The day for the Democrats' Better Deal has arrived and it's pretty much what they ran on in 2016, which led to defeats across the board. Republicans kept Congress, kept their hold on state legislatures, and retook the White House in the most stunning upset in American political history. It's even harder to take an introspective autopsy when Hillary Clinton has blamed Russia, the FBI, the media, sexism, racism, misogyny, James Comey, and even the Democratic National Committee for blowing up her presidential ambitions. Granted, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has sort of taken steps to distance himself and the party from the former first lady, saying it was the Democrats, not Russia, who screwed up in 2016. He's right, though that's hardly the consensus among the liberal base.
In its first phase, released Monday morning, the Democrats' campaign focuses on three broad areas: creating new jobs, lowering prescription drug costs and restraining the power of corporations. Notably absent from the agenda are the social issues — things like reproductive rights, immigration reform and gun control — that have, at times, defined the party.
"What motivates us is that the costs of living keep rising, but families feel their incomes and wages aren't keeping up," Pelosi wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published Sunday evening.
On the jobs front, the Democrats' plan would give employers a tax credit for training new hires and incentivize businesses to team up with educators to build a 21st century workforce capable of competing on the global stage.
To lower drug costs, they want to empower the government to bar sharp increases in prescription prices while allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices they pay for drugs, which is barred by current law.
To rein in "abusive" corporations, they propose to restrict large mergers, strengthen the review process that monitors mergers post-consolidation and create a new "consumer competition advocate" designed to discourage market manipulation.
Additional proposals — including tax and trade reforms — will be unveiled later in the year.
The Democrats have been divided in recent years over the scope and focus of the party's message — a divide exacerbated by their minority status and the extraordinary rise of Trump. Some maintain that party leaders have done too little to appeal to the conservative-leaning heartland voters who flocked to Trump.
Others contend the Democrats have been too timid in fighting for the party's ideals. They're pushing an aggressive liberal platform that highlights the issues of economic justice championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.), who energized liberals with his surprisingly successful run against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary.
The choice we face is simple. We can continue down this path of a rigged system and allow Washington to turn a blind eye to painful economic realities that so many Americans are facing. Or we can stand on the side of the American people. We can invest in hardworking families and build an economy that puts Americans first -- defined by better jobs, better wages and a better future.
Well, before we get into that, let's discuss the elephant in the room here. It's not a left wing push. There's no solid commitment to a single-payer health care initiative, which is the Holy Grail for progressives and the pro-Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. Given how California Democrats torpedoed a state-based single-payer initiative, the establishment will continue to endure heartburn from their most active left wing activists over this issue, which is why Schumer is leaving it as a possibility to appease them.
"American families deserve a better deal so that this country works for everyone again, not just the elites and special interests," Schumer wrote in his op-ed.
"That's what it means to have an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. That's the mission. And I'm asking all of you to join me in it." Clinton said during a speech on June 22, 2016.
And I know we can do this, because I've seen it in the past. You know, I remember when I was growing up, and America had come out of the upheaval of depression and World War, our leaders worked together to invest in a new foundation of American power and prosperity, highways to connect up our entire nation, college, and housing for returning veterans and their families, unprecedented scientific research.
Despite the progress we've made in coming back from the Great Recession, we face a set of core challenges to building an economy that works for everyone—including a political system that is doing too little to help working Americans, an economic system that encourages too many corporations to favor short-term profits over long-term investments, and outdated workplace policies that aren't meeting the needs of modern families.
Right now, there is nothing to stop vulture capitalists from egregiously raising the price of lifesaving drugs without justification. We're going to fight for rules to stop prescription drug price gouging and demand that drug companies justify price increases to the public. And we're going to push for empowering Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for older Americans.
For years, Hillary Clinton has made the case that Americans should get the value they deserve for the billions of dollars in support they provide through federal investment in basic research and incentives for R&D. Drug companies should not be allowed to reap excessive profits or spend unreasonable amounts on marketing if they want to receive support that is designed to encourage life-saving and health-improving treatments. Clinton's proposal would require pharmaceutical companies that benefit from federal support to invest a sufficient amount of their revenue in R&D, and if they do not meet targets, boost their investment or pay rebates to support basic research. If elected President, she will convene business leaders, experts on drug pricing, and consumer advocates to set new parameters for federal support in order to ensure this requirement. The basic principle is based on a provision of the Affordable Care Act that required insurance companies to pay rebates to consumers if their profits and administrative costs were an excessive share of benefits actually paid out to consumers.
White working class whites, which represents 44 percent of eligible voters, voted for Trump in droves, minority working class voters pretty much didn't vote, putting a lot of trust in Barack Obama, who didn't deliver. Obama, overall, didn't do poorly with working class voters, but years of inaction sucked the enthusiasm out of this segment. Job retraining is going to get them off the couch to vote Democratic in 2018 or 2020? Democrats have been saying that for years. The Guardian's Chris Arnade, who traveled 100,000 miles through rural America, along with Salena Zito of The Washington Examiner, have written extensively on the working class of America and how for many Trump was seen as a savior from economic torpor that caused scores of them to see America as not great. I don't think these voters even need to read the details; they know the magnitude of Trump's win. Democratic outreach efforts will have to overcome the sense of skepticism and cynicism that many of these voters will rightfully see with this agenda. Urban-based professionals denigrated them, mocked their living situations, couldn't understand why they just don't go to college, viewed their labor as anathema (i.e. those who are coal miners), did not like their affinity for gun rights, and viewed their religious faith with scorn. So, is it such a surprise that Appalachia, once a bastion of working class Democratic support, has all but abandoned the party? Clinton only won 21 of its 490 counties. That's a massive rebuilding project, which will be hamstrung by the condescending and insufferable busy bodying mindset urban-based progressives have decided to channel in their politics. There's also the dogmatic adherence to identity politics, in which any Trump voter, any white working class voters, anyone who is not progressive, is an irredeemable racist who is not worth reaching out to, let alone speak with on the issues. Even CNN's Fareed Zakaria noted this approach has created a massive cultural gulf that will hurt Democrats. The inroad to these voters could be simply come in the form of a showing of understanding, though for now—that's not in the cards with the Left. Health care is also another area, though the Democrats' single-payer push could muddy that road.
Yes, ALL white people are racist. Yes, ALL men are sexist. Yes, ALL cis people are transphobic. We have to unpack that. That's the work!
Also, who's the leader of the party?


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Home> Laptops
Sony Introduces VAIO Pro 11/13 Ultrabooks and VAIO Duo 13 Hybrid
by Jarred Walton on June 4, 2013 11:45 PM EST
VAIO Duo
We're now on the third iteration of Intel's Ultrabook strategy, and with Haswell's launch now behind us we'll be seeing a lot of new laptops and Ultrabooks with the new CPUs. After some early missteps, we're hopeful that this will be the proverbially charming third time. Acer and ASUS have shown off some of their offerings, and now it's time to look at what Sony is up to.
Sony has always had a penchant for ultraportables (you know, what they were called before they became Ultrabooks), and laptops like the VAIO Z series have impressed with the amount of hardware crammed into a small chassis. With Intel's new focus on improving integrated graphics performance, the days of requiring a discrete GPU for "fast enough" graphics performance may finally be drawing to a close, which gives companies like Sony the ability to create even smaller designs. That brings us to today's launch of the VAIO Pro 11 and 13, along with the next generation VAIO Duo 13 Slider.
Given their background in the home theater industry, you would expect Sony to know a thing or two about building high quality displays and speakers. Sadly, their storied history doesn't always yield the best experience, and like other OEMs Sony has been involved in the race to the bottom that has played over the past five to ten years in the laptop space. Thankfully, the VAIO Pro line looks to buck that trend and Sony's press release makes note of the Full HD 1080p panels with TRILUMINOS displays that create rich colors and offer a wider color range. There's no specific discussion of what panel technology is being used—we've seen both TN and IPS 1080p panels from Sony in the past, but hopefully the marketing materials end up translating into an improved visual experience.
In terms of specifications, Sony hasn't given the full rundown of the VAIO Pro laptops, but what we do know is that they'll tip the scales at a scant 1.92 lbs. and 2.34 lbs. for the 11 and 13 inch models, respectively, making these two of the lightest laptops around. Like the VAIO Z series, Sony is using a carbon fiber casing on the VAIO Pro, with an aluminum palm rest. Sheet batteries are available for both models, boasting up to 14 hours of battery life on the Pro 11 and 13 hours on the Pro 13—double what the integrated batteries provide. The Pro 13 will also be the first notebook PC to include a PCIe SSD drive to potentially offer even more performance than standard SSDs, though as we know from our SSD reviews there's more to a fast SSD than the interface speed. The Pro 13 also features a touchscreen, while it appears for now the Pro 11 will not.
In a slightly different vein, the VAIO Duo 13 takes over for the previous generation VAIO Duo 11 as a hybrid Ultrabook/tablet. It also uses a carbon fiber shell and weighs 2.93 lbs. Despite the larger screen dimensions, Sony says they have minimized the bezel to maximize the viewing experience, and the Duo 13 is nearly the same size as the Duo 11. Also updated with the Duo 13 is the "Surf Slider" design, with a slimmer hinge and one-handed transitioning between tablet and laptop modes.
Other features of the Duo 13 include the return of the active digitizer stylus that can be stored on the side of the PC. Capacitive touch interfaces are great for some things, but when it comes to writing and drawing an active digitizer and stylus are still the ones to beat. Sony also touts a new Exmor RS image sensor and an 8MP rear-facing camera on the Duo 13, which Sony claims is capable of functioning as an image scanner if necessary with their CamScanner application providing the ability to adjust for pictures taken at odd angles.
All of the above Ultrabooks feature full-size backlit keyboards with full-pitch key travel, which is always good to hear but we'll reserve judgment until we've personally typed on the laptops. Sony is also including NFC (Near Field Communication) technology in their new 2013 summer models, allowing for the quick sharing of website data and Bluetooth configuration between supported devices. SSDs are options on all of the above models, but we don't have details on the capacities or price points yet, and CPUs up to Core i7 will also be supported. The laptops come standard with a one-year warranty with in-home service.
Pricing of the laptops starts at around $1150 for the VAIO Pro 11 and $1250 for the Pro 13, and they should be available starting June 9 in Carbon Black or Carbon Silver. (Or if I read the press release wrong, it's $1150 for Carbon Black and $1250 for Carbon Silver.) The VAIO Duo 13 will also be available starting June 9 in Carbon While or Carbon Black for around $1400.
Gallery: Sony Introduces VAIO Pro 11/13 Ultrabooks and VAIO Duo 13 Hybrid
Johnmcl7 - Wednesday, June 5, 2013 - link
I'm a bit disappointed they seem to have stripped down the ports as that was one of the main reasons I went with the Vaio Duo 11 as Sony are one of the only companies who put a decent range of ports so it has a standard VGA port, LAN port and standard hdmi while still being a small machine. It's very useful when testing ports not to have to use adapters which I find an annoyance as they defeat the purpose of having a small and light machine that you have to carry a bag of separate adapters.
John Reply
lxgoldsmith - Friday, June 14, 2013 - link
less ports = slightly more room for battery and cpu cooling It's hard to get a decent ultabook with lots of ports, so maybe get a docking station for the video and ethernet when you're at home and just have usb, etc. in between Reply
Otunia - Saturday, June 8, 2013 - link
The Samsung is not a bad machine but the number pad killed it for me. Macbooks don't come with number pads and Apple is right about that. They destroy the ergonomics of the laptop because the keyboard can't be shifted to the right to get the spacebar and touchpad in the middle of the screen. What's good for a separate keyboard for desktop computers is not good for laptops. Furthermore I'm really against glossy displays. There are many places where I couldn't work if I didn't have a matte one. Reply
That was an answer to http://www.anandtech.com/comments/7029/sony-introd... Reply
Do you think using a 13.3 inch matte screen protector would make it look a bit ugly? Maybe it would look good to have a glossy border instead of a glossy screen Reply
slateface - Tuesday, July 23, 2013 - link
wish Sony would make a 15" ultrabook Reply

