text:
New York: Dining
Bistro Benoit
By docsconz,
April 9, 2008 in New York: Dining
adegiulio
Location:Red Hook NY
Slightly off-topic question here, but does Benoit offer takeout? I'm donating a kidney in a couple of weeks, and the thought of a charcuterie plate as my first full meal afterward is very appealing...
"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young
"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson
Felonius
Some of the charcuterie platter at Benoit is easily the equal of BB - some is not.
I'd amend that first part to say that the best Benoit charcuterie items are superior to what's being served at Bar Boulud. I haven't tried 100% of the BB charcuterie items but I've had the BB grand assortment and there's nothing in that assortment to rival the Lucullus-style tongue or the pate en croute at Benoit. And even hard-line anti-preferentialists will have to admit that the chef can't just go in the back and whip up superior charcuterie for a VIP -- so I do believe I've tasted the same things as everybody else (as well as Frank Bruni for whom being recognized on every visit didn't seem to matter).
With respect to the other savory dishes, I just don't think Bar Boulud is all that good. Benoit, which is certainly uneven, at least shines (big time) in places. BB doesn't seem to shine at all -- though I haven't done as comprehensive a tasting as I'd like to do.
And on the dessert front any comparison would be kind of a joke. Benoit is operating in a whole different, superior category.
I have dined at each restaurant more than a half dozen times now and agree with Steven completely on this. I'm a big fan of Daniel Boulud's restaurants in general, and more specifically, Cafe Boulud was my favorite NYC restaurant when under the helm of Andrew Carmellini. However, I have found Bar Boulud to be completely uninspiring. Competent yes, but not exceptional for that price point in NYC. I really expected more from Chef Daniel. Plus, I dislike the noisy, cramped space. I don't see any reason to go to Bar Boulud unless you live in the neighborhood or need a pre Lincoln Center spot.
On the other hand, the meals at Benoit keep getting better, and the quality to price ratio cannot be beaten in NYC in my opinion. They offer a three course lunch for $28 - which is the same or less as any number of completely lame brasserie type restaurants around Manhattan. It is at the same or lower price point as nearby Brasserie Cognac, and Benoit is operating light years ahead by any standard. I can understand someone not liking classic brasserie French food, but I cannot understand how anyone could realistically criticize Benoit for what it provides at its price point.
On another note, while it was nearly impossible to get a table on short notice at Benoit a few months ago, it has been relatively easy as of late. I was a walk in tonight at 8:30 and the place was half full. Same thing at 1:00 for lunch earlier this week. Maybe it's the fallout from the stock market mess, or perhaps Alain Ducasse's long-running NYC curse continues. I just hope Benoit survives, as I love it and think it is a great addition to the Manhattan dining scene.
Edited September 25, 2008 by Felonius (log)
markemorse
Location:Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Anyway Bruni got that whole adieu thing wrong.
You would never say adieu to a customer. You would say "au revoir". Adieu is something you say when you never intend on seeing someone again -- it's almost an insult. And yes, French people say Ciao all the time.
However, French people do not say "ciao" followed by "grazie" all the time. That is ridiculous. But we digress.
Edited September 25, 2008 by markemorse (log)
Mark E. Morse
eG foodblog: Eating Immigrant in Amsterdam
oakapple
I doubt the stock market mess has anthing to do with it: Le Bernardin isn't half-empty at 8:30.
The problem is that Benoit, in its early days, quickly acquired a reputation for being uneven. Reviews were terrible. I'll grant that a lot of the critics really don't like French food, but the compaints were so widespread that I have to conclude there was some truth to them.
The Ducasse team may well have cleaned things up, but you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Marc Shepherd
http://nyjournal.squarespace.com/
Location:Northern NJ
I've got to agree with Fat Guy on the first part. The Lucullus-style tongue or the pate en croute at Benoit are indeed better than anything at Bar Boulud. But I have to point out that one day at Bar Boulud we had a second course of Duck Confit, served over a concoction that included some white beans, and an extremely delicious sauce (which I don't think confit actually needs) but the duck confit itself was absolutely spectacular - it reminded me of one that I ate in France (where I live on duck confit) and it ranked as one of the best confits of my life.
Here's a really terrible photo of it taken in unbearably low light and enhanced, that really doesn't do it justice except to give an idea of the preparation:
And as delicious as the preparation was, it was the confit itself that was utterly magnificent.
Of course, I've had some extremely delicious meals at Benoit, and I believe that up-thread is my post with photos of the night we stumbled on the magnificent Steak Rossini special.
My only complaint with Benoit is the wines. I'm currently not drinking for medical reasons, and my poor partner has been reduced to drinking glass wines (especially if he wants both white and red during the meal) and the glass wines at Benoit resemble what they serve in coach on an airplane. The first time we were there we tasted every single one of them (I smelled only) but it was disgraceful, especially when compared to the incredibly thoughtful and very drinkable selections at such similar places like Bar Boulud, or the Bar Room at The Modern.
The next time that we went for the (fabulous) cassoulet, we learned that they were sold out of the Cahors on the list, which coincidentally happened to be the least expensive red by the bottle, though we wanted it just so my poor partner could have something enjoyable with the cassoulet. Consultation with the wine person produced a thoroughly mediocre Cotes de Provence (at $95) (which was suggested as the very best choice from the list), and though we perused the "reserve" list, the least expensive wine on that is $875, and I don't have a problem saying that I don't want to spend that much on a bottle of wine.
But it is the sad fact for us that the state of the wines at Benoit have kept us from returning; the last time we went instead to The Bar Room, where our craving for a very similar bistro-type meal was amply satisfied, and the wine selection by the glass was excellent.
But I'd also say that Bar Boulud is an extremely welcome addition to the Lincoln Center dining scene.
Overheard at the Zabar's prepared food counter in the 1970's:
Woman (noticing a large bowl of cut fruit): "How much is the fruit salad?"
Counterman: "Three-ninety-eight a pound."
Woman (incredulous, and loud): "THREE-NINETY EIGHT A POUND ????"
Counterman: "Who's going to sit and cut fruit all day, lady… YOU?"
Newly updated: my online food photo extravaganza; cook-in/eat-out and photos from the 70's
sethd
During my last meal at Benoit, the staff showed me the restaurants reserve wine list, which was almost the exact list from the old ADNY.
Location:NYC
But that really doesn't make it great for a place called Bistro Benoit...I mean, if they're doing a lunch special for $28, aren't there some perfectly good wines that they can offer at $30 a bottle? Like a number of other places in this town do.
Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"
Tasty Travails - My Blog
My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs
Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?
The reserve list at Benoit is primarily intended for high-roller private functions upstairs, however they'll give it to you downstairs if you ask for it.
Replying to my own post above, and just checking the wine list, it appears as if there are any number of perfectly drinkable wines at $40 and under. And there are a fair number of splits as well.
The by the glass selection, I agree, kinda sucks.
Replying to my own post above, and just checking the wine list, it appears as if there are any number of perfectly drinkable wines at $40 and under.
I don't see them (I mean, the thing loads, but I'm not seeing the wines you're referring to). What am I missing? What are some of the wines you're calling perfectly drinkable at $40 and under?
Well, I guess everyone's actual mileage may vary, but there are at least a dozen red wines at that price point - more if you count the splits...I mean, if I'm eating at a bistro, I don't have a problem drinking a Cotes du Rhone:
2005 CÔTES DU RHÔNE • Bout D'Zan • Mas de Libian 40
2003 CÔTES DU RHÔNE • Guigal 20 38
Or a Cotes de Provence:
2006 COTES DE PROVENCE • Terra Amata • Domaine Sorin 36
Or a Cotes du Roussillon:
2005 CÔTES DU ROUSSILLON • Calandray 38
2003 CÔTES DU ROUSSILLON • Château de jau 40
And sometimes I just avoid the sommelier, (except, for instance, at restaurants that are in the Batali/Bastianich/Denton mode, where they are actually excited to be pouring wines that they've sourced at reasonable prices).
You're right on your last point - based on how (truly) horrible (not to mention thoughtless) the glass wines were on our first visit, I thought that asking for the sommerlier's help would be pointless.
(And btw, the wine list has most definitely changed since we were there.)
But I knew we wanted the Cahors, and were distressed that they were out of it; granted, they probably serve a lot of cassoulet and have a valid reason to be out of it, but at that time it was also the least expensive red on the list, and I was a little suspicious that maybe a lot of people were ordering it because it was the cheapest red on the list (at that time), and they shouldn't have let themselves run out.
At that time, they also didn't have any Argentinian wines on the list, and while you could argue that they're a "French" bistro and should be serving French wines, I also would argue that a thoughtful bistro, especially one that served cassoulet, should most definitely have some of the delicious (and reasonable) Argentinian Malbecs that are out there. But they had none.
So when I lamented "Oh, what to drink with our cassoulet?" the sommelier immediately brought the reserve list, and I really had to laugh in the face of $875 as the least expensive wine. So I narrowed my thoughts down to three of the wines I thought would go from the regular list (one of which was as inexpensive as $55) , and he actually poo-poohed them all, and not-so-gently insisted that none of them would stand up to the cassoulet, except for the $95 Cotes de Provence (obviously not on the current list), which we eventually ordered, and which was nothing more than passable.
So based on all of that, I would have my doubts about any of the $40 bottles, especially since that's the range where the glass wines are probably coming from (and indeed, on our first visit, each of the glass wines was indeed represented on the full-bottle list).
As far as the actual wines you pointed out, they may indeed be perfectly drinkable (though we are just not big Côtes du Rhône drinkers), but based on my two visits so far, I remain in love with the food, and a little leery of the wines, even if we're willing to splurge a bit and go to the $95 range. It just smacks of thoughtlessness, considering how many places, and not only the Batali/Bastianich/Denton ones, have come up with well-chosen wine programs.
he actually poo-poohed them all, and not-so-gently insisted that none of them would stand up to the cassoulet, except for the $95 Cotes de Provence (obviously not on the current list), which we eventually ordered, and which was nothing more than passable.
At this point, I'm drinking beer.
Except that the third time, we bypassed Benoit and went directly to The Bar Room.
Which is shame because I'd like to have Benoit's food again.
I'm sure that one of these days we'll get back there and give it another try.
Meanwhile, we do a lot of opera-going at Lincoln Center, and I gotta say, Bar Boulud is a godsend and a most welcome addition to the dining scene there!
And since I posted that less-than-glowing account of an experience at Benoit, I think it only fair to post how they redeemed themselves last night. We were going to the theater and were in the mood for their food, so I called the day before and asked for "a wine person", who got on the phone, and whom I asked if there was any Cahors to drink with cassoulet the following night. He told me that there was one on the list and said that if I gave him a second he would check to see if there were any bottles of it - whereupon I volunteered that the last time I ate there, there were none. He asked when that was and I told him that it had been months ago, and then he said that he thought he remembered me, and described my party to a man (two men and one woman actually) plus where we were sitting that night, and indeed he did remember me; then, after two moments on hold, he returned to the phone to tell me that a bottle of the Cahors would be ready and waiting for me the following night.
And from there it was all uphill. He happened to be at the front when we arrived, and recognized us on sight and gave us a very warm greeting and sat us and told us that the wine was ready when we were, though my other half started with a glass of Sancerre that he said was perfectly fine.
There was a "special" sauteed foie gras in red wine reduction, and I don't think we ever pass up sauteed foie gras, so we told our very pleasant server that we would split one of those, and also split a Tongue and Foie Gras Lucullus Style (and even though it was only offered on the menu as part of the Charcuterie Tasting Platter, which I hadn't realized, they gladly served it) and that we would also split a Pate en Croute.
Though I had no idea they would go to the trouble, they split and plated everything in half-portions in the kitchen:
We followed those with two orders of a very delicious cassoulet (though I have no idea who's making it at this point)
And the Cahors, which I am told was as delicious as it smelled:
Though I was dying for it, I was virtuous and didn't order the Tarte Tatin.
As far as the categorical statement made way upthhread by somebody (I guess it was FG) that the charcuterie at Benoit are better than anything at Bar Boulud, I have to say that we had a major pig-out of BB charcuterie a few weeks ago (unfortunately forgot the camers), and the Pate Grand Père and the Tourte de Canard actually held their own against the Benoit offerings.
But obviously everything about the Benoit meal was delicious and gracious, and it was a most enjoyable experience in which they redeemed themselves beautifully.
sickchangeup
Having learned to make a soufflé at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, my wife is a stickler for getting the classic variety. She won't accept the name as applied to one of these molten center creations. Our waiter assured her that the chocolate one was classic, which he based on the fact that it was made in a traditional soufflé dish. It turns out it wasn't.
I can't think of a bigger pet peeve I have than this.
The problem is that I have yet to find a waiter who can stand there and admit that their "half-fake" souffle (i.e. not all the way flourless chocolate cake, but definitely not a 40+ minute souffle either) isn't a true classic souffle. So you sit there and grill them, they defend their souffle and claim it to be the classic one, making you feel bad you'd even questioned the commitment to quality of their pastry chef, yet after all that they deliver that damb bastard of a fake souffle. Drives me insane.
Location:southwest usa
choc souffle time is more like...20, maybe 25 min, no?
ulterior epicure
Location:Depends on the day.
That's oven time. Perhaps, sickchangeup was including whipping time?
"Watermelon - it's a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face."
Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)
ulteriorepicure.com
My flickr account
ulteriorepicure@gmail.com
Well, I'm no chef - I just quoted the other guy.
I'm now to the point where I am super skeptical if they don't ask me at the beginning of my meal, although 1/10 times a place that asks after the meal get's it right - so it's probably doable. I still get a stern warning that it will take a while from the places that do it right though.
Edited October 23, 2008 by sickchangeup (log)
Had dinner here tonight. My main impression was that you're dealing with a very good casual bistro, a best hits collection even, that has a more formal restaurants service standards and prices. Seems like a bit of a conflict, but for someone that loves good formal service like my wife, this was quite a successful dinner.
We started with two $1 egg mayo's - best $1, err $2 I have EVER spent at a restaurant. This trend needs to grow, and FAST. This along with two mini baguettes, two slices of good bread, large pat of butter and an entire tray of delicious gougers definitely got me in the mood to spend some extra dough and try a bunch of stuff. Not sure how that works, but it did.
Then we had the pate en croute (good, wasn't as sold on this as others have been, prefer a few DB personally), langue de veau (not on the menu, but served when requested - and DELICIOUS. Very very rich though, this should be shared), and the chicken. I noticed the menu didn't call this "L'ami Louis style", which the original menu did. It's a small chicken, but sinfully well prepared tonight, served with roasted garlic, separate serving dish of chicken jus and excellent french fries.
For dessert I avoided the aforementioned souffle and went with the Isle Flotante (again, not the name they printed - they went with Island Float or some such, it was tonights special) and the Mille Feuille. The Island was insanely good, the mille feuille not so much.
I have to say, of all the Bruni reviews I have gone back to read after a meal, this one was the closest to the mark in my experience. My visit was more positive, cause my chicken was perfect tonight - he went several times I guess and at the time seemed to be hit or miss. The hostess also let out a loud "PREGO!" to the table next to us which left me shaking my head. Really? Prego?
We also had an unremarkable $30 of Reisling. Was pretty crappy, but $30 is $30 I guess.
All that wound up at $180 with a bottle of water, tax and tip. I think next time if we stick with the $1 egg, two entrees and some tea I'll feel like a pretty big winner when the check comes.
A Turbo Chef oven will produce a souffle in 3-4 min. Batch whipping whites(when busy) means 5-6 min max, whipping fresh add 3-4 min.
(just sayin for souffle fact checkin)
Edited November 14, 2008 by Timh (log)
You're not one of those people pushing the warm chocolate cake version on me again are you?? Are you???
I'm not sure Ducasse is getting Turbo Chef ovens in all of his joints, no?
Tradition surely must be one of his trademarks.
I've done souffles in places where the servers had no concept of "firing" a dessert and been able to get it out for the customer,
The souffle chef could also swap one out for a customer right then and put another in and no one would probably be the wiser, FWIW.
Interesting interview here:
http://www.restaurantgirl.com/chef_qarecip...in_ducasse.html
I have to admit I'm a fan of AD, ADNY being amongst, if not THE, finest haute dining I've experienced. And when he says that American's don't get bistro cooking, I think he's right. The thought of their menu makes me want to go there practically every day in the fall and winter for cassoulet, quenelles and the chicken, but it's hard to get anyone interested in that kind of food for some reason. My wife considers bistros as only good for brunch food, and she feels this is representative of many women in the city, which I don't understand.
The most interesting parts of the interview to me were the following:
What was your take on Alain Ducasse at the Essex House?
We were one of the first gastronomic fine dining restaurants in New York. We paved the way for restaurants like Per Se and chefs like Thomas Keller. Maybe when I die, people will realize what I did here.
What's your response when people refer to Alain Ducasse at the Essex House as a failure?
It's scandalous. Simply scandalous. Essex House was opened four years and it was a success. We built a clientele of loyal guests. Food lovers, they followed us to the Essex House, then to Adour. We lost our lease. That's the only reason AD at The Essex House closed.
What happened at Benoit?
Perhaps we opened too quickly. We needed time to adjust. It was a slow evolution. There are new dishes on the menu now, like the boudin noir burgers with raw and cooked apples. But I think Americans don't quite understand French bistro.
Who's to blame for that?
I think it's the journalists. It's their duty to educate New Yorkers about French cooking. Americans don't know what French bistro really means. Here, nobody serves quenelles de brochet, cassoulet, or tarte tatin. Benoit is really my culinary proposal to Americans. It's the story of the French bistro in a restaurant. All of those dishes are my culinary proposal -- French history.
Everyone here has flat out said that ADNY FAILED - including Bruni I believe (not here of course, in his Adour column). If they are wrong, they have indeed done a huge disservice to an outstanding restaurant.
What the reporter didn't ask was "Why didn't you just re-open it if it was a success"? Cause that would seem to me to be the issue here, Adour is clearly perceived to be a conscientious move in a different direction - into two star territory. But then they fire their chef after "reaching their goal", which doesn't make sense either.
Anyways, interesting excerpts there I think.
I think the truth lies somewhere between the two poles. ADNY had a six-year run, which wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't filling seats. I wouldn't call that failure. A lot of critics, Bruni among them, are hostile to luxury French restaurants, and believe no one with any sense wants to dine that way any more. They saw ADNY's demise as confirmation of what they already wanted fervently to believe. On the other hand, as you point out, the fact that Ducasse took it down a peg when he opened Adour suggests that he wasn't comfortable re-opening with an exact clone of what he had before.
I'm still waiting to hear the real scoop about why Esnault has left Adour, and where Ducasse now wants to take the restaurant.
I think Ducasse engages in a little double-talk about Benoit, as well. He complains that the critics are ill-informed (which they are), but also concedes that the restaurant was perhaps opened too quickly.
Your Best French Bistro Dishes 1 2 3
By David Ross, April 2, 2007


