Just because someone on your team is silent doesn't mean they are weak. The person may not be speaking up for a variety of reasons. The key for a manager is to know how to stop the more outgoing team members from overwhelming the others. Why do this? To make sure the team taps into the wisdom of all, and everyone listens to each other. As a result, decisions are stronger and more sustainable.
When everyone speaks up, you are more likely to hear the basis for potential disagreements, bad news or something you haven't heard before. The team will have more information on which to base decisions.
All team members should understand the value of hearing everyone's point of view, and why it matters. Tell them you are going to try several different techniques to make sure that happens.
Ask the stronger team members to allow time in meetings for the others to speak up. One of our favourite rules is that everyone gets to speak once on their point of view. You can't speak again until everyone has had his/her say.
Speak to the quieter team members, encourage them to speak up, and tell them their contribution matters. And then compliment them after they do so. Thank them and let them know the value of their contribution. Tell them you value their honesty.
For a really critical discussion, do a 'post-it' exercise. What's this? Ask everyone to spend five minutes writing assumptions about the issue on a post-it pad. One assumption per post-it note. Have them write as many as they can in the five minutes, put the post-it notes on the wall clustered in themes, then discuss the themes. Now the more silent team members are not fighting for air time. This technique also works well to get around the 'ranking' problem when more junior people won't speak up in front of senior people.
There are always going to be differences in how people contribute on a team. Some naturally speak up; others tend to be quiet. The key is to make sure that everyone is heard, and the team benefits from the knowledge and wisdom of all.
With our Intentional Teams Framework, one of the values we emphasize is listening. This creates a culture of trust and acceptance. Learn more about Intentional teams, our methodology and see if it is a fit for you.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter which contains actionable tips you can use immediately to get your team on the road to success – however your firm defines success.
Is your team in a bad mood?
Do you ever find yourself in a team meeting and everyone seems to be critical or cranky or the opposite of creative? When no matter what you do, someone is unhappy or tuned out? When you dream of calling the meeting police and have someone booked for obstruction?
It doesn't have to be that way. Here are ways to get prompt changes to the dark cloud over your team meeting.
Call for a break… If everyone's been sitting for too long, you all may need to call for a break and deliberately move around, maybe even outside. Change it up. Maybe you need to get a piece of fruit or drink some juice or go for a walk. Change your kinetic energy. Ask everyone to do that and meet back inside in 20 minutes ready to tackle one more issue.
Call for a process check… Are you pushing for a decision when proper notice wasn't given or the right people haven't been consulted? Was the item on the agenda only supposed to be brought forward for discussion? Good process, good decisions, bad process, bad decisions. Remind people or question them about what the process is and what it should be.
Call out the elephant… Is there one thing that the team has been tiptoeing around that is holding you back? Is there a problem with someone in the room? Do you actually have the time/energy/budget for the issue at hand? Is the problem you are trying to solve something that customers don't care about? Name the issue and see the relief as everyone stops wasting energy on avoiding the elephant.
Call on the team to do something different… When you are blocked on an issue, especially if it's at the end of the day, sometimes it's good to put it off until you've slept on it, particularly if you are meeting again the next day. Sometimes, sleeping on an issue gives new perspectives. Also, ask the team what issue, if solved, would most clear the path for solving other issues. When we are stressed, solving or getting some progress on the most stressful issue can be really helpful.
Call on the team to create success by picking low-hanging fruit… If your team is trying to pick an issue to solve, look at the easy ones first. It may be that an early experience of success will give your team the energy to solve a more difficult issue next.
Improving your team performance doesn't have to be a complex project. For more on these and other team routines that create success and clear the "bad mood" of your team, learn about Intentional Teams, our signature methodology that has helped many organizations improve their team performance.
Permalink to Biting Your Way to Greatness – Does It Work?
Biting Your Way to Greatness – Does It Work?
Like millions of others, I watched Louis Suarez bite Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during a 2014 World Cup match. I, for one, was convinced he did try to take a chunk out of Chiellini's shoulder and that he should have been disciplined for doing so. The purpose and rules of football clearly state that you and your team should try to annihilate the opposing team, using a ball, not your incisors.
This got me thinking… Is it ever appropriate that a member of a team resorts to 'rogue' behaviour, even if the team benefits from that behaviour? All teams have members who sit somewhere on the spectrum of Ultimate Team Player to Lone Wolf. All teams have members whose behaviour at times make us wince. What defines unacceptable behaviour? What if that behaviour enables the team?
It comes down to the rules of the game. Some teams (anti-terrorist SWAT units, for example) are required to to act with a high degree of autonomy in a fluid and quickly changing situation. Even here, though, members of the unit, while highly trained and intelligent, have to keep the aim of the mission and the the overall rules of engagement in mind as they operate. While members are chosen for traits such as self-reliance and independence, they are expected to abide by Standard Operating Procedures. Checks and balances exist to encourage sufficient independent decision making within a clear framework that is constantly reinforced through rigorous training.
In business, biting is bad. And yet, in some teams (think sales, for example) it seems inevitable at times. The inducement of individual compensation for individual effort is often the standard and this drives individual behaviour accordingly. Is this actually a team, where cooperation is rewarded? If so, the team leader has to create the conditions where team members can balance individual performance with team based initiatives (cross-selling of services, team 'ownership' of the client relationship, for example). Once again, the rules of the game have to be clear and reinforced.
This begs the question: If the eyes of millions were not on the game, would Suarez's action have been any more acceptable? The credibility of football and teamwork were on the line. If biting is acceptable, then any player may be the next one bitten.
Is there "biting" on your team? Take a stand. Deal with it.
If you lead a team or are on a team where there is "biting" behaviour and you'd like some guidance on how to deal with it, please contact us via phone or email. We've got experience with this type of team dynamic and can work with you to get the situation resolved.
How an open plan office can help make teams more effective.
The open plan office can be a source of great frustration. Although some people seem to love working in this kind of office setup – it favours the gregarious and highly social. Others, find this environment noisy and distracting and hard to concentrate. But it can be really useful in putting teams together.
One of our clients took a novel approach to getting two parts of the finance group to work better together. Our client, Alex, was aware that his two finance teams, planning and analysis and financial reporting, were not working as well together as they could. His two direct reports, Jorge and Romana were polite but distant and their teams took their cues from them. Alex wanted them to really understand each other more and collaborate.
Jorge, manager of financial reporting, was conscientious and careful, ensuring that his team's data was accurate and timely and reflected fairly the financial picture of the organization. He was passionate about ensuring the organization's assets were well looked after.
Romana, manager of financial analysis, understood the need for accurate data but where Jorge's role ended, hers began. To her, it felt like a constant battle to get the data soon enough to be able to do useful and timely analysis for the executives so that they could run the business better. She saw Jorge as unnecessarily rigid and jealous of his territory and while she understood his point about accuracy, she didn't understand why he was so difficult.
Both managers tended to work with their doors closed and only talked to each other when absolutely necessary. Their teams communicated but Alex was convinced that they actually felt guilty about it and tried not to do it in front of the managers.
We suggested that he try an experiment to force the issue. Alex set up a meeting with his two managers to lay out the issues as he saw it. First he asked them to listen without interrupting. He described what he had been seeing in their behaviour. He talked about the negative impact it was having on their staff, on him, on the work and even on the senior executive team. Then he shared his solution, admitting that it was unorthodox but letting them know that he wanted them to give it a chance. He was going to mix up the two teams and the managers and have them all sit out in the bullpen. The two managers were going to vacate their offices and sit in the open space with their teams. He was going to have the two offices reorganized as small meeting spaces so that if private conversations had to happen, they could.
Then he told them what he wanted to see. He wanted to see one finance team that was open, friendly and collaborative. He wanted Jorge and Romana and their teams to work together respectfully and have each other's back. And to cement this, there would be a joint team meeting, facilitated by alternating managers (Jorge one week and Romana the next) to discuss the work and take suggestions from the team on how things could work better. Alex suggested that they would try it for three months, after which they would take stock and decide what to do next.
Then he asked them what they would each need to make the two teams work as one. To Alex's surprise, both Jorge and Romana admitted that they had been stuck in a rut with each other. Jorge asked for more respect for his processes and his passion for accuracy. Romana agreed but asked him if he would be open looking for shortcuts in his quarter end close that would allow her team to begin the analysis earlier. Both agreed. Romana asked him if he would like to co-present some of the analysis with her the next time.
At the end of the three months the full teams met to discuss the pros and cons of the arrangement.
When a crisis arose, they worked together to solve it and the solutions came faster.
As the trust between Jorge and Romana went up, the trust in them from the senior executives rose as well. Alex's boss complimented him on how he had gotten them to work better together.
It was much more noisy with all the people working on the phones around each other.
They were more open to distraction as people tended to get involved in conversations out in the open and others joined in but they agreed in one of their Monday meetings, that such conversations should take place in the small offices.
The dynamics of the team were more effective as they began to understand each other. Romana and Jorge elected to go back to their offices at the end of the three months but they kept the regular Monday morning joint team meetings and they instituted a regular Monday lunch, just the two of them. Alex's boss told him he was a star for solving what had become a sticky issue.
We can help. The work we do with leaders and teams helps them clarify what effective communication looks like and how to use it to help your company. While you're here, why not take a few minutes and do a team assessment to find out what may help your team win. Contact us today for this and other team-related questions.
Jimmy Rollins, a professional baseball player (shortstop) for the Philadelphia Phillies talks in this video about why teamwork is so powerful and why it matters. He's been working tirelessly to improve his baseball club's performance through teamwork.
If you had a piece of equipment that was only working at 60% capacity, wouldn't you fix it?
And, if you had a team that was full of excellent people but together they only worked at 60% effectiveness, wouldn't you do something to improve it?
And many people could relate to that. They could see how having a team work at only 60% capacity would be frustrating and an erosion of high potential.
And so, began the journey to describe in clear, everyday language, the 40% difference that comes from implementing Intentional Teams™.
More rewarding: Our research shows when a team is intentionally focused and consciously and deliberately managing its culture, its members have a work experience they wish to duplicate wherever they go.
Lower turnover: In a team that is intentional, its members don't wish to leave. Individuals experience personal satisfaction and group cohesion.
Higher engagement: Intentional teams are full of people who are more highly engaged, involved, satisfied employees, working on important work and passionate about the team's success.
A shared understanding: One of the features of an intentional team working at high capacity is that they have a shared understanding of the focus of its work together and the key priorities that the team must achieve.
Self-correcting: Even an intentional team can get slightly off the rails with distractions or conflicts. However its members know how to name the issue or distraction and have an agreed process for dealing with it.
Have each other's back: In an intentional team, its members look out for each other and if one has an issue, they all tackle the issue if necessary to help solve problems and to support each other.
Pulling in the same direction: The team members have the same understanding of the key results they need to achieve and they are getting there with a minimum of fuss.
Do you have a team that is working at less than optimal capacity? To take our free assessment, click here.
If you're not sure, let's talk. Contact us here to find out more about how to create great teams, working at full capacity. We're happy to help.
Permalink to Conflict or Combat?
The project team was hopelessly entangled. They were passionate about their work and were fully engaged in achieving their goals but whenever they got together they would spend a lot of time arguing and dismissing each others' points of view. They appeared to be suspicious of each others' motives and unable to achieve even easy decisions. They had gone from being at a stage of manageable conflict to being on the verge of combat.
Proceed on the assumption of goodwill – remind yourselves that you are good people trying to do a good job – make sure that you keep that in mind.
Surface assumptions about the issue at hand – the more contention there is, the more you need to get beneath it understand each others' assumptions – call a "Stickie" – give each person a pad of stickies and have each person generate assumptions, one assumption per stickie. Set a time limit of 5 or 10 minutes and see how many assumptions can be generated in the time period. Then put them all up on the wall, and cluster them in themes. Discuss the themes and the contradictions. Your team will be very surprised to see all the different assumptions. Many times this technique leads to breaking up logjams or diffusing conflict.
Don't interrupt each other – if necessary, suggest the use of the talking stick (see next point). Agree ahead of time that any one person on the team can ask for the talking stick and everyone will cooperate.
When you can't get in a word edgewise, use a talking stick – the trick is to make sure that no one person hogs the airtime – pass around a stick or a ball or a baton or some object that you will recognize and make sure that everyone airs their opinions before any one person gets a second turn.
Ask questions in the spirit of inquiry rather than the spirit of combat – when you truly ask for more information and delve into how another person thinks, you can often be surprised. And when you get more information, the team's thinking and resources for decision-making are strengthened.
Give meeting effectiveness feedback at the end of the meeting – go around the table and have everyone say what they appreciated and what could go better next time.
This team worked very hard to get into healthy team habits. The first meeting we had, we had nothing more on the agenda than talking about how they could improve how they worked together. I shared the healthy team tips with them and they created some ground rules for themselves. They agreed that any member of the team could make a call for Stickies or for the Talking Stick and if any one other team member agreed, they would use this technique.
The next meeting, they began with the use of the talking stick to get some order to their discussions. It was fun and kind of amusing to see the loud-voiced person biting their tongue. But with some offline coaching of this person, he was helped to see that the real benefit of not hogging the airtime was that now everyone actually listened to him and heard his point of view.
The next meeting they tackled the use of Stickies and found a really helpful technique. They diligently practiced these techniques over about three months and very rarely now do they slide back into combat.
What is your team like? Do they practice healthy team habits? How does your team resolve conflicts? What are you facing right now? We'd love to hear from you. Give us your comments below.


