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29 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 7ES
2:22 A Ghost Story
Keep your little ones entertained and enchanted with We're Going on a Bear Hunt tickets
Acclaimed theatre director Sally Cookson returns once more to the stage with the fun-filled stage adaptation of popular children's book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Playing at the West End's Lyric Theatre throughout the summer, the adventurous story is guaranteed to enchant theatregoers of all ages with its music, colour and thrilling puppetry.
Last seen at the Lyric Theatre in 2013, We're Going on a Bear Hunt is the vivid stage version of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's 1989 illustrated novel, which quickly became one of the fastest selling children's books. Fresh from an international tour, the production brings to life the intrepid family and their musical dog, who are on a quest to find a bear.
Journeying through massive swishy grass, to a splishy splashy river, and even thick, oozing mud, the fun-filled extravaganza features catchy songs and interactive scenes that include the whole audience! A hands-on adventure that is packed full of bright colours and eye-catching scenery, expect lots of noise in this acclaimed show. Will they find a bear?
We're Going on a Bear Hunt is brought to life by four cast members, including Joseph Carey as Dad, Christopher Smart as Boy, Rebecca Newman as Girl and Benjamin Hills as Dog/Musician, with Jordan Turner as Understudy/ASM.
The production is directed by Sally Cookson, whose credits include Hetty Feather and Jane Eyre, and features original music and lyrics by Benji Bower. Further creative team includes designer Katie Sykes, lighting designer Tony Simpson and sound designer Jason Barnes, as well as puppet maker Marc Parrett.
Playing a limited season at London's Lyric Theatre over the summer, We're Going on a Bear Hunt runs from July 4th to September 2nd 2018.
We're Going on a Bear Hunt is suitable for those aged 3 and up. Under 18 months are permitted and do not require a paid ticket, but parents must speak to the box office in the theatre on the day in order to be issued with a baby comp.


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UNC Asheville's NEMAC Partner in Creating New Coastal Resilience Evaluation and Siting Tool
Coastal resilience assessment areas where conservation projects would best protect human communities and improve habitat for wildlife
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) has announced the release of the Regional Coastal Resilience Assessment and the creation of a new analytical tool that can identify specific coastal areas with the greatest potential to boost community resilience while also improving habitats for fish and wildlife.
For nearly four years, NFWF has partnered with UNC Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC), as well as NOAA, in conducting the Regional Assessment and creating the new Coastal Resilience Evaluation and Siting Tool (CREST). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided review and comment.
"Protecting communities while benefiting wildlife is a huge win-win for coastal regions of the United States," said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. "The assessment and this new tool will help conservation nonprofits, government agencies and local communities identify areas where they can maximize return on investment and achieve multiple community resilience and conservation outcomes."
The Regional Assessment and CREST use nationwide, standardized datasets to analyze potential project sites throughout the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific coastlines. The tool identifies "Resilience Hubs," areas of open space surrounding the densest population centers and immediate community infrastructure, where valuable natural resources and habitats can provide protection to human populations and critical infrastructure that face the greatest risk of flooding from coastal storms and changing sea levels.
CREST is not intended to supplant but may serve as a useful complement to ongoing or completed state and community level coastal restoration and protection plans.
Access to CREST, available online at ResilientCoasts.org, allows users to explore the assessments, underlying data, and to find potential restoration opportunities. In addition, users can analyze specific project sites for their benefits to fish and wildlife habitat and to community resilience. Complete data, including input datasets, are also available for download.
All assessments are available through NFWF's website here, along with final reports, maps and detailed methodology.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Why is Trump so embarrassed about his Assets?
There have been a lot of allegations about how rich Trump is not. Don't get me wrong. Trump is rich compared to you and I and 99% of the world.
But Trump claims to be worth $10 Billion. Which turns out to be as suspect as claiming 10 inches. He's just super cagey about showing off the actual meat that makes up his $10 Billion.
He won't show his tax returns which all modern Candidates do. If you will recall, Romney was very reluctant too. He managed to hold out until September, with reporters making huge hay over his reluctance. I'm not sure how long Trump will hold.
But Trump's reluctance, unlike Romney's, is not centered on trying to avoid the perception of being one of the elite super rich. No. Trump is ALL ABOUT BEING RICH. So why is he being shy?
Well, most pundits think it's because he's been exaggerating the inches cash and assets. Most of these people still think he's a Billionaire. One source called him a Low Ball Billionaire. Can you imagine? Somehow being a billionaire comes with a status indicator. What the Fuck?
Anyway. Forbes thinks he's got 4.5 Billion. What I find mind boggling is that people seem to think this makes a difference. $10 Billion vs 4.5 Billion. Whaaat? Are they kidding? Do they have any concept of what a billion is?
But there are others who would lower him down to mere Millionaire Status, saying he's not even a Billionaire. In 2006 when Trump was claiming a mere $6 Billion, Timothy O'Brien claimed he was only worth between $150 million and $250 million. Trump sued him and lost. Now Trump claims $10 Billion.
Here's the thing, Trump is selling assets to pay for this campaign. He's not particularly liquid in cash. But that's doesn't mean he's not a Billionaire. Or just a super rich Millionaire. He's rich. Very Rich. Liquid Money is money that isn't earning much or any money. It would be a foolish Billionaire who was very liquid.
Trump is embarrassed about how rich he is. Not because he's too rich, like Romney was. Because he's not rich enough. He's been bragging about his size and now people want him to drop trou and he's feeling all kinds of awkward about being found short.
Add into his natural inadequacy all the ways he manipulated those tax returns to minimize his taxable income and gains and he's going to look VERY short of his boasts. He thinks no one will understand that he's really rich.
I bet he isn't even thinking about how we will be pissed about his tax avoidance. He's worried that we will realize he's not as Rich as He Claims to Be. He thinks we be will be focused on how short it seems.
Which considering the length and breadth of his lies to date is an interesting insight into his psyche. He's an unrepentant and unembarrassed liar. But he feels inadequate about money.
He wants to be seated near the Head of the Table by Bill Gates, but he's afraid everyone will find out that maybe he's not even IN the Billions Club, much less being anywhere close the head of the table.
He feels insecure about how he's not rich enough.
It's pathetic. And disturbing that this is the sort of person people want to run this country. A man who's house of cards will be brought down by a dick wealth measuring contest.
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4 thoughts on "Why is Trump so embarrassed about his Assets?"
I think a big thing for both Romney and Trump is how little taxes they pay compared to normal people. Romney paid less than half the rate I do and wrote off things like race horses and trips to Europe. Tax returns don't really show how much money you have at a given time but how much you earn, and how much taxes you paid on it. Or didn't pay. My guess is Trump paid less than 10% of his income on taxes, possibly even 0%, and might have had large subsidies, meaning his tax rate is negative – he is getting more from the government than he's paying in. That might not make people who are paying 33% + (including SS, medicare, state taxes, etc.) on their meager incomes happy. Truth is, "welfare" for the rich is much much larger than welfare for the poor and people like Trump don't want the general population to realize it – Fox News has already made the poor the villains of our economy, if people knew the real villains were the rich we might have another revolution….
You are right that its disgusting that he and all the rich people are paying so little while pretending they aren't getting any "entitlements" from the government.
But I doubt he's worried about that. I could be wrong. He loves that he's super rich. His supporters love that he's super rich. He gets pissed when people say he's not as rich as he says he is.
I still think he's more worried about that than at what rational people will be legitimately upset about.
Maybe you are right. Being rich was hard on Romney's campaign. And he wasn't as rich as Trump. But Romney was an idiot about it. He should have claimed his richness and been as proud as Trump.
The monkey brains love confidence. They despise shame. I think our perception that Romney was somehow trying to hide his Elite Rich thing hurt him more than Trump's irrational pride over it.
You could be right – he does like to talk about how rich he is and attacks anybody who contradicts it.
It's been my experience that people like Trump are sensitive about things like that for one of two reasons; A) they are using the thing in question (money, boat, car, whatever) as a way of compensating for some personal inadequacy, either mental or physical. Or B) it gives them a feeling of satisfaction for being something rare, part of an exclusive group, being something special. Sometimes the two needs overlap.
In Trump's case, it's probably A, he becomes extremely defensive about his wealth because, to him at least, it is being subconsciously (probably) used as a substitute for some personal inadequacy. That's why he's so defensive about it – someone criticizing his wealth threatens to expose him. Not him lying about how much money he has, but expose whatever inadequacy he possibly does not consciously realize he is compensating for.
Who knows? Maybe he really does have "small hands"?