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Home » News » Nephrology » Acute Kidney Injury
Kidney Damage in Younger Adults Tied to NSAID Use
Natasha Persaud
Individuals taking more than 7 defined daily doses of NSAIDs each month had 20% greater risks of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease than those taking none.
Excessive use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) appears to increase the risks of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease among active younger and middle-aged adults, according to new study findings.
Of 764,228 active-duty US soldiers (85.8% male; median age 27 years), 17.9% received 1 to 7 defined daily doses (DDD) of NSAIDs per month and 16.3% received more than 7. Over a median 2.4 person-years, 2356 cases of acute kidney injury (AKI) and 1634 new cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD) occurred.
Taking more than 7 NSAID doses per month compared with none was associated with a significant 20% increased risk of both AKI and CKD, Lianne M. Kurina, PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, and colleagues reported in JAMA Network Open. The highest NSAID use was associated with an additional 17.6 and 30 cases of AKI and CKD, respectively, per 100,000 persons each year. Compared with whites, blacks had a 1.6- and 2.3-fold higher risk for AKI and CKD, respectively.
Hypertension, diabetes, rhabdomyolysis, and obesity significantly increased risks for kidney damage. Risks also increased with age.
Both selective and nonselective NSAIDs adversely affect the kidneys through prostaglandin-related effects, according to the investigators. Ibuprofen (800 mg, 3 or more times daily) and naproxen (500 mg, 2 or more times daily) were the most commonly prescribed NSAIDs. More than 5% of NSAID users were prescribed meloxicam or celecoxib.
"These potentially preventable cases are of particular concern in a population in which medical readiness is a foundation of national security," Dr Kurina and her colleagues noted. While AKI and CKD commonly occur in older adults, most soldiers were younger than 35 years. According to the investigators, soldiers are more prone to intermittent dehydration that depletes fluid volume and increases the strain on the kidneys. They urged prescribers to be aware of potential kidney disease risks with higher NSAID doses and to consider dose reductions.
Nelson DA, Marks ES, Deuster PA, et al. Association of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescriptions with kidney disease among active young and middle-aged adults. JAMA Network Open. 2019;2(2):e187896. DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7896
Next post in Acute Kidney Injury
Recurrent AKI More Likely Among Blacks, Hispanics
Close more info about Kidney Damage in Younger Adults Tied to NSAID Use