text:
The Radical Left's Ideology Is Being Injected into Minnesota Schools
By Ruth Moreno.
Every 10 years, the state of Minnesota reviews and revises its academic standards, and the latest updates proposed for its social studies program in K-12 schools has turned heads for its blatantly left-wing political agenda. Although the timing of the update is unrelated to current events, the content is clearly a response to 2020's many protests and uprisings. The new curriculum is set to be steeped in left-wing ideology surrounding subjects like "whiteness," Christianity, and capitalism.
Committee members who assembled last fall to revise Minnesota's curriculum said that all they want to do is promote diversity and inclusion to make sure students have a well-rounded perspective, but the first draft which was released in January shows that the curriculum will be approaching history from a very narrow worldview.
Catrin Wigfall, who is herself a former teacher and current director of Educated Teachers Minnesota, explained on Washington Watch that the first red flag of the proposed revision comes in the first paragraph, which explains that the revised curriculum will bring "a shift in approach to standards of social studies learning." What this means for Minnesotan students is that instead of simply learning history, they will be forced to look at complex and controversial subjects through the lens of divisive "metanarratives" like racial identity politics.
The Star Tribune reported that as part of the proposed curriculum, ninth graders studying the era of Reconstruction will consider how historical disenfranchisement and discrimination are linked to ongoing discrimination and inequity. Fifth graders will look at history from the perspective of the advantaged and disadvantaged, which sounds awfully similar to looking at history from the perspective of the oppressors and the oppressed. But the proposed curriculum will start the indoctrination at a far younger age: even first graders will learn "to recognize stereotypes, biases, and discrimination, and about how people have advocated against those problems through social justice movements."
There is nothing wrong with teaching students about some of the harder parts of history, including American history, but a well-rounded approach to history does not require teaching impressionable children the language and worldview of the radical Left.
Fortunately, this proposed curriculum is just a first draft. It is unclear when a second draft will be released, but until Minnesota's 38-member committee of teachers, administrators, college professors, and others make any final decisions, it is imperative that Minnesotan conservatives fight to keep the radical Left's divisive and destructive worldview out of their state's schools.
This proposed curriculum should also serve as a warning for conservatives in other states as well: although Minnesota is not a "bastion of conservatism," as Tony put it, it is not California or New York, either. Conservatives in all states -- red, blue, and purple -- should know to watch out before the radical Left's agenda creeps into their own schools unnoticed.
Wigfall agreed that it is important to make sure every-day Americans are aware of what is happening in so many public schools today. Since word got out about these proposed revisions to Minnesota's social studies curriculum, thousands have voiced their opposition. Wigfall started a campaign, Raise Our Standards, which has drafted a letter to Minnesota's Department of Education outlining many Minnesotans' concerns about the curriculum.
These concerns have been dismissed as the product of "white supremacy," but they are nothing of the sort. Wigfall, like most Americans opposed to racial identity politics, recognizes the truth that the Left's view on racial justice ultimately ends with defining people by the color of their skin. This directly contradicts Dr. Martin Luther King's ideal, and for this among other reasons, all Americans should oppose the teaching of harmful and divisive racial identity politics in public schools.
President Biden's Biology Denial Will Ripple Throughout the Nation
Protecting Girls: On a Need to Noem Basis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Intel has created a 360-degree, 4k music video clip.
Using a five-step process, Intel's music video blends cinematography, music and new technologies, all of which came together in what could be an evolution in how the world's top artists film their music.
It started with Noa Neal, a Belgium-based artist with a few international hits and a popular television show. They approached her, in part because of her reputation for being eager to try new things. She was enthusiastic about the concept, and chose her song "Graffiti" for the pilot project.


Google's new Android P is still in its development phase. But it didn't stop it from making buzz on the Internet. As promoted by its parent company itself, the upcoming Android P operating system is going to be one of the major Android Updates. Google is adding several new AI based systems in the OS. Starting with new Battery Management system to the new Dashboard for the smartphone addicted users. The new Android P is going to be a featured packed OS. Of all those different features there is one which is currently my favorite. The new Gesture based navigation system.
iPhone X users might already be aware of the gesture based navigation system. The newly released Android P Developer Preview 2 Beta introduces this new navigation system on Android. But unfortunately the beta is currently only available for selected few smartphones.
While we doubt Android P would be available for most of the previous generation of smartphones. But all the upcoming and yet to be released smartphones can be expected to pack this latest version of Android. But that doesn't mean that the old smartphone users wouldn't be able to use this feature. We are pretty sure that soon, some developer would find a way to bring this gesture based navigation system to old version of Android operating System. Till then all we can do is just wait. And don't worry! we will let you know as soon as we get a way to enjoy the new Android P features on old version of Android OS.


