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title: Exploring AI and SE synergies
layout: cover
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## Exploring AI and SE synergies

Welcome to the next era of software engineering. This current generation of software engineers can now easily apply AI to everyday problems. While this can be applied to traditional SE problems, it can also be used in many other areas. So, working with our industrial and government partners, we ask:

- What methodologies, tools, assistants will software engineers need to build, validate, extend and maintain software systems where human and artificial intelligence understand and help each other to solve 21st century engineering and business problems?

So we explore systems where humans and AI offer hints to each other on how to quickly solve complex problems. In this work, we avoid complex combinations of existing tools. Rather, our approach is "less, but better" where we refactor existing tools to prune away superfluous details.

The RAISE lab is a world leader in this area with tools that (e.g.):

+ tame large scale data collection
+ configure complex systems, very quickly
+ tune data miners to the particulars of the task at hand
+ learn models from structured and unstructured sources
+ offer plans on what to change in order to improve software quality
+ let humans explore huge sets of documents or software modules to find the "important" parts (least/most buggy or least/most interesting for some current goal).
+ open science methods to enable faster scientific exploration in our areas of research

## MEMBERS

## FORMER MEMBERS


UFOs: What on Earth - or off of it - is the truth behind the official coverup?
Here, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the preeminent investigator of UFOs and the focus of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, takes us closer to a true understanding of this confusing and controversial matter.
Radar sightings - and how the authorities explain them away.
Official debunking policies - the ways government officials try desperately to produce "natural" explanations for UFOs, even when such explanations are wildly unrealistic.
The various kinds of close encounters, from strange lights at night to flying discs in broad daylight.
The phenomenon itself - the subjective experience of the UFO percipient.
These and many other features of the UFO scene are covered in one of the most important books ever written on the subject. The Hynek UFO Report shows us that although the truth is out there, officialdom is trying to hide it.


True or False: IP address exclusion is not available for TrueView campaigns.
Q) True or False: IP address exclusion is not available for TrueView campaigns.
True or False: Advertisers cannot combine AdWords remarketing lists with a video remarketing list created in YouTube.


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Demi Lovato's GLAAD Award Speech Is A Moving Tribute To The LGBT Community — VIDEO
By Chloe Kent
Jason Kempin/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Following a blue carpet in Beverly Hills Saturday night, Demi Lovato accepted GLAAD's Vanguard Award in honor of her support and advocacy for the LGBT community. The prestigious award was presented to the singer by longtime friend and Camp Rock (remember that?) co-star Nick Jonas, and accepting it, Lovato gave a moving speech that showed just how much winning the honor meant to her. As Variety reports, in the course of her touching, off-script speech, the Confident singer spoke from the heart, offering insight into her own upbringing by telling the packed audience.
"I grew up with friends that were gay and who were afraid to come out and one thing that I did have was a safe environment that my family raised me in... they raised me not to judge, not to think differently of people or find it weird or uncomfortable, it just is life, it's love, and people deserve to be able to love who they want to love."
Lovato concluded her speech by insisting that, when all is said and done, she hopes to be able to use her status as a public figure to support causes most meaningful to her, saying, "I always knew that if I made it as a singer, I needed to use my voice for so much more than just singing, and this award means so much to me, more than music – any music award – because this is the real stuff."
Over the years, GLAAD has honored many big-name LGBT stars and their straight allies, from Kerry Washington to Jennifer Lopez, and given Lovato's inspiring and commendable activism, she is no doubt deserving of the honor. Following her early work campaigning against bullying as the face of PACER and launching the Demi Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program, the star began publicly supporting LGBT causes around 2014, when she made a video supporting marriage equality on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign. In the video, Lovato explained, "Let's protect love and strengthen the institution of marriage by allowing loving, caring and committed same-sex couples to legally marry."
Human Rights Campaign on YouTube
That same year, the star also sent a heartfelt personal email to HRC's millions of members, calling on them sign an online pledge in support of gay marriage. "My generation knows that it's wrong to tell two people in love they can't get married, simply because of who they love. We've got to stand up for what's right and let our voices be heard if we want to put an end to marriage discrimination," she wrote. Later that year, the then-21-year-old was made the grand marshal of Los Angeles' gay-pride parade, which also served as the backdrop for her gay rights anthem, "Really Don't Care." (The music video has since been viewed over 146 million times.)
DemiLovatoVEVO on YouTube
In 2015, Lovato began lending her support to awareness and acceptance of mental illness, giving inspirational and deeply personal speeches about her own struggles with addiction and bipolar disorder on behalf of both the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. That year, Billboard also presented the star with their Rulebreaker Award at its annual Women in Music Awards. And now she's received the GLAAD award, a major honor for a star who so clearly deserves it. Lovato has become one helluva role model, and it's great to see her using her celebrity to speak out about causes that matter so dearly to her.
Watch the star's moving GLAAD speech below:
Jessica Radloff on YouTube

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Centre for Culture and the Creative Industries to curate event series
News from City, University of London
Contact our Press Team
Arts & Culture Series: Announcements
By Dr Jenny Mbaye, Lecturer in City's Department of Sociology
First published Tuesday, 7th May, 2019 • by City Press Office (General enquiries)
To celebrate UNESCO World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, the Centre for Culture and the Creative Industries at City, University of London is curating a series of free events, from masterclasses to screenings.
From Senegal to Singapore: creative spaces in a globalised world
The series of events gathers a range of international experts from across the fields of culture and creative industries to showcase and share their experiences of developing spaces for arts and creativity in their countries.
Bringing together experts and the public, these events will be reflective and interactive spaces to explore and exchange ideas on areas such as culture, policy and management.
Those with an interest in how creative spaces are being carved out in a globalised world will find these events offer a great chance to hear stories from all around the world, as well as network and gather with peers.
The series begins on Wednesday 8th May and runs until Tuesday 4th June. Events will take place at City, University of London and Queen Mary University of London.
Masterclass: 'Journal Rappé: Hip Hop, Digital Media & Public Service in Senegal'
Masterclass by Keyti
Wednesday 8th May, 5pm to 6.30pm
Room AG21, College Building, City, University of London
Rosemary Crompton Memorial Lecture 2019: 'Work in the Digital Age'
Speaker: Professor Jacqueline O'Reilly (University of Sussex)
Monday 13th May, 5pm to 6.30pm
Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre, Tait Building, City, University of London
Book Launch: 'Creative Hubs in Question: Place, Space and Work in the Creative Economy' (as part of 'Creative Hubs and Urban Policy: A Symposium on Creative Work and the City')
In attendance: Professor Rosalind Gill
Tuesday 14th May, 5pm to 5.45pm
Stour Space, Queen Mary University of London
Screening and Discussion: 'Behring – The Making of an Arts Factory' (Brazil)
Speaker: Dr Cecilia Dinardi (ICCE, Goldsmiths University of London)
Wednesday 22nd May, 5pm to 6.30pm
Critical Conversation: 'Art Spaces and Creative Clusters in Singapore'
Speaker: Dr Su Fern Hoe (Singapore Management University)
Tuesday 4th June, 5pm to 6.30pm
Room A130, College Building, City, University of London
For more information on the series, please contact: eventsccci@gmail.com
Tags ccci, UNESCO World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, masterclass, screening, Rosemary Crompton Memorial Lecture, Rosemary Crompton, keyti
Related experts
City academics are available to provide expertise analysis and commentary on a wide variety of news and research topics. Contact the Press Office to find out more.
Dr Jenny Mbaye
Professor Rosalind Gill
MA Culture, Policy and Management
Cultural industries expert co-authors report on jobs in creative economies


