Last fall, there were was an effort by group of Tech faculty and students to make the "Ramblin' Wreck" fight song more equitable for females by changing the line "cheer for the Brave and Bold" to "join the Brave and Bold." While 79 percent of respondents to the Student Government Association's survey elected not the change the traditional lyrics, the incident opened a conversation about what it is like to be a woman on Tech's campus.
In Fall of 2015, there were 5,360 female undergraduate students and 2,304 female graduate students enrolled at Tech. This was up about 400 female undergraduates and 300 female graduate from Fall 2014. With such a large increase in female students, the landscape of student dynamics is slowly changing.
With such a range of individual female students, it is hard to quantify the overall experience of women at Tech, even within colleges. Students will point out differences between majors, often making the assumption that female students are treated differently in less gender-balanced, more engineering heavy classes.
In STEM fields, including many STEM universities, there remains an indisputible gender bias. In a study conducted by Sarah Eddy and Daniel Grunspan at the University of Washington spanning three years and 1,700 students in an introductory biology class, they found that male students often underestimated their female peers and overestimated their male peers. This bias worsened as the semester continued even though grade-point average varied no more than 0.2 grade-point average with only 40 percent of participating voices from women — in spite of the fact that the class was 60 percent female.
While macroaggressions may be more rare on Tech's campus, female students did note incidents of more subtle microaggressions or societal artifacts, often stemming from older, more traditional male professors.
"I've been in general physics course where the physics professor would talk down to the preppy girls — the girly girls. They are like every other student. I don't know if he was just having a bad day, he was not treating me like that or other student like that," said Michaela Bartram, fourth-year BCHM.
"People do say I don't look like a COMPE or ECE because I am a happier looking and bubbly female. They always get surprised when they see me working on circuits projects and looking up wires in the library," said Sunny Hong, fourth-year CMPE.
"It's not that they're sometimes very direct about it. It's not something that guy will notice in the classroom. It's like oh, I'm not getting called on as often or my answers are getting picked on harder because I am a woman … and all the women in the class notice it," said Katherine Siegel fourth-year MSE.
"There are different ways people learn and interact and communicate, and I think Tech was so stuck for so long on one type of person, but now the school is realizing a bit too late that the types of people coming along are different," said Kali Nicholas, fourth-year ME.
Melanie DeMaeyer, program coordinator of the Women's Resource Center, approached why women may face microaggressions about their choice of major as well.
"I think what we see often is a devaluing … students talk about certain degrees which are made up primarily of women, I hear … [is perceived as] lesser than. They are devalued by their peers. The kinds of things overtly sexist, and assumptions about a women being in Ivan Allen, and that Ivan Allen is not as valuable as an engineering degree," DeMaeyer said.
Female students on campus also noted that most of the sexism and microaggressions that they experience socially happens in their first few months at Tech.
"That happens a lot with freshmen guys. They will question why you're here. They're question if you're really that smart. They'll even take a test with you and have the same test, and they'll say you don't deserve it because you got a high grade. They didn't even look at my name. There are many things that are meant in jest and many things meant for real, and not many people draw the line between those," said Siegel, a Peer Leader in Hopkins.
"I think it happens a lot as a freshmen and as you get older or whether you just stop caring or more confident. Guys shut-up about it when you get older because they get to know people." Siegel also noted that when she was first-year and got a great grade on a test and a friend of hers joked that she only got that grade because she must have slept with the TA.
"I do not know who started the joke, but I always joke that the only reason I got in was because I was out of state and a girl and they were expecting me to kind of burn out. There was never really a lot of substance to it, but because it was such an easy joke to make because there is a lot of fact from it," Nicholas said.
These year is the year where there are more females in organizational leadership positions on campus. For some groups, it is the first female leader in many years or ever. SGA, RHA, SCPC, ODK, SAA, Reck Club and several other major organizations on campus, Technique included, all have female leaders this year.
"There are currently so many female leaders. We are not just getting in and surviving, but we're really excelling at what we're doing here. We're always constantly pushing and reaching further. It's not the WCR or my as a WLC leader. It's just happening around us in every direction. Not just FASET or professional organizations. It's everything," said Bindi Patel, fifth-year BA.
"Tech has done a lot to empower female student leaders on campus. When my mom was on campus it was one in twelve. So much has changed. She used to be the only one in her classes. No one would want to partner with her they thought that she was too stupid and was going to bring down the grade. That's never been an issue for me. I have been able to show. I am smart enough. I earned my way here. I have experience at Tech that my mom did not opportunity to do," said Zola Zalesky, fourth-year IE and GRMN and former president of Ramblin' Wreck Club.
"Someone noted that SGA has been talking about a lot of serious issues this year, and I'm not going to back down from anything. People thought I was going to break down and cry that this year has been kind of sucky, but it's just another opportunity to pull your britches on and keeps going," said Jen Abrams, fourth-year PUBP and SGA undergraduate president.
However, DeMaeyer also cautioned, "There's a very specific way that women are supposed to show up, whether that's in our world or campus. The messages that we get are 'a woman did this.' 'She's a women engineer,' which is great because we're acknowledging that the woman is the first in doing something, or we're acknowledging that she overcame sexism or gender bias … to get where she is, and that's important.
"People made such a big deal about Hillary Degenkolb being their first female driver in 30 years. Her being the driver is awesome, but I think some ways that it was frustrating to her because it became about how she is female rather than her being a great driver or overall awesome," Zalensky said.
"I am a student just as anyone else, so I should not be getting any additional attention. People shouldn't be saying 'oh what you are doing is so cool' when they wouldn't be saying that to the guy next to me. What I am doing is amazing and awesome, but it isn't because I am a girl; it is because what I am doing is amazing and awesome," Nicholas said.
Despite Tech's advancement with more female students leaders than ever, some feel that Tech still has some way to go.
"Tech didn't really talk about those relationships that you need to have at work. That is what makes your work experience enjoyable or not enjoyable; the interactions and relationships you have with people. Tech does that really well on a professional level, teaching us how to communicate and problem solve, but at the same time, we are going into work forces, where they aren't used to women; they think we are here because we are women," Nicholas said.
However, one thing still remained true. "One thing that brings all the women at Tech together is the passion. I say that because men are passionate as well … but I think that the women at Tech are so passionate about what they do, and there's just a different dynamic. One thing brings the women together at Tech is their passion for life. How motivated we are to make an impact on the world," Vaidya said.


Many textbooks for MGCCC students, who are enrolled in MGCCC provided online courses, are on MGCCC book rental service. Additional MGCCC course materials such as CDs and lab manuals may be purchase items available in campus bookstores. In most cases, rental books must be returned to the bookstore on the last day of class. You will sign a document at the time that you pick up your books that includes the return date. Please make a note of the date on that form so that you get your books in on time and are not charged a late fee. If you have any questions about book service items, please contact the MGCCC Bookstore at the campus where you registered.
NOTE: Rental books will not be shipped, and the rental fee is non-refundable.
Locate MGCCC book information in Web Services.
Obtain a print out of your bill from the business office.
Contact or visit the bookstore at the campus where you registered to retrieve MGCCC course materials.
MGCCC students enrolling in online courses provided by other colleges should go to the eLearning home page, click on the "Check Student Profile" and check their student profile for textbook information. Students may also contact the course instructor for book purchase information. Textbooks for courses offered by other colleges are going to be purchase items.


