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Metro Health tweaks instructions to case investigators
In an about-face, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is instructing its case investigators to advise those who lack symptoms of COVID-19 but test positive in an antigen test to isolate and quarantine.
© Tom Reel /Staff Photographer
That's a shift from last month, when case investigators were told to inform such patients that they were "not a case." Those were Metro Health's instructions despite the high accuracy of antigen positive test results, even in those without symptoms.
The policy had raised red flags for members of a Metro Health contact tracing work group. Mayor Ron Nirenberg called last week for antigen positive cases without symptoms to be counted as probable and investigated; Metro Health then tweaked the instructions to case investigators.
But the health authority still is not counting such patients as "probable" cases or opening public health investigations into their close contacts, as other major Texas cities — including Houston, Austin and Dallas — already do.
In San Antonio, case investigators are instructed to close each case and categorize it as "not a case," a policy that some public health experts fear is downplaying the extent of COVID-19 in the community and hampering the city's ability to tamp down the spread of the disease.
"Change 'Closure Reason' tab to 'Not a Case,'" the new instructions read. "Do not inform the person that they are 'Not a Case,' this is for reporting purposes only. The individual may still be infectious, so please advise according to CDC guidelines."
After meeting on Friday, the contact tracing work group — made up of public health experts who are advising Metro Health — voted to recommend that the health authority follow CDC guidelines in the way it treats antigen positive patients without symptoms.
That would mean counting all antigen positive lab reports as "probable" cases; fully investigating them, regardless of whether the patient has symptoms; and informing the patient that they are a probable case, collecting their contacts and telling them to isolate for the rest of the contagious period.
In addition, the work group said contact tracing should be conducted for those close contacts.
Metro Health does open investigations into antigen positive patients if they have symptoms. The district includes those cases in its total COVID-19 case count, classifying them as "probable."
The steering committee of the COVID-19 Community Response Coalition now must approve the work group's recommendations before Metro Health can adopt them. Formed in May, the coalition is led by Metro Health Director Colleen Bridger and Dr. Barbara Taylor, associate professor of infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio.
Taylor was not available to speak Monday.
In a previous interview, Bridger dismissed the concerns of the work group as "a whole lot of ado about nothing," arguing that the Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of antigen tests only in people who have symptoms of COVID-19.
Last month, FDA spokesman Jim KcKinney said the reason for those limitations "is the risk of potentially missing cases" — not the risk of falsely detecting positive cases.
Positive antigen tests correctly identify the virus more than 99 percent of the time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They can identify infections within minutes by detecting proteins from the virus in secretions from the nose and throat.
Antigen tests are not as sensitive as PCR tests, so a negative result from an antigen test does not rule out an infection. Negative results from an antigen test may need to be confirmed with a PCR test, which looks for pieces of the virus in the nose or throat.
A positive antigen test, however, means the person likely has an active COVID-19 infection — even if they have no symptoms.
Experts say nearly half of those who get infected have no symptoms but are able to transmit the virus as so-called silent spreaders. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said that 40 to 45 percent of people infected by the virus have no symptoms.
Investigating positive cases and tracing their close contacts are critical to slowing the spread of the virus in a community, although case investigators have struggled to reach many COVID-19 patients.
For each new COVID-19 case, a case investigator is assigned to call the patient and collect information on any close contacts. The investigators share that information with contact tracers, who warn the close contacts that they've been exposed to the virus and encourage them to get tested and to self-quarantine.
Last month, Dr. Joseph Petrosino, chairman of the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said that anyone who tested positive in an antigen test should be counted and traced as if they tested positive in a PCR test.
"Counting is important enough because your disease prevalence in the community is what dictates public policy on reopenings," Petrosino said then. "If they're not even following up on positive antigen cases, then what's the point?"
Tags: case, Health, instructions, investigators, Metro, tweaks
Senior centers reopening must balance safety with socialization
Self-Isolating Commission Head Snubs EU Advice on COVID-19 Quarantine Length | World News


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movie review May 19, 2014
Edelstein: The Immigrant Is Richer Than Anything Else Onscreen Right Now
Photo: Wild Bunch
Writer-director James Gray creates male characters who are unable to control their emotions and suffer visibly, even floridly. That puts some viewers off, especially when — in movies like We Own the Night and Two Lovers — the camera loiters over Gray's evident alter ego, Joaquin Phoenix, in Phoenix's rage-and-snivel mode. Is Gray as self-indulgent as his protagonist? Oh, maybe. Sometimes. But few directors can sustain a mood so thick with melancholy and moral ambivalence. And Phoenix is, at best, a great actor, a holy fool who plunges into uncharted waters and prides himself on his flailing. They're quite a pair.
Their latest collaboration is The Immigrant, set in New York circa 1921, but this time there's an even more vivid presence than Phoenix. Marion Cotillard plays the title character, Eva, an obviously traumatized young Pole first seen waiting in line at Ellis Island with her coughing sister, Magda (Angela Sarafyan). The cough gets Magda quarantined, while Eva's reputation for loose morals on the ship from Poland will likely lead to her deportation. The source of that rumor is a mystery for most of the film, but from how Eva quivers at its mention we know that something happened.
A lifeline of sorts arrives via Bruno Weiss (Phoenix), a Jew in an expensive suit who bribes a guard to spring Eva from custody and behaves, at first, like the courtliest gentleman. Who is this man, and what are his ulterior motives? It turns out that Bruno keeps a stable of immigrant women for sewing, performing at a racy Lower East Side vaudeville theater, and one other task (three guesses). He's not a nice man, and Eva is sick over what she eventually has to do. But it looks to be the only way she can make enough to free her TB-ridden sister from the bowels of Ellis Island.
Well into The Immigrant, Gray introduces a third major character, a Houdini-esque magician named Emil (Jeremy Renner), who's Bruno's cousin and sometime antagonist. Emil is instantly smitten with Eva — he delivers, with a flourish, a white rose into her hand and wastes little time in planning to Take Her Away From All This. Is he as gallant and ingenuous as he appears? Or is his guileless persona his best trick?
With the aid of cinematographer Darius Khondji and production designer Happy Massee, Gray captures the look of sepia-toned period photographs (he must also have studied the Vito Corleone sections of The Godfather Part II), but the movie's feel is modern, psychological. How could it not be with Phoenix so prominent? He doesn't play Bruno as an obvious Fagin type — he's too tortured. (This Jew has a big dose of Catholic guilt.) Bruno is an actor, too, and one whose feelings for Eva are starting to interfere with his shtick. It's not an easy performance to watch — it's messy. In the last scene, when Bruno gets a beating and his jaw swells up, Phoenix slips into Brando inflections from On the Waterfront and The Godfather, and I'm sure the imitation is unconscious. He's using all his resources — one of them is his sense memory of watching the greatest of all Method actors. He's lost in the moment.
Cotillard is more controlled, but her emotions are, if anything, more powerful. No matter how much Eva hardens her features (and heart), the mask keeps slipping. Eva isn't an actress, a natural liar. Every bit of cunning costs her a piece of her humanity; her drive for self-preservation is at constant odds with her self-disgust. Although Eva is a devout Catholic, I can imagine the character evolving in an Ayn Rand direction, resentful of charity for others after what she was forced to endure. That I think so far beyond what happens onscreen is a testament to Cotillard, who transcends easy melodrama, who is not afraid to be harsh. She's now the best leading film actress in the world.
The Immigrant has been the source of a semi-public battle between Gray and Harvey Weinstein, who reportedly pressed for cuts and allegedly threatened, as is his wont, to dump the film if he didn't get his way. (Weinstein is a smart man, but doesn't have much faith in his audience's patience.) Gray stuck to his guns and the movie — a shade under two hours — has its longeurs, especially in the last, grueling act. But I didn't see any scenes that could be shortened. On the contrary, the character of Emil seems truncated and, maybe as a result, far-fetched — he could use a little more screen time. And I wanted much more of an actress named Dagmara Dominczyk, who holds her own against Cotillard and then some as another of Bruno's "girls" — one who's seething with resentment at Eva's tendency to hold herself above what she's doing.
Weinstein's problem with The Immigrant might just be that it doesn't end on that upbeat, Oscar-bait note that marks so many of his prestige projects. The aura of hopelessness never dissipates. The final shot — a diptych in which each of the main characters moves toward into the fog, toward his or her own fate — offers no easy consolation. But the movie earns its dissonances. It's richer than anything onscreen right now. It's worth the pain.
Movie Review: The Immigrant

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
module BiztagsHelper
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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I was always taught that when we receive blessings in our lives, it is our responsibility and privilege to pass them on and be a blessing to others. This is why I am always looking to give back to the community in whatever way I can, and use my photography to serve others.
Each year, I work with veterinarian Dr. Cassandra LaCava of LaCava's Mobile Veterinary Service on a fundraising calendar for animal shelters. This is our fourth year creating this dog themed calendar, and once again we will be donating 100% of the profits to a well deserving animal shelter. This year's rescue team is The Animal Welfare Society of New Milford, CT! They work tirelessly to find safe and loving homes for pets in need. This 2019 calendar is available now!! Contribute to this great cause by ordering yours HERE.
As often as possible, I volunteer for various non-profit organizations such as Relay For Life, the Magic Hour Foundation, and the Connecticut Alliance of Foster & Adoptive Families. If you are an NPO coordinator planning an event that you'd like photography coverage for, please contact me today so we can collaborate and help your organization receive the attention it deserves! I offer sliding scale pricing for all NPOs, to help support their efforts to serve their communities by documenting special events all over the country.
Last but definitely not least, this issue is the closest to my heart. As we celebrate and preserve the love of our families in photographs, we must also remember that not every child has a family to call their own. Over 100,000 children in the US are on the waiting list to be adopted, in an overloaded system that isn't well equipped to serve them. That's why I am passionate about supporting organizations that help take the strain off that system, and make it easier to match families to children in need. Together We Rise is an outstanding organization that works in a variety of ways to make the foster & adoption experience a warmer one for children all over the country. I am proud to be on their list of photographers who donate sessions to parents and families working to adopt from the foster care system. In addition, since 2016 I've made a pledge to donate a portion of every family portrait session to Together We Rise, to help fund scholarship programs for foster children in the United States.