text:
Business Insider Edition
Business Insider | Tech
We checked out the high-tech Airbus H160 helicopter and are convinced it could be a game changer
Benjamin Zhang , Business Insider US
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
The Airbus H160 is the latest entrant in the ultra-competitive medium-sized, twin-engine helicopter market.
The H160 serves as a replacement for the H155, which is a facelifted version of the iconic AS365 Dauphin.
According to Airbus, the H160 features technology that required 68 new patents.
Airbus expects to deliver its first European certified H160 around the end of 2019 with US spec version to arrive six to eight months later.
In 2014, Airbus retired its long-running Eurocopter brand and reorganized its vertical take-off and landing division into Airbus Helicopters.
And the first "purely Airbus" creation to emerge since the rebranding is the Airbus H160. It's the company's newest entrant into the medium-sized twin-engine helicopter market.
"The H160 is coming into one of the most needed segments for us," Airbus Helicopters Inc. CEO Chris Emerson told Business Insider. "It's a replacement for the current H155 and is able to scale up to the bottom end of the larger H175."
The H160 is able to deliver vastly superior performance to the similarly sized, but older, H155. At the same time, it slots in below the much larger H175 that was designed to deliver speed and capacity for the company's oil and gas customers, Emerson, who is the head of Airbus Helicopter's North American business, said.
"This medium twin segment is heavily competitive," Emerson added.
After all, there are legacy aircraft like the AgustaWestland AW139, the Sikorsky S76, and the legendary Bell 412 with which to contend.
However, the H160 is expected to be a step above its rivals in the segment. To create the new helicopter, Airbus incorporated technology from 68 new patents while reimagining its production process with input from the automotive industry.
Recently, Business Insider had the opportunity to get check out an H160 prototype in person during a North American customer demo tour Airbus held for the helicopter.
Here's a closer look at the new Airbus H160 prototype:
Here it is! The Airbus H160 prototype.
It's the successor to the current HC155.
It's also a spiritual successor to the iconic AS365 Dauphin. (Here in US Coast Guard guise as the HH65A.)
We were given a tour of the H160 by Airbus experimental test pilot Olivier Gensse. There are only three H160 prototypes in existence. According to Gensse, this is Prototype #2 and it's set up for hot weather testing.
The H160 is the first civilian helicopter to feature a full carbon composite fuselage.
It also features a biplane horizontal stabilizer that prevents the nose of the helicopter from pitch downward during level flight.
As with every new Airbus helicopter, the H160 is equipped with the company's signature Fenestron fantail design.
There's also a camera mounted to the top of the tail fin.
Here's the pilot's view of the camera.
But the big news is with the fan blades.
The H160 is equipped with new double swept Blue Edge composite blades. According to Gensse, these blades can reduce noise by 50%.
The H160 is powered by a pair of Safran Turbomeca Arrano turboshaft engines that can each produce 1,100 to 1,300 horsepower.
The engines are also expected to deliver 15% better fuel economy.
According to Airbus, the H160 can cruise at 178 mph with a range of more than 530 miles.
...H160 is equipped with a state-of-the-art glass cockpit.
The H160 has room for two pilots and up to 12 passengers. It can also haul more than 2,400 pounds of cargo. Here, the rear cabin is still configured for flight testing. The production cabin will look different.
The Airbus is designed to fulfill a variety of duties including search and rescue; emergency services; and as a private or corporate transport.
Here's the interior in luxury transport spec.
According to Airbus, the first H160s certified by European regulators are expected to be delivered around the end of 2019. H160s that are FAA certified are expected to arrive six to eight months later.
This is one of three Airbus H160 prototypes in existence.
Receive a single WhatsApp message every morning with all our latest news: Sign up here.
Here's a 'sexy' graph about the SA economy - but there's a catch
Philippine police stormed a call centre, arrested 482 people they say were running a stock market scam on South Africans
'All your friends have had her' - ads for 'moist' Easy Blonde and Filthy Brunette beers spark outrage in SA
Google will force you to switch to the new Gmail whether you want it or not — here's when you'll get it
An ancient four-legged 'fish' has just been discovered, and named after Desmond Tutu
airbus features hollis johnson
Airbus wants to add bunk beds, bars and playgrounds to its new planes
The 8 most luxurious private jets in the world
Why you shouldn't freak out if your plane loses an engine
JSE Indexes
Gold/Oz
All JSE data is delayed by at least 15 minutes
Johannesburg Stock Exchange Indexes
All Share 59001,87
Top 40 52735,75
Financial 15 15428,42
Industrial 25 74105,48
Resource 10 50610,7
DAILY BUSINESS INSIDER UPDATE
Get the best of our site delivered to your inbox every day.
*Copyright © 2020 Business Insider Inc.All rights reserved.Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms & conditions.
| Privacy Policy | Advertise with us | Contact us |


Indian smartphone manufacturer, Karbonn, has just introduced a new device called the MACHONE, which has a model designation of Titanium S310. Of the two, shouting MACHONE is much cooler, right? The device has been released at snapdeal.com where it's available in black, white and gold colors for the price of 6,990 Indian rupees, just over $110 equivalent. In terms of device specification, the MACHONE sits a little higher in the pecking order compared with the Android One devices and as you can see from the image above, it does not run stock Android. More on the software later, but first let me write about the core handset specification. The MACHONE is based around a 4.7-inch, 720p resolution IPS display and a quad-core 1.3 GHz MediaTek processor, which is backed up by 1GB of RAM. There's 8GB of internal device storage and a MicroSD slot so that you can add more if you need to. As is typical with many Indian smartphones, the MACHONE is a dual SIM device but as the marketing material does not mention 4G LTE, I must assume that it's a 3G only device. There's an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera: both cameras have an LED flash, so you can take those all-important selfies in the dark. One weakness on the hardware front is the battery capacity, which is showing as a disappointing 1,800mAh.
As I've already written, the MACHONE doesn't have the stock software interface. The device uses Android 4.4 KitKat and features a number of changes and enhancements to the software. These include a Smart Eye tracking feature, similar to what Samsung released a couple of years ago. The Smart Eye feature tracks eye movement to pause video playback when you're not watching the screen. That front-facing camera is paired up with blink detection software, whereby it'll capture a selfie by blinking your eyes (presumably after you've opened them again!). You'll also be able to double tap the device to wake it and Karbonn have given the device a "Battery Stamina" mode. Depending on how efficient the device is with the small 1,800 energy tank, users may be needing this more often than not.
Whilst the MACHONE introduces nothing radically new to the market, it isn't designed to. Instead, Karbonn have taken a look at other devices available in the market and cherry picked those features they want customers to benefit from. And for the price, plus that cool name, they may be on to a winner.


text:
Robert Silverberg
Writer Judge – Biography
In a career that goes back to 1954, Robert Silverberg has published hundreds of science fiction stories and more than a hundred novels. He has won five Nebula and five Hugo Awards and in 2004 was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. Robert Silverberg is a recipient of the L. Ron Hubbard Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts (2003). His best-known books include Lord Valentine's Castle, Dying Inside and A Time of Changes.
A long-time and fervent supporter of the Contest, he has been a Writers of the Future judge since its first year.
"Writers of the Future is unique in its dedication to developing great writing careers. A few may be getting started this very day. My congratulations to you all, and to the program for its splendid efforts over these many years." —Robert Silverberg
Find out more at: robert-silverberg.com
All Writers Judges


text:
Pakistan blast that killed 10 probably a gas explosion, officials say
The Himalayan Times
Published: 07:17 pm Feb 24, 2017
LAHORE: Pakistani officials on Friday said a blast that killed 10 people at a shopping centre in the eastern city of Lahore was most probably an accident caused by a gas leak, not a bomb, as initially described.
Panic gripped the city on Thursday after the blast at an upscale market, which also wounded 32 people.
Soon after, a burst tyre in another commercial district prompted police to clear the area and rumours of another blast began to spread.
"Yesterday's blast was not an act of terrorism," Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters.
"It took place by accident. There is no evidence of explosive materials. There were gas cylinders present at the site and there is a strong possibility that the explosion was caused by a gas leak."
Speaking to Reuters on Friday, Punjab government spokesman Malik Mohammad Ahmed Khan revised his statement the previous day that the initial blast had been caused by a planted bomb.
"Confusion was caused because the evidence was buried under the rubble, but it is now clear that this was not a bomb blast," Khan said. "It was a gas cylinder explosion."
The injuries suffered by victims were not consistent with a bomb explosion, he added, while no militant group had claimed the blast.
ALSO IN SOUTH ASIA NEWS
Bangladesh's proposed hike in gas prices sparks protests
Land rush around Pakistan's Gwadar port triggered by Chinese investment
Pakistan has been hit by a wave of militant attacks in recent weeks that have killed at least 130 people. One attack at a Sufi shrine in southern Sindh province killed 90 people.
#Pakistan #Lahore #Pakistan explosion
Indian Army calls Sikkim face-off reports exaggerated, China urges India to exercise restraint


We had some unexpected visitors last week. A rowdy bunch of crustaceans found their way to my doorstep…gifted to us by C's godfather after their trip to the beach. C came home lugging a biggish, weave basket, announcing that we had fresh crabs.
After much hilarity, he did give me the basic how-to on what to do, and what not to do, with my new pets, along with ideas on how to use them (I also consulted this terrific post). What I couldn't do though was cook them right away because I had already prepared a BIG pot of chilli for dinner and I had nowhere near enough time to deal with the crabs. So, with assurances that they would indeed survive overnight, I left them in their basin, fretting like a nervous host over whether I should feed them or not, and if so what they should eat.
Sometime in the middle of dinner, we heard and scuffle and a thump and rushed to the basin and discovered that the crabs had formed a kind of crab-ladder with their bodies so that their mates could climb up and escape***! And one fellow already did! After a brief moment of discussion, and some worried murmuring from me about crabs crawling around the flat at night and getting into our bed, we decided to cook them right then and there! C got out biggest pot out; we passed around some beers, and got on with the business of, um, as my uncle called it – la matanza del cangrejo.
I won't go into details here in consideration for the squeamish. Simply put, as we couldn't eat them all, we boiled them and stored them (some in the fridge and some in the freezer). C and my cousin Y surprisingly rose to the occasion – a little too enthusiastically in fact! And at the end of it all, when the steaming hot, bright red crabs came out, all I could think of was how we were going to prepare them!
We had the first batch the very next day, steamed (just to heat them up again) in a bamboo steamer with wedges of lemon and sprigs of cilantro thrown in. I tossed knots of lemongrass into the steaming water to add another layer of fragrance. They were beyond delicious. Fresh white crabmeat, sweet and tender, eaten with our hands…dunked in C's special dipping sauce, juices dripping from our fingers, as we recalled the night of "la matanza" like two old hands exchanging war tales.
The rest of the crab is safely tucked away in the freezer – waiting for me to decide what to do with them. I already have a few ideas, but suggestions are very much welcome!
***That part was actually incredible to see and would deserve a whole separate post of dissertation on the fallacies of "crab mentality" – a condition that I am now convinced exists only in humans! They should call it human-mentality and keep the crabs out of it!