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Power in Electric Circuits
Vol. I - Direct Current (DC)
Pages in Chapter 2
Ohm's Law - How Voltage, Current, and Resistance Relate
An Analogy for Ohm's Law
Calculating Electric Power
Nonlinear Conduction
Circuit Wiring
Polarity of voltage drops
Computer Simulation of Electric Circuits
Chapter 2 - Ohm's Law
In addition to voltage and current, there is another important parameter related to electric circuits: power. First, we need to understand just what power is before we analyze it in any circuits.
What is Power and How Do We Measure It?
Power is a measure of how much work can be performed in a given amount of time. Work is generally defined in terms of the lifting of a weight against the pull of gravity. The heavier the weight and/or the higher it is lifted, the more work has been done. Power is a measure of how rapidly a standard amount of work is done.
For American automobiles, engine power is rated in a unit called "horsepower," invented initially as a way for steam engine manufacturers to quantify the working ability of their machines in terms of the most common power source of their day: horses.
One horsepower is defined in British units as 550 ft-lbs of work per second of time. The power of a car's engine won't indicate how tall of a hill it can climb or how much weight it can tow, but it will indicate how fast it can climb a specific hill or tow a specific weight.
The power of a mechanical engine is a function of both the engine's speed and its torque provided at the output shaft. The speed of an engine's output shaft is measured in revolutions per minute, or RPM.
Torque is the amount of twisting force produced by the engine, and it is usually measured in pound-feet, or lb-ft (not to be confused with foot-pounds or ft-lbs, which is the unit for work). Neither speed nor torque alone is a measure of an engine's power.
A 100 horsepower diesel tractor engine will turn relatively slowly, but provide great amounts of torque. A 100 horsepower motorcycle engine will turn very fast but provide relatively little torque. Both will produce 100 horsepower, but at different speeds and different torques. The equation for shaft horsepower is simple:
Notice how there are only two variable terms on the right-hand side of the equation, S and T. All the other terms on that side are constant: 2, pi, and 33,000 are all constants (they do not change in value). The horsepower varies only with changes in speed and torque, nothing else. We can rewrite the equation to show this relationship:
Because the unit of the "horsepower" doesn't coincide exactly with speed in revolutions per minute multiplied by torque in pound-feet, we can't say that horsepower equals ST. However, they are proportional to one another. As the mathematical product of ST changes, the value for horsepower will change by the same proportion.
Power as a Function of Voltage and Current
In electric circuits, power is a function of both voltage and current. Not surprisingly, this relationship bears a striking resemblance to the "proportional" horsepower formula above:
In this case, however, power (P) is exactly equal to current (I) multiplied by voltage (E), rather than merely being proportional to IE. When using this formula, the unit of measurement for power is the watt, abbreviated with the letter "W."
It must be understood that neither voltage nor current by themselves constitute power. Rather, power is the combination of both voltage and current in a circuit. Remember that voltage is the specific work (or potential energy) per unit charge, while current is the rate at which electric charges move through a conductor.
Voltage (specific work) is analogous to the work done in lifting a weight against the pull of gravity. Current (rate) is analogous to the speed at which that weight is lifted. Together as a product (multiplication), voltage (work) and current (rate) constitute power.
Just as in the case of the diesel tractor engine and the motorcycle engine, a circuit with high voltage and low current may be dissipating the same amount of power as a circuit with low voltage and high current. Neither the amount of voltage alone nor the amount of current alone indicates the amount of power in an electric circuit.
Power in an Open/Short Circuit
In an open circuit, where voltage is present between the terminals of the source and there is zero current, there is zero power dissipated, no matter how great that voltage may be. Since P=IE and I=0 and anything multiplied by zero is zero, the power dissipated in any open circuit must be zero.
Likewise, if we were to have a short circuit constructed of a loop of superconducting wire (absolutely zero resistance), we could have a condition of current in the loop with zero voltage, and likewise, no power would be dissipated. Since P=IE and E=0 and anything multiplied by zero is zero, the power dissipated in a superconducting loop must be zero. (We'll be exploring the topic of superconductivity in a later chapter).
How is Horsepower Related to Watts?
Whether we measure power in the unit of "horsepower" or the unit of "watt," we're still talking about the same thing: how much work can be done in a given amount of time. The two units are not numerically equal, but they express the same kind of thing.
In fact, European automobile manufacturers typically advertise their engine power in terms of kilowatts (kW), or thousands of watts, instead of horsepower! These two units of power are related to each other by a simple conversion formula:
So, our 100 horsepower diesel and motorcycle engines could also be rated as "74570 watt" engines, or more properly, as "74.57 kilowatt" engines. In European engineering specifications, this rating would be the norm rather than the exception.
Power is the measure of how much work can be done in a given amount of time.
Mechanical power is commonly measured (in America) in "horsepower."
Electrical power is almost always measured in "watts," and it can be calculated by the formula P = IE.
Electrical power is a product of both voltage and current, not either one separately.
Horsepower and watts are merely two different units for describing the same kind of physical measurement, with 1 horsepower equaling 745.7 watts.
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Power Worksheet
Energy, Work, Power Worksheet
Textbook Index
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Published under the terms and conditions of the Design Science License
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19th Century | Keep Baltimore Inexplicable!
Frederick Douglass and Francis Scott Key have put aside their past differences on National political issues, to urge you to Keep Baltimore Inexplicable!
With great pleasure we announce our first two celebrity endorsers. The two most renowned figures of Baltimore Harbor in the 19th Century, Frederick Douglass and Francis Scott Key, who have put aside their past differences on National political issues, to urge you to Keep Baltimore Inexplicable!
Here is a rough of the upcoming poster featuring these two legendary figures from Baltimore's past.
Why We Need to Keep Baltimore Inexplicable!
What does Baltimore love Most: Technological Innovation, or Tradition? It's Inexplicable!
The Question that is on Everyone's Mind! Should Baltimore Remain Inexplicable? Take Our Poll and Make Your Voice Heard!


