In 2004, Ant Chapin, Keri Bean, Lauren Ditolla and I, flew to Moscow to begin the journey of a lifetime: Retrace Slavomir Rawicz's escape route chronicled in the epic tale of survival The Long Walk: A true story of a Trek to Freedom. We were four good friends who had all read the book and wondered if it was true. There was only one way to be sure and that would be to retrace the journey ourselves. We were very fortunate to receive the PolarTec Challenge Award from Malden Mills and support from the National Outdoor Leadership School. In addition to those grants, we sold expedition t-shirts, pooled our saving and set off into the unknown September 4, 2004.
Did we walk every foot of the terrain Rawicz described in his book? No. The Long Walk gives few references to actual locations along the trek and even Rawicz himself was not sure of the exact route. We did however purposely visit and trek through the major obstacles Rawicz describes: Siberia and Lake Baikal, the endless desert in the Gobi and cross over the high passes of the Himalayas.
The following dispatches were written during the expedition, using any computer/internet connection we could find. The entries are raw unedited glimpses into our incredible journey.
The last few days have been consumed by the final details of our expedition. Putting my life on hold for three and half months is not an easy task. Mailing insurance payments, forwarding my mail and casting absentee ballots have all been accomplished at the expense of little sleep, but with a 13 hour flight just around the corner I am not worried.
OK, a last minute check. Bags packed..check, airline tickets…check, passports, visa's…check. Permits for satellite phone and Global Positioning Unit……..uh…not really.
Four years ago I traveled to the Kondus Valley of Pakistan to an unexplored region near the India border to climb giant walls that were only rumored to exist. We brought along a digital camera, computer and satellite phone to share our findings with the Mountainzone.com audience. The red-tape securing a permit for our satallite phone delayed our expedition by two weeks.
For the Long Walk Expedition, I wrote emails, letters and even called all of the Russian Embassies in the USA in an attempt to go through all the proper channels for aquireing permits for our electronics. I received contradictory information and as a result we have decided to deal with the consequence of not having a permit if the there is a problem along the journey.
Finally, with 30 minutes to go before we leave for the airport all of the details that have to be accomplished our completed and I can take a big breadth and relax in the front yard of Lauren's parents house. In the grass a robin is playing tug of war with an earthworm and I think by the time we return from the Long Walk the ground will be frozen and like us that robin will be thousands of miles to the south.
We flew SAS Scandanavian Airlines to Moscow. Efficient services with a quick smile was the standard behavior we recieved from the flight crew.
As we de-barked from the plane in Moscow I felt my stomach tighten with anticipation of dealing with customs of the Former Soviet Republic. I cleared immigration and grabbed Lauren's and my backpacks turned around and Lauren was not in sight. I went back to the immigration kiosk, but there was no sign of her. Just as my imagination began to envision her in a small room with a bare light-bulb and loud Russian voices demanding answers she appeared from imigration. " I couldn't find my immigration card," she said with the anxiety of a few tense moments still ringing in her voice.
Ahead of us, four customs officers dressed in dire green uniforms complete with large hats stared us down. I could feel my palms begining to sweat while grasping my backpack. One of the officers raised an imposing hand, palm out- STOP. Then he smiled and turned his hand to a wave, motioning us through the customs area and out into the general area of the airport.
We found our driver from the Traveller's Guest House, piled into his small sedan and proceeded towards Moscow's center. I have been terrified by traffic in places like LA, New York, Boston, Dehli, Bangkok, but in Moscow I was terrified by not the congestion or the erratic drivers, but the pure speed in which our driver and all vehicles were traveling. At one point, while driving on a four lane city street, we reached almost 90 miles and hour, and we were being continually passed. I would soon learn that accepting a given situation was the key to traveling in Russia.
We're finally all here in Moscow, and excited to begin our journey. Despite the 12 hour time difference and lingering colds that Ant and Keri have, we set out our first day here with energy and enthusiasm to explore this huge city. Our first day here, Ant instisted on trying to learn the metro system, which turned out to be a good call on his part! The subway system here seems pretty simple at first, and really it isn't so bad–if you know Russian, that is. We've ended up tearing out the metro map from the Lonely Planet guidebook and we try to match up the Russian Cyrillic with the signs and symbols posted on the underground walls. We've been getting better, but it can still be quite the process, especially when there's more than two lines crossing at one station. Not knowing a lick of Russian definitly proves to be frustrating in a lot of ways here in Moscow!
The Lubyanka was the jail where Slavomir Rawicz was originally imprisoned. It's a beautiful building, ornate and picturesque on the outside-and hard to imagine the tourtures and hardships Slavomir went through inside the basement of such a unassuming place. The huge wooden doors that Keri and I stood in front of while Dave took some pictures were pretty imposing. The curiosity to see what was behind those doors overwhelmed me. I bent down to peek through the keyhole of the door…and suddenly the officer standing across the street started blowing his whistle and marching towards us, waving his arms-that was our cue to beeline it the hell out of there. I'm not sure if it was because Dave was taking a picture of the building, or because I was being over curious-whatever the reason, none of us wanted to stick around to find out!
We've also done and seen some of the more touristy things here in this crazy city. The Kremlin and the Red Square are major historical hubs of not only Moscow but Russia as a country. The square is huge, and the perimeter is decorated with colorful, ornate towers, and many churches. St. Basil's Cathedral is perhaps the most prominent, with brightly colored towers with an array of decorations and designs. Keri and I decided to buy a ticket and explore the inside, I'm psyched we did. The inside is even more beautiful that the outside. Intricate murals decorate the walls with different saints and biblical history. There were tons of rooms, little passage-ways, and the stone pathways that had hundreds of years wear on them were just cool things to see.
explore it a bit. However, I think we are all ready to leave the big city and are very excited to see what Siberia is like, starting the expedition where Slavomir started his long journey…at a gulag camp in the north of Siberia.
It is simply too difficult to describe 84 hours of thumping along on an outdated Russian electric train. Visions of blurred forests, the swaying toilet, difficult to aim in without drinking beer and almost impossible after a few Larnac Premium's (at 6.5% these can really shake your world a bit) and of course the infamous provodnitsa (Conductorett) with her keys of freedom, or imprisionment as it seemed in early morning hours. Russian trains are comprised of a series of sleeper cars (1st-3rd class). As we traveled the second class, it was assumed that we wanted a luxuriously hot cabin. Sealed windows, no fresh air and four smelly drunk people in one 8 foot cubic box is too much for one hour, let alone four days. We had a lot of time to sit, think, gaze upon the blurring world and sweat! We replaced our spent liquids with vada (water), vodka, and of course, beer. The trick to all of this train travel was to get on the good side of our provodnitsa as she is the said goddess of respective train cars. She rules with her iron key chain, and feigns complete indifference to all of our overflowing bladders by locking the bathrooms at the most in opportune times…like 6 to 9 am. We eventually won her favor by giving her some tomatoes and buying a few extra beers from her private enterprise. Still, we were on our best behavior in her presence…most of the time.
Our train followed almost exactly the path that Rawicz traveled 60 years ago. His fateful forced ride, packed into an open air cattle car in the middle of the Russian winter is something that we could never imagine. We drank beer, while they were sprayed with freezing water at random; we feasted on dried shrimp, pickles and borsch soup, but Rawicz and his unfortunate lot were dispatched with a measly kilo of stale bread for three weeks travel. The perseverance and will of those ill-treated prisoners is unbelieveable even at this early stage in our long, long trip.
Here in Irkutsk we are faced with a very interesting and most decidedly relaxed city. Beautiful old wooden buildings line the roadside, occasionally interrupted by an ill favored Soviet "Block". Trees and even some crude drinking fountains dot the public courts. It is a haven that we wished Rawicz, like we, could have enjoyed instead of being rushed through in the middle of the night, unknown and lost. It is good to know that there is a place to rest here.
We look forward to spending some time along lake Baikal, simply walking.
Our plan was to fly from Irkutsk to Severobaikal and begin our search for an old Gulag camp rumored to be located in this part of Siberia. At the airport in Irkutsk we were herded into the check-in area. More elbowing with babushkas and other passengers got us to the front of the line. Our bags, and despite my feeble protest my film, all went through the ancient X-ray machine. The guard then demanded I open my pack.
My palms began to sweat as I feared that the X-ray had revealed the presence of the satellite phone that we never actually got a permit for. Much to my relief it was our harmless camp stove that caught their eye and I was able to enter the boarding area. Our flight was announced and all the passengers carrying bags walked to the plane were a man standing in the belly of the ancient twin prop airplane loaded our luggage.
We had heard the stories of the horrible flight safety record, especially in Siberia, of Russian domestic flights and the condition of our plane did little to alleviate these concerns. The exterior of the plane had been painted over many times and large bubbles of red paint were peeling off the wings. Inside, the floor and ceiling was covered in 1/2 inch plywood and the seats were thread bare. I was sitting next to the emergency exit. The sheet metal around the window was bent and the gasket flopped out of the side indicating that this emergency window had been used somewhat recently….great!!!
The flight attendant stood in the front of the plane demonstrating how to fasten the seat belts. She was about six feet tall, wore an unflattering lime green polyester suit and the clump of dark hair on her upper lip had me questioning her gender. The propellers began to turn, Keri closed her eyes and we all crossed our fingers and nervously chatted about flying. But soon all conversation was eclipsed by the roar of the engine and the vibrating metal of the fuelsalage. As the plane gained altitude we stared out the windows at the effect of the recent cold snap. The higher peaks were coated in snow and the leaves of the birch forest were turning from a bright yellow to a dull brown as winter began to take hold of Siberia.
The wind cut through my fleece jacket as I briskly crossed the street towards the only "supermarket" in Severobaikal. Located on the northern tip of Lake Baikal the town sprung up out of the perma-frost of Siberia in the 1970's when a new section of track was added to the Trans-Siberian Railroad. A quad of hastily built 8 story concrete apartments lined the roadway. These functional buildings had all the charm of the dull concrete block that they were built from, ah Communism. The graffeti plastered along the bottom of the apartments showed the desire for freedom of expression. However, there were more dramatic signs of a changing order in this previously strictly controlled society.
As I approached the supermarket in the early morning light I could see a black leather cap lying on the ground. From the cap a river of dark colored liquid flowed 10 feet down the side walk collecting in a large pool in the street. As I got closer the red color of the coagulated liquid stood out against the dull gray sidewalk. In my mind I had no questions about what had transpired here. Although the body had been dragged away by the time I got there, from the amount of blood it was obvious that someone had lost there life in the spot. My head was filled with other questions, who, why, how? The answers came slowly throughout the next couple days. The man who had been killed was a fishing inspector. Wanted posters complete with photos of four rough looking men appeared at the train station and other locations around town. When we left the city limits to visit a hot spring a surprise roadblock stopped our taxi and a serious looking policemen pointed AK-47's towards our direction as they searched our vehicle for the suspects.
Was the murder a random drunken act, robbery or was the local Mafia sending a messageto the governments fishing inspectors? We never learned the answers to these questionsand certainly no one would volunteer this information to us.
Where is Nicolai? It reminded me of looking for Waldo. Everyone knew who he was, but not where. We were taking shifts hanging out in the drab parking lot in frigid weather asking taxi drivers if they had seen our soon to be guide. We were anxious to make the contact and leave the Stalinesque architecture of northern Siberia behind. Four hours later and still no luck. Apparently Nicolai was the only person in town who would give tours to the camp and we needed him to find the location.
By a stroke of luck one of our crew spotted his four-wheel drive mini van in the local market. Nicolai ushered us into his rig along with his Buryat daughter and adorable grandson. A quick stop to drop them off at their ramshackle wooden home and we were on our way. A potholed, bumpy road wound its way to the trail. The scenery along the way was breathtaking and it was hard to imagine that anything as depressing as a Gulag camp could have existed out here. While walking the five snow covered miles up to the Gulag we wondered what ghosts haunted the area. Rocky cliffs hovered above our heads. Nicolai explained that men in gun towers had been placed there to prevent any one from escaping. I began thinking about how lucky Slavomir Rawicz was to have escaped. The chances of making it out of the camps alive was very slim. More people had died under Stalin's rule then under Hitler's. Slavomir Rawicz was a Polish prisoner of war in the 1940's. He escaped along with six other prisoners and walked for one year to India.
This particular Gulag had been a small mining camp. The wooden structures were collapsed but the foundations lay intact. The old cracked cooking pots were scattered about. I could only imagine the skeletal figures who used to eat here. Old mining carts lay about as well. Apparently it had been a camp that was used from the 1930's to the 1940's. Nicolai lead us through the camp showing us the old barracks, mess hall, and burial grounds used for prisoners who got out of line. When they shut down the camp in the 40's they chained the prisoners together and marched them down onto the frozen lake to their deaths. I could imagine the cracking of the ice as the prisoners were enveloped by the silent icy waters of Lake Baikal. A chilling story. Luckily Slavomir escaped this fate. At the end of the day we were all ready to leave the eerie site. Needless to say, it was a fairly intense yet necessary experience. There was no other way to properly begin our expedition.
After Slavomir Rawicz escaped from Gulag number 303 in central Siberia, he crossed the Lena River and continued south towards Lake Baikal. Rawicz knew that he was close to the lake without ever laying eyes on it. He wrote that he could smell the lake some 50 miles away. It was not a bad smell, just the unmistakable odor of a massive body of freshwater.
Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and contains one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply. While visiting the lake we met a professor from Michigan who was studying Lake Baikal. He put the size of Lake Baikal into terms that we could easily understand. He said, "if you took all the Great Lakes of the United States and poured them all into Lake Baikal, you still wouldn't fill the lake all the way up." The professor was studying the diatoms found in the lake. Diatoms are indicators of lake quality and Lake Baikal is known to have very clean water, with visibility of up to 50 feet in many places. The lake also has many unique creatures such as the Nurpa Seal, the only freshwater seal in the world.
After spending too much time in the metropolis of Moscow, then the crowded Trans-Siberian Railroad, we all wanted to put on our packs and use our legs for a while. On the train we met two Polish travelers who were also keen on hiking around part of the lake. The six of us along with all of our gear piled into a mini-van in Irkutsk and headed south to the small harbor of Listvyanka.
"Would you like some vodka?" asked a large Russian man holding a shot glass up in the air as Ant stepped out of the van onto the shore of Lake Baikal.
"Ah, sure" responded Ant, downing the shot. Then came caviar, more shots and chocolate before we could get away from our new slightly inebriated Russian friends. The small harbor was alive with locals selling various crafts and food items. The most common item for sale was Omul, the indemic Salmon like fish caught in Lake Baikal. Before we began our trek we feasted on delicious smoked and poached Omul.
Leaving the street vendors behind we began hiking, passing the main dock where several large fishing boats were moored. The wind kicked up the waves and whitecaps pounded the shoreline creating a foamy surf. Even though the air lacked the tart smell of salt and seaweed, it was difficult not to think of Lake Baikal as an ocean.
We followed small cobble stone beaches until large cliffs of crumbling metamorphic rock blocked our progress, causing our party of six to climb narrow switchbacks up the hillside above the cliffs. In some spots we had to use small handholds and footholds to pass safely. It was like skiing in a "no fall zone", one slip could send you cart-wheeling down the 60 degree slope over the vertical cliff into the icy lake 300 feet below.
Soon this dangerous section was behind us. The crisp fall weather brought with it ideal hiking conditions. Plus, the hoards of mosquito's and nasty ticks that can carry encephalitis had disappeared with the end of the summer. The coastline and surrounding forest was stunning and we began to see why thousands of Russians flock to Lake Baikal each summer. During our journey we did not see a soul for several days. Our trek around the lake coincided with the peak colors of fall foliage. The white birch leaves were in the process of turning to a bright yellow. This, combined with the orange needles of the larch trees formed a shimmering bronze canvas which was accentuated by small clumps of fire red ash leaves all working to complete a near perfect impressionist painting.