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The Mission Creep
Posted on August 22, 2006 by maha
Reactions to yesterday's press conference, in which the President vowed repeatedly to "complete the mission" in Iraq:
PRESIDENT BUSH EMPHASIZED no fewer than 10 times in his news conference Monday that U.S. forces would not leave Iraq "before the job is done." It's a clever piece of rhetoric, appealing to Americans' sense of duty as well as their pride. Just one question: What was that job again?
Is it to end the sectarian violence in Iraq? Prevent terrorists from flocking to the United States? Bring democracy to Iraq and thus provide a beacon for reformers throughout the Middle East? …
… At times, the loudest noise at his news conference was the sound of mission creep. [Editorial, Los Angeles Times]
For a moment there, I was almost encouraged. George W. Bush, the most resolutely incurious and inflexible of presidents, was reported last week to have been surprised at seeing Iraqi citizens — who ought to be grateful beneficiaries of the American occupation, I mean "liberation" — demonstrating in support of Hezbollah and against Israel.
Surprise would be a start, since it would mean the Decider was admitting novel facts to his settled base of knowledge and reacting to them. Alas, it seems the door to the presidential mind is still locked tight. "I don't remember being surprised," he said at his news conference yesterday. "I'm not sure what they mean by that."
I'm guessing "they" might mean that when you try to impose your simplistic, black-and-white template on a kaleidoscopic world, and you end up setting the Middle East on fire, either you're surprised or you're not paying attention. But that's just me. [Eugene Robinson, "President on Another Planet," Washington Post]
One exchange did not inspire confidence. A reporter asked,
Mr. President, I'd like to go back to Iraq. You've continually cited the elections, the new government, its progress in Iraq, and yet the violence has gotten worse in certain areas. You've had to go to Baghdad again. Is it not time for a new strategy? And if not, why not?
Bush responded,
You've covered the Pentagon, you know that the Pentagon is constantly adjusting tactics because they have the flexibility from the White House to do so.
The reporter–who was not asking about tactics–interrupted:
I'm talking about strategy.
Bush then said:
The strategy is to help the Iraqi people achieve their objectives and their dreams, which is a democratic society. That's the strategy.
Actually, that's not a strategy. That's a goal. A commander in chief should know the difference. A strategy is how one goes about–in a general way–accomplishing goals. Tactics are how one implements the strategy. [David Corn]
I've blogged about the Administration's confusing goals for strategy before. It's plain Bush does not know what the word strategy means.
Pretty much regardless of what he was asked, Bush had the same answer: That anything short of his policies is tantamount to surrendering to terrorists and would be disastrous.
Bush seemed much happier reframing the questions than answering them.
"And the question facing this country is, will — do we, one, understand the threat to America? In other words, do we understand that a failed — failed states in the Middle East are a direct threat to our country's security? And secondly, will we continue to stay engaged in helping reformers, in working to advance liberty, to defeat an ideology that doesn't believe in freedom?" he asked. [Dan Froomkin, "President on a Mission," Washingtonpost.com]
In this case Bush confuses execution with intention. If you disagree with his policies, it must be because you disagree with his intentions for Iraq. He can't admit that whatever we're doing in Iraq shows no promise of fulfilling those intentions. I've written about this disconnect before, too, such as here. And here's a Washington Post op ed from last May by law professor David Cole, who says that the President's "war" against terrorism is all about rhetoric and symbolism, not substance. "Tough talk in news conferences, overheated charges that evaporate under scrutiny and executions for symbolic purposes will not make us safer," Cole wrote. Yet that's all we're getting from this President.
The sad thing is that he's right about what a catastrophe it would be if Iraq became a failed state, or a satellite of Iran, but seems to me it's heading in that direction anyway.
The exchange I described in the last post, in which Bush tried once again to associate September 11 and Iraq, got considerable attention in the press. Jim Rutenberg writes for The New York Times,
The White House has argued that the Iraq war remains potent politically for Republicans when they cast it part of the broader war on terror, although the administration has found it at times difficult to make that case.
When Mr. Bush referred to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in reference to a question about Iraq today, a reporter pressed him, asking, "What did Iraq have to do with that?" Mr. Bush responded somewhat testily, "Nothing," and added, "Nobody has ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack."
In the run-up to the invasion in March 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney did call attention to the theory, since discredited, that one of the Sept. 11 hijackers might have met in Prague before the attacks with an Iraqi intelligence officer.
In general, however, Mr. Bush struck a different tone than the vice president has used in recent weeks, including Mr. Cheney's suggestion two weeks ago that implied that Ned Lamont's victory in the Connecticut primary against Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut would embolden "Al Qaeda types."
I watched a little bit of Hardball last night — as flawed as Hardball is, at least it hasn't been taken hostage by JonBenet Ramsey news, as has Countdown — on which Rick Santorum claimed there was a meeting in Prague, and we did too find WMDs in Iraq, and Chris "Tweety" Matthews sat there like a bump on a log and didn't challenge him. Grrr. But Tweety and others pointed out Bush's words — "Nobody has ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack," leaves open the possibility that Saddam Hussein was associated with the attack, somehow, even though there is no proof (outside of neocons' fertile imaginations) of such association.
[Update: — Molly Ivins, "Let the Truth-Telling Begin," Truthdig:
The Bushies are having the hardest time trying to un-lie now. For example, at his Monday press conference the president asserted, "Nobody's ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the [Sept. 11] attack."
How true: What Vice President Cheney in December 2001 said about links between 9/11 and Iraq was that it was "pretty well confirmed" that hijacking ringleader Mohammed Atta had met with Iraqi intelligence. On June 17, 2004, Cheney said: "We have never been able to confirm that, nor have we been able to knock it down, we just don't know. … I can't refute the Czech claim, I can't prove the Czech claim, I just don't know."
In July 2004, the CIA's own report stated the agency did not have "any credible information" that the alleged meeting ever took place. The CIA said the whole concoction was based on a single source "whose veracity … has been questioned" and that the Iraqi official allegedly involved was in U.S. custody and denied the meeting ever took place. The 9/11 commission had already concluded that the meeting never occurred.
Cheney has a consistent pattern of exaggeration on intelligence related to Iraq. The tragedy is that at least half the American people believed Saddam Hussein was connected to the 9/11 plot—and most soldiers serving in Iraq still believe this.
Go, Molly.]
There were several questions about Katrina yesterday, also, and I plan to elaborate in the next post.
This entry was posted in Bush Administration, Iraq War, War on Terror by maha. Bookmark the permalink.
15 thoughts on "The Mission Creep"
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Ladybug on August 22, 2006 at 12:17 pm said:
"…or a satellite of Iran, but seems to me it's heading in that direction anyway."
Of course this is why we are staying now. Don't forget the oil in Iraq which Iran would like to control and the close proximity to Iran in the event we need to bomb the hell out of them.
Preston on August 22, 2006 at 1:01 pm said:
Folks, I read or have read just about everything available on our involvement in Iraq including Fiasco by Thomas Rick, Cobra II by Gordon and Trainor, Plan of Attack and Bush at War by Bob Woodward to name but a few. At the time of my retirement from the military, I was a member of the 377th Theater Support Command in New Orleans. This unit was responsible for ALL movement and logistics associated with our deployments into Afghanistan, Kuwait/Iraq, Somalia–the entire Middle East. Although I retired shortly before 9/11, I remained in close contact with many of the officers of the 377th. And, as a veteran of the Vietnam conflict, I have long-held beliefs that to make war absent a bona fide casus belli is nothing less than inhuman and certainly criminal. Since Bush's questionable ascendancy to the presidency, I, and many others, have known that he intended to take us into a quagmire in Iraq for purely political reasons.
Bush has always been a failure in business and in his personal life and someone–daddy or daddy's friends–have had to bail him out. Daddy, in GW's view failed to overthrow Saddam when he had the chance in '91, and he was denied a second term. George W., of course, had to show up his father. We know from Clausewitz that "war is a continuation of politics by other means." Right thinking people might tend to believe that means something used when diplomacy has failed, but our recent history beginning with Lyndon Johnson demonstrates very succinctly that the meaning of the phrase is now "don't change horses in mid-stream" or "you wouldn't want to change the commander-in-chief in the midst of a war." While it is true that our involvement in Vietnam began before he became president, Johnson, upon assuming office, quickly began amassing nearly a half-million combat and support troops in Southeast Asia. With Westmoreland continously announcing "progress" against the insurgency, the war dragged on. Johnson would claim to be pursuing a negotiated settlement, yet for all intents and purposes, this was empty rhetoric. Johnson used the "commander-in-chief in wartime" to assure his reelection.
Nixon's campaign for the presidency was based on the promise that he would end the war in Vietnam and bring peace with honor. With Kissinger already working behind the scenes to sabotage Johnson's efforts at negotiations, Nixon himself would prolong the war until after his reelection. Peace was declared close on the heals of his second inauguration. This tactic of using war to stay in political office was not lost on George W. Bush. Bush, however, has taken this abomination of politics to new heights by extending it to retaining others of his party in office while denigrating those of the opposition. I suppose, we should say that Bush is probably not intelligent enought to have reasoned this out for himself and that it was Karl Rove's brainchild.
Without rehashing how we got into the war, suffice it to say that where we are today is the result of incredible hubris, lessons not learned, and a failure of honor. To think that we could overthrow and government and not have a plan to establish a new government is beyond belief, but that is what happened. There was no plan for the aftermath of the invasion and our troops, through fear or other reasons began to attack the civilian populace and behaved like common thugs–the same way Saddam Hussein had been. We destroyed, and we beat them up, we took their dignity and they rose up against us. Our generals, not being themselves products of Vietnam, fought back exactly as we did in Vietnam by using conventional tactics, refusing to acknowledge the kind of war we were fighting.
I have just come from a town hall meeting with Sen. David Vitter who responded to a few questions about the war in Iraq–Afghanistan seems to be totally forgotten now. His responses were the usual Republican mantra but it demonstrated to me that the depth of his ignorance on issues that fundamentally effect our society is extraordinarily profound. I believe this to be true of all of our elected representatives in Washington and it disgusts me no end and I would like to see all of their heads on pikes lining Constitution Ave!
I seem to have gotten carried away. I apologize for my verbosity but at the moment I am charged up. Thanks for "listening."
merciless on August 22, 2006 at 1:04 pm said:
maha, are you confusing countdown with hardball? Hardball is Tweety's show; Countdown is Olbermann's.
In the context of the article, it doesn't really matter, of course, but it threw me for a second.
Lance on August 22, 2006 at 1:31 pm said:
Merciless, I think maha was saying Countdown was covering the JonBenet story while Matthews was using Hardball for only political stories. Which was true, I listened to it while on the computer. And Santorum was being just as much a jackass as you could imagine.
maha on August 22, 2006 at 1:36 pm said:
I wish I had been confusing Countdown with Hardball, but I wasn't. I started to watch Countdown last night but gave up after they went on, and on, and on, about JonBenet.
Preston — you can get carried away here anytime you like. 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Ok. My bad.
Swami on August 22, 2006 at 2:21 pm said:
I hate to put words in Molly's mouth, but Cheney has a consistent pattern of deceptions.
I gotta admit I'm enjoying watching Bush get taken apart..I see it as divine retribution/ the law of reaping and sowing.. Bush needs to be humbled.
Oh yeah, almost forgot..another 4 dead servicemen killed in Iraq in the past 2 days. I'm sure glad my children aren't dying for Bush's bid for glory. Let's roll..Bring em' on!
Tom Hilton on August 22, 2006 at 4:51 pm said:
The strategy/tactics/goals confusion is what really struck me. It's bad enough that he clearly has no idea what our strategy is; it's far worse that he doesn't have the slightest idea what the word means.
he doesn't have the slightest idea what the word means.
The poor child has never had to accomplish anything tangible in his life. I don't think he grasps even the basic concept of a strategy. He thinks a strategy is explaining what he wants and letting the help figure out how to do it.
Tim Gatto on August 22, 2006 at 5:59 pm said:
Strategy is lacking on both sides. The Republicans want to stay on a course of failure, and the Democrats want to publish a "timetable" on leaving. Let me say this. The war is immorral, illegal and one of the most devisive things that has happened since Vietnam. The Democrats voted for it along with Herr Bush's friends. Now that we are there, we are there. We invited the terrorist's in. We need diplomacy and we need to work with the UN, NATO and all nations that want peace in the middle east. If we just leave, the terorists will use Iraq as a base, exactly the way they used Afganistan. Iran will take half the Shiitte population with them. The democrats are as fumbling and inept as the republicans. We need new people, people that have a brain, and know what time it is. We need true campaign reform so that corporate and special interests groups don't finance polititians multi-million dollar campaigns. We won't get "government of the people" until that happens. Meanwhile, there is not a whit of difference between the parties, if you believe that there is, you are just kidding yourselves.
Strategy is lacking on both sides. The Republicans want to stay on a course of failure, and the Democrats want to publish a "timetable" on leaving.
I disagree; I think Jack Murtha's "over-the-horizon" redeployment plan is a perfectly good strategy. Other individual Dems have given more thought to strategy beyond a timetable. The problem for Dems is that they have absolutely no power to DO anything, and because the situation in Iraq is fluid any strategy they might propose would likely be inoperative before they actually get any power.
Meanwhile, there is not a whit of difference between the parties, if you believe that there is, you are just kidding yourselves.
Wow, you must be new here.
Get a clue, son: The Democrats are the only alternative to the Republicans you are going to get. You can whine and bitch about it all you like, but that's the reality. We either reform the Dems or move to Canada.
It's my position that reform is possible, but we citizens need to make some changes in our political behaviors before the Dems can change. If you are waiting for the Magic Candidate to come along and save the government, however, you're a fool.
Before arguing with me, please read some of my earlier posts on the Democrats, in particular:
"Bad Actors"
"Can Dems Find Their Mojo?"
moonbat on August 22, 2006 at 6:47 pm said:
"Strategy" is just a word that Georgie uses to sound impressive. It's like someone who tosses out French phrases or big words but doesn't know their meaning.
I had a boss who was a rich kid (others gave him the apt nickname of "weenie"). He gave me endless insights into Bush's psychology – the two could've been brothers psychologically. I was stunned to realize that this guy thought that all he had to do was say something, and everyone would somehow believe it was true, or it would somehow materialize, no matter how ridiculous. He often came across as King Canute, cluelessly commanding the ocean.
Like Bush he had a fancy MBA from a well known private school, but clearly never had to create anything tangible in the real world all by his lonesome self. He took great pride in what he thought was his unsurpassed ability to deceive others, which often blew up in his face. He also took great pride in a former job where he was charged with gutting a particular business, throwing dozens of people out of work. His contempt for people below his family's station was barely concealed.
I really resented having to carry this immature, toxic parasite everywhere – telling him what to say at meetings, or even directing his efforts – essentially me managing my superior. When I lost this job, he fought hard to retain me, because I was his crutch.
My point is that until you experience someone as pathetic as this, it's difficult to believe they exist and rise to high position. And I think that's a large part of the problem with this country: Bush the skilled deceiver, has spent his life crafting an image that significant numbers of the public want to believe in.
His appeal is to people who aren't particularly bright, and who are taken in by his moronic patter of words like "Strategy", and the infantile personality that goes with it.
Doug Hughes on August 22, 2006 at 9:07 pm said:
Speaking of deceptions, did anyone notice how the administration was manipulating the media on the story of a possible underground nuclear test in N. Korea because someone doing satellite analysis saw a roll of wire next to an unidentified hole in the ground? The story was planted by the administration, IMO, because who else is doing analysis of satellite intelligence? The media, naturally, asked the idiot-in-chief, so he got his sound-bite of warning N. Korea not to do it. Expect the fear-mongering to be racheted up to a screech as the election approaches.