Land Area: 8,523.00 m2. Floor Area: 8,523.00 m2.
Colliers International has the exclusive pleasure to offer 20 Nellie Street, Nundah for sale via Expressions of Interest closing Tuesday 18th December 2018 at 4.00pm.
20 Nellie Street represents an outstanding opportunity to secure a 'development ready' site in the thriving suburb of Nundah.
•	Well-connected location, adjacent to Nundah Train Station as well access to a frequent bus services. The site is accessible by city connections via Sandgate Road and Airport connections via the Airport Link tunnel.
For further information please contact the exclusive agents.


Would it be a difference between a normal and a romantic bathroom? In fact, there is, since the latter can have exclusivity of use, because this type is usually installed next to or in the bedroom. The ambiance has to be relaxing, sensual and extremely intimate, a kind of special oasis of relaxation. To do this, consider the concept of romance-inspired furniture and furnishings combined with light, color and fragrance.
The so-called romantic individuals would not settle for traditional box-shaped cupboards and counters. Instead, they will choose surfaces that match the aura of the bedroom to which the romantic bathroom is connected. If big enough, this bathroom can have a covered shower as well as a spa-style tub. You can choose from the free-standing bathtubs or the specially installed bathtubs such as the alcove, drop-in and undercounter baths. To put the tub in the corner, there are variants of corner baths. For the freestanding bath the models Claw-Foot and Slipper are available.
The lighting is an aspect that transforms the dull environment into a romantic atmosphere. By controlling the lighting you control the mood of the environment. For a romantic bathroom, the lights should be warm, which flatters the color tones of the walls and other accessories in the bathroom.
Your choice of wall and accessory colors can create a drama in this oasis. You can have analogue colors or you can choose different complementary hues that create soothing effects. The color wheel is a good guide.
The ultimate romantic bathroom should be aromatic. Avoid odors from cleaning products and instead place flower potpourri or fragrant diffuser sticks in relation to the spa experience. They have myriad designs and there are 51 recommended romantic bathroom ideas.


With the recent ice storm and the polar vortex that took over much of Canada and the U.S., extreme weather has been affecting a lot of city services, travel and road conditions. Alex Ferworn, coordinator for certificate in disaster management at Ryerson University is here with some tips on how to be prepared for these incidents.
Full video of the interview can be found here.


text:
> News > Digital dynamism dominates University's Business Plan Competition
Digital dynamism dominates University's Business Plan Competition
March 24, 2017 | Simon Jenkins
Online business ventures have, for the first time, won both the Trading and Pre-Trading categories in the University of Leeds Business Plan Competition for students and graduates.
Organised by Spark, the University's business start-up service, the prestigious annual competition shares a prize fund of at least £8,000 across the two categories (Pre-trading and Trading up to 24 months), with the winning entries awarded a cash prize of £2,000 each.
First prize in the Pre-Trading category was won by International Business & Economics graduate Pontus Ekhem (25) and Product Design graduate Dan Bennett (24) for their business Promojo, an advertising platform that enables students to earn money by engaging with and giving feedback to adverts in their spare time. The friends will launch the Promojo app to Leeds students in the summer, with a phased roll-out to Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol later this year. A national launch is planned for 2018.
Says Dan: "Online adverts are often intrusive and an annoyance, but Promojo incentivises users to watch ads of products and brands they're interested in at their convenience, effectively turning wasted time into paid time. It works for advertisers too as they reach relevant audience demographics and gain valuable data through the feedback questions."
Pontus and Dan lost touch after graduating in 2014 but met by chance in 2016 and started discussing ideas for apps they could develop together. Once they'd decided on Promojo, Pontus enrolled on a coding course and they developed their idea around their full-time jobs. Convinced that there was a significant opportunity, both men resigned from their jobs to concentrate on Promojo full time. They moved back to Leeds, where they knew their target student market well, and where they knew they'd be able to fully access Spark's support.
Says Pontus: "Spark's been a brilliant sounding board, and the advisory support is fantastic – we've been put in touch with experts who know the industry well, and we've also been given incubator space. The Business Plan prize will help pay for our launch costs and we're already in talks with marketing agencies who want to use the platform. This is our year, and we're really excited!"
First prize in the Trading category was won by Nigerian graduate Olubusayo Longe (27). Olubasayo completed his Master's degree in Engineering, Technology and Business Management in 2015 and started trading the same year with his business, Form+.
The business allows users to create online forms to collect data and use their own cloud storage (such as Google Drive and Dropbox) to receive and store responses. Competitor solution providers often store clients' collected data on their servers, forcing clients to keep paying subscription fees to access their data. Form+ already has over 1000 clients, the largest proportion from the USA, spread across universities and high schools, SMEs and non-profit organisations. "Form+ is really so simple to use, you only pay for what you need, so it's really cost-effective," Olubusayo says.
"Spark has been instrumental in helping me develop the business, setting up in the UK while on a visa, giving me incubator space and helping me go to conferences where I made incredibly useful contacts. I'm working on the business full time: things are moving really fast now, and I've been setting up contractors in Poland. I want to grow as fast as I can and see how far I can take it. I love it! I always knew I wanted to run my own business and I think Form+ business model has great potential."
So good was the standard of entries, the judges decided to make an extra discretionary Management Award of £1,000 to MSc International Business graduate Chris Wilson, for his business Too Good to Go. The environmental social enterprise is dedicated to reducing food waste through a mobile app which allows users to purchase food from restaurants, cafes, bakeries and other stores that would otherwise be thrown away at the end of the day for massively discounted prices. Although only 18 months old, Too Good to Go is now active in six European countries: UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, has grown to over one million users and has diverted over 400,000 meals from landfill.
Andy King, Relationship Director at Santander, a long-standing sponsor of the University of Leeds, was on the judging panel. He said: "The quality of the entries this year was phenomenal across the board. On paper, you can get a good feel for a business, but it's only when the entrepreneurs present to the judging panel that you realise just how compelling these business opportunities really are. You get to see their passion for the venture, the business instinct and drive that they have and the amount of the work that's gone into researching and planning. A lot of these businesses are scalable and you only have to look at some of the successes coming out of the SPARK stable to really appreciate the quality of the applicants. It's both fascinating and remarkable to watch these businesses evolve and mature.
"The Santander Universities division supports entrepreneurs and SMEs through a range of initiatives and awards and the University of Leeds is a flagship institution for us. It's a real privilege to continue to be involved with the University and in particular SPARK and the amazing young people it continues to support."
Kairen Skelley, Head of Spark Business Start-Up, said: "Enterprise isn't an 'add-on' at Leeds – there's a deep commitment to helping students and graduate entrepreneurs to recognise enterprise as a genuine career option and to thrive. The sheer talent, ambition and resilience of our entrepreneurs – as well as their innovative approaches to breaking into sometimes highly competitive markets – deserves the best support available, and we're extremely proud to be able to deliver that."
See our other News
Woodlanders welcome the return of the natives
Opening a treasure trove of our evolving language
Sporting students' cultural exchange
Bank unlocks the door to Yale


Choosing the correct fencing for alpacas is important for the safety of the alpacas from both an internal and external standpoint. Fencing not only keeps the .
How to select the right type of farm fence from a variety of available options.
Gallagher offer a full range of alpaca electric fence options. Select from permanent (high tensile) or portable fence systems or an offset fence which allows .
If you are lucky enough to already have barns and/or fencing in place then you will need to adapt to what exists. If not, here are some options to consider and .
Fencing that is at least four-foot high works best, however, in areas that have bears, fences should be five feet high. Three board fencing, wood or fiberglass, is the most popular on farms with livestock. However, this type of fencing allows predators to easily come into the pastures with the alpacas.
ProFence LLC is a leading alpaca fence provider and fence installation company. Learn more about our woven wire alpaca fencing services here.
Most alpacas will put their head through the fence and push until they can't get. other small gap type of wire could be strung up but that option is expensive.
We are fortunate that both alpacas and llamas are, in general,. Most of us inherit someone else's fences, yards, etc, generally built for. YARDING OPTIONS.
With all the choices, it can be hard to decide which of the fence options best fit. It cannot be used safely with animals such as goats, sheep, llamas or alpacas.


text:
Home/History
Historyadmin2019-03-22T10:28:00-04:00
In July of 1965, after many hours of research and study concerning the need for a re-socialization program, a letter of recommendation was submitted to the Executive Committee of the Lebanon County Mental Health Association by the Acting Re-Socialization Committee, chaired by Reverend Walter Hales. This study took place under the leadership of Mrs. Edith Krohn, President. The letter convinced the Board of the need for a re-socialization program; goals were established, plans were made to find a part-time director, and a meeting took place. Invitations were sent to former consumers living in Lebanon County.
By March of 1966, the name Halcyon Club was selected for the re-socialization program. Halcyon was selected because the meaning of the word "Halcyon" is peace, contentment, and calm following the storm. The first meetings were held in the basement of the Salem Lutheran Church. In a year's time, membership grew from 19 to 90 members! Because of this, larger quarters had to be found, and one year after its founding, Halcyon moved to 22 South 8th Street, on the 2nd floor of Martin Miller's Sporting Good store.
By 1968, Halcyon had 44 volunteers and 135 members participating in structured and unstructured programs. During this time, Margaret Miller was hired as the Assistant to the Director.
On September 2, 1971, incorporation papers were signed, and on February 10, 1972, the first board meeting, under the name of Halcyon Activity Center, Inc. was held. One month later, a contract was signed permitting full time operation of Halcyon Activity Center.
Halcyon's programming expanded to include activities such as bingo, cooking, and knitting, Volunteer Recognition night, bus trips, and dances. In 1976, a hot meal program was instituted for club members and a part time cook was hired. The Halcyon Chorus was formed under the direction of Mildred Bragg; members were able to perform at local churches and community events.
In January of 1977, Halcyon moved to its new quarters at 39 South 8th Street. Between 1977 and 1978, Halcyon's membership grew to 250 members and 45 volunteers. Halcyon had a number of services club and churches involved in providing programs and refreshments for the members.


