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Home » Topics » Ob/Gyn Information Center
Publish Date December 27, 2016
In-utero MRI more accurate than ultrasound for diagnosing fetal brain abnormalities
Madeline Morr
This finding suggests that any fetus with a suspected brain abnormality on ultrasound should have iuMRI to better inform counseling and management decisions.
In-utero MRI (iuMRI) improves diagnostic accuracy and confidence for fetal brain anomalies better than ultrasound alone, according to a study published in the Lancet.
Paul D Griffiths, FRCR, and colleagues identified 570 women between July 29, 2011, and August 31, 2014, whose fetus had a brain abnormality detected by ultrasound at a gestational age of 18 weeks or more, had no contraindications to iuMRI, and consented to enter the study. Recruitment was from 16 fetal medicine units in the UK, primarily conducted at the University of Sheffield's MRI facility. Women were recruited by being offered an iuMRI scan after having had a detailed ultrasound scan suggesting a brain abnormality in the fetus.
The prognostic information given to participants after the ultrasound was categorized as: normal (no worse than the risk to a fetus without a demonstrable brain abnormality), favorable (normal neurological outcome expected in >90% of cases), intermediate (normal neurological outcome expected in 50 to 90% of cases), poor (normal neurological outcome expected in <50% of cases), or unknown. Clinicians also ranked their certainty of diagnosis as: "Very unsure," "Unsure," "Equivocal," "Confident," and "Highly Confident."
Women carrying a fetus suspected of having a brain anomaly on ultrasound underwent iuMRI within 14 days of ultrasound. To reduce potential bias to show improvements in the diagnostic accuracy of iuMRI, the time between ultrasound and iuMRI should be as short as reasonably possible, noted the investigators.
The cohort was subdivided by gestation into the 18 weeks to <24 weeks fetus (369 women) and 24 weeks or older fetus (201 women). Diagnostic accuracy was improved by 23% in the 18 to <24 weeks group and 29% in the 24 weeks and older group. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 68% for ultrasound and 93% for iuMRI. Dominant diagnoses were reported with high confidence on ultrasound in 465 (82%) of 570 cases, compared with 544 (94%) of 570 cases on iuMRI. IuMRI had patient acceptability with at least 95% of women saying that they would have an iuMRI if a future pregnancy were complicated by a fetal brain abnormality.
This finding suggests that any fetus with a suspected brain abnormality on ultrasound should have iuMRI to better inform counseling and management decisions. "We found that adding iuMRI to the diagnostic pathway increased the diagnostic accuracy for 92% for fetuses younger than 24 weeks and 94% thereafter," said the authors. "This, together with encouraging findings of other studies described later, suggests that iuMRI significantly increases the accuracy of fetal brain diagnoses compared to ultrasound alone in all fetuses 18 weeks and older."
Griffiths PD, Bradburn M, Campbell MJ, et al. Use of MRI in the diagnosis of fetal brain abnormalities in utero (MERIDIAN): a multicentre, prospective cohort study. Lancet. 14 December 2016. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31723-8
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Ernest Grosjean (1844 - 1936) published "Pièces pour orgue ou harmonium", a set of 56 pieces in two volumes, in 1902. The first volume contains 33 easy pieces, that can be played without the use of pedals. Like the other Offertoires I published a few weeks ago, it is a bold piece. The closing chords are probably meant as forte, but since no dynamic indication is given, I took the liberty to play them very soft.
The recording was done with the Hauptwerk software and the sampleset, made by Voxus, of the Stahlhuth/Jahn organ in the St. Martin's church, Dudelange (https://www.voxusorgans.com/en/product/dudelange).


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Change: Why am I Acting Like a Victim?
Home/Change/Change: Why am I Acting Like a Victim?
Often, when there are lots of changes at work, people start to vent with their coworkers. You know the old saying, "misery loves company." And after some carping, soon, nobody loves the company, any more.
People start to feel like victims. It is natural to feel worried and concerned during times of change. Often we blame others.
Sometimes, we throw a pity party and invite others to attend. We talk about how hopeless it is and how helpless we feel. Unfortunately, throwing a pity party doesn't make us very appealing as a coworker or as a leader.
Acting like a victim is personally and professionally damaging. You miss opportunities. You miss the chance of being respected and admired, as the one who helped move change along. Acting like a victim adds stress to your life, and wears you down, and everyone around you, too.
It is essential to accept the changes you face, remain productive, and have a positive influence on your coworkers. Put your shoulders back and take on change head-on.
Don't fall into the pit of self-pity. Worrying about the future is silly; you are creating the future. You have the job. You should be thrilled that your organization has so much confidence in you.


