The Outbreak Observatory team traveled to St. Louis, Missouri this week to present some of our recent work at this year's NACCHO Preparedness Summit. The Preparedness Summit is an annual gathering that engages public health, healthcare, and emergency preparedness professionals from across the US on a variety of ongoing and emerging health and security issues. Speakers, presenters, and attendees share challenges and lessons to increase national preparedness for a broad scope of threats, ranging from infectious disease outbreaks and bioterrorism to natural disasters to radiological and nuclear incidents. The theme for this year's event, "The Emerging Threat Environment," provided a backdrop for our team to share findings from recent observations and engage with potential partners for future research.
For this week's post, we will spotlight the Outbreak Observatory presentations at this year's Preparedness Summit.
On Wednesday, March 27, representatives from the Outbreak Observatory team hosted a panel titled, "Improving Preparedness through the Conduct and Application of Operational Research: Two Jurisdictions' Experiences Working with the Outbreak Observatory," moderated by Outbreak Observatory's Lead Analyst, Diane Meyer. Outbreak Observatory's Principal Investigator, Jennifer Nuzzo, opened the session with an overview of Outbreak Observatory, including the impetus behind the original concept, our guiding principles and priority topic areas, and our work over the past year. Joining us in this session were two of the primary collaborators on recent Outbreak Observatory observations. Syra Madad represented the New York City Health+Hospitals (NYCH+H) healthcare system, and she discussed the challenges faced by the NYCH+H network during the severe 2017-18 influenza season. Sarah Koeller, from the Chester County Health Department (Pennsylvania) discussed their experience with a 2018 mumps outbreak that primarily affected an immigrant and non-English-speaking population.
Both Dr. Madad and Ms. Koeller also provided insight into their experience engaging with the Outbreak Observatory, including the benefits we were able to provide over the course of our collaborations. Dr. Madad highlighted Outbreak Observatory's role in facilitating candid discussions with NYCH+H personnel across multiple facilities and identifying deficiencies that led directly to changes for the 2018-19 influenza season. Ms. Koeller noted that Outbreak Observatory participated in Chester County's after-action debrief, including lines of questioning and topics that they would not have identified on their own. Additionally, Outbreak Observatory provided support in estimating the cost of response activities, which prompted Chester County to incorporate cost and resource tracking processes into response plans for future outbreak investigations.
Attendees engaged actively in a brief discussion after the conclusion of our panelists' presentations. Several attendees expressed interest in the type of research that Outbreak Observatory conducts, including the potential for conducting observations in the midst of outbreak responses. Additionally, multiple attendees asked about the possibility of expanding our focus to other aspects of response, including pertinent challenges such as vaccine hesitancy and exercise evaluation.
The Outbreak Observatory also shared the work from two projects via posters presented on Thursday, March 28. The first poster, "New York City Health+Hospitals' 2017-18 Seasonal Influenza Response," shared a more detailed look at the findings from the collaboration with NYCH+H introduced by Dr. Madad at Wednesday's panel. The second poster was titled "Responding to Outbreaks of Hepatitis A in US Cities- Lessons, Challenges, and Opportunities," and it focused on the findings from an observation, conducted in collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), to investigate the operational challenges facing various jurisdictions responding to outbreaks associated with the nationwide hepatitis A epidemic. Outbreak Observatory aims to publish the full findings and recommendations for both of these observations in the peer-reviewed literature over the coming months.
The NACCHO Preparedness Summit is the perfect venue for us to spread the word about Outbreak Observatory and to share our operational findings with one of our primary target audiences, the on-the-ground public health, healthcare, and emergency preparedness practitioners who plan and implement outbreak response operations. The Preparedness Summit also provides and excellent opportunity for us to identify organizations and individuals who are interested in partnering with Outbreak Observatory in future outbreaks. In fact, we met Ms. Koeller at the 2018 Preparedness Summit, just a few months before they identified the mumps outbreak that she discussed on our Wednesday panel. We are grateful for the opportunity to share our insights with such an attentive audience, and we are excited for the chance to introduce Outbreak Observatory to a broader audience and speak with individuals who may have new operational lessons that they would like to share.


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Home»Document Library»Literature Review on the Impact of Public Access to Information and Communication Technologies
Literature Review on the Impact of Public Access to Information and Communication Technologies
Araba Sey, Michelle Fellows
Full text [PDF - 354 KB] - 27 pages
What evidence exists on the impacts of shared public access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)? Governments, NGOs and entrepreneurs in developing countries have invested significantly in shared modes of access to ICTs (such as public libraries, telecentres and internet cafés), but to what effect? This review from the Center for Information and Society identifies and assesses empirical evidence on: (1) venue performance and sustainability; (2) users: (3) usage patterns; and (4) downstream impacts. Most of the literature evaluates process rather than impact. Solid evidence of impact remains elusive, and the evidence that does exist is mixed.
ICTs are believed to be important in socioeconomic development, but resource constraints in developing nations limit ICT access. Public access ICT initiatives have therefore emerged. Given that many of these have fallen out of use, however, (and that mobile phones are increasingly available), the value of such initiatives is being questioned. An added complication is that it is difficult for individuals in developing countries to convert access to ICTs into tangible benefits because of other environmental constraints.
Available research suggests that public access venues are not fulfilling their potential in terms of achieving sustainability, reaching disadvantaged populations and bringing about noticeable socioâ€Â?economic change. Findings on downstream impacts are inconclusive – some studies find that impacts are high in areas such as development of ICT skills, job creation and civic engagement, while others find limited impacts. Existing evidence suggests that:
Sustainability is a key challenge: The financial success of public access venues is associated with factors including management effectiveness, location, local demand, new service development, locally relevant services, external links and networking.
Users are largely 'middle class' young men: Most users are young men of relatively high socio-economic status, who are relatively well-educated and already have access to the Internet at other locations. (However, usage on behalf of others should also be taken into account.) Limited usage in rural areas is attributed to failure to make the service relevant to the community.
Most usage is for social and personal purposes: Main uses are communicating with friends and family, entertainment, doing homework, and developing computer skills. Usage may increase in times of crisis, however, such as natural disasters.
There is no apparent impact on social equity: Public access to ICTs does not seem to have contributed to social equity. In fact some studies have concluded that public access ICT facilities may enhance the social exclusion of non-users.
There may be potential for impact on civic engagement: A few studies found evidence of increased civic engagement from shared ICT access, attributing this to the additional provision of resources such as meeting rooms and help with voter registration.
The limited findings that strongly demonstrate downstream impact are usually based on the perceptions of venue staff and users. In addition, findings relating to impact may arguably arise from access to ICTs in general rather than from shared access in particular. It is of course very difficult for researchers to identify and attribute specific impacts to specific ICT usage. Nevertheless, systematic research on these issues is needed that:
Covers many different locations and contexts.
Spans significant timeframes.
Seeks to build on existing literature.
Uses methods that (whether quantitative or qualitative) enable impacts to be measured.
Sey, A., and Fellows, M., 2009, 'Literature Review on the Impact of Public Access to Information and Communication Technologies', CIS Working Paper No. 6, University of Washington Center for Information and Society, Seattle

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Gareth Richards
gareth@garethrichards.net
Gareth Richards' hilarious stand-up, silly jokes and gorgeously low-key comedy songs have made him an instant favourite on the comedy circuit.
He has appeared on Russell Howard's Good News, Live at the Electric (BBC3) and in January performed live on Radio 1 on two separate occasions. Gareth has also co-hosted Frank Skinner's Sony award-winning Absolute Radio show for two years and supported Frank on his 2014 tour. In 2010 he was nominated for Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer.
"A delightful hour of comedy" The Guardian
"Clever craftsman with a big future" Bruce Dessau, The Evening Standard
"An effortlessly assured act… exceptionally inspired and truly memorable." Chortle