On arrival transfer from Vancouver International Airport to hotel. Afternoon visit FlyOver Canada, Vancouver's newest attraction offering a spectacular Virtual Flight over Canada. Rest of the day at leisure, overnight at hotel.
After breakfast morning at leisure, afternoon checkout and proceed on Vancouver City Tour. See Canada Place, Robson Street, the Public Library, Sports Venues, Theatres, Chinatown and Gastown. Soak in the natural splendour of Stanley Park's Totem Poles and sightsee from Prospect Point. Later drop off at Pacific Central Station to connect VIA Rail Train at 8.30 pm for overnight journey to Jasper.
On arrival at 4.00 pm, transfer to hotel. Rest of the day at leisure, overnight at hotel.
After breakfast proceed on Discover Jasper Tour. Jasper's beauty and history is set amid some of the most rugged peaks in the Rockies. Explore the natural attractions of Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake. At Maligne Canyon stroll along the 50 meter walls while learning about its unique underground water system. Afternoon at leisure, overnight at hotel.
After breakfast checkout and transfer to Banff VIA scenic Icefields Parkway On the way stop at major viewpoints of Athabasca Falls, Columbia Icefield, Crowfoot Glacier, and Peyto Lake. At the Icefields Centre take a thrilling ride on an Ice Explorer. On your way to Banff, experience the breathtaking waters of Lake Louise and the dominant Victoria Glacier. Upon arrival in Banff, you will be dropped off at the hotel.
InclusionsDaily breakfast at restaurant in the hotel.


The first phase of JetBlue's A320 interior cabin restyle began in spring 2018 and modernized the airline's so-called "classic interiors" with products that matched those found on the airline's newer A321 aircraft – features such as more modern seats and larger seatback TVs.
For most of the airlines 100+ destinations the A320 restyling will bring the upgraded JetBlue experience to their city for the first time. A major focus of the restyling is keeping customers connected throughout their flight, including a new inflight entertainment system, high-definition seatback televisions, in-seat power outlets with USB ports and continued free gate-to-gate Fly-Fi high-speed internet with an expanded coverage area – including throughout the Caribbean and Latin America where Fly-Fi had not been available until now.


text:
UK SUPREME COURT FINDS GOVT GUILTY OF FAILING TO UPHOLD EU AIR LAWS
The UK supreme court ruled last week that the government was guilty of breaching its legal duty to uphold European Union air quality laws. Britain's highest appeals court said that the government had breached a nitrogen dioxide directive and asked for guidance from the European Court of Justice on what actions need to be taken. The ruling marks the first time that a UK court has recognized that the government has failed to meet EU pollution rules, but the European court may take as long as 18 months to reply with answers to certain legal questions. The supreme court could eventually force the government to take certain steps to improve air quality. London currently has the highest nitrogen dioxide levels of any European capital, and air pollution contributes to around 29,000 early deaths a year, according to a body that advises the government. The UK now faces stiff fines, and cities may be required to limit the entry of cars and heavy good vehicles to reduce pollution. For the full story, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/01/government-pollution-supreme-court and http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/01/us-britain-pollution-idUSBRE9400DU20130501.


Custom Floor Mats: What Makes Custom Floor Mats Effective?
Getting such perfection is not that tough. There is a wide range of effective floor mats available in the market. The custom made floor mats will help you protect your factory upholstery and enhance the comfort and convenience below your feet.
Custom-fit floor mats are especially designed for your vehicle floors. Made of tested materials and latest CAD/CAM technologies, the auto accessories provide optimum protection and desired look and feel to your car floors.
There are many abuses and hazards that cause damage to your original floors. The floorboard has to undergo varieties of abuses that include muddy shoes, dust, liquids, and sand etc. Friction is another factor that takes heavy toll on your floor mats. If the original mats are not protected with effective and strong mats, your floorboard will get dirty and damaged and wear off soon.
If you visit marketplace, you will encounter with wide range of floor mats. The mats vary depending on the quality of the material used, color, pattern and their respective effectiveness. When it comes to get desired protection for your factory mats, it's necessary that you get the floor mats that are especially prepared for your vehicle. And get them from the brand of repute.
The car accessories such as Nylon Carpet floor mats and Clear Nibbed floor mats are made of tested materials and precisely designed for your vehicle. The Nylon Carpet car floor mats are made of 40 ounce thick Nylon material. The heat set twisted material is strong enough and long lasting. On the other hand, the Clear Nibbed mats are made of clear vinyl. The transparent material is elegant as well as effective.
The premium quality car floor mats are treated with anti-stain and anti-wear resistant agents. Such a construction guarantees long lasting protection against hazards and abuses. The custom tailored floor mats have strong rubber nibbed bottom that prevents any possible slippage. So , choose the best suitable floor mats and get desired look and feel inside your car.


The formation of the cooperative breathed new life into Orbea, and growth limitations on the factory in Eibar necessitated a move. A larger and more accessible facility is built in nearby Mallabia, 10km away.
Eventually, many years later, Orbea returned to competitive cycling, both on the road and in cyclocross. These experiences shaped the immediate future of the brand.


Indeed, resilience can make a huge difference in the wake of a cyberattack; consider the UK National Health Service, which suffered a ransomware attack last year. But the hospital system had built in enough redundancies, backed up their data, and stayed on top of software updates so that they were able to continue functioning with only a slight delay. Their resilient data and security practices ensured they could continue operations even in the face of an attack.1 On the flipside, a similar attack on several companies across the globe resulted in losses of millions of dollars due to significant business interruption.
According to 100 Resilient Cities, an initiative dedicated to helping cities become more physically, socially, and economically resilient in the face of threats, one step cities can take is to hire a chief resilience officer.2 Most cities today do not yet have the necessary personnel to build an effective strategy. As such, it is important as a first step to hire a manager with relevant experience who will be able to ask the right questions, examine how agencies are currently operating, and design a strategy that takes into account the city's unique situation.
Only a select few cities have begun to think about cyber resilience as a priority for overall resilience. One of these is Rotterdam, the Netherlands' second-largest city. Taking its inspiration from the municipal motto of "stronger through struggle," Rotterdam developed the first-ever city cyber resilience strategy. Given the central importance of the port to the city's economic well-being, the strategy emphasizes security of port-related ICT assets and cooperation between the public and private sectors to achieve long-term resilience goals. But the plan goes beyond a traditional approach to protecting critical infrastructure and tries to promote more cyber-based innovation, specifically calling on citizens, companies, and organizations to maximize their knowledge and technology use to increase resilience.


In buying a new home one of the first facts that the new owner usually does is to re-do the kitchen. As the main gathering stage for the family they wish to have it a place that all will love. This usually involves re-painting, flooring, curtains and, sometimes unique appliances. When this has been achieved, one comes to the matter of furnishings. If the kitchen is already large there is no problem, in the event that not a renovation may be important to make more room. After the space has been determined, anybody can start shopping for a kitchen table and chairs. The table and chairs should be selected with consideration for the family's comfort as well as the type that could fit in with the room's design. If the room is in a style theme, for example , a pine table and furniture with the original finish could be appropriate. If it is more contemporary than one might wish to head to one of the many other types available.
Omagnatta - Swing 46 club chair set for 4. Swing 46 club chair set for 4 encompassing babmar's top selling club chairs, the swing 46 contemporary club chair set provides ample amount of seating space as well as comfort with a 4" thick seat and back cushion. Swing 46 dining and dancing, live music, swing and jazz nyc. Our award winning menu offers a delicious selection of appetizers, entrees and deserts download our dinner menu, our fixed price menu, and our wine list. Babmar swing 46 club chair 3d warehouse. Babmar outdoor furniture swing 46 club chair #babmar #modern #outdoor #rattan. Swing @ swing 46, nyc youtube. This feature is not available right now please try again later. Swing 46 jazz and supper club jazz & blues club new. Swing 46 jazz and supper club 349 w 46th st, new york, new york 10036 rated 4 5 based on 258 reviews "had planned a surprise dinner for my. Swing s 46 hutten. Swing s 46 model swing is a beautiful combination between classical bentwood and the rounded formed used in the fifties the ergonomic formed rounded backrest gives you a very comfortable seat, and the opening between seat and backrest gives the chair a very transparent view. Swing 46 new york city 2018 all you need to know. Went out for dinner and music at swing 46 we were very pleased with everything the food was great the wine was good and the band was excellent david berger we were very pleased with everything. Swing 46 jazz and supper club on instagram o photos and videos. 4,239 posts see instagram photos and videos taken at 'swing 46 jazz and supper club'. Welcome to the official swing 46 website. Swing 46 is a jazz and supper club located on the famous restaurant row in the heart of times square in new york city. Living room club chairs. Club chairs living room chairs : create an inviting atmosphere with new living room chairs decorate your living space with styles ranging from overstuffed recliners to wing back chairs your online living room furniture store! get 5% in rewards with club o!.