US - Weekly Cattle Outlook, 22nd May 2009 - Weekly review of the US cattle industry, written by Glenn Grimes and Ron Plain.
Fed cattle prices were steady to slightly lower this week. The 5-area daily weighted average price for slaughter steers sold through Thursday was $85.09/cwt on a live weight basis, down two cents from a week earlier and $9.31 lower than a year ago. Steers sold on a dressed basis averaged $136.21/cwt, 31 cents lower than the week before and $12.70 lower than the same week of 2008.
Choice boxed beef cutout values also were slightly lower this week. On Friday morning, the choice carcass cutout value was $1.4576/pound, down 0.83 cents for the week and 10.83 cents lower than a year ago. The select cutout was down 2.7 cents from the previous Friday to $1.4053 per pound. The choice-select spread is currently 5.23 cents which is unusually low. But, it is the highest this week for any time since January.
Federally inspected cattle slaughter for this week was 678,000 head, up 0.9 percent from the week before and down 6.0 percent compared to a year ago.
Through the week ending May 9, 2009 dairy cow slaughter was up 11.9 percent but beef cow slaughter was down 5.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
During the first quarter of 2009, live cattle imports from Canada were down 26.86 percent but cattle imports from Mexico were up 39.08 percent. Total cattle imports were down 10.26 percent.
Steer carcass weight averaged 822 pounds for the week ending May 9, up 2 pounds from the week before and up 12 pounds from the same week in 2008. Steer carcass weights have not been below year-earlier levels since late November.
Cash bids for feeder cattle were mixed this week. The price ranges at Oklahoma City for medium and large frame steers were: 450-500# $121-$127.75, 500-550# $123-$127.50, 550-600# $114.50-$120, 600-650# $109-$116.25, 650-700# $104-$109.25, 700-750# $101-$105.10, 750-800# $96.25-$100.50, and 800-1000# $82.50-$99.85/cwt. Seven weight steers are about $9/cwt lower than this time last year, despite corn prices being more than $1/bushel lower. However, are enduring a prolonged period of red ink. May of 2007 was the last profitable month for cattle feeding.
The June live cattle futures contract ended the week at $82.52/cwt, up $0.15 for the week. August settled at $83.77, up $1.25 from the week before. October settled at $89.55/cwt and the December live cattle contract ended the week at $91.15. August feeder cattle futures ended the week at $101.92/cwt, up 27 cents from the previous Friday. September feeders gained 18 cents to settle at $102.15.
There were no big surprises in the latest cattle on feed report. The May cattle on feed report said placements during April were up 4.2 percent compared to April 2008. The prerelease trade forecast was for placements to be up 6.3 percent. April marketings were reported to be down 6.9 percent according to USDA. Trade estimate was that marketings were down 5.8 percent. The number of cattle on feed on May 1 was down 2.9 percent. The trade expected it to be down 3.0 percent.


I always hang our shirts and skirts straight onto hangers and dry the mon their hangers. If it's hot and dry and not too windy I hang them on the washing line in the sun for an hour or so and it's so easy to bring them in quickly when they're on hangers (no folding). I have clothing horses and a few other things for hanging them on (just picked up a thing from aldi that is circular and easy to put up and down inside). If it's winter and cold I hang them inside near the heater at night.
I have to confess that once I got to three kids I started drying the small stuff – it just takes too much time to get it out on the line all the time.
Once everything is dry then I have a set of small baskets (got them at Big W and they slot in together for easy storage). I have one per person and I shove (I don't fold) everything that belongs to each person in their basket. my 5 year old and husband put their own stuff away. I put Tegan & Amos' away. The hanging stuff just goes straight into the cupboards – that's the beautify of hanging them when wet. I rarely have to iron too because they've been hanging whist drying. Oh, and I know it sounds slack but I don't generally fold stuff in the kids drawers. Realistically it ends up being all jumbled within half a day anyway so I just shove it in the drawers. It's mostly pjs and jeans and tights in the drawers anyway so it doesn't matter if they get a bit crushed.
Thanks for sharing, Kylie! Some great time-saving ideas!


When the weather starts to warm up, it's the perfect time for some fun and a change of scenery. And if you want to enjoy it with a large group, a spring bus trip is the perfect solution, while keeping in mind ease of planning and safety considerations. Here are some tips for organizing the best possible outing for your group.
Since the weather at this time of year can be unpredictable (particularly early in the season), overnight camping trips are usually not the best idea for most groups. For example, March has seen temperatures that range from record highs approaching 27C all the way to record lows near -27C. April can be similarly volatile when it comes to temperature. Let's face it, very few people will be interested in an overnight camping trip when the mercury drops below zero. And since group trips need to be planned well in advance, it's risky to plan a trip that absolutely requires warm weather since long term weather forecasts are far less accurate than the ones you'll see the day before your trip.
At Switzer-CARTY, we spring into action with hundreds of buses on charter trips running all over Ontario roads. Trust our safe drivers with your group this spring and book a bus with us!
After feeling cooped up all winter, most people are itching to get outside and enjoy some time in nature. Everyone can check the expected weather the night before and dress accordingly.
Consider outings that involve hiking. Southern Ontario is packed full of excellent options. The White Water Walk at Niagara Falls is a classic choice (particularly in late spring when the snow is pretty much certain to have melted away), and suitable for the average person. Heading in the opposite direction, Lookout Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park is another enormously popular route.
For groups of kids in your GTA daycare or elementary school, a trip to Jamie Bell Adventure Park is always a hit with restless children who need to burn off some energy.
It tends to rain more than usual at this time of year, so it's not a bad idea to add some indoor destinations to your spring bus trip. This helps ensure that no matter what the weather decides to do that day, your group is still pretty much guaranteed to have fun things to look forward to.
Toronto is a popular destination for such things since it's a relatively short drive from most places in southern Ontario, and offers a plethora of great choices to suit all types of groups. Examples of popular indoor destinations for spring include Ripley's Aquarium, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
It's never too early to start planning for your group's spring outing. The first step is to plan where you want to go and when. Once you have that figure out, it's time to book your bus so you won't have to worry about how everyone will get there.


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Incredible Technology: How to Preserve Historical Documents
By Tanya Lewis 09 September 2013
Sophisticated technologies are used to preserve old documents, like the Declaration of Independence.
(Image: © Todd Taulman | Shutterstock)
Editor's Note: In this weekly series, LiveScience explores how technology drives scientific exploration and discovery.
WASHINGTON — From the U.S. Declaration of Independence to the famed Waldseemuller world map, documents paint an important picture of history.
But documents are made from fallible materials that often fade, rip or degrade over time. Thanks to new technologies, researchers can preserve these age-old relics for posterity, as well as uncover secrets regarding their makers and origins. Here at the Library of Congress' preservation labs, scientists are studying how to prevent the degradation of the Library's most treasured holdings.
The field of preservation research is very small, but is of great importance for preserving the human record, said Fenella France, chief of the preservation research and testing division of the Library of Congress. [History's 10 Most Overlooked Mysteries]
"Technology is critical, since new advances allow us to better understand collection materials, identify issues, and prevent further changes or degradation from occurring," France told LiveScience.
Imaging the unseen
France's team spends a lot of time developing noninvasive techniques for analyzing the Library's artifacts. They use a method called hyperspectral imaging to discover fine details of ancient texts and maps.
The human eye can only see light in the visible spectrum, from red to violet. But hyperspectral imaging divides light into bands that extend outside this part of the electromagnetic spectrum into the ultraviolet and infrared.
Hyperspectral imaging reveals details of a document not visible to the human eye. (Image credit: Abby Brack Lewis/ Library of Congress)
The images contain a wealth of information about the artifact's origin and degradation mechanisms. Trace elements in the ink pigments hint at when and where the artifact was made. Sometimes the images reveal something new, such as a watermark or hidden text.
For example, in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote the phrase "my fellow citizens," but the word "citizens" was written over another, illegible word. Hyperspectral imaging revealed Jefferson's original phrase was "my fellow subjects."
Preserving and protecting
Protecting artifacts against degradation is one of the Library's primary jobs. Most paper documents are digitized, but the Library works hard to preserve the originals.
"One of the most nerve-racking things about this field is knowing you are working with the 'only copy' of this item, and that there is no room for error," France said.
Oxygen-rich environments accelerate degradation, so preservation experts sometimes store artifacts in encasements where the oxygen has been removed. Controlling moisture is also critical.
The Waldseemuller map of the world, made in 1507 by German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller, is the first map in existence known to use the word "America" for the western continent. Valued at an estimated $10 million, the Waldseemuller is the Library's most valuable purchase. [In Images: Ancient Maps and Sea Monsters]
Before the 4-by-8-foot map (1.2 by 2.4 meters) went on permanent display in 2007 in the "Exploring the Early Americas" collection, preservation staff scanned all 12 sheets of the map with hyperspectral imaging. But the real achievement was making the encasement that would safely house the historical treasure.
Library staff designed the encasement with help from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The base was machined from a solid piece of aluminum measuring about 116 inches by 73 inches by 4 inches (295 by 185 by 10 centimeters). A thick sheet of nonreflective glass covers this base, attached by an anodized aluminum frame sealed with 92 bolts. (Anodized aluminum contains a thick oxide layer that increases corrosion resistance.)
The enclosure is hermetically sealed and filled with the inert gas argon instead of oxygen, because oxygen reacts with the materials in paper and ink to degrade them. The argon maintains the atmospheric pressure that the air would normally exert on the map.
Sensors monitor the environment inside the encasement, alerting Library staff if conditions veer into dangerous degradation territory, France said. If the pressure inside exceeds a safe level for the map, France gets a text message, and has to come in and vent the excess pressure.
Similar encasements house the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Waldseemuller encasement is by far the largest.
The main purpose of preserving documents is so people can study them. "Libraries face the challenge of making collections accessible and available, while also juggling preservation," France said.
Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.
Cats with smooshed faces can't express emotions, and it's all our fault


If you'd like to create/maintain a website, having some HTML knowledge is necessary in order to create a standard page on the web. HTML is also very easy to learn, you can learn the basics in about an hour. First you'll need some type of software/editor to create your html pages. Here's a few to try out (or not) and see which you feel most comfortable with.