The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established the Senior Executive Service (SES) as a separate personnel system. Incumbents of the SES include most of the top policy and managerial positions in the executive branch except for those requiring Senate confirmation. SES executives potentially serve as key links between the top political appointees and the rest of the career civil servants that staff federal agencies.
The original vision of the SES, as outlined above, is still valid. Missing, at this juncture of its history, is an institution and process to give its members a focus and mission that takes them beyond their individual job and organization performance concerns. OPM's role has been more administrative and technical; as a result, the SES has not evolved to the extent originally envisioned. If the SES is to evolve, OPM's role must become more facilitative and consultative, working in concert with the agencies.
The Complex Mix of SES Positions and Roles. It was intended that the SES consist of generalist managers with the ability and incentives to take on assignments where they would be most effective in accomplishing agency missions. For many reasons, however, this objective has not been met.
There is a small group of senior executives who occupy key leadership positions linking the President's top appointed officials with those charged with carrying out public policy. These key executives can be career or non-career. They will play a pivotal role in the success of government programs and policies and in reinventing the executive branch.
The majority of senior executives, however, now serve in the SES because of their technical expertise, often as key advisors and managers of support staffs or as operational managers responsible for parts of line (legislative) programs, rather than as agency-level leaders and program executives. While all are important positions, this mixture of roles makes it difficult to develop and manage the SES as a resource for agency management as originally intended.
Tensions Between Career Senior Executives and Political Appointees. Both the Merit Systems Protection Board and the General Accounting Office have pointed to the poor relationships that often exist between career SES members and political appointees.(3) These relationships often emerge as significant management problems. A certain amount of tension is natural; however, there are a number of aggravating circumstances that should be alleviated.
Over the years there has been an increase in the number of non-career SES appointees. This in turn has meant fewer career executives in key leadership positions and fewer career jobs that are meaningful.(4) In addition, the short tenure of political appointees means that they provide less program stability and continuity because of the abbreviated time frames in which they operate. Change in large organizations takes time, is usually incremental, and needs tenacious and persistent leadership over a period of years.
Agency Weaknesses in Managing the SES. Compounding this problem has been agency behavior in selecting, developing, using, and rewarding executives. Whereas some agencies have done a good job in creating an effective executive cadre, others have not treated their senior executives as a key resource or integrated the selection and development of their executives with their vision of a more effective agency. Because OPM can continually allocate additional SES positions, agencies have less incentive to rethink their current use of SES positions. In many cases, the focus needs to be changed from creating more SES positions to better use of current positions.
The need to more effectively select and develop agency SES cadres is compounded by the expected exodus of SES members in the coming years. A National Academy of Public Administration study estimates that over "one third of the SES--or 2,600 executives--will be eligible to retire" by January 1994.(5) Most will also have completed three years at their highest salary rate, thus creating another incentive to retire. This not only provides opportunities to select executives who can contribute quickly to agency change efforts, but allows agencies to improve the diversity of their SES membership. To achieve this, agency leadership must focus on these needs and incorporate solutions into their strategic planning efforts.
The SES as a Culture Change Force.
For the most part, the executive branch projects an image of a hierarchical, highly conservative, and risk-averse culture. Trust levels are low at all levels of government and in most organizations. Most employees including executives are uncomfortable with this situation and are ready to work toward solutions.
Vice President Gore has offered one alternative. He expects that the National Performance Review will result in and require significant culture change in the executive branch. The real drivers of change will have to be the career and non-career executives. In other words, significant culture change must rely on leadership.
The reinventing government effort intends to decentralize authority and accountability to a greater extent. Management will have fewer rules, will be held accountable for results, and will be responsible for significant changes in the years to come. Because culture change on a scale as envisioned by the President, Vice President, and Cabinet is a long-term endeavor, institutions and processes must be developed to support this change. The SES should be managed as a strategic resource to bring about change governmentwide and at the agency level. If institutional leadership means cultivating a shared view of a new direction and culture, then OPM and its director must create new vehicles that help build such a shared view and remove the perception of OPM as a controller and regulator.
The following actions have been developed to support these culture changes. Agency leadership must bear a large measure of responsibility for culture change and the creation of very different management values and behaviors. These changes cannot be made immediately; rather, they will take time to allow for adequate research, experimentation, learning, and consultation with an array of stakeholders. The actions provide for such a beginning.
To change the culture of the executive branch, a corporate approach to managing executive resources will be needed. Although agencies have primary responsibility for engendering change within their own organizations, the director of OPM is an important link between the government as a whole and individual agencies. As a leader for change and a consultant to agency management, OPM should foster a corps of executives with a corporate vision, committed to fundamental change over the long term and, at the same time, reflective of the civil service values of merit and diversity.
Ensuring that the corporate vision for change is adequately reflected in OPM's governmentwide management development curricula (e.g., the Federal Executive Institute and the Management Development Centers); OPM will ensure that management development emphasizes the vision of government in the 21st century, the ways executives will foster that change effort, and concepts for a more effective executive SES corps.
Recommending governmentwide SES policies and management development strategies in support of government culture change efforts.
OPM, in consultation and coordination with agencies, should promote a corporate succession planning model for agencies to use in identifying, selecting, and developing their senior executive staffing resources. These efforts should be linked to each agency's strategic plans and budget, support their unique and specific needs, and incorporate such objectives as broadening the agency's skill mix and improving the diversity of the agency's SES membership.
OPM will act as a catalyst to encourage mobility of executives both within and between agencies. The purpose would be two-fold: first, to assist agencies in identifying executives who have demonstrated, through actual performance, the ability to bring about changes or manage in different circumstances and who can apply the values inherent in reinvented government principles while dealing with system realities; and second, to provide executives an opportunity to broaden their skills and perspectives and to be placed in positions where they can make their greatest contribution to a reinvented government.
This proposal is intended to establish an SES cadre that not only takes a governmentwide view of its role, but is a vehicle to help individuals move to positions where their special expertise is needed. By no means does the proposal intend to make every senior executive mobile and a generalist, since there are many executives whose expertise, experience, and interests are tied to a particular agency, occupation, or position. In fact, most executives have been chosen for their technical program expertise and need to remain where they are most effective. This is normally an agency issue and needs to be left in the hands of agency management with suitable safeguards in place.
Creating Quality Leadership and Management, QUAL03: Strengthen the Corps of Senior Leaders.
FEMA04: Develop a Skilled Management Team Among Political Appointees and Career Staff.
Reengineering Through Information Technology, IT13: Provide Training and Technical Assistance in Information Technology to Federal Employees.
DiIulio, Jr., John J., Gerald Garvey, and Donald F. Kettl, Improving Government Performance: An Owners Manual (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1993), pp. 73-74.
U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Subcommittee on Civil Service, "Political Appointees in Federal Agencies," testimony by Bernard L. Ungar, Director, Federal Human Resource Management Issues, General Government Division, General Accounting Office, October 26, 1989, p. 13. See also U.S. Merit System Protection Board, The Senior Executive Service: Views of Former Federal Executives (Washington, D.C., October 1989), pp. 19- 21.
National Academy of Public Administration, Paths to Leadership Executive Succession Planning in the Federal Government (Washington, D.C., December 1992), p. 1.
National Academy of Public Administration, Paths to Leadership, Executive Succession Planning in the Federal Government: Report Summary (Washington, D.C., December 1992), p. 4.
Ten years later, the Federal Personnel Manual (FPM) has expanded to over 10,000 pages of policies, regulations, guidance, and processing instructions. Additional agency directives parallel and often supplement the FPM. While agency directives and the FPM contain information needed by line managers, they are primarily written for the personnel administrators upon whom managers must depend for interpretation. Additionally, until recently, OPM has not led any efforts to use technology to reduce the number of manually prepared required reports or to enhance agency accountability systems.
The past 10 years have also seen a technology explosion. Every agency has a data system that supports internal operations and feeds into the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). However, agency systems are outdated and are not interoperable; while complex processes contained in the FPM or agency regulations have been automated, automation has focused primarily on internal personnel office operations almost to the exclusion of managers' needs.
Managers and human resource administrators must be freed from unnecessary process constraints in order to focus on mission instead of efforts to overcome obstacles to its achievement. As process constraints are eliminated, use of technology needs to expand to eliminate manually prepared reports, provide access to information, support management decisionmaking, and monitor organizational performance.
requires maximum delegation of personnel management authorities to the lowest practical organizational level within agencies and to line managers or self-managed work teams operating in flattened organizational structures.
The positive implications of this action are the short-term elimination of unnecessary red tape and the potential for streamlining and simplifying all aspects of the personnel system. On the other hand, additional time may be needed to implement it fully, especially in light of other National Performance Review (NPR) recommendations. However, the objective can be met if pursued as a priority and if agencies are involved in the governmentwide effort. Additionally, the process itself will ensure that all NPR personnel recommendations are addressed.
The director of OPM should accelerate and expand efforts already under way to streamline and automate personnel processes in coordination with the FPM review process and to avoid redundant develop-ment costs. Governmentwide deployment of the Department of Defense/Navy automated personnel action processing system application should be examined for potential cost savings. Costs for centrally developed systems or applications should be shared on a pro rata basis among all participating agencies with OPM providing seed money.
The director of OPM, with the assistance of agency managers and staff experts (personnel, planning, information management, and budget), should develop, by December 1994, automated methods or accountability measures for use by agency heads to monitor exercise of delegated personnel management authorities. A variety of data sources could be tapped, including OPM's CPDF, the Survey of Federal Employees, and any reports that may continue to be necessary. Indicators that could be used to measure accountability include cash award trends to note unusual patterns, or conversions from excepted to career appointments to identify potential violations of merit principles. Such management information systems can be powerful tools for use in ensuring that managers are properly exercising the increased delegations envisioned by NPR. They also should be an element of the reinvented oversight program called for in the NPR accompanying report on the Office of Personnel Management.
DOD01: Rewrite Policy Directives to Include Better Guidance and Fewer Procedures.
SMC08: Expand the Use of Waivers to Encourage Innovation.
The federal service labor-management relations statute, Title VII of the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978, provided the authority for employees to unionize, bargain collectively, and participate with agency management in making decisions that affect their working conditions. Prior to enactment of the statute, the federal labor management relations program was authorized by a series of Executive Orders. The statute was a blend of policies and approaches from Executive Order and the law governing labor-management relations in the private sector, the National Labor Relations Act.
Title VII of CSRA recognizes that "labor organizations and collective bargaining in the public service are in the public interest"; establishes the Federal Labor Relations Authority to administer the program, issue policy decisions, and adjudicate labor-management disputes; prohibits strikes and lockouts; prohibits agency shop or fair share representational fees; and prohibits bargaining on issues that are the focus of most private sector bargaining such as wages, fringe benefits, and issues related to hiring, firing, promoting and retaining employees.
The federal workforce is changing. While the number of employees has remained constant for the past 10 years, the workforce has changed in a variety of other ways: it is much more diverse, with more minorities and women; it is better educated; it is more mobile; and more employees work in professional, scientific, and highly technical jobs than ever before.
In a report issued in 1991, GAO concluded that piecemeal technical revisions to the federal labor-management relations program would not be appropriate and comprehensive reform was needed. The report noted that "the federal labor-management relations program is not working well . . . (1) the program is too adversarial and often bogged down by litigation over procedural matters and minutiae; (2) some dispute resolution mechanisms are too lengthy, slow, and complex; and (3) ineffective FLRA management has weakened the program."(5) These conclusions have been widely supported, for example, by NAPA in its 1993 report on federal human resource management.
Federal collective bargaining has not accomplished the objectives of the statute. Bargaining processes are too legalistic and adversarial and too often lead to litigation over procedural matters and minor disputes.
Some dispute resolution processes are too slow, lengthy, and complex.
Over two-thirds of the national level officials and experts supported an agency shop approach whereby employees would be required to pay fees to the unions that represent them even if they do not belong to the union. Local-level union officials strongly supported agency shop, while two-thirds of local-level managers surveyed did not.
The greatest divergence of opinion was over the scope of bargaining--the extent to which working conditions could be negotiated by union and management. Over half of the agency officials opposed any change, while all union officials and 80 percent of neutrals supported increased bargaining rights. At the local level, 96 percent of union officials wanted a broader scope of bargaining, as did 21 percent of managers.
Most union officials, national and local, and neutral experts agreed that labor-management relations is a low priority for federal agencies; management officials disagreed.
Agency officials and neutral experts believe that unions file too many unfair labor practice charges over minor issues, while union officials claim that the problem is FLRA's failure to take actions to deter violations by agency officials.
Everyone agreed that more attention must be given to cooperative labor-management relations.
FLRA, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), and a few individual agencies have been encouraging and facilitating labormanagement cooperation and partnerships in federal labor relations. However, their efforts have been hampered by a statutory framework that focuses on the traditional adversarial model.
While there is agreement that the program is not cost-effective, it is difficult to determine the exact cost. Several agencies that were asked for information about the cost of their labor-management relations program responded that cost data were not available and that lengthy, costly studies would be required to determine them. In 1982, GAO conducted its only study of federal-labor management relations costs, estimating the cost to the government of processing the 6,448 unfair labor practices (ULPs) filed in that year to be $25.9 million.(8) The cost of processing the 8,851 ULPs filed in 1992 must be significantly greater than $25.9 million.
The changes envisioned by the National Performance Review (NPR) will result in a government composed of high-performing organizations that are mission-driven and results-oriented with a clear focus on meeting the needs of customers. Hierarchy will give way to participation and teamwork. Employees will be highly skilled and motivated, empowered to make changes and continuously improve the quality of services provided. The transformation from the current to the desired state of government can only be achieved by transforming the labor-management relationship from an adversarial relationship to a partnership for reinvention and change.
In the future, the federal workforce should be valued as a full partner in decisionmaking. There should be equal access to information among management, employees, and unions. As a result, employees will be involved in decisions that affect them. Where employees are represented by an employee union, labor and management should be partners in carrying out the mission of the organization. Both labor and management should value diversity. There should be a shared sense of mission and values throughout the organization that is understood by everyone.
Federal organizations should be model employers providing the private sector with exemplary models of high-performing organizations. They should place authority and decisionmaking at the lowest appropriate level of the organization--the work unit. Issues should be resolved through a single, collaborative process that is not destructive to the partnership. Given the effectiveness of federal organizations, public service should be viewed as a desirable career by both current and potential employees.
