mary Harum Hart Actor's Studio, a black box rehearsal and performance space.
The 2019-20 Augustana Theatre Season:
A Midsummer Night's Dream October 2-4, 2020
William Shakespeare's delightful comedy, adapted by Jayna Gearhart Fitzsimmons is streamed live on our @AugieTheatre Facebook page.
2020: A Vision in Short Plays - Premiering on our Facebook page Nov. 20, 2020
Four 10-minute plays, recorded and presented on our Facebook page.
Medea - Early in the spring semester we will be workshopping a brand new translation by Augustana's very own Richard Swanson. Jayna Fitzsimmons will lead this exploration and we invite you to be a part of it. Sections of the show will be presented in a Zoom format with the audience invited to participate in discussions of the work, the translation, the process, and more. Look for more information in January and links to join.
Guys and Dolls April 25, 2021 Hailed as the perfect musical comedy, this award-winning classic gambles with luck and love under the bright lights of Broadway. Guys and Dolls will be streamed live April 25th.
ACTS (Augustana Collaborative Theatrical Society)
ACTS is a student-led theatre organization devoted to the social and artistic aspects of theatre. The mission of the group is to:
Expand Opportunities
ACTS is committed to providing diverse theatrical opportunities to the students of Augustana University. In collaboration with the the Augustana Theatre faculty, ACTS is able to produce three productions a year in the Mary Harum Hart Acting Studio in the Edith Mortenson Center. These productions are selected, produced, directed, designed, managed, and performed by Augustana students. ACTS aims to expose the community to the raw, social and artistic elements of theatre by producing works that are seldom produced in a main stage environment. All of ACTS productions are free to the public. You can learn more about ACTS through their Facebook page or Twitter (@aboutACTS).
All of ACTS' productions are free to the public.
The first show of ACTS' 2019-20 Season is CaberACTS which will be streamed starting November 7.
An evening of performances by the students of Augustana. A wide variety of performances.
Attending Performances During the Academic Year
Attending a theatre performance at Augustana? Purchase tickets, or view the campus map to find a parking lot, the box office or get directions to campus.
Tickets: $15 for adults, $10 for seniors & non-Augustana University students. FREE tickets with valid Augustana or High School ID.
Augustana University Events
'Puberty: The Musical' Recognized at National Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
Augustana Theatre Announces 2019-20 Production Season
Legally Blonde The Musical Presented by DAPA Musical Theatre Camp


"Our IVF boys celebrating their 2nd Christmas together today with an extra addition! Could not be more thankful to Bourn Hall Colchester as without them our little men would not be here," writes Vicki Woods on our Facebook page.
The three friends, who all worked together at the Halifax bank, helped each other through the ups and downs of IVF treatment. They shared their stories last year in the Essex media to help others struggling with infertility, who might be feeling down as they faced another Christmas.
At one point all three women worked in the same Halifax branch – Vicki and Carly as Managers and Nikki as a Mortgage Advisor – and discovered that coincidentally they were each having problems conceiving. They all ended up having treatment at Bourn Hall Clinic in Colchester and were able to provide an invaluable support network for each other during their journeys through IVF.
Carly and her husband Liam weren't sure if they could continue, "We weren't sure if we could cope again with the emotional journey and all the medication involved, so we took some time to reflect and consider our other options.
After three years of trying the couple had fertility tests and were then finally referred for IVF. Vicki was distraught when she didn't become pregnant after her first treatment: "My world collapsed, I was devastated," says Vicki, "but I wanted to carry on trying and take all the chances I had."However the night before she was due to take her pregnancy test after the second cycle she didn't feel well: "Mark was out and I sat on the sofa in front of the TV with stomach cramps and watched 'One Born Every Minute' followed by a programme on adoption," she recalls.
"I was so convinced that I wasn't going to be pregnant that I just sat there sobbing." But then the following morning the test was positive and she could hardly believe it.
Unlike Vicki, her friend Nikki Mazurek thought she would never have a baby of her own as she has Crohn's Disease and had extensive abdominal surgery in the past. When she met her partner Sam they both wanted children so they went to their GP for advice.Nikki remembers: "Our GP mentioned that NHS funding was being cut in our area shortly which definitely confirmed for us that now was the time to start treatment." After extensive fertility tests they were referred for IVF treatment.
"For our second attempt I wanted to do everything I could to make it work so I had acupuncture and reflexology to help me relax, I stopped eating gluten and took a vitamin supplement.
The three friends met up again this Christmas to celebrate together. Plus they have a little extra this year – as after another all her struggles Vicki conceived naturally and now has a little angel, Evelyn.
Find out more about IVF treatment at Bourn Hall here.