One morning I sat on the grassy bank above the lake. I was mesmerized by the small, two foot waves breaking in rhythmic intervals along the rock studded beach. To the south, a 50 foot fishing boat steamed effortlessly through the clear water while a small flock of gulls turned tight circles in the boats wake. East across the lake 8000 foot peaks rose out of the water, their summits decorated in a fresh coating of snow. To the north, the giant lake ran towards the horizon looking much like an ocean as it stretched out in a continuous plane until the curvature of the earth caused it to sink out of view.
Our trek ended at the small fishing/gold mining area of Bolshie Koty. Most of the residents had left for the winter. We wandered undisturbed around the unique hand hewed log homes with bright blue shutters while waiting for the hydrofoil that would return us to Listvyanka. It was hard to say goodbye to Lake Baikal. We all expressed a desire to circumnavigate the lake. However, such a journey would take at least three months and cause us to overstay our one month Russian Visa. Unlike other countries, where if you overstay your visa you are escorted out of the country, in Russia you can't leave until you have resolved the legal red tape, and according to a friend in Moscow this can take a very, very, very long time.
border), we finally left Russia and entered Mongolia. What a literal world of difference. In Mongolia we were greeted with a warm "Hello, where are you from?". "Please, Thank you and Good Day" were all so foreign to our Russian battered egos that before we could gain our composure the Mongolian money exchangers had swindled about $5 worth of rubles from us. Small price to pay for the warmth of friendly people. The elation Rawicz felt as he crossed into sovereign Mongolia must have been incredible after a two month Siberian winter escape. To be caught was certain death for Rawicz and his ragged group. Although the border Rawicz crossed was demarked by no more than a series of tall poles, it was an incredible accomplishment. We can empathize only remotely in how glad we were to have successfully and healthfully left Russia. Rawicz had so much further to go, and for that matter so do we.
Chu, Chu!! Our ponies lurched forward from the sudden smack on the rump that was applied by our horse packing guide. Mugee, our guide for the next three days, proceeded to laugh heartily at our surprise as our ponies lurched forward into a trot. They clearly understood the command that we didn't.We quickly scrambled to regain our balance as Mugee yelled something in Mongolian and pointed west, indicating that was the way we were heading. It was a startling beginning to our horse packing journey and also a sudden introduction into the ways in which the local people travel.
riding would be rewarded tenfold by the culture we experienced, the friends we made (despite the language barrier), and the extremely sore asses we all developed after 80 kilometers of riding small, fast-paced horses in primitive wooden saddles.
After Mugee startled our ponies into action and we had adjusted to the pace, we began our three day long journey. Mongolia is such a vast, beautiful country… it's hard to take everything in. The countryside just goes on for miles and miles, and the endlessness gives you a warped perception of how far away you are from things. By lunchtime, we were all ready to get off our ponies and stretch our legs out. We thought we were pretty close to where we were going to camp that night, so we took our time. We were wrong! After two hours of riding, our legs and tail-bones were getting rubbed pretty raw. After four hours, the fun factor was running low and more or less turned into seeing how long our pain thresholds could last. After fivehours, I turned around and noticed Ant and Keri were really far behind the group and completely out of view. Dave, Mugee and I stopped for a few moments to let them catch up. Suddenly we heard giggles from behind the trees and both Ant and Keri appeared, walking next to their ponies. They'd had enough. After another hour, Dave and I dismounted as well and we all walked the final few kilometers into camp. Mugee didn't quite understand why we were not riding, but laughed at us anyways.
That night we pitched our tents and camped by a near-by Ger, where Mugee would stay with his friends for the night. As we set up camp and started to cook dinner, we noticed curious on-lookers starting to shyly creep up to observe our labors in preparing dinner. Our little whisper-lite stove created quite a gathering. The food we were cooking; pasta, sauces, black tea, and chocolate, was food that was quite foreign to what Mongolians eat. We quickly learned that there is no "mine"….rather, it's "ours". My food is basically your food. We had learned this lesson the night before at Mugee's Ger where we were offered a helping of goat's head, yak butter tea, and fermented mare's milk. It was expected that we would offer up our food as well. Dinner was a great festivity that night. Trying to explain what the various foods were through hand gestures and Ant's crazy charades proved difficult, but left everyone laughing. Towards the end of the night, things escalated to a friendly, yet intense wrestling match between the woman of the household, (whom we only knew as "Yak Woman" for her impressive galloping on the family's big bull yak) and Ant. Yak Woman was feisty and aggressive, and almost had Ant pinned about 6 times. Finally, Ant pulled through and wrestled her to the ground. The whole thing had everyone rolling in laughter!
The next day we relaxed by the lakes, resting our sore behinds. The day after we took off to complete the final 40 kilometers of our journey. It was a chilly and crisp morning as we started riding over one of the passes. As it started to snow lightly, everyone relaxed and enjoyed the stillness of the morning. Mugee broke out into the soft singing of traditional Mongolian folk songs, and the peacefulness of our horses moving through the wide open terrain definitely created a magical moment. We arrived late that day at a Ger where we would return our ponies to the breeder who lent them to us, and continued our journey south to the Gobi. Our experience with the horses and culture was one we wouldn't forget.
After days of travel through Mongolia in our dust covered mini-van our driver Bataar informed us that we were in the Gobi. We all looked out the windows to see terrain that was indistinguishable from what we had already been viewing for the last four days. Flat, clumps of grass and desolate, the landscape seemed to stretch on forever. This didn't fit the images we had of the Gobi prior to leaving. We had all pictured miles and miles of sand. To say the least the landscape was fairly uninspiring. Where were all of the rolling sand dunes that Slavomir Rawitcz had traveled through?
One thing however that did fit Rawitz's description was the lack of water. It was difficult to find enough water to drink, let alone shower with. We were all excited at the prospect of taking a shower in the local aimag capital of Dalanzadgad. One of the few nice things the Soviets had left behind in Mongolia were public bath houses, a place where weary travelers and wandering nomads could scrub away dirt & sand. The bath house was fairly dilapidated. Dim lights, peeling paint and dirty corners however, were no deterrent to the four of us. The place seemed a god-send. The prospect of washing our grime away was much anticipated and long overdue. A few hours later and we were back on the road, freshly scrubbed and squeaky clean. Bataar had even taken the time to clean out the dusty van, inside and out. He took a lot of pride in keeping our rig immaculate, even if it did look the same in about ten minutes drive.
A few more days drive of the same monotonous land scape and we were all quite anxious to see anything other than flat desolation. It is no wonder why Slavomir skipped over this terrain. It all blended together and no one could remember how much time was spent driving through it. Maybe an hour, or had it been several days. An occasional nomad would remind us that it was actually possible for people to survive out here.
Just when we thought it would never end we spotted the mammoth sand dunes towering before us. The sand dunes rose 900 feet above our heads. The Gers in the steppes below were dwarfed by these gigantic mounds. We couldn't wait to explore these beautiful, curving exotic sands which wound through the Gobi like a giant snake. Luckily, we had the sands all to ourselves. The silence proved to be quite profound and set us all at peace. The shadows that the afternoon light created were breathtaking. Shoes were discarded as we began our climb up the warm sands which massaged our feet.
It felt so good to be out of the rig, to be using our legs again. This was supposed to be "The Long Walk" after all. Unfortunately our asses had been getting the biggest work out lately and we were psyched to be moving again.
Back up in the sand dunes I heard Dave say, Wow!! wouldn't it feel good to get naked right now? Why not? No one was here. A few seconds later Ant & I had left all clothing behind and were running through the dunes like small children. A great feeling until we spotted a local nomadic woman down below. Luckily she hadn't seen us so we decided to quickly throw our clothes back on. No need to offend the locals. As the sun began to set and the stars slowly came out I wondered if these were the sand dunes that Slavomir had crossed. I felt very lucky to have experienced this place with food, water, warm clothing (yes, most of the time we did wear clothing) and shelter. Without these, I can not imagine how scary and intimidating it would have been to travel through this region of Mongolia.
We arrived in Lhasa early in the morning; people were still hiding in bed. The frigid Tibetan air had solidified last night's prayers. Were dreams to come true this morning for those waking to a bright and beautiful day? As we crossed under the steady gaze of the Potalas's myriad windows it felt as though some dreams were coming true for us.
Trying to get to Lhasa, we had spent the better part of a week haggling over airfare, jeep rental and bus travel options, to no good end. Snowy passes, permit constraints and various other dynamics found us on the 2 hour flight to Lhasa. The Himalayas lay spread beneath us, a testament to the incredible difficulty that Rawicz and company experienced while making their winter traverse some 60 years ago. As we floated up at 35,000 feet it seemed as though some of the peaks scratched our plane's belly. Yet, we felt nothing of the cold and altitude, nor felt any of the difficulties that this massive barrier presents to travelers. It is no wonder that people consider the Himalayas to be an abode of the gods.
As we approached the Jokhang for the first time incense smoke swirled out of the temple's pores, emptying into the crisp mountain air. People use this sanctuary, the holiest of all in Tibet, not only to pay their reverance to Buddha, but also to make their annual shopping trips. Lost in the murrmer of thousands of Tibetan Nomads chanting their manmtras, we circumabulated the Barkhor three times before we realized. Traditional clothing, DVD players, Chinese boots, silk katas (scarves), woollen fabrics, hats of all kinds, and around we went. Whatever one needed is available and convieniently located on the holiest circuit in Tibet. Talk about a practical religion!
Chinese nation. Old meets new. People are unable to identify their own language as it is swallowed up by Chinese! There are definately more Chinese people than there are Tibetans in their own capital. We have our own preconceptions though. People are not exactly unhappy with this Chinese influence. New roads, nice cars, hot water and cheap flights in and out of Lhasa are all excellant reasons to be happy with the Chinese government.
Rawicz and his haggard group walked right by the foridden city of Lhasa before the Chinese invaded Tibet. What did it look like? Did people have any idea what was to happen to this remote corner of the world years later? Had Rawicz known what kind and hospitable people the Tibetans are he might have stayed here for a while, and in fact so might we. It is still a truly magical place.
all helped gather brush and someone threw cardboard into the mix. Fire is sacred to Tibetans and one cannot just burn anything, especially not garbage. She must have decided to forgive our foe-pas. Instead she chanted and prayed over the cardboard to purify it before she used it in the fire. She pulled tsampa (roasted barley grounded into a flour), tea and yak butter from her potato sack and offered up large portions to the fire all while chanting and praying. I had never met anyone who was so reverent and thankful for the little that they had. Of course she offered food to all of us and I was surprised to find that it was actually very tasty. After dinner she began collecting rocks next to a bank and arranged them in a circle. Then she found a big stick and began whacking down the brush next to her and placing it in the circle. I realized that she was making her bed for the evening. The brush would help to keep her warm. She did not have any padding so Ant offered her his pad and Dave offered up his backpack to sleep on. She accepted with another toothless grin. She only had one thin blanket in her sack. The evenings were quite cold and I couldn't believe anyone could survive with so little, especially at the age of seventy. I imagined that if that young companion of Rawicz's, Christina, had not died in the Gobi Desert, she too might have made a wonderful cup of tea and shared a grand old toothless smile with us. Christina would be about 77 years old. The woman made gestures that she was not going to live long now. She seemed to be at perfect peace with her fate. A true acknowledgement and understanding of her future. She will stay with us, in our memories for a long while to come.
Like Rawicz, I was on my way to a hospital where Slavomir and the others might have recuperated after their trek. Through the open window of the taxicab the city of Calcutta to flowed into my senses. The thick humid air was choked with exhaust fumes and mixed with smells of a city of 12 million people jammed into an area designed for less than half of that.
In 1690 Job Charlock, an employee of the British East India Tea Company, built a fort on the marshy edge of the Bay of Bengal. Later using typical colonial era swindling tactics, the English Tea Company paid the local Mughal emperor Farrukh-siyar $68 a year to rent the land that would become Calcutta. The city thrived due a growing textile industry becoming a center for the arts and learning and capital of English ruled India until 1912. Renamed Kolkata in honor of it's original name in 2001, Kolkata is today one of India's technology centers.
But the transition of Kolkata to the city it is today has not been easy. An estimated 60,000 beggars roam the streets. Famine, disease and despair have plagued the city and inspired people like Noble Prize winner, Mother Teresa to devote their lives to helping the unfortunates.
The sedan I was riding in was an Ambassador, THE car of India. Ambassadors look like snub nosed cousins of the classic American cars that rolled down the assembly lines in Detroit during the 1950's. The fact that these boxy sedans have changed little in the last 50 years has more to due with trade embargos than timeless engineering. Still, they are a fixture in Indian car culture and still fill the crowded streets today.
The driver of the Ambassador taxicab alternately gunned the engine, blared the horn and slammed on the brakes. Due to the violent ride, I was tossed around the back of the cab like lost airport luggage and the streets of Kolkata became a blurry kaleidoscope of images. We sped past ornate Colonial buildings covered by ivy with bolted on billboards advertising everything from cell phones and motor oil to the latest Bolywood movie. Human powered rickshaws navigated narrow streets where small groups of men and woman gathered around public water hand pumps filling large plastic tubs and splashing themselves awake. We continued by an open-air market were great slabs of fish freshly sliced and diced lay alongside piles of shrimp next to mounds of carrots and bananas. I watched one man busily lashing two dozens live chickens to the frame of his bicycle.
Her words were cut short by the commotion of man in a bloody stretcher being rushed into the emergency room followed by his wailing wife and daughter. I turned back to information desks intent on continuing my battle, but with the chaos all around us all I could do was hand her the orchid and walk away.
In Calcutta I board an international flight home, find my seat, secure the seatbelt and let out a big sigh. For the last 3 months every day had been consumed with constant questions and unknowns of retracing the 8,000 miles journey of Slavomir Rawicz chronicled in the book The Long Walk. What track does the train arrive on? How far can we expect to travel by camel each day. What if a storm comes in whiles trekking across the Himalayas? Will that meal of fried water buffalo pass smoothly through my digestive system? Now all those questions have been answered.
The plane accelerates down the hazy tarmac and lifts off above a large city called Salt Lake on eastern edge of Calcutta, India. I have 28 hours of travel time to reflect before I land in another Salt Lake City, in the United States. I pop on the headphones and contemplate the one question that is left. Is the Long Walk true?
Are the events in The Long Walk true or did Slavomir Rawicz simply fabricate the journey with his own imagination? Despite a concerted effort before and during the trip we found no hard evidence that would support or deny Slavomir's alleged journey. Although more and more Soviet era documents about the Gulag system are being released every day, no records have yet surfaced that confirm his arrest, incarceration or escape. But with over 12 million people passing through the Gulag system the likeliness of such records ever surfacing is low. While in Calcutta, I interviewed administrators at the SSKM hospital were Rawicz might have recuperated after his journey; unfortunately the hospital admission records did not go back that far.
With no concrete evidence I am left with the comparisons between the events, people and places described in the book and my personal observations after re-tracing the journey of The Long Walk.
Attempting to find truth in every written word of the Long Walk dooms the book to skepticism. The two most poignant examples of this are Rawicz and his companions crossing the Gobi desert without water for 13 days and sighting the yeti in the Himalayas. However, both of these events occurred when Rawicz was close to death due to extreme environmental conditions. Other sections of the book, such as the descriptions of the local people and their customs are so accurate it seems impossible a Polish immigrant living in England could have made up such details without experiencing them first hand.
Giving Rawicz some creative leeway, considering English was his third or fourth language and he wrote the book more than 15 years after the long walk occurred, the events in the book take on a more believable tone.
Still, traveling 4000 miles by foot with no map, compass or supplies through some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth does not seem humanly possible. Thankfully the human spirit is not a simple mathematic equation. The variables of mental and physical determination cannot be delineated or exactly quantified. In this world of continued environmental, social and political instability, where the problems seem insurmountable we need heroes like Rawicz who persevered despite the horrendous odds. The truth is we all want to believe The Long Walk is a true story and I for one believe.