There should be a partnership between union and management that enables government organizations to become high-performing organizations. This, in turn, should result in high-value, highquality, effective government. The purpose of the partnership should be to provide an open forum for the discussion and resolution of problems, both procedural and substantive, dealing with conditions of employment that significantly affect the operation of the organization. Problem resolution should be accomplished through a deliberate, consensual team approach that is shaped by the input of all concerned partners rather than through traditional negotiating postures. The goal is to create an effective labor-management relationship based upon partnership and trust that utilizes the strengths of both parties to meet and mutually resolve issues in a way that enhances the effectiveness of both labor and management.
Employees, management officials, and union leaders should be continuously trained in support of the labor-management relationship, which in turn should lead to creation of high-value, high-performing government organizations. Training should be provided in the areas of facilitation, problem-solving, negotiation, leadership, and quality.
Performance should be continuously improved on an organizational and individual level throughout the entire government; unnecessary conflict should be avoided; unavoidable conflict should be recognized and channeled to closure quickly, without animus; and individual and institutional (i.e., labor-management) cooperation should be encouraged and rewarded. The appeals process should be fair, simple, determinative, fast, and inexpensive. There should be incentives for labor-management cooperation and strong disincentives for labor or management to violate the partnership or to fail to settle or resolve issues within the partnership.
Union effectiveness is one of the cornerstones of the productive workplace partnership. Union effectiveness requires a strong, professional, financially secure union that represents the interests of all employees.
Unions and management should work together as partners to transform the way organizations are structured, work is performed, and services are delivered. Management and unions should design systems and solutions to issues involving efficiency, productivity, quality, and how the job gets done. Placement of authority and decisionmaking in the work unit should be aided by the absence of artificial barriers to bargaining at any level.
When many people think of labor-management relations, they visualize an adversarial relationship. Depending on their viewpoint or experience, they may see management assuming a posture to protect its authority and do all it can to ensure efficiency at the cost of reduced benefits and wage cuts. Others may see unions as wanting work rules that prevent organizations or work groups from being more effective, and insisting on bargaining or grieving over the most mundane and inconsequential issues.
Depending on their perspective, some people may see ideas such as labor-management partnership and cooperation simply as code words for allowing managers to bypass unions to get employees to work harder, faster, and less wisely, with fewer protections. Others may see cooperative initiatives simply as opportunities for unions to bargain over pay, organization mission, and goals, and receive more concessions in work and seniority rules, benefits, and protections for ineffective workers.
The Executive Order would dispel these images. It would make it clear that the goal is an entirely new concept of labor-management relations. The Executive Order should contain two parts and be accompanied by a presidential statement, as outlined below.
Executive Order, Part 1: Concepts.
The goal of any labor-management partnership is the creation of a high-performance organization to deliver quality services to the American people in a way that integrates employee and other stakeholder interests.
Partners work for each other, not against each other. They respect each other's contributions and have a sense of ownership of, and share in decisions that affect, the organization's products and services.
Partners work in team environments that value contributions based on knowledge and experience, and blend these contributions to enhance quality, creativity, flexibility, and responsiveness.
Management's role shifts from an emphasis on protecting its authority to promoting empowerment at the lowest practical levels to provide for employee and union participation.
The union's role shifts from a reactive posture to proactive employee representation in support of agency mission accomplishment and workplace effectiveness.
When we speak of employees and partnerships, and when employees have collectively decided to elect representatives to speak on their behalf, then the unions and employees must be treated as full partners.
Changing the culture of the federal government requires overcoming resistance from employees and managers alike. Each naturally will believe that the change may bring certain losses of what they value. Developing a partnership in any change effort provides the institutional help to support movement to the federal workforce and organization of the future.
Executive Order, Part 2: Methods. Following are some methods that should be put into place through the Executive Order to support goal attainment. The National Partnership Council may suggest other methods.
Create the National Partnership Council to champion the partnership goal.
Encourage the formation of similar councils or labor-management committees at appropriate levels in each agency, or adapt existing bodies to meet this purpose, and identify and/or train facilitators for these labor-management committees as needed.
Encourage systematic training of significant portions of agency staffs (including line managers and first line supervisors) and union officials (including stewards) in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, interest-based bargaining approaches, and joint problem-solving/decisionmaking methods.
Representative, Public Employee Department, AFL-CIO (to represent smaller federal unions).
Two deputy secretaries from departments other than Labor.
engage in other activities that promote partnership efforts not prohibited by statute.
OPM, FMCS, FLRA, OMB, agencies, and unions will make staff available on a temporary or permanent basis to the council, as needed. The council will decide on the procedures for acquiring and using staff support.
The council may form permanent or temporary committees that will be responsible for specific issues or projects.
produce a strategy to build the political consensus necessary to enact major changes in the statutory framework.
evaluate progress focusing specifically on improvements in organizational performance resulting from the partnership.
The partnership goal means that agency mission achievement will be jointly and continually pursued through "innovative approaches that maximize the contributions of individual employees, managers and the Union" working together to achieve these objectives, as outlined, for example, in the 1992 IRS-NTEU partnership agreement.
Collective bargaining will take place less in an adversarial setting with parties bringing their positions to the table, but increasingly through interest-based bargaining that insists upon consensus decisionmaking and trust within the partnership.
Although grievances, complaints, and disputes are to be expected, it is envisioned that less than 10 percent of those conflicts will be settled outside the partnership. This means that formal complaint and grievance processing procedures will be used infrequently with informal dispute resolution techniques providing a foundation for the partnership.
There is a place for disagreements, adversarial behavior, and different approaches to problems; however, these will occur prior to decisions being made because airing different viewpoints and then achieving joint decisions are the essence of partnerships.
Requirements fixed in law will not be subject to negotiation; however, management and unions are obligated to use interest-based forms of negotiation on issues, both procedural and substantive, dealing with conditions of employment that significantly affect the operation of the organization.
DOL03: Expand Negotiated Rulemaking and Improve Up-front Teamwork on Regulations.
PROC05: Reform Labor Laws and Transform the Labor Department into an Efficient Partner for Meeting Public Policy Goals.
U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), Federal Labor Relations: A Program in Need of Reform, GAO/GGD-91-101 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. General Accounting Office [GAO], July 1991), p. 14.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Union Recognition and Agreements in the Federal Government (Washington, D.C., January 1991), pp. 6-7.
U.S. General Accounting Office, Quality Management: Survey of Federal Organizations, GAO/GGD-93-9BR (Washington, D.C.: GAO, October 1992), p. 2.
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), Leading People in Change: Empowerment, Commitment, Accountability (Washington, D.C., April 1993), p. 40.
GAO, Federal Labor Relations, p. 2.
Goodwin, Larry K. "Win-Win Negotiations: A Model for Cooperative Labor Relations," The Public Manager (Potomac, MD, Summer 1993), p. 19.
GAO, Federal Labor Relations, p. 76.
U.S. General Accounting Office, Steps Can Be Taken to Improve Federal Labor-Management Relations and Reduce the Number and Costs of Unfair Labor Practice Charges, GAO/FPCD-83-5 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, November 5, 1982), p. 7.
A problem-solving team was formed under NPR auspices to develop a vision for the future of the federal workforce and federal-labor management relations, and make recommendations to achieve the desired future--more cooperative labor-management relations. Members of the problem solving team included: Joe Coffee, National Performance Review (NPR); Brian DeWyngaert, Executive Assistant to the President, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); Frank Ferris, Director of Negotiations, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU); Brian Flores, Deputy Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; Phil Kete, Staff Attorney, National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE); Frank Mason, Associate Director, Commodities Directorate, McClellan Air Force Base; Jean McKee, Chair, Federal Labor Relations Authority; Jerry Ross, arbitrator; Mark Roth, General Counsel, AFGE; John Sturdivant, President, AFGE; Jeff Sumberg, Deputy General Counsel, NFFE; Robert Tobias, President, NTEU; Roy Tucker, NPR; Robert Wenzel, Assistant Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service; and Ann Wilson, Office of Personnel Management. Bonnie Kasten, Independent Consultant, served as facilitator.
Throughout the federal government, departments and agencies are being asked to work more efficiently, that is, with fewer resources. To achieve this goal, many organizations are facing potentially massive restructuring and downsizing. Incentives are needed to encourage voluntary separations, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for relocating, reassigning, or separating employees under reduction in force procedures.
According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), voluntary early retirements among eligible employees have dropped from approximately 17 percent in the mid-1980s to 4 percent in 1992. After remaining relatively constant at approximately 36 percent during the same time period, regular optional retirements dropped to 23 percent in 1992.(1) Overall attrition from federal service is at its lowest level since 1973, when OPM began tracking these data.
By October 1993, OPM should forward draft legislation to Congress to permit any department or agency to offer cash payments to encourage eligible employees to voluntarily separate from the federal service, whether by retirement or resignation, to avoid or minimize the need for involuntary separations due to reduction in force, reorganization, transfer of function, or similar action. The legislation should include a comprehensive, governmentwide strategy for determining the dates during which cash payments would be offered to maximize acceptance rates. Eligible employees would be those serving under permanent appointment without time limitation for a continuous period of at least 12 months, excluding reemployed annuitants and employees who would otherwise be eligible for disability retirement. The law will include a provision requiring repayment of separation pay should the individual become reemployed by the federal government within two years of the date of separation. Departments and agencies will fund the costs of this measure from within their available appropriations.
By spring 1994, OPM should convene an interagency task force to develop proposals, including legislation if necessary, by September 1994 to allow departments and agencies to fund job search activities and retraining to facilitate placement of employees who are otherwise scheduled for downgrade or separation.
By March 1994, OPM should develop and implement a comprehensive, readily available, state-of-the-art information system for the purpose of informing employees about the availability of federal and other public sector job opportunities.
By October 1993, OPM should forward draft legislation to Congress to delete the section of the law that exempts the annual leave accumulated by members of the Senior Executive Service, the Senior Foreign Service, the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service, the Senior Cryptologic Executive Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service from the limitation otherwise imposed by that section on annual leave accumulation.(5) Annual leave accumulation for individual senior executives will be limited to 240 hours. This limitation would bring senior executives in line with other government employees and serve as an incentive for some senior executives to take advantage of separation incentives.
FM13: Charge Agencies for the Full Cost of Employee Benefits.
Transforming Organizational Structures, ORG01: Reduce the Costs and Numbers of Positions Associated with Management Control Structures by Half; and ORG02: Use Multi-year Performance Agreements between the President and Agency Heads to Guide Downsizing Strategies.
Title 5, United States Code, sec. 8336(d).
Title 5, United States Code, sec. 8336(d)(2).
Title 5, United States Code, sec. 6304(f).
HRM01.5 Abolish the time-in-grade requirement. Create a general qualifications framework that permits agencies to augment or modify qualification standards for both internal and external placement actions.
HRM01.7 Create a governmentwide employment information system to inform the public of job opportunities. Coordinate the development and operation of common automated systems to facilitate agency staffing policies and operations.
HRM04.2 Encourage agencies to establish productivity gainsharing programs called Federal Performance Sharing to support the reinvention and change effort.
HRM05.2 Develop a culture of performance that supports supervisors' efforts to deal with poor performers.
HRM05.3 Improve supervisors' knowledge and skills in dealing with poor performers.
HRM06.2 Give agencies the flexibility to use savings realized from reinvention to increase their investment in employee training and development.
HRM07.4 Allow employees to use sick leave to care for dependents.
HRM07.5 Give returning employees credit for previously accrued unused federal sick leave.
HRM08.2 All agencies should establish alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods and options for the informal disposition of employment disputes.
HRM10.2 Require appropriate cross-training for human resource management professionals.
HRM11.1 Create and reinforce a corporate perspective within the Senior Executive Service that supports governmentwide culture change.
HRM11.2 Promote an agency corporate executive level succession planning model.
HRM11.3 Enhance voluntary mobility within and between agencies for top senior executive positions in government.
HRM12.2 Replace the Federal Personnel Manual and agency directives with automated personnel processes, electronic decision support systems, and manuals tailored to user needs.
HRM12.3 Identify and develop useful accountability measures that can be automated.
HRM07.1 Implement family-friendly workplace practices while continuing to ensure accountability for quality customer service.
HRM09.1 Charge all federal agency heads with the responsibility for ensuring equal opportunity and increasing integration of qualified women, minorities, and persons with disabilities into all levels and job categories, including middle and senior management positions.
HRM10.1 Establish an Interagency Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Employment Steering Group under the joint chair of EEOC and OPM.
HRM10.3 Combine all equal opportunity and affirmative employment reports into one comprehensive assessment of the total workforce EEO/AE data.
HRM10.4 Modify the Central Personnel Data File to enable total automation of the EEO/AE data reporting requirements.
HRM12.1 Phase out the entire Federal Personnel Manual and all agency implementing directives.
HRM13.1 The President should issue an Executive Order that identifies labor-management partnership as a goal of the executive branch and establishes the National Partnership Council.
HRM01.1 Authorize agencies to establish their own recruitment and examining programs. Abolish central registers and standard application forms.
HRM01.2 Allow federal departments and agencies to determine that recruitment shortages exist and directly hire candidates without ranking.
HRM01.3 Reduce the number of competitive service appointment types to three.
HRM01.4 Permit nonpermanent employees to compete for permanent positions under agency procedures for internal placement.
HRM01.6 Eliminate all statutory rules on detailing employees to temporary assignments.
HRM02.1 Remove all grade-level classification criteria from the law while retaining the 15-grade structure.
HRM02.2 Provide agencies with flexibility to establish broadbanding systems built upon the General Schedule framework.
HRM02.3 Modify the standard 15-grade classification system that applies to those employees not covered by a broadbanding system.
HRM02.4 Provide agencies under the standard 15-grade system with additional flexibilities in setting base pay rates.
HRM02.5 Establish reporting requirements that apply to both the modified standard system and any broadbanding system.
HRM03.1 Authorize agencies to design their own performance management programs.
HRM04.1 Authorize agencies to develop their own incentive programs.
HRM05.1 Reduce by half the time required to terminate federal managers and employees for cause. Make other improvements in the systems for dealing with poor performers.
HRM06.1 Deregulate training and make it more responsive to market sources.
HRM07.2 Provide telecommunications and administrative support necessary for employees participating in flexiplace and telecommuting work arrangements.
HRM07.3 Expand the authority to establish and fund dependent care programs.
HRM07.6 Expand the demonstration project authority to allow projects on employee benefits and leave.
HRM07.7 Reauthorize voluntary leave transfer/bank programs.
HRM14.1 Provide departments and agencies with the authority to offer separation pay.
HRM14.2 Decentralize the authority to approve early retirement.
HRM14.3 Authorize departments and agencies to fund job search activities and retraining of employees scheduled to be displaced.
HRM14.5 Limit annual leave accumulation by senior executives to 240 hours.
The issues and actions contained in this report were developed based on input from federal employees, managers, labor unions and personnelists; state and local government representatives; personnel management organizations and professional associations; members of the academic community and others.
creating a problem-solving team to recommend improvements to federal equal opportunity programs.