text:
Compulsive features in behavioural addictions: the case of pathological gambling (2012)
Addiction. 2012 Oct;107(10):1726-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03546.x.
el-Guebaly N, Mudry T, Zohar J, Tavares H, Potenza MN.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. [email protected]
To describe, in the context of DSM-V, how a focus on addiction and compulsion is emerging in the consideration of pathological gambling (PG).
A systematic literature review of evidence for the proposed re-classification of PG as an addiction.
Findings include:
(i) phenomenological models of addiction highlighting a motivational shift from impulsivity to compulsivity associated with a protracted withdrawal syndrome and blurring of the ego-syntonic/ego-dystonic dichotomy;
(ii) common neurotransmitter (dopamine, serotonin) contributions to PG and substance use disorders (SUDs);
(iii) neuroimaging support for shared neurocircuitries between 'behavioural' and substance addictions and differences between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), impulse control disorders (ICDs) and SUDs;
(iv) genetic findings more closely related to endophenotypic constructs such as compulsivity and impulsivity than to psychiatric disorders;
(v) psychological measures such as harm avoidance identifying a closer association between SUDs and PG than with OCD;
(vi) community and pharmacotherapeutic trials data supporting a closer association between SUDs and PG than with OCD. Adapted behavioural therapies, such as exposure therapy, appear applicable to OCD, PG or SUDs, suggesting some commonalities across disorders.
PG shares more similarities with SUDs than with OCD. Similar to the investigation of impulsivity, studies of compulsivity hold promising insights concerning the course, differential diagnosis and treatment of PG, SUDs, and OCD.
© 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.
Critique of "Perceived Effects of Pornography on the Couple Relationship: Initial Findings of Open-Ended, Particip… t.co/Sy8nHsCoAD
A unique study had subjects eliminate their favorite food or porn for 3 weeks. Those who gave up porn scored higher… t.co/XoNzHkPMuz


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Are we more confident by day than by night? Or are we just stupider?
By day, we writers are creature of light, drawing energy from an optimistic inner sun. We are fearless and confident. Problems in the work are merely possibilities as yet undiscovered. Give it time, we tell ourselves; it will all come right.
By night—especially at the end of long days at the page—we are weak-willed drivellers. The moments that delighted us, the romance in the words, are caught in a vortex of crippling despair. We are doubtful about the whole product. We are afraid. We are terrified breathless.
Day is strength. Night is doubt. The story we loved at noon is hopelessly idiotic at nine. The characters are vapid; the plot, vaporous. What the hell were we thinking? And why the hell have we been thinking it for three years?
There is no way around the pink elephant in the room. We tell ourselves and others that this book is just a very different creature, not readily recognizable as a comfortably familiar genre. At night, all we can see is that the elephant is just improbably, halluncinogenically pink, nothing more.
At night, our daylit confidence dissolves. Our optimistic regard of our talents melts like frost under a heat lamp.
Day tells us that hard work will, eventually, get us where we want to be.
Night tells us that we are talentless shlubs that no effort can possibly redeem.
Now the too-polite smiles will come. The friends who have professed eagerness to read the work will not finish it. Or they won't comment on it. Or it will just disappear from the list of things you talk about together. They won't tell you why, for fear of the hurt that you and they both know will result.
Now the doubts will come. The certainty that we will forever be relegated to the limbo of the mediocre-almost; of the hobby writer; of the dabbler. The worst place in the world for a dedicated wordsmith to be.
Which is why I'm going to bed. To not-think. To let my tired brain wait for the day to recharge it. To delude myself afresh—or to find my hope again. Both. Or neither. Over and over and over again.


Courts have faced a wave of compelled disclosure cases recently. By government mandate, tobacco manufacturers must include graphic warnings on their cigarette packages, doctors must show and describe ultrasound images of fetuses to women seeking to abort them, and crisis pregnancy centers must disclose that they do not provide contraception or abortion services. Although applying the same compelled speech doctrine to similar issues, appeals courts have reached very different results in challenges to these laws. Drawing from First Amendment theory, this Article first identifies why compelled disclosures undermine free speech values. It then applies those insights to the specific examples above. In doing so, it examines not only compelled text but the new phenomenon of compelled images, particularly compelled images designed to provoke an emotional response. The Article concludes that recent appeals court decisions have it backwards: It is mandatory abortion counseling laws that offend free speech principles, not laws requiring cigarette warnings or crisis pregnancy center disclosures.


