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CIT Team Bios
Compassionate Integrity Training was first developed by Drs. Michael Karlin and Brendan Ozawa-de Silva under the auspices of the Center for Compassion, Integrity and Secular Ethics (CCISE) at Life University. The program was expanded and refined with the help of a working group of scholars and practitioners from Life University and other organizations brought together by CCISE, and has also benefited from consultation with the participants and fellows of the Octagon conference at Life University. The authors would like to thank especially Dr. Guy Riekeman, Dr. Gerry Clum, Dr. Corey Keyes, Dr. Tom Pruzinsky, Dr. Tom Flores and Dr. Lobsang Tenzin Negi. The creation of CIT was greatly aided by the work of Avital Abraham, Program and Research Coordinator at CCISE.
Michael Karlin, Ph.D.
Michael Karlin is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Life University in the Positive Human Development and Social Change Department and the Associate Director of the Life University Center for Compassion, Integrity and Secular Ethics. He is the co-author of Compassionate Integrity Training: A Secular Ethics Approach to Cultivating Personal, Social and Environmental Flourishing. Karlin received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Jewish Studies from Emory University in 2014. His dissertation, "'To Create a Dwelling Place for God': Life Coaching and the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Movement in Contemporary America," is an ethnographic study of two Jewish life coaching programs that blend psychology, religion and contemplative practice in order to provide resources with which individuals can construct moral selves and heal psychological wounds. Karlin was also a Fellow of the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies, Mind and Life Institute andand the Wexner Heritage Institute. Prior to graduate school Karlin was the founder and President of the Mythic Imagination Institute, a non-profit institution dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of myth and ritual and how it functions in daily life. Additionally, he served as the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Alliance for a New Humanity, an international non-profit organization founded by two Nobel Peace Prize winners and Deepak Chopra that attempted to address pressing international issues by bridging the spheres of politics, economics, and religion. Karlin is also an active real estate investor and was co-founder of Security First Network Bank, the world's first Internet bank, and S1 Corporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONE), the world's leading provider of financial portal solutions. He was president of Security First Network Bank at its inception, and was responsible for setting up the Internet operations, defining the original product offering, and receiving all regulatory approvals. Prior to SFNB, Karlin co-founded VST Financial Services, an SBA lending subsidiary of Cardinal Bancshares, Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky.
Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, Ph.D.
Brendan Ozawa-de Silva serves as Associate Director for the Center for Compassion, Integrity and Secular Ethics at Life University. His full-time appointment is as Associate Director for Emory University's Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics, where he is responsible for Emory's SEE (Social, Emotional and Ethical) Learning program, a worldwide K-12 educational curriculum based on compassion and secular ethics. He also serves as Associate Director for Buddhist Studies and Practice at Drepung Loseling Monastery and as a level 2 certified instructor for Emory University's Cognitively-Based Compassion Training program. Dr. Ozawa-de Silva received his doctorates from Oxford University and Emory University, as well as Master's degrees from Boston University and Oxford University. He has taught as a Visiting Professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, as Associate Professor of Psychology at Life University from 2013-2017, and served as Program Coordinator for the Dalai Lama's Visits at Emory University in 2007 and 2010. He also served as the founding director for the Chillon Project, Life University's program to bring degree programs to incarcerated students and correctional staff in Georgia. Dr. Ozawa-de Silva also serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Healthcare, Science and the Humanities, and as a Founding Board member of the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. Dr. Ozawa-de Silva's chief interest lies in bringing secular ethics—the cultivation of basic human values—into education and society. His research focuses on the psychological, social and ethical dimensions of prosocial emotions and their cultivation, with a focus on compassion and forgiveness. He has been involved in a dozen meditation studies in Atlanta and in Japan, and has received multiple grants to fund these studies. He has worked to bring compassion training into elementary schools in the Atlanta area, to foster children in Georgia's foster care program, to women in domestic violence situations, and to incarcerated persons in state correctional facilities in Georgia. This work is featured in the book Compassion: Bridging Science and Practice and in the documentary film, Raising Compassion. He has published recent articles and book chapters on the secularization and scientific study of contemplative practices, scientific research on compassion meditation and its benefits, suicide and mental health in Japan, the mind/body relationship in Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan medicine, and the introduction of contemplative practices and pedagogy into education.
Jennifer Valtos
Jennifer serves as the Director of Training with the Center for Compassion, Integrity, and Secular Ethics. Jennifer has been working in higher education, specifically in the area of student affairs, for more than 20 years. With a broad background in all areas of student affairs, including leadership development, she has facilitated programs and trainings for students, staff, and faculty including training facilitators for large and small group experiential learning activities. Jennifer received her bachelor's degree in history, political science, and secondary education. Her master's degree is in secondary school counseling and she holds a certificate of advanced graduate studies in elementary school counseling from the University of Scranton, Scranton PA. She received a post graduate certificate in leadership and accountability and is currently in the process of completing an EdD degree in Educational Leadership and Management. Her capstone involves writing a curriculum for first year students to provide them with the knowledge, resources, and personal skills and abilities to be successful as students and graduates. Jennifer is the proud mother of two daughters, Madeline and Hannah, and lives in New Jersey with her family.
CIT Working Group
Tali Abraham
Avital Abraham serves as the Research and Program Coordinator for the Center for Compassion Integrity and Secular Ethics at Life University. In this position, she coordinates a research study evaluating the effects of educational and psycho-social interventions in a prison setting. She is a certified trainer in the Community Resiliency Model (CRM), which teaches resiliency-focused skills to help individuals regulate their nervous systems during stressful situations. Previously, she worked a contracted mentor with domestic minor sex-trafficking victims. Avital received her Bachelor's in Psychology from the University of Georgia. She is currently enrolled in the Master's of Positive Psychology at Life University. Her research interest focuses on the connection between trauma, violence and resilience. Avital has taught CIT to peace-builders in Northern Ireland, incarcerated people at Arrendale State Prison, University faculty and staff and others. She is deeply involved in increasing access to skills that teach prosocial human values and resilience, especially with marginalized and at-risk groups. This is why Compassionate Integrity Training is so important to her. Not only is the training itself extremely valuable to her, but she believes keeping the material open-sourced and free for the public is a key component to the success of this work.
Shelly Batcher, MBA
Shelly Batcher is a wife, mother of four children and creative marketing professional. She helps organizations through strategic, innovative solutions. She is a visual communicator with 27+ years of experience. Shelly began as a graphic designer and creative lead. Now, she is the Executive Director of Marketing at Life University, the largest single-campus Doctor of Chiropractic Program in the World. Her passion is visual communication that delivers strategic marketing solutions. Through watching and learning from a rapidly evolving industry, she takes pride in being a vital part of the entire creative process. Her favorite part of participating in the CIT Working Group is to use the resources and tools developed to be a better wife and mom, while continuing to grow in her professional career. Some current and previous clients and employers include: US Bank, Harley Davidson, United States Bowling Congress, Life University, Brunswick, Miller Beer, Circus Circus and Eldorado.
Elizabeth Bounds, Ph.D.
Dr. Elizabeth M. Bounds, who joined Candler's faculty in 1997, is engaged in the Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation Concentration, part of the Master of Divinity degree program at Candler. She also teaches courses as part of the Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding Concentration in Emory's Graduate Division of Religion. Bounds' interests include restorative justice and the prison system, peace-building and conflict transformation, democratic practices and civil society, feminist and liberation ethics, and transformative pedagogical practices. The core of her research, teaching and scholarship is focused on moral and theological responses to conflict and violence, whether in the U.S. prison system, ordinary congregational life, or post-conflict situations such as Liberia. She is the author of Coming Together/Coming Apart: Religion, Modernity, and Community (Routledge, 1997), co-editor of Welfare Policy: Feminist Critiques and Justice in the Making: Feminist Social Ethics (Pilgrim Press, 1999) and has authored several essays in edited volumes.
Anja Pelzer Brennholt
Anja Pelzer-Brennholt holds a Law Degree with a focus in International Law and Human Rights Law, a Master's degree in Humanitarian Assistance and is a certified mediator. She has been working as a lawyer for a German Research Organization since 1999, is currently enrolled in the Master's program in Positive Psychology at Life University and volunteers as a docent for the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. When doing project work with the Center's CEO, she met researchers of the Center for Compassion, Integrity and Secular Ethics at Life University and has been intrigued by the power and impact of Compassion and Integrity Training (CIT) ever since then. "I really believe in CIT. Based on inclusive values it is universally applicable and can have a major impact particularly in diverse environments. Not just the people who undergo the training will profit, but the systems they live and work in!"
Nuala Crilly
A graduate of University of Manchester and Queens University Belfast, Nuala Crilly began working in the community sector in Derry in 1989. After a stint working in the tourism sector in the USA, Nuala returned to Derry in 2001 and again returned to work in the community development sector. She began to focus on working with more individuals within community organisations and local areas to get their voices heard and enable them to effect change within their local areas. Passionate about ensuring those at the margins have their voices heard in decision making, which impacts on them and their communities, she has helped develop a number of training programmes, such as Taking Your Campaign To Stormont and also Clever Committees. As part of her role with St Columb's Park House Nuala continued to development training and support programmes for individual changemakers who were pursuing a campaign. This has evolved into the Compassionate Campaigning programme which holds Compassion and the Principles of Non Violence at its core with a focus on compassion for self and compassion for others. This work is developed within an understanding and appreciation of the systems within which we all exist and are connected by. Compassionate Communities aims to support a wide range of activists develop support mechanisms to drive forward individual or collective change. Nuala lives in Derry with her three children and dog and in her spare time like to relax by practising and teaching yoga!
Sholom Estrin
Sholom Estrin is a rabbi, board certified chaplain and an expert in Jewish mindfulness practices. He started his Rabbinical training in the mystical city of Safed under the tutelage of some of the foremost renown scholars of the Kabbalistic and Hasidic practices, and he has brought his knowledge and skills into his non-denominational chaplaincy practice. In addition, Sholom has a master's degree in Educational Leadership from Bellevue University and is currently studying the CIT approach to ethical development. His prior experiences include a year as a Chaplain Fellow at the Atlanta Veteran Administration Medical Center, with a focus on Veterans suffering from mental health concerns, a year and a half as a chaplain resident at Emory University Hospital, as well as five years as the contract rabbi for the Federal Corrections Compound at Butner, NC. In addition, Sholom is also trained in the ancient tradition of artisan cheesemaking. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and four boys.
Marianne Florian
Marianne Parrish Florian is currently working on a Ph.D. in Religious Studies. In the wider field of American Religious Cultures, she specializes in the study of Buddhist modernism, Buddhism in America, and African heritage traditions in the Americas. She also looks to contemplative practices, contemplative science, and cognitive science of religion for new understandings and perspectives of what religious people do and believe. In addition to her degree, she is pursuing a graduate certificate with Emory's Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture. She holds a Master of Arts in French language and literature from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Theological Studies degree from Emory's Candler School of Theology. Her 2012 thesis describes Cognitively-Based Compassion Training® (CBCT), a secular, contemplative approach to teaching compassion, in the context of its Tibetan Buddhist antecedents and similar meditation programs. Building upon previous work, for her dissertation research, she will partner with Spiritual Health at Emory Healthcare, the Mascaro lab in Family and Preventive Medicine at the Emory School of Medicine, and CBCT® to document the experience of Spiritual Health Clinician-Residents as they train in a new, evidence-based approach to hospital chaplaincy and care that is centered on compassion and rooted in contemplative techniques. Her role in Life University's CIT Working Group has allowed her to incorporate insights from trauma interventions and critical social theory into her own meditation practice, build relationships with dedicated volunteers and experts, and contribute to developing instructional manuals.
Tom Flores, Ph.D.
Thomas "Tom" V. Flores holds a PhD from Emory University in Religious Studies, with a concentration in Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding. He was heavily involved with Emory's Initiative in Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding as its first Post-doctoral Fellow, then Visiting Professor of Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation Practices at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. His research and publishing areas integrate: diversity, tolerance, and culture; peace studies and conflict transformation; expressive arts for social change; psychologies of violence, altruism and enemy construction; inter-religious dialogue; international Museums for Peace; and peace building contemplative practices. He also has degrees in Theology, Political Science, and Music. At Life University, he is serving as Assistant Professor of Positive Human Development and Social Change, where he co-conceived and co-developed, along with Dr. Brendan Ozawa-de Silva, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Positive Human Development and Social Change (PHDSC), as well as the Associate of Arts degree in PHDSC offered at the Lee Arrendale State Women's Prison in North Georgia (a component of the Chillon Project). He teaches numerous courses for the Chillon Project. For seven years, he has taught and continues to teach World Religions for Georgia Gwinnett College. Prior to his academic career, Tom was in the music business and a professional musician in his home city of Los Angeles, California. "Practicing the skills of Compassionate Integrity Training has made an incalculable difference in so many areas of my life and understanding. I have seen it bring incredible insight and benefit to the lives of my students. Now more than ever, it is sorely needed in education and society today."
Anna Gorczynska
Anna Gorczynska is currently a graduate student at Life University working on her master's degree in Positive Psychology. She is taking classes in Coaching Psychology as well as Secular Ethics and Contemplative Science tracks. Anna strongly believes in the power of education as learning and teaching are her main passions in life. Most of her background so far is related to education. She holds a Licentiate Degree (equivalent to the bachelor's degree) in Special & Early-School Pedagogies from Higher School of Pedagogy from her native country, Poland. She also received Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from Kennesaw State University, GA. Back in her country, Anna was a teacher of English as a Foreign Language for several years teaching elementary and middle school children as well as adults.
Helen Henderson
Helen Henderson is the Managing Director of St Columb's Park House, a Peace and Reconciliation centre based in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. In this role she oversees the running of a conference and residential centre along with the development of core peace programmes in the community. She has spent most of her working life in the community and voluntary sector and worked for many years with Children in Crossfire delivering their development /global education programme with teachers/youth workers and young people. She completed a masters in 'Education for Contemporary Society' and is passionate about ordinary people making extraordinary differences. St Columb's Park House are keen to explore new ideas and holistic methodologies that further develop peace building work on the island connecting it to social justice, and ensuring it is relevant to the daily lives of people living in the margins of our society.
Michaela Maxwell
Michaela Maxwell holds a BA in South Asian Studies from Middlebury College. Her research spans the areas of mindfulness, cognitive science, identity, moral philosophy and gender equality in Buddhism. She has conducted workshops on mindfulness and emotional intelligence in the workplace, and has done fieldwork in India and Nepal. Interested in secularizing mindfulness practices for larger audiences, Michaela assisted in the editing process for the CIT manual. She firmly believes that the most effective way to make any change in the world is by shifting our mindsets. When we manage to do this, all else follows. Michaela is passionate about the transformative power of Compassionate Integrity Training to cultivate human well-being, as well as more fruitful dialogue in all sections of the population.
Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, D.Phil.
Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, D.Phil., is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. Dr. Ozawa-de Silva's research focuses on cross-cultural understandings of health and illness, especially mental illness, by bringing together Western and Asian (particularly Japanese and Tibetan) perspectives on the mind-body, religion, medicine, therapy. She is currently the Principal Investigator of an ethnographic study of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training that is funded by the Mind and Life Institute and the Templeton Foundation, and was a recipient of an NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) Fellowship in 2013-14. Her publications include one monograph, Psychotherapy and Religion in Japan: The Japanese Introspection Practice of Naikan (Routledge, 2006), and numerous peer-reviewed articles on psychotherapeutic practice, suicide, the mind-body relationship and Tibetan medicine.
Richard Shook, Ph.D.
Richard Shook, Ph.D. teaches psychology at Life University and has over 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist. His orientation has always included a humanistic focus which he now integrates with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion work and Nonviolent Communication. Richard had the opportunity to experience the power of mind/body interventions while he served as a medic in the Air Force. His mind/body focus deepened while completing his residency and a fellowship in pain management in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center. His pain management work involves integrating hypnosis and mindfulness meditation. Richard's work in psychotherapy and health psychology has allowed him a front row seat to the self-‐healing and self-‐regulating powers we all share. He received his first meditation training over 40 years ago. Richard is excited to be part of the growing mindfulness and compassion communities and the exciting work of the Compassion Integrity Training Working group.