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Public Release: 6-Apr-2017
Coming to a lab bench near you: Femtosecond X-ray spectroscopy
Berkeley Lab researchers capture ultrafast chemical reactions with tabletop apparatus
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
IMAGE: Upon light activation (in purple, bottom row's ball-and-stick diagram), the cyclic structure of the 1,3-cyclohexadiene molecule rapidly unravels into a near-linear shape in just 200 millionths of a billionth of... view more
Credit: Kristina Chang/Berkeley Lab
The ephemeral electron movements in a transient state of a reaction important in biochemical and optoelectronic processes have been captured and, for the first time, directly characterized using ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
Like many rearrangements of molecular structures, the ring-opening reactions in this study occur on timescales of hundreds of femtoseconds (1 femtosecond equals a millionth of a billionth of a second). The researchers were able to collect snapshots of the electronic structure during the reaction by using femtosecond pulses of X-ray light on a tabletop apparatus.
The experiments are described in the April 7 issue of the journal Science.
"Much of the work over the past decades characterizing molecules and materials has focused on X-ray spectroscopic investigations of static or non-changing systems," said study principal investigator Stephen Leone, faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division and UC Berkeley professor of chemistry and physics. "Only recently have people started to push the time domain and look for transient states with X-ray spectroscopy on timescales of femtoseconds."
The researchers focused on the structural rearrangements that occur when a molecule called 1,3 cyclohexadiene (CHD) is triggered by light, leading to a higher-energy rearrangement of electrons, known as an excited state. In this excited state, the cyclic molecule of six carbon atoms in a ring opens up into a linear six-carbon chain molecule. The ring-opening is driven by an extremely fast exchange of energy between the motions of the atomic nuclei and the new, dynamic electronic configuration.
This light-activated, ring-opening reaction of cyclic molecules is a ubiquitous chemical process that is a key step in the photobiological synthesis of vitamin D in the skin and in optoelectronic technologies underlying optical switching, optical data storage, and photochromic devices.
In order to characterize the electronic structure during the ring-opening reaction of CHD, the researchers took advantage of the unique capabilities of X-ray light as a powerful tool for chemical analysis. In their experiments, the researchers used an ultraviolet pump pulse to trigger the reaction and subsequently probe the progress of the reaction at a controllable time delay using the X-ray flashes. At a given time delay following the UV light exposure, the researchers measure the wavelengths (or energies) of X-ray light that are absorbed by the molecule in a technique known as time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy.
"The key to our experiment is to combine the powerful advantages of X-ray spectroscopy with femtosecond time resolution, which has only recently become possible at these photon energies," said study lead author Andrew Attar, a UC Berkeley Ph.D. student in chemistry. "We used a novel instrument to make an X-ray spectroscopic 'movie' of the electrons within the CHD molecule as it opens from a ring to a linear configuration. The spectroscopic still frames of our 'movie' encode a fingerprint of the molecular and electronic structure at a given time."
In order to unambiguously decode the spectroscopic fingerprints that were observed experimentally, a series of theoretical simulations were performed by researchers at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry and the Theory Institute for Materials and Energy Spectroscopies (TIMES) at DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The simulations modeled both the ring-opening process and the interaction of the X-rays with the molecule during its transformation.
"The richness and complexity of dynamic X-ray spectroscopic signatures such as the ones captured in this study require a close synergy with theoretical simulations that can directly model and interpret the experimentally observed quantities," said Das Pemmaraju, project scientist at Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division and an associate staff scientist within TIMES at SLAC.
The use of femtosecond X-ray pulses on a laboratory benchtop scale is one of the key technological milestones to emerge from this study.
"We have used a tabletop, laser-based light source with pulses of X-rays at energies that have so far been limited only to large-facility sources," said Attar.
The X-ray pulses are produced using a process known as high-harmonic generation, wherein the infrared frequencies of a commercial femtosecond laser are focused into a helium-filled gas cell and, through a nonlinear interaction with the helium atoms, are up-converted to X-ray frequencies. The infrared frequencies were multiplied by a factor of about 300.
The researchers are now utilizing the instrument to study myriad light-activated chemical reactions with a particular focus on reactions that are relevant to combustion.
"These studies promise to expand our understanding of the coupled evolution of molecular and electronic structure, which lies at the heart of chemistry," said Attar.
Other co-authors of the study are Aditi Bhattacherjee and Kirsten Schnorr at Berkeley Lab's Chemical Sciences Division and UC Berkeley's Department of Chemistry; and Kristina Closser and David Prendergast at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry.
The work was primarily supported by DOE's Office of Science. The Molecular Foundry is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
Sarah Yang
scyang@lbl.gov
@BerkeleyLab
http://www.lbl.gov
ATOMIC/MOLECULAR/PARTICLE PHYSICS
CHD Graphic (IMAGE)
Prepping X-ray Apparatus (IMAGE)
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/04/06/tabletop-femtosecond-x-ray-spectroscopy/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaj2198


Researchers from Curtin University have discovered how to integrate Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with the emerging multi-frequency Global Navigation Satellite System, Galileo. The research, funded by the Australian Space Research Program, is the first to be completed in Australia.
Professor Peter Teunissen and Dr Dennis Odijk, from the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM), combined real-time data collected using high-grade multi-GNSS receivers from different manufacturers for baseline studies in Australia and the United States.
"The emergence of these new GNSSs, together with the linking of different systems, has enormous potential for improving the accuracy, integrity and efficiency of positioning worldwide," Professor Teunissen said in a statement.
Galileo, which is being developed by the European Union, was selected to integrate with GPS technology because it operates on the same frequency as the GPS technology and is expected to be one of the most widely used systems.
Professor Teunissen said more than 100 GNSS satellites will be in operation by 2016, with a broader and more diverse system of satellites.
"The availability of many more satellites and signals creates exciting opportunities to extend current GPS applications and to facilitate market growth.