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A bridging loan is a short-term loan that is typically used to help a person or an organisation to go ahead with making a property purchase without waiting for a sale to go through. It is called a bridging loan because it is designed to 'bridge the gap' in finances. This an option is typically used to buy a property even if you have not yet sold your existing home, for example, if you wanted to downsize without waiting for the sale of their current home.
This type of loan often has a fixed end date, usually to co-inside with when the borrower knows that funds will be able to repay the loan. They tend to last a few weeks or months.
How does a bridging loan work for home and property owners?
If you are looking to move to a smaller or less expensive home, you could use a bridging loan to secure the smaller property whilst you sell the existing home.
When there is a delay between the sale and completion dates, a bridging loan can help you to secure a purchase without having to wait for the sale of your existing property to go through.
A bridging loan can enable you to purchase a new home even if a buyer in the chain drops out.
If you buy a property at an auction, you usually need to pay a 10% deposit immediately. The rest is usually due within 28 days. They're useful for completing the purchase whilst you arrange a long-term solution, either a through a quick sale or a mortgage.
A bridging loan could help you achieve that dream of building your ideal home.
You could use a bridging loan to release equity in your family home. For example, for use in a probate case where inheritance tax needs to be paid on a property, or a divorce settlement.
How do they work for property developers and landlords?
Completion is required to happen within 28 days of the hammer going down, so bridging finance can secure the property until it's either been resold, refurbished or re-financed.
If a property is deemed uninhabitable, it can be hard (if not impossible) to find a lender willing to provide a mortgage. A bridging loan can provide the money needed to fund the building work required to make a property fit to live in, enabling it to qualify for a mainstream mortgage.
Developers find a refurbishment-bridging loan useful if they need to fund expensive repairs and upgrades to a property before putting it back on the market with the aim of selling it for profit.
A bridging loan can be used to capitalise on market conditions and discounted investment opportunities.
How does a bridging loan work for businesses?
Bridging loans can be secured against land and property so that companies can raise money in a short timeframe.
If you needed a new, expensive piece of machinery or extra space to fulfil a large order, by securing a loan against land/property, a bridging loan could provide the funding.
Businesses can use a bridging loan if a tax demand is made and the amount cannot be accessed otherwise within the required timeframe.
Bridging loans can be used for short-term funding to overcome temporary financial issues.
What is the most I will be able to borrow?
At Loan.co.uk our bridging loans range from £20,000 right up to £100 million. For example, a couple looking to retire could borrow thousands to help them to downsize prior to their current property being sold. Or, a business could just as easily borrow millions to ease the process of a factory relocation.
Most lenders will lend between 65% to 80% of the value of the property (LTV), but some will go to 95% or even 100% depending on the circumstances.
Bridging loans are a stopgap solution before longer-term financing is put in place (for instance, funds from selling an asset such as a house to be used as a deposit on a new mortgage for the new property).
Let us say you needed funding to buy a new home before the sale of your existing property. Your current home is valued at £670,000 with an existing 1st mortgage of £335,000. The new property is £900,000 and you have £200,000 in savings to use for the purchase of the new home.
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Do I need to have a deposit for a bridging loan?
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What will lenders review in particular before approving my loan?
Plan to repay the loan. The key question for lenders is, "How do you plan to raise the finances for repaying your bridging loan?" The answer is known as your 'exit strategy'. Examples of exit strategies include the sale of a property, sale of other assets or refinancing. Lenders prefer it if you know both how and when you'll be able to make payment, so ideally you'll have a confirmed completion date.
Secured assets type and value. For many borrowers, this will be the current property.
Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. This is the relationship between the amount you need to borrow and the price of the property you're buying. The remaining percentage of the property's price comes from other funds (usually the equity you have in your current house). Lenders tend to favour low LTVs as by paying less of the property's price, they're taking a smaller risk.
Mortgage status. If you're a homeowner without a mortgage, lenders will offer you a first charge loan (this loan is the first borrowing against the property). If you have an existing mortgage, you could be offered a second charge loan (this is the second borrowing after the mortgage). Second charges attract higher interest rates as they present a greater risk to the lender. That's because the first charge takes priority should the borrower default, making it harder for lenders of second charge loans to recoup their money.
Which type of bridging loan is best for me?
To find the right bridging loan for you, contact Loan.co.uk and quickly take us through your needs and circumstances. Then we can quickly deliver the best solution for you.
How is the bridging loan repaid?
Bridging loans are repaid when the borrower's long-term financing kicks in (most commonly funds from the sale of a property). They can be repaid at any time during the loan's term and most lenders don't charge a penalty for early repayment. With Loan.co.uk you will find that there are no early repayment fees. Interest rates for bridging loans are fixed for the duration of the loan (they don't respond to market changes) and are quoted as monthly. At Loan.co.uk you'll find market-leading rates.
There are two main ways to charge interest on a bridging loan – serviced interest or rolled-up/retained interest.
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Rolled-up/retained interest. The interest payments for the full term of the loan are calculated from the very start. These are then added to the capital to form one total amount that's due at the end of the loan. This means no monthly repayments. Some lenders will charge interest on the entire capital and interest (effectively paying interest on top of interest). This is sometimes known as deferred interest.
How much time will I have to repay it?
Bridging loans have a shorter period of repayment than conventional borrowing. Usually the term is 12 months for regulated lending (this is lending against your home and for non-business purposes). This climbs to an average of 24 months for non-regulated lending (lending on something that is not your home and for business purposes). However, with both you can settle at any point, usually without exit fees. At Loan.co.uk you can take out a bridging loan for as little as a month to as long as 24 months.
What are the consequences of failing to repay?
If you find you unexpectedly have issues with repaying the bridging loan, the lender will either agree to extend the bridging loan or repossess the property.
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With all the bridging loan brokers to choose from, why should you use Loan.co.uk to make your plans happen?
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2014 Fantasy Baseball Preview: Proven Player Off Of A Bad Year
Fantasy baseball, and really all fantasy sports, is all about finding value when it comes to your draft. You not only need your first round draft pick (or high auction pick) to perform like the price you paid for him, but your later round picks need to outperform the price you paid for that pick. Frankly, you'd like all of your picks to outperform their value.
One of the most consistent predictors of players outperforming their value are players who have consistently done well, but are coming off of a bad year aka Proven Player Off Of A Bad Year. Players generally perform to their true level. However, every once in a while, players have a bad year. It happens. However, rankings are done heavily weighting how a player performed in the previous season. Last season can be a good predictor of how well a player performs this year, but the better predictor is the players' entire career. This creates value pick for many players.
Here are a list of players that I think are value picks for the 2013 season, because they are a proven player coming off of a bad year:
JOSH HAMILTON - OF - LAA
Josh Hamilton won the AL MVP in 2012, and was one of the best players in fantasy baseball from 2008 - 2012. Sure, he had some injury problems that got in the way, but when he was healthy, he was one of the best. Then he left Texas in free agency for the Los Angeles Angels- where apparently free agent hitters come to die.
In 2012, Hamilton was the 5th best hitter OVERALL in the game. He was rated very highly coming into the 2013. But then the 2013 season actually happened, and fantasy owners regretted the high draft pick they wasted on Hamilton. The Angels outfielder ended the season as the 43rd best OUTFIELDER in the game behind the liked of Norichika Aoki, Leonys Martin, & Daniel Nava. This causes Hamilton to be ranked as 27th best outfielder by Yahoo this year. That drop to me is insane.
I get the worry on Hamilton, and I don't expect him to put up numbers like he did during his glory days in a hitter friendly ball park, but I think too much credence is put into Hamilton's 2013 season, when he has a 5 year career before that that suggests he's better than his draft price.
MATT CAIN - SP - SF
Sesame Street has a game called "Which One Is Not Like The Other". We're going to play that game now:
Which one is not like the other? You guessed it, it's the "4.00". This is a list of Matt Cain's ERA for the past five seasons. Matt Cain has been one of the best pitchers in the game for the pasty five years. He's helped the San Francisco Giants win 2 World Series. But His ERA has never hit 4.00 since his first full year as a starter. Cain's strike outs, WHIP, and ERA were abnormally high (or low) during his 2013 campaign. While many people believe that his 2013 numbers is just his peripherals finally starting to rear its ugly head, that seems more implausible than Cain just had one bad year.
MIGUEL MONTERO - C - ARI
Montero was never an elite catcher, but he always managed to safely secure a spot in people's pre-season Top 10 Catchers list every year for the past few seasons. Before 2013, Montero sported an above average batting average, solid HR numbers, and decent numbers. If you'd look at Montero's numbers, they wouldn't be outstanding, but they were definitely be worth a top 10 catcher pick. However, in 2013, the Arizona catcher sported a dreadful .230 batting average with only 11 home runs, and less than 50 runs. Very un-Montero like. His 2013 campaign has now forced Montero to leave people's preseason Top 10 catcher lists. Yahoo has him ranked as the 14th best catcher and ESPN has him ranked as the 12th best catcher. He still belongs in people's Top 10.
R.A. Dickey - SP - TOR
R.A. Dickey was actually a pretty good pitcher on the New York Metropolitans before he was the NL Cy Young in 2012. His ERA was in the high 2's or low 3's, he kept his WHIP low, and got strikeouts. While Dickey is a knuckleball pitcher which should force him into terrible periods as well, Dickey managed to be a good pitcher by actually throwing a good fastball and throwing a crazy fast knuckle ball. Grantland's Razy Jazayerli wrote a great article in December of 2012 why, even though Dickey is 38 years old, he'll be pitching and pitching well for a long time. So when Dickey was traded to the Blue Jays to become the ace of what seemed to be a super team, people were all over the Dickey bandwagon coming into the 2013 season.
However, a 4.31 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and only 14 wins have forced people to sour on Dickey coming into the 2014 season. However, Dickey did throw 170 strike outs last year, the most K's he's ever thrown in a single season outside of his Cy Young season. I expect Dickey's ERA and WHIP to drop to at least respectable numbers, which means the fact that he's going OUTSIDE THE TOP 50 seems ludicrous to me.
The underlying principal of Proven Player Off Of A Bad Year is that you shouldn't put too much stock into one year's worth of work. You should look at a player's entire career, and not just one year, especially last year. These are the players who I feel are being overvalued because of one season, or even no seasons:
BILLY HAMILTON- While he *may* be one of the league leaders in steals in 2014, he's never done it before. He's being drafted over Mark Trumbo, Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp, Nelson Cruz, Austin Jackson, and really most of the outfielders out there. This is ridiculous.
BRETT LAWRIE- While I do like his upside, the fact that Yahoo ranks him ahead of Aramis Ramirez, Martin Prado, and Kyle Seager- all guys who HAVE done it before, is mind blowing to me.
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT- I'm pretty sure I'm alone on an island on this one, but I don't trust Paul Goldschmidt this year. Almost EVERYBODY has Goldschmidt as a top 5 pick overall. I barely have Goldschmidt in my top 5 first basemen. I understand what an incredible, incredible, incredible year he had in 2013, and that he's young and probably going to get better. But I would rather draft guys Ryan Braun (another player who could have made this list), Chris Davis, or Adrian Beltre than draft Goldschmidt.
WHO DO YOU THINK HAD A BAD YEAR LAST YEAR THAT WILL HAVE A GOOD YEAR THIS YEAR?
Labels: 2014 Fantasy Baseball Preview, Fantasy Island, Josh Hamilton, Matt Cain, Miguel Montero, Proven Player Off Of A Bad Year, RA Dickey
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Precursor to Public Service: University of Connecticut Law Wives' Legacy
Posted on February 28, 2022 June 16, 2022 by Maryanne Daly Doran
The silver punch bowl and ladle on display in the law library was given to the School of law for the dedication of the new law building on May 1, 1964. Engraved "From the Law Wives, May 1, 1964", this set was a gift from the University of Connecticut Law Wives club. Formed on September 20th, 1961, University of Connecticut Law Wives club's mission was to educate the law wife in the "problems and responsibilities of the profession her husband is about to enter" and to sponsor a yearly scholarship benefiting a "needy law student".
Initially founded to provide educational, social and civic activities for wives of students, activities later evolved to include bloodmobiles, food drives and children's holiday parties. Funds raised for scholarship and books funds benefited law students, families, and ultimately, clients of these newly minted attorneys. The club was renamed "University of Connecticut Law Partners" in 1973 to reflect the changing demographics of the law school student body.
The invariable signs of "wear and tear" on this silver bowl reflect the many occasions this bowl has made a cameo appearance at
staff retirements, baby showers, and notable events commemorating the life and career events of UConn Law's students, faculty and staff. This gift provides a lens to a past era which highlighted altruism and public service, and inspired the public service opportunities available to law students today. These include UConn's not-for credit Pro-bono pledge program , for-credit clinics and field placements, and the Public Interest Law Group (PILG), a student organization developed to encourage UConn law students to perform work in the public interest field during their education and into their professional careers.
Although UConn Law Wives Club is no longer in existence, the initial mission of dedication to scholarship and philanthropy was the precursor for the school of law's present commitment to social activism. It continues to serve as a tribute to the legacy of UConn Law Wives and reminder of its pioneering dedication to volunteerism and good works.
Database Spotlight! NAACP Papers
This February, in honor of African-American History Month , UConn Law Library is featuring 3 important digital resources: the NAACP Papers as produced by ProQuest. The collection is organized into the following groups:
NAACP Papers: The NAACP's Major Campaigns – Education, Voting, Housing, Employment, Armed Forces
Major campaigns for equal access to education, voting, employment, housing and the military are covered in this module. The education files in this second module document the NAACP's systematic assault on segregated education that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Files from 1955 –1965 focus on the NAACP's efforts to implement the Brown decision as well as to combat de facto segregation outside of the South. Click here to go to the LibGuide page for this module
NAACP Papers: NAACP's Major Campaigns – Legal Department Files
This NAACP module consists of the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and his Legal Department staff for the period from 1956 to 1972. The files document the NAACP's aggressive campaign to bring about desegregation throughout the United States, particularly in the South. In total, this module contains over 600 cases from 34 states and the District of Columbia. The cases in this module pertain to school desegregation, abuses of police procedure, employment discrimination, freedom of speech, privacy, freedom of association, and housing discrimination. Click here to go to the LibGuide page for this module
NAACP Papers: The NAACP's Major Campaigns- Scottsboro, Anti-Lynching, Criminal Justice, Peonage, Labor, Segregation and Discrimination Complaints and Responses
One of the highlights of this NAACP module are the records on the Scottsboro case, one of the most celebrated criminal trials of the 20th century. This module also contains the key NAACP national office files on the campaign against lynching and mob violence, and NAACP efforts to fight against discrimination in the criminal justice system. Click here to go to the LibGuide page for this module
The NAACP Papers contains excellent material to support the law school community's research projects on social justice and civil rights topics. If you have any questions about this content, contact our reference team!