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Lost souls: Road to Go...Novel
9. Young lad. Strip yo...Chapter
9. Young lad. Strip yourself down to the underwear, for me~
Lost souls: Road to Godhood
"Shit, that must be Alfred," muttered Luz after hearing the knock on the door. He immediately jumped out of his bunk bed.
Alfred, opening the door, simply sighed at the sight that awaited him. The room looked quite disorganized, and clothes lay on the floor. After voicing his discontent with a loud sigh, Alfred turned his gaze towards Luz, who looked like a zombie.
"Luz, follow me. I gotta bring you to someone," commented Alfred before turning his back towards the children.
Alfred, a man in his fifties, wearing a black suit with a white tie, had spotless white hair, which had no tinge of any other color. The scar running vertically across his lip combined with his aquamarine eyes made him look sterner than he actually was.
Luz gulped before following after the butler. And so the two left.
For Luz, it was the first time he saw the mansion from the inside, and they had little to no resemblance with the underground floor where the servants spent their nights.
There was far too much to see, from the beautiful frescoes on the ceilings depicting angels, demons, and humans alike, to the marble statues. These statues depicted unknown heroes or species that Luz had never seen before. The sight of all these made Luz halt in awe every few seconds to admire their beauty, as he had never come into contact with such art.
The most he had seen were primitive wooden sculptures carved by one of his fellow villagers. To put it into perspective, all the arts in this mansion were enough for a five-hour-long museum trip.
Alfred anticipated Luz's reaction and smiled since he always found overwhelming the newcomers with what awaits them here quite amusing.
"Follow me, Luz. We can't let you get seen like this in the mansion. You can look at these frescos later today," remarked Alfred before shaking his head.
"I'm sorry," apologized Luz hastily before following behind Alfred in silence till they reached the west side of the building before stopping in front of a double door made of ebony wood. Beautiful runes were carved into these two doors, and when Alfred knocked on the door, they even lit up.
To Luz's surprise, who had expected a magnificent being to open the door, a messy girl with an enormous mage's hat covering half her face swung open the door. The girl reacted the same way Luz did since she expected a package, not Alfred, with a new arrival.
"Argh, weren't you supposed to come like in an hour," cursed the female, who was surprised and embarrassed at the same time.
Alfred laughed it off before remarking, "I'll leave that young lad in your care for an hour or so.""Fine," sighed the girl before shifting her gaze towards Luz. But before she could drag the boy inside, Alfred hastily remarked: "The boy needs three different sets of clothes and three general shirts…"
However, before Alfred could continue, the girl angrily closed the door and muttered, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it, old geezer."
"Did she really close the door before I could finish my sentence?" asked Alfred, baffled, shaking his head.
"What an annoying girl," remarked Alfred in response to her rude action before resuming with his other tasks.
What Luz saw inside shocked him since a few crochet hooks were flying in the air crocheting various clothing parts. But that wasn't the only thing inside. This girl had a goddamn library for herself, and there were even a few skeletons sweeping the room.
'What the hell is going on?' thought Luz in amazement and awe.
Seeing him in such a state, the girl commented in amusement: "In shock, huh?"
"Yes, of course," stammered Luz, who fazed out.
Only now did Luz glance at her face, and the girl in front of him had hazelnut shoulder long brown hair, combined with jade green eyes. She had a human-like appearance if it weren't for the strange form of her ears.
"Well, if people can have different eye colors, they can probably have different ear shapes," Luz considered, without looking further into the situation.
It was only now that Luz noticed that the girl had changed her clothes as soon as he entered the room. Instead of her evening dress which exposed her body quite a bit, she wore now an emerald green blouse with a fitting skirt that went below her knees. The only that didn't change was that she still wore her big mage hat and that just like him, she still looked tired.
"Handsome boy, do you want that older sister to spoil you~?" she whispered in a seductive voice into Luz's ear, sending shivers down his spine.
Seeing how the lad got goosebumps from her words, she chuckled before telling Luz: "Now that I got your attention, follow me. We gotta take some measurements so that I can tailor a few sets of clothes for you.
After the two arrived at her workbench, she immediately took out a pair of glasses and a measurement stick before telling him with a grin going from one ear to the other. From what he had seen of her so far, he expected the worst, and he wasn't wrong."Young lad. Strip yourself down to the underwear, for me.~" she commented. "Excuse me?" commented Luz, who didn't expect that.
"Fine, I'm gonna do it myself," she sighed, and invisible hands immediately came out of nowhere, stripping the protesting man down to his underwear against his wishes. After that, they grabbed his limbs tightly while one of the hands shut his mouth tightly.
And so she diligently took her measurements while a floating notebook noted them down and anything else that was unusual. While doing that, she proudly stated how she had stripped all the servants till now. But when she took measurements for Luz's thorax, her jolly mood immediately turned into something serious, and her pupils shrunk.
"Damn… Something is seriously wrong with your mana core. Tell me, what the hell did you do? After I finish a simple set of clothes for you, we'll take a closer look," she remarked in a stern tone before the mana hand that forced him to shut up vanished.
Author note: Well, I quickly finished another chapter, hopefully, I haven't overdone it with the descriptions and well next chapter will probably come out after the 25th.
unknownking


text:
Antonio "Toni" Martínez López (Barrio del Progreso, 30 de junho de 1997) é um futebolista espanhol que atua como ponta-de-lança. Atualmente joga no Porto, na Primeira Liga. Representou internacionalmente Espanha nos escalões jovens.

Martínez começou a sua carreira profissional no Valencia Mestalla, antes de se juntar ao West Ham em 2016. Foi emprestado a vários clubes ingleses e espanhóis, tendo posteriormente assinado pelo Famalicão em 2019. No ano seguinte, foi contratado pelo Porto.

Carreira Clubística

Valencia Mestalla
Nascido em Barrio del Progreso, na região de Murcia, Martínez começou a sua carreira futebolística no clube local CFS El Progreso, juntando-se mais tarde ao Real Murcia. Em 2013, assinou pelo Valencia.

Na formação do Valencia, Martínez começou na equipa do escalão Cadete A (jogadores de 14–15 anos), mas foi rapidamente promovido à equipa de reservas - Valencia Mestalla (Valencia B). Toni fez a sua estreia como sénior na Segunda División B (3ª divisão espanhola) aos 16 anos, entrando como suplente e marcando contra o AE Prat, a 8 de dezembro de 2013.

Em três temporadas no Valencia Mestalla, Martínez marcou 2 golos em 16 jogos. Para além disso, marcou 1 golo e fez 3 assistências em 8 jogos pelos Sub-19 do Valencia na Youth League.

West Ham

2016–17: Contratação e empréstimo ao Oxford
Em abril de 2016, Martínez assinou um contrato de 3 anos com o clube inglês West Ham United. A transferência foi oficializada a 1 de julho por um valor a rondar os 2,4 milhões de libras. Inicialmente, Toni foi integrado na equipa Sub-21 dos Hammers. Na temporada 2016–17, foi-lhe atribuída a camisola 29.

Na sua estreia na Premier League 2, frente ao Stoke City, Martínez marcou numa vitória por 3–0. Após marcar 7 golos em 7 jogos pelos Sub-23 do West Ham na primeira metade da época, Toni sofreu duas lesões sequenciais - a primeira deixou-o afastado dos relvados por 6 semanas, com regresso programado para 21 de novembro, mas depois sofreu a segunda lesão. Após eventualmente recuperar, manteve a sua boa forma finalizadora, chegando a janeiro de 2017 com 12 golos em 11 jogos.

A 23 de janeiro de 2017, Martínez foi emprestado pela primeira vez na sua carreira, ao Oxford United, da League One (3ª divisão inglesa), até o final da temporada 2016–17. Foi-lhe atribuída a camisola 7. A 28 de janeiro, Martínez entrou como suplente e marcou o seu primeiro golo pelo Oxford, numa vitória por 3–0 sobre o Newcastle United, na 4ª ronda da Taça de Inglaterra. A 5 de fevereiro, estreou-se no campeonato, numa vitória por 2–1 sobre os rivais locais Swindon Town. A 7 de março marcou pela primeira vez na League One, um "golo de honra" tardio numa derrota por 3–2 frente ao líder do campeonato Sheffield United.

2017–18: Estreia pelo West Ham e empréstimo ao Valladolid
A 7 de janeiro de 2018, Martínez estreou-se pelo West Ham, substituindo Javier Hernández aos 71 minutos de jogo num empate por 0–0 frente ao Shrewsbury Town, na 3ª ronda da Taça de Inglaterra. A 1 de fevereiro, Toni foi emprestado ao Real Valladolid, da Segunda Divisão Espanhola, até ao fim da temporada 2017-18. Martínez marcou 1 golo em 10 jogos pelo clube, que conquistou a subida à La Liga nos play-offs.

2018–19: Empréstimos ao Rayo Majadahonda e Lugo
A 13 de agosto de 2018, Martínez foi emprestado ao CF Rayo Majadahonda, da Segunda Divisão Espanhola, até ao fim da temporada 2018–19. Seis dias depois estreou-se pelo clube, no primeiro jogo da época, contra o Real Zaragoza. Foi o primeiro jogo da história do Majadahonda nesta divisão. Entrando como suplente na segunda parte, Toni marcou o primeiro golo na Segunda Divisão da história do clube, mas o Majadahonda acabou derrotado por 2–1.

A 18 de janeiro de 2019, Martínez rescindiu o seu empréstimo ao Majadahonda e mudou-se para o CD Lugo, da mesma divisão, até ao fim da temporada. Oito dias depois, na sua estreia pelo clube, marcou numa vitória por 3–2 sobre o seu ex-clube, Majadahonda.