text:
Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 1999 Dec;44(4):284-95.
Lethal level overexpression of gamma-tubulin in fission yeast causes mitotic arrest.
Horio T1, Basaki A, Takeoka A, Yamato M.
Department of Food Microbiology, The University of Tokushima School of Medicine, Kuramoto, Tokushima, Japan. horio@nutr.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp
gamma-Tubulin is a member of the tubulin superfamily and plays essential roles in microtubule nucleation. While the level of other tubulins, alpha- and beta-tubulin, is strictly regulated in higher eukaryotes and overexpression of beta-tubulin is toxic in yeasts, gamma-tubulin can be overexpressed by fivefold in fission yeast without any obvious defect in growth. Extreme overexpression of gamma-tubulin in mammalian cells caused growth arrest; however, the exact level of gamma-tubulin and the critical level of gamma-tubulin necessary for growth defect were undetermined. We have constructed strains that over- or underexpress gamma-tubulin by placing the gamma-tubulin gene under the control of the inducible nmt1 promoter and its variants. Among these, the weakest promoter was able to produce enough gamma-tubulin to support normal growth when its expression was induced. A strain in which the gamma-tubulin gene was placed under the control of the strongest inducible promoter achieved 160-fold overexpression of gamma-tubulin and its growth was suppressed. Normal cytoplasmic microtubules were mostly lost in gamma-tubulin overexpressing cells and gamma-tubulin was accumulated around the periphery of nuclei. Many of the cells were arrested in mitosis. A small fraction of cells did proceed to undergo nuclear division; however, its process looked either significantly deterred or abnormal. Our results presented here suggest that excess gamma-tubulin disrupts the microtubule array and significantly deters the formation of the mitotic spindle, most likely because of random nucleation of microtubules from excess gamma-tubulin in the cytoplasm.
Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
10.1002/(SICI)1097-0169(199912)44:4<284::AID-CM6>3.0.CO;2-I
Cell Cycle*
Cell Death/genetics
Centrosome/metabolism
Cytoplasm/metabolism
DNA, Complementary/metabolism
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Microscopy, Phase-Contrast
Mitosis*
Plasmids/metabolism
Promoter Regions, Genetic
Schizosaccharomyces/cytology
Schizosaccharomyces/metabolism*
Tubulin/biosynthesis*
Tubulin/genetics*
DNA, Complementary
PomBase, University of Cambridge


"Dark Matter and Milgrom's scaling: from Astronomy to Particle physics and back"
to be presented by Prof. Djordje Minic (Virginia Tech).
dark matter which reconciles the cold dark matter paradigm with the phenomenological successes of Milgrom's scaling. I will outline some generic signatures of this new concept in astronomy and in particle physics. I will also emphasize the crucial role of quantum gravity in this proposal.


text:
<?php
namespace Dashboard\Model\Widget;

/**
 * Class EyeProcessWidget
 * @package Dashboard\Model\Widget
 */
class EyeProcessWidget extends AbstractWidget
{
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Committed to serving the needs of our community, Rapid City Medical Center is pleased to announce the addition of Rheumatology. Jennifer May, MD and Emily Huntley, MSPAS-C are now scheduling. Call for more details!
Rheumatology treats diseases that affect the joints, muscles, bones and immune system. Autoimmune conditions occur when the immune system misfires and results in inflammation to areas of the body. These diseases can affect the eyes, skin, nervous system and internal organs.


Here are some snazzy birthday facts about 23rd of January 1946 that no one tells you about. Don't wait a minute longer and jump in using the content links below. Average read time of 9 minutes. Enjoy!
What day was my birthday Jan 23, 1946?
January 23, 1946 was a Wednesday and it was the 23rd day of the year 1946. It was the 4th Wednesday of that year. The next time you can reuse your old 1946 calendar will be in 2019. Both calendars will be exactly the same! This is assuming you are not interested in the dates for Easter and other irregular holidays that are based on a lunisolar calendar.
There are 276 days left before your next birthday. You will be 74 years old when that day comes. There have been 26,752 days from the day you were born up to today. If you've been sleeping 8 hours daily since birth, then you have slept a total of 8,917 days or 24.41 years. You spent 33% of your life sleeping. Since night and day always follow each other, there were precisely 906 full moons after you were born up to this day. How many of them did you see? The next full moon that you can see will be on May 18 at 21:13:00 GMT – Saturday.
Fun stat: Your first one billion seconds (1,000,000,000) happened sometime on October 1, 1977.
If a dog named Tchin - a Beagle breed, was born on the same date as you then it will be 312 dog years old today. A dog's first human year is equal to 15 dog years. Dogs age differently depending on breed and size. When you reach the age of 6 Tchin will be 40 dog years old. From that point forward a small-sized dog like Tchin will age 4 dog years for every human year.
In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song dynasty troops.
What does my birthday January 23, 1946 mean?
Your birthday numbers 1, 23, and 1946 reveal that your Life Path number is 8. It represents experience, authority and endeavour. You are gifted with natural leadership and the capacity to accumulate great wealth.
The following celebrities also have the same life path number: Patty Donahue, Deepak Tijori, Jeff Rudom, Bob Newhart, Edison Chen, Stanley Kubrick, Jeannette Charles, Massimo Morsello, Robert Clothier, Norton Buffalo.
What is the birthday horoscope for Jan 23, 1946?
The Western zodiac or sun sign of a person born on January 23 is Aquarius ♒ (The Water-bearer) – a fixed sign with Air as Western element. The ruling planet is Uranus – the planet of originality. According to the ancient art of Chinese astrology (or Eastern zodiac), Rooster is the mythical animal and Wood is the Eastern element of a person born on January 23, 1946.
Fun fact: The birth flower for 23rd January 1946 is Carnation for friendship.
What is the Love Match for Jan 23, 1946?
When it comes to love and relationship, you are most compatible with a person born on June 3, 1971. You have a Love Match compatibility score of +204. Imagine being in love with your soul mate. On the negative side, you are most incompatible with a person born on July 8, 1931. Your incompatibility score is -257. You'll be like a cat and a dog on a love-hate relationship. Arf-arf, I want to bite you. Meow-meow, stay away from me!
What is the popular baby name on 23 Jan 1946?
Here's a quick list of all the fun birthday facts about January 23, 1946. Celebrities, famous birthdays, historical events, and past life were excluded.
Try another birth date of someone you know or try the birthday of these celebrities: August 25, 1930 – Bruce Allpress, New Zealand actor; October 8, 1976 – Karina Bacchi, Brazilian model and actress; August 30, 1948 – Lewis Black, American comedian, actor, and author.


text:
Q: Tricks for improving iPhone UITableView scrolling performance? I have a uitableview that loads fairly large images in each cell and the cell heights vary depending on the size of the image. Scrolling performance is decent, but can sometimes be jerky.
I found these tips I found on the FieryRobot blog:
glassy-scrolling-with-uitableview
more-glassy-scrolling-with-uitableview
Does anyone have any tips for improving uitableview scrolling performance?

A: *

*If you are subclassing
UITableViewCell, don't use a Nib,
write it in code instead. It's much
faster than loading Nib files.

*If you're using images, make sure
you're caching them so you don't
have to load from file more than
once for each (if you have the
memory -- you'd be surprised how
much space images take up).

*Make as many elements opaque as
possible. Similarly, try not and use
images with transparency.

A: The developer behind Tweetie has written extensively about this and has some code that demonstrates how it was done for that app.  Basically, he/she advocates one custom view per table cell, and drawing it manually (rather than subviewing with Interface Builder, among other options).
fast-scrolling-in-tweetie-with-uitableview
Also, Apple has updated its own sample code for TableView in its TableViewSuite tutorials (maybe in response to this?)
TableViewSuite

A: *

*Cache the height of the rows (the table view can request this frequently)

*Create a least-recently-used cache for the images used in the table (and invalidate all the inactive entries when you receive a memory warning)

*Draw everything in the UITableViewCell's drawRect: if possible avoid subviews at all costs (or if you require the standard accessibility functionality, the content view's drawRect:)

*Make your UITableViewCell's layer opaque (same goes for the content view if you have one)

*Use the reusableCellIdentifier functionality as recommended by the UITableView examples/documentation

*Avoid gradients/complicated graphical effects that aren't pre-baked into UIImages

A: #1 performance killer for UITableView scrolling is drawing shadows on any cell view layer, so if scrolling performance matters then don't do shadows unless basically it doesn't slow down your main thread.
thought this had to be said since none of the accepted answers made mention of shadows and layers. :+)

A: Any problem with UITableView scrolling performance can be solved using techniques already described in other answers. However many a times sluggish performance is caused by something inherently erroneous, or repetitive.
The fact that UITableView reuses the cells, and the fact that each cell may need its own image - together makes the solution bit complex. From how it's being solved the general way, here I summarize things that should be taken care of:

*

*Load data into data source - from REST / database. This step should be done on background, eventually using dispatch_async along with GCD queue.