I see dumb people - they're everywhere. They don't even know they're dumb.
Most people would think that the ability to tell a kernel hacker from the village idiot is a valuable trait to have. Sometimes though, we wish that it wasn't quite so easy to see the morons around us.
What a blissful life we would lead if we weren't constantly surrounded by throngs of the intellectually-challenged. How joyful the day would be if we didn't have to deal with questions, problems, complaints and rants from the everyday idiots, dullards and blockheads of this world. Call it a gift, call it a curse; but no matter how hard we try not to, we see dumb people. Lots of 'em. And like I said, they're everywhere.
I believe "Anonymous" is u, Doe sis. Bad day is an understatement.


Be positively prepared for birth!
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Becoming a parent is perhaps the most profound transformation in life. Mostly filled with joy and fun, pregnancy and parenthood can at times also be stressful and challenging. The Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) programme was developed to serve those going through this transformation, and it has proved to be a very successful course.
Mindfulness, as taught today, is a modern, non-religious practice that is accessible to everyone. Its practice can make us calmer and more centered, and improve our physical and mental wellbeing. There are now scientific evidence demonstrating that a Mindfulness approach to childbirth preparation improves the birth experience and reduces the risks of postnatal depression.
If you are looking for a more traditional approach to childbirth preparation you may want to opt for the Private 1-2-1 Sessions where you will learn all about labour, childbirth, breast/bottle feeding, and life with a new baby.
Whatever route you choose you will leave feeling empowered, confident, calm and fully informed and prepared to navigate the journey of labour and birth.
We offer a free two hour Workshop on Mindfulness and Childbirth Preparation.
This is an introduction to mindfulness meditation and one important aspect of antenatal education related to pain and fear. We focus on the physiology of pain and learn how being 'fully' present during the birth process can actually enhance the birth experience (it sounds crazy but it is true!). You can attend this workshop at any stage in the pregnancy.
"I would absolutely recommend this course. So helpful & informative. I feel really well prepared for what is to come" Zoe.
" I found it very beneficial and have enjoyed the course. Very informative" Theresa.
"I would definitely recommend this course. I feel mindfulness has it's place within parenthood too" Partner.
"Very informative. New skills to use for parenthood; not just labour. Even as a mum of two already I learned lots of new things" Ann-Marie & Matthew.
"Karen is so calming & knowledgable. You really can ask her anything and not feel judged" CJ & Iain.
What is Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting?


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Syracuse approaches self-imposed deadline for Carrier Dome decision
Published: May. 13, 2016, 3:13 p.m.
Chris Carlson | ccarlson@syracuse.com
Syracuse, N.Y. — For the past two years, Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud has targeted the end of the academic year as a deadline for solving the college's Carrier Dome conundrum.
With graduation just two days away, and Syracuse's Board of Trustees meeting on Friday and Saturday, the clock is ticking and expectations for a decision are growing.
"Within the next 24 months we have to decide what we're going to do," Syverud said in June of 2014. "Twenty-four months because the useful life of the current roof is at most five years, and a process of replacing it — getting the fabric, getting it installed, planning for all the disruption around that — is a couple year process."
He reiterated that timeline to The Daily Orange in November, prior to the year's first Board of Trustees meeting, saying the university was "well teed up" for a decision this academic year.
Syracuse has provided few details about the decision process publicly, saying that it continues to weigh three options. Those options include putting another version of the air-inflated bubble on top of the Dome, a renovation that would include a permanent roof and a brand-new arena.
The current Carrier Dome roof will need to be replaced between 2019 and 2024, a reality that has sparked much of the discussion, and Syracuse would need to budget and plan accordingly.
Syverud has said previously that a new arena would require an influx of outside money. A new bubble would only be a temporary solution, leaving Syracuse facing the same debate and issues in another 20 years. Geiger Engineering, the company that installed the air-inflated roof, has said that a different style of roof makes the most sense as long as its financially viable.
The Carrier Dome was state-of-the-art when it was built in 1980, but the luxuries and comfort associated with the stadium experience have been emphasized in recent years, leaving the building lagging in amenities.
Syracuse also hired the architecture firm Populous to study the possibilities involved with a permanent roof and renovation.
Those realities have made a renovation look like the most desirable, and most likely, option.
If Syracuse sticks to Syverud's timeline, we should get a more official idea which direction the school will head soon.
Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1639.


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•The long and adjustable padded shoulder strap provides for comfortable carrying and includes a loop for hanging your glasses while taking pictures.
•The bottom of the shoulder strap has a hidden pocket with an attached pull-out bright orange protective rain hood for covering the whole bag front in bad weather.
•A strong buckle secures the front flap to the shoulder strap, while the rubberized carrying handle helps to grab the bag in a hurry.
•The super long adjustable hip strap lets you use the bag hands free.
•Two belts with buckles and Velcro loops on the bottom of the bag allow for strapping on a tripod, yoga mat, blanket or jacket.
Three padded, flexible, interchangeable and removable Velcro inserts let you configure the interior to your fit your camera equipment.
•The inside of the right side door has an elastic mesh phone/wallet pocket and a small Velcro secured accessory pocket, the left door features two Velcro flap pockets.
•On the back a large zippered and padded mesh pocket gives easy but secure access to passport, phone, wallet or personal protection devices.
•The front flap gives access to a large zippered padded tablet pocket with many other accessory pockets and storage spaces.
Meet our Cubism in Blue camera bag, featuring the perfect mix of ?black, royal and sky blue geometric cube pattern on a grid like ?texture and durable black nylon side, bottom and back panels. This large camera bag was designed by a semi professional photographer, it has many great features that are found in pro's bags. The bag itself is very light and has a large interior that you can configure to your individual needs by attaching and changing around the padded flexible inserts. One of the great advantages of an over the shoulder sling type camera bag is the fact that it sits on your hips for full access and interior visibility. This ?triangular bag belongs to our large sized line of Alles camera bags.
i ordered this camera bag to be used mainly as a purse. i cut off the lower black strap which goes around the waist because i dont have an expensive, heavy camera to support. i can not even describe how unreal this is. what i love most is the interior space which protects anything that is fragile or you dont want squashed. you can move that to accomodate what you want to put in there. i get a million compliments on the bag. the graphics are super cool. it is unlike any camera bag i have ever seen! so fab. i will be taking this to europe next time we go.
This bag completely exceeded my expectations. With room for my full size Canon 5d mkII, and 2 lenses. (24-70 & 70-200) Plenty of extra compartments for cards, batteries, meter, etc. It's comfortable to carry too! My photographer friend loved it so much, he talked me out of it, and I immediately replaced it with a new one. Love this bag!
Cubism in Blue- space, features, protection, light weight and affordable - exactly what I was looking for. This bag holds up, is sturdy, easy to wipe off and so easy to open and close.
So Versatile & Amazing Quality!
I received my bag very quickly and was very happy with the quality. This is a genius creation! There are so many ways to use this bag. It is better organized than my other camera bags with easily accessible spots for lenses too. I'm very happy I purchased it.I received my bag very quickly and was very happy with the quality. This is a genius creation! There are so many ways to use this bag. It is better organized than my other camera bags with easily accessible spots for lenses too. I'm very happy I purchased it.
Get the perfect shot in style with our Cubism in Blue Camera Bag - designed to fit 2 DSLRs plus up to 3 additional lenses or one lens up to 12" long ????
Our Cubism in Blue Camera Bag is loved by guys & gals alike! Get the shot while making a bold statement????