Jason Fox is a Professor of Graphic Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where he has chaired the department for the past 5 years. During his time as department chair, the program has transitioned from one of simply making artifacts to a user-centered focus where context, content and media are paramount to today's visual narratives.
Evidence of this shift is the 2016 release of the new, Graphic Design and Visual Experience graduate programs where the increasingly complex roles graphic designers are taking in creating today's immersive, experience economy are valued through a curriculum that formally introduces contextual research and a heavy dose of data visualization for dynamically changing content as well as graphic design for the built environment.
Jason also co-developed SCAD's recent B.F.A. in User Experience Design in partnership with Google. Most recently, Jason has been featured in Fast Co. magazine, and podcasts with True North, and the HOW Design Live.
Prior to joining SCAD as a faculty member, Jason was a creative director and illustrator in the dental industry working for clients such as Glaxosmithkline, Colgate Palmolive, Brasseler USA, Kavo America as well as the industry's leading clinicians.


A very good personal source of mine has informed me that the Japan planning has now stopped. In fact, they said (as we figured) that there is nothing planned as of right now and Bruce will continue to take a break. We did figure this was the case but I have 100% trust in this source, so they pretty much confirmed nothing is in the works at this moment. Just wanted to pass along this info to our readers.
I personally believe that this means that they are going back to the drawing board in terms of tour planning. Which, could take a long time to move around dates and really plan an entirely new tour. They may of had a back-up plan to the original tour which we now know was suppose to take place this upcoming Spring. Only time will tell.


text:
Wendy Williams Reportedly Files For Divorce From Kevin Hunter
Written By: Rickey Smiley Morning Show
Text "RICKEY" to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. (Terms and conditions).
Source: WENN / WENN
The New York Post's Page Six reports that Wendy Williams has officially filed for divorce from husband Kevin Hunter after 22 years of marriage. Her attorney confirmed the news. This news follows her decision to go without her ring for Thursday's episode of The Wendy Williams Show, as well as the news Hunter fathered a child outside of their relationship, and allegations from everyone but Williams of physical abuse. The couple wed in 1997, and they share son Kevin Hunter, Jr., who is 19.
Wendy has been spotted without her wedding band recently and rumors of infidelity plagued the couple for the past few years. Williams never confirmed before though. She only vaguely addressed her marital woes on her show earlier this year, cryptically telling viewers after she returned from a two-month hiatus that her wedding ring would always stay on her hand.
"I'm still very much in love with my husband," she said. "Don't ask me about mine." Pointing to her wedding ring, Williams added, "It ain't going anywhere. Not in this lifetime."
Apparently, the ring did go somewhere.
SEE ALSO: How You Doin? Twitter Sounds Off As Wendy Williams Returns To Her Talk Show & Addresses Cheating Rumors [VIDEO]
Wendy left a sober living facility on March 25 without the ring on her finger but appeared to put it back on to tape her show later that day. According to an insider, the ring she had on set wasn't her real ring.
There were also rumors of abuse occurring in Williams and Hunter's marriage. Sources previously revealed that Hunter's alleged abusive behavior ultimately led to Williams relapsing.
"She would hide in the bathroom and tell me to knock on the door when he left the office so she wouldn't have to see him," an intern from Williams' former radio show told The Post, adding that it was common for Hunter to pull Williams into a private room and for staff to hear them fight.
"You'd hear slaps or some type of tussling going on," the intern said.
Williams and Hunter met at a skating rink twenty-five years ago. They were wed in 1997 and welcomed their son, Kevin Hunter Jr., in 2000.
Unbreakable: Wendy Williams & Kevin Hunter Through The Years [PHOTOS]
1. Wendy Williams & Kevin Hunter
10. Wendy Williams & Kevin Hunter
Continue reading Unbreakable: Wendy Williams & Kevin Hunter Through The Years [PHOTOS]
Wendy Williams and her husband, Kevin Hunter have been married for 25 years, through all the rumors their love still stands the test of time.
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Wendy Williams Reportedly Files For Divorce From Kevin Hunter was originally published on rickeysmileymorningshow.com
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Is that a miniature homeless man from Brooklyn?
No, it's my son on Awards Ceremony Day at school.
I let him walk across the stage in high waters and Paw Patrol slippers.
I let him shake the hand of the principal with a skull cap on and a hoodie tied around his waist.
I completely forgot about the big day.
I'll admit, I skimmed through the 500 papers he brought home that week, and didn't get it on the calendar.
So I didn't attend the ceremony (because I forgot) but my friend was kind enough to take this photo.
When I looked down at her text message, I actually gasped.
Did I seriously let him wear that to school?
Of course, he didn't mind at all.
In fact, he was thrilled to be wearing exactly what he wanted on such an important day.
Picture day – Fall VPK 2014.
Colt couldn't have been prouder to bring home the 8 x 10″ reminder of my #momfail.
A coworker of mine (a few years older and wiser) told me that one day these will be my favorite photos – because they represent the real Colt.
My sweet dinosaur-loving, camoflauge-wearing, homeless-looking bum.
Likewise, most of the photos I have of Colt's first three years include his tool belt.
He never took it off.
I remember being so annoyed that we couldn't leave the house without the damn tool belt.
But thinking back, My coworker was right, I love those memories most.
I love that he wore his tool belt to the pediatrician and the grocery store and church.
And I really don't remember the days he wore his crisp plaid shirt and pressed chinos, at all.
Sure, I could have wrestled him into the new polo shirt and properly-fitting khakis I had intended for him to wear on Awards Day.
But that's just not the real Colt.
And I love him just the way he is.


Green leaders in congregations are the heart and hands of the work we do, and we're committed to supporting and celebrating that good work.
Check out these programs to support our green sheep!
Connect with green leaders each month and learn about a community organizing skill or green initiative Meet with our director, Joelle Novey, and talk about your latest project or stumbling block Celebrate the successes of our local congregations and learn from their hard-earned lessons Sign up on our listserv to hear about all our upcoming events, gatherings, and trainings!


Energy Cube designs and builds biological H2S scrubbers to supply clean gas to combustion processes such as reciprocating engines, boilers, and flares. The system performs using a specific strain of thiobacillus bacteria to remove hydrogen sulfide by conversion to sulfur acid and elemental sulfur. Every biological system has online monitoring capability. With the purchase of nutrients, Energy Cube includes a monitoring service as part of our commitment to the support and performance of every system sold.