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IMPROVED SAFETY: Safety has been improved with the addition of side air bags and ParkView rear camera.
STANDARD FEATURE: Standard kit includes air-con, power/heated side mirrors, fog lights, keyless entry, cruise control, electronic stability control, electronic roll mitigation, hill-assist, anti-lock disc brakes and a 60/40 split rear seat.
JEEP SALES SOAR: Jeep rerports significant growth in 2012 both in terms of sales and brand image. The automaker was one of the brands boasting the most consistent growth in Europe, with sales growing by almost 20%.
700000 HAPPY JEEP OWNERS: Jeep set a global sales record by selling over 700 000 vehicles globally in 2012.


Pressure is mounting on the FBI director to resign after his agency admitted it failed to investigate a warning that the man accused of killing 17 people — including several Jews — at a Florida high school possessed a gun and the desire to kill.
The disclosure spread angry disbelief among residents of the Miami suburb of Parkland where Wednesday's massacre unfolded, and led Florida's governor Rick Scott to call for FBI chief Christopher Wray to resign.
Scott's comments came after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that a person described as someone close to accused gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, called an FBI tip line on Jan. 5, weeks before the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to report concerns about him.
That information should have been forwarded to the FBI's Miami field office for further investigation, but "we have determined that these protocols were not followed," it said.
This story "Pressure Mounts On FBI Over Botched Response To Tips About Florida Shooter" was written by Reuters.