Each healing gemstone bracelet was designed by Sheri Woxland, and hand made by Sheri and Tammy Barton.
All bracelets are 7.5" unless requested otherwise.
These bracelets are named for their health and spiritual properties.
Red Jasper: An excellent worry bead, calming the emotions. Helps dreams recall and cleans and stabil..
Labradorite: Stimulates intuition and psychic gifts brings messages from the unconscious mind to the..
Tiger Eye: Enhances protection, clear thinking and personal empowerment. Strengthens will power. Eff..
Tiger Eye: Enhances protection, clear thinking and personal empowerment. Strengthens will power. Ja..
Amethyst: Balances out highs and lows, promoting emotional centering. Alleviates sadness and grief. ..
Designed by Joan Barton - Breast Cancer SurvivorThe bracelet comes with a card saying:"Now faith is ..
Bloodstone: Energy cleanser and immune stimulator. Calms the mind, dispels confusion and enhances th..
Amethyst rectangle gemstones with multicolored glass beads: Balances out highs and lows, promoting e..
Moonstone: Calms stress and stabilizes the emotions, balances the hormonal system and fluid imbalanc..
Moss Agate: Refreshes the soul and enables you to see the beauty in all you behold. Attracts abundan..
Malachite: Assists with healing loyalty, healing dreams, emotional maturity, leadership ability and ..
Lapis Lazuli: Stone of truthfulness. Strengthens mind and body. Provides total awareness, strengthen..
Mahogany obsidian: It grounds and protects, gives strength in times of need, and eliminates energy b..