"In terms of crude oil quantity, markets may be able to adjust after initial logistical dislocations (from Venezuela sanctions)", the Paris-based IEA said. WTI Crude, according to Goldman Sachs, will average US$55.50 a barrel, compared with an earlier estimate of US$64.50 a barrel.
Oil prices rallied yesterday amid signs that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC's) production cuts are taking hold. The dense crudes are much more hard to refine and tend to contain significant quantities of sulfur and other impurities that are costly to remove.
The increase came despite falling net imports, which dropped to the lowest on record, as domestic crude production remained at peak levels for the fifth straight week. Back in December, OPEC and 10 other producers let by Russian Federation agreed to restrict oil production collectively by 1.2 million barrels a day for the first half of 2019. The group made a strong start to the strategy, slashing output by 930,000 bopd to the lowest in nearly four years, the IEA said. The so-called OPEC+ alliance aims to prevent another price-crushing oil glut like the one that gripped the market between 2014 and 2016.


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Lured by income and flexibility, retirees becoming Uber drivers
Published Wed, Jun 17 2015 3:26 PM EDT Updated Fri, Jun 19 2015 2:01 PM EDT
Kate Rogers@KateRogers
Retirees as Uber drivers
Some retired American workers, who have left the traditional labor pool, have found a creative way to supplement their incomes by joining the ever-growing sharing economy. Their third act? Uber drivers.
The sharing economy—bolstered by high-flying start-ups including Uber, Airbnb and Lyft—allows individuals to share products and services like offering homes and apartments for rent or driving passengers to destinations. The small tasks are brokered through mobile smartphone apps. As some of these start-ups and local officials work out rules and regulations, savvy retirees are busy wedging their way into the new economy.
I had a dream that I could do this and make good money.
Judith Gordon
Uber driver in Phoenix
Judith Gordon, an Uber driver in Phoenix, Arizona, is 69 and drives up to 50 hours a week.
Source: Roger Denman
Judith Gordon, an Uber driver in Phoenix, was an unlikely recruit for the sharing economy.
The 69-year-old retiree was scouring ads on Craigslist, when she saw a posting in the transportation section to be an Uber driver. She was intrigued.
"I mulled it over for three months, then had a dream that I could do this and make good money," Gordon said.
Now Gordon, who formerly worked in the insurance and banking industries, is driving up to 50 hours a week. She's been driving for 17 months and can earn up to $850 a week or more, she said.
"It's my pastime," Gordon said. "I enjoy the social aspect and it's interesting to not know where your next destination will be."
Retirees like transportation
More American seniors are finding a retirement groove that can include extra income from work, along with income from Social Security, pensions and investments, and many have favored not only jobs at Uber, but driving 18-wheelers or school buses.
America's workforce is aging with men and women over 65 outnumbering teens for the first time since 1948. A recent report from AARP, the membership organization for those 50 and older, found nearly a third of workers in America are above 50 years old. And Uber's driver demographics are similar.
The San Francisco-based start-up said 25 percent of its drivers are over 50, and that nearly half had no prior experience in the for-hire transportation industry. The details were released in a January report on Uber drivers, also known as Uber partners.
Ride-hailing competitors Lyft and Sidecar would not disclose how many drivers they have over 50. However, Sidecar drivers' average age runs from 35 to 45, said a company spokeswoman in an email to CNBC. And according to an email from a Lyft spokeswoman, the company is seeing a "growing number of drivers over 50."
Read MoreAmerican seniors find middle-class 'sweet spot'
"We are proud to offer driver partners the flexibility they are looking for when using the Uber Platform," an Uber spokesperson told CNBC via email. "Partners often comment about the impact Uber's had on their lives including the ability to connect with their communities, stay social or earn additional income."
Uber drivers are employees: Calif. ruling
California ruling
It's unclear how that will be impacted by a related development Wednesday. The California labor commission ruled in favor of one Uber driver's claims that she's an employee, awarding her $4,000 in expenses related to her work. Uber has appealed the decision, and in the past has argued its drivers are contractors, not employees.
Both Uber and Lyft are battling separate lawsuits in California over how to classify its drivers. While that debate plays out in court, 64-year-old Don Eason of Hillsborough, North Carolina, is happy to be a contractor for Uber.
My wife said, 'You hate to drive, you won't last a week!'
Don Eason
Veteran Uber driver in North Carolina
Don Eason is 64 and drives part-time for Uber in North Carolina.
Source: Frank Nester
Eason has been retired for three years, and read an article in 2014 about Uber in a newspaper that piqued his interest. As a former entrepreneur, Eason owned a sports bar for 13 years and being and managing his own work and schedule as an independent driver was a smooth transition.
Read MoreTaxi drivers fight back against Uber and Lyft
"My wife said, 'You hate to drive, you won't last a week!' " Eason recalled. "But now I drive between 30 and 35 hours a week—only during the daytime."
He said he earns up to $650 a week driving, and he and his wife have been able to travel with the extra cash. Above all, he's enjoying his new gig, freedom and lifestyle.
Said Eason, "I'm retired, so I'm not out chasing the money."


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BSO Flutist Says Orchestra Paying Her Less Than Male Counterparts
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Elizabeth Rowe, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's principal flute player, says the BSO is paying her significantly less than her male counterparts.
Rowe said she makes about $70,000 a year less than her male colleagues, despite being featured as a star performer and showcased as a soloist at the BSO. She's been with the orchestra since 2004.
When she complained after the law was passed, Rowe says the BSO retaliated, not allowing her to speak about her experiences on a national special about gender equity with Katie Couric. Now, Rowe is suing under the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, passed in 2016--which mandates that employers pay men and women the same for similar work.
Rowe is asking for a jury trial. The BSO said it can't comment because it has not been served.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports


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Christina Grimmie's Family Releases 'Side B' EP
Rachel Kalina
Rachel Kalina Published: April 21, 2017
Jason LaVeris, Getty Images
Christina Grimmie's family plans to release a posthumous album this summer, but they just shared her new EP Side B today.
According to a press release, Side B represents "this multi-faceted and talented artist at her most impassioned and inimitable." The EP includes "I Only Miss You When I Breathe," "I Won't Give Up," "Invisible," and "The Game."
These songs will be available on album All Is Vanity, due out June 2 -- the same day as National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Fans are asked to check out The Voice on April 25 for an announcement related to the late singer.
Stars We've Tragically Lost Over The Past Year:
Next: Christina Grimmie's 'Invisible' Released Posthumously
Source: Christina Grimmie's Family Releases 'Side B' EP
Filed Under: Christina Grimmie
Categories: Music, Music News, News
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Christina Grimmie's Mother, Tina, Dies of Cancer 2 Years After Daughter's Murder
Christina Grimmie's Powerful 'Invisible' Video Drops on Late Singer's 23rd Birthday
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Songs That Mention the Great City of Amarillo, Texas