Ready for the "Next Level" of Gaming?
Last week the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, kicked off in Los Angeles, California. What is E3? Think of it as a video game trade show. It's where the companies that make games and accessories get together and show off their wares. So naturally Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo were there showing off what's next in the world of gaming and electronic entertainment. And boy, did they show. Want to know what your kids are going to be begging you for this holiday season?
First, we have the new Microsoft Xbox, the Xbox One. It's going to run you $499, and for that $499 you get a controller, the Xbox One, and a newer and more advanced Kinect Sensor for games that utilize motion. The Xbox One is more than a game system; Microsoft included some very slick home entertainment integration with your cable or satellite box, and it has a BluRay drive now. But you're going to need to have an Internet connection for more than just playing games online and watching movies; according to Microsoft, the Xbox One will need to "call home" to the Microsoft servers every 24 hours. Also, this one isn't backwards compatible, meaning that your Xbox 360 games will not play on the Xbox One. Along with that, there are questions on how the buying and selling of used games will be handled. The rumor at the moment is that the games will need to be sold through an authorized reseller (think GameStop), and that you won't be able to sell the game until 30 days after purchase, and they can only be sold once. We'll know more as the launch gets closer this holiday season. Games will still cost what they cost now, which is around $59.
Sony announced the PlayStation 4, which is going to run you $399 this holiday season. For that $399, you get the PS4 and a controller and it keeps the BluRay drive that the PS3 has. It's also able to stream movies from select online services like the Xbox One. The PS4 doesn't *require* an Internet connection to call home like the Xbox One, but if you want to play online or stream movies you're going to need it. The PS4 isn't going to run your PS3 games, so no backwards compatibility here either. Sony isn't going the used game restriction route like Microsoft, so that isn't an issue here. Also, their motion sensor (called PS Move + Eye) is a separate purchase as opposed to it being included with the Xbox One. Games will be the same as they are for the PS3, which is … you guessed it … around $59.
Nintendo didn't announce anything new as far as hardware; rather they announced new games for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo WiiU that will be coming up later this year and in 2014. Mario Cart 8, Super Smash Brothers, Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze should give you something to look forward to in the coming months.
As usual, click on the links to go to pages with more in-depth information. I'm excited about the new systems. My bank account won't be, though. But hey … nobody said being a geek was cheap, did they?


The BIG insurance scam. Is your touring 4X4 actually insured?
I was hoping for a little help here! Most four-wheel drivers know that 4X4 insurance just covers the bare bones – just vehicle itself. The insurer will cover the 4WD and perhaps the odd accessory, but when it comes to genuine accessories like diff locks, suspension kits, storage drawers and rooftop tents etc, they're just not covered. So you could be left in a serious financial hole if something happens on your adventures. Which is where your help comes in.[/x_text][/x_column][/x_row][/x_section][x_section style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px; "][x_row inner_container="true" marginless_columns="false" bg_color="" style="margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; "][x_column bg_color="" type="1/1″ style="padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; "][x_text]We're working with a company that are interested in fixing this problem and providing genuine 4X4 insurance – but only if they see the need. So I'd really appreciate it if you could give them a hand and answer a short two minute survey to specific 4X4 insurance. All going well, you will have helped create a new insurance product that will protect four-wheel drivers wherever they go, and for whatever they fit to their 4WD.
And don't worry, there's something in it for you as well. Everyone that completes the survey will land a $10 voucher to spend on anything they like in the MR4X4 shop. You will get the codeword on completion of the survey to claim your $10 off voucher. And on top of that, five people will land our one of our very special limited edition Archive Collector's boxes. This is a beautifully boxed and embossed product, complete with mint copies of the first eight editions of Pat Callinan's 4X4 Adventures premium magazine. It's a no-brainer really!
Photo Credit – Rob and Kev's Birdsville Racers Trip.
Thanks for the comment, i do remember hearing about your case. You're not alone, i do feel we have a need to review this and we will.
I would like 4×4 insurance to cover glass in our Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland.
I was insured with 4×4 insurance until a found out the the max insured sum for a windscreen was $1000.00.
Everything else the 4×4 insurance covered was exactly what I wanted.
So because the glass coverage was not nearly enough, I cancelled the insurance with 4×4 insurance and am now insured with RACV, which covers all the vehicle glass for genuine replacement and unlimited glass claims per insured period.
Budget also covered what RACV did.
Please review the PPS to match the real vehicle coverage that seems to be an industry standard.
When I cancelled our insurance with 4×4 Insurance I explained why I was cancelling, so I know it was noted.
Please do not hestiate to contact myself if a change in the glass replacement policy is changed.


Up until last week, my daughter disliked writing. Perhaps dislike is not a strong enough word. Writing was right up there with skinned knees and red sauce on her spaghetti. It pained me because writing is what I love the most, next to Jesus, my family, coffee and my hidden stash of chocolate (the one in the freezer behind the frozen vegetables).
My girl devours books so I couldn't understand her aversion to writing. She read The Hobbit when she was seven years old and narrated it back to me beautifully. Surely she, of all people, could understand the beauty and thrill of stringing together one's own words on paper.
And yet more often than not, when it was time to pick up a pencil, whether for copywork or for her English course, there were tears. Creative writing was a distant dream.
We read two journals from cover to cover. We laughed at the awkward silliness of the things I wrote, and I marvelled at the encouraging comments my teacher penned in the margins. When we were finished, my daughter looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
At lunch, I set three small toys on the table: a girl, a basket and a cow. I gave each of my daughters a brand new notebook and told them that I was going to set the timer for 5 minutes. They would only have to write until the timer beeped, and they could write about anything that came to mind, as long as they included the objects on the table.
All of us got to work, even the littlest one, who happily drew pictures.
The timer went off. They asked for more time. It went off again. And again. Before we knew it, over 25 minutes had passed of (mostly) quiet writing time.
The next day, my daughter begged for another free writing session. And again the day after that.
The girls take turns selecting the objects to include in that day's free write. In future, I'm hoping to also include art, writing prompts, dictionary words and other exercises that my own writing teachers used to ignite our creativity.
After we write, we read our little stories to each other. Their creations are absolutely delightful, and I'm having so much fun crafting my own tales, too. In the evenings, when my husband is home from a long day at work, we gather together and read our stories to him.
I find it fascinating that three people can begin with the exact same prompt and come up with completely different storylines. I treasure these glimpses into my daughters' minds. Those girls have incredible imaginations.
My husband writes and so do I, but now our children are also writing and loving it. My girls not only write during the school day, I've also caught them scribbling away in their free time. It's becoming an integral part of our family culture.
The other day, I asked my daughter what her favourite subject is.
"Writing, of course!" she responded with a grin.


Housed in festive packaging, the Vine Body Luxury Set from Caudalie is the perfect gift. Its combination of soothing, nourishing products will leave your skin feeling moisturised and protected all year round. - K.N.
Made from 95% natural ingredients, this lightly fragranced body butter deeply nourishes the skin, relieving tightness and dryness with its blend of grape and shea butters. Skin will feel regenerated and comfortable. Can also be uses as an after sun treatment.


text:
Q: On the free homotopy between two loops Let $f:I \to X$ be a loop at $f(0)=f(1)=x_0$. Suppose that $f':S^1 \to X$ be a continuous map so that $f'\circ \exp =f$, where $\exp:I\to S^1$ be the exponential map.
My question is that:
If $f\simeq g$ (free homotopy), then $f' \simeq g'$ (free homotopy)?
where $f(0)=f(1)=g(0)=g(1)=x_0$.

A: Here is a counterexample. Let $X = S^1$ which is not contractible. Let $f' =id$ and $g'$ be the constant map $g'(x) = x_0$.Then $f'$ and $g'$ are not freely homotopic. However, the maps $f = f' \circ \exp$ and $g = g' \circ \exp$ are freely homotopic because their domain $I$ is contractible.
Note that any two maps $f, g : I \to X$ are freely homotopic.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Мистър Олимпия () е международно състезание по културизъм, което се провежда годишно от International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB).

Спечелването на титлата се счита за най-голямата професионална награда в този спорт. Създадено е от Joe Weider, за да имат възможност победителите в Mr. Universe да продължат да се състезават и печелят пари и признание.

Първото състезание Мистър Олимпия се провежда на 18 септември, 1965 в Бруклинската музикална академия (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Ню Йорк.

Най-много победи (8) имат Ли Хейни (1984 – 1991) и Рони Колман (1998 – 2005).

Мистър Олимпия 2006 се провежда на 30 септември в Лас Вегас и Джей Кътлър печели първата си титла, след няколко неуспешни опита.

Филмът Pumping Iron (1977) показва подготвителния период за Мистър Олимпия 1975 в Претория, Южна Африка и помага в стартирането на филмовата кариера на Арнолд Шварценегер и Лу Фериньо.

Има още няколко състезания, организирани успоредно с Мистър Олимпия. Това са Мис Олимпия – състезание по културизъм за жени, Фитнес Олимпия и Figure Olympia.

История

1960-те
Мистър Олимпия 1965 и 1966 се печелят от Лари Скот, много известен за времето си културист. Скот е първият културист с обиколка на ръката над 20 инча (50 см). След втората си победа се пенсионира.