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Five students in UMBC's College of Engineering and Information Technology have been selected for major scholarships to pursue studies in cybersecurity-related fields under UMBC's participation in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Scholarship for Service (SFS) Federal CyberCorps program.
As SFS Scholars, students receive full tuition, fees, annual reimbursement of professional development expenses ($3,000), a nine-month stipend ($20,000 for undergraduates, $25,000 for MS/MPS students, and $30,000 for PhD students) for up to two years (three years for Ph.D.), and assistance with federal cybersecurity internships and career placement.
These new awardees will join existing UMBC SFS Scholars Oliver Kubik (BS, CMSC), Mary Mathews (PhD, CMSC), Brendan Masiar (MPS, CYBR) and Brandyn Schult (MPS, CYBR).
The CyberCorps program produces highly-qualified professionals to meet the United States government's increasing need to protect American's cyber infrastructure. While in the program at UMBC, SFS CyberCorps Scholars participate in special SFS program activities, have opportunities to engage in mentored research opportunities both at UMBC and its partners from industry and government, and must complete a paid summer internship for the federal government. Upon graduation, each student must work for the government (for pay) for one year for each year of scholarship received. CSEE Drs. Alan Sherman and Richard Forno direct the program under a five-year $2.5 million NSF grant received in 2012.
This post originally appeared in UMBC Insights.
[Photos] You Helped Us Raise $5K for Scholarships!


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Current figures available from Ripple Labs here. Heres all the historical data I could find for the distribution of XRP since the start. Anyone able to add to it?
Still no update from 30th June 2015..
*Total include business development agreements that are still pending.
I wonder if this has to do with the recent price drops? Just thinking aloud really. I did wonder at the time, since I couldn't see any obvious reason for it, whether it was XRP being sold off (or given away, then sold off) in the background – perhaps for test runs or "gearing up" for demos or initial live testing.
I'm hoping they make all new recipients sign lock up agreements.
A nice jump from last update, 660 million! Good one RL..
*Total includes business development agreements that are still pending.
BTW those info are false.
First of all the 60 bil are not held by Ripple but by Ripple Labs. It's the company, not the network.
Second, 40 billions (I don't remember very well) are in the hand of 2-3 people and not Ripple Lab. (Artur, JED and Ripple Work).
Ripple Labs was renamed to Ripple.
Because this is on their website: " 2013 Ripple Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved "
That's why we're dropping the 'Labs' from Ripple Labs. From now on, it will just be Ripple—and Ripple is growing up.
I hope theres some big deals brewing because 200M a month is chicken feed..
You need to look at their federal filings to know if they actually changed their name or not. The company may still be Ripple Labs Inc as their website says and they've simply created a DBA or "doing business as" (@nikb or @joelkatz someone should update the copyright on the website...). Or they may have actually changed the name of the tax-paying entity. Either way looking at the website won't answer this question, you have to look at their filings.
Either way looking at the website won't answer this question, you have to look at their filings.
Their tax filings for 2015 are not yet available and probably won't be available for some time. Delaware corp registry still states RIPPLE LABS INC.