Hundred of islands are scattered throughout the Caribbean, all offering a slice of seaside paradise. But what if casinos offering non-stop action and bars showcasing frequent celebrity sightings aren't quite your speed? Belize—Central America's only English-speaking nation—offers an enticing off-the-grid alternative.
Although Belize draws legions of cruise ships to its shores, none of these behemoths visit its remote coral atolls. Adventurous heavyweights like Jacques-Yves Cousteau did, along with infamous pirates such as John Glover. And forget about Hemingway-esque bars pouring Papa's favourite cocktails. Off the grid, you'll be sipping local Belikin beer, while swinging in a hammock to the sound of waves crashing ashore. And the closest you'll get to a nightclub is joining locals from the Garifuna culture in traditional drumming and dancing, with feet in the sand.
Janet GyenesI start my off-the-grid adventure at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City. Here, my boarding pass (handwritten, no less) gets me on a 15-minute flight to Dangriga. The coastal community in southern Belize is the heart of the country's Garifuna people, whose language, dance and music have been recognized by UNESCO for "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity." Then it's a short drive to Bocawina Rainforest Resort, an off-the-grid ecolodge hidden among the 7,100-acre Mayflower Bocawina National Park. The resort actually predates the park, so it got to stay.
You can go screaming through the jungle by zipline at night, but I prefer to fly by day... with a chorus of cicadas cheering me on as I leap off each platform into the wild beyond. Fair warning: partway through the course there's an "ice cream drop." Instead of soaring across to the next platform, you rappel down in one heart-stopping swoop (with the help of a guide who's at the bottom), then walk to the next zipline, knees wobbling and heart pumping.
Janet GyenesThe Antelope Trail in Mayflower Bocawina National Park slices through a swath of rubber trees and palms. To the untrained eye, it's just darkness, but a local park guide, Blasio, tells our trio where to train our headlamps. At our feet is a mob of leaf-cutter ants, waving flag-like leaves. It's like a well-organized political rally in the jungle. We watch a kinkajou (a.k.a. honey bear), who watches us for awhile, before retreating higher up in the rubber tree. In the grass, we make out the feathered form of nocturnal birds, surrounded by iridescent beads of "dew" that turn out to be the glistening eyes of wolf spiders. We're on the lookout for Belize's big cats, such as jaguars and pumas, but the only terrifying creature we see is a hairy-legged tarantula. It's enough of a walk on the wild side for me.
Janet GyenesThe next day, I trade jungle for sea, arriving at the basecamp of Southwest Caye (run by Island Expeditions, an adventure tour company headquartered in Pemberton, B.C.) on Glover's Reef. Here, it's all about unplugged living, day and night. Named for pirate John Glover who plundered in these parts, the reef is one of three remote coral atolls in the Belize Barrier Reef, the second-largest reef system in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I spend the next two nights here sleeping on a comfy cot inside a tent, reading by the flicking flame of a kerosene lantern. During the day, our small group snorkels the patch reefs, spotting both slivery barracudas and, of course, eagle rays that glide so effortlessly through the water. One afternoon, as I float face-down, a flash of silver slices by me. Mario, one of our snorkel guides, has thrust his spear into the belly of a beast—a Pacific red lionfish. Snorkels protruding from our mouths, our group collectively gawks at this interloper, an invasive species that's the scourge of these otherwise pristine waters. Still alive, the painterly fish with feathery fins slips off the spear. Mario takes a gulp of air and dives underwater to recapture his prey. I later learn that conservation-minded Belizeans are trying to eradicate the predatory lionfish by creating a domestic market for its meat. But this guy won't make it to our dinner table tonight.
Janet GyenesThe speck of land way off in the distance looks like a mirage. Maybe that's because the water that my kayak blade is slicing through is so clear it seems surreal. Mike—one of our group's guides from Glover's basecamp—skims alongside, his sunshine yellow kayak a magic carpet floating in the realm where sea meets sky. But 45 minutes later, the illusion becomes real as I paddle up to a paradisiacal outpost, Glover's Reef Research Station on the eastern edge of the atoll. A two-storey wooden building and other small structures are the terrestrial base for its water-bound research activities, such as monitoring coral reef ecology and Nassau grouper spawning, along with tagging and tracking hawksbill and green sea turtles. Our group dines on a hearty picnic lunch in a shady spot under a thatched roof at the end of the jetty. Brown pelicans chow down too, plummeting into the sea and filling their gullets with fish. While my lunch settles, I explore the cay and climb the observation tower for otherworldly views of this pristine ecosystem.
Janet GyenesThe sun rises like a shot at Half Moon Caye, the basecamp on Lighthouse Reef atoll where I spend the last four days of my off-the-grid adventure. A small clutch of us stand in a circle on yoga mats, taking our first cleansing breaths of the day before the temperature climbs. "You can do a headstand if you want," says Christine Hess, our yoga guide. She hails from Pemberton, B.C. and takes us through an easy routine each morning in a sandy spot surrounded by palms. One limber woman obliges, her legs perfectly parallel, while the rest of us work on holding our poses or simply staying upright. Silence here is especially golden: all I can hear are the ever-present gusts of wind that send palm fronds dancing and frigatebirds aloft, their massive wings eternally outstretched.
Janet GyenesA team from the Belize Audubon Society is based on the reef, along with itinerant groups (like ours) staying in the dozen tents at basecamp. They're here to monitor and protect Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, which is located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef. There's a rudimentary gift shop and visitors centre where guests can get the lowdown on the turtles that lay their eggs in the sand and the colony of 3,000 red-footed boobies that nest in the orange-blossomed Ziricote trees. As I stroll the sandy pathway through the littoral forest, I can hear the cacophony of birds and smell the fresh funk of guano that has whitewashed the surrounding trees. Climbing up the observation platform puts me face to face with a fluffy white chick sitting in its nest, mamma carefully watching from behind. Hundreds of others birds are making a racket while happily—if not loudly—co-existing with the 2,000 black frigatebirds that nest here too. Known for spending hours in the air, it's strange to watch these high-flying creatures practice their mating ritual by inflating their red balloon-like gular sacs while perched in the tree tops.
Janet GyenesHandline fishing is as low tech as it gets. Huddled together on bench seats in a small open boat, we cruise outside the reef's "no take," or protected area, with a pair of guides. When Roo cuts the engine, Daton dives overboard and finally emerges with a hefty conch shell he tosses into the boat. He ducks underwater again and liberates another gleaming shell from the sea floor. Roo gets to work, cutting the conch's muscle from its shell and slicing it up for bait. He takes a chunk and shows me how to twist the tiny, barbed hook through it twice, tosses my line over a coral head and hands it to me. All that's required now is patience and some jigging action. Before long, everyone has had a turn (two or three in many cases) exclaiming, "I got one!" before pulling in their line by hand and wrapping it back onto its spool. It's both meditative and exhilarating to see what comes out of the water. Before dinner, one enterprising fisher seeks out a razor-sharp knife from the basecamp kitchen and preps some sushi on the spot. We enjoy eating our catch of the day, washing it down with a cold Belikin, as the sun's rays sink into the sea, casting a golden flow on this off-the-grid idyll.


