We lost some cpu and some vending machines over the summer but fortunately the freezers were kept on so we can still make ice at work. Best purchase of the summer was huge clear Starbucks cups. We only need fill them twice a day.
camouflage, originally uploaded by julesberry2001.
Purple flower and a mothy thing.
The mothy thing is a シマゲロオオヨコハイ, or Black-tipped Leafhopper (Bothrogonia ferruginea).
We are off to Tohoku again shortly for more volunteering with Peaceboat. Partly because we enjoyed it last time and partly with the thought that if our jobs do end next year (which to be honest is starting to look less likely now), then I can't imagine wishing I had spent a few more weeks in the office over the summer! We were planning to travel up by train+bike and follow the volunteering with a bit of a holiday in the area, inspired in part by articles such as this, and partly by another volunteer on our previous week who did exactly the same. The volunteer campsite is far enough out of town that having a bike to get around would be really handy, especially for the two weeks we were planning to stay, for which laundry and shopping trips would be essential. I even booked a room at the hotel mentioned in that article for our trip up (having looked around and finding that many others in the area are actually shut).
We mentioned this plan to one of the organisers at the weekend at the pre-departure meeting, and were amazed to be met with a flat refusal. No, it is absolutely impossible to turn up on a bicycle. Either get the bus from Tokyo with us, she said, or don't come at all. She also told us that the previous person who did this (ie the person on our week) had caused a lot of disruption, because she had appeared *the night before* every one else on the overnight buses. The resulting attack of severe panic resulted in three heart attacks, a case of heatstroke and four pregnancies. OK, I made up the pregnancies. Well, two of them. Just imagine, she said, the confusion if everyone did that. Oh, the humanity. Um...someone help me out here, I'm having a failure of imagination. It's a campsite. That's what people usually do. We hardly need to march in in formation. We even offered to turn up on Saturday morning at the same time as the bus (which would be easy, there is an open campsite at the other end of the same field, where we could stay on the Friday night). She remained, however, completely intransigent. It was their way or no way. Incidentally, there was no residual evidence of this confusion when we all previously turned up on the bus on the Saturday morning. I suspect that the story has grown in the retelling, which also happened to us in a different context a couple of months ago. [Got a email from the admin at work, in a panic because our landlady was complaining about the damage we were causing with the plants growing up the walls of our house. The reality was that there are no plants growing up the walls of our house, and our landlady was not at all upset but did want to trim the hedge a few feet away!] With a language where so much is left unsaid, it is easy to imagine problems into existence. I've long since learnt that there is, however, no reasoning with people when they get in this sort of mood.
We did briefly ponder cancelling the volunteering completely - partly in protest at the overall stupidity, and partly because spending a significant amount of money on a holiday is probably more beneficial than doing a bit more beach cleaning at this stage in the proceedings. However, we have compromised on a single week of volunteering, followed by a week back at home and then back up for the holiday much as originally planned. It will actually be better to not have to haul around our volunteering kit (including heavy boots) on the bike. And the forecast for Thursday/Friday (when we would have been cycling up) looks grim right now with a typhoon on course for a fly-past. It means a week less of volunteering but hey, there are rules to be obeyed here, we can't let practical and useful results get in the way of that.
It's especially disappointing to see this sort of attitude in the younger generation, who one might naively have hoped to be a bit more flexible in their outlook. But I think at this stage in their lives they have only learnt the importance of obeying rules and hammering down sticking out nails, and not yet come to understand the "case-by-case basis" approach by which the more effective administrators (and yes, there are a few of them) learn to deal with reality.
I suppose I should be relieved, that such intransigent rule-mongering and panic at the thought of anything remotely out of the ordinary can still take me by surprise after 10 years here. The time to be worried would be if it felt normal! It certainly reinforces the extent to which it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, but it never occurred to us that either would actually be required in this case. If we hadn't taken the trouble to make completely certain where we were staying, we would just have turned up (having made sure that our team leader knew what we were doing, of course) and everything would have been absolutely fine.