text:
As we get ready to close the book on 2020, we're reflecting on all of the lessons we'll carry with us through to next year: the resilience of artists
As we get ready to close the book on 2020, we're reflecting on all of the lessons we'll carry with us through to next year: the resilience of artists and the radical power of community care.
This month, we have something a little different for you. Marketing Coordinator Tamara Jones spent some time with Residency artist and Lead Creator of Bear Witness, Jennifer Tarver, to talk about oratorio, the fruits of remote collaboration, and how to shift our awareness towards self-compassion. If you're curious about what the other Residency artists have been up to, make sure you stop by for the digital Residency showings next week!
Before we sign off, we would also like to point your attention to the important work the Encampment Support Network is doing to fight the eviction of our neighbours living in encampments around Toronto. For more details, please see the Learning, Unlearning section of this month's Digital Café. The holidays may look different this year, but our team wishes you and yours a safe and happy one.
It's been a wild year. Nothing is as it was and we can't stop now. We have sixteen projects (!) in three streams of Residency, and the artists are ready to share where they're at in the projects' development and to dialogue with you as part of the creative process. Join us for The Theatre Centre's first-ever digital Residency showings: a series.
From December 14–17, pop into the Zoom room from 5:30–7PM EST and see what the artists have been up to. Hosted by Aislinn Rose and Liza Paul, each night will feature four of the incredible projects in Residency. Scenes, readings, questions, conversations—anything can happen (and that's exactly how we like it). We wish we were together, so let's pretend we're in the cafe—pour a drink, grab a snack, make yourself at home (cuz let's be real, you probably are). Stop by for one night, two nights, three nights, or more, and join us for a holiday toast at 7PM on December 17! Click here for the full line-up.
RSVP to Attend
Your support continues to give us and the artists we work with the hope we need to continue inventing the future. Thank you to everyone who read, shared, and donated in response to our GivingTuesday message to kickstart this season of giving. We appreciate all shapes and forms of your generosity! If you'd still like to make a gift to support artists, you have until December 31st to receive a tax receipt for 2020!
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In Conversation With: Jennifer Tarver
Jennifer Tarver in the Franco Boni Theatre (Photo by Kyle Purcell)
Tamara Jones: Bear Witness started out as someone else's story and gradually became more personal in a way that seems pretty organic. Can you describe some of the intersections of both your friend's story and your own that made this transition feel right for this piece?
Jennifer Tarver: The intersection of stories is the human body, how stories exist in the body, and how they emerge. We're working with the idea that stories can become embedded in our body and they're not always accessible to us on a conscious level. The original story source was the personal memoir of Dany Lyne, who was also my cranial sacral therapist. I started seeing her after I had quite a serious bike accident so I went to her for help in healing that injury. It's through her work on my body that the relationship that's actually pertinent to this piece exists. In a practice like cranial sacral therapy or reiki, there's great sensitivity to the inner world of someone's body that they may or may not have their own awareness of, so it's about where our stories about ourselves lie in relation to awareness. The piece has moved away from her [Dany's] story in the specific and has become about how bodies contain stories whether they're buried or contorted and the conflicts and mix-ups that can arise when we get those stories wrong. Regardless of what the trauma was, the stories were, or the personal history is about, it's about how the body revealed things to her that she had no awareness of. Although, being at a fairly early stage in the process, these stories transform; these are source material for an evolving narrative.
Jennifer Tarver and Sara Porter in the Franco Boni Theatre (Photo by Kyle Purcell)
TJ: You're working with the Element Choir, which will personify the body and the landscape in this piece. How would you describe oratorio, and what inspired you to work with the Element Choir?
JT: On one level, oratorio is a mishmash between opera and a choir piece. Opera, I find a lot of times, makes use of a large chorus, but they're a musical and environmental texture and background, whereas, in an oratorio, the chorus is the meat and potatoes. The choir itself is the main musical and dramatic focus; it's a piece of theatre embedded in a choir. In this piece, the choir is a metaphor for the human body so the members of the choir, it's almost like they're cellular. I have an image of the choir as a living, breathing organism so it's within the organism that there are different voices that emerge and recede.
The element choir to me is one of the most distinct phenomena that I've ever experienced. It's a community-based choir — Christine Duncan conceived and founded the choir, it's her brainchild — she draws on members of a very diverse community. Reading music and traditional forms of music are not a part of the vocabulary of the choir. Christine has developed a series of hand signals that the choir learns and responds to, so it's kind of like she's playing the choir as her instrument in an improvisational way. It's very reactive. Everybody's on their toes, all the nerve-endings are firing. The vocabulary is so unusual, but I would say they're organic human sounds — there are screams, guttural sounds, sometimes there are sounds that are sung or intoned, sometimes there are whispers that make use of text — any sound you can possibly imagine the human mouth making, Christine has mined it and created a signal to activate it. The very first time I saw the choir, it felt like I was standing on the edge of a frozen ocean in springtime. I heard cracking, I heard trickling, I heard this live environment of noises that just felt like I was surrounded and engulfed by it. Right away, I experienced this feeling of a living, breathing landscape which in the course of this piece translated into the body as landscape.
TJ: I think a lot of artists are grappling with learning to work remotely—knowing when to push through the discomfort and when to call it a day. What has that process felt like for you and your team? Have you found benefits to working remotely? How will you know when working remotely no longer serves the work?
Susanna Hood on Zoom (Photo by Kyle Purcell)
JT: It's been a rollercoaster. It's been as horrible as it has been great. It's forced me to focus on the right things at the right time. My instinct would have been to perhaps go too soon into a live studio with lots of bodies. Although that is an important part of this particular piece, not having that as an option, has forced me to focus on text and story. There are people who are writing and distilling text from other sources, but we're also telling each other stories, so the intimacy of that has been great in this context. With this small group of artists, I'll give them a prompt or an offering and they'll spend time with it and then video their response and send it back to me. And then I get to spend time with their video. When you're in the studio, you can really miss stuff. It's like things fly by and you might miss it, or you might go "oh my god, that was amazing," and then you go home that night and you don't really remember fully what was so amazing about it. So this has been a really fruitful process in that way.
Going into an empty space by myself feels weird. Having someone on Zoom in a big empty space feels weird because it's like you're not in the space with me. What was the worst, was when I got into the space with one other artist, Sara Porter, and we were in the Franco Boni and we were so excited to be there, and Susanna Hood was Zooming in from Montreal. Of course, we [Sara and I] had to wear our masks and keep our distance, and then there's Susanna in Montréal on Zoom who's not wearing a mask but is feeling really left out and out of synch with everything that's going on in the room so it was like "oh my god, this is worse." Anything in a group of three or more is a nightmare, especially if we're not on the same platform — it's just really weird. Where I'm at right now, I think I'm going to hit a [plateau] after another one to two weeks of work with my close, intimate collaborators. And it's very specific to this piece; there's no digital version of this piece, the whole point of this work is that it's a live choir — the liveness is the thing. There's no pivot; the pivot is a vaccine, and that's ok! In an ideal world, in the fall a year from now things will be safe enough to work in the space together and we can really start to put the piece's flesh and bones into a space.
TJ: Your piece, Bear Witness, offers commentary on the concept of the body holding trauma and the importance of coming together to recognize embodied trauma, which is always important but feels so relevant right now. On one hand, we're experiencing trauma and grief collectively, but we're also being exposed to the ways COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown is impacting certain communities disproportionately — bearing witness to those injustices. From your research and reflection, can you offer any insight on how we can begin to release or recognize the trauma that might be stuck in our bodies right now?
JT: In a way, my privilege is that because I don't live in a threatening home environment, it's allowed my relationship with myself to be investigated. I have time and I have solitude in ways I never did — not everybody's Covid experience is like that, it may be the opposite. So I can only speak for myself, Covid has really exponentially increased my time in nature. I seek out nature on a daily basis; on a trail by myself, by a lake, on the beach, and be one-on-one with myself. And it can be something as simple as that, just spending time on your own in nature as much as you can is something that does have a direct effect on your body.
Our relationship with our bodies becomes heightened when our schedule shifts or when we have a lot of time to just embrace that. When we're more in our daily grind, whatever your pre-Covid routine was, I feel like when there's a shift in your routine, it shifts your awareness. One of the shifts that my own awareness has brought, it's like "god, I'm so hard on myself." I think people are very hard on themselves in many different ways and it can be a destructive pattern when you're in a routine that doesn't allow you to stop or ever reflect on that. So there are situations that might be violent or traumatic from an outside point of view, but I've never had so much time to reflect on how hard I can be on myself, which is just another one of those societal pressures that I feel like people can be caught in. Depending on your situation with Covid, maybe if you can shift your routine, you can shift your awareness and jostle those destructive patterns of thought that you can get immune to.
Jennifer Tarver, Sarah Porter, and Susanna Hood in the Franco Boni Theatre (Photo by Kyle Purcell)
Learning, Unlearning
"In the midst of an overdose crisis and a housing emergency, a pandemic happened. As overcrowded shelters became incubators for the virus, people started pitching tents instead. Spend some time inside the encampments that sprung up because of the City of Toronto's inaction. Each episode draws on one of the four elements—earth, water, wind and fire—to talk about encampment life, local histories and the creative ways residents are making a home in one of the most expensive cities in the world."
Listen to the first episode of the Encampment Support Network's We Are Not The Virus on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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About The Theatre Centre: The Theatre Centre is a nationally recognized live-arts incubator that serves as a research and development hub for the cultural sector. We are a public space, open and accessible to the people of our community, where citizens can imagine, debate, celebrate, protest, unite, and be responsible for inventing the future.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Most definitely not a pub, but halfway between a cafe and a bar. Owned by Charles Wells the only ale on offer is Eagle, food is somewhat expensive. Since another recent redecoration the interior is somewhat garish compared to what it used to be. Alright for an afternoon drink with other people who don't want alcohol. Friendly unthreatening cosmo atmosphere means I've taken dates here!
Bring back the Stanley Arms, that's all I can say.


text: mvn clean spring-boot:run

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Wash the asparagus, break off the woody ends, and cut into ¼ to ½ inch pieces.
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Heat the butter and the olive oil in a 10-inch oven-proof frying pan.
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Add the asparagus and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another minute.
Place the skillet under the broiler and broil until the cheese is melted and turned slightly golden brown.
Remove the pan from the oven with potholders, and using a rubber spatula, slide the frittata onto a serving plate.