swami ramdev also known as baba ramdev, is known for his yoga teaching in india. He was born in Shahbajpur. After passing his eight standard, he attended aarsh gurukul in villege khanpur and learned sanskrit and yoga.Later he became sanyasi(monk), and started teaching yoga to the people free of cost in the villeges of Haryana. In the year 1995, he has become one of founders of Divya yog Mandir trust, Haridwar.
Swami Ramdev started TV Programme to teach yoga for various common disease which generally occurs in day to day life.Simple Yoga practice by swami ramdev has become very much popular among people of india and world.Now a days more than 20,000 people are addending their yoga camps, which is also being broadcasted by many TV channels. The number including the viewer of TV channel for yoga camp has become more than 80 million.
Swami ramdev established Patanjali yog peeth for research of Yoga and Ayurveda. His aide Archaya Balkrishna has ayurveda degree and taking care of ayurveda treatment for various diseases. Many incurable diseases has been cured through the practice of yoga and ayurveda. As proof of above they have published a book "Yog in Synergy with medical science" which contains the laboratory test, patient details as proof of cureness of disease.
According to swami ramdev Pranayama is the best medicine of the world, by daily practising of it, one could be disease free for his entire life. Pranayama is sanskrit word which means taking breath in and out in a proper way. If any one is following proper way of doing pranayama, he would be fit fine and disease free.


Lindsay and I visit Ann Arbor again (we seem to go there a lot) for Valentines Day and enjoy the city.
Ann Arbor Amor from David Goodrich on Vimeo.
great place, fo sho. We go there like 3-4 times a year just to roam around.


There's much that we as educators can do to combat gun violence and get guns out of our schools. One of our roles as teachers is to guide students to examine the roots of an issue. When we talk about the Bill of Rights and the roots of the Second Amendment, we can expose the popular mythology that surrounds it — that this is somehow about individuals resisting government oppression — and lay out its true intent: to defend and deepen white supremacy. We must also lead the charge against programs like the NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program that normalize guns and gun violence.
A Turning Point for Our Schools?
The wave of struggles sweeping through the United States are more than "red state" revolts. They are rebellions against the austerity and privatization that has been driving federal and state economic policy for decades. The dynamics and political landscape are different in each state. However, almost all of the states where statewide actions have occurred are right-to-work states, which have seen the steepest cuts in school funding and sharpest erosion of teacher pay and benefits. These states are less likely to have collective bargaining rights and local district contracts. This puts more focus on state budgets and state decisions about healthcare and pensions, and encourages statewide action focused on the legislature. Consequently, many of the walkouts have been more akin to mass political protests seeking broad changes in public policy. But other common factors underlying these grassroots protests are likely to keep rebellion spreading to "purple" states like Colorado (where there was a walkout in April) and North Carolina (May) and beyond. Almost everywhere in "red states" and "blue states" alike, budget and tax policy has been used to erode social services, shrink public space, undermine union power, and transfer wealth upward, all the while making the lives of working people harder.
Bob Peterson analyzes the Janus decision's impact on teacher unions, talks with union leaders from across the country about how they are responding to it, and argues that the damage of the decision can be countered through the upsurge of progressive activism engendered by the victory of Donald Trump.
SPECIAL REPORT: Education "reformers" are using the disaster in Puerto Rico to close hundreds of public schools and convert much of the school system to charters. But teachers, parents, and students are fighting back.
A first-year teacher struggles with what it means to be a social justice educator.
A special education teacher uses poetry to help her middle school students write their own narratives and celebrate themselves.
How 4th-grade students in Southern California were helped by their teachers to develop curriculum surrounding the mass deportation of U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage in the 1930s and pass a law to investigate what happened.
A high school teacher uses the #MeToo movement and students' own experiences with apologies to interrogate the government's 1993 apology to Native Hawaiians for the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
Trump supporter Carl Paladino's racism, misogyny, and transphobia galvanized community members to oust him from the Buffalo School Board. Their struggle also laid the groundwork for new coalitions and progressive change.
Just a week after 14 students and three staff members were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February, President Donald Trump predictably endorsed the National Rifle Association's prescription for school shootings and our nation's gun violence epidemic: more guns and give them to teachers.
Survivors of the Parkland shooting couldn't help but find some dark irony in Trump's stance and that mantra when a couple months later the NRA announced that guns would be banned from both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence's speeches at their annual convention.
Deitsch is right, of course, and his comment exposes an underlying issue in any conversation about gun violence in schools in the United States: This is fundamentally an issue of profits versus the health and security of our young people.
The arms industry, with political protection from the NRA, is given the "right" to sell weapons without meaningful restrictions at the expense of young people, our schools, and our communities. Gun-related deaths are now the third-leading cause of death for Americans younger than 18, according to a study published last June in Pediatrics.
Trump and the NRA might propose that teachers be armed, but educators have largely rejected the premise as both unsafe and unwise. A Gallup poll conducted shortly after Trump made his comments about teachers and guns found that three out of four opposed the idea nationally and the vast majority felt arming staff members would make schools less safe.
And indeed, stories of students injured by teachers who have accidentally discharged weapons are becoming all too common. Many of them sound like a March incident in Seaside, California, when a high school student was hurt when his teacher accidentally fired a shot into the ceiling and it ricocheted.
Trump and others who initially called for teachers to be armed after Parkland have also been noticeably silent on the matter since teachers in several states went on strike and started storming state capitols in protest.
But there's much more that we as educators can do — besides dismissing yet one more unsurprisingly bad idea from Trump — to combat gun violence and get guns out of our schools.
One of our roles as teachers is to guide students to examine the roots of an issue. When we talk about the Bill of Rights and the roots of the Second Amendment, we can expose the popular mythology that surrounds it — that this is somehow about individuals resisting government oppression — and lay out its true intent: to defend and deepen white supremacy.
In her book Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz shows that the Second Amendment began in slave patrols and in collective measures by white farmers to steal Indigenous people's land and then to "defend" themselves from those same people who were unwilling to be victims of that theft.
"While the 'savage wars' against Native Nations instituted brutal modes of violence for the U.S. military, and slave patrols seamlessly evolved into modern police forces, both have normalized racialized violence and affinity for firearms in U.S. society," writes Dunbar-Ortiz.
And there is no shortage of other lessons or examples throughout U.S. history to help students internalize this narrative.
After the Civil War, many Southern states passed laws known as Black Codes that among other things prohibited Blacks from owning or carrying guns.
During the Civil Rights Movement, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan responded to efforts by the Black Panther Party to conduct armed patrols of neighborhoods in Oakland by signing the Mulford Act in 1967, which prohibited the carrying of loaded firearms in public.
Understanding these histories and the evolution of slave patrols into modern police forces can also help students make connections between the Second Amendment and police shootings of unarmed Black and Brown youth. In 2017, 28 children — most of them Black — were shot to death by police.
Another way that educators can tailor our curriculum to combat gun violence is by getting the NRA out of it, literally.
While the NRA protects arms manufacturers and bullies any politician who proposes regulations on firearms, they simultaneously pretend to combat gun violence by pushing a curriculum into schools across the nation called the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program.
The curriculum, which features cartoon character Eddie Eagle, is designed for pre-K through 4th grade and has been officially endorsed by several states including Oregon, Florida, Alaska, Nevada, Georgia, and Idaho, and like the Second Amendment, it too can be exposed by looking at its roots.
The program was started in 1988 by gun lobbyist Marion Hammer (responsible for "stand your ground" legislation) as a measure "to deter lawmakers from passing child access prevention (CAP) laws, which criminalize keeping firearms easily within reach of children," according to journalist Isha Aran, who wrote about the issue for Splinter.
As educators, we must lead the charge against programs like Eddie Eagle that normalize guns and gun violence and we should develop curriculum that looks like Linda Christensen's important lesson "Trayvon Martin and My Students" that examines the killing of Martin and contrasts comments by President Barack Obama and Cornel West to help students develop their own narratives and critical analysis of the intersections of race and gun violence.
Another example is Renée Watson's powerful lesson "Happening Yesterday, Happened Tomorrow" that teaches students about the ongoing murders of Black men by having students explore and dissect the poems "Night, for Henry Dumas" by Aracelis Girmay and "Forty-One Bullets Off-Broadway" by Willie Perdomo and then write their own poems about police shootings.
And as educators we can also get guns out of our schools by teaching critically about wars and the vast amounts of money we spend as a nation on weapons and killing, and by literally demilitarizing them — advocating that our schools no longer house any JROTC programs.
"Militarism was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'giant triplets' of societal destruction (along with racism and extreme materialism), yet today it appears as a legitimate component of the educational system — most often at underfunded schools," McGauley wrote.
It is also essential that as teachers we nurture the activism we've seen from students surrounding our country's gun violence epidemic. Our classrooms can be sites of reflection and spaces that encourage student action.
These are just a few of the steps that we can take to combat gun violence and support students from Ferguson to Parkland who are asking for something fairly simple: For us to care whether they live or die.