text:
Sports > Outdoors
For the first time in more than 80 years, salmon spawning in the upper Columbia River
UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 17, 2020
By Eli Francovich elif@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508
For the first time in more than a generation, chinook salmon have spawned in the upper Columbia River system.
Colville Tribal biologists counted 36 redds (a gravely nest in which female salmon lay their eggs) along an 8-mile stretch of the Sanpoil River, a tributary of the Columbia, in September.
"I was shocked at first, then I was just overcome with complete joy," said Crystal Conant, a Colville Tribal member from the Arrow Lakes and SanPoil bands. "I don't know that I have the right words to even explain the happiness and the healing."
The news is a step toward full reintroduction of the migratory fish and another watershed cultural moment for the region's tribes. Since the Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams were built in the 1950s and 1930s, respectively, salmon have been blocked from returning to spawning beds in the upper Columbia River.
For decades, tribal leaders and scientists have dreamed of bringing the fish back to their native beds. Since 2014, the Columbia River tribes have worked on a plan that examines habitat, fish passage and survival among other things.
"It's an exciting project. It's been rewarding to work on," said Casey Baldwin, a research scientist for the Colville Tribe. "The long-term process of reintroducing salmon above Chief Joe and Grand Coulee is going to take a long time."
In 2019, about 60 salmon were released above the Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams in a cultural event.
As a continuation of that project, tribal biologists released 100 fish 35 miles up the Sanpoil River in August to see how well they survived. Each fish was outfitted with a PIT tag, a type of passive tracking device. Biologists checked on the hatchery-bred fish throughout the summer and in October started noticing that the fish were spreading out and spawning.
"Considering they weren't from the Sanpoil, we were pleasantly surprised with the high rate of survival and the amount of spawning we were able to observe," Baldwin said. "You never know if the fish are just going to turn around and swim away."
The fact they did spawn is an affirmation of research done by the Spokane Tribe showing that, despite the dams, the river contains hundreds of miles of spawning and rearing habitat suitable for steelhead and spring chinook production.
"It is viable. It's feasible for fish to use these areas," said Chris Donley, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's regional fish program manager in Spokane. "What it says is there is opportunity there and it's worth looking further."
WDFW is assisting on the project, most notably by certifying that the fish are free of disease . In particular, the agency tested for a strain of infectious hematopoietic necrosis that can kill rainbow trout. Trout in the lower Columbia have built up an immunity to the disease. The populations in the upper, isolated as they have been, have no immunity.
"What we hope to do is prevent IHN from moving in the blocked area now, because we don't want to affect the already existing trout population up there," Donley said. "(However) long term that is going to be a risk that we are going to take."
Whether a sustainable salmon population can return to the upper Columbia River is still an open question, Baldwin said. The challenges are numerous. The juvenile offspring from this year's spawning will migrate downstream. How, and if, they survive the passage through reservoirs and dams is yet to be seen. And that's just half the journey.
"Just having fish spawning in this one particular river does not prove that it's feasible," he said. "But it's a good first step."
When the dams were built, they drastically changed the Columbia River basin. Without a fish passage in the dams, salmon returning from the ocean were unable to reach their spawning grounds. When the 500-foot-tall Grand Coulee Dam was finished, it raised the waters behind it 380 feet, flooding more than 20,000 acres of land nearly overnight. One hundred miles upstream from the dam, the town of Kettle Falls was submerged by the rising waters, including a Native burial ground.
"My ancestors were all relocated when they put in the dam," said Conant, the Colville Tribal member from the Arrow Lakes and SanPoil bands.
Prior to the dam's construction, Kettle Falls was a small town founded by a passel of local white businessman (with the financial backing of a rich New Yorker) with resort-town aspirations. The area's natural beauty, combined with fantastic salmon fishing, excited pecuniary fantasies.
But the area had a longer, deeper history among the region's tribes. Called Shonitkwu in Salish, the native tongue of those people, it meant noisy water, as the river used to drop more than 50 feet, tumbling over a series of massive quartzite blocks. That frothing, roaring water could be heard from miles around.
Washington rivers, including the Columbia, seethed with salmon and Native people planned their years around the fish migration. In the Spokane region, Kettle Falls was the spot. Early written accounts recall a river so jammed with the big, nutritious fish, that one couldn't throw a stick without hitting a salmonidae.
Each year, at least 14 Native American tribes, from throughout the region, gathered there to fish for salmon and trade news and goods.
Now, those falls are submerged under 100 feet or more of water.
The town itself, relocated as the waters rose, is a blip on U.S. 395 with a name that makes no sense.
Still, the salmon ceremony continues today, even if there are no salmon.
Each year in June, Conant and others paddle cedar-log canoes south from the Canadian border and north from above Grand Coulee Dam. They eventually meet at Kettle Falls, arriving near the summer solstice, the traditional time tribes would start fishing.
While full sustainable reintroduction is still a long way off, taking even one step closer to bringing salmon back to the river is worth celebrating.
"It's like parts of your soul and heart were missing," Conant said. "It's a holistic healing."
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Here's the good news: my right thumb, which was struck with a mysterious but nasty infection last December, has fully recovered. After six months of physical therapy (following two months of antibiotics and bleach soaks), I can write with a pen, type, tie shoelaces, open bottles, button shirts, apply makeup, zip pants, clean contact lenses, grab things, cook, and everything else a dominant right hand needs to do in a busy mom's life. My thumb nail, which fell off during the course of this ordeal, has grown back and was polished and looking fine—just in time for my brother's wedding. For months my hand was weak and uncoordinated, but with use that problem has slowly improved to the point where I no longer notice it. My thumb may always be stiff from now on, but I can live with that.
On the whole, this little detour in my unplanned life turned out pretty well, and I'm immensely grateful.
Here's the bad news: remember how I lost 35 pounds before I turned 50? Well, the weight is back. For months during the thumb ordeal, I couldn't exercise, couldn't even walk the dog around the block. Anything that increased my heart rate even slightly caused my thumb to throb in pain. A friend told me to raise my hand above my heart, and I told her I had to do that just to walk across the room.
Yoga was out of the question because I couldn't put my hand flat on the floor. Plus even after the infection was gone, I had five hours of physical therapy per week plus daily thumb exercises—done every two hours! It was a huge investment of time to get my thumb back, and the cost appeared on the scale.
I knew my weight was creeping up, but I ignored it because I was focused on my thumb. For months I lingered in denial. I continued to eat whatever I wanted. I didn't exercise. I ignored the ever tightening waistbands. When it came time to find a dress for my brother's wedding, I could avoid the situation no longer. In a panic, I squeezed into my yoga clothes and rushed to the studio. It was tough, really tough, to get through the first class. After nine months away from my mat, I'd lost flexibility in addition to stamina. I had to modify moves I haven't modified in years. I was huffing and puffing, dripping with sweat.
Despite the post-yoga "high," I was feeling a bit down after class. Stacy, one of the studio's owners, told me she had been prepared to modify moves to accommodate my hand, but was thrilled that I hadn't needed it. I considered her statement and realized it was true. I hadn't thought about my thumb (or hand) once during class. (Later, my hand would ache a bit, but after two more classes, the feeling disappeared.) After months of thinking nonstop about my thumb, this was a huge milestone. My hand, it seemed, was truly back.
She was right, of course. I can do it again, and I've already started. Or I will once I polish off the Halloween candy….
This entry was posted in My Life and tagged 50th Birthday, Change, Denial, Detours, Setbacks, Thumb Infection, Unplanned Life, Wedding, Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Yoga. Bookmark the permalink.