 Want to Join Us?
Home About Us Contact us Calendar News letter Annual concert Recognition Related links Photographs Want to Join Us?
Would You Like to Join the Kirkintilloch Male Voice Choir?
The choir's repertoire is very varied. It includes some male voice favourites, songs from films, classical songs, Scottish songs, Gospel songs and many other genres. We meet for rehearsals on Monday evenings at 7.15pm in the Park Centre, Kerr Street in Kirkintilloch between August and the end of March and perform in concerts in Kirkintilloch and in many other towns in Scotland and sometimes beyond Scotland.
If you think that you may be interested in joining such a choir, please come along to our rehearsals on a Monday evening. You will be made most welcome. You don't have to be able to read music and you don't have to undergo an audition.
Further information is available from our secretary Alan Finnie (tel. 0141 776 6058) or the Musical Director Sally McLellan (tel.0141 775 2437) or the current President Martin Walker (tel. 0141 578 9880) or email the secretary.


Do you want to work on interesting, complex and award winning projects in London with a contractor who values and respects their staff?
Are you looking for a role that can offer long term career potential?
Do you want to work for one of the UK's leading specialist contractors?
An exciting opening has developed within the RC Frame division of this outstanding contractor. With a current project portfolio of major schemes being delivered in London on £100m + packages, they have a requirement for a Senior Quantity Surveyor to form an integral part on a prestigious Mixed Use development in South West London.
The idea will be to initially support the project Commercial Manager on that job to deliver some key objectives and from there take up your own project which will be another mixed use project in Central London in the summer.
The project values will range from £25 – 150m and 80% of them will be Central London based.
The working environment of the company is one which is supportive but allows you to take autonomy over the project/tasks you are delivering. They have excellent development and long term career prospects with an experienced commercial lead on hand to offer advice as and when it's required.


text:
UEFA Nations League er en turnering for europæiske fodboldlandshold, der fik sin debut i september 2018, hvor den til en vis grad erstatter venskabskampe. Turneringens oprettelse blev enstemmigt vedtaget på et UEFA-møde i Kasakhstan i foråret 2014.

Turneringsformat

De 55 deltagende landshold fordeles i fire divisioner, kaldet League A, League B, League C og League D, hvor League A indeholder de højest rangerede hold, mens League D indeholder de lavest rangerede hold. I første udgave var holdfordelingen denne: Internt i hver division er holdene opdelt i fire grupper, der hver har deltagelse af tre eller fire hold. I League A og League B består hver gruppe af tre hold, mens League C består af én gruppe med tre hold og tre grupper med fire hold. I League D består alle fire grupper af fire hold hver. Holdene spiller ude og hjemme mod alle modstandere i gruppen.. Ny turneringsstruktur fra 2020/21-udgaven: League A, B og C: 4 grupper med 4 hold. League D: 1 gruppe med 4 hold og 1 gruppe med 3 hold.

I League A vil de fire gruppevindere kvalificere sig til slutspillet i form af en final 4-turnering bestående af semifinale og finale, hvor spillestedet udpeges af UEFA's eksekutivkomite. I de øvrige divisioner vil gruppevinderne rykke op i den ovenliggende division, mens fire hold fra alle divisioner (undtaget League D), vil rykke ned i den underliggende division. I den første udgave af turneringen (2018/2019) blev holdene rangeret efter UEFA's rangliste for landshold pr. 15. november 2017, hvorefter rangereringen i de efterfølgende udgaver afgøres efter førnævnte op- og nedrykning.

Turneringen vil blive spillet hver andet år, således at gruppespillet spilles i efteråret i lige år og slutspillet i League A vil blive spillet om sommeren i ulige år.

Trofæ og hymne

Trofæet, der tildeles vinderen af turneringen, blev afsløret af UEFA's præsident Aleksander Čeferin i forbindelse med lodtrækningen til første udgave af turneringen. Det vejer 7,5 kg og måler 71 cm i højden. Trofæet er fremstillet af sterlingsølv. Ved samme lejlighed blev også turneringens hymne afsløret. Den er en blanding af klassisk og elektronisk musik. Teksten er sunget på latin af koret fra operaen i Lausanne.

Finaler

Holdenes rangering pr. sæson

Referencer

Eksterne henvisninger

 Hymnens tekst, UEFA.com (på latin og engelsk) (2. marts 2019)

Etableret i 2018

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area have jointly received the Pinnacle of Partnership Award from the Greater Ottawa County United Way.
The award was presented at the United Way's annual celebration, March 20 at the Spring Lake Country Club.
The two community foundations have worked together with the United Way to form Housing Next, a cross-sector collaborative initiative involving nonprofit, government and business partners that strive to create and promote a strong economic case for additional workforce housing units in the region.
The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation is a public, charitable organization serving the Northwest Ottawa County community since 1971. It is regularly recognized as a top 100 community foundation in the nation and is the seventh-largest in Michigan. It encourages philanthropy by individuals, families, corporations and organizations, and serves as a steward of their charitable funds and legacies. For more information, visit ghacf.org.
The Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area has been making grants for 67 years. Learn more about the organization at cfhz.org.