Anyone putting together big brother/sister gifts from the baby? I thought it'd be cool to have a little something at the hospital the first time he comes to visit. So far I found a little hospital bracelet that says "Big Brother". Most other stuff I've seen on Pinterest is just coloring books and snacks and stuff. Didn't know if any of you ladies had any other ideas?
DS is too small for him to understand so we won't be doing one but maybe a special picture frame that he can put a picture of just him and the LO in?
I haven't thought of a gift, so I'm following to see what others are doing.
I have't decided what I'll do, but I'd love to do something for her. Looking forward to hearing from you ladies that have done this in the past or have already thought something brilliant up!
Dd was 20 months last time, so I just brought her favorite "big sister" book to the hospital and we read it with the baby! Not a gift per say, but she was so little, I'm not sure a gift would have been helpful for her to commemorate the day.
@Gators&;BoSox I love the frame idea! DS loves taking pictures with his little FP camera (which was another idea I saw!) so I bet he'd like that.
@mcdonald-bailey but... I'd have to restrain myself from eating the cake. That's an adorable idea!
The baby will be giving him some kind of activity tgat will keep him absorbed while I'm nursing. I'm thinking about those melissa and Doug reusable sticker sets.
I'm so interested to hear other ideas!
I got my son one for christmas. I figure I want to use it to teach him about babies through role play before the big day.
We got my 6 yr old DS the book, "Babies Don't Eat Pizza" for Christmas. It is a cute book that explains exactly everything that is happening to me, what to expect for him, and the changes that will occur. We read it a few times a week and talk about what is going to happen. I also answer any questions he has because he has a lot of them! I also signed him and I up for a sibling preparation class at the local hospital.
I also let him pick out a stuff animal when we went to Disneyland for his little brother and he is so excited to wrap it up for him. I also plan on getting him a toy (Lego or something) from his little brother to him with a little card that says, "Looking forward to playing and sharing these with you one day". I may bring a Crayola Mess Free Marker/Coloring book thing to the hospital just in case. But I know my parents will probably give him something little when they come to visit.
10/2009 - TTC#1 Stopped BCP! Let's DO this!
1/2010 - BFP (Natural) --> 10/2010 - DS born! Yay!
10/2011 - Complications with DH and lymph nodes in groin area removed. No longer able to ejaculate.
1/2014 - TTC#2 - IUI#1. No luck. Findings: DH sperm did not survive freeze. RE recommends IVF with ICSI.
5/10/2014 - 6 fertilized, 3 embryos frozen - one grade A and two Grade B. Plan was to grow out to blastocyst stage but rest of eggs arrested by day 3. Decided to freeze on day 3.
2/9/2016 - FET #1 with Grade A (8 cell - 3 day embryo); 2/20 - Beta was <5. BFN. Waiting for period and start next FET.
7/8/2016 - FET #2 with Grade B (8 cell - 3 day embryo), fingers crossed this one sticks.
We opted NOT to buy the eldest anything for delivery.... and I don't see us purchasing anything for either older sibling this time.
To be honest the eldest was so excited about the new baby I don't think she would have cared if we bought her something.
My oldest was 3.5 when his little brother was born so I got him a gift from little brother and it was mostly just activities he could do in the hospital. A movie, a stamp set and some treats. He actually LOVED it and played with the stamp set right away so I was glad I got it.
This time he is 5, and little brother is 22 months so I'm not sure what I'm going to do this time since the 22 month old is a little young to comprehend what's going on. I like the baby doll idea!
You guys are awesome with the ideas, thank you! DS does baby doll circle time at daycare/preschool, and loves pretending to diaper and put his babies "to bed" in our infant tub or rock n' play. I think I'll get him some stuff to do in the hospital, and definitely a cupcake. That way if he's anxious he'll at least come into the room for cake.
Yes, I bought her a big sibling journal, a shirt that says "Promoted to Big Sister" , a frame and some little toys she's been wanting. I wrapped it and gave it to her at the baby shower. She loved it.


Based on the CHI human brand, the new CHI for Dogs brand features an array of salon-quality shampoos, conditioners, sprays, wipes and grooming tools. The ergonomically designed tools feature nonslip handles for a comfortable grip. The bath and styling products incorporate ionic technology to seal the hair cuticle, reducing frizz and leaving a shiny coat. The comprehensive line includes Deep Moisture Shampoo, Oatmeal Conditioner, Deodorizing Spray, Ergo Soft Grip Brushes, nail clippers and undercut rakes, to name just a few of the 36 CHI for Dogs products currently available exclusively from PetSmart.


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College Place
What the weather will be like in winter 2022-2023 in College Place?
Winter in 2022-2023 year is expected to be rainy and mostly cold. Temperature in winter will fluctuate from minimum at 3 °F on 21st December to its maximum at 55 °F on 12th January ...
What the weather will be like in spring in College Place?
For College Place they forecast cooler than usual spring weather. Over a period of the spring the temperature will go up to 88 °F and down to 19 °F ...
What the summer will be like in College Place?
Summer 2023 will be mainly warm. Temperature will go down to 50 °F on 10th June and up to its maximum of 124 °F on 25th June ...
What the weather will be like in autumn 2023 in College Place?
Autumn in College Place will be cool and less typical. Throughout the season precipitation is predicted to be moderate and temperature will fluctuate from 27 °F to 95 °F ...


I just posted about how I like things neat and tidy, when Little Man asked me if we could go to the supermarket. I asked why and he showed me the cupboard where we keep our pasta and biscuits. He had climbed onto the counter and reorganised the whole cupboard. Small things on top and big ones at the bottom. "I've made lots of space for you to put more things" he explained.
I'll have to move it all back later, but he didn't do a bad job considering the cupboard looked full earlier.
POLL: Who should be elected president in 2012?


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BookRanchVacations by Tripaneer logo tripaneer"
Horse Riding Holidays for Beginners (65) Dude Ranch (75) The Americas & Caribbean (89) Canada (20) Western Canada (11) Sturgeon River Ranch (5)
3 Day Horse Riding Holiday and Ranch Vacation in Big River, Saskatchewan
Sturgeon River Ranch, Big River, S0J 0E0, Rural Municipality of Big River No. 555, Division No. 16, Saskatchewan, Canada
"Unleash your adventurous self on horseback!"
Horse Riding Holiday in Canada
Join Sturgeon River Ranch for three days of riding in Canada! A 940-acre property hidden in the beautiful Sturgeon River Valley, Sturgeon River Ranch is home to an assortment of wildlife! Get to know your horse as he / she is brushed and saddled and you ride over into the Prince Albert National Park in search of Canada's only totally free-ranging heard of wild plains bison within their historic habitat. With almost a million acres to explore, there is a different trail for every day of your stay.
Rider weight limit: 250 pounds / 113 kg
Horse height range: 14.3-17 hh
Tack type: Western and English
Horse breed: Quarter horses, Quarter horse crosses, Thoroughbred and Clydesdale
A minimum of 3 days of riding
Approximate daily riding time: 5 hours
Services of guides and use of horses and wagon
Breakfast and trail lunch on the day of departure
Trail lunch and supper on the day of arrival
Use of firewood and cookware
2 nights' accommodation
3 days with instruction
Hot tub / Jacuzzi
Sturgeon River Ranch is a place where work and play are combined into one exciting adventure after another. With all the amenities of home, you can rest your legs in the hot tub at the end of the day and tell stories around the campfire. You never can tell when it'll break out into a game of horseshoes or song around these parts.
You will depart from the ranch at roughly 10:00 (times can be customized) and arrive at the ranch around 15:00-16:00 as you will ride approximately for five hours. You are welcome to go canoeing, have a fire, or go watch the wildlife from Sturgeon River Ranch's above ground wildlife observatory in the evenings. Bring whatever alcoholic beverages you like for around the campfire in the evenings or at the bar in the ranch house. The multi-day trips will be based on how far you want to go. This is your vacation and they want you to relax and enjoy the ride.
This riding holiday will take place in Prince Albert National Park, Canada. Your place of stay, Sturgeon River Ranch, is located on the wild west side of beautiful Prince Albert National Park.
During this holiday, you will have a trail lunch and supper on the day of arrival as well as breakfast and trail lunch on the day of departure. Breakfast is served at your leisure. Food packages can also be added for meals outside of the ones provided in your trip at an extra cost.
The following meals are included:
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
Things to do (optional)
Attending music festivals
Learning outdoor survival tips
Wildlife watching at the ranch's heated above ground wildlife observatory
Recommended Airports
Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
Transfer not provided
Head to Debden, Saskatchewan.
Stay on Highway 55 northbound for 25 kilometers (15.5 miles).
Turn right onto Park Valley Road (do not turn at the Park Valley Road in Debden).
Take Park Valley Road east for 14.3 kilometers (nine miles).
Then turn left at the intersection (Lake Four cemetery is on the right side of the road).
Drive 1.6 kilometers (one mile) and turn right at the T-intersection.
Drive one kilometer (0.5 miles) and take your first left-hand turn.
The Sturgeon River Ranch sign is in the ditch on the right-hand side.
Drive three kilometers (two miles) and turn right at the T-intersection where Sturgeon River Ranch sign is.
This is the ranch's 2.5-kilometer driveway.
Driving directions from Waskesiu / Elk Ridge / Emma Lake
Drive 44 kilometers south of Waskesiu on Highway 263 to the south park gate.
Turn right onto Cookson Road.
After driving 17 kilometers, the road turns to the pavement as you leave the park onto Highway 240.
Drive nine kilometers on Highway 240 and turn right onto Sugar Hill Road.
Continue on Sugar Hill Road for six kilometers.
Then turn right at the Parks Canada sign (Beaver sign).
Drive approximately seven kilometers.
Follow the Parks Canada sign to the left at the fork in the road (after Fish Lake).
Drive four kilometers and turn right at Parks Canada sign.
Carry on for eight kilometers.
Then turn left at the Parks Canada sign.
Drive eight kilometers again and turn right at the Parks Canada sign.
Drive for eight more kilometers and follow the speed curve (don't go straight).
Continue on this for 11 kilometers to a T -intersection and then turn right.
You will see the Sturgeon River Ranch on the right-hand side within one kilometer.
Then turn left down a small gravel road.
Drive four kilometers to a T-intersection and turn right at the next Sturgeon River Ranch sign.
Transport from and to airport can be arranged for an additional fee. For more information, please send inquiry.
A reservation requires a deposit of 50% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
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Organized by Sturgeon River Ranch
Sturgeon River Ranch offers horse riding and ranch activities in the wild west side of beautiful Prince Albert National Park, Canada.
Aberdeen, Rural Municipality of Aberdeen No. 373, Division No. 15, Canada
from --
Groups larger than six qualify for promotional offers. Take the wagon and switch on and off the horse during your ride. It works great for larger groups and people that are hesitant to ride a full five hours in a day. Take a day off from riding on your trip. Take the second day of your trip to relax and go swimming, canoeing, hiking, berry picking, or learning outdoor survival tips from the guides. Save 100 CAD / day if you would like to relax from a horseback adventure.
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Alexis Tadié
Professor of English Literature
Sport and Litterature
Research project's website
Database of quarrels of the early modern period
I was the PI of a research programme funded by the French funding agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) between 2011 and 2015. Entitled AGON, this programme looked at disputes and quarrels in the early modern period, in France and in England, from a comparative perspective. We look at disputes mainly in the arts but also in science and philosophy and occasionally at religious disputes, when they have a literary component.
The research conducted by this team is based on two comparisons: the first, between the diverse domains of cultural life and the second, between two different countries France and England. Some quarrels and controversies are similar on both sides of the Channel (such as the 'querelle des Anciens et des Modernes' and 'the Battle of the Books'); some involved the same institutions (the theatre quarrels in France and England for example); and some are different, and these differences reveal intellectual dynamics particular to each society. This interdisciplinary approach has helped us rethink literary and cultural history, in which literature, the arts, the sciences and philosophy are understood as the places in which key questions about history and society are negotiated.
The group was organised from Paris by myself and from Oxford by Alain Viala. Over the four years of the programme, which came to an end in December 2015, we organised a variety of seminars and conferences. We set up a database of quarrels of the early modern period. The dedicated website contains further information about the programme.
We are now engaged in publications. A special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Littératures classiques came out in 2013, staking out our initial findings. A collection edited by Paddy Bullard and myself was published in 2016 by the Voltaire Foundation: it offers a fresh perspective on the conflicts between Ancients and Moderns. The collection addresses in particular the issue across the arts (music, letters, painting) and philosophy, as well as across Europe. Another collection, edited by Jeanne-Marie Hostiou and myself and to be published by Classiques Garnier, will look at the specific issue of the relations between quarrels and literary and artistic creation. I co-edited with Anne-Lise Rey a special double issue of the Revue de synthèse, entitled: Disputes et territoires épistémiques. I have also edited a special issue of the journal Paragraph wich came out in the Spring of 2017 and deals with the "Theory of Quarrels" both in the early modern period as well as in contemporary contexts.