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One thing I want to do before i die is to do a parachute jump.I think it would be a lot of fun.


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Alumni Spotlight: Kimberly Jones-Beatty Seeks Data-Driven Solutions to Maternal Mortality Crisis
November 29, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University
At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.
It's one thing to identify a problem. It's quite another to find a solution. Yet that is what FNU Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Alumni Kimberly Jones-Beatty, CNM, DNP, Class 37, is striving to do.
The problem has become increasingly well known, as the alarming numbers depicting the maternal mortality crisis in the United States persist. In 2018, there were 17 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the U.S. — a ratio more than double that of most other high-income countries, and the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries.^ The data is even more concerning for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) women, who have pregnancy-related mortality rates that are over three and two times higher, respectively, compared to the rate for white women.*
The data confirm the problem, but it does not offer a solution. Jones-Beatty, who works as a certified nurse-midwife within the OB/GYN department at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, has been practicing midwifery for 12 years.
"I work in a dual clinical/research role through providing ambulatory obstetric care and overseeing clinical research in the Johns Hopkins Integrated Research Center for Fetal Medicine," Jones-Beatty said. "As a clinical practitioner, I strive to provide evidence-based care. As a researcher, I see that we contribute to evidence-based care through translational research; by generating new knowledge or validating existing knowledge in both basic science and clinical research and applying it to clinical practice to improve patient care and outcomes. It's the best of both worlds."
Jones-Beatty put her research passion and skills to work in her DNP project, which focused on learning more about the maternal mortality crisis and its potential solutions.
"My DNP project focused on improving postpartum care," she said. "Maternal morbidity and mortality are at an all-time high in the United States, and research shows that the majority of cases occur within the postpartum period. The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) has called for a paradigm shift in postpartum care by moving away from the single six-week visit and instead incorporating an ongoing postpartum process beginning in the antenatal period to impact adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of the project was to increase effective postpartum care through patient preparedness, early one-to-three-week patient follow-up, and comprehensive postpartum visits from 0% to 80% in eight weeks."
To implement the project, Jones-Beatty followed ACOG's recommendations in creating a postpartum planning tool. The tool included reviewing the importance of postpartum care and postpartum warning signs that warrant further evaluation. It also incorporated a population health registry for early one-to-three-week postpartum follow-up to ensure that postpartum patients were recovering from childbirth as expected and a comprehensive postpartum note template to help provide complete documentation of recommended postpartum visit components.
"The project aim was met at 88%," Jones-Beatty said. "The planning tool effectively increased patients' knowledge of postpartum warning signs. The registry was effective in obtaining postpartum right care scores, which translates into patients recovering from childbirth as expected. The note template was effective in guiding effective postpartum care office visits. Next steps will include reviewing the impact of the interventions on clinic-specific patient populations, overall maternal morbidity and mortality rates, and examining differences by race."
While more study and research are required to address maternal mortality, Jones-Beatty's work was duly recognized for its significance. She recently presented her project as a poster presentation at the Society for Reproductive Investigation's Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
"Attending the meeting was a great experience, with networking opportunities and the chance to hear about new practice perspectives, guidelines, and other original research within reproductive health," she said.
Jones-Beatty's love for research and information paired well with Frontier's emphasis on data-driven analysis and decision-making.
"I decided to pursue a doctorate in nursing practice at Frontier due to its strong reputation, online format, and faculty expertise," she said. "FNU's DNP curriculum provides instruction on leading quality improvement in the clinical setting, as well as exposure to evidence-based practice, health policy and advocacy, and system/ organizational leadership. Collectively, I feel prepared to impact any healthcare setting I choose to work in through a deep understanding of the education and skills that exemplify nurse leaders who are ready to change the landscape of the current healthcare environment."
Jones-Beatty is well-prepared to continue to excel as both a researcher and a clinician. Both roles hold equal value to her as she seeks to positively impact her current and future patients and colleagues.
"I plan to continue working both clinically and in research, contributing to evidence-based practice, improving obstetric healthcare, and decreasing adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes," she said.
FNU is proud of Jones-Beatty for her dedication to research and midwifery. She is a shining example of bringing FNU's Culture of Caring to her community.
Interested in reading more stories about our alumni? Visit the FNU Alumni stories page.
^Roosa Tikkanen et al., Maternal Mortality and Maternity Care in the United States Compared to 10 Other Developed Countries (Commonwealth Fund, Nov. 2020). https://doi.org/10.26099/411v-9255
*Artiga, S., Pham, O., Orgera, K., Ranji, U. (2020). Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant
Health: An Overview. Issue Brief. Kaiser Family Foundation, November 10, 2020
Filed Under: Alumni, Alumni - Get Involved, DNP, News Tagged With: Doctor of Nursing Practice, Maternal Health, Maternal Mortality, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse-Midwifery
FNU Graduate is Part of the First Podcast of its Kind in "Midwifing America"
August 22, 2018 By frontieredu
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) graduate Angela (Angie) Chisholm, CNM is improving maternity care with an uniquely informative new podcast, entitled "Midwifing America."
The podcast is on a mission to reimagine women's healthcare in the United States. In the wake of a mounting maternal health crisis, each Midwifing America episode highlights stories from health care providers and the women they serve to illustrate the state of maternity care.
Angie, one of the four podcast hosts, graduated from FNU's CNEP (Class 49) in 2009. She served as a nurse-midwife in collaborative hospital practice for seven years in Corvallis, Ore., providing team-based care and supervising family practice residents.
She has also served as a midwife at the Corvallis Birth & Women's Health Center, where she works to incorporate collaborative maternity care models between the birth center and local hospital.
Though her focus is often skin-to-skin care, Angie is passionate about improving all maternity healthcare.
"I believe that birth centers have the potential to address health disparities and maternity care shortage crisis," she said. "As more and more hospitals stop offering maternity care, it seems reasonable that those communities deserve local and safe options for prenatal care and deliveries. One of my goals is to show other communities and hospitals that embracing birth centers and out-of-hospital care – instead of viewing them as competition – leads to the best outcomes."
Angie and her team of three other Oregon-based midwives started Midwifing America to begin having these important conversations with nurses, midwives, physicians and mothers.
"Much of what I have learned is that social media and audience engagement has the potential to change how we deliver care," she said.
To that end, Angie has produced The Heart of Touch Film and web series to highlight the importance of skin-to-skin care for newborns.
Angie's experience at FNU helped prepare her not only to provide quality care and listen to women, but also to see herself as an advocate for issues that need to be addressed.
"This big picture vision is something I really took to heart," she said.
Her access to mentorship by FNU faculty and staff who want to grow the midwifery profession made all the difference for her as she continues to lead the way for better maternal care.
In addition to her multimedia efforts, Angie also serves on the ACNM National Membership & Marketing Committee and is Chair of Oregon Affiliate Public Relations.
Angie, your dedication to improving maternal health is inspiring to all of us in the FNU community. Thank you!
Filed Under: News Tagged With: ACNM, Community, Frontier Nursing University, Maternal Health, Nurse-Midwife


The Appleton Road store will open at 9 a.m. Friday.
MENASHA — Goodwill NCW's store at 1800 Appleton Road will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday.
The store had been closed for three months for renovations that coincided with road construction work on roundabouts and highway entrance ramps next to its building at Appleton Road and State 441.
That road project is also complete and open.
Inside the Goodwill store, renovations include an improved checkout system, brighter dressing rooms and restrooms, new signage and a repaved parking lot.
The redesigned retail floor is smaller and, according to a Goodwill release, easier to navigate.
"We're excited to open our doors and show our new branding philosophy to the community," said Bob Pedersen, Goodwill NCW's president and CEO.
"Over the years, we've often heard that our customers don't always know how their purchases affect their neighbors, family and friends. So, we've worked hard to make that connection more apparent and more important in our stores."
The store's ceremonial grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting take place at 8:45 a.m. July 28. The store will have prize giveaways later that day.
Pedersen said revenues from Goodwill's 25 stores in north central Wisconsin go toward the organization's human services and programs that assisted about 68,600 people in the state in 2014.