A 1 de julho de 2019, o contrato de Martínez com o West Ham expirou, e o ponta-de-lança foi dispensado pelo clube inglês.

Famalicão
A 22 de julho de 2019, Martínez assinou pelo clube português FC Famalicão por 3 anos. A 3 de agosto, estreou-se pela equipa na 1ª eliminatória da Taça da Liga, substituindo Pedro Gonçalves aos 59 minutos de uma derrota por 2–0 para o Covilhã. Uma semana depois, no primeiro jogo do Famalicão na Primeira Liga em 25 anos, marcou o primeiro golo da equipa na temporada, numa vitória por 2–0 sobre o Santa Clara.

Na Taça de Portugal, Martínez marcou 4 golos em 5 jogos consecutivos. Tal ajudou o Famalicão a atingir as meias-finais do torneio pela primeira vez desde 1946. Nessa fase, em fevereiro de 2020, foram eliminados por 4–3 (resultado agregado) pelo Benfica, com Toni a marcar em ambas as mãos.

Porto
A 4 de outubro de 2020, Martínez assinou um contrato de 5 anos pelo Futebol Clube do Porto.

A 21 de novembro, Martínez estreou-se a marcar pelo Porto, com um golo de bicicleta numa vitória por 2–0 sobre o Fabril, para a Taça de Portugal.

A 23 de dezembro, venceu o seu primeiro troféu, a Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira de 2020, entrando como suplente no último minuto de uma vitória por 2–0 sobre o rival Benfica.

A 3 de janeiro de 2021, Martínez marcou o seu primeiro golo no campeonato pelo Porto, numa vitória por 3–0 sobre o Moreirense. A 14 de fevereiro, jogou pelo Porto B na Segunda Liga, marcando aos 5 minutos de jogo numa derrota por 2–1 frente ao Oliveirense.

A 15 de agosto de 2021, Martínez bisou no seu regresso a Famalicão, com o Porto a vencer por 2 1. A 11 de setembro, Toni foi expulso num empate por 1–1 contra o Sporting CP, devido a uma falta sobre Sebastián Coates. A 17 de fevereiro de 2022, Martínez bisou numa vitória por 2–1 sobre a Lazio, nos oitavos-de-final da Liga Europa - torneio no qual jogou com mais frequência, pois o treinador Sérgio Conceição deu prioridade a outros jogadores no campeonato.

Carreira Internacional
Martínez fez quatro jogos pela Seleção Sub-17 de Espanha, estreando-se a 22 de janeiro de 2014 frente a Itália.

Em 2015, foi convocado pela Seleção Sub-19 de Espanha para o Campeonato Europeu Sub-19 de 2015, realizado na Grécia.

Estatísticas de Carreira

a. Inclui Taça de Inglaterra, Copa del Rey e Taça de Portugal

b. Inclui Taça da Liga

c. Jogo(s) no EFL Trophy

d. Jogo nos play-offs de promoção à La Liga

e. Jogos na Liga dos Campeões

f. Jogo na Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

g. 6 jogos na Liga dos Campeões, 4 jogos e 2 golos na Liga Europa

Títulos
Porto

 Primeira Liga: 2021–22
 Taça de Portugal: 2021–22
 Taça da Liga: 2022–23
 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2020, 2022

Individuais

 Avanço do Mês da Primeira Liga: agosto de 2021

Futebolistas do Futebol Clube do Porto B
Futebolistas do Futebol Clube do Porto
Futebolistas do Futebol Clube Famalicão
Futebolistas do Oxford United F.C.
Futebolistas do West Ham United F.C.
Futebolistas do Club Deportivo Lugo
Futebolistas do Club de Fútbol Rayo Majadahonda
Futebolistas do Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol
Futebolistas do Real Murcia Club de Fútbol
Futebolistas da Espanha
Pessoas vivas
Nascidos em 1997

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The study described here extends the applicability of the Newtonian Gravity Concept Inventory (NGCI) to college algebra-based physics classes, beyond the general education astronomy courses for which it was originally developed. The four conceptual domains probed by the NGCI (Directionality, Force Law, Independence of Other Forces, and Threshold) are well suited for investigating students' reasoning about gravity in both populations, making the NGCI a highly versatile instrument. Classical test theory statistical analysis with physics student responses preinstruction (N=1,392) and post-instruction (N=929) from eight colleges and universities across the United States indicate that the NGCI is composed of items with appropriate difficulty and discrimination and is reliable for this population. Also, expert review and student interviews support the NGCI's validity for the physics population. Emergent similarities and differences in how physics students reason about gravity compared to astronomy students are discussed, as well as future directions for analyzing the instrument's item parameters across both populations.


text:
Home Expat Lifestyle First 24-hour care centre for sexual violence victims in Spain to open...
First 24-hour care centre for sexual violence victims in Spain to open this year
Dilip Kuner
28 April 2019 @ 12:00
HELP FOR GENDER VIOLENCE: Madrid City Council expects to spend around €1.3 million a year on the service. CREDIT: Shutterstock
WHAT is being billed as the first 24-hour care centre for victims of sexual violence in Spain may be open in September.
It will be located in Madrid and will provide psychological, health and legal care in several languages. Thye centre, based on Rape Crisis centres in the UKL, will provide information and telephone help, psychological support, emergency health care, support in decision-making and have people to accompany victims of gender violence to hospital.
Its services will be available round the clock, every day of the year, and there will be translators available to help non-Spanish speakers.
Madrid City Council, which is expected to approve the centre imminently, expects to spend around €1.3 million a year on the service.


text:
Gordon Helps Reform Economc System
By desertorchid, April 8, 2011 in House prices and the economy
desertorchid
High stakes roller Geroge Soros and the Worlds most incompetent leader Gordon Brown are key players in a meeting taking place o reform the worlds economic and financial system. One thing you can gurantee is that anything these jokers come up with will involve wasted opportunities and an ego driven ideals.
Bretton Woods 2
"George Soros is holding his international conference April 8 to April 11 at Bretton Woods, N.H., the noted birthplace of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, where he plans to "rearrange the entire financial order,"
"the attendees are to include ex-Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown"
"Now Soros comes along as the new Keynes to save the day by proposing another miracle solution to our problems, couched in lofty doublespeak such as "reform," "cooperation" and "equal participation."
"Soros is proposing the end of sovereignty as we know it. "
"Soros made his first billion as a currency speculator in 1992 by shorting the British pound and causing misery to millions of hardworking British citizens.
"It was described as "one of the greatest social robberies in human history."
Charming. He's now out to create a new system for US.
Edited April 8, 2011 by desertorchid
thebigpicture
Location:North of Oxford
About Me:44 years old, happily married for 23 years and two great kids. Obsessive interest in economics stemming from trying to find out why everything has gone to shit in the past few years.
**** you couldn't make it up????
Location:North West
Welcome! TBP. Interesting biog, like many here, we both shared an interest in the economy and smelt a rat.
As for the discredited and generally inept Brown, any involvement of him - and the players there before, during and after the calamity - suggests that this whole affair is managed chaos, opportunism and most certainly not in the interest of the masses.
billybong
There doesn't seem to be any mention of Mr Mervyn (groundhog) King but if he's involved along with Mr Gordon (switch the mic off) Brown then that's got to guarantee calamity.
Edited April 8, 2011 by billybong
It is truly astounding that these 'expert' minds will possibly form the world our children will have to live in.
Sors: we can absorb more debt
As this article shows they are only interested in finding ways to further indebt the masses. What will also come out is a new accounting system for 'wealth' which will only be accessible by the elite and protected against the vagaries of inflation (some adapted form of SDR's and held/banked through the IMF) unlike the tokens the rest of us will be forced to use.
Another point is where are all the Chinese/ Asian academics on this panel? If they are to play a leading role in the new system then they should be key decision makers. Hopefully they will tell them to stuff it as anything that comes out of this demented party will be designed to work against their interests in the long term.
I feel sick
Brown sells gold, Soros buys gold. A bit of insider trading?
South Lorne
...let's face it ...every ship needs a joker ....Gordo....ready to shuffle the deck chairs.....
Executive Sadman
Soros is a sick twisted vindictive SOB who got Glenn Beck fired
http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/BREAKING-NEWS/ONE-TIME-CONSERVATIVE-TALK-STAR-GETS-BOOTED-BY-FOX-br-Glen-Beck-goes-back-to-radio-after-sagging-ratings-and-advertiser-defections-634980
http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=04&year=2011&base_name=beck_pushed_from_fox_by_sorosa
Filthy NWO reptillian SCUM
CITIZENS ARREST ON LIZARD BEAST SOROS NOW!!!!!
Yes i realise its FOXFAUX news blah blah, shoot the message not the messenger.
Location:leeds
so this conference holds no binding powers, and has no input into the World Bank or other governance?
sounds pretty lame


text:
Rare: Book summary and reviews of Rare by Keith Veronese
The High-Stakes Race to Satisfy Our Need for the Scarcest Metals on Earth
by Keith Veronese
Published in USA Jan 2015
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs
How will your life change when the supply of tantalum dries up? You may have never heard of this unusual metal, but without it smartphones would be instantly less omniscient, video game systems would falter, and laptops fail. Tantalum is not alone. Rhodium. Osmium. Niobium. Such refugees from the bottom of the periodic table are key components of many consumer products like cell phones, hybrid car batteries, and flat screen televisions, as well as sophisticated medical devices and even weapon systems. Their versatile properties have led manufacturers to seek these elements out to maximize longevity, value, and efficiency, but not without a human price.
In addition to explaining the chemistry behind rare earth metals, Rare delves into the economic and geopolitical issues surrounding these "conflict minerals," blending tales of financial and political struggles with glimpses into the human lives that are shattered by the race to secure them. In the past decade, the Congo has been ravaged by tribal wars fought to obtain control of tantalum, tungsten, and tin supplies in the region, with over five million people dying at the crossroads of supply and demand. A burgeoning black market in China, Africa, and India is propped up by school-age children retrieving and purifying these metals while risking their lives and health in the process. Fears of future political struggles inside China, the world's largest supplier of these metals, have already sent the United States, Great Britain, and Japan racing to find alternative sources.
Will scientists be able to create lab substitutes for some or all of these metals? Will Afghanistan be the next big supplier of rare metals? What happens when the limited supply runs out? Whatever the answers, it is clear that our modern lifestyle, dependent on technology, is far from stable.
"Though most of his subject minerals are obscure and relatively unknown even to educated readers, Veronese presents an informative and entertaining, if disorganized, overview of the metallurgy and politics of rare metals." - Publishers Weekly
"Rare is a clear and entertaining account of the fascinating properties of rare earths, their importance to the world, and the unique roles only they can play in many high-tech devices." - Theodore Gray, author of The Elements: A Visual Exploration and Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything
This information about Rare shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Keith Veronese
Keith Veronese holds a PhD in Chemistry and has written for Gawker Media extensively, particularly for their science site io9. He has also written for Alpha Brand Media's family of websites and in magazines published by TwoMorrows Publishing. He is the author of Plugged In: Comic Book Professionals Working in the Video Game Industry.
The Book Collectors by Delphine Minoui
Livewired by David Eagleman
The Future Earth by Eric Holthaus
God's Shadow by Alan Mikhail
The Smallest Lights in the Universe by Sara Seager
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre
Fundamentals by Frank Wilczek
White Too Long by Robert P. Jones
The Quiet Americans by Scott Anderson
more history, science & current affairs...