Namibian model Behati Prinsloo has been appointed at the new face of Juicy Couture perfume.
Cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, which holds the license for the brand's fragrances, announced the news on Friday.
Prinsloo was born in 1989 in Grooftonein, Namibia, where her father, Boet, is a church minister and her mother, Magda, runs a bed and breakfast. Prinsloo grew up speaking Afrikaans and was educated in English.
While on holiday in Cape Town, South Africa, at the age of 16, Prinsloo was discovered by Storm Model Management founder Sarah Doukas, the scout who also spotted Kate Moss.
In 2008, Prinsloo became the face of Victoria's Secret accessories brand Pink and become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. Prinsloo has walked in fashion shows for Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Zac Posen, MaxMara, Lacoste and MuiMui.
Juicy Couture previously released perfumes 'Viva la Juicy,' 'Couture Couture' and 'Peace, Love & Juicy Couture' through Elizabeth Arden. The new fragrance with Prinsloo fronting the campaign is expected to debut in July.


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Waterfront Park Next to Horseshoe Casino Baltimore to Start Renovations Next Year
Kevin Lynch | June 24, 2019 | 0 Comments
In conjunction with Topgolf beginning construction in Stadium Area next year, an adjacent waterfront park behind the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore garage will also be renovated. The park is also located along the Gwynns Falls Trail and Ridgely's Cove. This project is being headed up by the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) and Baltimore City Recreation and Parks.
In March 2017, BDC put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Animal Control and BARCS site at 301 Stockholm St. which required finding a new home for the facilities. Topgolf and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore's owner CBAC Gaming (the partnership of Caesars, Rock Gaming, and Caves Valley Partners (CVP)) was the lone bidder. CBAC identified the site at 2490 Giles Rd. in Cherry Hill and prepped the site for BDC and its South Baltimore-based contractor, Plano Coudon, to begin construction this month.
Animal Control and BARCS will make the move to the new facility early next year and then Topgolf construction will begin. CBAC and Topgolf will be constructing a 65,000 sq. ft., approximately six-acre Topgolf facility at the current site of Animal Control and BARCS along with adjacent Parking Lot J and a small City-owned property separating the two.
The current site of Animal Control and BARCS, which will be demolished, will be the outfield for the golf driving range. The outfield will end at the Light Rail bridge. Stockholm St. will get new landscaping and will have netting for the driving range.
Part of the Topgolf agreement with BDC is a plan for improvements to the adjacent trail and park. The two sides are still working on the details of this partnership and Recreation and Parks capital improvement funds will also be used. BDC Executive Vice President Kimberly Clark told SouthBMore.com that the goal for the park renovation is to have a very nice section of the Gwynns Falls Trail that leads into Topgolf. BDC is looking to better connect this burgeoning "Southern Gateway Entertainment District" along Warner St. that is anchored by M&T Bank Stadium to the north and Horseshoe Casino to the south.
The Gwynns Falls Trail park will be cleaned up with two feet of clean fill soil. A lot of phragmites, or invasive plant species, will be removed and new native plant species will be planted. The project will retain as many of the native trees as possible. Clark said that removal of the phragmites will make the park feel a lot more open, which in turn will open up views to the waterfront.
Currently on a walk or ride along the Gwynns Falls Trail in the park, the Ridgely's Cove waterfront is barely visible except for when you are on the two bridges that go over two outfalls.
Clark noted the park is a nice area for bird watching.
The project plan is in the final stages of approvals by the Maryland Department of the Environment, Army Corps of Engineers, and Maryland Stormwater Management. It will then go before the Critical Area Commission as it is in a Critical Area of the Chesapeake Bay. The detailed plan will be made public in the near future.
Construction is expected to begin early next year around the same time Topgolf begins construction.
South Baltimore Gateway Partnership and Parks and People Foundation are currently managing a design competition that aims to turn the Middle Branch and Ridgely's Cove into a 11-mile park system with new paths, pedestrian bridged, and improved green spaces. Each design submitted in the competition connects the Gwynns Falls Trail to the waterfront in Westport with new bridges.
Screenshot courtesy of Google Maps. Topgolf site outlined in blue, Gwynns Falls Trail park on Ridgely's Cove outlined in orange.
Photo tour of the current conditions of the park. All unobstructed waterfront views are from the bridges.
Construction Begins on New $12 Million-Plus Animal Services and BARCS Facility, Topgolf Plan Progressing
Future BARCS Location and Topgolf Both Moving Forward
Three International Architecture Firms Reveal Concepts for Middle Branch Waterfront Design Competition
Stadium Crossing Development to Bring New Office and Retail Spaces to Ostend Street
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, beach volleyball enthusiast, dog lover, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
Share Filed in: Business, Carroll-Camden, Stadium Area


Constructed from ABS plastic, the body of this garden water sprinkler has a round shape, allowing for easy dragging over lawns, between flower beds and plants.
Shaped upper section for easily lifting. Flange rotates to provide 6 different functions.