Серджо Олива, наречен "Митът", печели следващите 3 поредни състезания Мистър Олимпия. Висок 180 см и 109 кг тежък, Oliva показва ново ниво на мускулна маса и дефиниция – включително "V"-образната форма на гърба, който преминава от добре изградени, плътни и големи мускули (обиколката на гръдния кош е 147 см) в тънка талия (обиколка 73 см). Ръцете му са с обиколка от почти 56 см. Той се помни не само като шампион, но и като единственият, който побеждава Арнолд Шварценегер в състезание за титлата (1969 година).

1970-те
Шварценегер все пак побеждава Серджо Олива на следващото си участие в Мистър Олимпия – през 1970 година. Малко по-висок и без забележима разлика в размерите, съдиите считат, че неговата мускулатура е с по-добра дефиниция и му присъждат първото място.

В 6-те си поредни победи – до 1975 (когато обявява оттеглянето си от състезателния бодибилдинг), Шварценегер побеждава и други забележителни културисти като Лу Фериньо, Serge Nubret и Франко Коломбо. Последният печели Мистър Олимпия следващата година.

Франк Зейн е победителят през 1977, 1978 и 1979. Въпреки че не е с толкова масивна фигура, като конкурентите си, Зейн залага не на огромни мускули, а на симетрична фигура, естетика и релеф. По този начин побеждава противниците си, на които им липсва това ниво на мускулна дефиниция.

1980-те
През 1980 Шварценегер се завръща на състезателния подиум и печели със спорно решение. Много от запознатите твърдят, че той е бил в по-слаба форма от предишните си участия и че съдиите са го обявили за победител въз основа по-скоро на неговата популярност и нарастваща известност, отколкото на негова физика.

Следващата година титлата се печели от Коломбо – отново след спорна победа, която води до много разисквания относно обективността на съдиите, които се влияят от външни фактори повече от показаното на сцената и моментната форма на участника.

Крис Дикерсън печели през 1982, Самир Банут през 1983 и от 1984 започва ерата на Ли Хейни, който поставя рекорд с 8 последователни титли, ненадминат до днес. Притежаващ забележителна мускулна маса, симетрия и сепарация, той е непобедимият и неоспорим шампион до оттеглянето си.

1990-те
Дориан Йейтс е на 2-ро място през 1991, но след оттеглянето на Хейни той става следващият идол в културизма с 6 последователни победи – от 1992 до 1997. В тези години очевидно съдиите дават предпочитание на мускулната маса като решаващ фактор за победа, като оставят на заден план симетрията, релефа и пропорционално развитото тяло.

Вакантното шампионско място е заето от друга звезда през 1998 – Рони Колман, който повтаря рекорда на Хейни с 8-те си поредни победи.

През 1994 Joe Weider решава да създаде още едно отделно състезание – Masters Olympia, в което участват професионални културисти над 40 години.

2000-те
За голямо съжаление на Колман неговата серия победи е прекъсната през 2006 година от новия шампион Джей Кътлър.

Квалификации
Всички участници на Мистър Олимпия трябва да отговарят на определени критерии. Начините да участваш в най-голямото и известно шоу в света са:

 Трябва да се печелил Mr. Olympia в предишните 5 години
 6-те финалисти от миналогодишното Mr. Olympia
 6-те финалисти от тазгодишното Арнолд Класик
 5-те финалисти от тазгодишното New York Men's Professional (другото му име е Night of the Champions)
 3-та финалисти от другите I.F.B.B състезания в периода между последната Mr. Olympia и новото състезание
 Победителят от Masters Professional World Championships

Освен това организаторите си запазват правото да поканят още един участник, който не се класира за състезанието по другите критерии.

Победители

Класация на победителите

Източници

Външни препратки
 Български сайт за Мистър и Мис Олимпия

Културизъм

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Q: Applying random background color to RecyclerView but not getting the same color twice in a row I am trying to apply a random background color from a list of colors to RecyclerView list items,
however, I am trying not to get the same color twice in a row
I tried recursion with something like
fun setBackground(){
val newColor = getRandomColor()
if(newColor == lastColor){
setBackground()
}
/*..*\
}

where setBackground() is called in onBindViewHolder() and getRandomColor() returns a random color in an array from resources

A: Right now you're only setting the background if the newColor equals the lastColor. This is going to cause the background to always be the same color. You want do do
if(newColor != lastColor){
setBackground()
}

A: You need to return the function after recursion call, or just place the rest of the code in else statement:
fun setBackground(){
val newColor = getRandomColor()
if(newColor == lastColor){
setBackground()
return;    //RETURN THE FUNCTION HERE
}

Alternative:
fun setBackground(){
val newColor = getRandomColor()
if(newColor == lastColor){
setBackground()
}else{
...
}

When your function comes back to the previous function, it sets the value again which overrides the color set earlier in stack.
Also, you can do this easily without recursion if the above code is confusing you:
val newColor;
do{
newColor = getRandomColor()
}while(newColor == lastColor);

A: Recursion is causing the issue because when recursion returns, the outer layer of the function call is setting the background colour again.
I suggest you rewrite using a simple do while loop, following your logic:
fun setBackground(){
  do {
    val newColor = getRandomColor()
    setBackground()
  } while(newColor == lastColor);
}

You can further improve above code by pulling both the newColor variable and the expensive setBackground() method call, out of the loop.


It is always important to talk with your doctor before starting an exercise program, particularly if you have certain health conditions.
To improve your heart and lung fitness, aim for 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise three to four times a week.
Working out when you have a serious illness or health problem can be challenging. But for most people who have health issues, exercising can improve their prognosis and well-being. In fact, exercise can play an important role in helping you cope with or recover from a health challenge or accident.
The key to cardiovascular fitness is getting a good but safe aerobic workout. Heart rate monitors, which monitor your heart rate while you exercise, can help you do that with ease.
Lack of physical activity has clearly been shown to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Unlike other muscles, your heart muscle does not tire from use. Your heart is like other muscles, however, in that it needs exercise to work efficiently. What kind of exercise would that be? All it takes is a brisk 30-minute walk most days of the week.
If you think that you can't begin a strength-training program because you have heart disease, think again.


text:
Coffee Talking: stupid ass Santa making a little boy cry because he had the audacity to ask for... a Nerf gun (UPDATE ADDED 12/8)
This is all over the internet but if you haven't seen it... it's a stupid ass Santa making a little boy cry because he had the audacity to ask for... a Nerf gun.
You can find the video all over with a simple search but this particular source with photos is here. It could've been one of those cute videos a parent revisits frequently when the mood strikes because it automatically elicits smiles. After all, what could go wrong with your little boy asking Santa Claus for a gift at the local mall?
Well, a whole lot if the St. Nick your kid encounters is apparently of the woke variety.
In the clip, a little boy sits across a table from Santa who asks, "What do you want for Christmas?"
The understandably shy youngster hesitates at first and looks down; you can barely hear what he's saying.
"You don't know?" Santa asks incredulously.
Soon the kid comes to life and begins to reveal what he wants. But Santa doesn't seem to catch what the kid says — then cocks his head to the side and utters a noticeably louder, "What?"
'No guns'
Apparently, the boy asked for a gun and Santa immediately shoots that down: "No guns."
The boy's mother quickly interjects that her son means a Nerf gun, but Santa is unmoved: "Nope, not even a Nerf gun."
Within a few moments the boy turns away from Santa and begins crying. At that point, his mom — who's holding an infant — comes over to comfort him. "Aww," Santa tells the boy. "Don't cry."
Mom fortunately tells her son that he'll still get his Nerf gun — no thanks to the guy in the red suit.
Yet others had little sympathy for Father Christmas:
"I don't agree with cancel culture, but in this case, that Santa needs a good firing," another user said. "At the stake. With nice dry wood."
"Rather than being a douchebag, all he had to do was tell the kid he's having trouble finding those and that he'll see what he can do," another commenter said. "He still gets to be clown and deny the kid, but the kid likely walks away without bursting into tears."
"I would have been screaming at him and demanding to see a manager if he had sent my son into tears like that," another person declared.
UPDATE - 12/8/20
Thanks for sharing morning coffee with me!