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@implementation SUPublicViewModel2

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The human immune system must deal with a host of microbial and infectious agents throughout a person's life. Such challenges come from viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites and those organisms that do not easily fit such well-defined categories.
The drawback to a conventional approach is that antibiotics do not address most viral infections including the common cold. Furthermore, the worldwide incidence of infectious diseases has not been reduced and the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains has increased the difficulty in the treatment of infections due to these organisms.
Additional problems with antibiotics include decimation of friendly mucous membrane bacteria, overgrowth of yeast and fungi, potential allergic reactions and serious side effects, potential interference with metabolism of other medications; and in repeated usage antibiotics have been associated with the emergence of leaky gut and autoimmune disorders. Finally, there is the cost of treatment, which includes the visit to the doctor, the antibiotic prescription and the cost of treating side effects or allergic reactions.
The naturally minded practitioner knows that a strong immune system is the best defense against infection. This is accomplished through proper nutrition, regular exercise, plenty of pure water, proper detoxification and elimination, adequate refreshing sleep and emotional-spiritual-relationship balance.
Even with this preventive approach, an infection's first sign may become noticed. At this point there are many tools at one's disposal such as rest, increasing the intake of liquids, the ingestion of herbal extracts such as elderberry, certain vitamins and of course the use of specific essential oils utilizing one or more interfaces (topical, inhalation, internal).
It cannot be overemphasized that essential oil therapy is most effective when initiated at the first sign of an infection. The potential drawbacks with essential oil therapy are having them immediately available when the need arises; the time and effort to prepare a blend when feeling ill, using too little oil too late and the potential for allergic or toxic reactions although quite small when compared to conventional antibiotics.
In my practice of integrative medicine I utilize essential oils on a daily basis for many difference conditions. When faced with a patient that is fighting an infection I have in the past made up capsules containing specific essential oils in suitable carrier oil for ingestion. The preparation of such capsules is time consuming and the dosing is imprecise. Essential oils can irritate the stomach, reflux into the lower esophagus and then there is the question of the liver having to deal with a bolus of absorbed essential oil chemicals.
In February, 2008 a local compounding pharmacy hosted a luncheon at the clinic where I practice. They had recently developed and patented a way of taking male and female hormones in oil, and placing them in a tablet for hormone replacement therapy. Their research showed that the hormones were selectively absorbed by the lymphatics of the intestines, thereby bypassing initial degradation in the liver.
This concept intrigued me and a series of discussions led to an experiment in which they were able to successfully place my essential oil blend into a tablet form. Further experimentation resulted in a lightly enteric-coated, scored tablet holding 78.5 mg of essential oil.
The essential oil blend contains the following essential oils: Cymbopogon martini (Palmarosa), Kunzea ambigua (Kunzea), Origanum compactum (Oregano), Citrus x limon (Lemon), Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree), Cinnamomum camphora (Ravintsara cv 1,8 cineole) and Ocimum basilicum (Basil cv linalool). GC/MS analysis is utilized for quality assurance. The ratio of oils is proprietary and slightly changed from batch to batch to make bacterial resistance less likely for those patients taking them long term.
Considering that the first pass was to go through the lymphatics and not to the liver, an adult dose of 2 tablets (157 mg total) four times a day for two days as a loading dose and then two tablets three times a day for seven more days totaling 58 tablets was chosen as a starting dose. From that point the doses for other ages was constructed for both strong immune support (acute infections) and maintenance support (see Tables 1.a. and 1.b.).
An 18 month open-label clinical trial was conducted from February, 2008 through July, 2009. Regular patients of my practice at Clinix Health Center who had an outpatient treatable infectious disease diagnosis who declined conventional treatment were offered a course of AromaTab™ as an alternative experimental treatment along with detailed written information on safety and use. Conditions for which AromaTab™ immune support was used are listed in Table 2. Follow up was generally by phone but in person when possible.
During the 18 month trial 612 patients ranging in age from 5 years to 84 years received one or more courses of AromaTab™. Gastric upset was the most common side effect causing premature stoppage of the full course in 16 patients (2.6% incidence). One patient accidentally took 33 tablets at one time while high on another drug and experienced hives lasting several days. A prescription antibiotic was added to the course of AromaTab™ in 14 patients (2.2%) after it was determined that AromaTab™ alone was not fully handling the infection. Complete resolution of symptoms of acute outpatient common infections was noted in 455 (74.3%). For those patients on chronic maintenance for Epstein-Barr virus induced fatigue, 106 (17.3%) noted improvement. A total of 20 patients (3.2%) were lost to follow up. In summary, for those patients for whom AromaTab™ was the sole antibiotic treatment, 561 (91.6%) showed improvement or their symptoms resolved completely.
Advanced sinus infection was the most frequent reason for having to add an antibiotic prescription. In two cases of urinary tract (bladder) infection there was incomplete clearing of the infection and required a few days of an antibiotic. For patients in which an antibiotic had to be added it was noted that the combination of AromaTab™ and the antibiotic resulted in more rapid clearing of infection resulting in fewer days needed on the antibiotic prescription. Patients with Candida uniformly reported excellent improvement. Four patients with Lyme disease showed improvement in symptoms. The respiratory viral infections like rhinitis, early sinusitis, bronchitis and influenza responded very well to AromaTab™. For those on anticoagulant medications (Coumadin, Warfarin) the tabs did not interfere with good control of blood clotting. Laboratory testing of the blood in selected patients showed no liver or kidney abnormalities.
The reviewed literature and the clinical experience suggest that the essential oil lipophilic complex is released in the small intestine and is absorbed into the enterocyte (1, 2). The majority of the essential oils forms a chylomicron-essential oil complex and are absorbed into the lacteals of the small intestine joining up with the abdominal lymphatic channel and ultimately emptying into the vena cava near the entrance to the heart. There the essential oils distribute to the general circulation, reach the extracellular fluid and ultimately undergo metabolism for excretion. A small amount of the total essential oils released into the intestine does reach the liver, but in amounts hundreds of times less than from an oil-filled capsule (3). The enteric coating allowed the essential oils to bypass the stomach in all but a few patients. The scored tablet allowed treatment of children as young as five years of age.
Considering the cost of many prescription antibiotics, AromaTab™ was found to be cost effective, convenient and well tolerated. It greatly reduced the need for antibiotic prescriptions while providing a primary treatment for viral infections. Since concluding the clinical trial, other practitioners and aromatherapists are using AromaTab™ and finding similar results. AromaTab™ has the potential to provide a safe first treatment for many common outpatient infections, reserving antibiotic prescriptions for more serious or prolonged infections. There is a need for further studies looking at a range of doses and duration of treatment for specific conditions.
AromaTab™ comes in a bottle of 60 tablets. To place your order, or for more information, email Nancy d'Angelo at essentiallynancy@cs.com, subject line: AromaTab or call 303-668-4884.
Professionals interested in providing AromaTab™ to their clients or patients may request and receive a training packet to ensure a full understanding of the dosage, safety and use of AromaTab™.
Appreciation to the staff of Green Mountain Pharmacy, Lakewood, Colorado, Julia Rose Botanicals, Aurora, Colorado, and the staff and patients of Clinix Health Center, Centennial, Colorado, for their part in the development of AromaTab™ and participation in the clinical trial.
Raphael graduated in 1976 from the University Of Oklahoma College of Medicine after which he served seven years in the US Air Force Medical Corp. On return to civilian practice Dr d'Angelo spent ten years in rural Oklahoma caring for the local population including many families of the Creek and Cherokee Indian heritage. He is board certified in family medicine and holistic medicine, is a graduate of the ACHS aromatherapy program and is currently in the practice of integrative medicine. Dr d'Angelo has a passion for research on the antimicrobial effects of essential oils. He has lectured throughout the USA and teaches with passion clinical aromatherapy to doctors, nurses, aromatherapists and other health professionals.
This is very promising. However I'd like to see more trials and research into the interactions of AromaTabs with allopathic medicines such as Amlodipine and Doxazosin when taken concurrently, and AromTabs impact of cardiac functionality.
Can the general public still order this product?


Thanks to everyone who joined us for the Fifth Annual Timeless Tips from the Bench and Bar!
Thanks to everyone who joined us on Friday, March 11, 2016, for the Fourth Annual Timeless Tips from the Bench and Bar. It was an amazing day and we would like to thank our speakers and sponsors listed below!
A very special thank you to Curtis E. Shirley!
This is the fourth year Curtis Shirley has chaired this event, spending countless hours putting together an amazing lineup of speakers and topics. We are so grateful for your leadership and service to the organization!