text:
Is a Vaccine our long-awaited Christmas present?
Faced with great peril we rallied, made selfless sacrifices and triumphed against death and disaster… all thanks to the God of Science and from the comfort of our own home.
I dream of a Christmas tale with an edifying story, the expected happy ending and just enough magic to make it credible.
Nine months on (and just in time for Christmas!) we are given THE solution to the current threat: a vaccine against Covid-19!
Quite what the threat is seems unclear, and varies considerably depending on your perspective, but it is affecting everyone's life.
We all long for a return to a more "normal" life where planning ahead is possible, enjoying the company of friends permissible and singing carols an act of goodwill instead of a risk to human life.
So what can be said of the "Novel Vaccine" against a "Novel Disease" in those unprecedented times of global "Pandemic"?
THEY WERE PRODUCED VERY QUICKLY
Because a vaccine takes on average four years to produce, the usual techniques were not applied for the Covid-19 vaccine.
As a reminder the two main current vaccine types are:
Inactivated vaccines which contain inactivated, but previously virulent, micro-organisms that have been destroyed with chemicals, heat, or radiation.
Examples include vaccines against polio, hepatitis A, rabies and most influenza.
Attenuated vaccines which contain live, attenuated microorganisms. Many of these are active viruses that have been cultivated under conditions that disable their virulent properties, or that use closely related but less dangerous organisms, to produce a broad immune response. Although most attenuated vaccines are viral, some are bacterial in nature.
Examples include vaccines against the viral diseases yellow fever, measles, mumps, and rubella, and against the bacterial disease typhoid.
Attenuated, or live, weakened, vaccines typically provoke more durable immunological responses. But they may not be safe for use in immunocompromised individuals, and on rare occasions mutate and cause disease.
Spurred by the sense of urgency from the current crises, enter new, and potentially game changing, technologies.
In the case of Covid-19 the main laboratories that have announced positive results from their as-yet unverified trials are:
Sanofi (in France), who joined forces with GlaxoSmithKline (in the UK), to produce a vaccine that uses the same technology as one of Sanofi's seasonal influenza vaccines coupled with a boosting substance (an "adjuvant"): squalene issued from the fat of sharks – and other Cetacea.
Moderna, and the Pfizer/BioNTech collaboration in the US who are using a new technology to create a messenger RNA (m-RNA) vaccines.
AstraZeneca the U.K. pharma giant, in partnership with the University of Oxford, and the Russian laboratory Gamaleya who are relying on a replication-deficient adenovirus vector to produce their vaccine.
The Sanofi vaccine uses a recombinant DNA technology called: Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS), a technology that produces proteins found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 (spike proteins) by editing the DNA of a baculovirus (a type of virus affecting insects). The modified baculovirus is then used to infect designated laboratory raised insects and the resultant spike proteins harvested from them. The vaccine is produced by combining those protein fragments with the adjuvant squalene. The immune system is expected to react directly against the floating spike proteins. This, however, seems to be somewhat difficult to predict in any reliable way without multiple trial and error which might explain why the more recent tests results are essentially disappointing and Sanofi has requested more time to perfect their vaccines.
It is not a new technology, but it has produced controversial vaccines in the past. Those include the HPV vaccine and the Hepatitis B vaccine.
Because the vaccine contains fragments and not the whole virus it is possible that the immune system will not recognise it or produce a weak response that will need many re-inoculations, with the additional risk of exposure to the adjuvant. In the case of squalene GSK has already had to face lawsuits in 2009 against its squalene-containing H1N1 vaccine which was shown to have caused narcolepsy in 100's of cases.
Another point of controversy with this type of technology is with respect to the fragments themselves that are not guaranteed to be configured correctly. The chain of amino acids building the protein could be sequenced correctly but folded in an inappropriate manner that could potentially lead to unpredictable results.
The greatest advantage of the messenger-RNA technology chosen by Moderna and Pfizer is the rapidity of production (no need to cultivate viruses) and therefore low cost involved. A possible drawback is the logistics of distribution requiring a very cold supply chain (minus 20C to 70C).
This technology consists of incorporating an RNA mediated message into our cells via a liposomal (tiny fat) capsule to instruct the cells to make SARS-CoV-2 spikes, to stimulate the relevant immunity against it and therefore inactivate the actual virus should we encounter it. A remarkably clever idea for its simplicity and precision.
The adenovirus vaccine technology currently being tested by AstraZeneca and Gamaleya uses a genetically modified and replication-deficient adenovirus. Those adenoviruses have had their DNA hacked to incorporate the gene for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Those GMO vectors instruct our own cells to produce the spike protein required to activate the immune system.
AstraZeneca (in the UK) has chosen an adenovirus issued from the chimpanzee as their GMO vector while Gamaleya (in Russia) is using one of human origin for its aptly-named vaccine Sputnik V (sputnik means traveling companion in Russian - clearly these scientists are not devoid of humour!). The Sputnik V vaccine is already being used in Moscow on masses of human volunteers. The next few months will be crucial in evaluating the safety of this GMO technology.
Whatever we think of the pandemic, its political implications, vaccination as a whole, and the fight for freedom of choice, looking at the facts objectively can only enhance our ability to choose wisely.
In the words of St. Francis de Sales
"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."
Going forward: Looking at the science for appropriate safety measures
"Philosophy teaches us to feel uncertain about the things that seem to us self-evident.
Propaganda, on the other hand, teaches us to accept as self-evident matters about which it would be reasonable to suspend our judgement or to feel doubt."
A simplistic view of the measures taken to counteract the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 virus might give the impression that they were meticulously organised based on unquestionable "scientific evidence", and necessary because we were dealing with a super-virus with unfathomable power for destruction.
Organisation was, and still is, far from meticulous or coordinated. In the initial phase the focus was on hand-to-nose/eyes transmission. Masks were discouraged while panic buying of hand sanitiser became essential. This came out of the assumption that SARS-CoV-2 behaved like the flu virus. It was later agreed that aerosols were the most likely main transmission route, yet masks are still looked upon as less relevant than handwashing and distancing. This is not just illogical, it is impractical: In a normal life situation, wearing a mask is a lot easier than keeping a 2 metre distance, even when aware of distancing and the strict handwashing protocol!
The "science" behind the measures is based on ONE statistical model (from Imperial College London) which was never openly challenged by other models. Yet, in order to create a statistical model it is necessary to make numerous projections and assumptions. Projections are based on actual figures gathered initially, but without much perspective, such as how quickly the virus was spreading, while assumptions are necessary in terms of human behaviour and the elusive starting date of CoV-19 with patient zero. It is now fairly well documented that SARS-CoV-2 was already amongst us in late 2019 and that patient zero was not, as was assumed, in January/February 2020. This changes everything about the rate of spreading, the number of immune amongst us and the mortality rate. Yet, the initial model has not been revised and we are continuing to release lockdown based on the assumption that only a small percentage of us are immune and a high percentage of Covid-19 sufferers die.
After a short appearance that started in January 2020, Covid-19 was dropped off, on March 19th, from the list of High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) on the Government's website. For reference, lockdown in the UK officially started on the 26th of March, a fact that puts total lockdown in question: an unprecedented measure with extreme consequences! Lockdown measures were taken to control the rate of hospitalisation and reduce demand on limited life-support facilities but it was later agreed that delaying invasive oxygen support was more effective. Even at the most critical time of the pandemic, at no point did the NHS run out of ventilators. This is despite a current shortfall of 7100 apparatus below target.
Was total lockdown necessary by the time it was put in place?
Was continuing with it, for over 12 weeks, worth the damaging cost to our human psyche and societal fabric?
Was the "science" even accurate?
Did "The End justify The Means" in this social experiment?
Or simply demonstrate how easily our personal agency can be hijacked and manipulated!
Going forward we have acquired solid information about:
Viral transmission: The main dissemination of the virus is through aerosol. Those are tiny droplets which are formed and expelled when water or body fluids are under pressure. They stay in suspension for a number of minutes before settling. Under certain conditions, the lighter droplets can evaporate quicker than the time it takes to settle and they remain suspended for longer. When coming from a virus carrier, aerosols carry viral capsules that can settle on surfaces. Those can be picked up and transmitted from hands to nose or eyes. But, if you are on the slipstream of an aerosolised viral sneeze, they can be breathed directly into your lungs and bypass immune tissues in the nose and throat.
Viral load: This is a fundamental concept to contagion. A few virus particles will not be enough to mount an infection. Additionally the load threshold varies considerably from one individual to another depending on their immune resilience. Also relevant is the site of delivery. The skin and gut lining are more impermeable and resistant than the lungs which are designed to absorb small gaseous molecules straight into the bloodstream. It follows that viral loaded aerosol breathed directly into the lungs will more likely lead to infection than any other method of picking up the virus.
Contagion and asymptomatic carriers: There is much debate about SARS-CoV-2 and its exceptional power to survive, travel and replicate leading to theories about this super virus hiding where there is no symptom and making those asymptomatic carriers potential super spreaders.
This theory is in fact an amalgamation of two different situations: pre-symptomatic (not yet aware of symptoms because very mild) and asymptomatic (never develops symptoms).
Viral load spreading is greatest at the beginning of symptoms when the immune system has not yet started to organise its counterattack. Those symptoms start as vague and diffuse and are often un-detected until the 2nd or 3rd day, yet those first three days are the most contagious.
Pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic are not the same. Asymptomatic carriers have been shown to be very low spreaders while the pre-symptomatic that is not yet fully aware of the problem can be particularly contagious especially if he shouts, sings, sneezes, coughs or has diarrhoea.
Being vigilant really means being attentive to how we feel and our symptoms, even if they are mild.
For reference, the following symptoms are associated with Covid 19:
Upper respiratory symptoms including sore throat and runny nose
Loss of taste and/or smell
Skin symptoms akin to chilblains (red/swollen or discoloured extremities)
Fatigue or/and low-grade temperature with or without diarrhoea seem to be the earlier symptoms.
Aerosol formation and settling time: Those will form when we talk (the louder the more aerosols produced), puff and pant, sneeze and cough.
Toilets are another area where aerosols are rife especially when flushing with the lid open.
The larger droplets settle in a few minutes. The lighter/smaller ones can float for over an hour depending on conditions. The virus has been shown to survive for up to 72 hours depending on surfaces but this doesn't make it likely to be contagious for that amount of time because viral load is such a critical factor in infection and virulence outside the host will diminish over time.
The most critical aspect of contagion is suspended aerosolised viral particles followed by hand to nose from infected surfaces.
This has led me to put in place the following measures to ensure your security and comfort:
Pre-screening of all clients and therapists before coming into the clinic. Advising to stay home even if symptoms are mild.
Obligatory masks for everyone. Those are available at the clinic.
Hand-sanitising on arrival and throughout the day
Air purifiers in the rooms during treatment for on-going aerosol elimination: those are equipped with HEPA filters (to filter larger particles), UV (shown to kill germs, including viruses) and an ioniser (shown to speed the settling time of aerosols).
Ventilation protocol between treatments.
Longer cleansing time between treatments to ensure that all contact-surfaces are cleansed; those include the toilet area, door handles, chairs, handrail etc.
Reconciling hope with uncertainty
Despite its confusing mortality rate and the greater threats from global warming, famine, diabetes and autism, Covid-19 has mobilised energy and deployed worldwide actions never seen before in human history.
Estimates of the average death rate for Covid-19 range between 0.1% (based on the control group provided by the Diamond Princess Cruise ship) and 0.5% .
For reference, the autism rate in the UK in 2013 was estimated to be 1.1% and current projections suggest a doubling of reported cases by 2023.
Yet autism mobilises virtually no funding and no interest from governments or the WHO.
Interestingly, statistics about compliance at the start of lockdown showed that it did not correlate with the level of discomfort imposed. Poor, overcrowded quarters did just as well as the affluent ones, while people in the countryside did their best to resist the urge to seek fresh air and other healthy pursuits with equal determination. Regrettably, this much civic mobilisation was offset by the (minor!) side-effects of increased domestic violence, suicide and alcoholism but the near 100% increase in the demand for food-banks, although regrettable, was largely waived against the obvious benefit: we stayed home and we saved lives! an easy slogan to chant to the cadence of weekly self-congratulatory clapping which could be heard resonating all the way to emergency rooms across the land.
What strikes me the most about the current crisis is that, although the measures imposed may have brought us together and even given us a sense of united purpose at first, ultimately, it has accentuated differences between those who have and those who have not; I am not only referring to financial wealth, but physical health, mental resilience, spiritual faith, social support networks and access to basic rights such as clean water, fresh air and nutritious food.
Those who have will undoubtedly come out of the trauma better off than the less fortunate amongst us.
Predictably, economic necessity is catching up with the severity of the measures imposed; political solutions now have to juggle the obvious contradictions between the initial deadening messages used to get us to stay home and the necessity to break the lockdown to recover essential life-supporting income.
While the conditions of our release are being crafted to reconcile the dread of the outside world with our human needs for exploring and connecting, the younger population is feeling the strain of an open-ended social sacrifice essentially aimed at the elderly.
The time has come to step out of fear into our future but strict adherence to the rules has been replaced by confusion, and mistrust of social interactions whenever venturing outside the safety perimeter of home.
As I am preparing to return to a semblance of pre-Covid life and planning my post lockdown practice, I am confronted by a few home truths:
Extreme uncertainty is forcing me into the present. Uncertainty is one of the hardest things to accept. The brain is wired for action and finding solutions to problems: survival depends on it. When faced with uncertainty we can rebel and fret or we can let go and let God (trust). We all have an individual tolerance threshold for inaction. The ultimate surrender is when stress is so great that we can neither fight nor flight and we freeze. For the past few months, un-able to look forward to those punctuating events we need to create fresh memories, we have been flirting with our freeze response and we had to dig deep into creative resources, trusting they will keep us safe. Practising peaceful surrendering has helped me become more present.
Mental resilience is as much about cultivating healthy thoughts as it is about physical care: the connection between discipline and self-care has been brought to me into sharp relief in those chaotic times; nonetheless self-mastery is the foundation for meaning in life no matter the level of confusion and pain. There is no small victory when it comes to those acts of discipline and self-care!
Love casts out Fear: Fear has become the new ruler of our lives and added a layer of social suspicion I find profoundly disturbing… yet the love that has also poured in to support me is nourishing my hope that love overcomes no matter the level of unrest and discord around me. Love in action heals the wounds previously made by our fears and I am not short of opportunity to practise love in action at the moment :-)
Viral intrusion and immune resilience
Without question some pathogens are more dangerous and virulent than others, but regardless of the pathogen, number is highly relevant. Also called pathogen load, there needs to be enough individuals to damage vital function and/or for our immune system to have failed at keeping things in check. Additionally pathogens can join forces making their effect more lethal, while our resident microbiota can produce anti-viral and anti-biotic substances that will largely contribute to reducing the pathogenic effect of an intruder. It is all about balance and interactions which is why we must look at immune resilience from a system perspective rather than focus on the pathogen only.
In the case of SARS-CoV2, a number of theories are being postulated to explain how a fairly banal viral infection can suddenly and catastrophically trigger collapse of vital functions. Whatever the mechanism, the immune system is involved in the collapse not just the virus.
A healthy immune system is not an aggressive one, it is a vigilant and coordinated one that can modulate localised response to the required level for the degree of threat.
It is worth noting that Covid-19 not only has the potential to trigger mass immune over-reaction and collapse, it can, and in fact already has, triggered mass political response with equally catastrophic consequences on our economic and social systems. The anthropological symmetry is striking; we can take heed in the fact that not all who have gone close to immune collapse have died... even if recovery takes longer before resilience can once again prevail.
"What doesn't kill us can make us stronger" but in my experience, only if we are prepared to re-assess our ways and acknowledge personal responsibility in our recovery.
Diet and maintaining weight largely control immune health. Do not be tempted to over-eat or to binge on alcohol or high sugar comfort foods. All are pro-inflammatory and suppress your immune system. Instead go for all those colourful and seasonable foods: herbs, spices and healthy fats, nourishing protein, green tea and home-made fermented foods such as kimchi, kefir or kombuccha. All have direct and indirect benefits on immunity and some even have been shown to exert antiviral activity such as garlic, thyme and oregano.
Vitamin D deficiency is a major contributing factor to poor immune resilience. Make sure that you are keeping your vitamin D topped up by taking at least 3000IU a day and getting in the sun as frequently as you can without burning. Vitamin K is best taken at the same time as Vitamin D to avoid imbalance. They are often combined in one supplement.
Zinc deficiency is another common cause of reduced resistance to colds and flu; early signs of deficiency are loss of taste and smell. Interestingly those are also common symptoms of Covid19 infection. A preventative dose for zinc is 25mg/day but, at the first signs of infection, you can safely increase to 75mg/day for a month or so; best split through the day. Zinc picolinate is a good form but also available are zinc lozenges to use in case of sore throat.
Selenium is required for healthy zinc balance and often depleted from our foods. It can be found in generous amounts in Brazil nuts. A strong mineral/vitamin supplement will also cover requirements.
Magnesium is an important mineral required for many functions including immunity. It is frequently deficient from our foods. Dairy produce and stress will deplete reserves. I recommend 800mg/day of magnesium glycinate. It is best taken with a B complex or a strong multi. Magnesium baths and magnesium oil are additional ways to improve magnesium status.
Reaching out for targeted anti-virals at the first signs of infection
Vitamin C is a proven anti-viral.
Protocols include 500mg/day as preventative dose. I prefer getting my daily vitamin C from foods such as berries, acerola cherries, kiwis and lemons.
However, vitamin C truly shines at the first signs of infection when it will assist the work of the immune system. Take it frequently and keep topping up. Bowel tolerance is usually the upper limit but this varies with the type of vitamin C.
I recommend liposomal vitamin C; take 250mg of vitamin C every 30 minutes (some say 100mg every 10 minutes especially if symptoms are severe). Keep going until symptoms noticeably reduce/disappear.
I have personally done this successfully on numerous occasions. It usually takes a few hours but less than a day. Once the symptoms are substantially reduced you can move to a less restrictive schedule of 1000mg x4/day.
Propolis is my favourite anti-microbial.
I use it in liquid form (alcohol-free) otherwise a tincture might be easier to get. As much as possible I aim to use it topically. If my nose is the problem I squirt a few drops diluted in salty water up my nose or if it is my throat I gargle. Also great for mouth ulcers and skin infections.
Oxygen Therapy: Hydrogen Peroxide and Ozone (H2O2) have been shown to kill corona-viruses (a group of viruses known to cause cold and flue symptoms)
Both could be regarded as cheap semi-medical treatments and have shown efficacy within the health service in some countries like China, Cuba, Italy and Spain. However, and to my incomprehension, they remain largely rejected by conventional medical thinking and the WHO.
Ozone would require a professional setting and might be useful once pathogens are circulating/translocating.
In the initial (entry points) phase it is in the nose, sinuses, throat and possibly digestive tract/colon that (current) corona-virus is gaining acces. This is when mild symptoms might be felt and when home treatments are at their most valuable.
Home and safe use for hydrogen peroxide is at a dilution of 0.5% volume (this can be achieved by buying it at that concentration or by diluting a 3% dilution 1 part H2O2 to 3 parts pure water).
It should be used four times per day to kill pathogens where symptoms are felt and where corona-viruses might gaining access to your body:
In the throat: gargle
In the bowel: use as enema
In the nose: rinse using a "neti" pot (available on internet) or a nebuliser (see below)
In the lungs use a nebuliser (cheap and suitable devices are available on internet)
Cambridge.org on the use of H2O2
The language of fear
Reframing the stress response by activating the Vagus Nerve
"The only thing we have to be afraid of is fear itself" Franklin D. Roosevelt
As days of lockdown run into weeks of duress, the mood of the nation is evolving in great surges of emotional tirades: all relayed on my mother's radio from which I cannot escape because it is all that is connecting her still with the outside world. In contrast, the official messages that regularly intersperse such passionate outbursts are very carefully worded and seem delivered more to control and anticipate our misbehaving than to inform us.
I am struck by government's officials and their spokespeople's ever-evolving syntax. The commanding tone, clearly borrowed from NLP, has become more admonishing as lack of preparation is surfacing. Creating a nation of meek and obedient citizens while figuring out how to lead us out of the blind alley of confinement is easier than to take a systemic and more long-term view of the crisis. As John Major allegedly once said "when your back is against the wall you have no choice but to turn around and walk".
There is solid evidence from research conducted over the past 15 years that our brains are losing their ability to plan ahead and invest in the future. This has come as a result of bite-size information delivered through social media, the culture of meaningless relationships designed to boost dependence and the overabundance of instantaneous gratifications. The resulting disconnection from the fundamentals of (our) nature has contributed to the dizzying rise of prescriptions for antidepressants. In the UK alone those have almost doubled between 2008 and 2019.
As we are confined to an open-ended and uncertain future we have no choice but to limit our planning to the day-to-day. This lack of perspective in an already fragile and socially isolated population can feed into a pattern of stress that will increase the longer the lockdown, and with the inevitable spread of economic consequences on financial security.
Yet systemic analyses, creative problem-solving and forward thinking all depend on our nervous system's equilibrium which is why it is so important to actively maintain it while we are sitting out the current social experiment.
Neurologically the stress response can take three different pathways depending on our nature and the intensity of the stress. We can fight, we can run or, if we are unable to respond because the situation limits possibilities, we can freeze. Physiologically, the fight/flight response is the result of stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (a collection of highly responsive nerves ).
The freeze response however is similar to shock and is a primitive response that immobilises and shuts down bodily functions by inhibiting the activity of the para-sympathetic nervous system.
The main portion of the para-sympathetic nervous system is the Vagus Nerve: a long and wonderous nerve with a complicated relaying system.
The Vagus Nerve is a major regulator of nervous system homeostasis (a balance which influences how the body heals and maintains health). It is positively activated by non-threatening social engagement, touch and other healing modalities. It is connected to feeling safe.
Learning to connect with the Vagus Nerve is how babies develop the ability to self-soothe having learnt safety and vagal activation from the variety of soothing activities on offer from their parents such as cuddling, rocking, lullabies, facial games and so on.
As we grow up and our interactions with the world expand, our perception of safety becomes the product of our experiences, each being meshed into the resulting tapestry of our body, mind and spirit: the looser the weave the more flexible and adaptable we are; the tighter the weave the deeper the stress and traumas will be trapped.
An effective root of disentanglement is to enhance and nourish our sense of safety and security by engaging in creative hobbies (painting, knitting, writing, etc.), by improving our immediate environment with meaningful touches and by nurturing authentic relationship(s).
More specifically we can (re)activate safety signalling from the Vagus Nerve by stimulating the relevant pathways. The Vagus Nerve has two main branches: the Ventral Vagal and the Dorsal Vagal. The former enervates structures in the face, neck, and upper chest that relate to social engagement, the latter enervates the gut, lungs and heart and is also involved in the freeze response.
Partaking in activities that engage the Vagus Nerve in a soothing way will have an immediate stress-busting action. Doing it regularly will strengthen the response and increase our resilience to stress.
Activating the muscles connected to social engagement (muscles of the face, eyes, throat, jaw, tongue and inner-ear) and those of the gut, diaphragm, lungs and heart can be done in a variety of healing ways even if alone.
The feeling of safety, induced by activation of ventral and dorsal vagal, is reinforced by hormones and neurotransmitters that are triggered as a result. One of those hormones is oxytocin which is stimulated through intimate touch, loving and sharing.
Gratitude (especially when we focus on the feelings of our heart) is a way to increase oxytocin when we are not able to physically connect with our loved ones.
Activate soothing from the Vagus Nerve by:
Gargling (use bicarbonate of soda)
Swishing (use coconut oil)
Massaging your face and skull
Meditating (listening to certain vibrations such as bong can enhance)
Petting (cat, dog, and rabbit, anything alive and cuddly!)
Developing peripheral vision by letting sight ahead go soft and focusing on what we can see from the corner of our eyes
Listening to classical music (Bach and other baroque music is the best for this)
Smelling essential oil (lavender, frankincense, marjoram, pine and many more - use your preference)
Belly breathing and slow breathing and other breathing techniques such as "Cardiac Coherence"
Shaking and gentle bouncing (could be extended to dancing to your favourite track)
Gentle, slow stretching exercises
Barefoot conscious walking (preferably on damp grass or wet sand)
Cold showers and cold water plunge (can be combined with sauna/hot bath or shower)
If you are holed up with someone willing to share your well-being enhancing effort, you can experiment with:
Playing games (any as long as not dangerous or overly competitive)
Exchanging a massage (foot, face, whole body) and/or intimate touch
laughing and sharing jokes
Preparing and sharing food
Reading to each other
Singing or playing music together
A personal message from Anne-Lise
So you have over-indulged this Christmas
What's so great about colonic?
HOW TO GET THE BEST FROM YOUR COLONIC IRRIGATION TREATMENT
Naturopathic cleanses
10 facts about gut flora you may not know
The Whole Health Centre Pictures
Colonic Hydrotherapy: Fertility and hormonal balance
Healthy weight loss is easier than you think
Effects of Colonic Hydrotherapy on the gut
Xenoestrogen: watch-out!
Too Young to Grow Old: Take control of your health now!
Three Christmas foods to eat year around
Sorting out bloating
Surprising facts about antibiotics: get it right!
Getting your head around probiotic supplements
Throw caution to the wind and let rip: a guide to intestinal gases
How memory is created and why we can influence its emotional impact
Gall Bladder Flush: more than the sum of its part
Reducing exposure to toxic chemical
Evidence Showing the conection between Gut Bacteria and Waistline
Food additives: clear and present danger
Sweet deception: getting your head around food labeling
A detox is for life, not just for Christmas
My top five super-foods for detox
My top five exercises: if you do nothing else...
The ten foods you shouldn't trust… and probably don't even know about!
Drink and be merry
What makes coconut a super food and one you can freely indulge in
Health and the pleasure principle
A Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in fruits and vegetables
Let's talk dirty
The benefits of Colonic Hydrotherapy a more scientific view point (This article was published in Gut reaction the IBS network newsletter edited by Prof. N Read)
Why soya isn't the healthy food once believed
Expectations: A measure of failure; Achievements: A measure of success
Why looking after your friends is the best way to keep your enemies at bay
Fermenting foods for digestive and immune health
Tissue Cleansing: reaching the parts that other detoxes can't reach
What is the best sweetener?
New premises for the retreats in the south of France
Why Agave syrup is not the healthy answer to sugar
Colonic Irrigation is safe
The Healing power of Flaxseeds (Linseeds)
The Healing power of vegetables: The bashful tomato
The Healing power of vegetables: The Celery
Will power doesn't work
Cleansing For Life Detox Retreats
Cure Vitalité en France
Where In London
Therapy Directory Approved
The Whole Health Centre
78 Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, London NW3 2BE
Telephone: 020 7284 2898 (answer machine)
Anne-Lise Miller 07502 222 269
Nearest Stations :
Chalk Farm, London Underground (5 min walk)
Belsize Park, London Underground (8 min walk)
Kentish Town West, Overground (12 min walk)
© 2021 Anne--Lise Miller