When Amanda Dawbarn, co-founder and creative director of 100 Layer Cake and 100 Layer Cakelet, and her husband, Tim, started designing a nursery for their growing family, they knew they wanted to create a modern space with a bespoke color palette. Judging by the images that follow, we'd say they nailed it. Filled with natural light, neutral colors, and artistic details, midcentury modern meets California cool in the sublimely serene space Dawbarn and her husband curated together.
However, as with many home renovation projects, not everything went quite as planned. "Our son Brooks's room was such a joy to design, although it was under construction, along with the other half of our home, for seven months while I was pregnant and when he was a newborn," she explained of the challenge. "Luckily, newborns sleep in your room, so he was with us while construction was finishing on the other side of the house," she added. "Once he was 4 months old, it was done, and we started putting together the nursery.
I collected pieces throughout my pregnancy without a solid design scheme," she confessed, "and just hoped that it all came together!"
Keep strolling to step into the tranquil space Dawbarn and her husband designed for their son. We're willing to bet this neutral nursery tour will convince you to ditch color in your own space.
"We wanted the room to have a relaxed and serene feel, with clean modern lines, a mix of textures and a nod to the beach culture of our home in California," Dawbarn explained of the vision she and her husband had for the nursery.
To ensure the space would be drenched in natural light, the couple updated the window fixtures when renovating their home. "In the nursery, we changed out a high, wide window for vertical ones and also added new French oak wide plank hardwood flooring and baseboards," revealed Dawbarn.
Dawbarn, who describes her style as "relaxed, warm and airy, with a focus on California craft and a hint of midcentury modern," let her personal taste come through in the room's design, from the color palette to the furniture selections.
"I gravitate toward simplistic, earth-toned colors and a design palette rich in texture," she elaborated. Though the nursery has a decidedly neutral palette, it's filled with interesting textiles, like this terra-cotta planter, that layer texture into the space.
While Dawbarn has a keen eye for design, her husband also played a leading role in bringing their vision for a serene space to life. "My husband made his toy bench out of some finished plywood," explained Dawbarn. "We both love to create, and I'm glad we each had a hand in making something for his room."
"We had a local artist, Niknikstudio, create a custom wall hanging for above Brooks's bed, with wood and an apricot yarn and that influenced other colors we would bring into the room," said Dawbarn. "He has so many colorful toys, so we wanted a neutral space that would be a backdrop for the color."
Though the couple established a color scheme early on, the room really started to come together once they bought the larger furniture pieces. "The first two pieces we acquired were his bed from Kalon (a local L.A. company) and his Oeuf dresser, and the room kind of came together from there," Dawbarn told MyDomaine.
"Our biggest challenge was trying to establish a harmonious balance between simple and neutral and colorful and fun," confessed Dawbarn.
The couple's greatest finds for the space are also some of the most artistic. "The Niknikstudio wall hanging above his bed and his brass Electric Sun Creatives mobile are among my favorite pieces in his room," Dawbarn revealed. "But of course, I love his maple crib too," she gushed.
"I've always been such a big fan of Caroline Z Hurley's textiles, and we were lucky to include one of her quilts and pillows," said Dawbarn. "Her textiles have a unique neutral sensibility that only get better with time."
Dawbarn's favorite thing about the nursery isn't a particular object but rather the overall feeling of the space. "I'm instantly calmed when I enter his room," she explained. "It feels so serene; a perfect place for our son to grow and play."
In addition to a collection of beautifully curated buys, the room also boasts personal touches from Dawbarn herself. "I photographed the ocean sunset above his changing table when I was four months pregnant on our babymoon in Hawaii," she told MyDomaine.
Here, an indoor tree complements the photograph's beachy vibes and lends an air of California cool to the nursery.
In the nursery's reading corner, Brooks's colorful book collection doubles as wall art thanks to a few affordable IKEA shelves.
"I snapped the surf photo at the beach down the street from our home a week before Brooks was conceived."
The couple's personal goal was "to make a soulful space for Brooks to dream and play, and one he could grow with," said Dawbarn. If you ask us, they nailed it.
Up next, step inside an interior designer's strikingly modern NYC loft.


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Home / All Items / San Benito - St. Benedict Wooden Rosary - Catholic Exorcism - Blessed By Pope
San Benito - St. Benedict Wooden Rosary - Catholic Exorcism - Blessed By Pope
A St. Benedict wooden rosary to ward you against demons
Wonderful crucifix with light olive wood beads and a link to go around the neck. The beads are made from the finest hard wood, olive wood; beads size: 6 mm
Hand made by cloistered nuns.
Fantastic cross and rosary center with the St. Benedict medal and a big cross.
The beads are made from the finest hard wood
Rosary connects with clasp so it can be easily placed or removed around the neck.
It is light and can be worn in any occasion.
Perfect for everyday wear. For men, women or child.
Perfect gift for special occasion such as Baptism, Confirmation, First communion.
Rosary Length 15" - 38 cm
It has been blessed by Pope Francis during public blessing in St. Peter square, but it can be blessed again after sale on request.
The Saint Benedict Medal is a Catholic sacramental medal containing symbols and text related to the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia.
The medal is one of the oldest and most honored medals used by Catholics and due to the belief in its power against evil is also known as the "devil-chasing medal". As early as the 11th century, it may have initially had the form of Saint Benedict's cross, and was used by pope Leo IX.
The reverse side of the medal carries the Vade retro satana ("Step back, Satan") formula which has been used by Catholics to ward off evil since the 15th century. Sometimes carried as part of the rosary, it is also found individually.
In widespread use after its formal approval by pope Benedict XIV in the 18th century, the medal is used by Catholics to ward off spiritual and physical dangers, especially those related to evil, poison, and temptation.
[courtesy of Wikipedia]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A polycotton shell provides a casual look for the Rev'it! Livingstone Jacket. The classic 4 pocket design veils its technical features and protection for an urban jacket that looks as good off the bike as well as it performs on the bike. Hydratex waterproofing keeps rain out while still allowing the jacket to breathe. Add or remove the thermal liner to configure that jacket to the current forecast. CE level 1 armor at the elbows and shoulders soak up impact energy without adding bulk that would ruin the lines of the vintage style jacket. Consider completing the impact protection by slipping the back protector (sold separately) into the back armor pocket.


I was researching how to get from Vancouver to Portland via rail. I learned some interesting things. Today you can take one train a day from Vancouver to Seattle. There is no training from Vancouver directly to Portland, and there are four trains daily between Seattle and Portland. There will be a new train running directly from Vancouver to Portland starting this summer when a $7 million siding track is completed in Delta to allow two trains a day between Canada and the US. This is where my research turned interesting.
Washington States has a long-term rail planning called surprisingly "Long-Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades". But before we get to the long-range plan, a little history. In 1993 the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) decided it was time to reinvest in intercity rail service. Since that time, they have added more trains along the route, purchased new rail cars, added new stations, and upgraded existing stations. In total, they have provided $608.7 million in capital improvements.
While WSDOT is the lead in implementing the rail service, the program is jointly funding between Amtrak, BNSF, the state of Oregon, the province of British Columbia, local and regional agencies, ports, and Sound Transit (like Translink, but for Seattle). There will be 13 trains daily between Seattle and Portland, and 4 trains daily between Seattle and Vancouver by 2023. As a note, the travel times between Seattle and Vancouver will be 2h37m which is faster than driving. In order to get to the 2023 service level, the plan will require $503 million or $1,067 million (more on that later) from BC, $3,966 million from Washington State, $671 million from Sound Transit, and $421 million from Oregon State.
In BC there is two options for passenger rail service. The first is ending service by Scott Road SkyTrain that will cost $503m. The second option is to continue the service into downtown Vancouver (like it is today.) That will cost $1,067m.
If the downtown option were selected, it would benefit more than Amtrak Cascade service. It would also allow better freight connections between all the local ports in Vancouver, and allow for the Interurban to continue from Chilliwack right into downtown Vancouver.
Let's hope the province does its part in funding this program. Since WSDOT started this project, it has seen ridership climb from 225,000 in 1993 to 683,000 in 2006.


If you would like us to carry out your very own special vows or wish to personalize your ceremony at all, we welcome that! Start with deciding the sort of ceremony that you want to have. Your wedding ceremony is one of the most crucial events that you could ever plan. It might be a ceremony which is similar to your true wedding, or, as in the majority of cases, it's very, very different from your wedding.
It's possible for you to incorporate so lots of things into a ceremony. Every ceremony is made for the couple. The Vegas Vow Renewal Ceremony has an attractive, historic chapel with a pure redwood interior and pure cedar exterior.
There are plenty of explanations for why a couple may consider celebrating their marriage for another time. There are many explanations for why a couple might need to renew their vows. Additionally, it is possible that the couple has some ideas for additional service elements which you might be unacquainted with. This couple was married five decades and was through some challenging times. A growing number of these days, couples are opting to omit specific parts of the service. Many couples are going to have their Vow Renewal ceremony while they're in Vegas for their honeymoon.
When you love someone that you don't love all of them the moment, in the exact same way, from moment to moment. How did you devote the time together. A dinner party with your favourite foods and your favourite people appears to be a superb moment. When picking a Valentine's Day present for someone who you have been with for a lengthy time, deciding on gifts that are You are able to find websites on the internet that let you input key information so you can create a one of a sort info graphic.