The Roycroft Campus is currently accepting applications for all three 2019 Art Shows on the Campus. If you are interested in having a booth at one or more of this year's shows please fill-out and submit our Application. All mediums will be considered including but not limited to: drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed-media, photography, fabric fiber, leather, ceramics, pottery, sculpture, woodwork, metalwork, and hand-made jewelry.
As always, make sure to visit the Copper Shop Gallery and the Furniture Shop on the Campus. The Copper Shop features the work of over 100 local, national and international artists as well as a variety of unique gifts, artwork, and home décor. The Furniture Shop offers a range of antiquities and additional artist works.
Start the Fall on the Roycroft Campus! Join us for our Fall Festival as we feature a variety of artists, produce and cultural groups. While strolling the beautiful Campus grounds, you can find games, sample regional wines, meads and beer, visit with live animals from Thistle Creek Alpacas and Wild Spirit Education.
Looking for the perfect, unique holiday gift. Come to the Roycroft Campus at the beginning of December for handmade art for all. Join us for our Art Show as we feature artists in a variety of media from glass, wood, fiber, paint, metal and more. Visit with live animals from Thistle Creek Alpacas, and watch artist demonstrations in glass. Visit every building with artisits and you can receive a free Roycroft ornament, while supplies last. We hope to see you there!


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Invenergy's Contempt for Rhode Islanders on Full Display
Nov 8, 2017 Bethany Kwoka | @bkwoka
The streets of Burrillville, Rhode Island are lined with signs protesting the new power plant. Photo Credit: Bethany Kwoka
It's been quite a season for Invenergy. From communities across Rhode Island having their voices silenced to new information confirming that New England doesn't need Invenergy's dirty power, a lot has happened since summer slid into fall.
Invenergy Calls Rhode Island Resolutions "Irrelevant"
Over the course of the past year, a total of 35 cities and towns, including 32 of Rhode Island's 39 municipalities, have passed resolutions against Invenergy's proposed fracked-gas plant. Rhode Islanders have almost universally objected to the dirty power plant, knowing how much harm it would cause the environment and their communities.
Yet in October, in a hearing before the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board – the group that decides whether Invenergy can build a fossil fuel power plant in Burrillville – dismissed these resolutions as "irrelevant" and a "waste of time" (Invenergy's words to describe the resolutions, not the Siting Board's).
It's clear Invenergy is looking for profit over people, as almost every city and town in the state opposes the plant – and yet the company has worked tirelessly to silence its critics. In this case, they succeeded. The Siting Board agreed to ignore the objections of all but one of those 35 towns, allowing only Burrillville's to stand.
It's no coincidence that the towns that passed resolutions are the same ones that also refused to sell Invenergy the water needed to power the plant. Rhode Islanders now look to Burrillville, the home turf of the Invenergy battle, to block this unnecessary and unwanted dirty power plant.
More Evidence New England Doesn't Need Invenergy
Since it first proposed the power plant, Invenergy has argued that New England needs the energy it would provide. However, on November 1 the company admitted that the regional grid operator had bounced Invenergy out of the all-important upcoming annual energy auction.
To explain: every year, New England's regional grid operator holds a "Forward Capacity Auction" in which power generators bid to supply the electricity New England's homes and businesses will need three years from now. Participating in this auction is typically how energy companies prove its new plants are needed – why else would the grid operator choose them to provide energy, after all. In this case, our grid operator disqualified Invenergy from even participating, leaving half of the power Invenergy hoped to sell from its new power plant unclaimed. (You can learn more about this blow to Invenergy in this blog.)
Being disqualified from this capacity auction is a big deal – whether or not an energy company can sell the power it plans to produce is vital for the Siting Board to know. If Invenergy can't sell its power, why should it build a plant in the first place?
More Evidence Invenergy Doesn't Care About New England
From the start of this now two-years-and-running permitting process, Invenergy has been plagued by its own questionable decisions. The company has routinely failed to disclose relevant information to the Siting Board and the public. This includes information about a water contract with Fall River, and now the knowledge that its power plant is barred from the annual capacity auction. Invenergy also embroiled itself in controversy recently by announcing a deal with the Narragansett Indian Tribe as a backup water supply – a deal that was may have been made illegally.
The irony in all of this is that Invenergy is considered a major renewable energy company elsewhere in the country. Even as it pushes its dirty energy power plant here in Rhode Island, the company is working with GE to develop the country's largest wind farm in Oklahoma. And Invenergy's CEO, Michael Polsky, is considered by many to be a pioneering entrepreneur in the wind industry. That pioneering spirit, however, seems to have been left at the Rhode Island border on this one.
Instead, Invenergy has failed to be open with the Siting Board and Rhode Islanders about its plans here and its contracts. For this reason and more, CLF has asked the Siting Board to revisit the idea that Invenergy is ready for a permit to build, let alone ready for a hearing to decide whether or not to give them a permit! Rhode Islanders have made it clear that they don't want this project in their state, New England doesn't need the energy the company intends to sell, and the U.S. (and our climate) can't afford another dirty power plant. Burrillville, CLF, and Rhode Island all agree that Invenergy should not be allowed to build this unwanted, unneeded power plant.
Join Us for a Community Meeting on the Case
We aren't going to let Invenergy silence Rhode Island voices in this fight. Please join us for a public forum on Thursday, November 30, at 5:30PM at the Friends Meeting House in Providence. We'll talk through our case against Invenergy and the most recent actions taken by CLF and the Town of Burrillville to stop the plant. We'll have time for questions, and you can learn how to get involved in this fight.
Tags: Burrillville, Burrillville Rhode Island, Invenergy, natural gas
Stopping Invenergy