I have been writing speculative essays on the SoulPhone™ for a couple of years now. Mine is out-of-the-box thinking with a suspension of disbelief because I am just plain fascinated wondering what could happen when post-material persons (or PMPs—people whose earthly bodies died and who are living elsewhere) could speak as clearly and conversationally as those living on earth.
During that time, I've asked myself a bunch of questions about the (potential) greater reality, and I want to share my top ten. These are big picture questions I have about what humans would encounter when plugged into what we call the spirit world. My questions assume that the SoulPhone works and that we can converse with friendly authorities.
Flow of Information — When we start talking through high-tech devices in a conversational manner with PMPs, how much will they be able to tell us? What limits if any will impact the flow of information? If limits exist, what authority imposes them? Is there secret-keeping there as here, or has the veil of secrecy been lifted? If we seek, shall we find?
Limits to acquiring knowledge — The above also begs the question of how easy is it for any of those living in non-earthly realms to access information? Do they have massive libraries and celestial search engines free for anyone to use? Are PMPs given research tools (if they so desire) to have their long lists of questions answered? On earth secrets abound and obstacles prevent people from discovering the truth. How about there?
Evolution — A functional SoulPhone will possibly give us access to luminaries who were geniuses while on earth and are now living elsewhere in the field of all possibilities. Will we have permission to collect information and solutions from them and evolve our planet accordingly? Are we allowed to evolve and create more of a heaven on earth? Or as a karmic training grounds often affectionately referred to as Earth School, are we supposed to stay stuck with the current social norms as learning opportunities?
Levels of existence — Sources suggest that the so-called afterlife is not a one-size-fits-all place. Rather, there are different levels with different characteristics. Some are very earthlike while others are ethereal; a range from hellish to mundane to ecstatic exists. Some humans who have mastered deliberate out-of-body travel say they don't find a huge difference between earth and the astral. Many near-death experiencers, on the other hand, often find themselves in places far more blissful and magical than here. What are those different environments and how will a SoulPhone interface with them?
Legalities — How would a scientifically established reality of eternal life impact the legal system here? How much of a shift in laws would occur if the basic operating assumptions of human life and death were proven to have been false? Is murder actually murder if no one actually dies (bodies yes, minds no?) Could the formerly human have a say in property and ownership rights normally disposed of in wills and estates? Would wills even be necessary if the departed could still contact the physically living? How would this also affect lawmaking and politics?
War and killing — We've been taught that killing gets rid of people forever. One-way street, dead end. We assume this 'reality' in warfare, capital punishment, law, news, drama. How much would it change everything to learn that killing is more like transferring someone to another place of existence, not irrevocable extermination? Will it be enough to end war? Would it put a different spin on killing to realize that there may be future consequences in another dimension?
Quality of earth life — When mainstream science accepts the existence of life after bodily death, it could create a paradigm shift as big as when people realized our planet is a globe, not a pancake. All the storytelling that goes on in news, entertainment, religion, science, education, politics, health care, and so on will need to adjust. As it has done for near-death, out-of-body, and spiritually transformative experiences, this could create a shift from negativity and materialism to positivity and evolution to what religions call heaven on earth.
Pandora's box — Who or what is God? Is there a devil or gatherings of evil? Religion on the earth plane has been such a dominant force in how people perceive the afterlife. How accurately have religions portrayed cosmic reality? What will happen with the probable clash between what religions claim to be true and what the collective evidence shows? Is humanity responsible for the creation of evil or are demons and devils real, and if so, what can we do about it?
The Human Agenda — Although religions and spiritual wisdom traditions claim to answer this, I suspect many people are eager to know what the purpose is of our existence in the material world. Sometimes it seems that earth is already hell, especially among those caught up in the misery of all forms of physical and mental pain and suffering. Is there a point? Did we actually choose this? If this is school, when's recess?
While many people see the SoulPhone primarily as a way to contact 'deceased' loved ones for highly personal reunion visits, others eagerly await the opportunity to gain insight into the greater reality. To them the SoulPhone represents a new research tool with the potential to communicate with great minds and usher in a new renaissance for humanity.
What big questions would you want answered?
Wow! Everyone an exceptional point for discussion. Wonderful that answers to these fine points are going to come. Thank you for keeping the conversation going!
Thank you for the comment. It is nice to know someone else who likes to ponder these issues!
My opinion is 10 years to a commercially viable model. Each phase of testing and eevelopment i imagine costs bucks. They need donations capitol to fund each phase.
The SoulPhone Foundation compares where we are now to a Wright Brothers' moment. In other words, just the beginning. In 1903, who could have envisioned the state of aviation of 1969 and Apollo 11? Same with the development of computer technology. The funding issue for development is true, but once the SoulSwitch is perfected and demonstrated, more people will presumably see the light of viability.
When will there be a working model that we can buy?
Currently testing is happening on the SoulSwitch with a lot more research and development to come. They hope to have a demo in late autumn, but it's still a long way from commercializing it. For more information on specifics, see the SoulPhone Foundation website at soulphone.org. What I am doing here in this site is speculating on a much more developed product/service which could be many years out.
You know, even without the soulphone working yet, these questions can allready be answered if you read the books by Jozef Rulof, a Dutch transmedium. They were written through him by Masters of the light. Check it out yourself on the official website https://rulof.org/en/Jozef-Rulof . I believe everything is now translated in English so I would strongly recommend it. He also predicted the Soulphone coming and working. And after this works and is available to everyone, the Direct Voice apparatus will come and that will change everything all over the world. But first, the soulphone. And yes, there ARE no secrets, that is no part of the afterlife, when the veil is lifted, knowledge will pour over the world and then we can begin a much better life, no soul excluded! So I can't wait for the Soulphone to be available, I allready knew it was coming 🙂 I also know how we came to existence and how reincarnation works, how big that actually is, everything was allready inside of me, it just had to be brought to the surface and that is what these books did for me. Can you imagine my exitement when I found out about the soulphone, yet another prediction of Jozef and the Masters of light that proves to be true!
Oh, yes, I agree that most of these questions have been answered through other sources, and of course I had my own answers to all of them intuitively as I wrote them. From my perspective, the difference with answers coming by SoulPhone technology will be that its development requires scientific protocols which will make it seem "more real" to more people. Yet what I also expect is that the information gleaned will confirm things previously communicated through mediums. I also see in this world many mediums with Internet platforms who seem to me to be spreading gross misinformation, so it takes great discernment to decide whom to trust. Something else I have noticed is that there are apparently difference levels of existence in the 'spirit world,' and they have different characteristics. For example, many of the who have had near-death experiences seem to be in a different place than those who do astral projection. For that reason I become reluctant to make generalizations. Instead I ask questions.
I loved this! Food for thought. I can relate to many of these questions: the rest made me think even more!! Thanks for sharing….


First time poster : so here is my question is there a way to launch a second droplet that would duplicate droplet 1 just in case the first droplet would go down the second droplet would take over the LAMP stack ? Any guidance is well appreciated .
Right now we don't have a load balancer service yet so you would need to setup that step yourself. In order to do it, you can take a snapshot of your first server and then create a new droplet from your snapshot.
Now depending on your application you may need to preserve state between the servers, in which case you can move the DB to a separate machine or employ scripts to sync the content or another mechanism to ensure that data is consistent.
For failover the best way to do it is using a load balancer like HAProxy or you can configure nginx as a load balancer. At the moment we don't yet have a floating IP which would allow you to setup a redundant load balancer which means you would still have a single point of failure.
Another easy approach is to use round robin DNS. That basically means add double the IP entries to your DNS record so you point www and the domain itself to both IPs of the servers. With modern browsers they do a pretty decent job of querying the DNS server and switching a decent amount of traffic if one of the servers have failed.
We hope to have our load balancing service launched in Q1 of 2015 that would do all of this for you.
Thank you for the fast reply and for the leads .
i will definitely look into those .
Although with hopefully a load balancing service right around the corner of 2015 .
I'll maybe wait until the service pops online .
Regarding that service , this would just automatically duplicate the first droplets LAMP stack and provide a load balancing feature ?
The load balancing feature would just take care of the load balancing portion, you would still need to duplicate your own droplets to tell the load balancer what to point to.


2.8 crore by mortgaging non-existing property, inflating the value of other properties and diverting funds.
HYDERABAD: Ravula Venkatesh, a city-based industrialist and managing director of Cormo Automotive Private Limited, allegedly defrauded the State Bank of India's Bible House Branch to the tune of 2.8 crore by mortgaging non-existing property, inflating the value of other properties and diverting funds. The Central Crime Station last week booked a cheating case against Venkatesh and Srilatha, the two promoters of the company.
In the complaint filed with CCS sleuths on February 22, SBI regional manager Daparti Dorababu said, "Ravula Venkatesh and Srilatha, residents of Kachiguda, approached our Bible House (RP Road) branch and availed a loan in 2010 and 2012. The directors of the company intentionally mortgaged properties knowing they are non-existent and defrauded the bank. The accused have no title over the property. By impersonation and creation of forged title deeds, they secured loans and failed to repay the amounts. The accused also diverted funds."
SBI filed suits for recovery of the outstanding dues as the loan accounts had become non performing assets (NPA). The bank is the secured creditor and has initiated action under the provision of SARFAESI Act. The lawsuits are pending before the Debt Recovery Tribunal at Hyderabad.
The loan accounts were transferred to SBI's Stressed Assets Recovery Branch (SARB) at Koti. In July 2017, SARB informed the Bible House branch that during verification of the land documents, the properties offered as security had been found to be fake. It was also found that counterfeit documents, legal opinions and valuation reports were obtained to defraud the bank. The case was booked under Sections 406, 419, 420, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.


A small 18k gold butterfly rests sweetly on the edge of a richly hued Pink Topaz faceted gemstone. This lovely necklace is made with a sterling silver chain that is adjustable from 16" to 18" in length. Stone is 14mm round.
An endearing teeny, tiny turtle rests peacefully on an over-sized turtle named "Sir Sheldon." All co..
Classic button style earring with dazzling faceted stone of your choice. This earring will light up ..


text:
import re
import ssl
import sys
import json
import base64

import urllib2
import urllib
from cookielib import CookieJar

from httplib import HTTPSConnection

from pyngdomdriver import PyngdomDriver

__version__ = '0.1.2'

if sys.version_info >= (2, 7, 9):
    ctx = ssl.create_default_context()
    ctx.check_hostname = False
    ctx.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE

class Pyngdom(object):
    def __init__(self, username, password, apikey, account, version='2.0'):
        self.username = username
        self.password = password
        self.apikey = apikey
        self.account = account
        self.version = version

    def request(self, method, endpoint, headers=None, **params):

        url = "https://api.pingdom.com/api/{version}/{endpoint}".format(
            **dict(
                username=self.username, password=self.password,
                version=self.version, endpoint=endpoint
            )
        )

        if headers is None:
            headers = dict()

        if 'Account-Email' not in headers:
            headers['Account-Email'] = self.account
        if 'App-Key' not in headers:
            headers['App-Key'] = self.apikey
        if 'Content-Type' not in headers:
            headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'
        if 'Authorization' not in headers:
            headers['Authorization'] = 'Basic %s' % base64.encodestring(
                "{username}:{password}".format(username=self.username, password=self.password)
            )

        conn = HTTPSConnection('api.pingdom.com', context=ctx)
        conn.request(
            method,
            "/api/{version}/{endpoint}".format(version=self.version, endpoint=endpoint),
            headers=headers
        )

        response = conn.getresponse()
        body = response.read()
        return json.loads(body)

    def get_check_list(self):
        return self.request('GET', 'checks')

    def get_detailed_check_information(self, checkid):
        return self.request('GET', 'checks/%s' % checkid)