Out of all the components that contribute towards the final flavor profile of whisky, yeast undeniably gets the least attention. However, it's ironic that without these single-celled micro-organisms spelling magic, the mashed sweet 'wort' would have never transformed into the golden brown tipple that we heartily adore.
Yeast essentially serves as a catalyst for the fermentation process. It feeds on the sugar content of the wort to produce alcohol and another compound called congener. Congener imparts distinct flavors to the whisky.
These micro-organisms are broadly categorized into two family groups, namely wild yeast, and cultured yeast. Wild yeast by nature, is highly fragile and it only gets activated under certain climatic conditions. Irrespective of its significant aromatic potential, distillers often consider this yeast to be risky for usage considering they have no control over their growth. Cultured yeasts, on the other hand, allow the distillers to predict the alcohol content and particular aromas that add to the aromatic profile of a whiskey. Quite naturally, they are a safe bet for distillers.
Once the wort is moved to washbacks, yeast is blended within the mix to begin fermentation. Activated yeast converts the sugar content of wort to alcohol and carbonic gas, which is referred to as the wash. With time, the mixture begins to bubble and it is continuously stirred to keep the temperature within the limit.
The conversion process takes almost 40-60 hours to culminate. The resulting liquid, with an alcohol quotient of 6-8% is then decanted into storage vats called wash-chargers before being finally distilled.


Pulse of Murasa is a card with a bright future. It is not yet fully understood, or widely enough played.
… But they end up in an unanticipated place.
Pulse of Murasa is sweet, right?
Pulse of Murasa is kind of like both halves of Renewed Faith. For one more mana than a cycled Renewed Faith, Pulse of Murasa is both halves. You get six life, and keep the land!
One of Mike's ideas is to run Pulse of Murasa in a conjectural sixty-four card deck. Keying in on the Ben Rubin strategy of playing a bigger deck in order to accommodate more fetch lands as tutors, Mike posits hybridizing with a further [real] tutor engine of Bring to Light. An additional tutor theme will further pay off a larger deck size.
If you're going to play Five-color Bring to Light anyway… What about 20 + 5 + 5?
Patrick points out that by playing even more cards than BR did you can play all five colors but have better mana than a sixty card deck with twenty-seven lands!
Each of the fetch lands is effectively a "quad land". You will draw a lower percentage of battle lands and a lower percentage of basics; and a greater percentage of the fetch lands that can each get four of the five colors!
This is a mana base that maximizes the ability to hit more, different, colors and a huge percentage of your lands will enter the battlefield untapped!
What follows is a truly Innovative discussion of a new approach to deck design, plus a rundown of all the current top Standard archetypes.
Is Remorseless Punishment the Next Cruel Ultimatum… And is 64 the New 60?
This week Top Level Podcast run through Remorseless Punishment and a handful other quick hits from Oath of the Gatewatch, and meditate on both Ben Rubin's highly successful sixty-four card Abzan deck and other "heavy" decks from tournament Magic history.
Remorseless Punishment is both a Browbeat and a Cruel Ultimatum… The question is, is it more Browbeat — a card with two different very good sides that failed to add up to a single Tier One sorcery — or more Cruel Ultimatum (the textbook Standard "greater power")?
Mike was originally lukewarm on Linvala, the Preserver; but came around on her (at least a little) after reading Patrick's article on Star City Games!
Neither podcaster considers Linvala veritable "great white hope" against beatdown, however.
Unnatural Endurance is highly reminiscent of [playable] Theros Block combat instant Boon of Erebos… But without a certain drawback.
Patrick predicts that Unnatural Endurance will be a game-changing addition for beatdown decks, as there is a bigger gap between Unnatural Endurance and Boon of Erebos than Vapor Snag (cross-format Staple) and Unsummon (fringe playable spell).
One of Mike's favorite cards from Oath of the Gatewatch… and it's easy to see why. Patrick thinks Reality Smasher will indeed be smashing a reality near you, and soon. It is "more Baneslayer Angel than Gaea's Revenge" and already better in his mind than that playable blue-hating big boy.
The lazy analysis is that Ben added four Stubborn Denials to an otherwise black-green-white deck, taking the mode count of sixty up to sixty-four. That would be inaccurate, at best, of course; why then would he have twenty-nine lands?
The real reason behind Rubin's decision surprises Mike… and will probably surprise you.
But Patrick would play this Abzan, for sure.
Heir of the Wild returns as a two drop that can hit hard, and punch above weight.
Now might be a great time to be Abzan splashing red!
Red gives Abzan some amazing tools, like Crackling Doom (arguably the strongest card in Mardu colors), Kolaghan's Command, or Radiant Flames out of the sideboard. Matt Carlson won the most recent Star City Games Standard Open with an Abzan deck touching for many strategic red cards.
Matt won with four copies of Heir of the Wilds… and only two copies of Den Protector (main).
The format has gotten to a point where Heir of the Wilds is a more appropriate two drop than, say, Hangarback Walker. Hangarback Walker is a great card — don't get us wrong — but the current demands of the format can ask to hit harder than a 1/1 card advantage engine for two mana… And Heir of the Wilds is great in particular because it can trade off so effectively against opposing people's Siege Rhinos (or other key monsters) in combat.
We spoiled Snapping Gnarlid prior to Battle for Zendikar, and generally liked it. However most of our discussion has been about Snapping Gnarlid in landfall linear aggro decks. In his "Temur Black" deck, Josh McClain chose Snapping Gnarlid as his two drop, taking advantage of some thirteen fetchlands.
It is a little ironic, we think, that the actual Temur Ferocious deck goes with Snapping Gnarlid as the Abzan deck adpots Heir of the Wilds.
In addition to Standard chats about green two drops, Patrick and Michael peruse the recent Modern results and talk a little about the math and matchups of that format.
Either they have a creature (and you kill it) or they don't… And you draw an extra card.
And you keep drawing an extra card for the rest of the game.
"Ob Nixilis Reignited in Abzan" starts at a familiar place for Top Level Podcast… One of our hosts expressing his admiration for Siege Rhino!
So this episode of Top Level Podcast is dedicated to building Abzan decks with new tools from Battle for Zendikar.
Drana, Liberator of Malakir is a standout three drop… That Mike somehow didn't have in his starting Abzan Aggro deck. There are lots of good three drop creatures, but Drana is the rare card on the order of Anafenza, the Foremost or Brimaz, King of Oreskos at that point on the mana curve.
Drana is great against removal! Drana is too big on the backside for Wild Slash; generally too small for Abzan Charm or Valorous Stance; and benefits from the absence of Bile Blight and Lightning Strike (plus the general lack of popularity of Ultimate Price).
Drana is a super deadly attacker! Because Drana has first strike, damage potential for all your attackers who don't have first strike will go through the roof on every successful attack.
Drana works with both sides of Hangarback Walker! Drana gives Hangarback Walker itself a +1/+1 counter, but can be even better with several small creatures at your beck and call.
Patrick convinces Mike to try Woodland Wanderer; previously Mike considered it just some guy.
… Sometimes Prognostic Sphinx is "right" but Baneslayer Angel gives them the business. Woodland Wanderer just gives them the business.
We conclude the episode with Patrick putting together an Abzan Control deck on the fly!
But today: Hangarback Walker is transforming Abzan Aggro!
The defining component of the new breed of Abzan Aggro decks isn't just the inclusion of Hangarback Walker… But also playing twenty-six lands (or as Patrick says, the number they were supposed to be playing all along).
Everyone knows Hangarback Walker is a powerful card. But what makes Hangarback Walker so good in Abzan Aggro specifically?
Tons of +1/+1 counter redundancy – Abzan Charm; Dromoka's Command; Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, etc.
Michael and Patrick also discuss G/R Dragons, the concept of not playing new cards versus curating old cards, Bant Heroic and what might be great next week.
Team Ultra PRO had an outstanding Pro Tour Magic Origins!
Two members of Team Ultra PRO made Top 8 of Pro Tour Magic Origins — Pat Cox with Mono-Red and Matt Sperling with Abzan Control — with Rich Hoaen in ninth place on tiebreakers.
Find out how Michael, Patrick, and their Team Ultra PRO partners put together their multiple awesome decks, and better finishes!
How many Lightning Berserkers is the right number? Top Level Podcast is a house divided here. Patrick thinks the PT-winning build (with four Lightning Berserkers) is a home run.
Abbot of Keral Keep has elevated red to high Tier One status. It is a great way to try to hit your third land drop, and a Scry 1 even when you miss.
What an unusual collection of two-ofs, three-ofs, and unique card choices! How do Platinum level pros like Patrick Chapin and Matt Sperling get to three Den Protectors, or playing them on turn two against aggro decks?
How do you end up with a deck like this, that ends up being so successful?
"Eidolon of the Great Revel is Surprisingly Good in the Mirror" will tell you!
Abzan Aggro and Esper Dragons (both decks with powerful multicolor cards) got worse due to Languish being printed.
Nissa, Vastwood Seer encourages Abzan players to run basic Forest… Which can cast Ultimate Price but not Bile Blight.
Before we get to the main topics, Mike got his physical copy of Next Level Deckbuilding in the mail!
Mike already loved Next Level Deckbuilding (having had the digital version for a year or so) but has lots of nice things to say about the physical release.
Gerry Thompson, a friend to the 'cast, won the MOCS this past weekend with a "retro" Abzan Aggro!
… And it really looks like he did!
If you look at Gerry's deck, it really looks like a Khans of Tarkir-era deck, rather than one informed by Fate Reforged, let alone Dragons of Tarkir.
By making room for Dromoka's Command in place of Bile Blight, Gerry reduced his deck's reliance on black mana, in particular BB on turn two.
Welcome back, Wingmate Roc! This is a threat that lets him get in under Elspeth Sun's Champion, both on mana and on power.
Mana Confluence as a twenty-sixth land does multiple things for the usually-twenty-five-land Abzan Aggro archetype. Among other things, you can side out the Mana Confluence against Red Aggro on the draw!
Self-Inflicted Wound hits a shocking number of decks. Patrick spitballs about playing it main deck, not even just sideboard.
Mistcutter Hydra, a rediscovered piece of technology, can run right by Dragonlord Ojutai!
Michael — and especially Patrick — come to the conclusion that Elspeth, Sun's Champion might be where you want to go in Standard… But have a hard time landing on where to play their Elspeth, Sun's Champions.
Give us a listen, and then comment below.
Identifying good cards… and playing them!
How and when to "kill your darlings" in deck building. When do you, say, cut a Sakura-Tribe Elder, Goblin Piledriver… Or Courser of Kruphix? <-- This is a key deck building superpower!
The secrets of the Abzan Aggro deck that Patrick and other top Pro players ran at Grand Prix Denver (including a second-place "steak knives" finish by friend, friend, and friend of the 'cast Matt Sperling).
Contextualizing Abzan Aggro for a post-Fate Reforged world… Where Patrick and Michael talk about newcomer Warden of the First Tree!
Many Warden of the First Tree ideas, and in-depth analysis of the card!
What are you waiting for? Listen to this great new episode!