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RSAC 2018: AI, Blockchain, IoT, GDPR, and More Dominate Submissions
Posted on December 18, 2017 by Britta Glade
Based on the RSA Conference 2018 submissions, we are at an interesting time in the security field and are primed for a fantastic event in April. We have major new policies and regulations looming globally. DevOps, automation, and machine learning have taken hold (by the good guys and the bad ones). Identity—and patching!—is once again sexy. IoT isn't slowing down, and ICS and supply chain attacks have us worried. Passwords are dead (they must be cats with nine lives as this is a recurring theme). And #fakenews?! Human fallibility is weighing on our minds as we grapple with our responsibilities to secure the world, and all of the people and devices in it.
Let's look at some of the trends that bubbled up as we looked at the universe of submissions this year for RSA Conference 2018:
Artificial Intelligence: We've been commenting on artificial intelligence in the past few trend blogs, and this year noted that the cycle it seems to be going through reminds us a lot of the adoption cycle of cloud technology. The 2016 submissions showed fear of machines taking over the world. 2017's lens showed the pendulum swinging far to the other extreme and humans were to head on vacation and be universally replaced by machines. This year, the pendulum seems to have swung center as we work to establish a symbiotic relationship between man and machine with both important pieces of the relationship with neither fully replacing the other.We are learning to harness AI as a tool to complement, magnify, and amplify our activities, though we are recognizing some limitations as we explore new applications. We saw applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning beyond just the SOC with self-driving cars, fake news detection, biometric authentication, bug detections and predictions, IT configuration verifications, DevOps, and the list goes on and on—a list so lengthy, in fact, that some are calling for the creation of an ethical roadmap. In fact, we were so impressed by the machine learning-oriented submissions we decided to blow out a dedicated half-track on Machine Learning to allow more focused education on the tremendous—and rapid!—advancements being made here. But we're also not alone in capitalizing on the maturity of AI: good guys and bad guys are using it with more and more reports about "blackhat AI" being used as an attack vehicle. We also noticed a tinge of audio recording paranoia. With Alexa and Siri firmly implanted into more and more homes and the fabric of everyday living, we are becoming more concerned about the dark side and privacy implications.
Human Manipulation: Human manipulation through technology was the focus of many submissions as you explored the psychological nudge achieved by parties intent on eliciting specific emotional thoughts and behaviors (with examples beyond just the 2016 US Presidential Election), an impact that will likely be felt for years to come in areas such as reputational damage and the like. Noting how easy it was for parties to manipulate opinions and subsequent actions without ready detection, several of you explored where this could lead with manipulation of data where minor data changes of financial reports, social media posts, health records and the like could have massive, lasting impact on a personal, organizational, national, and global scale. And with advancement of technology making it very easy to create photos, audio recordings, and even videos that appear real but are not….what safeguards do we need to have in place to protect our minds and the integrity of our data? Our impression is that we're only at the beginning of exploring this attack vector.
ICS and Supply Chain Attacks:Supply chain attacks are to 2017 what ransomware was to 2016. Headlines this year have been full of attacks that only Hollywood could have imagined—and this was not a singular "wow" attack but multiple attacks across the globe on critical infrastructure, with Petya serving as a wake-up call to manufacturing as they more clearly reviewed the security of their supply chain. ICS attacks, like other types of cyberthreats, have been increasing in scale and sophistication over the past few years, probably due to the growing connectivity of industrial systems. Submissions focused on the unique characteristics of ICS cyberattacks, including the adversary's intent, their sophistication and capabilities, and their familiarization with ICS and automated processes (lots on automation this year). We're also exploring the "collateral damage" of some of these supply chain attacks that masquerade as one thing but inflict damage to completely uninvolved parties in the chain. If there's one place with concerted fear on the threat landscape, this is it since so many core infrastructures are based on antiquated technology, with a whole lot of touch points, and the opportunity for big impact is strong.
Blockchain: We noted an empirical focus on blockchain this year, moving from theoretical to solid applications. With this growth and spread of blockchain applications, some noted the need to develop true standards and security protocols. Blockchain as a solution to IoT, payments (large and small, particularly peer-to-peer), identity, ICOs, loyalty programs, shared resource distribution, and connected devices came up more and more, with submitters exploring its distributed trust model and availability as a solution for users to govern and manage their own security and for companies to improve operations, security, and generate new services. And, yes, the bad guys haven't missed the opportunity with blockchain, either. We are so intrigued by the depth of blockchain content to share that we have added a focused Blockchain Seminar on Monday.
IoT and Medical Devices: As with past years, we had a large number of IoT sessions, with content generally moving toward solutions vs just identification of problems; we are learning to eat the elephant one bite at a time. This was most significant as we looked at the number of submissions focused on hacking and protecting medical devices, where the depth of the submissions and the number that also include an MD practitioner joining the speaking docket was pretty intriguing, seeming to represent a maturity to the conversation and closer movement to resolution now that it is not just a security conversation. Submissions represented conflicting opinions as to if technical solutions alone might solve the challenges the medical community faces (though legacy devices out there were built long before Internet connectivity was even envisioned) or if regulatory oversight will be required to assist in the process of securing practical, reliable solutions. Concern also bubbled up around how the collection of data from these devices is happening, calling for greater assurance that there is not more data collected than is required and it is not shared without the permission of the original owner. Privacy and security once again emerge as connected conversation.
Intelligence sharing: Or rather the lack thereof! Last year there was an explosion of submissions around intelligence sharing, so much so that we carved out a special half day seminar focused on it. This year….crickets (well—a few chirps, but the submissions certainly feel like a boom and a bust). The undertones of the submissions that did come in pointed to a myriad of issues that arise when organizations endeavor to share intelligence externally. Some explored the technical challenges of sharing intelligence which requires context in order to be truly actionable, pointing to IOCs as the death knell for intelligence sharing, rendering it unhelpful and irrelevant. Others bemoaned the plethora of standards and the different ways that organizations have utilized the standards, arguing that no one is really doing things in a consistent way…rendering the standards essentially useless. Others explored the business ramifications of sharing information: will it cost an organization a market advantage, trigger a legal liability or violate a privacy commitment? We seem to have hit the pause button in our enthusiasm to share intelligence….and yet we recognize the many benefits that would come from getting this right.
Identity: Passwords are dead (again) this year (we definitely want to drive a stake through the generic admin password, as do some 2017 breach sufferers!), but identity is very alive, with the discussion expanding well beyond people to machines, which need to be identified and secured, particularly given the rise in automation. We're working hard to manage, track and secure the interrelationships of everything—man and machine—throughout organizations, numbers that are exploding exponentially in a world of IoT. Answering the question of "who" before any exchange of information happens is our most important challenge as security practitioners—something our submitters argue can only be answered with a strong, trusted assurance of identity. But how do we best achieve this? This came through loud and clear as we read about innovative solutions and approaches to answering "who" in the cloud, on mobile devices, in the supply chain, and on the endpoint.
Infrastructure: Beyond the ICS attack focused submissions—or perhaps inspired by them?—we saw an uptick in conversations in and around the security of infrastructure. We also noted an up-tick in DNS and endpoint focused sessions. We saw a significant growth in submissions that explored software-defined perimeters, which explored DISA black net, Jericho, Zero Trust model, and Google BeyondCorp. This is something that has come up slightly in past years, but seems to have gained some more significant traction this year that may be a harbinger of things to come, with the real proof being we're seeing end users talk about it and not just vendors making promises around it. We also saw more conversation around patching, which we can probably attribute to successful ransomware campaigns and the Equifax breach (among others). This is another place where we've seen the automation word creep in—as well as a discussion about regulatory requirements—as we debate if patching should be mandatory or not.
GDPR, Risk Management & Resilience: GDPR—and the significant impact it (and perhaps other equally disruptive standards and policies to come) will have on organizations across the globe—was (no surprise!) a big theme in submissions this year, so significant we have a GDPR focused Monday seminar this year. Many vendors hopped on this bandwagon offering magical, one-of-a-kind silver bullet product solutions, but the voice of the end user came through submissions pointing to the larger implications and systemic changes across people and processes (more so than technology) needed within organizations to be compliant, which reminded us of a fantastic webinar from John Elliott, head of payment security at easyJet (which was a follow on to a very well-received presentation at RSAC Unplugged London 2017). The friction between privacy and data protection on one side rubbing against business enablement and customer engagement on the other side (we'll see blockchain, IoT and Artificial Intelligence play increasing roles in this conversation as the tug-a-war increases, which we saw early sparks of via the submissions)—with security in the middle, needing to satisfy all parties—was a definite theme. We also noted a significant increase in language around risk management and resilience (as opposed to compliance or even governance) and looking holistically at risk through a business lens, an orientation that seemed to pull many submissions around cyber insurance as well as cyber risk warranties, measuring the true cost of security, and security ratings (vendor code security, tool capabilities, etc). We seem to want to be able to measure and validate the effectiveness of security using the same sorts of measurement tools employed across business.
Workforce: Refreshingly, we also noticed a definite thread through the submissions that show we're concerned about our workforce, as individuals and as a unit. We're looking closely at what it takes to make a strong team that achieves the strongest possible security posture, recognizing that diversity of thought, background, age, gender, and experience is important. This is not just a man/woman thing, but a bigger conversation around diversity. Some pointed to the mainstream media coverage of the Equifax breach and the diversity of the backgrounds of executives there ("how could someone with a music degree possibly be in charge of security?") as tone deaf to the diverse backgrounds of our industry—backgrounds and different ways of thinking that make us stronger and more resilient. This led to a greater conversation in the submissions of what effective education and training is, both as a starting point and on a continuing basis. The NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework seemed to be mentioned a lot by our submitters as a way to quickly identify people best suited to perform specific security activities. We saw many submissions about outstanding programs across the globe targeted at helping specific populations be successful with careers in cybersecurity. We were so interested in the conversation—and celebration!—around diversity that we are developing a focused seminar around Securing Diversity for Monday at RSA Conference.
As usual, 10 is never enough to cover the trends that flowed through more than 2,100 submissions. We continued to note an uptick in quantum-focused submissions. We sensed some concern around lawful hacking, some pointing to recent cases they fear may make it harder to lawfully hack and not end up in prison. Likewise, there is a growing concern about geopolitics of research—are we going to discount some things just because of the area of the world it comes from ("balkanization" was used repeatedly)? We read about interesting digitization transformation journeys being embarked on. We heard your expressions of concern about making sure open source code—and as such the applications that use it more and more—is actually secure. Adding to that sense of insecurity, we noted the term "security debt" in an increasing number of applications.
At the end of the day, we were most intrigued and excited about submissions made by collaborators who first met at RSA Conferences and struck up relationships that blossomed into joint work and ongoing exchanges. The underlying theme of what RSA Conference really is about surfaced: the power of the community and the opportunity to gather face to face and exchange one with another as we work together to make the world a more secure place. We look forward to engaging with you this year!
Britta Glade
Senior Director, Content & Curation, RSA Conference
Blogs posted to the RSAConference.com website are intended for educational purposes only and do not replace independent professional judgment. Statements of fact and opinions expressed are those of the blog author individually and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, are not the opinion or position of RSA® Conference, RSA Security LLC or any other co-sponsors. RSA Conference does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy or completeness of the information presented in this blog.
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Tee off between 3.00 and 5.45 pm.
After your round you can order a light meal from Country Kitchen Cafe and go upstairs to the bar. The popular Joker draw returns, along with raffles.
Great way to finish the week. Come along and bring your mates.