Belong with the Rook, the Bishop is one of the strongest pieces in Shogi. It can be very useful for attack and also can be used for defense specially once is promoted.
The Bishop is called 角 (kaku) in japanese. As the counterpart in chess it moves in diagonal direction.
Promotion: the promotion of the Bishop is similar to the promotion of the Rook. The Bishop will increase its movement capacity by one square orthogonal. The promoted Bishop is called Horse and is written 馬 (uma).
ajedrez, Alfil, beginner, Bishop, chess, japanese, pieza, shogi, Shogi pieces. Bookmark.


Choose and tap the computer avatar, now the mobile will be connected with PC automatically.
Click on the mobile avatar, then PC is connecting with mobile automatically.
Scanning completed, select the connection method, now the mobile will be connected with PC automatically.


These are generally a cheaper alternative to disposable nappies – with the added benefit of being kinder to the environment. By the time a baby is potty trained it will probably have had more than 4000 nappy changes. With that in mind, real nappies could save you some serious money. In addition, real nappies can be up to 40% better for the environment than disposables. Not convinced? Check out the Go Real website for lots more info.
Many stores and organisations promote a family orientated outlook with regular family discounts, coupons and voucher schemes. Look out for specific parenting clubs designed to help mums and dads make savings. Check in with your regular shops to see if there are any incentives or free offers available throughout the year.
As a cheaper alternative to pre-packaged baby food, you could try preparing your own at home. There are hundreds of quick, easy and healthy recipes to be found in bookshops or online.
For convenience, use ice cube trays to freeze puréed foods. Each cube should be roughly one ounce and can normally be stored in sealed bags to be used within two months. This means you can make large batches of food and then use it as and when you need it.
Don't forget to update your contents insurance now you're a new parent. With all the expensive new purchases for you baby (prams, cots, furniture, toys etc.) your current level of contents cover may be insufficient. Having adequate contents insurance in place can help make sure you're not left out of pocket should you need to replace or repair items in your home.
Many people stick with the same providers and same old routines out of habit – meaning they don't always get the right or best deal for them. Make sure you regularly compare prices for all your outgoings, whether it's for electricity prices or your home insurance. The web is a vast and convenient resource for online comparison – you can even check you're getting the best deal on your groceries with mysupermarket.co.uk.


A little flavored syrup in a glass of ice tea makes an ordinary drink extraordinary.
The liquid syrup mixes easily unlike sugar. Each member of the family can have it their way with a little bit of syrup made from our Rio concentrate. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of syrup per 12oz glass of iced tea. Adjust the amount to suit your taste.
Any of the fruit flavored syrups will work well in iced tea. Popular flavors include blackberry, blueberry, cherry, cinnamon, fuzzy navel, grape, green apple, kiwi, lemon, lemon lime, lime, orange, orange pineapple, fuzzy peach, peppermint, red raspberry, strawberry, strawberry banana and watermelon.


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It doesnt have a text message so you will directly match with people through webcam or front camera of your device.


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text:
Laura Elina Vähälä, född 15 oktober 1975 i Iowa City, är en finländsk violinist.

Vähälä debuterade som 12-åring, och utsågs 1993–1994 till "Årets unga solist" av Sinfonia Lahti. År 1999 vann hon tävlingen Young Concert Artists International Auditions i New York, och 2000 ett pris i Joseph Joachim-tävlingen i Hannover. Hon har gjort framträdanden som solist vid konserter och festivaler inte bara i Finland och Europa, utan även i USA, Japan, Kina och Sydafrika. Hon har ett nära samarbete med English Chamber Orchestra och Virtuosi di Kuhmo. Som kammarmusiker har hon ofta uppträtt tillsammans med maken Ralf Gothoni. Bland verk där Vähälä varit solist vid uruppförandet kan nämnas Aulis Sallinens Kammarkonsert och Curtis Curtis-Smiths Duo Concertante.

Källor

Finländska violinister
Klassiska violinister
Födda 1975
Kvinnor
Levande personer
Personer från Iowa City

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Thank you for your interest in enrolling at ICU. We hope this website provides you with helpful information and gives you a good idea of what the university is all about. As you browse the links below to access more information for prospective students, we hope you take this opportunity to learn more about ICU and make it your university of choice.
What kind of university is ICU? Discover ICU for yourself.
Learn more about enrollment at ICU.
Here, find information on tuition, financial aid, scholarships, living costs in Japan, and other expenses.
Access these links to learn about ICU's College of Liberal Arts.
See how you can live a fuller student life.
Check out these links to get more information on the careers and further schooling that ICU students pursue after graduating.


text:
Vandaravua is een geslacht van hooiwagens uit de familie Podoctidae.
De wetenschappelijke naam Vandaravua is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd door Roewer in 1929.