Mine was one of the first families drafted to perform anti-terrorist service. We lined up inside a long plastic tent at the junction of Queen Street and North St David Street in Edinburgh, following the instructions of the police to bunch up together as closely as possible with all the other 'volunteers'.
I soon started to feel claustrophobic and hot. I found a small hole in the clear plastic sheeting and pulled it apart to let myself out.
My punishment was instant. First I was transformed into a small dog. Then I was sent to live out the last of my days in a remote wood cabin with Sir Sean Connery as my only company.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged cabin, claustrophobia, dog, Edinburgh, family, log, police, punishment, remote, Sean Connery, terrorist, volunteer. Bookmark the permalink.


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CBS SPORTS: USC Athletics is "the most scandalous athletic program of this era"
Uh oh. Looks like there's blood in the waters around USC Athletics and the media sharks are beginning to circle their next meal. Anyone else get the feeling that someone's about to get a long overdue visit from the oversight committee of the NCAA?
CBS SPORTS: Double trouble lands USC atop era's cheat sheet
"…This is the most scandalous athletic program of this era … and that's saying something."
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/11746214
CBS SPORTS: Basketball troubles could pour over to USC's gridiron
"The loss of 15 scholarships over three years, a postseason ban, forfeits including a Pac-10 title and… ripping that 2004 national championship."
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/11746785
SEATTLE TIMES: Building a case to take down Tony Soprano, I mean USC
"…all signs indicate they'll be punished to the brink of irrelevance for quite a while."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrybrewer/2009217849_brewer14.html
YAHOO SPORTS: USC probe centers on control
"Yahoo! Sports has identified 17 individuals who have been interviewed at least once – and some multiple times – by the NCAA. However, that number is believed to only be a small portion of those who have met with NCAA investigators in connection with the USC probe…
Two sources also have confirmed the NCAA has spoken with the FBI…"
http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=AnGwZEVGNR5Cxn.2YRfN9m_EnZF4?slug=ys-uscprobe051209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
FOX SPORTS: NCAA needs to throw the book at USC
"If you can't put the University of Southern California in jail, you might as well close up shop. Declare amateur athletics dead. And get rid of your most beloved rules, which wouldn't mean anything anyway."
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/9569020/NCAA-needs-to-throw-the-book-at-USC
ESPN: Mayo investigations going strong
"Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo has communicated with the U.S. Attorney's office amid allegations that federal laws may have been violated when Mayo's former adviser gave him money and gifts during his high school and college career, according to a source with knowledge of the case."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4165378
BLEACHER REPORT: O.J. Mayo Took Money While at USC—Can't Say I'm Surprised
"The Trojans are obviously delving into shady tactics with their recruiting efforts in all their athletic programs. What will it take for the NCAA to actually step in and say something, or are they too scared to touch the golden boy that is USC?"
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/174209-oj-mayo-took-money-while-at-usc-cant-say-im-surprised
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Did USC's Tim Floyd pay for O.J. Mayo?
"Attorney Salerno said of Floyd: "It will be interesting to see if USC now backs him or throws him under the bus. . . . They can say, 'Maybe we were negligent with Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo getting money, TVs and all that, but in no way can we condone what has happened here.'"
"The NCAA investigation alone may have already caused USC to lose another top basketball recruit, 6-10 power forward Renardo Sidney of Los Angeles Fairfax High. Sidney, who is ranked among the nation's top senior big men, had announced his intention to accept a scholarship from USC, but the school later stopped recruiting him.
The Times reported that school sources, speaking anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the situation, said questions about the Sidney family's finances had prompted school administrators to instruct Floyd to withdraw a scholarship offer."
http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-usc-mayo13-2009may13,0,5808708.story
You know what I think is particularly sad? The number of fans like this guy who constantly drag out the ridiculous argument that "all teams do it" and "there's no way to control student behavior"… without even realizing that they're admitting that even they believe their beloved USC is corruption-laden and about to find its head on the NCAA chopping block. To these folks, apparently, since "everyone does it", that makes USC just like everyone else.
And last I checked, "everyone else" didn't have a rap sheet that looked like this:
USC Athletics Program's Long Road to an Aggregated, Unified NCAA Investigation
http://kurtsthoughts.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!97895BBB8AD10F37!1465.entry
WATCH: Cesar Millan's Special Episode of "The Dog Whisperer: Inside Puppy Mills", May 8th
Cesar Millan's special episode of
The Dog Whisperer:
Inside Puppy Mills
Friday, May 8 @ 9:00 pm ET/PT
…on the National Geographic channel
Every year, more than one million purebred and "designer" dogs are born and bred into puppy mills – often packed in tiny wire cages, neglected, dehydrated, dirty and chronically sick with little or no human interaction or affection- and then sold legally to pet stores throughout the country.
In a powerful new Dog Whisperer episode, Cesar Millan goes undercover with Last Chance for Animals' Special Investigation Unit to witness the horrors of puppy mills firsthand and works to rehabilitate these dogs who have never known the world outside their overcrowded cages or learned how to interact with humans. Watch Cesar teach the LCA team how to rehabilitate the traumatized dogs from the moment they are rescued out of their cages.
"We are from two different points of rescuing," Cesar says of LCA, "They do the physical rescue, I do the psychological rescue. So together it's a team, it's a good pack. When you bring a dog into your life, please do your homework and don't buy a dog from a puppy mill. Visit a local shelter or rescue group instead."
Check out the premiere episode Friday, May 8th at 9pm ET/PT!
(Also airs Sunday, May 10th at 6am & Friday, May 15th at 2pm)
"A Kodak Moment"… a.k.a. We love our dog so much!
Meet our beloved dog, Sheepa. We adopted him about 4 years ago a little after my wife and I got married. Back then he was about 10 years old and he was very much "alone". His appearance was very poor, his fur a tattered mess, and next to the newborn puppies and prettier dogs up for adoption at the local shelter, he didn't stand a chance.
So of course we adopted him. And today, he looks 'fabulous'.
Today, Sheepa, my wife and I went to the Century City shopping mall to run some errands and as we were walking along to the Papyrus store to buy some Mother's Day cards and Thank You cards, I took some pictures of Sheepa and my wife "on their day out".
We ended up passing by the "Paris Hilton" store.
And as we're walking along the outskirts of the store, Sheepa stopped and… well… the photos should be self-explanatory:
One word: PWNED. We love our adopted dog! Go Sheepa go!
You are currently browsing the Kurt's Thoughts blog archives for May, 2009.