Manhattan -- A bartender impresses guests at a private Wine + Whiskey event. The company's founder and CEO, Owen Meyer, plans to open a Liquor Labs classroom, in Lower Manhattan, in September 2017.
New York entrepreneur Owen Meyer has never worked behind a bar. Yet the loquacious 32-year-old is positioning his newest venture to upend dynamics within the bar industry. Armed with a recent $500,000 investment from a round led by West River Group (the group behind Top Golf), and with other backers in negotiations, a multifaceted company called Liquor Laboratory will train bartenders and consumers in the intricacies of making cocktails and serving beers, wines, and spirits. It aims to dilute the power of alcohol-owning entities by placing knowledge directly into the hands and mouths of the people. And its first brick-and-mortar location has just started taking reservations for events beginning September 1 at 474 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
At Liquor Lab, slated for four additional U.S. locations by the end of next year and 30 by 2021, certified beer, wine, and spirits specialists, as well as veteran bartenders and producers from the industry, will lead beginner-to-advanced classes in everything from mixing a classic cocktail, to home brewing, to making perfectly clear ice with the use of a directional freezing machine called a "clinebell." Underpinning the endeavor, says Meyer, is a strong consumer focus—with "consumer" referring to both bartenders and actual consumers—and complete editorial independence from the suppliers.
Chicago -- Liquor Labs founder and CEO Owen Meyer poses at his test facility in Chicago. Meyer plans to open his first permanent location, in Lower Manhattan, in September 2017.
Meyer likens his classes to the high-end cooking courses at Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma and professes to differentiate himself from the alcohol classes offered at other multi-location destinations—like Eataly—by giving every student a fully equipped bar station instead of a "one-off" tutorial at a paper placemat. The more realistic and in-depth the immersion, Meyer argues, the more his pupils can learn to identify and avoid gimmicks at the bar and in the aisle.
In this way, Meyer has identified a business niche by tapping into the booze market's current zeitgeist. As liquor companies struggle to find memorable ways to engage drinkers, they increasingly rely on personal interaction and innovative experiences, such as a Scotch ambassador bringing a virtual reality tour of the distillery to an off-site tasting event.
The West Point grad and former Beam Suntory sales rep intends to drive revenue by partnering with liquor companies to feature specific products during a class or a free bartenders luncheon. As part of the partnerships, Liquor Labs will collect detailed, student-provided feedback and sell that data back to his corporate liquor clients or to others, without providing personally identifying information. Meyer charges between $1,500 and $100,000, depending on whether the company simply buys data and/or tests its product at one event, or subscribes to receive data or test pre-market brands for a full year. However, he refuses to accept exclusive sponsorships and insists he'll never allow anything that hints at a marketing pitch to cross any of his teachers' lips.
He plans to eventually turn a backroom into a free-to-use, high-tech playground for select bartenders to come and experiment with all kinds of culinary toys—everything from a grill to glass freezers, rotary evaporators, and "molecular stuff," as he puts it. Meyer thinks of it like a lending library for mixologists, but without the equipment leaving the building. And of course, being a personable business man who's quick to reach out and respond to those who can promote him, he'll happily sell any of his machinery, products or services—think branded merchandise, barware, and mini cocktail kits—to any bar looking to scale up from there.
"If a bar wants branded ice cubes they shouldn't have to be at the mercy of a supplier who wants to stamp their logo on the other side," he says.
Chicago -- Liquor Labs test site in Chicago. Founder and CEO Owen Meyer plans to open his first permanent location, in Lower Manhattan, in September 2017.
Meyer has already begun to prove his hands-on methods. He ran a pilot lab in Chicago for a year and he founded New York's Wine & Whiskey club that sells annual memberships to private bar events for $125-$175 (includes an annual membership plus one or two event passes). In addition to the membership, each event costs between around $45-$65 to attend.
At Liquor Lab, he's signed contracts with the likes of Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, Guinness and MillerCoors, and he says consulting firms and Fortune 500 companies have already booked two years' worth of corporate team building and client-entertainment events.
Between ticket sales for Liquor Lab classes, (which come in at an average of $65 per person and typically include four self-made cocktails and finger food), private parties, facility rentals, merchandising, and his half-million dollar investment, Meyer could be setting an example other entrepreneurs will want to follow.


text:
Live from the Dickens Christmas Fair
Published December 6, 2018 at 4:39 PM PST
Ninna Gaensler-Debs
Greg Autry
From our Audiograph archives:
On the south side of San Francisco, a performance is taking place. It's an annual tradition, in a transformed arena off Geneva Street. In a space once reserved for livestock and cowboys, the streets of Victorian England come alive. It's the Great Dickens Christmas Fair.
"If people come dressed as fantasy characters, you know, if they come dressed as a Stormtrooper, well that's going to destroy the fantasy. Although steampunk and Harry Potter doesn't really drop the penny because that exists in a realm of fantasy that is Victorian in its own way."
This story originally aired in December of 2016 as part of our Audiograph series, a radio project mapping the Bay Area's sonic signature. Audiograph tells the story of where you live and the people who live there with you.
This year, the fair is taking place weekends through December 23.
CrosscurrentsAudiographDickens FairperformanceChristmas
Ninna Gaensler-Debs is a reporter and editor for Crosscurrents. Since 2012, Ninna has worn a variety of hats at KALW - she was both a producer and event planner for Localore project Hear Here. Ninna also programmed and organized the Sights and Sounds live events - two in Bayview, and most recently, one in East Oakland.
See stories by Ninna Gaensler-Debs
Fog City Blues: Christmanukkah '019
Crushing gender and cultural barriers with the Chulita Vinyl Club
Bringing retro video games to the Mission — on the roof of a car
Fog City Blues: Mark Naftalin's Gospel Christmas


text:
The Origins of Analytic Philosophy
"I find the usual story exaggerated, incomplete, and mistaken in various ways." (more…)
April 13, 2020 12 5
Expanding Philosophy By "Re-Appropriating the Slur that it Is to Be Called 'Analytic'"
Anthony Booth, reader in philosophy at the University of Sussex, called his 2017 book Analytic Islamic Philosophy, yet he doesn't think there is much to the division between analytic and Continental philosophy. (more…)
Collingwood and the Contintental – Analytic Divide
"Possibly—the great schism would never have set in at all, had RG Collingwood, one of the most remarkable, open and eclectic minds of the 20th century, not died prematurely in 1943." (more…)
Australia's New Institute of Philosophy Makes Several Hires
The new philosophical research center at Australian Catholic University created this past March continues to develop. It now has a name—the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy—and has hired a number of philosophers. (more…)
The NSF and the Rise of Value-Free Philosophies of Science (guest post by Joel Katzav & Krist Vaesen)
Why were social, moral and political issues relatively neglected in philosophy of science during the 20th Century? Joel Katzav (Queensland) and Krist Vaesen (Eindhoven) continue their investigation of the institutional and sociological influences on the history and development of analytic philosophy in the following guest post.*
Philosophical Diamonds
"I don't know any academic field whose writing regularly indulges in sentence structure as complex as in analytic philosophy." (more…)
Lauener Foundation Prize Winners Announced
The Lauener Foundation for Analytic Philosophy has announced the winners of its 2018 awards for Outstanding Oeuvre in Analytical Philosophy and Up-and-Coming Philosopher.
Don't Forget to Remove the Scaffolding
"In a way that will be familiar to any reader of analytic philosophy, and is only too familiar to all of us who perpetrate it, this style tries to remove in advance every conceivable misunderstanding or misinterpretation or objection, including those that would occur only to the malicious or the clinically literal-minded." (more…)
A Way Western Philosophy Is Racist
Mainstream philosophy in the so-called West is narrow-minded, unimaginative, and even xenophobic. I know I am leveling a serious charge. But how else can we explain the fact that the rich philosophical traditions of China, India, Africa, and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas are completely ignored by almost all philosophy departments in both Europe and the Engl..
November 1, 2017 76 9
Analytic Philosophy's Egalitarianism and Standpoint Epistemology's Privileging
"My views about how to do metaphysics as a feminist are undergoing a radical transformation… chiefly because of the Hypatia affair." (more…)
October 23, 2017 79 6
Appiah on the "Actual Practice of Philosophy"
In the new Oxford Review of Books, Daniel Kodsi, an apparently remarkably well-read Oxford undergraduate, conducts a wide-ranging three-part interview (I, II, III) with Kwame Anthony Appiah (NYU). Here's an excerpt from Part II:
The Methods of Analytic Philosophy
People like me, who have been trying to do philosophy for more than forty years, do in due course learn, if they're lucky, how to do what they've been trying to do: that is, they do learn how to do philosophy. But although I've learned how to do philosophy, nobody ever told me how do it, and, so far as I would guess, nobody will have told you how to do it, or is lik..
The Flaws In Analytic And Continental Philosophy
Question: lots of people think that continental and analytic philosophy are in opposition to each other, but you seem to reject that view. What does each school get wrong, you think? (more…)
"Old Barriers Are Coming Down"
There's another great interview up at What Is It Like To Be a Philosopher?—this time with Graham Priest (CUNY). Interviewer Clifford Sosis (Coastal Carolina) asks Professor Priest about a his life, education, work, and the philosophical world. (more…)
How Philosophers See The Arts And The Rest Of The Humanities
I can only speak for myself, but being trained by a philosopher, I often feel I was exposed to an expectation of argumentative rigor that, to be perfectly frank, I can't say I always find in the field of political theory proper. But this can result in drawbacks. Philosophers sometimes look at the rest of the humanities in the way that social scientists look at socia..
The "Analytic Co-opting" and Death of the Continental Tradition
A conversation about Continental philosophy between Fordham University philosophy professor Babette Babich and game-designer and "outsider philosopher" Chris Bateman is being published in parts on Bateman's blog, Only a Game (part one, part two).
Bateman attributes to Babich the view that "the art of continental philosophy is dying out." Babich, who works in Cont..
December 8, 2016 63 5
A Useful Philosophical Quirk
Every once in a while I read something that brings to the fore both how strange analytic philosophy can be and how useful it is that we're accustomed to its strangeness. The latest, this morning, was in an interview with Sarah Moss (University of Michigan) at 3:AM Magazine. Interviewer Richard Marshall asks her about four-dimensionalism. Moss replies: (more…)
Recent Philosophy Prizes
Award news from the Lauener Foundation for Analytic Philosophy and the American Philosophical Association and Marc Sanders Foundation: (more…)
What Are Philosophers Supposed To Do?
The summer issue of The Hedgehog Review is out and features a symposium, "On the Business of Philosophy." The main element of the symposium is Richard Rorty's Page-Barbour Lectures at the University of Virginia, with responses from Susan Haack (Miami), Robert Pippin (Chicago), and Matthew Crawford (Virginia). (more…)
The History of the Past 40 Years of Analytic Philosophy
A new call for papers has been circulating, soliciting work on the history of "Late Analytic Philosophy." From the CFP:
In the last 25 to 30 years historical attention has been directed toward analytic philosophy: some analytic philosophers have begun reflecting on the philosophical tradition they belong to, while many other scholars have been working on what is ..
Prominent Philosophy Journal Broadens Scope
Mind, a longstanding leading journal of philosophy known for publishing high quality work in the analytic tradition, has a new editorial staff and has announced in an editorial its plans to broaden its scope and appeal:
The sole criterion for publication in the journal is quality. No area of philosophy, no style of philosophy, and no school of philosophy is to be..
April 19, 2016 3 18
Analytic & Continental in Political Philosophy & Theory
A forthcoming special issue of the European Journal of Political Theory will take up the topic of analytic and Continental approaches in political philosophy and political theory. The introduction to the issue, "Introduction: Analytic, Continental and the question of a bridge" by Clayton Chin and Lasse Thomassen (University of London) is now online (may be gated). T..