Make playtime more enjoyable with the Grriggles Monkey's Fist Knot Rope! The rugged knots with long hands are great for tugging and tossing. Chewing twisted rope helps to clean dogs' teeth. Made from polycotton rope.
Click the button below to add the Monkey's Fist Knot Rope Toy to your wish list.


text:
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FileCategories (Catchis API Documentation)
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org.catechis.file

Class FileCategories

java.lang.Object
  org.catechis.file.FileCategories

All Implemented Interfaces:
Categories

public class FileCategories
extends java.lang.Object
implements Categories

* Replaced by FileWordCategoriesManager *
This class was created to create file specific methods to used categories or words.

This object is not threadsafe.

Field Summary

private  java.util.Vector
log

private  java.lang.String
root_path

Constructor Summary

FileCategories()

          This no args constructor is  to open up the utility methods for use.

FileCategories(java.lang.String _root_path)

          This constructor allows the root path to get files from.

Method Summary

 void
addCategory(java.lang.String category,
            java.lang.String root_path,
            java.lang.String user_name)

          A calling method has to know not to put the .xml on the end of the new
 file name, as in the future, we hope such thngs will be done in a db.

 void
append(java.util.Vector v)

 void
deleteCategory(java.lang.String category,
               java.lang.String root_path,
               java.lang.String user_name)

 java.util.Vector
getFilteredFiles(java.lang.String user_name,
                 java.lang.String file_type,
                 java.lang.String folder)

          This method takes a user name, a file extension type, such as xml or test,
 and a subfolder name, such as ../files/...

 java.util.Vector
getFilteredFiles2(java.lang.String user_name,
                  java.lang.String file_type,
                  java.lang.String folder,
                  java.lang.String encoding)

          This method takes a user name, a file extension type, such as xml or test,
 and a subfolder name, such as ../files/...

 java.lang.String
getFirstDate(Word word)

 java.util.Vector
getLog()

          deguggin

 java.util.ArrayList
getSortedKeys(java.util.Hashtable hash)

 java.util.Hashtable
getSortedWordCategories(java.lang.String user_name)

          The first argument can be used to distinguish between exclusive and non-exclusive
 categories.

 java.util.Hashtable
getSortedWordCategories2(java.lang.String user_name,
                         java.lang.String encoding)

          Returns a Hashtable with the keys as the first test date found by searching all the words
 for the earliest date of entry.

 java.util.Vector
getWords(java.lang.String file_name,
         java.lang.String folder,
         java.lang.String user_name)

          Returns a vector of Word objects gotten from JDOMSolution
The folder argument was included when we were considering creating a suv-folder
 for words, but we havent got there yet.

 void
writeDocument(java.lang.String file_name,
              org.jdom.Document doc)

          Write document with no encoding.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

log

private java.util.Vector log

root_path

private java.lang.String root_path

Constructor Detail

FileCategories

public FileCategories()

This no args constructor is  to open up the utility methods for use.

FileCategories

public FileCategories(java.lang.String _root_path)

This constructor allows the root path to get files from.

Method Detail

getSortedWordCategories

public java.util.Hashtable getSortedWordCategories(java.lang.String user_name)

The first argument can be used to distinguish between exclusive and non-exclusive
 categories.

Specified by:
getSortedWordCategories in interface Categories

getSortedWordCategories2

public java.util.Hashtable getSortedWordCategories2(java.lang.String user_name,
                                                    java.lang.String encoding)

Returns a Hashtable with the keys as the first test date found by searching all the words
 for the earliest date of entry.  The file name has the .xml extension attached.

getWords

public java.util.Vector getWords(java.lang.String file_name,
                                 java.lang.String folder,
                                 java.lang.String user_name)

Returns a vector of Word objects gotten from JDOMSolution
The folder argument was included when we were considering creating a suv-folder
 for words, but we havent got there yet.

Specified by:
getWords in interface Categories

getFilteredFiles

public java.util.Vector getFilteredFiles(java.lang.String user_name,
                                         java.lang.String file_type,
                                         java.lang.String folder)

This method takes a user name, a file extension type, such as xml or test,
 and a subfolder name, such as ../files/...

Thils leaves open the possibility of sub-folders.

Specified by:
getFilteredFiles in interface Categories

getFilteredFiles2

public java.util.Vector getFilteredFiles2(java.lang.String user_name,
                                          java.lang.String file_type,
                                          java.lang.String folder,
                                          java.lang.String encoding)

This method takes a user name, a file extension type, such as xml or test,
 and a subfolder name, such as ../files/...

Thils leaves open the possibility of sub-folders.

getFirstDate

public java.lang.String getFirstDate(Word word)

Specified by:
getFirstDate in interface Categories

getSortedKeys

public java.util.ArrayList getSortedKeys(java.util.Hashtable hash)

Specified by:
getSortedKeys in interface Categories

addCategory

public void addCategory(java.lang.String category,
                        java.lang.String root_path,
                        java.lang.String user_name)

A calling method has to know not to put the .xml on the end of the new
 file name, as in the future, we hope such thngs will be done in a db.

Previously we have kepy JDOM specific methods out of the interface-based
objects, but JDOMSolution has become huge, so it seemed like a better thing to
 do memory wise was just do some of the work here.  When we create, say

 a HibernateCategories object, it can implement addCategories any way it wants.

Specified by:
addCategory in interface Categories

deleteCategory

public void deleteCategory(java.lang.String category,
                           java.lang.String root_path,
                           java.lang.String user_name)

writeDocument

public void writeDocument(java.lang.String file_name,
                          org.jdom.Document doc)

Write document with no encoding.

getLog

public java.util.Vector getLog()

deguggin

append

public void append(java.util.Vector v)

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Copyleft © 2007


text:
News / Agusta probe: ED seeks info from Def Min and IT Deptt
Agusta probe: ED seeks info from Def Min and IT Deptt
12:59 PM, 5 May 2016
New Delhi: A file photo of AgustaWestland (AW101) VVIP Airforce Helicopter.
Photo – PTI
Furthering its probe in the alleged kickbacks received in the snapped VVIP chopper deal, the Enforcement Directorate have sought information from Union Defense ministry, along with Income Tax department and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The issue has already snowballed into political slugfest between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress party.
Targeting Congress party, Union Defence minister Manohar Parrikar had on Wednesday raised fingers at the pace of probe in previous regime.
According to the reports, the agency has sought property details on ten serving and retired officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Indian Air Force who had handled the procurement process of the AgustaWestland choppers at some point of their service.
It has also sought details from the IT department and the Department of Revenue's Financial Intelligence Unit to provide details of personal finances, transactions and investments made by some people suspected to have some connection to the case.
FILE: New Delhi: Former Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi arriving at the CBI headquarters in New Delhi on Monday, May 2, 2016 in connection with the alleged corruption in the 3,600 crore AgustaWestland choppers deal.
There are also reports that ED investigators have made some analysis of the probable identity of certain code names that has surfaced ever since Italian court order last week.
References have been made in the light of a hand written note by the alleged middlemen in AgustaWestland case, a document also brought on record by a Milan court which had sentenced Italian defence and aerospace major Finmeccanica's former chief Giuseppe Orsi and the former CEO of the firm Bruno Spagnolini on corruption charges in the sale of a dozen AgustaWestland helicopters to India for VVIP purposes.
Widening its probe in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, the ED has also begun a trail of "cash" which is suspected to have been paid as alleged kickbacks for the purchase of these helicopters from UK-based AgustaWestland.
The ED, in its charge sheet filed last year in a court, had claimed to have detected flow of alleged kickbacks sent from abroad to companies of the accused Gautam Khaitan and cousin brothers of the former IAF chief.
Former Air Force chief SP Tyagi had already been questioned by the CBI in connection with the AgustaWestland controversy.
(With inputs from the PTI)
AgustaWestland, AgustaWestland Controversy, CBI, Corruption, ED, Enforcement Directorate, Union Defense ministry, VVIP chopper


Home » Our Physicians » Derek West, D.O.
Dr. Derek West, a native Oklahoman, grew up in south Oklahoma City. He has enjoyed eighteen years of direct patient care in the field of orthopedics.
After graduating in 2001 from the OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, he returned to Oklahoma City to complete his internship and residency in Orthopaedic Surgery through Oklahoma State University. He received additional training in pediatrics from the Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio as well as training in trauma, total joint replacement, and shoulder and elbow surgery while rotating at Tampa General Hospital in Florida.
His comprehensive practice ranges from general orthopedics and trauma to sports medicine, joint replacement procedures, and shoulder & elbow surgery. Utilizing arthroscopic and minimally invasive techniques, patients benefit from smaller incisions, less pain, shorter rehabilitation periods, and an earlier return to activity.
Appointments are available at the main South OKC campus, located at 8100 S. Walker, as well as our Chickasha office.
Visit www.dwestortho.com to know more about Derek West, D.O.