What dining options are available to students under the GCC meal plan?
Can I use financial aid to purchase meal plans or Cougar Bucks?
Can I use my meal plan and/or Cougar Bucks at the Subway?
Under GCC's meal plan students can select one entrée, one side, and one beverage from any station across our outstanding variety of dining options at each meal period. To ensure that you have plenty of meals to eat throughout the week you can only use one meal per meal period.
The meals do not carry over from week-to-week. Once a week is over any unused meals are lost.
Cougar Bucks can be used to purchase any item in the café. You can also spend as much as you wish at any time during the semester.
Yes! Please contact the Financial Aid Office at 585-345-6900 for more information.
Yes! The Subway at GCC accepts both Cougar Dollars and the meal plan.


text:
in: Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, World Heritage Sites in Japan,
Former buildings and structures in Japan
Former castles
15th-century architecture
Castles in Okinawa Prefecture
Historic Sites of Japan
Nakagusuku Castle
中城城
Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan
Ruins of Nakagusuku castle ( west district )
Gusuku
around 1440
Nakagusuku Castle (中城城, Nakagusuku-jō?) is a gusuku in the village of Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is now in ruins. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 15th century to defend against attacks from the east by Lord Amawari of Katsuren Castle. The six courtyards of this fortress with stacked stone walls make it a prime example of a gusuku.
Rampart of the 3rd district
Rampart of the 2nd district
Rampart of the 1st district
Motoo, Hinago (1986). Japanese Castles. Tokyo: Kodansha. p. 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nakagusuku Castle.
Short history and directions to Nakagusuku Castle from Japan Guide
Nakagusuku Castle site run by Nakamura-ke, located near the gusuku.
The Amawari-Gosamaru dramatic episode
Coordinates: 26°17′03″N 127°48′05″E / 26.2842°N 127.801367°E / 26.2842; 127.801367
World Heritage Sites in Japan


Sited behind a danish rowhouse, the backyard bikeshed defines an entry from the adjacent street, while screening the private garden. A simple square footprint, clad with black-stained vertical timber, incorporates thoughtful details giving rhythm to the structure. A subtle pitch to the roofline reveals the green roof, visually linking the garden to the sky.