    def get_summary_performance(self, checkid, **params):
        headers = {}
        for header in ['includeuptime', 'from', 'to', 'order', 'resolution', 'probes']:
            if header in params:
                headers[header] = params.pop(header)

        return self.request('GET', 'summary.performance/%s' % checkid, headers=headers)

class PyngdomRum(object):
    def __init__(self, username, password, apikey=None, account=None):

        self.username = username
        self.password = password
        self.apikey = apikey
        self.account = account
        self.opener = None

    def start(self):
        self.login()

    def quit(self):
        pass

    def __enter__(self):
        self.start()
        return self

    def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
        self.quit()

    def login(self):
        cj = CookieJar()
        rc = re.compile('''.*name *=[ '"]*__csrf_magic[^>]+?value *?=[ '"]*?(?P<csrf>[^'"; ]+)''')

        self.opener = urllib2.build_opener(urllib2.HTTPCookieProcessor(cj))
        body = self.opener.open("https://my.pingdom.com/")

        csrf_magic = filter(None, map(rc.match, body))[0].groupdict().get('csrf')

        login_response = self.opener.open("https://my.pingdom.com/", urllib.urlencode(
            {'__csrf_magic': csrf_magic, 'password': self.password, 'email': self.username})
        )
        login_response.read()
        return login_response

    def realtime_rum(self, checkid, sample_interval=60):
        raise NotImplemented("PyngdomRum does not have a realtime method")

    def today_rum(self, checkid):
        response = self.opener.open("https://my.pingdom.com/rum/%s#filter&timetype=average&datefilter=today" % checkid)
        rc = re.compile(r".*Pingdom.rum.aggregatedData *= *(?P<rum_data>.+);")

        return json.loads(filter(None, map(rc.match, response)).pop(0).groupdict().get('rum_data'))


...provide scientists with data that will assist in determining the real nature of this phenomenon," he said back in 2002.
Now, eight years later, Podesta is still -- as he puts it -- "curious."
"As someone interested in the questions of UFOs, I think I have always understood the difference between fact and fiction. I guess you could call me a curious skeptic," he's reported to write.
We prefer UFO tales like the first episode of "South Park." in which Eric Cartman, a skeptic of alien beings, finds out for himself that he's been wrong on the topic.
As no videos are available for Kean's new book, we'll go the "South Park" route.
Click to receive Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here.
Photo: Space aliens and cows make peace on South Park. Credit: South Park screenshot.


Kayvon Paul is still months away from graduating, but that hasn't stopped him from being a force in the political world.
Browsing Kayvon Paul's LinkedIn profile, it's easy to forget you're looking at an undergraduate's resume. There's a significant amount of scrolling required as you cruise through his list of work experiences: field organizer for political races, community outreach for an LGBT organization, associate at a Trenton lobbying firm.
At just 22 years old—and still several months away from graduating with his bachelor's in political science—Paul has leapt fully into the work world while still balancing classes and college life. At one point, he was juggling 50- to 60-hour weeks working on a state senate race while keeping up with his coursework and serving as president of his fraternity.
Born and raised in Long Branch and Asbury Park, Paul says violence and gangs were all around him. The oldest of eight children, he worked at Rite Aid to help pay the bills and tried to stay out of trouble. He hadn't thought much about college until his high school history teacher—who also teaches at Monmouth—encouraged him to consider it.
In the months leading up to last fall's midterm elections, Paul expanded his political science savvy—and further bolstered his resume—by working as a research assistant for Monmouth University's Polling Institute. He was part of a team of students who helped assemble datasets for congressional house races across the country.
Paul initially enrolled as a social work student at Monmouth, but soon politics beckoned. "When people ask me why I like political science, I usually say that politics affects everything you do, every day. How could you not be involved?" says Paul.
He took his political education outside the classroom in 2016 as an intern with New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.'s campaign for re-election. A few months later, he worked on a local board of education campaign, and then joined the state Senate campaign of Vin Gopal as a paid field organizer.
Paul spent all of 2018 working as the community outreach coordinator for Garden State Equality—a statewide organization that advocates for LGBT rights. This past January, he started full time with a Trenton-based lobbying firm, MBI-GluckShaw, where he hopes to continue working after graduation.
As he looks toward graduation in May, Paul has also been reflecting on his time at Monmouth. He credits the University's Educational Opportunity Fund Program, Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, and the political science department—where "each and every one of the professors really cares about the students and wants to see them grow," he says—with propelling him through these busy and often challenging college years.


text:
Hotels, Airbnb beef up cleaning standards to calm travelers
Hotels and home-sharing companies are beefing up their cleaning efforts in order to soothe jittery travelers.
Hilton said Monday it's teaming up with RB - which makes Lysol and Dettol disinfectants - and the Mayo Clinic to develop new cleaning procedures that will be in place by June. The news follows Marriott's announcement last week that it's creating a cleanliness council to develop new standards. Marriott's council includes infectious disease specialists and an expert from EcoLab, which makes commercial cleaning products.
Airbnb also said Monday that it's developing cleaning protocols for its hosts with guidance from former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and EcoLab. Airbnb said starting in May, guests will be able to see if a host commits to Airbnb's new cleaning protocol, which includes requirements for cleaners to wear masks and use certain disinfectants. As a precaution, hosts will also be required to observe a 24-hour waiting period before booking new guests in a property.
Hospitality companies have been hammered by the new coronavirus. U.S. hotel occupancy is at a historic low, and many hotels worldwide have closed temporarily and furloughed staff. Airbnb has promised $250 million in reimbursements for hosts to help make up for lost business.
As restrictions ease, companies know they need to make guests feel safe.
"There's always been an expectation that it would be clean, but now the clean has a double exclamation point after it," said Phil Cordell, senior vice president and global head of new brand development at Hilton.
Hilton will require franchisees to adopt its new cleaning program, Cordell said. The program will roll out globally to all 6,100 Hilton hotels by the end of May. Cordell said Hilton expects travelers to slowly start returning to its hotels in mid-summer.
In North America, the program will be advertised to consumers as Hilton CleanStay with Lysol. Cordell said Hilton has always used commercial cleaning products, but thought partnering with a well-known consumer brand like Lysol would emphasize how serious it is about cleaning.
Hilton plans to put a seal on the door of a room that has been cleaned and disinfected, so guests know no one else has entered. It's doing away with pads of paper and pens in the room, and it will close fitness centers more often to wipe them clean. Stations with disinfectant wipes will be added throughout hotels.
Cordell said Hilton anticipates some things will change over time, like requirements that guests sit further apart in dining rooms. But he thinks the new cleaning protocols are here to stay.
"I don't think it's a short-term thing. I think it's a long-term thing," Cordell said.
Airbnb believes consumers might seek out its shared homes when the virus recedes because they can stay further apart from other guests. The company says as of late March, reservations at least six months out were trending higher than last year.
But unlike hotels, Airbnb could have a harder time enforcing standards at its 7 million listings. The company said hosts who don't commit to its new cleaning standards can opt for a new feature that will keep their properties empty for longer than 24 hours between stays.