I admit my own bias but one of my favorite magazines is Religion & Liberty, published by the Acton Institute. You can get a print subscription but you can also read issues online. The most recent issue features a great interview on "Rethinking Mission to the Poor." This is vintage Acton thinking expressed by the kind of people who have made a real difference working with the poor. Check out the current issue at Acton's magazine site.
While you're there check out the November-December issue for 2010. You might recognize the guy on the cover. I hope you will enjoy the interview they did with me. I was very pleased with the finished product and how they told my story through this interview.
I am very pleased to serve Acton as a partner by being a Senior Advisor. In this role I represent Acton to evangelical leaders and seminary professors. I am pleased to say that the job is delightful and the work is a lot of fun for me. It fits with my missional-ecumenism vision wonderfully. This is why my most recent book, The Unity Factor, is also published by Acton. You can get it for a very good price in the Acton bookshop online.
Acton's web site is well worth your time. Check out all the resources and the wealth of great material on freedom and economics.
The core of my vision is unity in Christ's mission. I call this missional-ecumenism. I live to make Christ known in and through the unity of all his people. I believe he has made it abundantly clear that he has come to reveal the Father and that the world will see this and believe this when it sees our oneness (cf. John 17:20-23). This is so clear that it amazes me how unimportant most of us seem to think this really is to the mission of Jesus.
I have written a new book, The Unity Factor: One Lord, One Church, One Mission (The Christian's Library Press, 2011), that presents my vision in 44-pages. The purpose of this new book is to get this vision into the hands of as many people as possible in a form that can be read in 30-45 minutes at most. This book should be available by the end of this month. It will be available in an e-book form, print form and a video will eventually be made to correspond with the book. This project came out of an ACT 3 Board meeting in February where the members of our board asked me to give them something they could give away that would get people into this vision and allow them to understand what ACT 3 is all about.
In a recent worship service we sang a hymn I had not sung before. It was sung to the familiar tune of the well-known hymn: "The Church's One Foundation." The new hymn, written by Rusty Edwards, expresses my vision succinctly and powerfully. This is why it is included at the end of my new book.
We all are called for service, to witness in God's name.
So every folk and nation may feel Gods warm embrace.
Now let us be united and let our songs be heard.
Now let us be a vessel for God's redeeming Word.
On day two of my journey to Rome I toured some of the greatest sights of the ancient city and spoke in the evening. I will describe the city first and then my evening address.
The day began with breakfast at the house of St. Bridget. The breakfast was almost the same every day. A large hollow bread roll, a little butter, some jam with cheese and coffee. Before long I realized I would need to consciously look for fruits and vegetables to keep my diet in order for my best physical well-being.
Michael Severance picked me up at 10 a.m. Then our big sight-seeing day followed. We saw the Coliseum, as well as many of the ancient ruins of the first century before Christ and the two centuries after Christ. This included ruins from Emperor Trajan, the Appian Way, the Circus Maximus and other sites related to early Rome in the days of the Caesars. One of the first things that you notice everywhere you go are the letters SPQR, which is the Latin abbreviation for "The Senate and People of Rome." Citizenship meant something to Romans, as the New Testament reminds us in the case of the Apostle Paul. When I read through Acts this week I saw again how Paul made use of this factor in his own defense and in the preaching of the gospel. If you were not a citizen of Rome you had no honor or privilege in antiquity.
The Coliseum is particularly amazing. Built in the second half of the first century, during the time of the New Testament, this was a massive amphitheater that seated 80,000. It was a place for entertainment. It had four levels and people sat according to their rank as Romans. I learned, from our excellent tour guide, that one of the most common myths about the Coliseum is that of Christians being put to death here in significant numbers. There are a few prominent martyrs who died in the Coliseum but this was not a common occurrence. Christians were put to death by a number of Roman leaders, Nero being prominent in the first century. But those who were fed to the lions at the Coliseum at the end of a long day were generally criminals.
The Coliseum is in considerable ruin today because of an earthquake centuries ago. The major portion that stands is still very impressive. I sensed many things at the Coliseum but most of all there was an impression that entertainment has always played a dominant role in cultures where people enjoyed a measure of freedom. Our guide told us that the modern movie that most accurately portrays what went on here in the first century is Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe. Being a movie critic I want to see it again and thereby appreciate more fully the realism of what I saw in the Coliseum.
Tuesday, March 8, was the day I toured the most. It was sunny and windy. It was a glorious spring day and Rome was alive everywhere. We walked for miles but it was still glorious. Things I had seen and thought about for a lifetime were right there in front of me.
I followed this teaching on missional-ecumenism with some extensive comments taken from the large corpus of written work of Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI. I believe I showed why Pope Benedict would have great sympathy for what I am teaching. In fact, I believe his own model, is often one of missional-ecumenism. He clearly desires a completely united church but he knows that while this is being discussed and labored over in worldwide conversations there are many practical ways that we can work in fellowship with one another for the mission of Christ in our modern world. We can no longer afford the luxury of fierce opposition, especially when what we share in common is so large. While we cannot agree on some important matters, the Eucharist being a major one, we can pray, we can read the Scripture together and we can work side-by-side sharing Christ's love and good news with the culture around us.
After a meal on Tuesday evening, where I had the opportunity to get to know Kishore after my Acton address, I got to bed quite late. I did not sleep as well on the second night as my body was adjusting to the jet-lag and fatigue of three full days, counting my travel day on March 6th and a Tuesday filled with miles of walking and hours of standing.
Tomorrow: Our team meets at Centro Pro Unione for the first time. Our conversations and how friendships began to form in a remarkable way.
I arrived in Rome on Monday, March 7, after an overnight flight out of Atlanta. This was my first overseas flight in a long time. One of my three benefactors gave me miles to fly in business class so I could rest much better. (I am spoiled now! I hate to think of not flying this way on an international flight should I do it again.) Numbers of intercessors were praying for my health. I sat next to a woman with the worst imaginable cold. She was miserable and it showed. I prayed that I might be spared getting sick once I got to Rome. Thankfully, the Lord protected me from a new virus that would weaken me profoundly since my already weakened immune system is not ready for normal battle most of the time.
I went right to the place where I would rest for the next eight nights: The House of St. Bridget, a wonderful 15th century building on a very Italian piazza (which means square in English). My place was at 96 Piazza Farnese. This guest home, pictured in the photo I've included above right, sits across from the French Embassy. This particular piazza, like all such neighborhood centers in Rome, is busy. A piazza is the center of social life in Rome, especially at night. After an evening where I heard the noises of the street late into the evening I asked the sisters to allow me to move to a room with a window facing a small interior center of the building. I was removed from the street noise problem but then was literally rattled every fifteen minutes by the huge bells of St. Bridget's which rang from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. I think my room must have adjoined the bell tower since it sounded like it was inside the room and the walls literally shook.
The sisters at Piazza Farnese were a delight, at least when I found one who spoke good English. I became more than a little interested in the history of the place since I do not recall ever staying in a residence built more than 500 years ago. This was no American convent or residence. The history of this church and center is nothing short of remarkable to someone with my curiosity and interests. My last evening there (March 14) the best English-speaking sister in the Order showed me around and introduced me to the life of Bridget in a wonderful way. I also bought a book on her life which I am reading at a leisurely pace since I returned home. I discovered that Bridget's Order was treated rather badly by the Lutheran Church in Sweden, since the women remained devout Catholics during and after the Reformation. Yet Bridget and her followers prayed for love and unity among Christians. Her prayer has found deeper expression since Vatican II. Her Order, and this house, model that prayer.