text:
Ghost and Haunting
UFO & Extraterrestrial
Dede Koswara – The Tree Man
by Jim H January 17, 2016
written by Jim H January 17, 2016 1001 views
What would you do if your body suddenly transformed into a ghastly image before your own eyes? Even more, there was no way to stop the change or reverse it? This is the story of Tree Man Dede Koswara who was diagnosed with a rare and troubling disease.
Dede Koswara is known as the Tree Man of Indonesia. Image credit: Barcroft
Dede Koswara
Dede Koswara is just a fisherman from Indonesia, but he is known all over the world. At some point during his youth, he scraped his knee, and so began his lifelong struggles as the world's most famous tree man. After his accident, his body became covered with abnormal growths that were especially prominent on his hands and feet. Because of the root-like growths on his extremities and the bark-like patches on the rest of his skin, his condition caused him to become known as "Tree Man." His body is incapable of stopping the development of the growths, so they become larger with time.
Tree Man Disease
Dede suffers from a rare disease known as Epidermodysplasia verruciformis also known as Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia. This disease is a hereditary autosomal recessive skin disorder. As a result of the disease, Dede has a heightened susceptibility to human papillomaviruses. Also known as HPV, these conditions are very easy for the common person to contract. It has been said that up to 80 percent of people may be infected with a virus without showing symptoms. There are 200 types of HPV, and the most common symptom is a simple wart. For Dede, this "simple" symptom is experienced tenfold. As the hands and feet are particularly vulnerable to HPV, the "roots" of his condition have grown especially large in these areas.
The result of his uncontrolled HPV infection causes the growth of scaly macules and papules over his body. Most people experience flat, scaly macules on the face and neck with lesions on the hands and extremities. The benign form of epidermodysplasia verruciformis presents just these flat warts, but there is a malignant form of the disease that results in increased skin lesions and the development of cutaneous tumors. For over 20 years, Dede's case has confused and intrigued doctors and scientists, but no one has been able to completely cure it yet.
A close up of the Tree Man's right arm.
Through much research, trial and error, many treatments have been applied to help his condition, but no significant and long-lasting treatment against this disease has been found. In 2008, Dede had surgery to remove 13 pounds of warts from his body. The surgery consisted of:
Removing thick warts and long growths on his hands
Removing smaller warts from his face and torso
Applying skin grafts to the treated areas of his hands
About 95 percent of warts on his body were removed, but they eventually returned. Based on his outcome, it was estimated that he would need at least two surgeries per year for the rest of his life to keep the growths down. A blood analysis showed that he lacked an antigen in his immune system to fight yeast infections. He was offered to have tests to determine if this was treatable, but he declined.
In 2011, Dede had another series of improved surgeries to remove warts that developed after his initial procedures. This has shown to be only a temporary solution as warts grow back every time. Another man from Indonesia was found in 2009 to have the same disease as Dede Koswara, showing that the condition may not be as rare as once believed.
Update: Dede Koswara died on 30 January 2016.
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I have always been interested in the unknown, the mysterious and anything which can't be explained rationally. I created this website as a repository of paranormal events which defy explanation. Welcome to paranorms.com
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text:
The Jaguar F-Pace Has New Powertrain and Tech for 2021
The exciting Jaguar F-Pace has a range of exterior and interior design upgrades and a revised timeline for 2021.
Software updates over the air are now standard, as is the 11.4-inch curved-glass info display.
The supercharged V-6 has been replaced by a new turbocharged and supercharged 3.0-liter inline-six F-Pace line-up.
The Jaguar F-Pace will provide refreshment for the 2021 model year, modernizing the exterior design, bringing more comfort and luxury to the interior and enhancing the infotainment system. Jug has also revised the Tim text in F-Pace: there are now four triple levels instead of the previous three.
But the most important upgrades are left for the engine bay. The F-Pace's standard turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine remains the same, but the newer options include a turbocharged and supercharged 3.0-liter Inline-Six, which Jaguar uses a softly branded 48-volt starting generator system. Hybrid technology. This engine replaces the supercharged V-6 in outgoing mode. Jaguar has not yet released details on the V-8-powered SVR high-performance version of the F-Pace.
The mid-size F-Pace is Jaguar's best-selling model by the mile, so you can't blame Jaguar for limiting design variations. No need to change a working formula. However, if you look carefully, there is a large grille, a redesigned cap designed to minimize plate breakage on the front fascia of the car, and a new head and tail design (cradled with electric electric i-pace).
Inside, the biggest changes are to the infotainment system, which now activates the latest version of Jaguar's PV Pro system and is now displayed on an 11.4-inch curved glass center screen. The new screen is 48 percent larger than the 2020 model and three times brighter, Jug says. The 2021 F-Pace will also have the ability to receive software updates by air for the first time. Passengers can enjoy a wide range of soft touch pads throughout the cabin and newly standard heated seats, keyless access and a 14-speaker sound system.
The F-Pace's standard engine is still a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, producing 246 hp, and all models still come with an eight-speed automatic transmission and a standard wheel drive. But the 3.0-liter inline-six, with an optional engine, an electric supercharger and a dual-scroll turbo, is new to the line. In addition to its dual-power injection systems, the 3.0-liter engine uses a belt-driven generator and a 48-volt lithium-ion battery to store the power obtained when it is running. Boot system. The six-cylinder can be available in a 335-hp or 395-hp version.
The t-line at F-Pace will also change this year, with 2020 having four tim levels instead of three. The entry level is 250 Tim, followed by S250, S340 and R-Dynamic. No word on prices yet, but they will be in the neighborhood of the 2020 F-Pace starting at $ 46,350.
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text:
The Buck stopped here
To honour Joseph Beuys's landmark urban forest installation, 100 oak trees have been planted outside Tate Modern
Artist duo Ackroyd and Harvey have planted 100 oak trees outside Tate Modern Ackroyd & Harvey, Beuys' Acorns, 2021. (c) Tate Photography (Seraphina Neville)
The Buck stopped here is a weekly blog by our contemporary art correspondent Louisa Buck covering the hottest events and must-see exhibitions in London and beyond
A forest of 100 young oaks has taken root on the terrace outside Tate Modern, where it will remain throughout the summer until 14 November. But these are no ordinary trees. They are the direct progeny of 7,000 oak trees planted by the artist, environmental activist and German Green Party founder Joseph Beuys in and around the city of Kassel in Germany between 1982-87.
This now-seminal work was called 7,000 Oaks—City Forestation Instead of City Administration and the introduction of these multiple trees, each one accompanied by its own basalt standing stone, permanently altered the local cityscape and connected art to the emerging environmental movement.
Joseph Beuys planting an oak tree for his land art installation 7,000 Oaks in Kassel, Germany
In 2007 Ackroyd & Harvey travelled to Kassel and collected acorns from Beuys's original oaks with the aim to nurture new trees. Now, to mark the centenary of Beuys's birth, 100 of these sturdy saplings have been installed by the artist duo as a living sculpture outside Tate Modern. "Nearly 40 years after Beuys planted the first of his 7,000 oak trees, it feels very timely and moving for us to be displaying 100 of our Beuys' acorn trees at Tate Modern," they say. "It feels like a very positive thing to do, especially given the turmoil of last year."
Ackroyd and Harvey point out that, despite the decline in carbon emissions brought about by the hiatus of Covid-19, the last 12 months marked the third worst year for loss of trees worldwide since 2002. Their trees therefore stand as a reminder of the continuing and devastating deforestation across the globe. "Beuys called for the world to become a big forest," they declare. "We feel a strong sense of protection towards these young trees in a time of enormous planetary instability, when destruction of the world's forests increased so sharply last year."
Joseph Beuys, The End of the Twentieth Century (1983–5) Courtesy of Tate
The placement of Beuys' acorns is made even more poetic and pertinent by the fact that, directly below Tate Modern' terrace in the gallery's Tanks space, a major Beuys work The End of the 20th Century (1983-5) has been installed. One of the star pieces of Tate's collection, it comprises 31 large rough-hewn basalt rocks which derive from the same stones as those placed alongside the trees in Kassel and will be viewable when Tate re-opens on 17 May. Like the 100 young oaks above, the work will also remain in-situ until 14 November, which is the closing date of COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow. So for the next six months, two key elements of Beuys' original 7,000 Oaks project will be reunited, one above ground and one below—much to the delight of Ackroyd & Harvey. "We really love that Beuys' artwork is called The End of the 20th Century and our trees were germinated at the beginning of the 21st century, and now there's this relationship between the vital life force of these trees above, and the pulsating energy of the stone below."
Culture Declares Emergency at the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall Courtesy of Louisa Buck
Tate Modern is also an appropriate location for Ackroyd & Harvey as just over two years ago, in April 2019, it was where they marked the foundation of Culture Declares Emergency, an initiative they co-created which calls for individuals and organisations across the UK's cultural sector to declare a climate and ecological emergency and to pledge immediate action. The launch of Culture Declares was marked by Tate Modern's Turbine Hall being occupied by a procession of bell ringing declarers, headed by a woman riding a white horse and draped in an Ackroyd & Harvey coat of living grass. This was done with the approval of Tate director Frances Morris, who later recalled "one of the most vivid moments of recent years was when that horse walked into the Turbine Hall with that great green grass carpet—to welcome them formally and for Tate then to declare was for me a personal commitment."
Three months later Tate officially declared a climate emergency and issued a statement pledging to "interrogate our systems, our values and our programmes, and look for ways to become more adaptive and responsible". Now more than 1,600 individuals, institutions and organisations have declared climate and environmental emergency and pledged to put their environmental houses in order, with Ackroyd & Harvey acknowledging that "when Tate declared it was a moving of the cultural tectonic plates. And now our Beuys acorns are continuing to declare a climate and environmental emergency while calling for a revolution of love in our relationship with nature".
Seven of Ackroyd & Harvey's oak saplings will be permanently planted in the area around Tate Modern next year Ackroyd & Harvey, Beuys' Acorns, 2021. (c) Tate Photography (Seraphina Neville)
As part of Beuys's legacy, seven of Ackroyd & Harvey's oak saplings will be permanently planted in the area around Tate Modern next year, following close liaison with the local community to decide their location. In the future the artists aim to disperse the rest of their Beuysian offspring to build up "a mosaic of trees" across the country, with each tree forming what they hope will be "a beacon of restoration and regeneration by local people within the context of their land."
"This isn't just about planting the trees, and occasionally popping over to see them, it's about really understanding the dynamics of the place, understanding the people who inhabit place and understanding the other trees and the other wildlife around it," they insist. "We would like the trees to be a way of opening up conversations with people within the locality and to create a sense of deeper care and respect and love for the nature that is around us. With our little oak divining twigs I hope we are finding a way forward through the life force of these trees." An aim which Joseph Beuys would heartily applaud.
• Beuys' Acorns, The Terrace, Tate Modern until November 14th
The Buck stopped hereJoseph BeuysExhibitionsTate ModernDiary