text:
Q: Redirect Log output to sdcard on customer's phone My customers are having a problem with my app, and I have been unable to reproduce the problem on my development phone. How to debug this problem? The android Log class is great, but my customers do not know how to use 'adb' or the USB debug cable. Is there some way to redirect Log output to a file on the phone's SD card? Then the customer could easily email the log file to me. Even if this redirection requires programming on my part, I could at least distribute a 'debug' version of the app.
Thanks,
Tom

A: Try using the Logger class. The procedure is equal to what you would do in a regular Java application:
try {
  FileHandler handler = new FileHandler("logfile.log");

  Logger logger = Logger.getLogger("com.somename");
  logger.addHandler(handler);

} catch (IOException e) {

}

Actual logging to the file could then be done like this:
logger.log(Level.WARNING, "Log message")

Good luck!

A: Ask them to install the free app 'Catlog' from the market, which can e-mail you their logcat output. I find 99% of my app users are able to follow simple instructions and get the output one needs!

A: There are free and paid services for crash reporting, you might want to check them out..
The only disadvantage is that to send catlog automatically to you, without user interaction, additional permissions for your app is required.
Those are usually READ_LOGS, INTERNET, WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permissions and depending on type of App that can influence how much your customers trust you. For example if there is no online sync function I would be suprised that myTasksApp requires internet permissions. Anyway.. Here are solutions (list will be updated):

*

*Hockey

*Acra

*microlog4android

*slf4j

*log4j
I hope you find this useful.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tell a friend about this book...
Subject: I have found a book that I think you would enjoy
Search - Executive Intent (Patrick McLanahan, Bk 16)
Executive Intent - Patrick McLanahan, Bk 16
Author: Dale Brown
The deadliest strike will come from outer space — When America develops the most powerful defense system in history, will it be used to protect the nation -- or will it be used to force universal domination? This question must be answered in the stillness of outer space and the corridors of the White House. — The United States has just unleashed t... more »he most powerful weapon in history -- a missile-launching satellite called Thor's Hammer that can strike anywhere on the planet in seconds. Now the United States stands unchecked in military dominance.
The world's other major superpowers, Russia and China, are rocked by America's development, and they scramble to respond by gaining control of the seas. When terrorists hijack Pakistani missiles and fire them at Indian cities, U.S. president Joseph Gardner has only one option: to use the untested Thor's Hammer. But something goes awry and the Hammer misses one of its targets, killing thousands of Pakistani civilians. In retaliation, Pakistan and the Middle East decide to give China strategic naval advantage by granting it access to Middle Eastern ports.
To make matters worse, days after the crisis, Somali pirates board a Chinese freighter off the coast of Mogadishu and slaughter the crew. China responds by brutally attacking and then occupying Somalia, quickly setting up missile pads that can target U.S. naval ships across vital sea-lanes in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, as well as any ships transiting the Suez Canal. Now the U.S. high command is on red alert and the country's security is in total jeopardy. . . .
Another flash point quickly emerges -- in Earth's orbit. When Chinese and Russian spacecraft surround an American space station, the threat is clear: negotiate and compromise, or China and Russia will cripple the U.S. Navy with ballistic missiles. Retired Air Force lieutenant general Patrick McLanahan returns to assist the commander of the U.S. Space Defense Force, Kai Raydon. But can McLanahan and Raydon stop the Chinese and Russian spaceships? Or will the world's superpowers be plunged into a full-scale war? All the while, President Gardner must face threats from within when his own vice president begins to challenge his decisions -- and maybe even his job. « less
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text:
Pre-Announcement Call for UK and French Researchers to Work on Interdisciplinary Projects
AHRC and Laboratoire d'Excellence are providing a call to enable UK and French researchers to work on collaborative research projects. The call is scheduled to open in July.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Laboratoire d'Excellence (LABEX) are providing funding for collaborative research projects between UK and French researchers.
This funding opportunity will support collaborative transnational and transcultural research across one or more of the themes of:
The environmental humanities – especially naturescapes or cityscapes and memory, and environmental heritage and experiences
Controversial pasts – especially in public spaces, galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and intangible heritage
Futures and futurology – especially new and varied ways of predicting and understanding the future(s), and experiencing unthinkable objects
Applications for projects which foreground diverse perspectives are encouraged.
Projects may be focused at a variety of scales (or multi-scalar), and in a wide range of geo-cultural contexts globally. They can focus on or across any temporal periods or time horizons, past, present or future, including non-linear perspectives.
Applications for projects incorporating digital technologies, practice-based methodologies or solution-focused approaches will be welcomed.
Each proposal must identify one principal investigator from France and one principal investigator from the UK. The principal investigator from France must meet the eligibility requirements for the Laboratoire d'Excellence: Pasts in the Present (LABEX PasP Cluster of PasP) Programme, and the UK principal investigator must meet the AHRC's eligibility requirements.
The project's full economic cost can be up to £125,000. AHRC will fund 80% of this.
LABEX PasP Cluster of excellence will provide up to €60,000 (paid at 100%) for French costs.
Projects must start on 1 February 2022. They must last between 18 and 30 months.
Full guidance on eligibility, closing dates and how to apply will be published in July 2021.


The architectural application of metal is limitless. I remember the few products we had in the late '90s, trying to gain traction in the construction market place. It is exciting to see an enormous growth in the use of metal products. One unfortunate by-product of this enormous growth is a lack of understanding for what metal products are watertight, and those that are well...not.
Of course, metal roofs are only as watertight as their seams, and details. Structural standing seam metal roofs are really the only systems that can be relied upon to be watertight at the panel seam in most applications. Structural standing seam metal roofs, in general, are characterized by 2" or higher seams, mechanical field seaming of the panels, factory-applied, high-quality seam sealants, and use a clip attachment that allows thermal movement. These are all characteristics that allow these panels to span open framing and stay watertight. It's important to remember that architectural standing seam roofing usually relies on an underlayment for its waterproofing.
• Use full length panels a much as possible. Keep the number of panel laps to a minimum. If panel laps must be made, use approved sealants with compression fasteners that don't back out.
• Eliminate exposed fasteners where possible. The right way to think about this is "if the screw or rivet leaks, does it compromise my roof?" If the answer is yes, consider a different detail. Exposed fasteners rarely last the life of a modern metal roof system.
• Use a roof panel that fits with the slope requirements. Most manufacturer warranties are limited to 1/2:12 minimum. Very few offer warranties as low as the building code minimum of ¼:12 slope. This is for good reason. The seams and details must be especially water tight to keep water out.
• Use proper metal and foam closures with approved sealants. Unfortunately, metal details are often lacking in waterproofing specifics when projects are bid. Manufacturers offer the closure assemblies needed to properly seal ridge, rake, valley, and eave details. Manufacturers' shop drawings should always be used to determine the proper components and their application.
• Sealants should never be exposed. No matter how good the sealant (silicone, urethane, or a hybrid), it will never last the life of the metal exposed to the sun's drying UV rays.
• Use a proper air barrier or ventilate. Condensation on the underside of a metal panel is a concern in any climate, so the roof assembly should always provide a way to prevent or manage accumulated moisture. Ventilate any air spaces separating the roof panel from the roof insulation.
a. Vent the eave (soffit) and the ridge to provide air flow the entire length of the roof. International Building Code provides requirements for the amount of ventilation per square foot of roof area.
b. Vent though the gable walls on both ends of the roof.
A combination of both, and even use of powered vents in combination with these can short circuit the air flow and cause a problem.
• Plan for temporary waterproofing during installation: The greatest chance for a leak in a metal roof is when it is being installed. Night tie-ins need to be thought out and planned in advance of construction.
Most points in this strategy can be applied to metal wall construction as well. Metal panel rainscreen applications are very popular, and are where we have seen some of the most exciting use of metal products. These applications focus on managing moisture in a drainage cavity as a way of preventing intrusion into the building.
Whether a roof or a wall application, moisture prevention in metal construction is best accomplished with good preparation and a team approach to the project. Manufacturers are an important member of this team and should be relied on thoroughly throughout the project.