If you've ever driven to or from Vancouver International Airport ("YVR") then you have traveled along Grant McConachie Way. This road on Sea Island was named after bush pilot Grant McConachie, a man who Chuck Davis referred to as "a genuine Canadian hero".
Even as a young man, owning only an old Fokker, he envisioned a polar route to Europe — a dream that 30 years later his Canadian Pacific DC-8s would fulfill.
George William 'Grant' McConachie was born in Hamilton, Ontario, on April 24, 1909. He grew up in Edmonton and read everything he could about aircraft. Grant frequented the Edmonton airfield, begging and sometimes getting rides with famous Canadian bush pilots like Punch Dickins and Wop May. The young enthusiast paid for his flying lessons by looking after their aircraft, finally soloing in a DH Moth after only seven hours instruction.
By 1931, at the age of 22 he had his commercial pilot s licence, and he set out for China to fly for Chinese National Airways. On his way, McConachie stopped off in Vancouver to visit his Uncle Harry This was the first of two fateful meetings in the bush pilot s life. Uncle Harry not wanting to lose his nephew to what was then a country at war with the Japanese, bought him a dilapidated, second-hand Fokker to start his own airline.
Gran McConachie, a pioneer in Canadian aviation, started flying regular mail and passenger flights to Whitehorse from Edmonton in 1937, first with his company United Air Transport and then with its successor, Yukon Southern Air Transport Limited. Planes used floats in summer and skis in winter, but McConachie soon realized that year round operations were more economical using runways. Whitehorse already had a runway but otherwise northern airstrips were very few and very far between. McConachie set about to remedy the situation, and in 1938 he hired men to clear airstrips in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson using small tractors and horse teams.
The next summer McConachie started to clear an airstrip at Watson Lake. McConachie paved the way for the Department of Transport's survey engineers when they arrived to survey for the Northwest Staging Route. When the route became important to the military, McConachie provided knowledge and advice on how to improve facilities and the route.
Canadian Pacific Airlines launched on this day in history (May 1, 1942) and McConachie signed on as General Manager after selling them his Yukon Southern Air Transport. Canadian Pacific operated from 1942 to 1987, and from 1968 to 1986 as CP Air. It was based out of Vancouver and was eventually purchased by Canadian Airlines. In 1947, McConachie was elected President of the airline by its Board of Directors and helped it grow to become the second largest carrier in the country.
Under McConachie, CP Air would fly international and trans-Atlantic routes with destinations like Amsterdam, Australia, Hong Kong, Sydney, Lima, and Shanghai between 1942 and 1964.
On October 24th 1968, three years after his passing, Grant McConachie Way opened to traffic leading up to YVR.
Perfect article. Drove on that road so many times and never stopped to think of the significance of the name.


Malawi Police in Ntchisi have arrested a man who has been on the run since he allegedly killed his three year old step daughter in the district on Sunday last week.
The body of the deceased girl, Leah Medson was discovered without a head and private parts before the head was later found burnt.
Ntchisi Police Spokesperson, Gladson M'bumpha, has confirmed the arrest of Yona Daniel, 29.
M'bumpha said the suspect had been on separation with the deceased's mother, Rebecca Luka, 26, since June this year.
It is alleged that he went to the ex-wife's house on Sunday where he found her with her daughter (the deceased).
Terrified with the arrival of the suspect, M'bumpha said the woman sneaked out and reported him to chairperson of community policing forum in the area.
"The suspect took advantage of the ex-wife's absence and enticed the girl to accompany her to a nearby grocery shop so he could buy her sweets and both never returned," he said.
M'bumpha added that communities started searching for the girl only to find her dead body the following day morning without a head, neck and private parts.
He said the body was taken to Ntchisi District Hospital where a postmortem conducted revealed that death was caused by excessive loss of blood.
M'bumpha pointed out that the suspect would soon appear before the court to answer murder charges.
Daniel hails from Mdzeka village while Medson hailed from Chipacha village, both in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chilooko of in Ntchisi.
WHY KILLING A STEP DAUGHTER-YOU MONSTER? ? WHY DID YOU NOT WAIT UNTIL WHEN YOU BEAR YOUR OWN CHILD ?? IDIOT !! SATAN'S AGENT !!


The President welcomes the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to the White House to honor their 15th BCS National Championship.
Now, before I begin, I want to extend sympathies to the family of Mal Moore, who passed away last month, after a career that spanned six decades as a player, a coach and athletic director at Alabama. Mal did more than just about anybody to make this program what it is today. Our prayers go out to all the members of the Alabama community who knew him and loved him.
Now, last year obviously also had a lot of bright spots for the Crimson Tide. From the beginning of spring practice, the best teams in the country had one goal and that was to try to at least be as good, if not better, than Alabama. But the Tide kept on rising to the occasion and they never let up.
Back in January, with the whole country watching, this team lined up against the number-one ranked, undefeated Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, and dominated from the first possession. At halftime it was 28 to zero. That's when I stopped watching. (Laughter.) When the clock ran out it was 42 to 14. And they left no doubt who was the best team in the country. And after the game, the Notre Dame athletic director said, "They're not just better than us. They're better than everyone."
And that was no accident. A few days after winning the title last year, Coach Saban was already back to work. And even after losing some pretty big names in the draft last year, he and his terrific coaching team made sure that they did not lose a step.
AJ McCarron showed the kind of poise that very few 22-year-olds possess -- passing for more than 2,900 yards and 30 touchdowns on the season. I hear he's coming back for one more year, because apparently the rest of the SEC defenses haven't suffered enough. (Laughter.) So he's going to subject them to a little more pain.
This title also belongs to everyone who helped these young men get to where they are today -- family and friends, high school coaches and loved ones, trainers, staff, grocers. (Laughter.) These guys eat a lot. It belongs to every student who came to every game, all the fans who yelled "Roll Tide" at kickoff and cheered on the Million Dollar Band.
And that way of life has created legends like Bear Bryant and Joe Namath -- it's also a legacy carried on by this team and generations of fans who will fill Bryant-Denny Stadium to the rafters on Saturday afternoons.
So obviously everybody here has a lot to be proud of. I want to congratulate Alabama one more time on a great season. I want to wish the players luck who will be taking part in the NFL draft next year. And since I'll be around for four more football seasons, I expect I just might see these guys again before I leave.
COACH SABAN: Mr. President, we certainly appreciate what you do for our country. It's certainly special for you to take the time to honor out team, which we're very proud of their accomplishments relative to all of our fans, all of our supporters, all of our coaches and players. And this is really a special occasion and something you never really get used to. So we really appreciate it.