In giving recommendations and also advise for health and fitness I locate my customers run the range from people concentrated on an individual plan, to health and wellness industry companies coordinating with companies to develop strategies sustaining the firm medical care benefit objectives. Both groups want the patterns associated with health and wellness for 2017. My listing this year consists of products from food to fashion;– right here is a snapshot view of what's hot in obtaining physical this year.
Fitbits and health-data monitoring watches started the pattern in wearables. Among the most up to date products in the market revealed at the current 2017 Customer Electronics Program( CES) is the 'The Welt", which appears like a natural leather belt yet it tracks users' waistline dimensions, consuming habits and steps, along with just how much time per day they spend taking a seat. The Welt deals with an application that develops a tailored health and also weight-loss strategy based on the users' own data.
You will additionally require the right shoes as well as the makers of Digitsoles hope you'll select their items to remain on track. Digitsole's products are another spin on fitness trackers with sensing units constructed into insoles as well as shoes, which can monitor steps taken and also calories burned. The company makes everyday-looking sneakers and also insoles that customers can hook up with their mobile phones to check the workout and even heat up the shoe!
When it concerns foods on the list eggs are moving from breakfast to meal events throughout the day. Spices and create remain to climb in intake as folks aim to new food experiences and also even more tasty dishes.
Though egg yolks have actually received a bad rap in the past for fat and also cholesterol material, it shows up the egg has actually been absolved. The 2015-2020 UNITED STATE Dietary Standards do not put a cap on egg consumption. Eggs can fit in a healthy diet regimen– they are an excellent source of healthy protein, as well as can be taken into consideration a meat substitute at a portion of the expense.
Eggs include 13 crucial minerals and vitamins consisting of Vitamin D, vital for bone health and wellness and immune function. Eggs consist of Choline, important for typical functioning of all cells, but specifically crucial during pregnancy to support healthy mind development of the unborn child. Eggs are additionally a good resource of Lutein and zeaxanthin, anti-oxidants that are believed to minimize the threat of establishing cataracts and slow the progression of age-related macular deterioration.
There has been a growing interest in flavors to taste as well as period foods. Turmeric a seasoning from the turmeric plant is yellow as well as commonly used in Eastern dishes and also curries. Google Trends 2016 indicates that this seasoning is a climbing star as well as will certainly continue to hold a put on the hot list.
Turmeric gives 26 percent of what's needed in manganese as well as 16 percent in iron, together with outstanding quantities, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin C and also magnesium. The enhancement of turmeric as a spice in a dish has been revealed to aid manage blood fat levels after a dish. Each of these is an advantage permanently wellness. For more info about health and fitness, click on this link to discover More.
Fruits and vegetables remain to be prominent things on the trend list. Raised usage of fruit and vegetables will enhance the intake of needed vitamins, minerals as well as fiber in the diet regimen. Veggies in the spotlight for the forthcoming year consist of colorful selections of standard veggies such as purple potatoes and asparagus. Cauliflower is likewise appearing in purple as well as bright yellow together with the typical luscious white variety. Jackfruit is getting a lot of buzz.
This is the tropical fruit that enrobes a meaty, rather starchy fleshed fruit inside an oblong, oval-shaped, eco-friendly pod. Jackfruit is versatile and can be part of the main course or treat. It is high in vitamin C, as well as B-complex vitamins. It is likewise high in nutritional fiber as well as can have a laxative impact.
Though this listing touches on a few of the patterns that are in emphasis for moving on with wellness goals in 2017, bear in mind that the bottom line is to pick what help you as well as obtain proposing far better health.