text:
SUPER BEAVER premiere Screening.
The excitement reached its peak when the band members appeared
A premium screening that filled the crowd with euphoria
A 40-minute premium screening of SUPER BEAVER's one-man live performance at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall was held at 8:00 pm on August 30, 2017.
It was screened at PePe square in front of Seibu-Shinjuku Station with high-fidelity headphone rentals available for 100 viewers.
There was a long line for renting headphones 30 minutes prior to the screening, and we ran out of the 100 sets of headphones immediately.
The number of people increased even more right before the screening, and the energy from the impatient crowd was electric.
Once the screening began, the many fans who gathered seemed to focus on each and every move of the band members on screen. Some moved their bodies to the sound from their headphones, and many viewers were at the front of PePe square to enjoy the live sounds coming from the screen.
Some viewers came to the screening with friends and enjoyed the atmosphere and the reactions of passersby. It was as if they were in an outdoor live performance, and each individual enjoyed the screening in their own way.
Once the screening of the live performance was over, the YUNIKA VISION showed PePe square.
People in the square stirred up and the footage of PePe square zoomed into the terrace.
As soon as the people in the square realized that the screen was showing the band members themselves, the square erupted in cheers and there was a momentary uproar at the surprise appearance of the band.
The band members showed their appreciation to the fans who gathered by waving their hands. A commemorative photo was taken with the crowd in the background, and that photo was put on the big screen as more cheers erupted and the screening came to a close.
Even after the screening, the excitement did not calm down, and some fans who gathered chatted with each other. Fans talking excitedly with each other while leaving the screening seemed to encapsulate the success of this event.
【Song List】 Featuring live footage from "TokainoRakuda SP ~Rakuda building~" @Hibiya-Kokaido that will be included in the First Press Limited of mini album "Mannakanokoto" will be released on September 6th(Wed),2017.
Utsukushii Hi
Seikatsu(Acoustic Ver.)
Tokyo Ryuseigun


We have put this website together to provide a portal for parents to access information on all things relating to Child Safety. It can be hard to know where to start when you are looking for help with educating your child on safety, we aim to provide general information and links to websites and organisations that we feel provide valuable tools for empowering your child to make the right safety choices.
We believe it is better for a child to develop an inherent safety barometer that allows them to make the best safety choice rather than them having to rote learn rules and regulations. It is for this reason that we have begun writing our very own child safety ebooks. These books are aimed at the 3-7 year age groups and with bright illustrations and easy to read rhymes they step your child through a range of common scenarios that they may encounter in their everyday lives and allow them to choose the best course of action.
TicTocTrack® a GPS watch for children.
I Stay Safe Safety eBooks – Available on the App Store!
Since we had such a positive response to our first App, we decided to create a premium version offering more interactivity, functionality and games. We are happy to say that the new version is now available to download from the App Store. The first issue is still free and then each addition in the series can be downloaded for $4.49 each. The issues cover a range of topics from Beach Safety through to Bullying. So download the App to make sure you stay up to date with our latest books.
Click on the title to find out more and see excerpts from the book.


Hytnews.com is all about spreading awareness on black excellence. Trying to educate the public and inspire the black community. The blog page is a daily inspiration for anyone who reads, a different twist in the blogging world.
Just a girl obsessed with seeing her name at the byline, Life with JRDN is a personal/lifestyle blog by Jourdan Ash. Life with JRDN started during a time I was looking for a home for my thoughts. My blog is filled with everything from personal pieces, thrift guides and more!


Over half of 13- to 24-year-olds don't skip digital creator content.
The "skip" button is a blessing for ad-hating consumers and a curse for advertisers. But new research suggests there's a key way to keep Gen Zers and younger millennials watching: use influencers.
Fullscreen partnered with research lab MediaScience to study 13- to 24-year-olds' biometric responses to ads, brands and social influencer content. And the data is promising for brands—about 40 percent of participants have shared sponsored content. The outlook is particularly rosy for brands that utilize influencers and digital creators in their ads. Over half (58 percent) of 13- to 24-year-olds don't skip digital creator content, compared with preroll ads (15 percent) and TV ads (26 percent).
This story first appeared in the March 26, 2018, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.


Hello! My name is Karen Bonham. I am the gifted facilitator for grades K – 5 (Tonganoxie) and K - 7 (Basehor Linwood) for the Tonganoxie Basehor Linwood Special Education Cooperative. I serve students from Tonganoxie Elementary School, Genesis Christian Academy, Basehor Elementary School, Basehor Intermediate School, Glenwood Ridge Elementary School, Linwood Elementary School, and Basehor Linwood Middle School. I enjoy supporting students as they develop their talents through challenging and engaging learning experiences and the pursuit of their individual interests.
I hold a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, a master's of arts degree in curriculum and instruction, and have a special education gifted endorsement.
During the last five summers I have traveled to twenty-six different countries in Europe. I find seeing historic sites fascinating and love to learn about different places. I believe experiencing the world around us fosters a better understanding and respect for others. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to do this traveling with my mom.
Should you wish to contact me, the best method would be email since I will be commuting between schools daily. My email address is kbonham@tong464.org. My Tonganoxie Elementary School phone number is (913) 416-1480, ext. 4091.


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HanRun's Telecom product includes T1/E1/CEPT/IDSN-Pri XFMR Modules, T3/E3/DS3/STS-1 XFMR module, ISDN XFMR, VDSL2/VDSL interface XFMR, ASDL2+/ADSL interface XFMR, xDSL XFMR and Inductor, Modem XFMR and Common mode choke. These products are designed and manufactured to comply with the EN60950/UL1950 standards.We also offer the other signal Transformers like RF XFMR, Audio XFMR and Homeplug XFMR etc. All of the products compliance with RoHS & REACH Directives. If you don't locate the product you're looking for, please contact us for assistance.


text:
Q: VSCode no intellisense in haskell extension for additional modules Is there a way to make intellisense work for additional modules (anything outside the prelude) like Quicktest or Random in VS Code?
I am using:

*

*VSCode: Version 1.55.0

*the extension "Haskell v1.2.0" (with haskel-language-server)

*ghci: GHCi, version 8.10.3: https://www.haskell.org/ghc/

*stack: Version 2.5.1, Git revision d6ab861544918185236cf826cb2028abb266d6d5 x86_64 hpack-0.33.0

*tried it direct on Windows10 and with WSL2 (Debian).

VSCode says:
Could not find module 'Test.QuickCheck'
It is not a module in the current program, or in any known package.not found

So, no autocomplete etc..
I think the reason is that I've installed Quicktest via stack, and that stack uses its own "isolated" ghc. So I looked for a way to configure the VSCode extension to use the ghc of my stack environment, without success.
I've also tingled with haddock and cabal, without success.
Does anybody using VS-Code to code haskell and have autocomplete, documentation on mouse over, wingman, ...?

A: I was having this problem with some local modules. I was able to fix it by placing a hie.yaml file in the project's root directory and reloading VSCode. Admittedly I don't really know what it does. I generated it using implicit-hie which you can install with stack.


text:
Yemeni Civil War: Over half UK population unaware of conflict as it reaches second anniversary
Human Appeal, one of the leading humanitarian aid NGOs working in Yemen, have released data showing that over half of the UK public are not aware there is a conflict in Yemen. Sunday March 19th will mark two years since the fighting began, but according to a YouGov poll, commissioned by Human Appeal, 51% of the public said they did not know that there was an ongoing internal conflict in Yemen.
The poll, which gave 2,171 people a list of 16 countries and asked the public to identify any that they are aware of being "currently involved in an ongoing armed conflict".
Just under half (49%) of all UK adults are aware that Yemen is currently involved in an armed conflict, compared to over 4 in 5 (84%) UK adults who are aware that Syria is currently experiencing conflict.
Just over a third of those aged 18-24 (37%) of all UK adults are aware that Yemen is currently involved in ongoing armed conflict.
Othman Moqbel, the CEO of Greater Manchester based Human Appeal, said: "The crisis in Yemen has been forgotten about or ignored completely. We believe this is because that the conflict has not generated a huge number of refugees coming to Europe and there is the misperception amongst the public that it's only a regional crisis. To treat what is currently happening in Yemen, and has been happening for two years, as something insignificant is turning a blind eye to the escalating humanitarian emergency.
"Over the past two years, 44,000 people have been killed or injured and more than 3 million have been displaced because of the conflict. This equates to 75 deaths or injuries every day. The UN estimate 18.8 million people are in need of humanitarian aid or protection out of a total population of 27.4 million.
"Food insecurity is high with an estimated 14 million people affected, about the same amount need safe drinking water and basic healthcare as only 45 per cent of health facilities are functioning.
"An estimated 1,000 children are dying every week from preventable diseases like diarrhoea, malnutrition and respiratory tract infections. Even before the war tens of thousands of Yemeni children were dying of preventable causes. According to the Ministry of Health, health services are collapsing and public hospitals are not able to provide sufficient care due to lack of financial resources and an increasing number of people in need due to the ongoing conflict. Some eight million children are in need of basic healthcare."
Humanitarian access remains a significant issue in light of security and bureaucratic obstacles. There is weak coverage of mobile companies making telecommunications difficult as a result of the destruction of telecommunication facilities through the conflict. Further, a number of proscribed organisations operate in Yemen so access is also impeded on this front.
On 10th March 2017 the UNHCR reported that intensified hostilities across western and central Yemen have forced more than 62,000 people from their homes within the last six weeks. Most of the displaced are in dire need of assistance and have found shelter in communal and public spaces, including schools and health facilities, whilst others are living in unfinished buildings or out in the open.
Mr Moqbel commented further, "The crisis in Yemen has however been severe long before 2015 when the situation escalated. Years of poverty, under development and conflict had already taken their toll with the Yemeni people being some of the most vulnerable in the world. The high numbers of internally displaced people (approx. 2.2 million), female headed households and children are disproportionately affected by the situation."
Since the start of the conflict on March 19th 2011, Human Appeal has:
Provided food parcels to thousands of families (affected not just by the conflict but cyclone Chapala)
Provided clean water to 37,500 people
Conducted dengue fever prevention projects
Provided meat to 800 families
Provided blankets to 280 households
Provided clothing to 480 vulnerable children.
Speaking of Human Appeal's future work in Yemen, Othman Moqbel said: "As well as continuing to provide emergency aid this year, Human Appeal are planning to support the Al Jumhori public hospital, who has seen the amount of patients grow uncontrollably since the start of the conflict, despite a lack of financial resources, fuel for generators, medical supplies or medicines. The hospital also currently lacks acceptable hygiene standards. We will be providing emergency assistance to hospitalised children and their mothers, including medicines, tests, hygiene and nutrition supplies. We will also be carrying out light rehabilitation and maintenance of the hospital.
"We are also looking into funding further health projects in Saada public hospital, providing regular meals and psychosocial support to schools and women empowerment programmes."
Human Appeal (www.humanappeal.org.uk) is one of the UK's fastest growing charities. With a presence in 25 countries, spanning Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, we help in times of crisis and we deliver sustainable development programmes in the world's poorest nations.
Othman Moqbel and other Human Appeal representatives are available for interview. For more information contact Charles Lawley on 07535 415 060 or charles.lawley@humanappeal.org.uk
The YouGov poll cited was commissioned by Human Appeal and the fieldwork conducted 14th – 15th March 2017. Total sample size was 2171 adults. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
For the following question, "ongoing armed conflict", was defined as a war either internally, or with another country, where there have been more than 200 deaths in the last 12 months (i.e. since March 2016). The question was "As far as you are aware, which, if any, of the following countries are currently involved in ongoing armed conflict? (Please select all that apply)".
Syria 84%
Afghanistan 67%
Iraq 66%
Somalia 54%
Yemen 49%
Libya 45%>
Turkey 32%
Pakistan 25%
Lebanon 23%
Saudi Arabia 17%
Myanmar 15%
Kenya 13%
Ghana 8%
India 8%
Qatar 5%
None of these 2%
Don't know 8%