*Create and initialize relevant data model objects and putting them inside an array

*[tableView reloaddata]

*Inside cellForRowAtIndexPath, include code that will set data (text) from correct data model object of the array.

*Now images maybe in the form of URL too, so this step might be little quirky because of cell reuse done by table view. The heart of the fact is to load once again image from device cache / URL using async queue, then set it to correct cell.image (whatever is your cell image property).

To avoid problems, refer to this tutorial about lazy loading of images inside table view.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
BEYOND SPORT AWARD WINNERS UNVEILED IN JOHANNESBURG
by Katie-Jay | Oct 31, 2014
FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2014
The winners of the Beyond Sport Awards 2014, supported by Sport Relief, have been announced at this year's global Summit in Johannesburg, as the three-day event comes to a close.
Supported by Sport Relief, the Beyond Sport Awards celebrate and reward the best projects from around the world that use sport to bring about positive social change. Cricket superstar Graeme Smith and SuperSport presenter Carol Tshabalala presented the award for Best New Project to Dance4Change from The Change Foundation, which uses dance to inspire young people to work together and address the challenges they themselves face in their day-to-day lives.
Over 350 projects were entered into this year's awards from over 70 countries around the world. Presenters including former Bafana Bafana and Leeds United Captain Lucas Radebe, Captain of the Kaizer Chiefs and South African national team Itumeleng Khune, South Africa footballing legend Mark Fish, South Africa women's national team midfielder Amanda Dlamini, NBA heroes Cedric Ceballos and Sam Perkins, and former South African Test cricketer Ali Bacher lined up on-stage to present the coveted trophies to the 2014 winners.
The award for Corporate of the Year went to Chevrolet's Coaches Across Continents, Darfur United Soccer Academy took home the Sport for Social Inclusion, supported by Barclays, the UNICEF Sport for Education Award was won by Ocean Academy and Premiership Rugby earned Sport Federation or Governing Body of the Year.
Today's other winners include Girls Empowerment Project (Sport for Health), Waste Management Phoenix (Sport for the Environment), Sport4Youth and Peace (Sport for Conflict Resolution) and Charlton Athletic Community Trust (Sport Team of the Year).
Showing their support for this global event, Bobby Malabie, Group Executive Marketing, Communications, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Barclays; Ethan Zohn, Founder, Grassroot Soccer and Beyond Sport Young Ambassador Korinne Dennis also stepped into the spotlight to present this year's winners with their well-deserved awards.
The winners of all the Beyond Sport Awards, supported by Sport Relief, will receive global recognition, a package of substantial business and strategic support, and exclusive access to partnership and media opportunities.
Nick Keller, Founder of Beyond Sport said "All our shortlist represent the very best in leadership both in society and their own communities. Amongst all the remarkable work, the winners have demonstrated innovation and impact at an exceptional level and are an inspiration to all; we hope winning today further strengthens the incredible work they have already achieved".
This year's Awards made up part of the annual Beyond Sport Summit, which took place across various venues in Johannesburg from 28th to 30th October. Themed around youth leadership, this year's Summit and Awards showcased leading sport-for-social change programmes and how they can make a positive social impact across the city by inspiring the youth to become leaders amongst their communities.
**ENDS**
For more information on the Beyond Sport Summit and Awards 2014, please visit http://www.beyondsport.org/event/beyond-sport-summit-2014/
Annemarie Elsom
Email: Annemarie@beyondsport.org
Bronwyn Roets
Exposure Unlimited
Email: bronwyn@eu-pr.com
Beyond Sport is a global organisation that promotes, develops and funds the use of sport to create positive social change across the world.
We do this primarily through…
Beyond Sport Awards
The Beyond Sport Awards programme provides support worth $3 million annually to projects across the world that use sport to address issues within their communities.
Beyond Sport Summit
The Beyond Sport Summit is an annual event that brings together the best sport-led social innovators with influential, global leaders to address sport's role in driving positive social change. The Beyond Sport Summit 2014 will be held in Johannesburg from 28th to 30th October.
Visit www.beyondsport.org for more information
Join the conversation @BeyondSport #BeyondYouth


SAN FRANCISCO, CA – October 11, 2017 – 123FormBuilder today announced the launch of the Dynamic Prefill feature of its form and workflow creation suite at Dreamforce 2017. The new functionality automatically customizes forms in real time, based on the information entered into the form and without using any custom URLs or URL parameters.
Dynamic Prefill enables mobile, real-time access to data, which is automatically prefilled into any new form based on a key identifier, for example company name. Dynamic Prefill saves time and improves accuracy in many business situations, such as when agents in the field need to update existing Salesforce Account records. The first form field entered performs a lookup on existing Account records and filters them as the agent types. Once the agent chooses a specific record, form fields are prefilled with data, based on the field mappings established during the form setup. The agent then fills in additional information and submits the form, automatically updating the Account record with the new information right away.
123FormBuilder is an Exhibiting sponsor at Dreamforce 2017, the world's largest software conference and the Salesforce learning event of the year. 123FormBuilder is exhibiting at booth #1961 in the Dreamforce Customer Success Expo, showcasing its efficient and intuitive form building platform. Interested expo attendees can stop by the booth to see the Dynamic Prefill in action.
123FormBuilder is a friendly and intuitive form building platform that helps users collect data, create workflows and generate results. From data collection forms to complex workflows, the form suite covers all user touch points, delivering valuable data to existing applications. For more details visit our website or follow us on Twitter or Facebook.


Whether you're playing hard or just hanging out, you'll love the bold style of Tifosi's Duro glasses. These sturdy, lightweight shades boast Tifosi's exceptionally tough Grilamid frames and include stunning, distortion-free Clarion Blue mirrored lenses that prevent water spots, as well as two other sets of easily interchangeable lenses (AC Red and Clear), so you can see in any light condition. The large, impact-resistant, polycarbonate lenses are vented for fog-free vision. These stylish specs even sport hydrophilic rubber temples and adjustable nose pads that grip even better when wet for a custom fit that stays put.


Blogging is the style of writing an online diary per say. We would often hear people discussing the blog topics on the internet. By this, they mean that they upload their post in a rather informal manner and upload them on the internet so that they get to meet new visitors and make connections with them. Architectural blogs often contain the following tags which let other bloggers and readers follow the bloggers and stay updated with their blog posts now and then. There are some architectural blogging sites on the internet. You can always search the internet for the world's best 100 blogs online.
What is a blog? What can you do with it?
With blogs, a blogger can upload and post any kind of thing related to anything. The stronger the posts on the blogs are, the greater will be the number of visitors on the same. The various types of blogs can be of personal, formal, grouped blogs, media blogs, architectural blogs, and etcetera. The blogs can be of personal experiences, do it yourself tutorials, a solution providing blogs and even an informal question and answer forum.
Blogging forums can either be made free of cost or made by spending some money and using special services like the SEO services to make someone's blogging site rank up to the search engine's search list. Here we shall discuss some well-known architects of the twenty-first century are mentioned here below.
The Portuguese architect Alvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira apart from his endless studies was busy with designing a building in his time. He is the one to create the remarkable building on water which still stands a strong example of sheer engineering brilliance.
Antoine Predock who is an architect in Albuquerque won his first nationally recognizable architectural design competition. Some of his best works include buildings made for bird enthusiasts called the turtle creek house, the tang teaching museum and also the ballpark at San Diego Padres.
Born in 1957, Ben van Berkel with the help of his wife had established a guide architectural practice grounds for all the enthusiasts and named it as the Van Berkel and Bos architectuurbureau.
Bernard Tschumi, the creator of the new Acropolis museum and the Alesia museum, is the son of the well-known and famous architect Jean Tschumi. He won his first competition at the Parc de La Villette in 1983.
Norman Foster who was a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright is a British architect who is behind the establishment of the Gerkin, a commercial establishment in London.
Blogs, in a way, teaches all the readers of how to avoid mishaps and learn from their mistakes. Blogs in a way, are good to keep yourself updated with the world. To learn more about all the architects, search for world's best 100 blogs on the internet today.


text:
A helictite is a speleothem (cave-formed mineral) found in a limestone cave that changes its axis from the vertical at one or more stages during its growth. Helictites have a curving or angular form that looks as if they were grown in zero gravity. They are most likely the result of capillary forces acting on tiny water droplets, a force often strong enough at this scale to defy gravity.

Helictites are, perhaps, the most delicate of cave formations. They are usually made of needle-form calcite and aragonite. Helictite forms have been described in several types: ribbon helictites, saws, rods, butterflies, "hands", curly-fries, and "clumps of worms". They typically have radial symmetry. They can be easily crushed or broken by the slightest touch. Because of this, helictites are rarely seen within arm's reach in tourist caves.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument in Utah has one of the largest collections of these formations in the world. Large numbers are also in the Jenolan Caves in Australia and in the Pozalagua Cave in Karrantza, Spain. A remarkable suite of helictites also occurs in Asperge Cave, France.
Can also be found in Black Chasm Cavern in California, USA.

Formation

The growth of helictites is still quite enigmatic. To this day, there has been no satisfactory explanation for how they are formed. Currently, formation by capillary forces is the most likely hypothesis, but another hypothesis based on wind formation is also viable.

Capillary forces
The most likely hypothesis explains helictites as a result of capillary forces. If the helictite has a very thin central tube where the water flows as it does in straws, capillary forces would be able to transport water against gravity. This idea was inspired by some hollow helictites. However, the majority of helictites are not hollow. Despite this, droplets can be drawn to the tips of existing structures and deposit their calcite load almost anywhere thereon. This can lead to the wandering and curling structures seen in many helictites.