text:
The Harp: Engineering the Perfect Sound
Kiera Shepard	2019-01-10T11:18:19-08:00	April 17th, 2003|Electrical Engineering, Entertainment, Issue IV, Material Science, Volume V|0 Comments
About the Author: Lisa Chow
Lisa Chow is from Quincy, MA and at the time of writing this article, was a junior at the University of Southern California majoring in civil engineering.
The history of the harp goes back thousands of years. The harp is regarded as the world's oldest string instrument. It influenced the evolution of the piano, guitar, and violin. Engineering is the application of science to the art of problem solving; the harp has encompassed the ideals of engineering. Through many centuries, harp makers have been committed to satisfying the evolving demands of musicians by devoting themselves to improving the instrument's sound quality. Engineering developments in the harp's structural, mechanical, and ergonomic aspects have improved its sound and led to the creation of the single action harp, double action harp and electronic harps. Good engineering has helped create beautiful, soothing music that brings peace and tranquility to the people worn out by the demands of daily life.
Ingersoll/Wikimedia Commons
Figure 1: A medieval European harp.
Many do not consider the harp as an example of engineering advancement because it is not a typical technological development. Engineering is defined as the application of science to problem solving in practical scenarios. It is fascinating to note that the development of the harp has encompassed the ideals of good engineering. For many centuries, harp makers have been committed to satisfying the evolving demands of musicians through improvement in the instrument's sound quality.
Engineering developments in the harp's structure, mechanics, and ergonomics have improved the sound of the world's oldest string instrument (see Fig. 1); these changes were reflected in three major modifications of the harp since its inception. The first change occurred in the 1700s when pedals were added to the harp. This addition introduced the single action harp, which allowed the pitch of the instrument to be raised half a step. In the late 1700s, the harp was modified further and it was then possible not only to raise the pitch but also to lower it by half a step. The double action harp was invented in 1801 as a result of the need for a broader range of pitch. With the dawn of the computer age, the instrument was computerized in the 1980s leading to the creation of the pneumatic computerized harp. Figures 2 and 4 are examples of songs played on a harp (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 4).
Anatomy of the Harp
The harp consists of three basic structural components: the strings, the resonator (also known as the soundboard) and the neck [1]. Principles behind the musical string are simply an "ageless phenomenon of physics" [2]. When a string is plucked, it will continue to vibrate until its energy is depleted. As the string vibrates, it causes the air around it to move. The soundboard acts as a wall and causes a mass of air to move and translate the massive waves of sound pressure into the beautiful sounds of the instrument.
While all the strings have the same function, different types of strings produce varying frequencies just as the different types of reed in woodwind instruments produce different sounds. Thinner and lighter strings, which vibrate more rapidly and produce higher tones, are located near the shoulder of the harp while the thicker and heavier strings, which vibrate slower and produce lower tones, are located near the forepillar of the harp [2]. The strings are made out of gut, except for the heaviest of the bass strings, which contain copper wound over a silk core. The strings must be tensioned in order to produce music and the soundboard and neck are the mechanisms that achieve this. One end of the string is attached to the soundboard and the other end is attached to the neck directly with special knots or indirectly to fixed plugs, movable tuning-pegs, or tuning rings.
Stepping It Up
Susan Ottzen
Figure 2: The "Bridal Chorus" performed on harp by Susan Ottzen. (Audio)
Those who are familiar with the harp may be surprised to discover that the pedals are not considered a fundamental component of the harp. The reason for this is that pedals were not added to the harp until the 1700s. The addition of the seven pedals was a result of growing demands from harpists for an instrument that was capable of a broader range of pitch. These seven pedals introduced the single action harp to the music world. This move towards the single action harp, something comparable in its effect to the invention of the MP3 player in our times, was considered a great progression towards improving the sound of the harp. The seven pedals built into the base of the harp could raise the pitch by half a step. For instance, if the harp were tuned to C-flat, then depressing the pedal would raise the C strings to C-natural.
The pedals were connected to metal rods, which passed through the forepillar to the top where the chromatic action was housed inside the curved neck. The action of the pedal moved a long semi-flexible steel strip laterally along the length of the action. Attached to the strip, at each octave, was a crank that pulled the string onto a fret by means of an adjustable crochet, a hook mechanism. The crochet regulated the raising of the pitches by moving horizontally inwards towards the neck where it shortened and tightened the string when the pedal was depressed. A higher pitch was produced as a result of the increased string tension (see flash demo). With the range of pitches the single action harp was now able to achieve, one would think that harpists and music listeners would be satisfied. This, however, was not true.
Illumin
Play the harp interactive flash demo. (Flash)
Musical Complications
The introduction of the seven pedals did not solve all the problems and concerns that the harpists had with the instrument. In fact, it caused new problems: The hollow forepillar and neck, now hollowed and straightened to house the metal rods, made the harp extremely weak. The weak neck and the staved body meant that string tension had to be lower, which affected the maximum sound potential. The sonority of the strings became dull and buzzing began to occur due to the lower string tension. Furthermore, harpists were looking for the ability to not only raise the pitch but also lower the pitch half a step. Once again, instrument makers were relied upon to come up with practical solutions to address these concerns.
Achieving Perfection: the Double Action Harp
Sebastian Erard, an ingenious instrument maker and businessman, presented practical solutions that "represented a radical change in the construction of the single action harp" [1]. A new body design was introduced. The soundboard was made stronger by building it in two parts: a rounded back reinforced by internal ribs [1].
Secondly, a new neck design also improved strength and stability. The action that was originally in the neck was now housed in a pair of brass plates and mounted to the neck. Moreover, the use of laminated wood added strength to allow for a longer string life and an improvement in the evenness of string tension. The really revolutionary feature of Erard's modifications was his design of the "fork" system. He replaced the crochet with two brass prongs mounted on rotary discs, which produced a smaller displacement and reduced string breakage. Under this mechanism, when the pedal is depressed, the axis rotates to bring the prongs into firm contact with the string, thus tightening it. This modification also solved the problem of buzzing strings.
Even with the great modifications of the harp, musicians were not happy with it. "In spite of mechanical and constructional improvements, musicians and harp makers alike were dissatisfied with the tonal and modulatory limitations' of the single action harp" [1]. A complicated design of fourteen pedals that could play in all keys was briefly examined to solve the tonal limitations. The design, however, was too complicated and inefficient to satisfy harp makers and harpists. It involved placing another set of seven pedals below the existing set, something very inconvenient for a harpist trying to operate fourteen pedals with two feet.
The Double Action Harp
The changes Erard implemented on the single action harp paved the way for his invention of the double action harp in 1801. Erard's double action harp was an example of using very simple mechanics to produce a complicated motion. The result was simple, elegant and mechanically logical. Based on his "fork" system, Erard's double action harp consisted of seven pedals where each could be depressed twice. Each string passed between two fork-bearing discs that were placed one above the other.
Clorox/Wikimedia Commons
Figure 3: The pedal can cause changes in the string that cause the resulting sound to be flat, natural, or sharp. Here, the string's tip is shown in blue. The red points represent points in contact with the string. The green points represent points not in contact with the string.
When the pedal is depressed into its first notch, the upper disc turns so that the prongs grip the string and raise the pitch by half a step, while the lower disc turns about 45 degrees but does not touch the string. When the pedal is depressed into the second notch, the lower prongs turn an additional 35 degrees, grip the string and raise the pitch by another half step. The addition of the second set of rotary discs, allowed the harp to be sharpened to two semitones, from flat to natural to sharp, making the harp capable of producing any key (see Fig. 3).
The double action harp became the standard for harp players and orchestras. Harp makers implemented ergonomic modernizations to the double action harp that made it even easier for harpists to play. While the traditional length of the strings and overall height of the forepillar were retained, the height of the harp at the neck near the highest strings was lowered.
This permitted the harpist's arms and hands to be held in a more comfortable lower position while playing the uppermost strings [1]. Harp makers also introduced a progressive gradation for the angle of the strings to one another in a manner that made the angle between the harpist's fingers and the strings remain the same from the middle to the highest range of the harp [1].
The Computer Age
Figure 4: The song "Don't get around much anymore" performed on harp by Susan Ottzen. (Audio)
As computers started to dominate all aspects of life, musical instruments, including the harp, were not left untouched. A "memory" harp moved the oldest string instrument into the computer age in the 1980s. The "memory" harp was a pneumatic, computerized harp that had a laser-made, pinch-type mechanism. This mechanism allowed a small computer to organize the function of the pedals by allowing the harpist to record the pedal moves needed in order to perform a particular piece of music and program this information onto a card about the size of a credit card. Later on, the touching of only one pedal would cause one or several pedals, as they were needed, to be moved.
In addition, the electronic MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) Harp was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like a keyboard, the MIDI harp could be programmed to sound like any instrument; a musician could pluck a string and make it sound like a flute or even like the harp. The MIDI harp however had a disadvantage; the sound was too "electronic". It did not have the acoustics of a real harp. As a result of the poor sound, the GigaHarp was developed in 1999. The GigaHarp allowed the electronic harp to replicate high quality harp sounds through any MIDI keyboard. These technological developments transform the harp, "one of the oldest of musical instruments, into one of the newest of the twenty-first century" [3].
The harp has gone through many modifications and advancements to perfect the sound quality and to satisfy harpists. These improvements are examples of applying the principles of engineering to solve problems related to sound quality, structural stability, mechanical efficiency, and ergonomics. In thinking of the scope of engineering being limited to just inventing sophisticated gadgets to perform astonishing feats, we may often overlook the fact that good engineering appears in even the most artistic endeavors such as music. The harp is a prime example of scientific applications used to improve and produce the beautiful and soothing music of a musical instrument that for 5000 years has been able to bring serenity to those who are frazzled by the demands of daily life.
[1] S. Sadie."Harp." [/i]The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.[/i] Ed. 2nd ed. Vol. 10. United Kingdom: Macmillan Publishers, 2001, pp. 881-923.
[2] R. H. Siminoff. The Luthier's Handbook: A Guide to Building Great Tone in Acoustic Stringed Instruments.Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002, pp. 52-53.
[3] R. Rensch. Harps & Harpists. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989.
[4] G. Garritan. "History of Harps." Internet: http://www.harps.com/history.html, [Mar. 1, 2003].
[5] A. Hopkins. Sounds of the Orchestra. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
[6] The Historical Harp Society. "Pedal Harp." Internet: http://www.historicalharps.org, [Mar. 1, 2003].


How long has Fred Glynn lived in Carmel? I moved here in 1992. Why? A company transfer and my boss advised me to "stay out of Fishers – the traffic is terrible." Also, the schools were good and resale value high.
The town? No much to speak of – a lumberyard and elevator company on Main Street. Carmelot was the main park and soon closed.
In 1995 we elected a mayor with vision. Carmel has grown in numbers and in businesses and in beauty and in roundabouts and in performing arts and in Monon Trails and in the Monon Community Center and in Central Park and in the Christkindlmarkt with skating rink and in City Center and in public art.
It is insulting to assume people who voted for Brainard only have "name identification" to go on. My property taxes are lower than my friends in Westfield and Fishers, and I rarely have a reason to go north of 146th Street or south of 96th Street. I love living in Carmel and have "adulation" for our mayor who has made our city better every year he has been our mayor.
I hope everyone will join me on May 7 to re-elect our visionary Mayor Jim Brainard.