Bridget of Sweden has been called "The Mystic of the North." She was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1391. She clearly was a unique personality, powerful in her message of peace. Belonging to the royal family did not hinder Bridget from spending a great deal of time in the study of the Bible, in prayer and meditation, and in mysticism and personal mortification. A deeply cultured and practical woman, a wife and mother of eight children, Bridget became a counselor to the highest of royalty in her time. Later in life, after her husband died, she founded this Order which she dedicated to Christ as her Savior and Lord.
What proved to be of great interest to me, and to my purpose for being in Rome in the first place, was that this Swedish lady of faith was fully involved in events which six centuries later would engage her spiritual heirs to become "a bridge of unity between Rome and the noble of Sweden, between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches of Northern Europe," as Paul VI described it.
Bridget is a Saint with pan-European dimensions. Since October 1999, together with Therese of the Cross and Saint Catherine of Siena, she is the co-Patron Saint of Europe, a continent with common traditions, faith and history in spite of its various historical vicissitudes. Her Order now stands for ecumenism around the world. I realized that my arrangements, to stay here in this place at this time, had been made with a divine purpose.
When I fly east I always seek to remain awake until the evening so I can adjust my body clock as quickly as possible. So once I was settled I was ready to go. My first meeting was with Michael Severance (photo right), one of the two directors of Acton Institute's Rome office. Michael had arranged my car from the airport and my lodging. We met, realizing we had met before in Michigan at a meal some years ago, and then went to our first appointment with Dr. Teresa Francesca Rossi, the associate director of the Centro Pro Unione, located on the famous Piazza Navona. (The photo here is of the square and the famous building in which the Center for Unity is located.) After a tour of the Center for Unity's office it was off to my first Italian meal. Michael knew a little place that was classic and not too pricey. The food, as is most Italian food, was really exceptional.
Dr. Rossi is a very able scholar and a profoundly gracious person. She is also deeply involved in dialogs with several Protestant communions, including the International Roman Catholic-Baptist Dialog and the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialog, both official functions with an official relationship inside the Catholic Church. The Center for Unity is directed by the Franciscans of the Atonement, an order that was once Protestant but now Catholic. The Center opened in 1968 in a building that belongs to the famous Doria Pamphilj family. It consists of a library of three large rooms, a meeting room and a large conference hall for annual conferences on ecumenism in the summer. The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement remain deeply committed to pursuing unity in a gracious and effective way and the Center demonstrates this beautifully. The library at the Center was the best ecumenical library I've ever seen, clearly the best in Italy. It has 400 periodicals, over 20,000 books and over 27,000 records of interchurch theological dialogs. I wanted to stay an browse but time didn't allow a great deal of leisurely searching of the stacks. The Center also publishes a semi-annual bulletin in English, Centro Pro Unione Bulletin. Through this bulletin the Center for Unity provides a multi-lingual bibliography of interchurch and inter-confessional dialogs. The Center works as well with the Italian Episcopal Conference to co-publish and distribute material for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25).
I would return to the Centro Pro Unione on Wednesday, March 9. Here I would have my first meeting with our seven-member team but this advance visit with Dr. Rossi on Monday allowed me to meet her in advance. I was able to get a feel for the kinds of ecumenical events and research that go on in Rome year-round. And now my book will soon be in the vast collection of ecumenical books in the Centro Pro Unione Library.
After lunch Michael and I began my first round of touring. We walked to a number of famous places. I got my first view of the Vatican (photo is me standing on one of the bridges over the Tiber River that leads to the Vatican), the Pantheon and some rather ancient and amazing places. The best touring would come on Tuesday.
My evening was on my own so I wandered back out into the Piazza Farnese and looked for a place to get my first pizza. Italian pizza is thin and freshly made. I am spoiled by thick crust Chicago-style pizza. I still actually prefer it but the Italian style is lovely. You really can't go wrong eating Italian food in Italy, right? I eventually found a place where the waiter was superb and spoke great English. Here I ate for three or four of my evenings on Piazza Farnese. I soon begin to try all kinds of new food and enjoyed almost all of it.
I was also reintroduced to Prosecco, which I had tasted once in a real Italian restaurant in Chicago where an Italian friend took me to dinner a few years ago. Prosecco is a white Italian wine—generally a dry or extra dry sparkling wine. It is made from Glera grapes (previously known as Prosecco grapes). Glera grapes are grown in several regions of Italy but, Prosecco can only be produced in certain regions of Italy.
Founded in 1990, through the efforts of the president, Fr. Robert Sirico, and the executive director, Kris Mauren, the Acton Institute is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There is also an international office in Rome, where I spoke for Acton just this past week. The Acton Institute was named in honor of the famous Catholic layman, Lord John Acton (1834-1902). Acton made the history of liberty his life's work. Indeed, the most notable conclusion of his work is that political liberty is the essential condition and guardian of religious liberty. He thereby points to the union of faith and liberty, which has been the inspiration for the mission of the Acton Institute from 1990 to the present.
It is also Lord Acton who is known for one of the most frequently quoted, and often misused, statements about power you've heard: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
The mission of the Acton Institute is to promote a free, virtuous, and humane society. This direction recognizes the benefits of a limited government, but also the beneficent consequences of a free market. It embraces an objective framework of moral values, but also recognizes and appreciates the subjective nature of economic value. It views justice as a duty of all to give the one his due but, more importantly, as an individual obligation to serve the common good and not just his own needs and wants. In order to promote a more profound understanding of the coming together of faith and liberty, the Institute involves members of religious, business, and academic spheres in its various seminars, publications, and academic activities. It is our hope that by demonstrating the compatibility of faith, liberty, and free economic activity, religious leaders and entrepreneurs can contribute by helping to shape a society that is secure, free, and virtuous.
Acton Institute has several core values that are deeply rooted in their teaching and mission. The first two of these core values are the foundation for everything they do.
1. The dignity of the person - The human person, created in the image of God, is individually unique, rational, the subject of moral agency, and a co-creator. Accordingly, he possesses intrinsic value and dignity, implying certain rights and duties both for himself and other persons. These truths about the dignity of the human person are known through revelation, but they are also discernible through reason.
2. The social nature of the person - Although persons find ultimate fulfillment only in communion with God, one essential aspect of the development of persons is our social nature and capacity to act for disinterested ends. The person is fulfilled by interacting with other persons and by participating in moral goods. There are voluntary relations of exchange, such as market transactions that realize economic value. These transactions may give rise to moral value as well. There are also voluntary relations of mutual dependence, such as promises, friendships, marriages, and the family, which are moral goods. These, too, may have other sorts of value, such as religious, economic, aesthetic, and so on.
I will be teaching at the Acton University this June in Grand Rapids. I hope some of you will check this out and even make plans to attend. If the cost is a problem please contact Acton to see if they can help you in this regard. Certain qualified younger people can attend on scholarship.