DJ Sav One & DJ Dyllemma present the FreeOfStyle mixtape; a classic exploration of the debate over the term Freestyle. Off the top of the head vs. writtens with no subject matter that fans aren't yet familiar with. All 90s content from white label vinyl, radio, mixtapes & more rare content. This mix is as much an ode to the pioneering DJs as it is the MCs that laid these verses. Items may ship in plastic slim-line case OR transparent sleeve depending on location to reduce the overall cost to you for shipping. The CDs are intentionally designed as white label vinyl, as much of the source material was from white label vinyl. I will only sign them if asked.


I know disconnects seems to be a big problem with Stratego. I was wondering if there was anyway one could prove their loss was a disconnect, and so recover their points. It seems there is a way to prove a draw refusal, does anyone have any ideas of a way to prove a disconnect?
My only concern is that I'm sure some people could possibly force a disconnect somehow on themselves, and then report it, hoping to avoid a loss.
Perhaps there may be a limit to the amount of dc cases one can submit.
I know there is a screen that says "you lost the game" or something like that which shows up on the homescreen sometimes after a dc. Could that be screen shotted as sufficient proof?
I was about to post a similar question. Is there anything that can be done to help minimize disconnects. I lost four games in a row this afternoon because I kept disconnecting. Any advice. Thanks.
You might have an unstable internet connection. If so, then changing your router/modem would fix the issue, unless your provider is just stinky. Are you playing on a desktop or another device? Are you using chrome? Are you a Mac or PC? What operating system?
I'm no computer person but anyone who is will likely be asking for this info.
Bmende, I've never disconnected on purpose. I suspect that when one does he is just "X"-ing out of the whole screen and website, right? If true, then certainly won't have any thing to show. But I wonder what you say. Is it true that an accidental disconnect would have this defeat banner proof? I think of the times I've been disconnected on my tablet and I have gotten nothing. Zilch. It just freezes and I get the question, "Stratego has stopped responding. Do you wish to wait, report, or stop it?"
It is always a done deal at that question. The game is terminated. You can't wait it through. And there is no defeat banner when I finally choose 'stop'.
Maybe what you are saying only applies to desktop users?
I've seen it (desktop). It's been a while though and it might be inconsistent. Not sure/don't remember if it signifies the game never occurred or if a server dc happened mid game.
On another site, at least one player used to abuse with "I got disconnected, can we delete the game please".


This Thanksgiving unit has 11 turkey centers for math and literacy. The activities can be easily differentiated and used in a variety of ways to meet the needs of all learners. Recording sheets are included with most of the centers. There are 6 math centers and 5 literacy centers.


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Posted on May 27, 2020 May 27, 2020 by scientificinquirer
Dinosaurs had the worst asteroid luck possible
The simulations show that the asteroid hit Earth at an angle of about 60 degrees, which maximised the amount of climate-changing gases thrust into the upper atmosphere.
Such a strike likely unleashed billions of tonnes of sulphur, blocking the sun and triggering the nuclear winter that killed the dinosaurs and 75 per cent of life on Earth 66 million years ago.
Drawn from a combination of 3D numerical impact simulations and geophysical data from the site of the impact, the new models are the first ever fully 3D simulations to reproduce the whole event – from the initial impact to the moment the final crater, now known as Chicxulub, was formed.
The simulations [2] were performed on the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) DiRAC High Performance Computing Facility.
Lead researcher Professor Gareth Collins, of Imperial's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: "For the dinosaurs, the worst-case scenario is exactly what happened. The asteroid strike unleashed an incredible amount of climate-changing gases into the atmosphere, triggering a chain of events that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. This was likely worsened by the fact that it struck at one of the deadliest possible angles.
"Our simulations provide compelling evidence that the asteroid struck at a steep angle, perhaps 60 degrees above the horizon, and approached its target from the north-east. We know that this was among the worst-case scenarios for the lethality on impact, because it put more hazardous debris into the upper atmosphere and scattered it everywhere – the very thing that led to a nuclear winter."
The results are published in Nature Communications.
Crater creation
The upper layers of earth around the Chicxulub crater in present-day Mexico contain high amounts of water as well as porous carbonate and evaporite rocks. When heated and disturbed by the impact, these rocks would have decomposed, flinging vast amounts of carbon dioxide, sulphur and water vapour into the atmosphere.
The sulphur would have been particularly hazardous as it rapidly forms aerosols – tiny particles that would have blocked the sun's rays, halting photosynthesis in plants and rapidly cooling the climate. This eventually contributed to the mass extinction event that killed 75 per cent of life on Earth.
The team of researchers from Imperial, the University of Freiburg, and The University of Texas at Austin, examined the shape and subsurface structure of the crater using geophysical data to feed into the simulations that helped diagnose the impact angle and direction. Their analysis was also informed by recent results from drilling into the 200 km-wide crater, which brought up rocks containing evidence of the extreme forces generated by the impact.
Pivotal to diagnosing the angle and direction of impact was the relationship between the centre of the crater, the centre of the peak ring – a ring of mountains made of heavily fractured rock inside the crater rim – and the centre of dense uplifted mantle rocks, some 30 km beneath the crater.
At Chicxulub, these centres are aligned in a southwest-northeast direction, with the crater centre in between the peak-ring and mantle-uplift centres. The team's 3D Chicxulub crater simulations at an angle of 60 degrees reproduced these observations almost exactly.
The simulations reconstructed the crater formation in unprecedented detail and give us more clues as to how the largest craters on Earth are formed. Previous fully 3D simulations of the Chicxulub impact have covered only the early stages of impact, which include the production of a deep bowl-shaped hole in the crust known as the transient crater and the expulsion of rocks, water and sediment into the atmosphere.
These simulations are the first to continue beyond this intermediate point in the formation of the crater and reproduce the final stage of the crater's formation, in which the transient crater collapses to form the final structure (see video). This allowed the researchers to make the first comparison between 3D Chicxulub crater simulations and the present-day structure of the crater revealed by geophysical data.
Co-author Dr Auriol Rae of the University of Freiburg said: "Despite being buried beneath nearly a kilometre of sedimentary rocks, it is remarkable that geophysical data reveals so much about the crater structure – enough to describe the direction and angle of the impact."
The researchers say that while the study has given us important insights into the dinosaur-dooming impact, it also helps us understand how large craters on other planets form.
Co-author Dr Thomas Davison, also of Imperial's Department of Earth Science and Engineering, said: "Large craters like Chicxulub are formed in a matter of minutes, and involve a spectacular rebound of rock beneath the crater. Our findings could help advance our understanding of how this rebound can be used to diagnose details of the impacting asteroid."
Tagged with:dinosaurs, Europe, evolution, extinction
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A great collection of original songs about friends and family who have gotten through the things life throws at us all, and about finding some of the magic we explore for along the way. And a bit of mild protest, because just about everyone "is" Good People. Some of the songs are from the monologues of Roger Kuhns, and includes "Blue Ocean", which was sung by Eli Mattson at Cargegie Hall in 2010.