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MISP has devised and developed courses to introduce Mindfulness to young people. The programmes have been extensively trialled in schools and organisations and research has confirmed the benefits.
Learning from a young age how mindfulness can help lead a meaningful and happy life helps children to embed the skills needed to live life to the full on their own terms. Several programmes can be tailored to meet the needs and requirements of individuals, groups, classes or whole schools using one of a number of approved and proven highly effective programmes.
Mindfulness improves children's ability to focus and improves academic results as well as helping young people exercise more control over their emotions.
(a) Paws B (4-8years-old) – a twelve-session mindfulness course based on six themes and influenced by adult mindfulness courses such as MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy).
(b) DotB (.B) (8-17years old)– is a fun, useful and engaging –ten-session course adapted from the adult courses Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy.
A ten-lesson programme devised by Eline Snel in Holland, Mindfulness Matters uses short exercises, stories and child-friendly exercises and practices to help children's inner development. They learn skills such as attention, concentration, patience, friendliness and tolerance. Children can use a colourful workbook to record their learning.
A companion book, "Sitting Still Like a Frog" is available that can be used equally well by adults as children.
A seventeen-lesson programme sponsored by Goldie Hawn. The text book can be purchased from Amazon.com and training can be provided for individual teachers or schools.


Legendary Ghanaian highlife artiste, Kojo Antwi has unleashed a new song following a musical hiatus.
The song titled 'Supremo' was produced by Kaywa.
Trust me, Mr. Music Man does it better when it comes to music.


text:
Justia Patents Mathieu Meisser Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications
Patents by Inventor Mathieu Meisser
Mathieu Meisser has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Transition between virtual and augmented reality
Abstract: In an embodiment there is provided a user interface device for interfacing a user with a computer, the computer comprising at least one processor to generate instructions for display of a graphical environment of a virtual reality simulation. The user interface device includes a sensor for detecting activation and/or a sensor for detecting proximity of a body part of the user (e.g., hand). At least partially based on detection by one of these sensors, a transition between virtual reality states is triggered.
Assignee: Logitech Europe S.A.
Inventors: Thomas Rouvinez, Aidan Kehoe, Mario Gutierrez, Vincent Jalil, Damien O'Sullivan, Mathieu Meisser, Nicolas Ramond, Regis Croisonnier
Method and apparatus for facilitating setup, discovery of capabilities and interaction of electronic devices
Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein generally include a system and a method of configuring and/or controlling one or more electronic devices using a portable electronic device based on the interaction of the portable electronic device with a beacon signal generating system that is disposed at a desired location. Embodiments of the disclosure may include a system and a method of collecting and analyzing useful information received by the portable electronic device based on the receipt of a beacon signal. The portable electronic device may then perform one or more desirable functions or processes based the portable electronic device's interaction with the beacon signal generating system.
Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
Assignee: LOGITECH EUROPE, S.A.
Inventors: Stephane Delorenzi, Olivier Gay, Mathieu Meisser, Thomas Luc Rouvinez, Nicolas Sasselli, Remy Zimmermann
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A PERIPHERAL-CENTRIC AUGMENTED/VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT
Abstract: In certain embodiments, a sensing and tracking system detects objects, such as user input devices or peripherals, and user interactions with them. A representation of the objects and user interactions are then injected into the virtual reality environment. The representation can be an actual reality, augmented reality, virtual representation or any combination. For example, an actual keyboard can be injected, but with the keys pressed being enlarged and lighted.
Inventors: Stephen Harvey, Denis O'Keeffe, Andreas Connellan, Damien O'Sullivan, Aidan Kehoe, Noirin Curran, Thomas Rouvinez, Mario Gutierrez, Olivier Riviere, Remy Zimmermann, Mathieu Meisser, Dennin Onorio, Ciaran Trotman, Pierce O'Bradaigh, Marcel Twohig, Padraig Murphy, Jerry Ahern
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPERATING AN INPUT DEVICE IN AN AUGMENTED/VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT
Abstract: In some embodiments, a system comprising one or more processors configured to track a location of an input device within a physical environment via a three-dimensional (3D) tracking system, and modify a tracking parameter of the 3D tracking system while tracking the location of the input device based on the determined location of the input device within the physical environment. The input device may be coupled to a virtual reality display system and tracking the location of the location of the input device can be used for interacting with the virtual reality display system.
Inventors: Stephen Harvey, Denis O'Keeffe, Aidan Kehoe, Mario Gutierrez, Damien O'Sullivan, Thomas Rouvinez, Mathieu Meisser, Noirin Curran, Remy Zimmermann, Marcel Twohig, Dennin Onorio, Pierce O'Bradaigh, Olivier Riviere, Ciaran Trotman, Andreas Connellan, Padraig Murphy, Jerry Ahern
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONFIGURING A HUB-CENTRIC VIRTUAL/AUGMENTED REALITY ENVIRONMENT
VIDEO CONFERENCING SYSTEM AND RELATED METHODS
Abstract: A computer implemented method includes extracting one or more portions from a first video stream of a first physical environment; transmitting captured video data via a first communication link to one or more electronic display devices disposed within a second physical environment, wherein the captured video data includes the one or more extracted portions and the captured video data includes a preview portion that includes a first portion of a frame of the first video stream; and transmitting a second video stream of a second field of view of the first physical environment to at least one of the one or more electronic display devices disposed within the second physical environment via a second communication link, wherein the second video stream is generated in response to a selection of the preview portion of the captured video data made by a user located in the second physical environment.
Inventors: Mathieu MEISSER, Remy ZIMMERMANN, Mario Arturo GUTIERREZ, David GUHL, Nicolas SASSELLI, Jean-Christophe HEMES, Stephane DELORENZI, Ali MOAYER
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING SETUP, DISCOVERY OF CAPABILITES AND INTERACTION OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Universal input device
Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to input devices configured for use with computing devices. The present invention relates to methods and devices for establishing, maintaining and managing, wireless connections between an input device and one or more host computing devices running one of a plurality of operating systems. The input device may be configured to analyze data received from the host computing devices to automatically or manually determine an operating system running on the host computing devices and configure the input device for proper functionality with the determined operating system.
Inventors: Jiri Holzbecher, Mathieu Meisser, Philippe Chazot, Ana Milosevic, Pascal Strahm, Olivier Dumont, Tzu-Pin Lin
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING INFORMATION BETWEEN ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein generally include a system and a method of configuring and/or controlling the transfer of information between two or more electronic devices due to the interaction of an electronic device and a host identifier signal generating system. Embodiments of the disclosure may include a system and a method of distributing useful information received by or contained within a memory of the electronic device based on the receipt of a host identifier signal. The electronic device may then perform one or more desirable functions or processes based the portable electronic device's interaction with the host identifier signal generating system.
Inventors: Olivier GAY, Mathieu MEISSER, Thomas Luc ROUVINEZ, Nicolas SASSELLI, Remy ZIMMERMANN
Inventors: Mathieu Meisser, Remy Zimmermann, Mario Arturo Gutierrez Alonso, David Guhl, Nicolas Sasselli, Jean-Christophe Hemes, Stephane Delorenzi, Ali Moayer
Method and system for power conservation in a multi-zone input device
Abstract: A method includes placing an input device in a passive mode of operation and periodically monitoring a displacement sensor of the input device, receiving an indication of displacement from the displacement sensor, and placing the input device in an active mode of operation characterized by a power consumption level. The method also includes determining a passing of a predetermined time period since receiving the indication of displacement, placing the input device in a second active mode of operation characterized by a second power consumption level less than the power consumption level, and periodically monitoring one or more of a plurality of touch sensors. The method further includes receiving an indication of input from the one or more of the plurality of touch sensors and placing the input device in the active mode of operation.
Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
Inventors: Julien Piot, Baptiste Merminod, Christophe Dayer, Niall White, Stephen Harvey, Frederic Fortin, Mathieu Meisser, Nicolas Ramond, Olivier Mathis, Regis Croisonnier
Input device with multiple touch-sensitive zones
Abstract: An input device includes a housing for supporting a user's hand and a displacement sensor, mounted in the housing, for providing a displacement signal. The input device also includes a first portion of the housing operable to receive a first digit of the user and a first solid-state touch sensor disposed in the first portion and operable to detect movement of the first digit along the first portion. The input device further includes a second portion on the housing operable to receive a second digit of the user and a second solid-state touch sensor disposed in the second portion and operable to detect movement of the second digit along the second portion.
Assignee: Logiteh Europe S.A.
Method of operating a multi-zone input device
Abstract: A method of operating an input device in conjunction with a host device includes determining that the input device is in a stationary state and receiving a first signal from a first sense zone of the input device. The method also includes determining an input command based on determining that the input device is in the stationary state and the first signal and transmitting a signal associated with the input command from the input device to the host device.
Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
Control system for multi-zone input device
Abstract: A touch sensor system includes a touch controller having a first connector and a second connector and multiple sensor zones. The touch sensor system also includes a plurality of drive lines connected to the first connector of the touch controller and to the multiple sensor zones and a plurality of sets of sense lines connected to the second connector of the touch controller. Each set of the plurality of sets of sense lines is connected to one of the multiple sensor zones.
Multi-host wireless input device
Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are directed to input devices configured for use with computing devices. The present invention relates to methods and devices for establishing, maintaining and managing, wireless connections with between an input device and one or more host devices that the input device is paired with. The input device may include sensory feedback indicating the host device actively paired with the input device, and may enable switching between host devices.
Inventors: Jacques Robert, Sylvain Sauvage, Olivier Bodenmann, Jean-Christophe Hemes, Guy Raeber, Mathieu Meisser, Olivier Theytaz, Regis Croisonnier
CONTROL METHOD FOR A FUNCTION OF A TOUCHPAD
Abstract: A control method for a function of a touchpad utilizing a capture device includes measuring an analog threshold pressure value, and differentials thereof, and delivering event signals based upon the threshold pressure values and differentials thereof to execute a selected function. The capture device for remote, virtual on screen data input by hand annotation includes at least three functional layers including a bottom rigid layer, a middle pressure sensor layer, a capacitive flexible sensor layer, and a top flexible panel layer. The bottom rigid layer has a surface that provides a mechanical support for writing. The middle pressure sensor layer is adapted to measuring a pressure array or map on the capture active area and to send data representing the measured pressure to a personal computer.
Applicant: LOGITECH EUROPE SA
Inventors: Regis CROISONNIER, Mathieu MEISSER