This connection is listed to provide links to other web sites with fan-related activities and information.
Fan museum in Paris... but closed.
The Fan Circle International is a charitable society established in 1975 to promote interest in and knowledge of the fan in all aspects.
The private site of a French collector and great fan enthusiast.
Collection of a Brazilian historian and fan collector !
Fan maker since 1827, now Duvelleroy sells nice contemporary fans.
A great artist and fan creator.
Yolaine Voltz is graphic arts restorer and she is specialized in fans restoration and conservation.
Eric Fournier is a mother of pearl restorer.
The flea market of Paris Saint Ouen is the biggest antic market of the world. Please, come to see me to the market Vernaison, come to hunt ! You will be seduced by the authentic atmosphere and charms of this market typically French !


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RODE: Red Deer Polytechnic Queens have some some big holes to fill
Danny Rode
There's bound to be a few questions surrounding the RDP Queens volleyball squad heading into the 2022-23 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference season.
The defending champions, who placed third at the Nationals, lost five starters, plus two others who played a major role in the team's success.
Gone are left side hitter Tess Pearman, right side Anna Carlson, middle blocker McKenna Olson, setter Emma Letkeman and one of the premier liberos in the conference, Kaylee Domoney. As well Edyn Aasman, who backed up Domoney and was the first off the bench in a defensive role, moved on along with left side hitter Jadyn Leong, who shared duties with Pearman and Jaiden Ferguson.
"It's tough to see those quality of people leave, but it's the way it is in college sports," said Queens head coach Talbot Walton, who once again takes over from Chris Wandler after taking last season off. "They have themselves lined up and will be fantastic in the community and do well in their work commitments."
The Queens still have 11 veterans on the roster, including starting middle Sydney Rix, Ferguson and backup setter Danielle Wiens.
"Dani is a good piece to have back," said Walton. "She got a lot of experience last year and understands our offence."
Walton added Maria Brouwer of Calgary to fill the second setter slot.
"Maria is very similar to Dani in that she has strong hands and has the desire to run the offence at a faster speed. She's strong at the net and very athletic. She's in the nursing program so she'll be around for the duration."
Losing Domoney left a huge hole, but the libero position was more than adequately filled with the addition of Francesca Sandini of Vancouver, who was an all-star along with Domoney, last season with the Olds Broncos.
"Frankie contacted us after her season was over last year and fortunately for us we have the Justice Studies program she was looking to take. It was a big hole to fill and she fits in. She's always asking the right questions and learning our system quickly."
Although they lost Olson the Queens have five returnees in the middle led by Rix.
"Thankfully Sydney's program matched up so she could return," said Walton. "She's a huge piece for us. She's Queens volleyball through and through and we couldn't find a better leader."
Kira Weddell also returns in the middle for a third season with Abby Lowe, Autumn Roos and Jailyn Stouffer back for a second season.
Both Rix and Roos have also been working on the right side.
"They have a unique skill set to be able to move around," said the veteran coach. "Autumn played a number of positions prior to coming here. She had good coaching and is six-foot-one, can jump out of the gym and do a lot of different things."
Ferguson, who was third on the team in kills last season, will anchor the left side.
"She's the one player who saw a lot of court time and played in big-time games for us. She has the opportunity to not be a role player but bring something to the team and I'm looking forward to watching her this season."
Vanessa Loos, who is in her third season, did see considerable playing time late in the season, especially on defence, and will be in the running to grab the second left side position.
Avery Tonnies, Morgan Boisvert and Randi Gill are also back as outside hitters joining newcomers Sarah Mistol of St. Paul and Lauren Junck of Notre Dame.
"Overall we're fairly young, but the returnees got an opportunity to play with and practice against some of the best players in the country last season which definitely helped their development, plus they learned a tremendous amount from Chris.
"We'll definitely have a different approach to this season. Last year with the veteran lineup we went into the season at full speed. This year we'll sit back a bit and learn a few key fundamental things and build on those. Our volleyball IQ is very high and I think we have the right mesh for the style of play we're good at and can play at a high level."
The ACAC this season is expected to be as tough as ever and this weekend the Queens will get an opportunity to see some of their top competition when they host the Kings and Queens annual tournament Saturday and Sunday.
Lakeland College and The Kings University are expected to be near the top this season and the Queens play TKU at 2 p.m. and Lakeland at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. They also face College of the Rockies at noon Saturday, NAIT at 2 p.m. and SAIT at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
"TKU and Lakeland will be strong and SAIT had a good recruiting class," said Walton. "We see at least four strong teams this year and we hope we can fit in with them."
The Queens will host the ACAC finals once again.
"We originally had the bid in 2020-21 but because of Covid it was delayed so this is that bid," explained Walton. "Last year we hosted because of the switch in the playoff format.
"It's something we're looking forward to. It's always good to sleep in your own beds and play in front of your fans."
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at danrode@shaw.ca
RODE: Red Deer Polytechnic Kings volleyball bolstered by Central Albertans
Hunter Mayo's stellar start for Rebels a welcome sight