So the journey began. I had always kept track of my email on holidays (not obsessively in my opinion) but in moderation to see if there were critical items that needed to be addresses by me. I mainly did this so that I did not have to spend one to two days digging out of a huge inbox collection that would build up while I was away. I also wanted to make sure that nothing was dropped while I was away and there would not be a huge issue awaiting for me upon my return.
As I was closing out items on my last day before holiday I went through the usual processes. I setup my out of office message informing anyone who contacted me via email that I would be unable to respond until I returned and to contact our main office if it was an emergency. I discussed with my team outstanding items and gave them my personal email address to contact me in case there was an extreme emergency. I went through my items in progress, help desk tickets and outstanding sales items. Everything was ready for the transition, except I received an emergency call from a client 20 minutes before the cutoff point. I started to work the issue and gave as much assistance as I could before rapidly writing notes to pass along to another sales engineer.
I received the personal email that my account was disabled. I immediately checked my accounts and sure enough, there was no access. Many things went through my head at this point. I could login with the admin account and simply turn my account back on with no one noticing. But in the spirit of the experiment I resisted this temptation. I did see that I still had access to my Skype and help desk accounts so I can check moderate things but overall my main email was now locked.
After going through the entire night without email I awoke with a bit of panic. My usual morning routine is to clear out the email items that have collected the night before, issue responses and in general give a little maintenance to my inbox. It felt really unnatural to not start my day with an activity that I almost religiously do.
My wife was enjoying her morning coffee and in our conversation I kept bringing up the fact that I could not check in on things and did not know the status of certain items. My wife especially enjoyed seeing me squirm as she is very appreciative of the experiment. After about an hour or so, I started to do other tasks around the house and my mind slowly forgot about my earlier panic. By noon I was easing into holiday mode and things were getting easier and easier to forget.
By the time that dinner rolled around I started to feel the need to check on items. I work about an 8 hour time difference from our head office and the early afternoon to evening is when the most activity occurs for me. Again it really felt like an out of body experience. I actually opened my iPad and pulled my inbox down in hopes that a refresh would magically happen. It did not.
I awoke the second day still missing my morning routine but today came with more ease. Thoughts of checking entered and left my mind with not much distraction during my day. Since we did not have internet at the house where we were staying, I was only reminded of checking when my wife's sister's kids complained about not being able to check Facebook or download the latest app for their phone or iPad. We did go into town for dinner this evening and there was WiFi at the restaurant and made you could tell. EVERYONE had their phones out and were taking pictures of the dinner, posting them to Facebook and other services. Which makes me ask the question. Is is more important to have proof you did something than actually doing it?
I did not bring my phone but forgot that I had my Skype account installed on my wife's phone. When she connected to the WiFi there was a message on that account. We argued about me checking it but I defended this by saying that I was still on the hook for personal email and did not have access the majority of the time and a Skype message counted as reaching out through personal mediums for a response. It turned out to be a client that I have a very good connection with (we had done business when he was on holiday earlier this year). He had a simple question that needed to be answered. I responded to him via personal email explaining my email situation and that I could get a response in the next 2 hours if he emailed me his question. He simply responded "It's OK, it is not urgent and we will address it next week. Have a good vacation." At that point my mind was completely put at ease that if the most crucial clients accepted I was away then everyone else probably did as well.
Bliss. Really that is all I can say. Things finally reached normality again and it felt like when I was a kids (when there was not or very, very, very, unbearably slow internet. Think BBS boards). We spent all of our time outside enjoying the weather at a nearby lake. We created games from imaginations and surroundings as well as remembering a few old games (for those of you who don't know CUPS [not the printing service] ours was not as polished as the video though). Basically it felt like summer holiday should be. We also had some of the kids mention that they had not been able to have real conversations because either they or their parents were on their phone or tablet most of the time at home. There has been a recent video going viral on the web that I think does a very good job illustrating this point "I Forgot my Phone". A large family cookout that night making Hungarian Gulyás certainly washed away any thoughts of checking email.
Anxiety. I thought I would wake up to the same euphoria that I had experienced the previous day but that was not the case. I had an uneasy feeling of anxiety about what was going to be waiting for me upon my return. Was there some big issue that needed my attention that had festered for a few days and was not wildly out of control? Was there a client with an issue that was probably small but due to my holiday causing additional wait time made their mood needlessly sour upon my return. Don't get me wrong, my last day was still great but in the back of my mind I always had these feelings of anxiety creeping in.
As expected my inbox was stuffed full like a turkey on Thanksgiving.
Inbox count 1,186. That may seem extreme to most but keep in mind that part of my job is systems administration and I received a lot of status emails from the various services whether they are running correctly, have a warning or an error still report via email. All told when the service emails were weeded out I was down to about 350 meaningful messages. I had considered the "Email Bankruptcy"technique that Wired Magazine suggested but thought that was a bit extreme. Instead I took the time tested approach of pruning and prioritizing.
Outlook Conversation Mode:The next task was how to make sure I answered the most pressing issues first. I found that Microsoft Outlook's conversation mode made things MUCH clearer to see as I did not have to go through all the responses of an important email to the "all" list in order to see the root issue and if it applied to me. At this point I found that there were actually about 41 emails that needed my direct attention that day.
Set filters and use flags: As an admin, I already had many filters in place so the most mundane emails could be deleted without needing to be read (systems logs, software updates, notifications). I then used flags to highlight the most important emails for the first day back, the next few days and answer by the end of the week at a minimum.
Let the senders of critical items know there will be a delay: The first step at this point was that I emailed the most crucial saying that I would be a bit delayed in my response due to my backlog from my time off. Not something I normally do but after reading tips, this seemed like a good idea.
Work through your critical items with your inbox window minimized and incoming notifications turned off: Next were the items that I considered to be "on fire"The client that was having the issue had accepted that I was away and was OK with waiting a few days for a response (not the big deal I made it out to be in my head). The problem was that my train of thought was constantly being interrupted by newly arriving items. The solution was to simply minimize the inbox window and turn off all new message notifications. I found my concentrate and ability to process responses rapidly increased.
I was able to dig out to a relatively stable status in about 2 hours. I am sure things could be faster when I do this process again as I was doing things for the first time but all in all it was not that bad.
There are a few things that I noticed that I could do to minimize the impact of the email backlog the next time I am away. Here are some things that I will try in the future to reduce the total amount of email.
Unsubscribe or remove useless email: I received a LOT of systems log updates and over the years I have been added to many mailing lists in my company to the point where I am receiving duplicates of mail messages. On a daily basis this is not bad, I just do a quick delete when they come in and move on with my day. However I am starting to take the Apple approach to notifications on this issue. If something is alright and there is no need to give it attention, should I receive a notification? I don't think so. This is what monitoring applications and services are for. I plan to get a service like Nagios fully configured for all our services and if I want to know if something is OK, I can GO THERE and see that the service is up and running instead of clogging my inbox. I really only need to be notified if something is wrong or about to cause an error. I will also be unsubscribing from the long list of online stores that I have ordered things from over the years. Their ad emails keep clogging my inbox needlessly.
Take the same process I used on my return and apply it daily or at least a few times a week: There were many efficiency items that I discovered upon my return and they effectively let me minimize the time I spent in my inbox. I will apply some to my daily routine but I also thought about using the entire process on returns from shorter breaks (think Monday morning after you weekend break). This might relieve some of the anxiety in the future when I go on holiday as there would not be as much backlog when I return.
Overall I have to say that the experiment was a success. I learned a lot about the habits I keep as well as many things I could improve in my daily processes to be a more efficient user of email. It was not easy, that I have to say, but it was needed and in the end I became better because of it. There are a few items to address for the next time I do this experiment of if others try it.
Always on society – this is a bigger issue than I want to tackle here but it became pretty apparent that when you are unplugged for a few days you really see it from the outside looking in. How much is enough connectivity and too much. The lines are blurred but a total disconnect really makes it apparent. The video I posted earlier demonstrates this very well "I Forgot my Phone".
Fear and anxiety you will be needed for a critical task and not available or worse yet someone creates more work by doing it wrong a different way.
Digging out upon return – It was not as bad as I assumed and the majority of my email was filled with useless notifications. Unsubscribing and trimming down this set should make for a more manageable inbox on a daily basis as well as when returning from a long trip.
The feeling that you are not needed – when you leave and your projects run smoothly and clients are happy this should be a good feeling. When you return and you ask how everything went and your office response "just fine". This again should be a good feeling. However there is a side affect to all your hard work and preparation, you feel like you are no longer needed and anyone could do your job. This is obviously not true but there is something in the subconscious that creates this feeling similar to the Andy Griffith Show where Opie and Andy are left as housekeepers when Aunt Bee goes on a trip to Mount Pilot.
What to do with admins that have access to the Exchange server to prevent the temptation to login via RDP and reset their password or unlock their account?
What about forwarding their email before their access is shutoff to a private account and communicating that way?
Access to other services that don't communication via email, IE web services?
How do priority items filter through when your email account is shut off?


Two weeks ago, at the 20th anniversary celebration of Democracy Now!, Noam Chomsky reminded the crowd that, despite the astounding toxicity of the US presidential campaign and the disheartening election of Donald Trump, there are still important signs of hope and change - as exemplified by the historic mobilization of indigenous peoples at Standing Rock and the enormous energy for progressive change, propelled largely by young people, that coalesced around the candidacy of Bernie Sanders.
In a similar vein, amidst Brazil's current political turmoil, with its alarming trends of backsliding on environmental protection and human rights, there are positive signs of change. A case in point is that indigenous peoples and other grassroots movements in the Amazon, with support from their allies, are strengthening alliances to their defend their rivers and rights in the face of an unprecedented wave of planned hydroelectric dams and destructive mega-projects in the transportation, mining and agribusiness sectors.
Over the past few weeks, the capital city of Brasilia has been the stage for various events that highlighted such strength and unity. First, a delegation of Munduruku representatives – after travelling three days by bus from the Tapajós river – staged a series of protests and engaged government officials, demanding the demarcation of a traditional territory known as Sawre Muybu or Daje Kapap Epi. Significant portions of the territory would be flooded by the huge São Luiz do Tapajós Dam, which was suspended by the federal environmental agency, IBAMA, last August. Though the project was cancelled, various politicians, bureaucrats and powerful corporate actors have not yet given up on it.
Several Munduruku stayed on in Brasilia the following week to meet with indigenous leaders and representatives of other grassroots movements from the Madeira, Tapajós, Xingu and Tocantins rivers. Activities were centered around a seminar in Congress entitled "Hydroelectric Dams in the Amazon: Socio-Environmental Conflicts and Alternatives." The event was organized by the Panamazonian Rivers Alliance and other civil society networks working on infrastructure, energy and climate justice issues, in conjunction with the environmental commission (CMADS) of the lower house of Congress, with active support from International Rivers.
Three thematic sessions focused on key issues: chronic problems in the planning and licensing of dams; the socio-environmental responsibility of financial actors (especially the Brazilian Development Bank – BNDES); and sustainable energy alternatives to destructive dams. The event allowed affected and dam-threatened peoples to raise their voices in Brasilia in a public event that involved direct encounters with government authorities whose decisions directly affect their lives.
At the end of the seminar, over 40 movements, networks and organizations issued a public declaration with demands that included "suspension of all new dams in the Amazon as a means to avoid further social and environmental damage that has reached the level of ethnocide and ecocide". At the same time, participants called for "the democratization of national energy planning, allowing for better solutions for energy efficiency and the production and distribution of energy, meeting the legitimate needs of the Brazilian people, including Amazonian communities, with technological innovation and generation of jobs and income".
On the evening prior to the seminar in Congress, we held a special event to premier "Belo Monte: After the Flood," the new documentary co-produced by International Rivers with award-winning filmmaker Todd Southgate, Amazon Watch and Cultures of Resistance. The event was a huge success. Todd and several leaders from the Xingu who appear in the film were present, including Antônia Melo from Movimento Xingu Vivo, and Giliarde Juruna. Actors and celebrities involved in the movement to protect rivers and river defenders in the Amazon also joined the film, launch, including Maria Paula Gontijo, who served as emcee, and Victor Fasano.
"Belo Monte: After the Flood" is intended as a tool for raising public awareness about the egregious social and environmental consequences of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River. By telling the stories of the affected people, we hope to strengthen grassroots opposition to similar boondoggles elsewhere in the Amazon. Recently, the film was awarded the Popular Jury Award for best film at Cineamazonia, the most prestigious film festival in the Amazon and one of the most important in Latin America.
Besides the public events, indigenous leaders and other grassroots activists from the Madeira, Xingu, Tapajos and Tocantins basins and their allies gathered for internal meetings to discuss strategies for strengthening the alliance to protect rivers in Amazonia. Members of the "Regional Coalition for Transparency and Participation," a civil society network engaged in issues related to infrastructure projects, banks and governance, also participated in internal meetings and the seminar in Congress, through representatives from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Visit the Facebook page for news on the film "Belo Monte: After the Flood"
Visit the website for "Belo Monte: After the Flood"