text:
Habitat Property Services
Book a Test today
TXT: 021 079 5470
Asbestos Register & Management Plan
Meth/P Testing
Smoke Alarm Testing
Where are we at with meth testing levels?
12/07/2018 By habitatproperty1250
New safe level announced – but not confirmed
meth test meter reaching red line
On May 30 2018, the Minister of Housing P. Twyford, sitting alongside the now -retired government Chief Scientist Sir Peter Gluckman, announced that 15 micrograms / 100cm2 / room or area was safe.
However, no official documentation of any sort has been released by the Government, and just because a Minister says something on TV, doesn't make it law. Or applicable to insurance companies and the like.
The announcement, and the comments that the Government had got something wrong with the NZ Standards level of 1.5, has naturally led to a lot of confusion and disbelief. There are people who agree and disagree that 15 is safe, and the methods to reach that conclusion.
Frankly, Habitat Property Services – meth testing houses in Auckland – agree that 15 is safe enough. We've been saying so for years – see 'hype' tags on our old website's blog, eg: http://www.habitatpropertyservicesnz.com/blog/we-agree-the-meth-issue-is-over-hyped. The new level will take a lot of pressure off owners, buyers and sellers, and stop a lot of unnecessary work.
Most houses are zero, and the vast majority of houses that test positive are under 15.
But what's the industry reaction?
Well, Habitat Property Services are in regular contact with large real estate entities, and can report the following;
most organisations are sticking to the NZ Standards level of 1.5. This is due to a lack of any documented alternative, and is seen as a way of preventing breach of an official Guideline (Standards).
These organisations include insurance companies, Property Management companies, etc. Construction and refurbishment companies also are sticking to 1.5, mainly to satisfy Worksafe and other legal ramifications.
The only exception seems to be HNZ who adopted a level of 15 immediately after Twyford's announcement.
Tenancy NZ
Tenancy Services Wellington have removed any mention of a level of any sort from their website. They told me that the do not now make judgement on level of meth. They refer to the RTA, and provisions around chemical contamination, intentional damage, and illegal activity. It is illegal to rent out a chemically contaminated property. Meth damage is damage and your insurance company will have an opinion on that. Illegal activity is grounds for evicting a tenant.
Upcoming Consultation
I think it was Twyford who said the Government will be accepting Public Consultation on this matter by the end of 2018. Expect updated NZ Standards in 2019, that's probably the most efficient bureaucratic process.
What about owner's and the meth testing business?
Habitat Property Services advise their clients to consider the high probability that a new level of around 15 will be acceptable in the future. Eg, if there's meth remediation work required for a level of 1.9, think about the schedule of events.
We've notice a slight drop off in meth testing jobs, so all meth testing companies will feel the pressure. The decontamination companies will really hurt though.
Regardless of all of the above, people still don't want to buy, or live in a meth contaminated house. Neither would I. Luckily, meth is quite easily cleaned up. Well, it's labour intensive, but easier and seems to be less dangerous than asbestos and probably Stachybotris Mould, and certainly lead as well.
Best wishes, good luck with your Property Management and house buying ventures.
« Meth Testing – Options and Information
Asbestos – general information from Worksafe NZ »
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GIVEAWAY #2- An HOUR of LIFESTYLE COACHING!
GIVEAWAY #2 for the week! An hour of lifestyle coaching with me via email or phone! Did you know I offered this service? Find out more details here about this awesome gift and my background HERE : I have been blessed to help so many people and would love to help you too!
3) COMMENT a part of life that is challenging for you or needs improvement.
Nobody is perfect. However, everybody has struggles and can use a mentor of somebody who has experienced a similar challenge. My biggest personal challenge is: I am a perfectionist and people-pleaser. This can cause a lot of stress. Learning to manage it has been a great strength to learn.
Winner for this amazing prize will be randomly selected and notified at 5pm EST tomorrow! Don't waste any time! Giveaway is not endorsed by Facebook.
I really have a challenging time trying to say no. I am very lucky to be a stay at home mom but all my friends ask me to watch their kids. Life gets rough sometimes, I always manage. But I want to take my babies and go do fun stuff instead of being stuck at home watching other ones too.
I struggle with weight loss we want to grow our family but I know my weight prevents it.
I have 3 biological kids, 1 adopted and 4 foster kiddos. Our current foster kids are all under age 5. I want to spend so much time with the kids making memories and doing things with them I feel like my house and organization or other mom/wife things get out last and then seem overly stressful. I would love to hear ideas on how you juggle 7 kids and stay organized.
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Earlier this week David Buck, author of RiscCAD annouced to the RISC OS world his intention to cease development of RiscCAD. Many users, on usenet, expressed their concern over the future to the respected 2D design package. However it seems developer ProAction have stepped forward to ensure RiscCAD will continue.
ProAction are also responsible for reviving Easy C++, a compiler aimed to beginners to C++ programming.
"RiscCAD is a superb CAD program for RISC OS computer users", comments David Bradforth of Proaction. "It offers a wide variety of features, which we hope shortly to place within one of our domains. Agreement has now been reached with David Buck, the author, to take over the development and marketing and ensure that RiscCAD has a long-term RISC OS future."
RiscCAD will be priced at �49 and available through APDL. Site licence/network licence prices are yet to be decided. RiscCAD will henceforth be available on CD-ROM as a primary means of distribution. If you require floppy discs, please say so. For upgrades, original discs will have to be returned.
APDL (distributors): tel 0208 778 2659 email info@apdl.co.uk.


So there was another shooting that you probably didn't hear about.
On Friday, a gunman in Alabama opened fire and injured two holiday shoppers, according to police. He was stopped, however, by a good guy with a gun.
Police identified Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. as the man who was engaged, shot and was killed by a police officer after an altercation at Hoover's Riverchase Galleria near Birmingham, AL.com reported Friday.
Sadly, the police are saying the wrong man was shot and killed now and that the real gunman is still at large. The usual suspects are protesting at that mall.


text:
Q: How can I access a directive's ngModelController from another directive? How can I access a directive's ngModelController from another directive?
The scenario
I'm creating a type ahead widget, which is composed of a typeAhead directive and autoCompletePopUp directive.
AutoCompletePopUp directive will interact with the typeAhead using typeAhead's controller.
But I don't know how to call typeAhead's $setViewValue from autoCompletePopUp when an item is selected.

A: Why not just add a function to the controller for typeAhead that calls $setViewValue on itself. In the context of typeAhead's controller you should have access to the scope. You can put the ngModelController for typeAhead on the scope if needed. Something like this:
angular.module("myModule").directive("typeAhead", function() {
   return {
      require: "ngModel",
      controller: function($scope) {
         this.setValue = function(value) {
            $scope.ngModelController.$setViewValue(value);
         };
      },
      link: function(scope, element, attributes, ngModelController) {
         scope.ngModelController = ngModelController;
      },
   };
});

angular.module("myModule").directive("typeAhead", function() {
   return {
      require: "typeAhead",
      link: function(scope, element, attributes, typeAheadController) {
         scope.someAction = function(value) {
            typeAheadController.setValue(value);
         };
      },
   };
});

(protect against minification and move controllers into separate objects / files as desired; done inline here for convenience)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


HOUSE NEWS: Moraa is two!
Like every parent, godparent, auntie, uncle, and baby-loving adult, we are marveling at how time has flown! Wasn't she just born?
Introduced to her extended family?
It seems like yesterday she was content to sit up in her high chair and play.
And now, she's one of the big kids!
We are so grateful for Moraa. Her little sweet life has brought us so much joy. And we are doubly grateful because she and her mama, Kendera, will be moving back to the house soon! Kendera says that living at the Green House "ruined" her, that she really likes this life. And, oh, how we need her warm, calm, loving presence here – and all the gifts she brings (in addition to Moraa). A lot to celebrate!
"Like any other map, mine had both a center and an edge. At the center stood the Church, where good women baked communion bread, ironed altar linens, and polished silver that had been in the church family for generations. Parents presented their cildren for baptism, and those children grew up with dozens of church aunts and uncles who knew them by name. The Christian education committee recruited Sunday school teachers, the youth group leaders planned pizza parties at the bowling alley, and the choir rehearsed from 6:30 to 8:00 in the parish house on Thursday nights. At the center, some people never picked up a prayer book on Sunday morning becaus they knew the communion service by heart, and even those who had to look said the Nicenne Creed all the way through without leaving any parts of it out. These people at the center kept the map from blowing away.
As it turned out the edge of the map was not all that far from the center. It was not as if I or anyone else had to take a mule train for three weeks to find ourselves in the wildrerness. All we had to do was step outside the Church and walk to where the lights from the sanctuary did not pierce the darkness anymore. All we had to do was lay down the books we could no longer read and listen to the howling that our favoriite hymns so often covered up. There were no slate roofs or signs to the restroom out there, no printed programs or friendly ushers. There was just the unscripted encounter with the undomesticated God whose name was unpronounceable — that and a bunch of flimsy tents lit up by lanterns inside, pitched by those who were either seeking such an encounter or huddling in their sleeping bags while they recovered from one. These people at the edge kept the map from becoming redundant.