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Мументалер:
 Мументалер, Милагрос (род. 1977) — аргентинский кинорежиссёр, сценарист, продюсер.
 Мументалер, Серж (род. 1953) — швейцарский футболист, судья.


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Barcode Standards

Oxipay uses the Code 128 symbology for pre-approval barcodes, specifically code set B (128B). 128B allows for characters 0–9, A–Z (uppercase) and a–z (lowercase), however we currently only use numeric values 0–9 in the barcode.

The length of encoded data is currently 10 digits, which includes 4 static digits, "6199", followed by 6 generated digits. The reason for starting the encoded data with "6199" is so that POS software vendors can make some inferences about barcodes in this format. If a barcode is scanned that starts with "6199" they could assume it's an Oxipay payment. Essentially the POS operator could be spared having to do some type of action before scanning the payment barcode saving the POS operator one or more clicks.

Note: Oxipay reserves the right to change the length of encoded data at any time. For this reason it's strongly advised that POS software integrators do not make any assumptions about barcode lengths.

The PROs of 128B are as follows:

* Supports alphanumeric characters, giving large combination of barcode ranges to support future business volume
* Difficult to decode our barcode standard with a combination of alphanumeric characters
* Encoded data length is extendable

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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N004_0305 - [Pending Review]
Index ------- Malacca, Continued Addressed, advising further remittance of cash made to, per Ship Donna Carmelita; Receipt acknowledged .............................. 371, 381 Transmits letter from the Rev'd Mr Burn, relative to permission granted him to consider Malacca as his Chief Station ................................. 376 Requested to apprehend one Incheq Mahomed .............................. 381 Transmits Printed Bills of Ladings &ca. ................................................. 403 Advised of a further remittance of cash made to, per Brig Hebe .. 404 Advises the receipt of a large consignment of Treasure from Penang, and states he will not require further cash from Singapore ....... 417 Transmission with, relative to the Rev'd Mr Burn, recorded .......... 436 Requests to be furnished with copy of the letter, addressed by the Magistrate at Singapore to the Recorder, and his reply thereto - Transmitted ..................................................................................................... 438, 439 Acknowledges receipt of cash remitted per Brig Hebe, and states his intention to return the Peruvian Dollars and some base coins .. 442 States the Mohallah, having sailed without complying with the Port Regulations ............................................................................................ 496 Reports a deficiency in the rice landed from the Hastings, submitted to the notice of the Board .......................................................................... 497 Acknowledges receipt of duplicate Box Packet sent to Europe per Ship Thomas .................................................................................................... 532 Requests the Guard Boat Active be sent up, for a few days ............ " Sends back the Guard Boat Active ............................................................. 549


That Lou Holtz know's his stuff. St. Mary's isn't the second coming of Jesus and we aren't some mid-major scrub team. We got burned-Few will patch it up (along with our players) and we will be right there come the first round.
Gonzaga is at the point where a first round win and then a flameout in the tourney isn't the goal anymore. We expect to go deep, we expect to dominate, and the consensus on this board is that a final four is in reach in the near future. So say we win tonight-yippee we get a 4 or 5 seed, play our first two games in Spokane and then play Kansas or Syracuse and run into a buzzsaw.
Or, we lose and now we are looking at a 7 seed (worst case). We play Richmond in the first round (10 seed), followed by Purdue(2 seed) and then Georgetown (3 seed) before having to play a one seed.
So what we didn't get a "protected seed." We get a worse seed but an easier road to the E8. We didn't even know if we were going to make it to the tournament this year so why not go "all in" now? Forget 1st round win, sweet 16-this team is streaky and we are going to put it to the test and hope we come out of the gates hot.
Heck, we could strike out in the first round, but this year we are swinging for the fences and thats what March Madness is all about. Get excited Zag fans-it's time to wreck some brackets.
I was panicked after the USF loss. I could see that the team, as a whole, just shows up when it is not a critical game. Lets face it. The team is in the Tourney no matter what. So why risk any more injury. Arop is out and everyone is banged up and lets let St Marys in to the Dance so we have 2 representatives in the field of 64.
Thank you for that post. It brought me back down to earth.
First off, I would not go around quoting Lou Holtz, the man sounds like has had one to many strokes and someone needs to sent him to the home.
I definitely agree with your idea of perspective. We need to appreciate the team we have and hopefully the lower seeds may even gives us some sort of psychological advantage.
That being said, we are not a sweet sixteen team. First or Second round most likely.
After Maui I thought we would get even better. I thought we were a Final four or N.C. team. I thought that until the loss at USF. We did't get better after Maui but we beat decent Ok and Illinois teams. I was sky high after our first WCC road trip taking 3 straight wins and looking downhill room there. Then the complacency hit. The 3-4 close wins at home. Then the USF loss. The close wins the rest of the year and then the LMU loss. Now this total beat down and embarrassing feeling that they know they are in the Dance and they need to save their energy for later. Not the lowly WCC.
Scary because now the emotional and level of intensity habits have been solidified and cannot likely change. It will take an uncharacteristic total shakedown from Few and the staff coupled with intense personal reflection and commitment to all out teamwork, focus, run and gunning, and defense.
They did it in Maui, and they can do it again in San Jose or wherever the 6-7 seeds play.
That is what I want now. A six or seven seed.
Start the season strong and finish the season strong. It's a little shaky during the middle. Overall this team exceeded expectations but its such a long season you forget that as the weeks roll by and we keep winning - bad loss, winning streak again, bad loss, etc.
We got mugged Monday night, by SMC, the refs, and especially injuries. Us at full strength and a little better called game and it's ours. I have no doubt.
What this team needs now is some rest, some ice and some mental motivation from the staff. Jen better hire some temps, she is going to be busy.
We take this break, forget about who or where we are going to play and just point the jet in that direction after they announce it on Sunday. This team will excel when they play a team they haven't played this season - it's like a first date, you are a little nervous but alert and you make sure you are on the top of your game.
Few needs to pull all the stops and come up with something new - let's surprise the enemy.
One thing I hope that the coaching staff has learned from this season is that you must develop your bench. Matt and Steven averaged 35+ minutes per game, and I think that showed down the stretch, physically and mentally.
I'm also trying to keep this in perspective...considering the inexperience of this team, Coach Few and his staff have wrung out just about the max in terms of wins, and making it to the Dance.
I've noticed the slippage in virtually all of the big name schools we've played, save for Wisconsin and Duke. What I thought was a big win against OU turned out to be a phfft.
I hope I'm wrong, but I think that the team has mentally hit a wall, moreso than physically. Will a week's rest solve that? That's the question in my mind. I was hoping we'd be on a roll going into the tournament.
Not necessary, or classy, to say that. Coach Holtz was a great coach and is a wise man. I hope I'm able to share the type of insights such a successful career provides when I am his age.
So say we win tonight-yippee we get a 4 or 5 seed, play our first two games in Spokane and then play Kansas or Syracuse and run into a buzzsaw.
So what we didn't get a "protected seed." We get a worse seed but an easier road to the E8.
Couldn't agree more. Yesterday looking at Lunardi's bracket before the game, he had us as a 4 seed in Syracuse's region. Sorry but I don't like that matchup for us in the sweet 16 should we get there(or vs. any of the 1 seeds for that matter). Now we get a 6 or a 7 seed on the #2 and #3 side of the bracket. Current #2 seeds are Purdue, West Virginia, Ohio St., and K-State. Current #3s are New Mexico, Mich. St., 'Nova, and Pitt. There is a distinct drop off after the #1 seeds and we are now, most likely, avoiding them. I think we did ourselves a favor last night. We all wanted to win the WCC tourney but we're actually in better shape now IMO.
Last year they finished the season strong beating Saint Mary's by like 2. Then they go to the tourament and play Akron and look like they didnt come to play. They pulled away but I did not like what I saw. The zags teams the last couple of years have shown times when they come and play with fire and other times like a team that doesnt know what the heck there doing. We have seen that this year. When we get placed in the tournament we will know in the first ten minutes if this team has come with fire or if it will be a long frustrating game that leaves us packing.
Good post, but I fear the fire is out. The fire after each loss has gotten shorter and shorter until now I sense it is out. Wish I had answers. But after9-10 days, this latest loss will be forgotten, everyone will be happy, satisfied, mellow, laid back and relaxed once again... And that's when the team loses. This reminds me of Matt's freshman year, just happy to make the dance, but Raivio did carry that team to a conference tourney title. The fire is gone, I fear. I really wish I could say otherwise.