text:
Inside Smithsonian Research, 2003-2009
Includes a record set of the publication "Inside Smithsonian Research," which documents research in art, history, and science at the Smithsonian. The publication was formerly known as the newsletter "Smithsonian Insitution Research Reports" (1972-2003). Some publications also include a reference set available to researchers. Contact the SIA Reference Staff for further information.
Chronologic
Non-circulating record set of publications. Permanently closed
Unrestricted reference set of publications. Open
Museums--Public relations
Serials (publications)
2 cu. ft. unprocessed holdings


Here's an open data story that might sound a bit counterintuitive.
Last month a multinational company was negotiating with an African government to buy an asset. The company, which already owned some of the asset but wanted to increase its stake, said the extra part was worth $6 million. The government's advisers said it was worth at least three times that. The company disputed that. The two sides met for two days and traded arguments, sometimes with raised voices, but the meeting broke up inconclusively.
A week later, half way round the world, the company's headquarters issued a new investor presentation. Like all publicly listed companies, its release was filed with the appropriate stock market regulator, and sent out by email newsletter. Where a government adviser picked it up. In it, the company advertised to investors how it had increased the value of its asset – the asset discussed in Africa – by four times in 18 months, and gave a valuation of the asset now. Their own valuation, it turned out, was indeed roughly three times the $6 million the company had told the government it was worth. Probably, the negotiators were not in touch with the investor relations people. But the end result was that the company had blown its negotiating position because, in effect, as a whole institution, it didn't think a small African government could understand disclosure practise on an international stock market, subscribe to newsletters, or read their website.
The moral of the story is: we need to expand the way we think about governments and open data. In the existing paradigm, governments are seen as the targets of advocacy campaigns, to release data they hold for public good, and enact legislation which binds themselves, and others, to release. Civil society tries hunts for internal champions within government, international initiatives (EITI, OGP etc) seek to bind governments in to emergent best practise, and investigative journalists and whistleblowers highlight the need for better information by dramatic cases of all the stuff that goes wrong and is covered up.
And all of that is as it should be.
But what we see regularly in our work at OpenOil is that there is also huge potential to engage government – at all levels – as users of open data. Officials in senior positions are sitting day after day, month after month, trying to make difficult decisions, under the false impression that they have little or no data. Often they don't have clear understanding and access to data produced by other parts of their own government, and they are unaware of the host of broader datasets and systems. Initiatives like EITI which were founded to serve the public interest in data around natural resources have found a new and receptive audience in various government departments seeking to get a joined up view of their own data.
And imagine if governments were regular and systematic users of open data and knowledge systems, how it might affect their interaction with advocacy campaigns. Suddenly, this would not be a one way street – governments would be getting something out of open data, not just responding to what, from their perspective, often seems like the incessant demands of activists. It could become more of a mutual backscratching dynamic.
There is a paradox at the heart of much government thinking about information. In institutions with secretive cultures, there can be a weird ellipsis of the mind in which information which is secret must be important, and information which is open must be, by definition, worthless. Working on commercial analysis of assets managed by governments, we often find senior officials who believe they can't make any progress because their commercial partners, the multinationals, hold all the data and don't release it. While it is true that there is a stark asymmetry of information, we have half a dozen cases where the questions the government needed to answer could be addressed by data downloadable from the Internet. You have to know where to look of course. But it's not rocket science. In one case, a finance ministry official had all the government's "secret" data sitting on his laptop but we decided to go ahead and model a major mining project using public statements by the company anyway because the permissions needed from multiple departments to show the data to anyone else, let alone incorporate them in a model which might be published, would take months or years.
Of course reliance on open data is likely to leave gaps and involves careful questions of interpretation. But our experience is that these have never been "deal breakers" – we have never had to abandon an analytical project because we couldn't achieve good enough results with public data. Because the test of any analytical project is not "is it perfect?" but "does it take us on from where we are now, and can we comfortably state what we think the margins of error are?".
The potential is not confined to the Global South. Government at all levels and in all parts of the world could benefit greatly from more strategic use of open data. And it is in the interest of the open data movement to help them.
Johnny West is director of OpenOil, a Berlin-based consultancy which uses open data and methodologies to build investment-grade financial and commercial analysis for governments and societies of their natural resource assets. He sits on the Advisory Board of FAST, the only open source financial modelling standard, is an alumnus of the Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship and serves a member of the Open Knowledge International Board of Directors.


Dewlance® Webmaster Forum / Web Hosting Forum / Web Hosting Forum / Why price is going down?
Price of server and hosting is now really cheap, how they make profit and why many companies is closing?
RE: Why price is going down?
Company close due to many reason, If it is not related to personal reason then other reason is lack of care, not focusing on customer care, server monitoring, etc and they don't have a good business plan.
They only start business without proper business plan.


text:
Q: If $a ^ 2 + b ^ 2 + c ^ 2 - ab - bc - ca = 0$ then find the value of $(a ^ 2)/(b ^ 2) + (b ^ 2)/(c ^ 2) + (c ^ 2)/(a ^ 2) - (a ^ 2)/(bc)$ The question is
$$\frac{a ^ 2}{b ^ 2} + \frac{b ^ 2}{c ^ 2}+\frac{c ^ 2}{a^ 2}-\frac{a ^ 2}{bc} $$
How to solve the above question using simple identities?

A: Leading on from the comment posted, $a = b = c$ implies that one of the variables can equal all the other variables.
Therefore:
$\frac{a^2}{b^2} + \frac{b^2}{c^2} + \frac{c^2}{a^2} - \frac{a^2}{bc} = \frac{a^2}{a^2} + \frac{b^2}{b^2} + \frac{c^2}{c^2} - \frac{a^2}{a^2} = 1 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 2$
Note: For $\frac{a^2}{bc}$, making $a$ equal to both $b$ and $c$ gives you $\frac{a^2}{a^2}$, which equals $1$.

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Corporate Information – E2K Engineering Ltd.
Since 2007, E2K Engineering Ltd. has provided professional engineering and materials testing services to a variety of satisfied clients, during which time E2K has developed a reputation for providing quality service, resourcefulness, and ingenuity to a myriad of project challenges. During this time, E2K has maintained professional standards using sound design principles and practical alternatives. E2K's geotechnical services commonly include geotechnical engineering, geological hazard assessments, subsurface investigations, construction inspection, slope stability assessments, septic field evaluations, retaining wall design, mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall design, pile design and site inspection services. E2K also completes environmental assessments, dam safety reviews, project management and site survey using both standard techniques and aerial drone technology.
E2K provides quality engineering services to the residential, commercial and industrial sectors throughout Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan with offices in both Calgary and Edmonton. A satellite office in Canmore, Alberta allows us to service our clients located within the Bow Valley Corridor, Banff and Lake Louise. E2K has CCIL certified soils and materials testing laboratories in both Calgary and Edmonton which allows E2K to provide accurate testing of soil and concrete while completing timely reporting of results province-wide.
Our Mission Statement is to continually provide "value engineering with practical solutions" to our clientele without compromising engineering standards.
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