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Proposed Termination of the River & Lake Forecast Product (RVD)
Northern Indiana
La Nina: How does it Impact our Winter Locally
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La Nina is Back!
During the fall of 2010, a transition from an El Nino event to a La Nina event took place, with a moderate to strong La Nina developing during the winter of 2010-2011. As we headed into the winter months of 2011-2012...La Nina conditions returned to the equatorial Pacific Ocean for the second straight winter. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has issued the official winter outlook for the United States. So what will this mean for our area of Northern Indiana, Southwest Lower Michigan and Northwest Ohio? Read below for more information...
What is La Nina?
La Nina refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. Typically, La Nina events occur every 3 to 5 years or so, but on occasion can occur over successive years. La Nina represents the cool phase of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. La Nina weakened last spring into early summer but began to show signs of strengthening again late this summer as negative temperature anomalies returned to the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Several computer models forecast this cooling to continue through the winter and therefore the latest official forecast from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) calls for this La Nina to strengthen and persist into the early Spring of 2012.
During a La Nina event, the changes in Pacific Ocean temperatures affect the patterns of tropical rainfall from Indonesia to the west coast of South America. These changes in tropical rainfall patterns affect weather patterns throughout the world. These effects are usually strongest during the winter months when the jet stream is strongest over the United States. As shown in the image below, La Nina episodes in the winter months feature a wave-like jet stream flow across the United States and Canada, which causes colder and stormier than average conditions across the North, and warmer and less stormier conditions across the south. Historically for this part of the Midwest, fall tends to be warmer and drier than normal while winters tend to be wetter than normal. However, there are also many other complicated factors in the atmosphere and oceans that can also impact our weather patterns.
The images below show temperature, precipitation and snowfall anomalies across the continental United States (CONUS) based on past La Nina events dating back to 1950. Each image is comprised of an anomaly map on the left side and a frequency map on the right. The anomaly map shows the computed anomaly based on all past events. The frequency map on the right indicates how often these anomalies occurred. A high frequency leads to a higher confidence that the anomaly may occur again. The maps are further broke down by composite on the top, trends in the middle, and a combination of composite and trends on the bottom. A more detailed explanation of these maps can be found at here . The images on the left are for the period December-February (meteorological winter), and the images on the far right are for the January-March period (late winter into early spring). For our area, you can see that the temperature anomalies are close to zero, but the negative anomalies are just to our northwest. This is a reflection of some La Nina years being warmer than normal and others being colder than normal. Precipitation and snowfall anomalies for our area become wetter as we progress through the winter into the early spring, with a decent frequency of occurrence. Remember, these maps are based on past La Nina events alone and do not take into account other phenomena which can work with or against a La Nina pattern and impact our weather. A couple of the more well know phenomena are described in the following sections.
Arctic and North Atlantic Oscillations
Scientific research over the last several years has found correlations between conditions in the Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean areas and weather across the CONUS. These conditions have been termed the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
The AO is a reference to changing atmospheric pressure patterns in the high latitudes of the Arctic region. When there is relatively high pressure over the northern polar region and relatively low pressure in the middle latitudes, the AO is considered to be in a negative phase. When this pattern is reversed, it is known to be in a positive phase. During the negative phase, cold air generally plunges southward into the central and eastern United States as the jetstream buckles and high pressure over the polar region helps push the very cold polar air southward. In the positive phase, the winds associated with the polar jet stream are generally zonal and confined to the northern latitudes. This essentially "bottles up" the very cold air in the polar regions. The AO phases can be seen in the diagram below. Additional information on the AO can be found at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/daily_ao_index/ao.shtml .
Arctic Oscillation Phases
The NAO is similar to the AO, but is a measure of the difference in atmospheric sea level pressure between the Icelandic low (also known as the polar low) and the Azores high (also known as the subtropical high). The positive phase of the NAO indicates a stronger than normal Azores high and a stronger than normal Icelandic low. This results in an increased pressure gradient between the two. The negative phase of the NAO indicates a weaker Azores high and weaker Icelandic low, which results in a weaker pressure gradient between the two pressure centers. The positive phase is generally associated with above average temperatures in the eastern CONUS while the negative phase is associated with below average temperatures. The NAO phases can be seen in the diagram below. Additional information on the NAO can be found here
North Atlantic Oscillation Phases
While the AO and NAO have been shown to have significant impacts on the weather across the CONUS, they can only be forecast with reasonable skill out to about two weeks. Therefore, while La Nina is a persistent, relatively long term pattern, the AO and NAO fluctuations are on a much smaller time scale and their effects can enhance or suppress conditions typically associated with a La Nina. When the AO and NAO are in their negative phases, they can provide cold air across the CONUS. If these phases coincide with a strong storm system generated in a La Nina pattern, a significant snow storm could be the result. However, if the AO and NAO are in a positive phase when a storm system develops, there could be less cold air and potentially more liquid precipitation. These complicated interactions are just a small part of what makes forecasting winter weather in the central and eastern United States so difficult.
The images below show temperature and precipitation anomalies typically associated with the AO positive phase (AO+), neutral phase (AON), and negative phase (AO-) across the CONUS. The images on the left side are for the December-February period and the images on the right show the January-March period. You can see that when the AO is positive, a large part of the central and eastern CONUS experiences positive temperature anomalies. When the AO is negative, many of these same areas have negative temperature anomalies. Impacts on precipitation are not as widespread as temperatures, but there is a trend toward less precipitation in a negative AO pattern in areas where La Nina tends to produce above normal precipitation, specifically in the Ohio and Lower Mississippi Valley regions. These opposite patterns help fuel the uncertainty when forecasting winter precipitation. However, La Nina systems are usually very strong and moisture rich and tend to overcome the negative precipitation anomalies associated with the negative AO in our area.
The map below shows the conditions typically associated with the NAO.
Climate Prediction Center's Outlook
The experts at the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) provide temperature and precipitation outlooks on weekly, monthly, and seasonal timescales using data sets, computer models, and other research tools. Pictured below are the current outlooks for this Winter (December, January, and February). The current winter outlook shows equal chance for normal or above or below normal temperatures as well as increased chances for above normal precipitation for Northern Indiana, Southwest Lower Michigan and Northwest Ohio. It is important to remember that these maps show probabilities for these conditions to occur and do not imply certainty. Also, the precipitation map is not an indicator of snow chances or amounts, but simply precipitation in general. As explained in previous sections, if the AO or NAO become positive for a long period, that could lead to a milder winter in the northern CONUS. However, If they become negative for a long period, that could mean a very cold winter for the north. These indices have been negative for the last several winters and some research suggest these indices may stay in overall negative or positive phases for several years at a time. We must also remember that storm development and tracks through the midwest are critical in the winter for determining where the heaviest precipitation will occur and in what form it will fall. La Nina tends to shift storm tracks a little further south compared to normal, with the Ohio River Valley region being a favored area for winter storms. This places our region on the very northern edge of many winter storms.
Winter (December through February) Temperature and Precipitation Outlook issued November 17th
Local Study
After looking at research based on a national scale and the CPC's winter outlook, a local research study was completed to look at how past La Nina events affected the local area. Since 1950, there have been 14 documented La Nina episodes. Because of a limited dataset and local climate variability, these results alone cannot predict exactly what will happen during the current La Nina episode, but it is interesting to note the trends. Monthly average temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall data for each episode was compiled for Fort Wayne and South Bend. The graphs that follow show the departure from normal of all the La Nina episodes combined.
In general, Fort Wayne was warmer than normal for all months except March, May, and November which were colder than normal during La Nina episodes. In terms of precipitation, the months of January, February, May, August, and October were wetter than normal while the remaining months were drier than normal. Snowfall was below normal for the months of January, February, April and October-December and above normal in March.
Average Temperatures Precipitation Snowfall
In general, South Bend was warmer than normal for all months except February, March, and May which were colder than normal during La Nina episodes. In terms of precipitation, the months of January, February, April, August, and October were wetter than normal while the remaining months were drier than normal. Snowfall was below normal for the months of January, February, November, and December and above normal in March, May and October.
Check back each month as monthly averages from the current La Nina episode will be added to the graphs!
Winter 2010-2011 Recap
The 2010-2011 winter season was cooler and drier than normal but snowfall was above normal at both Fort Wayne and South Bend as a moderate to strong La Nina episode was occuring. The 2010-2011 winter proves why you cannot use forecasts of precipitation to imply potential snowfall amounts.
Fort Wayne --- All three months, December-February, featured below normal temperatures at Fort Wayne. The average temperature was 5.3 degrees F below normal for December, 3.1 degrees below normal for January, and 1.8 degrees below normal for February. This puts the winter season average temperature 3.4 degrees below normal. Precipitation was also below normal for both December and January (1.69" below in December and 0.25" below in January). February featured above normal precipitation (1.27" above normal). For the winter season, precipitation was below normal by 0.67". While precipitation was below normal, snowfall was above normal for all 3 months. Snowfall was 2.6 inches above normal in December and 6.2 inches above normal in January. February ended as the 2nd snowiest February on record with 18.3 inches (10.7 inches above normal)! The seasonal snowfall total of 45.3 inches was 19.5 inches above normal and the third snowiest winter season on record.
South Bend --- All three months, December-February, featured below normal temperatures at South Bend. The average temperature was 4 degrees below normal for December, 2.2 degrees below normal for January, and 1.7 degrees below normal for February. The winter season average was 2.7 degrees below normal. Precipitation was also below normal for both December (1.25" below normal) and Janauary (0.11" below normal). February featured above normal precipitation (1.53" above normal). The winter season total precipitation was 0.17 inches below normal. While precipitation was below normal, snowfall was above normal for all 3 months. Snowfall was 4.4 inches above normal in December. January snowfall totaled 53.8 inches which was 30.6 inches above normal! This makes it the second snowiest January on record behind January 1978. Snowfall for February was 10.0 inches above normal. The seasonal snowfall total of 102.9 inches was 45.0 inches above normal, making this winter the second snowiest winter season on record! There have only been two other winter seasons (1977-78 and 1981-82) that have had 100 or more inches of snow.
Through February 25th, the 2011-2012 winter season was warmer and wetter than normal but had below normal snowfall at both Fort Wayne and South Bend as a weak to moderate La Nina episode was occuring. Like the previous winter, the 2011-2012 winter proves why you cannot use forecasts of precipitation to imply potential snowfall amounts.
Fort Wayne (through February 25) --- All three months, December-February, featured above normal temperatures at Fort Wayne. The average temperature was 6.0 degrees F above normal for December, 4.7 degrees above normal for January, and 4.6 degrees above normal so far for February. This puts the winter season average temperature 4.0 degrees above normal. Precipitation was also above normal for both December and January (1.00" above in December and 0.83" above in January). So far, February has featured below normal precipitation (0.35" below normal). For the winter season, precipitation was above normal by 1.48". Snowfall was below normal for December (1.9" below normal) and February (0.7" below normal) and above normal for January (4.5" above normal). The seasonal snowfall total as of February 25th was 27.5 inches which is 1.2 inches above normal.
South Bend (through February 25) --- All three months, December-February, featured above normal temperatures at South Bend. The average temperature was 6.3 degrees above normal for December, 5.0 degrees above normal for January, and 4.0 degrees above normal for February so far. The winter season average was 5.0 degrees above normal. Precipitation was also above normal for both December (0.01" above normal) and Janauary (0.68" above normal). February so far has featured below normal precipitation (0.24" below normal). The winter season total precipitation was 0.45 inches above normal. While precipitation was above normal, snowfall was below normal for December and February and above normal in January. Snowfall was 11.6 inches below normal in December, 14.4 inches above normal in January and 4.7 inches below normal so far for February. The seasonal snowfall total of 49.7 inches was 3.2 inches below normal.
So if La Nina conditions were occurring during each of the last two winters, why is this winter so drastically different from last winter? While causes for the differences are hard to pinpoint exactly, the difference may lie in the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) which were discussed earlier. When the AO and NAO are in their negative phases, they can provide cold air across the CONUS. If these phases coincide with a strong storm system generated in a La Nina pattern, a significant snow storm could be the result. However, if the AO and NAO are in a positive phase when a storm system develops, there could be less cold air and potentially more liquid precipitation. This has been the cause with the current winter with the cold air bottled up in northern Canada. Last winter the AO and NAO were in a negative phase which allowed the cold air to infiltrate the region and cause more snowfall instead of liquid precipitation.
Story compiled by:
Courtney Obergfell
Sam Lashley
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7506 E 850 N