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Trail and weather update 21st December 2021
sanjacjon	Uncategorized	 December 20, 2021 December 22, 2021 6 Minutes
The third and most significant snowstorm of the 2021/22 winter to date passed through the San Jacinto mountains on Tuesday 14th December, as described in detail in the previous Report. About nine inches fell at San Jacinto Peak (10,810ft) and about an inch in Idyllwild. It rained steadily at mid elevations before turning to snow, with 1.43 inches measured at 5550ft in Idyllwild.
The storm included strong, gusty winds, and drifting of snow was particularly severe. These winds, combined with trees heavily laden with ice, led to many new treefall hazards (both broken branches and whole trees). For example on May Valley Road on 16th I found seven trees down across the road (reported to USFS), and on 20th found three new trees down on a short section of Deer Springs Trail. Hikers should expect to find new treefall hazards on trails, especially in burn areas.
Although temperatures have been at or even slightly above seasonal averages since the storm, melting has been very slow everywhere above 5000ft, with the sun at its lowest potency of the year this week.
This morning we ascended San Jacinto Peak via the east side (Devil's Slide, Wellman and Peak trails) and descended via Deer Springs Trail. This allowed for thorough survey of snow and treefall conditions on most of the high country trail system.
Rarely have I seen the weather forecasts for the San Jacinto mountains so variable and inconsistent as they are for the remainder of December 2021. The latest details are given in Weather below, but in summary the period is expected to be very unsettled, with precipitation possible almost any day in the next two weeks. Consequently trail conditions, and required equipment, could change frequently and at short notice.
Hikers should be prepared for temperatures below freezing in the high country, and generally well below freezing when considering wind chill effects (see below for my recent weather observations from San Jacinto Peak).
Spikes are strongly recommended everywhere above about 6000ft for the foreseeable future as well-used trails are compacted by hiker traffic and undergo further freeze-thaw cycles. They are especially valuable on icy consolidated tracks and for descending (details of individual trails are given below). Snow depths are currently adequate for snowshoeing everywhere off-trail above about 9000ft although they are not essential depending on your comfort level with light postholing in relatively shallow snow. They are not advised on the main trails, which are largely too compacted for comfortable snowshoeing.
The USFS gate at Humber Park closed on 13th December. Even when closed there are nine legal parking spaces just below the gate. In recent winters vehicles not parked in these spaces have periodically been ticketed and/or towed, usually at weekends or immediately following snow storms. When "Road Closed" signs are in place further down Fern Valley Road, these nine spaces are also unavailable for legal parking (according to CHP).
The Marion Mountain trailhead remains open. However Azalea Trail, the access road, has not been plowed, is extensively ice-covered and treacherous, and is 4WD/AWD passable only.
For details regarding pre-existing (non snow/ice) hazards on the trails, coronavirus issues and ranger station access, please see this recent Report or contact the State Park or Forest Service as indicated on their websites.
Upper Little Round Valley (9800ft) on 20th December 2021.
WEATHER Temperatures above seasonal averages, such as those we experienced this weekend, will continue until Wednesday 22nd. Forecast resolution remains relatively poor for the rest of December, but unsettled weather into early January is expected, with below average temperatures from 23rd December onwards, plus snow (high country) and moderate rain with dustings of snow (mid elevations). Moderate to heavy precipitation is expected on 23rd-24th, with 12+ inches of snow at the highest peaks and 2-3 inches of rain at Idyllwild elevation. The freeze level may be as high as 7000ft, so snow currently at mid elevations may be washed away by rain. Lighter precipitation is possible again on 25th and from 29th into early January 2022, but frankly could also occur any day for the remainder of December.
At San Jacinto Peak (10,810ft/3295m) on Monday 20th December 2021 at 0940 the air temperature was 33.8°F (1°C), with a windchill temperature of 23.4°F (-5°C), 17% relative humidity, and a gentle WSW wind sustained at 6 mph gusting to 10.8 mph.
At the Peak on Wednesday 15th December 2021 at 0640 the air temperature was 22.1°F (-6°C), with a windchill temperature of 0°F (-18°C), 31% relative humidity, and a gusty NW wind sustained at 21 mph gusting to 33.5 mph.
At the Peak on Tuesday 14th December 2021 at 1630 the air temperature was 10.4°F (-12°C), with a windchill temperature of -17.5°F (-27.5°C), 93% relative humidity, and a wild WNW wind sustained at 21 mph gusting to 32.5 mph.
Note that conditions may change starting 23rd December when significant additional precipitation is possible, potentially adding light powder on top of ice and icy snow in the high country, and ice (initially falling as rain) to surfaces at mid elevations.
All trails above about 6000′ are largely or completely snow- and ice-covered. However, reliable and relatively prominent tracks are in place for almost all major trails as described below.
Tahquitz Peak trail from Chinquapin Flat/PCT Mile 178 has steps to follow through the angled icy snow. These icy slopes are notoriously treacherous. Currently spikes are strongly recommended. Snowshoes are rarely advisable on these slopes due to the angle of the icy snow.
The Ernie Maxwell Trail is almost completely covered with ice and compacted icy snow, and spikes are strongly recommended.
Deer Springs Trail has an excellent track to follow, well-traveled to Little Round Valley following the established trail route. Above Little Round Valley several different tracks meander up to the Peak, none of which accurately follow the actual trail for more than short sections, but several of which are relatively easy to follow.
Devil's Slide and Marion Mountain trails have very well-traveled tracks to follow.
There are reasonable tracks to follow through the light snow around the Tahquitz meadows trail complex.
The Wellman Trail has been lightly traveled, and involves some uneven postholing through shallow snow, but there are a few tracks to follow.
There is a very well-traveled and consolidated trail from Long Valley through to Wellman Divide, which continues up the Peak Trail.
Spitler Peak Trail [updated 22nd] is virtually clear of snow. However there are six new trees down, all in the upper mile of the trail, including two major obstructions that require caution to get around.
Seven Pines Trail has a reasonable set of tracks to follow through the snow, although the track wanders from the established trail in its uppermost section. Dark Canyon Road is almost completely covered in 1-2 inches of snow, and is 4WD/AWD passable only.
There were no visible hiker tracks on Fuller Ridge Trail as of this afternoon.
May Valley Road is largely clear of snow, however it is largely impassable by vehicles due to multiple trees down (mentioned above, reported to USFS).
There is well-defined track on the Suicide Rock Trail through the snow from Deer Springs Trail.
SNOW DEPTHS measured on 20th December 2021, are as follows. Note that current average total depth is given first, followed in parentheses by the depth after the storm of 14th where known. Due to strong winds accompanying the storm there is extensive drifting, especially in and near the trails. Altitudes are approximate. Locations are listed in descending order by altitude.
San Jacinto Peak (10810ft): 8 inches (very heavily drifted; was 11 inches on 15th)
Little Round Valley (9800ft): 6 inches
Wellman Divide (9700ft): 3 inches (was 6.5 inches on 15th)
Annie's Junction/approx. PCT Mile 181.8 (9070ft): 4 inches (was 5 inches on 15th)
Deer Springs Trail at Seven Pines Trail junction (8700ft): 4 inches
Strawberry Junction (8100ft): 1 inch
Saddle Junction/approx. PCT Mile 179.9 (8070ft): 2 inches (was 3 inches on 15th)
Deer Springs Trail at Suicide Rock Trail junction (6950ft): <1 inch (patchy, largely melted)
Devil's Slide Trail at Humber Park (6520ft): <1 inch (2 inches on 15th)
Idyllwild (at 5550ft): 0.5 inch (very patchy, largely melted, was 1 inch on 15th)
Looking north-west from San Jacinto Peak on 20th December 2021 (above), and the same view on 15th December 2021 (below). Note especially how quickly the snow level has moved upslope on the sun-exposed southern flank of the San Bernardino mountains.
Thank you fellow hikers for taking the time to read this. While all labor and time is volunteered, the San Jacinto Trail Report completely depends on small private donations to cover operating costs. Every year seems to have its challenges and 2021 has been no exception, so every contribution, no matter how small, is truly valuable. If you have found this Report useful, please consider visiting the Donate page. Thank you for your support.
The Peak Trail at 9800ft just above Wellman Divide on 20th December 2021 (above), and the same view five days earlier on 15th December 2021 (below).
Previous Post Snow storm summary 15th December 2021
Next Post Storm updates 23rd-24th December 2021