Wind
Another hypothesis names the wind in the cave as the main reason for the strange appearance. Drops hanging on a stalactite are blown to one side, so the dripstone grows in that direction. If the wind changes, the direction of growth changes too. However, this hypothesis is very problematic, because wind directions change very often. The wind in caves depends on air pressure changes outside, which in turn depend on the weather. The wind direction changes as often as the weather conditions outside change. But the dripstones grow very slowly – several centimeters in 100 years – meaning that the wind direction would have to stay steady for long periods of time, changing for every fragment of a millimeter of growth. A second problem with this idea is that many caves with helictites have no natural entrance where wind could enter.

Piezoelectric forces
Another hypothesis that has been proposed is that slowly changing geological pressure causing stresses on the crystals at the base alters the piezo electrostatic potential and causes particle deposition to be oriented in some relationship to the prevailing pressure orientation.

Bacterial
A recent hypothesis, which is supported by observation, is that a prokaryotic bacterial film provides a nucleation site for mineralization process.

Helictite growth

A helictite starts its growth as a tiny stalactite. The direction of the end of the straw may wander, twist like a corkscrew, or the main part may form normally while small helictites pop out of its side like rootlets or fishhooks. In some caves, helictites cluster together and form bushes as large as six feet tall. These bushes grow from the floor of the cave. When helictites are found on cave floors, they are referred to as heligmites, though there is debate as to whether this is a genuine subcategory.

For an unknown reason, when the chemical composition of the water is slightly altered, the single crystal structure can change from a cylindrical shape to a conical one. In some of these cases, each crystal fits into the prior one like an inverted stack of ice cream cones.

See also
Anthodite

References

External links
 The Virtual Cave: Helictites Microbial mediation of complex subterranean mineral structures
 The Virtual Cave: Helictites
 Helictite or Eccentric?
 Does crystal splitting play a part in the curvature of helictites? (Abstract) By George W. Moore, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 62, p. 37 (2000).

Speleothems

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Internally applied window graphics add real punch to Virgin Media's TiVo campaign across their retail portfolio across the UK.
Hollywood Monster have completed a roll out program of outlets for Virgin Media using the very latest vinyl technology. The material chosen for the campaign allows the campaign to be viewed in its full colour glory externally, however internally the image is not seen, in addition to this, it does not effect the 'airy' feel to the shop environment, allowing light to pass into the shop through the printed display.
There is nothing new to 'see through' vinyl, often seen on buses and telephone boxes, however previous to this design release, the vinyl had to be applied externally, leaving exposure to vandalism and damage.
This new concept opens up a huge opportunity for the retailer, making large window areas available for monthly or seasonal campaigns promoting their wares.


text:
Karen Steele's Death: Cause, Place, Age, and More!
The movie actress Karen Steele passed away at age 56, not too shabby.
Remembered for her roles as Virginia and Mrs. Lane in the respective 1950s features Marty and Ride Lonesome, she is also notable for her portrayal of Eve McHuron in a 1966 episode of Star Trek.
After briefly studying at both the University of Hawaii and Rollins College, she launched a career as a model. Her first acting gig was a radio drama titled Let George Do It.
She guest starred in episodes of Maverick, The Alaskans, Perry Mason, and Flipper, among other popular series.
How did Karen Steele die?
Cancer caused Karen Steele's death in 1988.
Personal life. In later life, she settled in Golden Valley, Arizona, and married Dr. Maurice Boyd Ruland, a psychiatrist at the Mohave Mental Health Clinic. They were married until her death from cancer at age 56 at the Kingman Regional Medical Center in Kingman, Arizona.
Information about the death of Karen Steele
Kingman Regional Medical Center, Kingman, Arizona, United States


text:
About Periodic
Upcoming Brands
4Twenty4 Boutique Debuts First Physical Retail Location at Periodic: A Pop-Up Shop in Seattle
4Twenty4 Boutique
Periodic: A Pop-Up Shop, is excited to welcome its latest brand, 4Twenty4 Boutique, on Oct. 22, 2020. In 2016, Portland sisters Kenneisha and Sharita Brown created 4Twenty4 Boutique with a vision of delivering quality, trendy and affordable items to its customers. All collections are designed with the unique combination of being fashion-forward while remaining inclusive in sizing – making these stylish pieces available to women of all sizes.
With the holidays right around the corner, you can find trendy, one-of-a-kind gifts that your friends and family (and yourself – your secret is safe with us!) will covet. There's no better feeling than shopping Pacific Northwest and finding hidden treasures that will make your wardrobe stand out from the crowd.
Until the end of the year, you have the chance to experience the first-ever physical retail location of this online clothing brand - right here in Seattle. The shop will be open Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. while 4Twenty4 Boutique is in residence. Masks are required and social distancing safety measures are in place. Stop by and get inspired as you browse the boutique's latest additions!
Periodic: A Pop-Up Shop is located at 2252 7th Ave. Seattle, WA 98121.
Periodic: A Pop-Up Shop | Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice | © 1996-2019 Periodic, Inc. or its affiliates


The science behind the effects of sugar in adults and children and how to overcome withdrawal symptoms with practical swaps.
We are told every single day that we consume way too much sugar for our own good. Newspaper headlines shout at us in capital letters, TV ads flash 'sugar-free' foods before our eyes, and online blogs condemn those who have a good old candy bar. But what exactly is the problem with a high sugar diet?
For one, our modern diets are far removed than those of our ancestors – leading to possible 'new age' health issues. If we eat a diet containing too many sugary foods and too many foods made from processed grains (which have been stripped of fibre and nutrients, like the white flour in bread, pasta, biscuits and cakes) we end up with blood sugar imbalance, something our ancestors didn't have to contend with.
It is now thought that our high sugar and refined carbs diet is a major factor in the growing obesity epidemic. According to estimates from Public Health England, two-thirds of adults and a quarter of children between two and ten years old are overweight or obese (1) (2). In fact, research shows that obese children are more likely to become overweight adults, and that by 2034, 70% of adults are expected to be overweight or obese.
Obesity increases the risk of a number of serious health issues including heart disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, depression, anxiety and more (3) – so this challenge to change our way of eating is one to take seriously.
We all need sugar in the blood (blood glucose) – it is what fuels our muscles and our brain – but for optimal health, the level should be within a certain narrow range at all times. By keeping our blood sugar in check, we can enjoy better levels of energy, improved mental clarity, a healthier microbiome and better control of our weight as well as avoiding constant sugar cravings.
To keep blood sugar within range, current advice says that children aged eleven or over as well as adults should consume no more than seven teaspoons of added sugar a day – this equates to approximately 30g – not much when you consider a single can of Coca-Cola contains 39g. Younger children should consume much less.
Yet figures published in 2013 reveal that the average adult in the UK has a daily sugar intake of 15 teaspoons (approx. 60g), and the average 11 to 18 year old consumes 18 teaspoons per day (approx. 70g).
Frankly, it is easy to take in too much sugar when you look at some of the popular food and drink choices available at most supermarkets and stores. For example, a Pad Thai ready meal can contain as much as 9.5 tsps sugar – 37g; a bowl of Branflakes has 3 tsps sugar – 12g; and a 500ml Ginger Beer contains 20 tsps sugar – 80g.
What is sugar used for in the body?
When we take in too much sugar it is swiftly dealt with by insulin – the storage hormone. Insulin is responsible for getting sugar into the cells of the body to provide them with energy. Insulin sends excess sugar to be converted into fat and cholesterol for storage, and the fat tends to be stored around the middle – the area where no one wants it!
High blood sugar levels result in a surge of insulin, this hormone acts quickly to bring sugar levels crashing down – resulting in all sorts of symptoms that may be all too familiar, like irritability, cravings, dizziness, even panic attacks and migraines.
Problems arise if insulin is constantly being released in surges – day in and day out. The cells of the liver and musculoskeletal system can eventually get tired of responding to insulin and start to react to it less effectively – this is called insulin resistance – the sugar, unable to enter the cells, is then free to cause all sorts of problems.
The most obvious sign of insulin resistance is weight gain, mostly around the middle. Excess sugar remaining in the blood has the effect of 'caramelising' everything in its path – there is a close link between insulin resistance and cardiovascular problems as arteries become hardened and less efficient. Insulin resistance is a step towards Type 2 Diabetes (no longer called Adult Onset Diabetes as so many of our children are developing it!).
Instead of adding sugar to cereal, yoghurt or porridge, add fresh fruit like berries, coconut flakes, nuts.
Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar, like ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg, to add a sweetened flavour.
Compare the sugar content of different foods and choose the lower of the two if you're going for a ready meal.
Try to choose sugar-free alternatives to sauces – swap ketchup for mustard and hummus for mayonnaise for example. Salad dressing is also a source of hidden sugar. Try the classic combination of a good virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon instead of store-bought dressings.
Keep non-sugar alternatives handy in your bag or at your desk for when a craving strikes – plain nuts like cashews or almonds are naturally sweet as well as nutritious. Oatcakes are another good choice as they come prepackaged in small portions and you can spread a yummy nut butter to fill you up.
Switching to a healthier sugar balancing diet is a must if you are trying to improve your health. By making a few changes you will quickly notice the difference in terms of energy levels and you should also see a positive result in terms of weight loss and vitality.
READ NEXT: Tried and tested remedies and products to help you with sugar cravings.
Are You Actually Hungry or Is That the Sugar Talking?