El Nido in Palawan is famed for its towering archipelago, lapping waterfront, and turquoise waters. The town is a launching pad for Bacuit Bay, where action-packed days are spent exploring hidden nooks by boat, so it is important to have a quality home base. We were fortunate to have found Sea Cocoon Hotel which is in the centre of El NIdo town, and provided the perfect place to call home for our time exploring the region.
Sea Cocoon is the top choice for hotel stays in the township, taking out significant TripAdvisor accolades and being consistently highly ranked across review sites, and it's not hard to see why.
We were warmly greeted upon arrival by the lovely ladies at the front desk, who helped us check in and gave us our room keys (and didn't mind our post-5-hour-van-ride-and-80-percent-humidity appearance), and we were helped up to the 4th floor.
After a few days in Port Barton without creature comforts, walking into the room at Sea Cocoon Hotel was a welcome surprise. The first thing that hit us was the beautiful big bed with crisp sheets and fluffy pillows. And then we saw the view: a railed balcony overlooking jungle-covered hills, a thriving street, and the iconic limestone towers of El Nido. The street below comes alive at night with several street vendors selling tasty Filipino snacks, so sitting on the hotel balcony and getting wafts of the flavoursome world beneath is rather mouthwatering. Despite this hive of activity, however, the rooms still manage to be quiet at night and allow for a restful slumber.
The rooms at Sea Cocoon Hotel are complete with Air Conditioning, hot water, hairdryers, cable TV and plenty of power points – everything you need to recharge (physically, mentally, and device-ly).
The breakfast at Sea Cocoon Hotel was one of our favourite parts of the stay and is included in the room fee. The days in El Nido are long, with full itineraries of swimming, kayaking, and adventuring, so fuelling up in the morning is paramount. Luckily, the buffet spread at Sea Cocoon hit the spot. Available from 6:30 until 9:00, you can stock up on waffles, cereal, delicious meats, and, of course, coffee. You can also order additional food aside from what is on offer at the buffet, I enjoyed plenty of scrambled eggs during my time at Sea Cocoon Hotel.
One of the major selling points of Sea Cocoon Hotel is the beautiful outdoor pool. Complete with day beds, it is the perfect place to relax when the tours are over and the weather is good. There are towels provided by the hotel which you can use.
Wifi is available throughout the building and we found it to be good quality. We were able to blog without any troubles and it maintained consistency. Although as a guest you don't receive the password, the staff put the password into your chosen devices upon arrival and you are connected in a flash.
The ladies at reception are happy to book tours and trips for you and the prices are the same as you would find around town. So whether you are looking to partake in some El Nido Island Hopping, or head to Nacpan Beach, they are happy to help you out.
We were delighted to stay as guests of Sea Cocoon Hotel during our stay in El Nido, Palawan, but as always, all opinions are my own.
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS, PIN IT FOR LATER AND FOR OTHERS!


Special Offers: Total running time +/- 120 minutes.
Warren Miller's STORM takes you deep within the blizzard, diving through danger and passion, into the magical world of skiing and snowboarding. Cruise through the glorious mountains of Austria with some incredible Freeriders as they barrel through the powder. Blast through the backcountry with the U.S. Marines at their winter warfare training base in California. Soar through the air with this year's most wanted "new schoolers" at the Outlaw Air Exhibition, as they defy both the laws of gravity and the laws of the competition circuit. And finally, travel far beyond civilization to the Isle of South Georgia, near the Antarctic Peninsula, for the most exotic and unlikely ski expedition you've ever seen. With its explosive soundtrack, Warren Miller's STORM is certain to blow you out of your seat. So hold on tight, and see if you can survive the STORM!
Released in 2002. Written and narrated by Warren Miller. Total running time +/- 120 minutes.


Theoretically at least, the more sign seen, the higher the number of snow leopards that should be present within the surveyed area. However, the relationship between sign abundance and cat numbers is not necessarily linear or consistent from one site to another or even from one year to the next. More field studies are needed to establish and refine this relationship for properly "indexing" sign frequency under a given set of conditions.
Many factors affect how often snow leopards leave their sign. For example, residents seem to mark more frequently than transients (individuals passing through the area), males more often than females and adults more than subadults. Besides varying seasonally, the amount of sign apparently depends upon the extent of home range overlap, presence of core use areas, the type of terrain, characteristics of the marking substrate, the population structure, movement patterns, encounter rates between individuals and so forth. However, if sign surveys are conducted along the same transects over several years at the same time of year, it may be possible to determine whether the snow leopard population is stable, increasing or decreasing. But this requires running numerous transects, which may not be possible given the resources at hand or accessibility of the survey area (see paper by Ahlborn and Jackson 1988).


Once upon a time, in another career, I led a campaign to get "back to basics" in the way we provided service to our clients. As our company grew from 80 to 800 employees we lost sight of some of the fundamentals of good business and made some simple processes way too complicated. I won't bore you with the details of this little campaign (which involved a lot of flowcharts), but I will say that I never forgot the lesson learned from it: Simpler is always better.
We've lived in TN for almost 2 years now and in that time we've strayed from some of the fundamentals of minimalism. I know it wasn't intentional. We didn't go out and buy a whole bunch of stuff. We didn't set out to fill our calendar with things to do. But over time, things happen. We adapted somewhat to the culture around us, a culture that values gift-giving at every occasion and likes to fill their days with more to do than can possible be done.
Basic #1: Declutter. On Friday, we launched a major decluttering effort in our shed. This project has been on our to-do list since January, when we decided not to keep the camping and kayaking gear that we haven't used in 2 years. (Note- we still actively engage in both activities but we have enough gear to outfit a small group excursion and well, there are only 2 of us.) After an awful experience with Letgo a few weeks ago and no luck on Craigslist in finding real buyers, we decided to try an app called OfferUp. BINGO! This was just the boost we needed – everything we listed from the shed – EVERYTHING – sold that very day. We made $155.
On Saturday, we continued decluttering, cleaning out the bedroom closet and drawers. T-shirts we'd held on to for sentimental reasons – gone. "Good" socks that we absolutely hated to wear – gone. The broken $20 sewing machine that was going to cost more to fix than we paid for it – gone. It felt good! In total, we got rid of 61 items.
Basic #2: Unplug. On Sunday morning we turned off our phones. We made ourselves an amazing brunch – frittatas, fresh fruit, and a mixed berry muffin. We talked, we laughed, we read books, we planned meals for the week, and made a big pot of soup. As we continued our decluttering efforts, going through the kitchen cabinets, we found an unopened box of Borax. "Remember when we made our own laundry soap?" I asked. We reminisced for a moment about simpler times and decided to make a few jars of soap. This was a fun and easy project that did more than just give us a usable result – it reconnected us with some of our core values: frugality, resourcefulness, and sustainability.
Basic #3: Waste Nothing. Building on that momentum, Angie put a new compost bucket on the patio. We had stopped composting a few months back (in the winter) when my mom had declared it too muddy to trek to the compost bin. We recently ordered a new bin that could be kept closer to the house and on Sunday, we resumed our composting efforts.
Basic #4: Stop Buying (or in our case, stop accepting) Stuff. Thankfully we were both born without a shopping gene. On occasion we like to browse the thrift stores or REI but for the most part, we don't have a problem with wanting "stuff". We do have a problem with saying no. Just this week, my niece gave us a box of clothes to keep at our house for the baby and a high chair. My mom gave me 3 new shirts and Angie a pair of shorts. And we found a box of discarded items by the dumpster that contained 2 brand new blankets, still in their packaging, and a lot of nearly new picture frames. I'm happy to say that we only kept one blanket. We gave the rest of the box to Goodwill. The high chair and clothes went to my mom's house, where they are needed, and we got rid of one item of clothing for each new item brought in. It's one small success today while we continue to work on "no, thank you" for the future.
Basic #5: Be True to Yourself. I believe that this is the most important principle, not just of minimalism, but of life. You have to live on your own terms, doing things your own way, regardless of what others think or say, in order to be truly happy. Minimalism is no different. It is an individual journey toward one goal – creating more out of less. More time from less obligation. More money from less spending. More happiness from less stress. Being true to ourselves means remembering (and sometimes simply reconnecting) with the one principle that has guided us in our minimalist journey for the past 5 years – simpler is always better.
[…] Source: Back to Basics Minimalism […] Gifting in the South is a cultural phenomenon that is very hard to explain and equally hard to escape.
[…] Source: Back to Basics Minimalism […] I like the fact that you and Angie see the need and take the time to stop and re-focus.
Good luck with getting back on track. I just started my journey about a year ago. I got rid of so much! I replaced my cleaning, body and home supplies with renewable/reusable ones. This ended up saving me so much time, money, the environment, and not to mention the health benefits. Couldn't imagine going back again. Changing habits is hard but a little at time makes it easier. Thank you for sharing!
You also hit it on the head with the reaction of family to minimalism and spending wisely. We are not in the South but gift giving is such an expectation here too.
Hi, I haven't been by for awhile. But I live in the South, and oh yeah! The presents!! I have it bad myself. But working so hard on de-cluttering, and paying off my bills, that I hope I have re-trained my brain this time!!
It's crazy, right?? Gifting in the South is a cultural phenomenon that is very hard to explain and equally hard to escape.
You hit it right on the head. It's been bred into me!!
Being true to yourself and living life on your terms is definitely a continual challenge when you seem to be the only fish swimming upstream. I am finding daily life an interesting challenge living in a two bedroom apartment with three other family members each of whom have their own 'be true to yourself' and life terms. I like the fact that you and Angie see the need and take the time to stop and re-focus. I need to do that more.
If I had more than 2 sets of sheets, I would have no where to put them! That was interesting about your local culture valuing gift giving. I would like to hear more about that.
I should write a post on this topic, as it does deserve a bit of explanation. I think much of the US has succumbed to the commercialization of holidays and special occasions but here in our area (not just TN but extending across a lot of the South), we've noticed that there's an unspoken expectation of gifting that extends beyond just proper etiquette. I've known people struggling to put food on their table who borrowed money to buy gifts. In fact, we witnessed this at Easter when a couple we know skipped paying their cable bill to buy a basket and dress for their infant daughter. In talking with them, it was evident that it never occurred to them that this was not the right thing to do. Gifting was a priority and not to gift meant they weren't meeting their responsibilities. Yes, definitely, I am going to write more about this in a post. Stay tuned and thanks for the idea!
Wow, that is quite a story. I look forward to hearing more on this.