I stumbled upon this video and I think I should share it here. Before I continue, I need you to watch this video and hang on my page also lol!
I love how this video motivates me and remind me constantly. If you want to success, you gotta have perseverance and keep it going. I specially like the line, you already in pain, in hurt, so keep going, don't quit until you get reward.
And it reminds me that I need to step out from the comfort zone and sacrifice to achieve what I want. If you want to success, you have to sacrifice and really focus on it.
Your future has nothing to do with your past!
Past is past, what's important is your future. Your future is better than your past. It's no point to keep standing at the same point and not pushing yourself up to next level.
All you need to do is just FOCUS. Of course, focus on the right things, your PRIORITIES.
Anyway, the video touched about the sacrifice the sleeping time, which I think a bit inappropriate. For a healthy lifestyle and fresh mind, you have to sleep at least 7 hours every night. You don't need to sacrifice your sleeping time, but time management is needed.
So friends, set the goals and focus. Good luck.
Throughout my working life, there are basically two types of people: 1) Those who are comfortable with what they are doing now – 9-to-5 jobs, get salary, pay debts, go travel, no money, repeat. 2) Those mentioned in your post. I believe it is much depended what kind of lifestyle that person is seeking. For me, I belong to Type 2. No pain, no gain (but not to an extend that I enjoy pain, or else it will be like playing SM). Thanks for sharing.
this is meaningful, i just wish to wipe off my past in someway, sigh..
that is what i do when i am doing something.
Yes yes! Very motivational right?
Yea. lol. Need sleep only can chiong!
Agree with you, but sometimes we must have enough wisdom to differentiate quitting and correcting. When you are in pain and suffering, you must clear your mind, and understand, whether you are in a correct way and facing obstacle to overcome or you are in a wrong path which you need to do modification. stay strong and do not quit does not mean that stay stubborn and do things wrong.
But anyway, having a strong mind that encourage your success, you will be success.
Yea. What you said is so true! So we really need to think carefully and work it out!


AVAILABLE - These are the EXACT pair of Sea Glass Earrings you will receive!
This is a perfect sea glass in a natural state, just the way it was found on the beach - Our Original version and leaves both front and back open without destroying the integrity of the sea glass.
A thinner lightweight pair with TONS of color!
It takes HUNDREDS of sea glass pieces in the same hue and color and many hours of sorting to get NATURAL sea glass pieces that match this well.
Top quality expertly matched sea glass pieces from Puerto Rico, most likely the remnants of very old bottles..
This pair comes on 14K goldfilled top grade ear wires with 4mm sterling ball (shown).
Other options are available like leverbacks and hypoallergenic earwires.


Digital eight shaped sail number which Requires cutting. This Sail Number will fit the Laser 4.7, Laser Pico and Bug Laser 4.7, Radial and Standard Instructions for Applying Sail Numbers Class Rule 4 (with 27(e) for Laser Radial and 28(e) for Laser 4.7) require that your sail numbers (and National Letters if used) are a certain size and colour and are placed on the sail in a certain position. National Letters are only required at World and Continental Championships and other events described as international events in their notices of race and sailing instructions. Numbers/letters drawn on the sail with permanent ink pens or similar are illegal. Style and Colour Each number/letter must be upright, solid (not outline), a uniform thickness and easy to read. Each number/letter must be one colour only. All the letters must be the same colour. The last 4 digits of the number must be the same dark colour (preferably black). Any preceding digits must be all red or a single different contrasting colour. The colours must be dense and contrast so that they are easy to read. Laser 4.7, Radial and Standard Applying Sail Numbers 1. If your sail has been used it should be sponged clean with mild soap and warm water and allowed to dry completely. 2. Find a clean, large flat working surface (a table or clean hard floor). STARBOARD SIDE NUMBERS 3. Spread the sail out flat on the working surface so that the starboard side of the sail is facing up. (To find the starboard side the luff sleeve should be on the RIGHT hand side of the sail when laid flat.) 4. Refer to the instructions below and sail diagrams of the Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 sail for measuring and drawing pencil Base Lines on the sail and for cutting a template out of cardboard or stiff paper both as a guide for the position of characters, spaces between each character and between rows. 5. Following the instructions below draw a pencil Base Line for the starboard numbers. This Base Line will locate the bottom edge of the starboard numbers. 6. Make a small pencil mark 100 mm from the leech on the Base Line. 7. Place the smaller edge of the template on the line immediately to the left of the pencil mark so that the template is at 90 degrees to the line. This is the starting point for the first number. 8. Peel and fold back 10 mm of backing from the base of the first number. Place the number on the sail against the right hand edge of the template with the base of the number just touching the pencil line. Check that the number is lined up with the Base Line and template and press the base of the number on to the sail. Lift the remainder of the number and slowly peel off the backing as you smooth the number on to the sail taking care to remove air bubbles and creases. 9. For the second and subsequent numbers on the starboard side place the template alongside the right hand edge of the previous number to space the next number correctly. PORT SIDE NUMBERS 10. Turn the sail over and flatten the sail (the luff sleeve should now be on the LEFT hand side of the sail). 11. Following the instructions below draw a pencil Base Line for the port numbers. 12. Make a small pencil mark 100 mm from the leech on the Base Line. 13. Lay all the numbers on the sail using the spacing template and check that the full number is correct. 14. Apply the number closest to the leech (the last digit in the sail number) first using the base line and the template working away from the leech. STARBOARD SIDE LETTERS 15. Turn the sail over and flatten the sail (the luff sleeve should now be on the RIGHT hand side of the sail). 16. Following the instructions below draw a pencil Base Line for the starboard letters. 17. Follow instructions 6 to 9 above. PORT SIDE LETTERS 18. Turn the sail over and flatten the sail (the luff sleeve should now be on the LEFT hand side of the sail). 19. Follow instructions 11 to 14 above.


Article Summary: Online market is growing and expanding unlike any other market. You will see that internet technology has been transforming and now it has taken the shape and form of most useful and powerful technology, which has impacted major areas of the lives of people, in the most positive way. You will see that a major and vital role is being played by the developers and coders, without whom the development in this market would have been impossible.


As a former environmental lawyer and member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I am dedicated to combating climate change and fostering renewable energy. Unfortunately, San Diego is facing some of the consequences of climate change--from droughts, to wildfires, and floods from rising sea levels. Therefore, we must not only work to curb climate change, but prepare for the effects it has on our region and nation as well. San Diego is home to many innovative green energy and cleantech companies that are important to our environment and economy. I will work in Congress to make sure these companies, as well as the premier research institutions in our region, get the support they need. We owe it to the next generation to ensure they, too, get a chance to enjoy our great outdoors.
I unveiled a Climate Playbook– a comprehensive compendium of legislation Congress can act on now to take immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gases to slow and reverse the effects of climate change. It outlines how to reach targets like reduced emissions, increased resiliency, and energy efficiency. To be clear, this is only the beginning of a conversation and the Playbook invites new ideas on how to improve these bills – which are mostly bipartisan and thus have a good shot at becoming law. Read it here.
I introduced the Algae Agriculture Act to support the development of algae in agriculture.
I was honored to be a featured speaker at the Vatican Climate Conference convened by Pope Francis. Read my full remarks delivered at the global climate symposium.
Co-founder, Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, a national nonprofit dedicated to remaking communities to be less automobile-dependent and more walkable, bike-able and livable.
Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) unveiled The Climate Playbook, a comprehensive plan he compiled of already existing legislation authored by both Republicans and Democrats, many of which have already earned bipartisan support. These legislative proposals together would take immediate steps to reduce greenhouse gasses and slow—even reverse—the effects of climate change.
As floodwaters in Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa recede, the cleanup is just beginning. In our home states, fires in California and hurricanes in North Carolina took the lives of loved ones and neighbors, caused irreparable damage to communities and businesses, and cost the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars.
Last week, Reps. Scott Peters (CA-52) and Mark Meadows (NC-11) introduced H.R. 1984, the bipartisan Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief (DISASTER) Act, which increases transparency and accountability of federal expenses on disaster relief.
Today, U.S. Congressmen Scott Peters (CA-52) and David McKinley (WV-01) introduced H.R. 1166, the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that supports the development and demonstration of vital carbon capture and removal technologies.
Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21) reintroduced the bipartisan Strengthening The Resiliency of Our Nation on the Ground Act (STRONG Act) to help communities better prepare for, withstand, and recover from natural disasters like wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes by aggregating best practices on disaster readiness and response.
Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) voted to fund emergency relief for disasters that ravaged communities across the country in 2017 and 2018, including wildfires, which devastated parts of California.
Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) applauded the Farm Bill, which passed the House yesterday and invests in San Diego clean energy priorities including algae innovation and carbon capture technology.
"Three years ago, the United States joined an ambitious global vision to combat the worst effects of climate change. Unfortunately, President Trump ceded America's global leadership by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement last year, abandoning our allies and ceding future jobs, opportunities, and innovation in renewable energy to other nations—especially China.
Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) announced that portions of a clean energy incentive bill he introduced are now law as part of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which approves and funds water infrastructure projects. WRDA included language from Peters' Hydropower Permit Extension (HYPE) Act, which encourages greater investment in clean energy by giving already-approved hydropower projects a four-year extension if there are delays on breaking ground.