Soorten
Vandaravua is monotypisch en omvat slechts de volgende soort:
 Vandaravua carli

Podoctidae


We welcome you to our practice.
is a best choice for your oral surgery needs.
qualified and caring to ensure Exceptional Care.
To learn about your FIRST VISIT, please read below.
You'll find helpful information about what to expect.
every effort is made to see you the same day.
Consultation appointments can be worked in most days.
We also offer a call list to fill short-notice cancellations.
the best possible care for you.
Before a procedure, an x-ray is needed to aid in diagnosis and treatment and to help determine tooth position in relation to nerves, sinuses and other teeth. If you have had an x-ray taken at another office, please arrange for it to be emailed or mailed in time for your appointment, or you can pick up a copy to bring with you. If you do not have an x-ray, we will need to take one when you arrive.
Bring your x-ray if you have one.
Bring a photo ID and your insurance card if you have coverage.
Patients younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Bring or be prepared to provide a list of all your medications.
It is important to indicate any medical conditions you have in your health history.
If unable to keep your appointment, kindly provide notice so someone in pain may have the time.
If you are scheduled for removal of teeth and need to take pain medication it is recommended that you take acetaminophen (Extra Strength Tylenol) because it does not have the blood-thinning properties of aspirin (such as Goody's) and ibuprofen (such as Advil and Motrin) and is the best over-the-counter pain reliever to take 5-7 days prior to oral surgery.
whether with consultation or a procedure.
And sometimes unforeseen circumstances take longer than anticipated.
For those patients seeking minor oral surgery, such as extraction of one to several teeth with local anesthetic (numbing medicine) or a biopsy, we will schedule your appointment to talk with Dr. Redford and also reserve enough time for the extraction/s or biopsy the same day. You will meet Dr. Redford and have time for all your questions or concerns to be discussed prior to the procedure.
If you are taking more than a few medications, bring a list of those you are currently taking, and be certain to indicate on the health history any and all health problems or conditions you may have so that Dr. Redford can provide the best and safest care for you.
If you are having only local anesthetic (numbing of the area) with or without nitrous oxide, (a short-acting gas that helps you feel relaxed) be sure to eat something—such as breakfast or lunch—before you arrive.
If there are no prohibiting health concerns and you choose to have only local anesthetic with or without nitrous oxide, you may have your extraction/s or biopsy during this appointment.
However, if your blood pressure is too high or you have significant medical problems, your procedure may need to be postponed until your blood pressure is within an acceptable range and/or your physician has cleared you for the procedure.
For patients who are planning multiple extractions or removal of impacted wisdom teeth with sedation or general anesthesia, a consultation appointment before the day of surgery is strongly recommended. Most patients choose to have sedation or general anesthesia for these procedures.
It is recommended by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons that you have an opportunity to meet and talk with Dr. Redford at least 24 hours prior to your procedure with anesthesia. By request, this consultation may be scheduled the same day as the procedure provided you are healthy with no prohibiting medical probems.
This consultation visit allows a relaxed setting where you may have all your questions answered and any concerns addressed that you may have about your procedure. Dr. Redford will explain your procedure and will review your health history for anesthesia. He will discuss your options with you to determine the best anesthesia option for you.
In addition, you will be given pre-operative instructions on how to prepare and plan for your procedure, such as what to have on hand to make your recovery as comfortable as possible.
Your recovery experience will depend on the procedure you are having, your general state of health, and how your body responds, as different body types will respond differently. You will be given post-operative instructions that are very comprehensive, yet easy to understand. They include answers to the questions most frequently asked by patients through the years. Closely following the instructions will provide your best recovery.
Once again, please indicate on the Health History if you are taking an anticoagulant (blood-thinner) or have any significant medical problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart condition, artificial valves or joints, etc. It is important that Dr. Redford knows your complete medical status before your surgery to ensure that no potential problem is overlooked that could compromise your well-being and/or cause complications during or after your surgery.
We encourage you to call and allow us to answer all your questions or you may contact us here if you prefer!


text:
Q: Intent not opening a specific folder I have a question and also a problem, using this code to open a specific folder, the Recent folder opens to me, but I want to open "MyFolder" directly. I tried to find the correct answer in this forum and went all over the net but I had no success, can anyone help, thanks.
    File root = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + File.separator + "MyFolder" + File.separator);
    Uri uri = Uri.fromFile(root);

    Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT);
    intent.addCategory(android.content.Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE);
    intent.setDataAndType(uri, "text/*");
    startActivityForResult(intent, READ_REQUEST_CODE);

IMPORTANT:
Information for all people who have the same problem, the only solution is File Picker, and focus on that, Intent is not the solution !!! It was just with the help of File Picker that I opened a specific folder with a single click and listed my text files. Examples: https://android-arsenal.com/search?q=filepicker Cheers!

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