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'China committed to supporting conservation of African wildlife'
Senior Beijing official addresses delegates at a workshop in Nairobi, says China has been and will cooperate with African governments to save African animals
NEXT NEWS ❯
By Rajat Ghai
Last Updated: Wednesday 27 March 2019
An elephant herd in the Masai Mara. Photo: Getty Images
A senior Chinese official has stated that the government of China is committed to conserving African wildlife that faces serious threats due to poachers hunting for animals parts to be used eventually in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by cooperating with the continent's governments and people.
"In recent years, China-Africa cooperation in wildlife conservation has been well developed. The Chinese government and private sector have provided funds, equipment, manpower and technology to support African countries in the conservation of endangered species and habitats, and conducting capacity building trainings," said Peng Youdong, deputy administrator of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NGFA) of China.
He was speaking in Nairobi during a workshop on addressing wildlife trafficking that was attended by Chinese officials and business executives, Kenyan policymakers and international conservation non-profit representatives.
"The Chinese government has successfully raised the awareness among citizens and enterprises (based in Africa), and also asked them to engage in local wildlife conservation and fundamentally eradicate illegal wildlife trade," said Peng.
A burgeoning Chinese nouveau riche population that also happens to be fixated with the country's ancient system of medicine, TCM, has meant death for millions of animals across Africa.
Rhinos, elephants, lions and leopards face the greatest threats from Chinese aspirations. Rhino horns, made of keratin (from which human nails and hair are also made) are prized in TCM and demand in China has meant that rhino populations have been diminished in both Africa and Asia.
Tiger bones are also prized in TCM. Since tigers are already very few, TCM manufacturers have looked for and found alternatives in Africa's lions and leopards. In recent years, there have been increasing reports about African lions and leopards being hunted for their bones.
But the most dangerous result of Chinese aspiration is the fate of African Elephants. Ivory has long been prized in China, throughout its long history. Since Asian elephants with tusks have already been hunted down and newer generations have evolved to bear no tusks at all, Chinese ivory makers have turned to Africa, where the Continent's Bush or Savannah Elephant has been decimated in the last 20 years to satisfy Chinese demand.
Another animal being hunted is the pangolin, now the 'most trafficked animal in the world'
Speaking to Down To Earth, Kenya-based conservationist and author, Mordecai Ogada said, "This is just Kenyan non-profits trying to make money from the Chinese government, which, on the other hand, is trying to look good at conservation. I would not take it seriousely."
वन्य जीव एवं जैव विविधता से जुड़ी सभी खबरें हिंदी में पढ़ें।
Lions Leopard Elephant Pangolin Poaching Wildlife & Biodiversity World
New Chinese rule for wildlife
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator's approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the 'Letters' section of the Down To Earth print edition.


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News Brooklyn Heights
'Don't close the Pop-Up Pool!' say Brooklyn pols
Meant to be temporary, popular Brooklyn Bridge Park pool approaching its last days
January 12, 2016 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Officials are urging Brooklyn Bridge Park to keep its popular pop-up pool open while conducting a study of the feasibility of installing a permanent pool. The little pool is scheduled to close at the end of next summer. Photo by Mary Frost
My, how time flies!
After a highly successful four-year run, the popular little Pop-Up Pool in Brooklyn Bridge Park is set to close at the end of next summer, after its fifth season.
Local officials are urging the park to keep it open, however, while it conducts a study of the feasibility of installing a permanent pool.
The pool, always intended to be temporary, was included in a Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by the city, state Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblymember Joan Millman in 2012. The pool's construction cost $700,000, according to the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy.
The 30-by-50-foot pool became an instant hit with thousands of park goers, who come from both the nearby neighborhood and from across the borough to enjoy a free swim. The area around the pool includes a 2,500-square-foot sandy beach, deck concessions, showers and restrooms.
Squadron and Councilmembers Brad Lander and Stephen Levin recently met with park officials to discuss keeping the pool open, and on Jan. 5 they wrote a joint letter to park President Regina Myer expressing concern about the planned closing.
"The pool has been a popular attraction since opening in 2012. It offers free entry and affordable swim lessons, which are a valuable resource — particularly for families who would not otherwise have access to this programming," the officials wrote.
"Closing the pool would be a serious loss for communities around the borough," they said. "As discussed in our meeting, we request the park conduct a feasibility study as the first step in pursuing a permanent pool. It is critical that the pop-up pool remains open while the study is completed and a path for a permanent pool in Brooklyn Bridge Park is established."
Park spokesperson Belinda Cape told the Brooklyn Eagle via email on Tuesday, "As part of an August 2011 Memorandum of Understanding, the city committed to providing a 'temporary pool in the Park for the duration of the summer season beginning in 2012 and continuing for the following four summers.' Far from the 'proposed elimination' suggested in the January 5 letter, it was always understood that the 'Pop-Up Pool' would be temporary, and that BBP would then proceed with the original plans for more parkland at this site."
She added, "As we head into the pool's final summer as planned, we look forward to working with our elected officials to secure funds for a permanent swimming pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park."
Ann Donnelly sworn in as federal judge for the Eastern District
January 12 | By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Bridge Park 'Pop-Up Pool' opens with a splash
Wounded dog with taped mouth found in East New York garbage bag
Faith In Brooklyn for Nov. 20
'Pop-Up Pool' at Brooklyn Bridge Park to open Friday -- Updated
Kings County Family Court celebrates more than 300 adoptions on National Adoption Day
VIDEO: Famous literary figures who've called Brooklyn Heights home
Getting ready for a 'pop-up pool' at BBPark


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Q: Title and author of a short story where Edgar Allan Poe's body is host to a time traveller's personality? This short story is based on the premise that future time travellers take over people's bodies like puppets to experience life in the past. However, Poe's personality is so strong that the traveller is trapped within his body, unable to return. His repressed memories inspire Poe's fiction.

A: A fellow over at "The Straight Dope" who calls himself "The Other Waldo Pepper" has ID'd this story as "Castaway" by Edmond Hamilton, having given it a quick perusal, I concur.  Here are the covers of the books containing this story. https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/titlecovers.cgi?63159  "So, I came from Aarn, did I?  Then why don't I remember it?"  "You do, a little.  You remember the place almost.  You remember the names--almost.  You put them into your stories and poems."  I have two of the books this story appears in, which is probably why I couldn't tag it to a particular cover.

A: Is it Death's Door: An Edgar Allan Poe Time Travel Novella by April White?

In the fall of 1849, Edgar Allan Poe disappeared. He was missing for five days, and was then found wandering near Gunnar's Hall in Baltimore, delirious and possibly drunk, wearing strange clothes and carrying a cane. Poe died four days later in a Baltimore hospital, never having regained proper consciousness except to call out for a mysterious person by the name of "Reynolds."
Of course Poe was a Clocker, and I knew I would write that story someday. What I hadn't expected was who would find Poe when he stumbled into the 21st Century.
Her name is Alexandra "Ren" Reynolds, and she has a secret too.