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RPGnet Roleplaying
Tabletop Roleplaying Open
[Adamant] Thrilling Tales/Mars Savage Worlds
Thread starter TonyTempest
adamant entertainment mars planetary romance planetary romance savage worlds thrilling tales
TonyTempest
Captain of Colors
I've been out of touch with the forums (and internet in general) over the holidays.
Has Adamant been able to release their Savage Worlds versions of Thrilling Tales and Mars yet? I'm looking for Dead Tree versions when it is released.
Mr. Skarka has cancelled the forums on his site due to spammers, but said he would answer questions on this site and EnWorld. So... I'm asking here Any updates?
Sylvre Phire
Custodian of the Flame
It seems to me I heard rumblings that they're still in the works... I'm sorry that I can't provide a link or other source to cite.
MountZionRyan
Savage Crazy Asshole
He's also been on the Pinnacle boards.
These are not released yet, but there is info:
I checked out the Pinnacle board threads. Didn't find much on the release of Savage Worlds Thrilling Tales, but it looks like Mars was supposed to be out in mid-December. It's a little late, but I preordered d20 Mars and it was a little late, too... but worth the wait.
Hopefully SW Mars will come out close to when I get my income tax return and I can get it.
Gareth-Michael Skarka
Things have been.... Interesting. (I can't really go into much more detail than that.)
Schedules, as a result, have been thrown into disarray.
To answer your question as clearly as I can:
SW THRILLING TALES is, at this point, cancelled. For several reasons, including: 1) SW works better with settings, and THRILLING TALES was never a setting, but rather a genre toolkit. 2) There are several other companies already handling pulp for Savage Worlds, which, when I looked at it realistically, reduced the value that we'd bring to the table. Other folks are already doing it, and doing it well. No need for us to muddy the waters, there.
So, currently, I'm still considering what to do with THRILLING TALES. I love the genre, and I'm proud of the work we've done -- but d20 Modern is dead, so no reason exists to continue the line as-is. I could re-boot it with a new system, but given the success of SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY, I'm not sure there's much point in releasing yet another pulp system.
We've considered just releasing FATE translations of our existing adventures (for use with SOTC), and we've considered perhaps doing a TRUE20 version of the game. Honestly, though, I'm not sure -- and I'd happily listen to suggestions.
SW MARS is a different story. The delay there was due to a) waiting for the last bits of new art work, b) waiting for me to write the expanded setting material and new adventures, and, to be honest, c) wanting to make sure freelance artists are paid before we release -- something which was made a lot harder when Adamant was hit with a nearly 40% drop in year-to-year sales in the last quarter of 2008.
We're still planning on release -- but at this point, I should be conservative and say that it will be out in February. That's the Savage Worlds version.... we were also considering a FATE version, but we're not sure if there's enough demand for it.
Eponymous
Gareth-Michael Skarka said:
Gareth, I hope your health is fine and its not another scare for you on that front. Stay well and stay strong friend.
Gareth I have been trying to get get you and Jeff Combos to team up!!! lol
I have been using your Thrilling Tales with Ubiquity and its a really nice fit. I suggest throwing in with Jeff and developing in that direction.
SOTC while neat and all is actually a [relatively]very complex and ...unfocused game. ..For some its just too "indie"[I like it but it needs - in the words of one of my players - "a whole group of GM's to make it work"].
I find Ubiquity and HEX a much more elegant and playable game.
Great for both beginners [which SOTC is not] and veterans alike.
The material developed for the surface world is sparse so there is plenty of room for more and costumed pulp has not been addressed in that setting as yet not to mention more work on magic, mysticism, Atlantian "tech" etc. Gareth you and Jeff would be a scary good match IMHO.
You may also find Jeff very open to Mars as he is also planing to release "Revelations of Mars" for HEX.
The synergy seems golden.
Contact Jeff on jcombos@exilegames.com
I'm sorry to hear about Thrilling Tales. I know I'm an anecdote of one, but one of the things I think is missing from Savage Worlds is the toolkit thing. I know that there are the PDFs from Smith and Robards, and they are releasing some of those in book form.... so, as a businessman I can see why that might be the decision you would need to take.
As for Mars, I'm still looking forward to it. I preordered the D20 version, is there a chance to preorder a dead tree version of the Savage Worlds version? Maybe get some money to pay your freelancers that way?
pulpguy
I'd like to see a OpenD6 version of both THRILLING TALES and MARS, too bad about the SAVAGE WORLDS edition of TT.
Strength Protocol
Pity about the schedule - I hope its for something positive there.
As to Mars, bummer about SW. I guess that leaves me doing a conversion by hand.
Pilgrim said:
I think (unless I misread it) that there will be a SW version of Mars (at least it's still planned as of now) but there may not be a SotC (FATE) version of Mars.
At least I hope that's what I read. I would like the Savage Worlds version, but have little use for a FATE version.


Go into the bedroom. Open up the closet. Look inside. Does anything need to go to the dry cleaner? What about that pashmina you spilled New Year's bubbly on? Toss it in the laundry bag. Straighten a few hanging items and retold your sweaters so the inside of your wardrobe doesn't look like you had to flee the paparazzi. Good job. Now have a seat.
Bravo!! You've just smoked 40 or more calories in less time than it takes to put on your makeup, and all you did was neater up your clothes. Magic, right?
Well, not really. You see, your body is already primed to be a fat-burning machine. All you need to do to start changing your body's shape is tune up that fat furnace and get it revving at maximum efficiency so you're burning even more fat while going about the mundane rituals of life.
This fat-burning magic comes from your metabolism, a word you've probably heard tossed around a lot but maybe don't understand. What is metabolism? Simply put, it's all the various chemical reactions that happen inside your body, 24-7, that keep you alive. It's food being turned into energy and that energy being burned off to keep your hair growing, your heart beating, your liver pumping out bile, your lungs transferring oxygen into your bloodstream and your intestines turning Amstel Light into the urine (not that there's a huge leap there).
It's the engine room of your person starship, your never-ending calorie burn. And while you may imagine that the majority of your calories get burned while you're engaged in some strenuous activity like riding a bike, diving into a pool or getting jiggy with your honey, you're actually burning most of your calories, well, just keeping the lights on.
In fact, think of metabolism as your caloric 401(K) program. It's not going to give you instant gratification, like hitting a slot machine jackpot. It's a long-term strategy, but it's a sure thing: Invest in it and you'll get slow, steady, effective returns that will keep you happy and healthy for years to come.
Well, stay with us here. Burning calories in the gym is great. But the energy you expand while you're in the gym isn't as simple as those tired old LED readouts on the treadmill might make it seem. See, we all have three "burns" that make up our metabolism.
Basal (resting) metabolism: Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) accounts for 60 to 70 percent of your overall metabolism, and surprisingly, it's the number of calories you burn doing nothing at all: lying in bed staring at the ceiling or vegging on the couch watching TV. As we said earlier, it's fueled by your body's inner workings—your heart beating, your lungs breathing, even your cells dividing.
So pause a moment to think about this: Between 70 and 85 percent of the calories, you burn every day come from either eating or just hanging around doing nothing.
So, what about the other 15 to 30 percent?
Exercise and movement metabolism: This part of your metabolism includes both workouts at the gym and other more enjoyable physical activities (we call this exercise-activity thermogenesis, or EAT) along with countless incidental movements throughout the day (that's called non-exercise-activity thermogenesis, or NEAT).
So why is it so hard to lose weight just by exercising? Why are there so many fat people in the gym? The answer is simple. Exercise only targets 15 to 30 percent of your fat burn. Up to 85 percent of the calories you burn in a given day have nothing to do with moving your body! Does that mean you should quit the gym? Well, not.
Your BMR or resting metabolism—the body system that eats up the majority of your daily calorie burn—is determined by two things: your parents, and the amount of fat versus muscle in your body. And while you can't choose who your parents are, you can improve the other part of the equation and turn your resting metabolism up a few notches.
The problem is that fat plays its own role in the metabolic game, and it's literally working to slow down your calorie burn. See, the term "fat and lazy" is pretty accurate from a scientific standpoint. Fat is lazy, on a metabolic level. It barely burns any calories at all. For your body to support a pound of fat, it needs to burn a mere 2 calories a day. Muscle, however, is very metabolically active.
This is key and why muscle is your BFF in the fat-burning process: At rest, one pound of muscle burns three times as many calories every day just to sustain itself—and a lot of those calories that muscle burns off come from fat's storage units. That's why fat hates muscle, and why you should love muscle because muscle is constantly burning fat off.
Fat actually fights back, trying to erode muscle and fit more of its fat friends into your body. The real villain in this internal battle happening now, in your body, is a nasty character called visceral fat. Visceral fat is the kind that resides behind the abdominal muscles, surrounding your internal organs.
And visceral fat works its mischief by releasing a number of substances, collectively called adipokines. Adipokines include compounds that raise your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammation and heart disease. Visceral fat also messes with an important hormone called adiponectin, which regulates metabolism. The more visceral fat you have, the less adiponectin you have, and the lower your metabolism. So fat literally begets more fat.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that those biologically active molecules that are released from visceral fat can actually degrade muscle quality which, again, leads to more fat. The solution?
After age 25 we all start to lose muscle mass a fifth of a pound of muscle a year, from ages 25 to 50, and then up to a pound of muscle a year after that—if we don't do anything to stop the decline. And on top of a slumping metabolic rate, loss of muscle strength and mass are empirically linked to declines in the immune system, not to mention weaker bones, stiffer joints, and slumping postures. Muscle mass also plays a central role in the response to stress. And further research is expected to show measurable links between diminished muscle mass and cancer mortality.