Watch while hosts Jeremy Chapman and Yoni Kirsh catch up with foremost security expert and Zero Day author Mark Russinovich; examine the best usage scenarios for the MSI-based Office Professional Plus 2013 and the Click-to-Run based Office 365 ProPlus install; while demonstrating identity, activation and data access with a user-based Office.
For more information about identity management, activation and data access, check out the Office IT Pro blog at http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_resource_kit/archive/2013/03/20/the-new-office-garage-series-identity-activation-data-access.aspx.
Thank you for the informative video which clarifies how persistent authentication is performed, with the options to store documents locally.
As a small time developer, I am very disappointed with the experience with installing and activating Office now. I'm too small to qualify for volume licensing, but my customers run PCs that aren't connected to the Internet. It has become increasingly difficult to buy what I need - a DVD with a license key that allows me to just install, with the option for phone activation if necessary while offline. Getting DVD install keys for multiple PCs is sometimes a cloak-and-dagger operation of creating an Email account, getting the key, then installing. And hoping that the Email account allows a DVD install key, which may or may not happen for unknown reasons.
Wow, I totally agree. The "all in" approach to a Microsoft Account in Office 2013 has certainly soured us on Office. I deal with SMB, and the last thing they want is an additional username /password combination to remember to activate their Office.
We quit installing Office 2013 and reverted back to 2010 because it was causing so many problems.
You still have the option to purchase and activate Office in the traditional way. You can even build optical media to install Office and use a 5x5 key if you are feeling nostalgic.
Who sells a 5x5 key (and what is that?) The only thing I can find from vendors - Amazon, Best Buy, Provantage, etc are keys for online install. To get a DVD key from that, you have to register an Email address, then click "DVD product key". That process is ephemeral, when it even works. Often it says "Activation Server unavailable try later", but it never works again for that Email address. Those Email accounts and Office registrations are promptly deleted, so woe to me if I lose a DVD key.
Also, Microsoft no longer sells Office 2010 at any price, which would be a solution to my problem.
Right but we are an OEM VAR, that does not want to purchase retail copies of Office 2013 for our customers, we've always purchased OEM copies.
Now each OEM copy requires an Office Account. It's so sloppy, people can't keep track of there software keys and disks, and we expect them to remember a different username and password for each computer that office is installed on in the building.
I realize OLP Bypasses this, but a lot of our clients don't have enough computers to justify the added expense.
BTW If you purchase OLP Office 2013 you get downgrade rights to 2010, which is what we are doing. But lots of our customers are switching to OpenOffice/LibreOffice because of the added hassle.


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Breath, Emptiness and Happiness ~ Patrick Ardagh-Walter
Date(s) — Sat, 23rd Jun 2018
Breath, Emptiness and Happiness: More Work with the Whispered Ah
When we were first taught the Whispered Ah, part of the procedure (or game) will have been a 'smile behind the eyes' or 'happy thoughts'. British people are mostly rather resistant to the notion of producing happy thoughts on cue, and FM doubtless knew this, so it must have had value for him to require it of his pupils. We will be looking at how memory and thought changes the experience of facial posture and breath, and how these three are connected.
The Whispered Ah brings many students (including teachers) to the coal-face of psychophysical unity. It is a gentle and powerful tool for dissolving the habitual shell of armor that limits change. Resistance to releasing the breath is closely bound up with the experience of vulnerability, and one of the beauties of teaching the Technique is that it is an invitation and never an imposition. (To paraphrase Frank Pierce Jones, change will come at the pace that the organism can assimilate it, and no faster.) We will therefore look not at what we ought to be doing in this procedure, but rather, at some directions in which the Whispered Ah is leading us.
This four-hour workshop will include:
an overview of the component elements of the Whispered Ah and their sequence
a few pitfalls to look out for in students and ourselves
some hands-on experience of the physical structures that are involved
freedom from gasping, mouth-breathing and the reduction of undue residual volume in the lungs
bringing the Whispered Ah into movement and other procedures
There will also be some flexibility in the schedule to work with any particular questions on breath and the Whispered Ah that participants wish to bring.
Saturday 23 June, 10 am — 2 pm. £50.00.
To book please email CTC.
Patrick Ardagh-Walter trained as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music. Joint pain put an early end to this first career, but it led him into singing and to his first encounters with the Technique.
After spending thirty years singing and, later, teaching singing, Patrick moved to Oxford in 2006 to train with Stephen Cooper. Soon after graduating, he began working in hospices and found the relationship between patients' use in breathing, and their levels of pain and anxiety a rich area of exploration. After studying privately in New York for a while with Lynn Martin, he undertook training in Lausanne with Lynn Martin and Robin De Haas and is a practitioner of Breathing Coordination MDH, a development of the discipline developed by Carl Stough in America.
Alongside his private practice Patrick continues to sing, with regular work at The Royal Opera, in concerts, recordings, radio and films. Until recently he was Dean of Faculty and teacher of voice and AT for an annual summer program training young American actors to perform Shakespeare on stage. Patrick moved to France this year with his husband, to establish a centre for retreats, growth and learning in Normandy. www.la-scellerie.com


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Q: Overhead of creating lambda for multiple threads in c++ I have a concurrency::parallel_for inside which I call a function taking a functor, passing it a lambda, like
concurrency::parallel_for(0, particleCount, [&](int i)
{
...
  kdTree->VisitCells([&](const KDTreeNode &node) //defining and passing
  {
   //code dealing with tree traversal
  }
}

...and the question is if it is bad practice to define the lambda inside the parallel_for, which is run for each of a lot of particles. Will this essentially define one functor for every particle?
The alternative is to write the lambda outside the parallel_for and design it to take a few more arguments (since it can then no longer do the same captures as before) and pass that to the tree inside the parallel_for.
When testing this, it seems it is ever so slightly faster defining it outside the parallel_for, but the data is inconclusive, and I am not certain exactly how multiple identical lambdas with different captured data is really handled.

A: In general, it depends on two things.
Firstly, unless the definition "outside" parallel_for is essentially a class or struct that somehow captures references to all variables within parallel_for, you are comparing apples with oranges.   The capture spec [&] essentially makes the lambda notation a shorthand for creating such a structure.   If you were to use a different capture specification, you would essentially change the nature of the struct/class being created (or make it a function if nothing is captured) and therefore change the overhead of creating and using it.
Second, assuming you are actually comparing apples with apples, any difference will come down to quality of implementation of the compiler, how memory is allocated by the program and things like that.
With a high quality compiler, I'd be inclined to bet the compiler will do a better job with the lambda capture than you would do by rolling an equivalent data structure by hand (hence I suspect that you are not comparing like with like).
Assuming you are using a decent quality compiler (you haven't specified) I would therefore bet that the nebulous advantage you are seeing "defining it outside the the parallel_for" is because you are comparing a hand-rolled simple function or struct definition with a lambda that is capturing several variables (forcing the compiler to pack up a larger data structure).   In other words, you are comparing an apple with an orange.
With a lower quality compiler .... well, it just depends.  You can bet any way you like.

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My chair and I discussed the actions as being discrete, but most implementations have a variable force as an action. So, we're going to address it as such. This gives a different action space than the other task which is towards the objective of cross-modal learning.