I just returned from an outstanding trip to Sydney, Australia. I worked with some great folks and evaluated many kids whose potential I can't wait to help unlock. I also met with some great open-minded folks at the University of Sydney to discuss a research project with our Simply Smarter System and creating NACD courses for their continuing education programs.
You might surmise from the title of this article that it has something to do with brains; but what is the link to Norfolk pines and what is a Norfolk pine?
I have always thought that the little Norfolk pines that I would see in grocery stores around Christmas, overlooking the glitter they often put on them, were rather exotic and interesting. I had never had the time, opportunity, or actual inclination to investigate them; but I still found them to be curious little 18" plants, particularly since they were a species of pine tree. However, upon recent investigation, I discovered why I thought they were curious pines– they are not actually pine trees at all. Okay, lest you think I am having some kind of senior moment and running off on a tangent, let me start trying to connect some dots.
While visiting Sydney we spent a weekend at Manly Beach, just outside of Sydney. Shortly after arriving, we went out to check out the sights. The beach and the area were really spectacular. We admired the beautiful sandy beach, watched the surfers, and started appraising the dozens of tempting restaurants. But some of the most prominent features of the area were these very spectacular, exotic hundred-plus-foot high evergreens that were everywhere. My son, Laird, wondered aloud what kind of trees they were, and I realized that I recognized them as huge specimens of those little plants with glitter–Norfolk pines. I decided that when I got home I needed to go find one of the 18-inch versions for my house and another for Laird and his wife to commemorate our trip to Australia.
Fast-forward a couple of weeks. I'm back in the mountains of Utah, where we have many "real" pines and evergreens. I was home watching the news and dozing a bit when a commercial came on. I rarely pay any attention to commercials, with the exception of the occasional Jaguar commercial, and I really didn't pay any attention to this one either, or so I thought. But actually, my brain did. Something in my peripheral vision caught my brain's attention. I stopped the commercial and rewound it. I still couldn't tell you what they were trying to sell, or why my brain said, "Hey, there was just something of significance;" but after I rewound the commercial, I discovered that in one very fleeting scene, as they were rapidly flashing across an office, there sitting on a shelf was a little potted Norfolk pine. But why did my brain react to that little piece of apparently-irrelevant data, when my sort-of-conscious brain was trying to contemplate what was behind Hillary Clinton's missing email? The answer is simple: it could, so it did.
Did you ever buy a new car and suddenly start seeing them everywhere? Did a few hundred thousand of them get produced and sold overnight, or did they just start occupying a more significant place in your brain? Could it be that as our brains add more and more importance to these pieces of information, and as we make more and more associations, particularly personal associations, that our brains, like magnets, gather more and more associated pieces? Could it also be that what we know, what is in our long-term memory, provides relevance and helps to determine what we do and do not perceive? That our short-term and working memories dictate how many of those pieces we can sequence and associate, thus determine how large and meaningful our world is? How connected we are to it? How tuned in we are, how significant it all is? How much we are learning?
Yes it could be, and I believe it does.
There is this great connection and loop between our short-term memory, our working memory, and our long-term memory. Our short-term memory determines how many sequential pieces of information we can process. Starting with a newborn, that number is zero and builds based on input/opportunity. The foundation of our working memory is our short-term memory. Our working memory refers to how many pieces we can manipulate and determines our complexity of thought. Together we call our short-term memory and working memory our processing power. What we process goes toward, and perhaps into, our long-term memory, based on the frequency, intensity and duration of the input and what is already in there. Our knowledge base determines what we actually process. And the more we process and the more we put into our brains, the more we stimulate the brain, the more we trigger neuroplasticity, grow connections, build networks, and literally grow our brains. The more we know, the more relevance new input has, the more our brains pay attention to it, and the more we take in, the better we process–it's a loop. The brain is really very cool. The more you put into long-term memory, the more it can actually hold and the more it has in it, the more new input it attracts.
The significance of this is that what we teach our child impacts the development of the short-term and working memory. If it is relevant and associated information, then it gets into long-term memory, and then in turn it adds relevance to additional new information and builds everything even further.
The degree to which we impact the development of a child's brain and build their neurological foundation (short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory) is largely a reflection of how targeted our input is.
Bad Scenario–You are in college, a freshman English Literature major. Things got screwed up and they placed you in some kind of crazy blow-your-mind advanced math class with a bunch of seniors. You hadn't taken math since your junior year in high school and then hadn't gone past Algebra II, which you hated. Saying that everything that went on in this class was over your head is an incredible understatement. The only things you would take from the class were a significantly lowered self-image, verification that you really stink at math, and a lower GPA. In this scenario the odds are that you had no real frame of reference for the material, nothing for your brain to associate/connect with; so what you had in your long-term memory did you no good at all. If you can, imagine a blackboard covered with formulas and figures that you need to process visually. Odds are that being an English Lit Major you are much better at processing auditory sequential information than visual, and that your visual processing probably was not up to the task. Net result: no increase in your auditory or visual short-term or working memory, and nothing added to your long-term memory other than a confirmation of your hatred for math. Neuroplasticity triggered—minimal. Brain change or growth—minimal.
Good Scenario–You are still a freshman English Lit. major. You get invited to a small private dinner party at your favorite professor's house to meet your favorite author. You have read everything this author has written, and you know your professor's views on her work. At dinner, in this very intimate evening where you are treated as a peer, you have the opportunity to discuss this author's novels and short stories and her new project. You take in every word as though it had the intensity of a bolt of lightening. Each bit you take in immediately associates with many hundreds and perhaps thousands of other related and associated bits and chunks of information. This was a targeted educational experience. Because it was so targeted for you, the strong auditory learner and conceptualizer who loves literature and who knew and loved the author and her work, your brain was changed. The experience added to your long-term memory/knowledge base, which in turn would then affect your brain's ability to process future associated input. The targeted, and thus intense, input would have actually helped build your processing ability as well. Neuroplasticity triggered—immense. Brain change and growth—huge. These are moments you would perhaps recall for a lifetime.
What are the implications of all of this?
What affects, stimulates, and develops our brains is very specific and unique to each of us. We need targeted individualized educational opportunities to encourage neuro-development. The more individualized our education, the more it actually constitutes an opportunity. Random disassociated input does little to really change the brain. Sequential associated information makes an impression on the brain.
How much we take in and learn and what gets into long-term memory is a refection of the strength of our neurological base, our short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory. We needed targeted individualized opportunities to build our processing power, utilizing specific processing brain development activities, such as the Simply Smarter System, NACD Cognition Coach apps, and 1:1 processing activities.
What we know of our world affects our processing and memory. It appears that our brain pays attention to what it can identify, what has meaning, and particularly to what it can name and the degree to which it can name it. Observing many thousands of children and trying to crawl into their brains, it appears that our brains do constantly react to, rehearse, and review based on opportunity. Simply being able to name those things that are in our daily world, I believe, helps build and develop our processing and helps keep information in our long-term memory.
The more we learn, the more we can learn. Knowledge, information in long-term memory, produces more knowledge and increases what goes into long-term memory. As we learn and add to our long term memory, the more significant more things become, and the more our brains attention to and learn. Picture your long-term memory as a magnet, a magnet that grows and gets stronger with every new thing that it pulls in. The more you put in, the "smarter" you get, and the easier it is to get even smarter.
What develops changes, and that which changes can be developed. If those involved with child development and education really understood this, this could be a game changer for everyone. What develops changes. Every child begins life not being able to even give meaning to a sound or an image, but learns and changes based on opportunity. Short-term memory develops. Working memory develops. Everything that develops through opportunity can be accelerated with more and better opportunities. And you can teach an old dog new tricks—if you try.
I did find some little Norfolk pines. We have them in our homes, and I have no doubt that our memories of our trip to Australia will remain much longer now that we have our trees.
Just a little P.S.: I'm presently in Los Angeles. I used to live here and I've been coming here regularly since the 70s. You will never guess what I was seeing all over the place this evening as I drove through rush hour traffic in Laurel Canyon. Norfolk pines! How amazing it is that during all those years my brain never determined that they were worth acknowledging. Once my brain could put a name to them and had established associations, they became significant. I think that's very cool.