The elevator doors of Tokyo Imperial Hotel glide open and I walk towards the crisp white door framed by a glowing white entryway. I walk down the clinic's sterile white hallway, enchanted by the glowing modernity, to meet one of Japan's best plastic surgeons.
A series of fateful connections bring me here, and I have the fortune to meet Dr. Utsugi, a kind mentor who introduces me to the world of alternative and integrative medicine in Japan.
Navigating the stream of humanity in Tokyo's business district, we make our way to the clinic of Dr. Karo Maeda, M.D., Ph.D., who is the president of the Association of Cancer Energy Annihilation Therapy (CEAT).
Before Dr. Maeda shares his time with us, he receives two patients, and I observe a practical demonstration of the Bi-Digital O-Ring test (BDORT). Discovered by Dr. Yoshiaki Omura of New York Medical College, this is a non-invasive test for detecting the presence of imbalances in the human system – such as cancer.
Dr. Maeda begins by explaining that cancer develops in stages. In between DNA mutation and prior to the development of a detectable tumor, there exists a latent period during which cancer is undetectable by conventional methods, yet cancer energy is already present.
Dr. Maeda uses this graphic to illustrate the trajectory of cancer development. To the left of the y-axis, cancer is not detectable by standard means. To the right, conventional medicine detects what has already developed into tumors.
The underlying principle of BDORT (and all cancer treatment, ostensibly), is that the earlier the cancer is detected, the greater the chance of eradicating it becomes. Unlike conventional detection methods, BDORT is able to detect cancer earlier. That's the simple premise of this technique.
Bi-Digital refers to two digits of one hand, forming an 'o'. With one hand, the patient holds a sample of a particular cancer tissue and with the other hand the patient holds an "o" shape, maintaining consistent pressure.
The clinician tries to move the patient's fingers apart while passing a sensor (mental or laser) over specific points on the patient's body.
The principle behind detection is that when the sensor passes over an area of the body which contains the same energy as that in the sample held by the patient, the frequency levels of the respective energies coincide and this causes the muscles of the patient's hand to weaken briefly despite consistently maintained pressure, which allows the clinician to pull them apart easily and visualize where and what type of cancer is developing.
Interestingly, an experienced clinician (such as Dr. Maeda) can make the detection with the help of an assistant. In this case, the patient stands before the assistant, who holds a sample in the hand that moves the sensor along the patient's body and the other hand is reached out to the clinician, who attempts to part the closed O-ring.
Should the O-Ring test reveal the presence of cancer energy, the treatment that Dr. Maeda prescribes is microwave irradiation therapy.
The idea behind this therapy is to kill cancer cells with heat, while leaving normal cells intact. One main difference between normal and cancer cells allows for this to happen: normal cells have a high level of vessel vascularization, while cancer cells have little to no vascularization.
When the irradiation hits the targeted group of cells, cancer cells heat up while normal cells retain their temperature of 37°C since they are exposed to the cooling effects of their surrounding blood vessels. Vessels act as a cooling system, and those cells which lack this system (the cancer cells) perish due to rapid heating.
Dr. Maeda points out that the change in energy frequency (and subsequent heating of cells) must occur very rapidly, since a gradual change in frequency will overpower the vessels' cooling capacity and both types of cells will be harmed.
Since we're speaking through an interpreter, some things get lost in translation, but I find Dr. Maeda's explanation clear and very interesting nonetheless. Below: Dr. Maeda with Dr. Utsugi and me in his office.
While hearing about "cancer energy" might render some skeptical, the logic behind the methods seems clear to me. I'm left curious to learn more.
During my time in Tokyo, Dr. Utsugi also introduces me to Dr. Yoshitane Akiyama. Dr. Akiyama is a physician and lawyer, who has not eaten for the past 9 years. I'm really surprised when Dr. Utsugi explains this for the first time. I have a chance to meet Dr. Akiyama in person, albeit briefly, and learn that he has transitioned to using prana-nourishment (energy nourishment) instead of food.
This time, it is a stretch for me to wrap my mind around the idea. Dr. Akiyama mentions Jasmuheen, a proponent of prana nourishment, who inspired him to embark on this path.
Writing this, I'm decide to research further and come across a fragment from a documentary called "In The Beginning There Was Light" – which details a scientific study conducted on Yogi Prahlad Jani who has not eaten/drunk water in more than 60 years. Watching this, I became less quick to dismiss the idea of pranic nourishment as impossible.
Lastly, Dr. Utsugi introduces me to a man by the name of Masuaki Kiyota, a psychic who is able to bend metal with his mind.
Kiyota-San invites me to his home and shares his practice, demonstrating how it is possible to twist, and "cut" a metal spoon with the mind. Being likewise skeptical about this at the start, my mind is changed when I see the phenomenon occur right before my eyes.
Kiyota-San explains that in order to achieve this, he concentrates on a vision of what the outcome will look like. By focusing on it with extreme concentration, he is able to achieve the unlikely transformation.
It seems too incredible to be true, but there I am, holding a twisted spoon in my hand.
This week teaches me some things about having an open mind. By being open, you open your eyes to seeing something that was always there but you would never have been able to see before. Once again, I'm left with a growing curiosity to understand energy-based healing and the vast power of the mind over matter.
Tomo's mother gracefully ushered me into one of the beautiful rooms within their traditional Japanese home, fitted with iconic tatami-clad floors and rice paper sliding doors.
I couldn't believe my good fortune. A few days ago, I had taken a bus to a distant neighborhood of Kyoto, navigating my way with lots of stumbles and broken google translate communication. Ever since arriving in Japan I have felt somewhat like a clumsy child, drifting through the sea of this culture, occasionally finding myself hopelessly lost in translation.
Sometimes, I'd be left feeling somewhat lonely and feeling out of place, but I'd find pretty often these moods to be punctuated with gifts like this one. I had met Tomo getting off the bus. I thought I had been doing well so far, finding the correct bus (after 4 tries, but I reasoned that I wasn't limited by time at the moment, my optimism kicking in) and finding my way to the correct place understanding 0% of the kanji written to guide me.
I guess I must have looked a lot more lost than I actually felt, because Tomo took pity on me and offered to help me find my way. On our way he told me that his mother practiced the art of traditional Japanese tea ceremony and invited me to come to their home.
The ritual Japanese tea ceremony is an elegant performance of preparing and presenting matcha (powdered green tea). Elaborate ceremonies can go on for hours, my new friends explained.
Wagashi (Japanese sweets) are served before the tea to counteract any bitterness. The tea utensils (tea container, tea scoop, and tea bowl) are ceremoniously cleaned and hot water is whisked into the matcha powder. The more froth there is in the tea bowl, I learned, the greater the tea master's skill.
Tomo's mother, Machiko, explained that the beauty of the ritual comes from its silence and simplicity. Tomo, his sister Akari, and I sat in seiza position (sitting on bent knees), as Machiko served us beautiful wagashi resembling unopened cherry blossoms.
Machiko thoughtfully and gracefully went through a series of choreographed movements as she folded a small red cloth she'd use to clean the tea elements.
Each step had its own meaning and significance. Using a bamboo ladle to scoop the boiled water from the iron teapot submerged in the floor, she would pour only half of the contents into the bowl of tea, carefully emptying the rest back into the pot from a height just enough to make a loud splashing sound.
My new friends explained many similar intricacies to me, and I was finally given the honor of preparing a cup of tea for the hostess herself (the family reassuring me that if Akari's 6 year old boy could do it, then so could I). Encouraged, I tried my best to follow Machiko's graceful example.
There was no question that the atmosphere of the ceremony, its prescribed and orderly steps, and the simple aesthetic appeal of it all elevated this ritual to a form of art. Even when exiting and entering the room, Machiko would first kneel, open the sliding door, get up once more, kneel once again, close the door, and only then proceed.
The family explained that these seemingly superfluous movements created space, creating stillness. They were the antidote to rushing through life, blowing by beauty without noticing it. The minute steps of the ritual and their prescribed order served as a meditation. One could not go through the procedure mindlessly without making many mistakes.
The Japanese tea ceremony captured the essence of a Zen mindset: simplicity, clarity, and purity. Perhaps we could all add a few extra steps to our day and practice tea meditation.
As much as the ceremony itself, I'll always remember the incredibly selfless kindness this family showed to me by inviting me to their home and sharing a treasured piece of Japanese culture with me. It through moments like this that Japan continues to grow on me, quietly showing me the hidden gems of its beautiful culture.
My journey has now taken me to a new country and a new culture. I've come to the land of dragons. Thailand's culture is deeply rooted in Buddhism, and so far it has proved to be the perfect ground for me to explore mind-body healing.
Living in Chiang Mai and Pai, I've seen tourism run rampant. Where there are tourists, tradition often feels commercialized to an outsider's eye. It is true for city temples and Thai massage centers.
Perhaps it is not a wonder. On average, a one hour full-body massage costs only 200 Baht (3 US dollars). Training courses at big massage schools are also commercialized, so I never thought I'd end up studying Thai massage during my time here.
My line of fate had different ideas in mind for me. While in Pai, a new friend found a one-on-one training course in Chiang Mai, and suddenly I found myself heading back to Chiang Mai to study Traditional Thai Massage with Ming, an excellent and patient teacher.
Over the course of 3 days and 15 hours, I learned the skills of performing a full body Thai massage: legs, feet, arms, hands, back, and head & face. Ming estimated it would take roughly 3 hours to complete the full massage, quite exhausting for the massage therapist!