It seems to be part of a series, and there are some reviews of it on Goodreads. I couldn't find much info about it online, but it was the top result when I searched the web for short story "edgar allan poe" "time travel".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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GASB Statement No. 77 Data has arrived! Finally, a Price Tag on Corporate Welfare!
It's official: the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued Statement No. 77 on August 14, 2015. That means all state and local budgets starting after December 15, 2015 and conforming to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are now starting to report on their revenues lost to corporate subsidies..
Statement No. 77 requires GAAP-compliant public budgets to report how much revenue the government body lost to corporate tax breaks granted in the name of economic development, or "tax abatements" in GASB's umbrella terminology.
This is historic news: for the first time ever, state and local governments—including school districts that lose revenue passively—are starting to report the costs of job subsidies.
GASB 77 Subsidy Disclosure State "Road Maps"
A "road map" for each state and the District of Columbia explaining which state office has the most influence over GASB 77 implementation; which leaders and organizations have engaged in GASB 77 rule-making process; and when subsidy data from state and largest cities, counties and school districts is expected.
BNA Bloomberg: 2017: A Landmark Year for Transparency on State and Local "Corporate Welfare"
Never since its founding in 1984 has GASB issued standards specifically addressing the estimated $70 billion per year states and cities spend each year in the name of jobs. Tax breaks for economic development are by far the costliest job subsidies and also the least well disclosed. So GASB's development of standards to cover reporting of these business tax breaks is truly a landmark event.
GASB sets rules that accountants, auditors, and other finance professionals follow when they prepare financial reports. GASB's rules are known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP, see more below). Because most state and local governments conform to GAAP, this new standard will have huge ramifications.
Good Jobs First foresees that when states and localities start issuing new data under this Standard in 2017, it will enable massive new bodies of analysis and reform policymaking. Organizations and scholars concerned with state and local finances, tax policy, government transparency, economic development, regionalism and sprawl, public education finance, and contracting and privatization will all gain access to significant information heretofore unavailable.
What Does Statement No. 77 Have to do with Inequality?
Equitable access to good public services is a fundamental element of debate in America about opportunity, mobility and civil rights. Whether one is fighting for equitable and adequate funding for K-12, affordable tuition for public colleges and universities, broadening access to affordable healthcare, maintaining public transit service, ensuring good police and fire response times, or maintaining roads, water, sewage and other infrastructure—everything depends on a fair and sufficient tax revenue base.
Yet the $70+ billion spent for economic development are too often treated as a corporate entitlement: compared to so-called "on budget" spending, such tax breaks are more likely to elude normal budget scrutiny and are less likely to be audited or sunsetted. Some states even claim that taxpayer confidentiality precludes company-specific disclosure of income tax credits or rebates.
This is why Statement No. 77 is such a breakthrough against inequality: it will for the first time enable taxpayers and policymakers to quantify and compare the revenue losses caused by economic development tax breaks on the majority of states and localities.
For the first time, it will be possible to widely test the economic development axiom that "the poor pay more." That is, do central cities and inner-ring suburbs, who can least afford it, spend the most to compensate for their perceived "business climate" disadvantages (i.e., schools, crime, brownfields)?
Significantly for school districts, Statement No. 77 also says that if a government body loses revenue passively, as the result of another government body's actions, the passive loser must compute and report its total annual loss. That scenario fits school districts, which in most states cannot control the tax-break behavior of cities or counties, even though schools lose the most (to property tax abatements, tax increment financing districts, etc.).
For those of us who believe that under-funded schools and other public goods are not just drivers of racialized inequality but also real deterrents to true economic development, having this cost data will be an enormously powerful tool.
Disclosure of tax abatement revenue losses will also enable progressive activists and academics to explore the relationship between high spending on tax breaks and low credit ratings. That, in turn could make Statement No. 77 data a new diagnostic variable for the credit ratings agencies, and thereby help the credit markets impose more restraint on such loose spending.
How Much More Will We Learn About Subsidy Spending Under the Proposed GASB Standard?
The short answer is: Far more than we know now, but not nearly as much as we'd like.
Because GASB has never ventured into tax expenditures for economic development before, what we have now is the Wild West: a great deal of data of very uneven quantity and quality from some state and local governments. Some jurisdictions have good aggregate disclosure (usually through tax expenditure budgets), some have good disclosure of individual awards (including recipient names and other details we capture for our Subsidy Tracker database) and some do well by both measures, while some do poorly on both.
Our research indicates that states are more likely to report both company-specific data and aggregate spending than are localities. See our most recent ratings of company-specific state transparency here and of local transparency here.
The new GASB standard ensures that every GAAP-compliant jurisdiction discloses (in its financial statements) at least the aggregate revenue lost to each of its economic development tax-based subsidy programs. It also requires government bodies that lose revenue due to the action of other public bodies to report such losses (think school boards losing property tax revenue due to property tax abatements or tax increment financing granted by city councils or county boards).
2008: GASB begins to explore the issue of tax abatement disclosure.
2010: GASB commissions academic research on the subject.
Early 2012: GASB begins to investigate the need for disclosure guidance for governments that have granted tax abatements.
2012 through August 2014: GASB combines staff research with outside commissioned research and debates the issue during numerous meetings, drafting initial recommendations.
October 20, 2014: GASB unanimously votes out an Exposure Draft for public comment.
November 1, 2014 through January 29, 2015: GASB opens one 90-day comment period to collect, evaluate, and incorporate feedback on its proposed new rules for disclosure of tax abatements. No hearings were held.
March through June 2015: GASB re-deliberates the standard, per the comments it receives.
August 14, 2015: GASB issues Statement No. 77.
December 15, 2015: Budgets that occur after this date are covered by the new Standard (i.e., budgets that start in calendar 2016). Governments are free to comply earlier, as soon as the final Standard is issued.
2017: First year in which large numbers of Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs) will be published (for the prior year) with Statement No. 77 data in them, triggering a new era of analysis and reform.
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is the professional organization that establishes and improves standards of accounting and financial reporting for U.S. state and local governments. GASB's rules are known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, and most units of government choose to conform to GAAP in order to get credit ratings to sell bonds.
GASB's description of itself is linked here. And a GASB paper estimating the degree of compliance with GAAP among states and localities is here.
GASB is not a government entity and its rules are not legislation, but as we detail below, GAAP has the force of law in many states and localities. GASB is technically an "operating component" of the independent, nonprofit Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). A sister component of FAF, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, plays the same role for private-sector accounting, including publicly traded corporations as they report to shareholders.
All of which is to say: GASB and FASB are foundational to the integrity of the U.S. financial system, protecting taxpayers, investors and consumers every day by promoting financial records that are complete, uniform and comparable.
Who Leads GASB and How is GASB Funded?
GASB's seven-member board is composed of finance and accounting professionals and academics with extensive public sector accounting experience. Founded in 1984, the organization is funded by accounting support fees established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Which Government Budgets are Covered by GASB's Accounting Standards?
The vast majority of states and also of localities (about three-fourths of all and a higher rate of large jurisdictions) conform their financial reporting and accounting practices to GAAP issued by GASB. Local government bodies include cities, counties, school districts, townships, villages and other local taxing entities. Three-quarters of the states legally mandate the use of GAAP for some local bodies. GASB is recognized as the official source of government accounting standards by the accounting industry, capital markets, and governments themselves. Again, see this GASB research brief.
Before Statement No. 77, What Were the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for Economic Development "Tax Abatements"?
There were none. While the majority of states now publish tax expenditure budgets of varying quality, there were no GAAP specifically covering how government financial reports account for economic development tax abatements. Even though they spend an estimated $70 billion per year on economic development, most of it in foregone tax revenue, state and local governments were not required to disclose any specific kind of information related to tax abatements under GAAP.
Given that lack of standard reporting practice for tax abatements, the quality of financial disclosure of this information varies widely. Many states and localities fail to account for abatements entirely. Much of what passes for abatement disclosure is actually forecasted estimates of foregone revenues for budgeting purposes, not actual accounting. For this reason, policymakers and academics have never been able to state with precision the real cost—or cost trend—of economic development subsidies to state and local governments. We believe the most credible national estimate is $70 billion annually (by Prof. Kenneth Thomas), but that figure was for 2006, and we believe it is conservative.
Why Did GASB Develop GAAP for Tax Abatements?
GASB does not disclose its reasoning for taking up a particular issue. But to commission research and even consider rule-making, the Board must agree that an issue is broadly prevalent and has considerable financial magnitude to governments. We do know that the rising costs of economic development tax expenditures have prompted debates within government finance circles for many years, even as far back as the late 1980s within the Government Finance Officers Association, which convened a task force on the issue.
Finally, GASB noted in the Exposure Draft that one of its longstanding accounting principles considers whether tax revenues are sufficient to pay for current-year obligations and whether future taxpayers are effectively paying today's bills. So tax abatements that reduce revenue are relevant to those issues (paragraph B19).