text:
THE VILE FRAUD THAT IS YISROEL BELSKY-PART TWO!
---->Click here for the entire fifteen-page document and click on the orange "download" button on bottom of the page
The above link should now be working! If you are still having trouble, the Belsky files can be downloaded here:
http://savefile.com/files/53776
(copy & paste)
A REVOLUTION AGAINST THE HOLY TORAH
A horrible abomination was perpetrated against the Torah. A married woman from a financially wealthy family obtained from a so called "rabbi" a "heter" to commit blatant adultery, after the "rabbi" received a hefty fee from her father. After the money was in his pocket, this so called "rabbi" performed a hocus pokus annulment in the style practiced for centuries by the Catholic Church. In fact, the annulment was based on testimony from a female witness, an admitted zona by profession, who is not of the Jewish faith. This so called "rabbi" furthermore falsely established that the husband had been infected with AIDS, something which the husband refuted by means of documented blood laboratory test results. Thus, the woman who had been married for almost a year and separated from her husband almost six months was advised that she may re-marry without need of a Get.
We are forbidden from remaining quiet over this terrifying event and great chillul Hashem. In these troublesome times, we must pray that these atrocities are not the cause, or tip the scales of Justice, in favor of Heavenly punishment against the entire Tzibur chalilla. Accordingly, we are obligated to vehemently protest this criminal abomination. This dishonorable "rabbi" must be prevented from continuing his shameful and detestable conduct. This so called "rabbi" cannot be permitted to rip out the laws of the Torah in order to fill his pockets with illicit bribes. This so called "rabbi" should forthwith sever all connections with the Jewish community. He has no Jewish neshama. He should live at the Vatican with the men and women he sincerely respects.
In the month of Cheshvan 5761, the subject couple was married and lived in New York . As noted above, she was from a very wealthy family. Unfortunately, the husband got involved in some credit card scandal and landed up in prison. Subsequently, the wife sought to be divorced from her husband. However, the couple were unable to resolve some monetary issues and therefore they have not reached a final settlement. The disappointed wife was thereafter advised that there was "magic help" available for her at the Yeshiva Torah V'daath. And so, she was off to see the Wizard of Ozzus, namely "Rabbi" Israel Belsky, to obtain her Catholic style annulment.
"Rabbi" Israel Belsky, began to salivate when he learned he was going to be approached by the wife and her wealthy family. That like on a cash-register, large dollar signs appeared in his eye sockets. "Rabbi" Israel Belsky saw another opportunity in his dirty hands by where he can continue to make a lot of money from selling the Torah and its' Shulchan Aruch down the river. It was of no importance, the terrible consequences his evil conduct would bring against Klal Yisroel (i.e. neeuf, mamzeirim).
Belsky figured "I will help this poor soul whose father has the big bucks. I will convene a "beis din" with my fellow scoundrels, where a shiksa employed as a zona (gentile woman working at a house of ill repute) will be an acceptable witness to testify against the husband. We will not invite the husband to our "beis din", lest he appear and defend his reputation. My "beis din" will then falsely ascertain the husband as having been a frequent patron of such ill reputed establishments prior to his marriage. My "beis din" will then further establish without witnesses that the husband was also "probably for certain" infected with AIDS prior to his marriage. After we certify the husband as having been "probably for certain" a carrier of the infectious AIDS disease at the time of his marriage, we will consequently rule the husband as being definitely unfit for marital relations with a wife. In conclusion, my star chamber beis din will permit the unfortunate wife to seek another husband without any need of a get.
The job of carrying out his halachic scam, at first appeared easy. To give his fictitious annulment a professional appearance, Belsky shamefully utilized a very select collection of authentic Halachic Teshuvos (responsa) from Poskim. Only, the selection of Halachic Teshuvos used were outrageously with no connection to Belsky's self-produced fiction about the husband. His comparisons were totally unrelated, illogical and did not even pertain to his self-created falsified situation.
Belsky then called together his lowlife friends. Them being a group of five (5) rabbinic scum, all of whom (with [probable] exception to the listed purported Kohen) were involved over the past eleven years with directing and/or implementing mafia style kidnappings, beatings and invalid Gitlin. Each of these rabbinic racketeers were instructed to bring along their rubber stamp so as to embellish their fabricated decision to appear very rabbinical and trustworthy. Those that did not have a rubber stamp were advised to quickly order one.
Only after Belsky obtained the signatures of his five cronies, did he realize that he and his rabbinic scum would not be accepted by the true chashuva Rabbonim in the community. And so, a campaign by Belsky himself to obtain the signatures of a few sincere New York Rabbonim was implemented. Belsky made the calls to certain well known Rabbonim, in the hope he could dupe them to sign their good name in support of his dirty lies published against the husband. Fortunately, Belsky's plan failed completely. Each of the Rabbonim and Roshei Yeshiva refused to go along with him. In fact, they were unaware of thelies and deception being perpetrated, only they each found his counterfeit annulment as being ridiculously irrational, illogical and coated with Belsky style stupidity.
Without the support of any reputable Rav in America , Belsky directed his efforts toward Eretz Yisroel. To approach Rabbi Elyashev was out of the question. Some years back Belsky was caught lying to Rav Elyashev in another story regarding a forced invalid Get. In that story, Belsky falsely claimed that his kidnapping and mafia style torture of an innocent husband from Borough Park (story published in Newsday March 8, 1998, with Belsky's picture) was sanctioned by a former Rosh Yeshiva of 'Chaim Berlin' living in Far Rockaway. That Rosh Yeshiva upon learning that Belsky was falsely using his name, wrote a letter to Rav Elyashiv and to the "Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah" stating that "Rabbi" Belsky is a "liar" and should not be believed a single word that goes out from his mouth. In that case as well Belsky and his mafia group tried to permit a woman from Montreal to commit blatant adultery, Rachman Litzlon. All the Gedolei Torah vehemently protested against Belsky, and ruled that the woman is an Eshes Ish. Now again, Rav Elyashiv refused to accept "liar" Belsky.
As such, Israel Belsky hoped to succeed between the Israeli Sefardic Rabbonim, a group less familiar with his deceptive practices. Immediately a fax with the falsified annulment (which includes his illogical teshuva) was sent to Harav Ovadia Yossef Shlita. It was Belsky's silly hope that Rav Ovadia Yossef Shlita would be too busy to read the papers, but would issue a quick endorsement after seeing the signatures of all the rabbinic racketeers with their fancy rubber stamps and self proclaimed titles. (See p. 13, Hebrew side)
On this point Belsky was half correct-Rabbi Ovadia Yossef Shlita was too busy to study Belsky's asinine papers. Upon his
gabbai telling him that the papers pertained to freeing a married woman without any Get, Rav Ovadia Yossef Shlita insisted that it cannot be. Instead of bothering to read the papers himself, Rav Ovadia Yossef Shlita directed that it be sent to Rabbi Shalom Messas, the Sefardic Chief Rabbi in Jerusalem . However, the response of Rabbi Messas toward the false annulment knocked a great blow to the face of "Rabbi" Israel Belsky and his entire conspiracy.
The Chief Sefardic Rabbi Messas wrote as follows: (As translated from the Hebrew)
"The testimony about the husband being a patron of a house of ill repute, was based entirely upon the testimony of a Goya [who is a harlot by profession], which under halacha such testimony is totally invalid, untrustworthy and valueless. This and all other facts presented [by Belsky] have no standing whatsoever. Furthermore, laboratory tests show conclusively that the husband has no AIDS..."
Rav Shalom Messas
Rav Ovadia Yossef Shlita, upon learning of the Belsky trick, wrote a postscript to Rav Messas' letter, saying:
"I agree wholeheartedly to what the chief rabbi of Jerusalem wrote, and the woman is still an Eshes Ish." (See p. 16, Hebrew side)
It is noted here in the spirit of mockery and jest toward Belsky's stupidity: If the husband was "probably for certain" infected with AIDS prior to his marriage, then after eleven months of living with his wife derech ishis, the wife too was "probably for certain" infected with AIDS. Why doesn'tit appear to those fools that still swear by Cardinal Israel Belsky and his silly annulment, that by allowing the married wife to - - - around without a Get, that Belsky is undisturbed about "probably for certain" spreading the AIDS epidemic. (see letter of Rabbi Shlomo Miller Shlita from Toronto (p.19)
The Chazal teach us that "Kol Haposal B'mumo Posel". In the report above, Israel Belsky sought to defame the husband as a carrier of a deadly disease. In truth it is Belsky that is diseased. He is infected with the contagious kofer b 'ikar disease. At this time many of the talmidim at the Yeshiva Torah V'daath are "probably for certain" carriers.
And now we question:
Why does Yeshiva Torah V'daath permit walking sewage to occupy a seat on its faculty?
Why does the Yeshiva Torah V'daath still pay a salary to Israel Belsky, a profane heterodox Apikores?
And, why is it not any concern to Yeshiva Torah V'daath that their bachurim are being corrupted away from the Derech HaTorah by "Rabbi" Israel Belsky by his blasphemy against Shamayim?
The Yeshiva Torah V'daath, by permitting an immoral and dishonest creature like Israel Belsky to be engaged in chinch of young talmidim, is responsible for the spiritual poisoning of their students' neshamas!
Yeshiva Torah V'daath should not be permitted to continue destroying the "Torah and Klall Yisroel by means of Israel Belsky!! Demand that Israel Belsky be flushed out of Yeshiva Torah V'daath forever!
By Alumnies of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath
Translation from Hebrew letter
Rabbi Aaron M. Schechter
Erev Shabbos Parshas Tetzaveh 763
To the Honorable Rabbis Shlita;
We are hereby requesting of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of America to seek rabbinical determination regarding a "serious" matter - That is; the 'Torah position' as commanded to us via Moshe Rabeinu, our heritage which is the Mesorah passed on to every generation, through our teachers and our beacons, the Gedolei Hador.
The situation is as follows: It has recently become known here that Rabbi Israel Belsky prepared a "heter" to remarry for Mrs.... on the basis that her marriage was in error. I spoke to him twice, since he is considered a scholar from the Torah camp, as to whether he would actually permit this without consent of a superior Bais Din of our generation. Besides that this is a sign of throwing off the yoke of Torah, much worse, this opens the gates before many small foxes who stand ready to destroy the vineyard. He answered, that he intends to seek consent and that he would not act unless called upon by the Gedolei Hador.
Behold! It has now become evident to us, that her family, based upon the "heter", is actually occupied in seeking a "shiduch" for her even from among yeshiva students! We never imagined that anyone would accept upon his soul to do this!
Behold! A copy of the "heter" we place before you - however, aside from this, [on such] our souls are pained as we are suffering greatly from the Chutzpah of the Messianic era in a frightening manner. We do not lack voices demanding that the "rabbis" should invent dispensations for Agumos to remarry. The world is full with their "kindness". And to our embarrassment and pain we do not lack volunteers who assume responsibility upon their shoulders who say "I am a rabbi," [and] the power of arrogance is greater. And from those who participated in this "heter" the extent of these points can be proven.
If on a stringent matter in Jewish law such as the status of an "Eishes Ish" and on a holy matter as the purity of Jewish ancestry, leniency in a new fashion that does not exist in our Mesorah will be taken in our community without consulting leading Poskim of the generation, it will result in weeping for generations - everyone will act in accordance with his own biased view to compare one situation to another. And within a significant part of orthodox Jewry, light-mindedness will prevail, respect for Torah will sink, and incurable anarchy will ensue, heaven forbid.
Reformers will clothe in joy since they will sense that fear of G-d which precedes Torah is no longer a barrier to them, since the Torah camp has set an example to them, that they do not seek decisions in accordance with Torah law and there will be no constraints against all sorts of evil spirits blowing, and the Torah will become a forgery and Koheles Yaakov will conceal her face in the ground with the trampling of her heritage.
There is a root to the oral Torah through which G-d nourishes Klal Yisroel - they are the pillars of judicial Poskim - from them law and justice will go forth to the entire Jewish community. Our eyes are dependent upon the Torah nation to stand by us in this critical period. May G-d bestow strength upon his nation and [with this] G-d will bless his nation with peace.
With wishes of establishment of peace, goodness and blessings, to our Rabbis may they be blessed with longevity.
/s/ Aaron Moshe Schechter
/s/ Shraga Feivel Cohen
Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin 11605 Coney Island Avenue I Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230
Posted by Paul Mendlowitz at Saturday, September 09, 2006 180 comments:


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text:
Peeling Rambutan by Gillian Sze
Finalist for The A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry in 2014
A poetic travelogue, Gillian Sze's Peeling Rambutan meditates upon the rifts between immigrant parents and their Canadian-born children and the struggle of overlapping values which sometimes arises when we view the complexity of our heritage through the lens of the present. Rooted in Sze's first experience of Asia, these poems mingle the familiar spaces of her childhood home in Winnipeg with impressions of the distant villages of her parents' origins. The result is a complex exploration of the relationship between identity, place, and history. Landscape and language prove unstable, inhabited by ghosts and other echoes of passing time which leave indelible impressions on the poet: A market in Hong Kong seems reminiscent of Montreal; the spirit of her great-grandmother shows up on a commercial street in China, then in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. The mundane–a bite of fruit, a boy selling raisins, the floured hands of a baker–takes on a contemplative cast. In such a world, a traveller is never wholly certain whether she is discovering an unexplored world or descending into memory, but Sze's lyrically-driven poems navigate confidently, mapping new terrain while remaining sensitive to the claims of the past.
Gaspereau Press


text:
Jan 19-20, 2023 London, UK
Digital Health and Telemedicine
UnitedHealthcare and Peloton Expand Relationship to Reach 10 Million Members
2022-09-22 - 2022-09
UnitedHealthcare and Peloton have renewed and expanded their relationship to help more people get or stay active and improve their overall well-being. – Since originally launching the offer in 2021, UnitedHealthcare members are collectively completing over 1 million Peloton classes per month; among enrollees who have taken at least one class during a given month, members are taking an average of over three classes each week.


Hi everyone! I'm really excited to introduce a new series that I think is going to be a lot of fun!
In the past, I have written about my love for reading and my new-found love for nonfiction books, particularly those that recount someone's personal travel stories and adventures. I may have even said once or twice that I actually love the escapism genre. While these stories are often over-indulgent, exaggerated, and often unrealistic and unattainable for your average person, it's nice to dream once in a while.
I'll be including a similar series on my corresponding blog, The Offbeat Traveler, but here I wanted to focus specifically on books that relate to food while traveling. I mean, isn't that a major reason why so many of us travel in the first place- to discover all sorts of amazing and intriguing cuisines that are unique to various regions.
I wanted to start off with a book that I read last summer and that I also have highlighted on my Travel Reading List page- An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude by Ann Vanderhoof.
This book is a classic example of escapism. Man and woman leave behind 9-5 office jobs in dreary city to chase the golden sunshine of a warmer, more peaceful paradise. But there's a slight twist- they are sailing their own boat- a 42 foot sailboat named Receta to be exact. Receta meaning "recipe" in Spanish, is a fitting name, as Vanderhoof gives elaborate mention to all the new and exotic foods and dishes she comes to know and love during their journey through 16 countries and 47 islands.
Luckily for us, Vanderhoof includes many of the mouth-watering recipes in the back of the book, so we can literally get a little taste of what life must have been like during the voyage she writes about. Anything from curried lobster to breadfruit salad, pineapple cream cheese and papaya-banana muffins, this book will leave you craving the flavors and spices of the Caribbean.
Intrigued yet? This light-hearted and enchanting journey is one you will not want to put down- but not to worry, you can catch back up with Vanderhoof in her follow-up book, The Spice Necklace. This is one I have on my list as well!
I travel and then I write about it. I hope you enjoy my experiences, and can learn from my trial and errors!


Not really finished this illustration but it was time to get it out there and move on. It took around 8 hours, tried a few different painting techniques, styles and brushes out as I went along but for the most part, it was a 'painterly' brush with around 50% opacity and flow, transfer on in the settings. I put a bit of scattering on my smudge brush and that really helps to smooth things out.
If you want a tutorial on a particular aspect, let me know in the comments.


My association with Vampire Hadley Price has been a manic exercise in elation and let-down.
One of the most thrilling things a writer can experience is getting the first draft done on a book. And recently, I've done just that. A brand new Hadley Price adventure. There it is, all the details out of my head and down on paper. (Or more specifically, on the computer screen captured, in my case, in an Open Office Writer doc.) Literally hundreds of hours of work- done.
Of course, the editing process is next. In that, my editor always gives me a huge dose of humility which is a let-down. That's followed by the elation of getting a definitive product after all the rewrites. Nothing I write is seen by the public until my editor and Hadley are satisfied with it. And I get the impression that they both enjoy putting me through that manic elation/let-down process.
Now there's another form of let-down in this and I ask my fellow writers if you experience this as well. After you pour your guts into a novel-length story that takes months of your life to write, don't you feel let-down when the first draft is done? It's the thing you go back to everyday to chip away at it. When the chipping is done, do you feel a little lost that it's no longer the thing to go back to everyday? That's what I'm going through now, with this first draft done.
And yes, we all come up with ideas all the time that we use on current or future projects. And I have a few for Hadley's next book. She's always whispering in my ear. I've written the first six thousand or so words for that. But when you start a book, you start from scratch. It's isn't like going into something that has a fairly well-define structure. Hadley tells me things rapid-fire toward the end of a first draft. She is, however, a bit of a tease, when starting her next book. She isn't as forthcoming at the beginning. And I guess I miss that.
For all of you- writers, readers and anyone who has a least a passive interest in the continuing storys of the Vampire Hadley Price, the most interesting let-down is the fact that her first novel, Beckman's Folly, isn't even out yet. It's in the process and there's elation in that. But man, it's a detailed, time-consuming process. And frankly, it's taking much more time than I anticipated. It is in the works. Beckman's Folly will be published. And I'll let you know when it's released as soon as I know myself.
But for the reader, there's no let-down here. Hadley looks forward to meeting you in her first book, Beckman's Folly. And she wanted me to tell you that you won't have to wonder if there's another book after it that continues her adventures.
There is. I just finished the first draft of it.


text:
Welcome to Thailand
Herbal Sauna
Other places of interest
Tips & Useful info
Useful Tel
Do & Dont
Women Travel Sites
TAT promotes Songkran 2019 festivities in emerging destinations
Bangkok – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is promoting Songkran 2019 festivities in three emerging destinations – Tak, Mukdahan and Ranong – and is supporting activities in eight other provinces (Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Ayutthaya, Phuket and Songkhla) to showcase local traditions of the annual Thai water festival.
TAT Governor Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn said secondary destinations offer a different take on the uniqueness of time-honoured Thai traditions at this most important time of the year.
"Thailand's emerging destinations and secondary cities have a unique charm that is often found in smaller towns around the world. Some traditions are maintained in these places that might have faded in larger more established destinations like Bangkok or Pattaya.
In addition to traditional Songkran celebrations, each of the three destinations – Tak, Mukadahan and Ranong – offers unique attractions.
Tak province is home to spectacular natural attractions including the largest and arguably most beautiful waterfall in Thailand. This small town in the Lower North of Thailand also serves as an important crossroads for travellers between Bangkok and Chiang Mai and is an important westerly route into Myanmar at Mae Sot (Thailand) / Myawaddy (Myanmar), with cross border access now possible due to relaxed restrictions.
Mukdahan is one of the northeastern provinces of Thailand bordering the Mekong River, across which lies Savannakhet Province of Lao PDR. Roughly 4 km north of the city's centre, the second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connects it with Savannakhet city.
Ranong is Thailand's most northern province along the Andaman coast sharing a land border with Myanmar. Varied attractions and activities make this a great place for anyone wanting to experience one of Thailand's lesser-visited Southern provinces. Dense forest and lush agricultural lands cover much of the province, and there are numerous islands, big and small, off the coastline.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor (centre), and on his right, Mrs. Sujitra Jongchansitto, TAT Deputy Governor for Tourism Products and Business, in a group photo with traditional Thai dance performers
See more at TAT Newsroom
International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
1600 New Petchaburi Road, Makkasan, Ratchathevi
Tel: +66 (0) 2250 5500 ext. 4545-48
Email: prdiv3@tat.or.th
Website: www.TATnews.org
Booking Your Room
Global Summit of Women 2020 - Bangkok, Thailand, January 14, 2020 – Thailand has been chosen to host Global Summit of Women 2020 on April 23-25, 2020 at Cantara Grand Hotel and Bangkok Convention Centre in Bangkok under the theme "Women: Revolutionising Economies"
Welcome the New Year with Amazing Thailand Countdown 2020
Bangkok – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is organising its annual 'Amazing Thailand Countdown 2020', one of the biggest events TAT stages in various destinations across the country, to bid farewell to 2019 and welcome 2020 with Thai style and panache.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) invites to try 50 Michelin restaurants in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai- 19 December 2019, at Le Coq d'Or Restaurant, Mueang District, Chiang Mai Province. Mr Thanet Petchsuwan, Deputy Governor of Marketing Communications Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) along with Mr Wirun Phanthewi, Deputy Governor of Chiang Mai Province join the opening of the Michelin Award Restaurant, Chiang Mai, 2020.
Thai Fight cooperate with Chulalongkorn University opening the "Sam Rap Thai Institute", to be known in worldwide and to promote the local Thai food
Bangkok - Sam Rap Thai Institute is an international Thai food culture institutes established under the cooperation between Thai Fight Company Limited and the "Sam Rap Thai Institute", the Thai Studies Institute of Chulalongkorn University on October 1, 2019 with the idea of establishing to distributed local Thai food and Thai food
TAT Launches Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Passport Privileges
Bangkok – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched a new 'Amazing Thailand Grand Sale Passport Privileges' project to stimulate travel spending by tourists travelling within Thailand during the current high season from now to 31 January, 2020.
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