A Thai massage is not a soothing affair: a good massage puts quite strong pressure on the nerves and muscles. The placement of hands must be precise – if the strong pressure falls on a bone, the pain can be quite strong. Some of my friends have shared stories of sore limbs and bruises after a careless massage.
The philosophy behind the massage is that there are "sen" – energy lines flowing through the body. In addition to the body and mind, there is energy, which envelops the two. Energy lines form a second skin, and disturbances or blockages in energy can cause illness.
Energy lines can be stimulated through massage, which restores the proper flow of life energy.
On my last day in Pai, I had an amazing ceremony to complete my second level of Reiki training. While my course with Ming primarily emphasized the physical technique of hand placement and pressure, I felt I could combine the two energy-based techniques to achieve a strong healing presence.
In fact, I found that performing the massage required patience and while working, I settled into a pattern that felt meditative as a result of its rhythmic nature.
The next step of my journey takes me to the New Life Foundation: a mindfulness-based drug and alcohol addiction recovery center in Chiang Rai (also North Thailand). While here I hope to practice the combination of my newly gained Thai massage and Reiki skills. I am curious to witness the outcome of energy healing firsthand.
Until recently, I had not experienced the terror of facing a serious illness, completely alone, and in a foreign country.
I believe that mindfulness has the power to calm our minds and help us through even the most difficult situations. However, when I fell ill with severe food poisoning and enteric fever in Hampi (South India), the strength of my convictions was thoroughly tested.
Something strange happened: I failed miserably at practicing mindfulness, and yet without it I would have been lost for sure.
When first admitted to a hospital in the tiny town of Hospet (a miserable, miserable jostling 70 km drive from where I was staying in Hampi), I felt a strong sense of panic through a heavy haze of delirium.
Having now lived in India for 3 months, I now know that it takes time to get adjusted to how different some things can be in this country from what we're used to at home. But adjusting in my present state and setting turned out to be quite a difficult task.
As I shuffled blearily into the doctor's office, a stone-faced nurse told me to lie down on a decrepit cot concealed behind a glass wall at the rear of the office. As I lay facing towards the barred window, tears slowly running down my face, I remember thinking: what is going to happen to me now?
At that moment, the thought came to me that I was still breathing. No matter how miserable, how terrible I felt, I could count on one thing: my breath. The face of the kind Buddhist sister who had taught us to remember our breath came to my mind, and for a minute this thought gave me great comfort.
But not for long. A man had now entered to take a blood sample from me. Nobody washed their hands, nobody wore gloves. Although my arm was cursorily swabbed with some ethanol-soaked cotton, dirty fingers expedited the drying process by patting the excess alcohol off my arm. I cringed (and understandably overreacting) decided this is how it was going to end for me. In this hospital. If not from my food poisoning, then from septic shock.
I suppose it comes from working in a US hospital for some time, but so many of the medical practices at this village hospital came as a blatant shock to me.
The greatest was that I didn't see a nurse wash her hands once. Gloves were not worn. Over the course of 3 days under a steady IV drip, I had to keep track of stopping my own drip when the IV bag ran out of fluid (once I stopped it right before a HUGE air bubble made its way down to my vein, which probably would have caused a deadly air embolism…yes, I googled that while my phone still had power).
At one point, a rushed nurse lazily flushed the IV tube for air bubbles (which I was now terrified of) upon my request. Unfortunately, she did this by disconnecting the IV from the permanent port installed into my vein, flushed the excess liquid directly onto the ground (and also my bed), and then WITHOUT STOPPING THE FLUID FLOW, reconnected the tube back to my arm.
My vein closed up. The doctor had to supervise another port to be installed into my other arm.
I'd held on through everything up to that point, accepting things as they came. The myriad of antibiotics, cycled through one by one until a horse-tranquilizer-dose antibiotic was identified as the last thing that would keep my fever down.
The communication was bad: I was just given tablets, not told what they were, or how they would help me.
After my vein shut following the botched IV flushing incident, I couldn't take it anymore.
At this point, both my US phone and my local phone had run out of battery, leaving me stranded from the world. I couldn't call my dad. I felt such an intense fear and anger that all liminal efforts at remaining mindful evaporated as quickly as dew under a strong summer sun.
What had I done to this nurse for her to punish me with such carelessness?
After calming down, I remembered to once again alter my focus. The antibiotics were working. I wasn't going to die, that wasn't a risk any longer. The infant wailing forcefully for hours on end down the hallway probably had it much worse than me. I tried to stop feeling sorry for myself, and start feeling grateful for being ok, at least in a relative sense of the word.
Depending on how my perspective shifted, I oscillated between periods of feeling intense gratitude for being in a medical facility, getting urgent care (at these moments I wanted to promise to come work for them free of charge upon completing my medical degree), and other times I felt the kind of terror that I've rarely felt before in my life. Sharp anger at what I perceived to be injustice undeservingly directed at me.
Ultimately, however awful this experience might have been, it taught me a lot. It reaffirmed for me how much perspective can influence how we react to our circumstances.
It also made me better understand what it means to ask a very ill person to practice mindfulness. In chronic cases, it is a shining beacon of hope. At stable stages of my hospital stay, I practiced Reiki chakra alignment, worked on becoming aware of my breath, and felt that these really helped.
However, following incidents that brought me great distress, mindfulness flew out the window. All that was left was my own ego. Empathy, noticing, everything else was gone.
Even though I knew I'd make it out of this place alive after the first day, I still felt these moments of hopelessness so frequently. I remember lying and thinking what it must have been like for my mom, when she knew the cancer would not recede.
If my own situation, so trivial in comparison, was still so difficult for me to cope with, what was it like for her? How can we ask someone with a terminal illness to "be mindful of your breath, change your perspective, appreciate what you have…"?
Yes, it might be possible in theory, but more than ever before I now realize how nearly impossible this can be.
While I've recovered now from this whole ordeal, these thoughts that my experience has planted in my mind will remain with me. It is something I will need to revisit again and again on my path of becoming a healer.
Empathy in medicine, after all, is supreme.
Piled up comfortably in the car, we glided into the misty morning fog on the road leading out of Mysore. The Maharajas were pretty awesome city planners, I have to say.
Mysore is a striking south Indian city – small, and so beautifully planned. Sprawling historic bungalows line wide roads, a canopy of arching rain trees shooting into the sky overhead. They call Bangalore the garden city, but I think Mysore has a better claim to that title.
The first order of the day after our 5:45 am start was to order some piping-hot steamed idlies – a delicious and popular south Indian breakfast dish, served with coconut chutney and sambar.
We had some delicious vadas too – savory spicy fried doughnuts, green chilies hiding inside.
Half the fun of this trip was hanging out the car windows, trying to capture the rural village life that flickered passed us along the roadside. Pastoral snapshots of the grain and sugarcane harvest, cattle-pulled carts on the road, brightly colored simple village homes.
One of our first stops once we had left Mysore was to stop to take pictures of some women washing clothes in the lake, inside an old abandoned roadside stone hut. Usually I would have been shy to approach such a scene, but G and the children had already ventured inside to watch, while A and I had been busy snapping photos from afar (I'm omitting names, out of respect for the privacy of my friends).
Women and men will take clothes in for washing to earn money. Very hard work for little pay.
Despite the hard work, people are happy. The laugh, smile, and joke in between work.
A beautiful landscape of tall swaying sugarcane fronds, fiery marigolds, and coconut palms in the distance next captured our attention. We pulled up by a rustic roadside stand, and walked towards the fields.
A man stood off in the distance. Catching us watching him, he stood observing for a moment. Then he waved. We were a novelty to the people living here, people just the same, yet so different too.
What's a bicycle without some flowers?
It was still pretty early in the morning when we arrived at our first (planned) sightseeing stop: Kesava temple. This was a beautiful and ancient Hindu temple, intricately carved out of stone.
The amount of detail in the stone carvings is incredible.
Walking through the main entrance gates, we beheld the majestic temple. We walked clockwise around the structure before entering it, taking in the temple's beauty. The exterior carvings were made in tiers around the temple. On the bottom layer, stone elephants held the weight of everyone above, which included peacocks, dancers, warriors, and deities.
The winding road next took us to see Bharachukki falls. A told us that during the monsoon season, the waters gushed forth with unbelievable strength. Now, in the peak of winter and dry season, the falls were not quite so full, but we still had a spectacular view to the pools of water below our viewing platform.
There were a few more visitors to the falls apart from the regular tourists. We cautiously approached one friend who had been treated to some watermelon by a fellow visitor. Later, when the children were climbing up a tree, said friend also decided to join, scooting right past J on his way up (freaking out both children).
We got pretty close, but still tried to keep our distance, the monkeys can be aggressive sometimes. Our friend here, however, seemed perfectly content munching on a cool slice of watermelon while posing for photographs.
After a refreshing tender coconut drink, we climbed back into our trusty car. Talk of biriyani began to make frequent debuts in the car conversation, so by popular demand we found a nice hotel to make a stop at for some food (hotels are synonymous for restaurants).