text:
package uk.ac.sussex.gdsc.analytics.parameters;

/**
 * Base class to implements the {@link FormattedParameter} interface for a
 * {@link ParameterSpecification} with 3 indexes.
 */
abstract class ThreeIndexParameter extends BaseParameter {

  /** The expected number of indexes. */
  private static final int EXPECTED = 3;

  /** The first index. */
  private final int index1;
  /** The second index. */
  private final int index2;
  /** The third index. */
  private final int index3;

  /**
   * The index replacer.
   *
   * <p>This is from the the cache if the parameter is a {@link ProtocolSpecification}, otherwise it
   * is a custom generated replacer unique to this instance.
   */
  private ThreeIndexReplacer indexReplacer;

  /**
   * Create a new instance.
   *
   * @param specification the specification
   * @param index1 the first index
   * @param index2 the second index
   * @param index3 the third index
   * @throws IncorrectCountException If the index count is not three
   * @throws IllegalArgumentException If the index is strictly positive
   */
  public ThreeIndexParameter(ParameterSpecification specification, int index1, int index2,
      int index3) {
    super(specification);
    ParameterUtils.validateCount(EXPECTED, specification);
    this.index1 = ParameterUtils.requireStrictlyPositive(index1, "Index1");
    this.index2 = ParameterUtils.requireStrictlyPositive(index2, "Index2");
    this.index3 = ParameterUtils.requireStrictlyPositive(index3, "Index3");
  }

  /**
   * Create a new instance.
   *
   * @param specification the specification
   * @param index1 the first index
   * @param index2 the second index
   * @param index3 the third index
   * @throws IncorrectCountException If the index count is not three
   * @throws IllegalArgumentException If the index is strictly positive
   */
  public ThreeIndexParameter(ProtocolSpecification specification, int index1, int index2,
      int index3) {
    super(specification);
    ParameterUtils.validateCount(EXPECTED, specification);
    this.index1 = ParameterUtils.requireStrictlyPositive(index1, "Index1");
    this.index2 = ParameterUtils.requireStrictlyPositive(index2, "Index2");
    this.index3 = ParameterUtils.requireStrictlyPositive(index3, "Index3");
  }

  /**
   * Gets the first index.
   *
   * @return the first index
   */
  public int getIndex1() {
    return index1;
  }

  /**
   * Gets the second index.
   *
   * @return the second index
   */
  public int getIndex2() {
    return index2;
  }

  /**
   * Gets the third index.
   *
   * @return the third index
   */
  public int getIndex3() {
    return index3;
  }

  @Override
  protected StringBuilder appendNameEquals(StringBuilder sb) {
    ThreeIndexReplacer replacer = this.indexReplacer;
    if (replacer == null) {
      if (protocolSpecification == null) {
        replacer = new ThreeIndexReplacer(getParameterSpecification().getNameFormat());
      } else {
        // Use a cache of the defined protocol formats
        replacer =
            (ThreeIndexReplacer) IndexReplacerFactory.createIndexReplacer(protocolSpecification);
      }
      indexReplacer = replacer;
    }
    return replacer.replaceTo(sb, index1, index2, index3).append(Constants.EQUAL);
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A musebot is a piece of software that makes music with other musebots.
Musebots are intelligent musical agents that composers and coders are using to explore musical creativity. What does it mean to be creative? What does it mean to have a digital creative partner? Can you code a simple machine to produce some unexpected music?
A prime directive of the musebot project is sharing. All of our code is available. Let's get past the low level stuff, and start talking about interesting things, like how to make musical agents make interesting music.
Check out the Coding section.
The musebot specification is available here: version 1.0; version 2.0.


But many of our crosses are opportunities to be sources of hope, of joy, of discovery, of healing, of life--for ourselves and others.
TEAM ONE: Students representing the Virginia Attorney General should construct an argument that the teens and the Ku Klux Klan leader burned the crosses to intimidate people, thereby violating Virginia law.
And rapidly, over 150 crosses were planted in the field.
Six of the Netherlands' 9 goals it its 5-game championship run in the '88 European championship involved a cross, a direct result of averaging 35 crosses a match.


text:
from __future__ import unicode_literals

from django.conf.urls import patterns, url

# Preview and check format urls entries.
urlpatterns = patterns("mezzanine_developer_extension.views",
    url("mezzanine_developer_extension/get_preview/$", "get_preview",
        name="get_preview"),
    url("mezzanine_developer_extension/check_format/$", "check_format",
        name="check_format"),
    url("mezzanine_developer_extension/demo_form/$", "demo_form",
        name="mzde_demo_form")
)


The week's SpicyIP highlight of the week was Shamnad Sir's post on the Dasatinib CL controversy. He writes about the various methods that are available to get an otherwise unaffordable drug within the reach of the masses and also brings to light a scoop that we had obtained containing a few questions that the DIPP had asked the Health Ministry, strongly indicating a restrictive interpretation of S.92. He concludes his post wondering why more generic companies have not resorted to action under S.84 for a compulsory license.
Anubha's post, that began the week, was equally important to the Indian IP ecosystem. She summarised the various comments received by the USTR for their Out of Cycle Review on India's IP Policy. Prominent commenters included the IPA, James Love, Srividhya Raghavan and Bayer among others. The comments display faith in the Indian IP system, particularly with regards to its handling of pharmaceutical patents, allowing cheaper access to drugs.
Two tidbits followed this post, the first was by Gopika reporting that the prolific Kannada writer Niranjana's works have been released on Wikisource under a free license. She writes that this is part of an effort by the Kannada Wikimedia community and CIS and may be the single largest collection of any author's work available under an Open Source license. The second was by Devika, posting on the John Doe order that was granted to SanDisk to restrain infringement of their trademark by "fly by night operators" who were selling counterfeit goods.
Our next post was a congratulatory post dedicated to Shamnad sir. He has been awarded the Infosys Prize, 2014 for his work in IP as well as in legal education. As a member and a mentor to us at the team here in SpicyIP, Shamnad sir has definitely helped take the blog to new heights, even earning praise from a mind like Amartya Sen for the balanced and holistic approach of the blog.
The perfect example of too little, too late is the subject of our next tidbit. Prof N.S. Gopalakrishnan was reinstated as the MHRD IP Chair at the CUSAT. After the fairly outrageous dismissals of Prof Gopalakrishnan and Prof Pai last year, this action comes without apology or remorse and is perhaps CUSAT's response to the MHRD's pressure, writes Swaraj.
Devika reported next on the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) deciding to slash the prices of popular medicines for stress, hypertension, HIV, pain and pneumonia. The move seeks to cover as many as 100 new drugs and would apply to drugs of varying strengths, she writes. Swaraj had the last post of the week, expressing the view that the Intellectual Property Owners Association arranging a series of exclusive meetings with members of the Indian Judiciary, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Custom officials and Intellectual Property Offices in Delhi and Chennai, might lead to some concern.
The 9th Pan European Intellectual Property Summit, 2014 organised by the think tank, Premier Cercle at Brussels is to be held on December 4th & 5th. It will feature 130+ speakers and 600+ delegates from 50+ countries.
The Lawyers' Collective Training Workshop on Patent Oppositions for Law Students, organised by the Lawyers' Collective is to be held on the 20th of December, 2014. The workshop will focus on drafting and filing patent oppositions on key lifesaving medicines in public interest. The last date for applying is November 16th.
Swaraj's concern with regards to the visit of the IPO was voiced by a number of other people, in a letter to Chief Justice Dattu, reports IPWatch.