We had awesome chicken biriyani and the most delicious kebobs I've ever tasted, all in a very simple roadside eatery, just feet away from the dusty road.
As the sun began to head for the West, we finished our adventure on the sandy banks of the Cauvery River. I've not yet visited the banks of the Ganges, but our visit gave me a little glimpse into what the crowds might be like.
People crowded the shores, swimming, splashing, screaming, laughing, and watching. Coracle boats bobbed near the shoreline, and we eagerly piled into this basket boat. The boatman guided us away from the crowd using a tall wooden pole.
On a sliver of an island in the middle of the river, we saw beautiful white egrets and black ibises resting amid tall grasses. The coracle had taken us away from the human crowd and brought us closer to nature. Some brave souls had also swum to this opposite bank on their own, climbing out of the water with glistening bodies.
As a last treat, much to little A's delight, the boatman used the pole to spin the coracle around in the water, leaving us dizzy and ecstatically happy as we clambered back onto shore.
We saw lots of food stands on our way back to the car, selling chat (snacks!). We tried a chickpea flour-battered, deep fried green chili and the kids ordered a newspaper cone filled with sort of crunchy puffed rice with masala seasoning.
I'm amazed by how much we were able to see on our journey, and I will cherish the feeling of blissful peace I think we all experienced on this adventure.
Most of all, I enjoyed meeting people from villages we passed. G often made a point to drive slowly, giving us a chance to take pictures and even chat with the locals. One brave girl sat on the back of a bicycle, chatting away happily with us as her friend peddled alongside our car. Some village boys came to sit on a little bridge, smiling shyly when they noticed me taking their picture.
Every day, life brings me reminders of how lucky I am to be in Mysore, in the company of such awesome friends. Their humor, kindness, beautiful and lively spirits make each day simply a pleasure. And then there are little gems like this trip, nestled amongst my Mysore days, such wealth words can't describe. In India, I've found my home.
"Do you know what the word "yoga" means?" my teacher asks me, sitting directly across from me in the Yogashala hall, in the lively crowded part of Mysore. Old Mysore, close to the famous palace.
There are no trendy-yoga-pants-wearing, starbucks-in-hand, gucci-handbag-toting ladies here. For our evening session, 6-8 women come after work, wearing their saris. Donning our sweatpants and t-shirts, we begin the evening practice.
On Saturdays, the ladies don't come. It's a coveted time of spending time with their children, resting from work. But Kanchen, my teacher, kindly meets with me one-on-one. I'm glad she does, because this whole Ashtanga yoga thing is very new to me.
The first day when I try to follow along with the other women, I make a lot of mistakes. Something crunches in my tailbone area, the sharp jolt of pain reminding me that I can harm myself trying to keep up with everyone else.
I'll need to ease into this new practice, my 22-year old body an old soul, more akin to that of a 50-year old human.
"And…?" she questions. I'm drawing a blank. "And a higher power? The universe?" No, she laughs. I like this teaching method. It feels like I'm being shown up by a wise guru who easily dispatches of me in a martial-arts battle of words. Not in a hurtful way, but in a way that teaches me humility, and more importantly, curiosity.
What is the point of asanas (yoga postures) anyway? What is the point of yoga? First thing that came to my mind was physical health, but our discussion quickly leads me to see that this is just a by-product of yoga practice. It's not the point.
Yoga, Kanchen explained, means "link." It links four things: breathing, posture, gaze, and stamina (being able to hold position with comfortable stability). In sitting meditation, we focus on our breathing. Yoga is a form of meditation in which you pay attention to these four elements together. Definitely not an easy task!
So the purpose? The same as meditation. Kanchen referred to it as learning to recognize the "super soul" present within each of us. The higher power isn't outside of us, it is simply within. We are already enlightened, we just have to realize this, a Zen Buddhist might say.
Yoga, with all of its various branches, is but a means to an end. The ultimate end, then, is for us to connect with our "super soul," our inner Buddha, the God of Love within us. Humans have many words and guises for this phenomenon, but in the end, it is all the same experience, I believe. The mystic experience can't be divided by the boundaries of religions.
It's now been almost two weeks since I've moved to Mysore. Serendipitously, a friend I made at the Dr. Alan Wallace conference in Bangalore had introduced me to one of her dear friends in Mysore. This kind and loving family has taken me in, and I've been staying with them ever since leaving Cochin.
Each morning, Dolly and I get off to an early start at 5:30 am. We take an early morning moped ride to Audrey's home (Dolly's sister), moving quickly through the still-dark and crisp morning air.
Though the building's stairwell is dark, an inviting warm light emanating from under Audrey's door greets us. Inside, Audrey and Paul (a kind and wise yoga teacher friend from Ireland) have already taken their places on yoga mats. Sneaking in a few minutes late, we sheepishly sit down and Paul begins to lead our 6 am yoga class.
After a restorative cup of green tea, Paul and I leave to travel to the Yogashala, yoga mats and multiple bags somehow tucked onto a moped already carrying two people.
I love the early morning hours marking the beginning of a new day in India. Lots of people commute to work on their mopeds and motorcycles, children dressed in school uniforms laugh together in small groups, street vendors prepare their vegetable and fruit carts, cows nonchalantly walk on the roads, grazing on grass and (unfortunately) some piles of garbage. Once, I saw a small group of monkeys making their way along the street.
I've convinced Kanchen, my yoga teacher, to meet with me one-on-one in the mornings, as the evening session turned out to be too advanced for a beginner like me. Kanchen is very knowledgeable and shares insights into yoga philosophy with me in addition to introducing me to the asanas.
Later, at 11, I join the students enrolled in the teacher training course at the Yogashala for Pranayama lessons. Pranayama is a practice of controlling the breath. Deep, controlled, very slow breathing stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells – Kanchen's scientific explanation for the practice. More blood cells means more oxygen delivered to all of the body's tissues, which results in increased strength and health.
Chant studies with Jayashree and Narasimhan (last row, middle). My yoga teachers, Kanchen and Paul (front row, woman wearing purple sari, man wearing white).
The course in Pranayama is taught by Guruji BNS Iyengar, a revered teacher.
Once the Pranayama course ends, I catch an auto rickshaw to 'I Can' – a wonderful and ambitious Montessori school founded by Audrey and Dolly. In addition to yoga, I'm also volunteering as a teacher. I've started working with the 40 lively young souls in I Can's kindergarten class – an exhilarating, rewarding, and exhausting experience.
There I was, sitting on my bus from Mysore to Kalpetta, a small town situated somewhere between Kozhikode (Calicut) and Mysore. Suggested to me by a friend (thanks Priya!), I decided to venture well off the beaten path to explore some of India's beautiful natural landmarks.
My bus somewhat resembled a schoolbus, but instead of glass in the windows, there were just bars. Some natural air conditioning! We bounced along for three hours, keeping me on the edge of my seat as we weaved in and out of rapidly oncoming traffic at a good speedy pace.
Driving along this wide road, we passed some small villages and settlements, separated by farmland and coconut tree plantations. At one of these hubs of civilizations, I saw an interesting scene: monkeys sitting quite close to the small stone houses and an untethered wild boar. I'm not sure what the boar was doing there, but it was certainly cool to see!
At another point, an open plot of farmland was being upturned by a farmer guiding a plow pulled by two oxen. The further we moved away from Mysore, the more frequently I began to see herds of animals: goats, cows, a donkey here and there, being guided by their herders, who mostly consisted of women clad in bright fabrics.
As we passed through a nature preserve, I spotted a few monkeys sitting by the side of the road. When the bus was stopped for inspection, a few more curious souls clambered through the tree branches nearby to see what the commotion was about.
Kalpetta itself was a very small town. After spending a few weeks living and traveling in South India, I've come to this conclusion: most of the small towns are like nodes along a main arterial road/highway connecting cities.
Kalpetta was just this: lots of shops, little bakeries, fruit stands, tourist homes, hotels sprung up along the main road. A symphony of patchwork construction, bustling with schoolchildren, goats, the occasional cow walking ON the road with the other vehicles, shopkeepers, auto rickshaws, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, women and men going about their day. I felt like an ant in the middle of a well-established ant trail.
I stayed in a lovely homestay with a family who not only made my stay very pleasant, but also offered to show me around the area. So, together with the family's nephew, we set out on a "motorcycle safari," to visit some of the local natural landmarks.
First on the list was Chembra peak. The travel itself was not without excitement. I sat on the back of the motorcycle clutching the rear hand-holds for dear life. The best/worst part was going up the winding road leading up the mountain. As nearly every turn was a blind one, we honked each time to give warning to the unsuspecting autorickshaw, motorcycle, or car zooming around the corner…But we were rewarded with spectacular views of vastly stretching tea plantations.
The hike up was lovely, and not too long. Apparently during the rainy season, leeches come out and attack people's feet, but luckily it was pretty dry and no creepy crawlies were detected…The peak itself isn't accessible for hikers, as there are many rare orchid species and medicinal plants used in Ayurveda that grow at that altitude (our seasoned guide explained).
As a consolation, we did reach a cool heart-shaped lake that contained very tiny and very hungry fish – when I held onto a cookie with my hand submerged in the water, they swarmed, vying to take chunks off of the cookie (and my hand, which was less crumbly than the cookie, luckily for me).
Winding further through the small rural roads, we also visited Soochipara falls– a beautiful waterfall amidst many scenic tea plantations. An easy walk compared to the morning hike, the falls were a popular destination for many tourists – many braved the cool water to take a bath in the waterfall.