All seemed quiet last year and we thought perhaps the monks had gassed the sleeping hornets over the winter. Perhaps the colony just died off. But they're back and they're setting up a shiny new home.
Debito is back on Fukushima again, in full-on hyperventilate mode. "It's time for the naysayers to capitulate".
By which, apparently, he means me, quoting (without attribution) part of a comment I left on his site previously, after he had posted several screeds of anonymous scaremongering.
Of course, after challenging me to admit that I am wrong, he then censors my comments on his blog. Classy.
I don't really object to people who were not capable of rationally assessing the risks and who decided that they would prefer to leave. I do object to them still saying, months later when the reality of the situation is well-known, that the sky is falling and we are all going to die horribly. It may not be a perfect comparison, but it seems that bananas are an order of magnitude more radioactive than the "contaminated" beef that was in the news here recently, for example.
Stoat also has some more interesting posts. It may be worth pointing out that while hundreds of thousands have been evacuated from their homes, and many may never return, in the case of the Fukushima refugees, this is an essentially precautionary and preventative measure, ie it has happened as an alternative to any direct impacts. For those displaced by the tsunami itself, they are the survivors of a catastrophe that killed about 20,000 and destroyed hundreds of kilometres of coastline. There really is no comparison.
BBC News - Japan PM Naoto Kan announces resignation amid criticism: Japan's beleaguered Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced his resignation, clearing the way for the country's sixth leader in five years.
It seems to me like he managed his resignation reasonably well: rather than just running away or hanging on as a lame duck, he used the carrot of his departure to force though the most important parts of his program. It's also hard to see how he can be blamed for the tsunami and its aftermath: given that the country has been an LDP-ruled one-party state for the past 50 years, it would take superman to cut through the bureaucratic bungling in the space of weeks or even months. He actually lasted longer than most leaders in recent years, a whole 14 months.
One possible outcome of the forthcoming leadership election is a "Grand Coalition" between the major parties. I suppose it would be honest to give up any pretence that the electorate has any role to play in deciding who runs the country. But I've never known any native to do anything but shrug their shoulders when politics comes up for discussion, so maybe they get the government they deserve.
We wrote a sister to the previous papers on the assessment of climate models using present day climate data. In this latest work we look at the past, the Last Glacial Maximum, when the earth was a much icier and drier place. We all love the Last Glacial Maximum because it was the most recent time in the past when the carbon dioxide level was very different to the modern climate. Thus we hope that studying it closely will reveal new insights about climate change. For this reason, a lot of modelling and data collecting effort has focused on it. In our paper we conclude that the data from the oceans and the models are surprisingly consistent with each other. It is surprising because when you look at a global map showing the data, and another map showing any one climate model output, you would tend to think that there must be some big problems. The models and data seem quite different in some parts of the globe, and this worries everyone. The model-people worry that they are missing important processes in their models, and the data-people similarly worry that they have overlooked something in the conversion of sediment core to temperature. But just looking at a spatial plot of the data next to one from your favourite climate model doesn't give the whole picture, because there is a lot of variation between different climate models and great uncertainty in the data. When comparing the models and data it is important to take the uncertainties into account, and when you do so, you find that the model ensemble as a whole is consistent with the data. So, climate models that we previously found to be reliable for the present day, now seem to also be reliable for the past. This can only increase our confidence that they may also be performing well for the future!
But it's not all good news. The data we compared the models to are very uncertain, and the models span quite a wide range of results. Thus the concern perhaps now ought to be not that the models and data are inconsistent, but that the data may not be accurate enough to actually add anything new to what we already know about that climate system as represented by the models. What people want to do is use the information we have about the past to reduce uncertainty about the future, but if the data from the past are just a vague smudge roughly consistent with the models then, while this makes us happy that the models are doing OK, it doesn't actually help us improve them any further. One strategy would be to focus effort on those regions of the globe and times in the past where the whole ensemble is in robust disagreement with the data, although before doing so, it would also be wise to consider whether the causes of these disagreements may be orthogonal to the causes of anthropogenic climate change.
The paper is Open Access, so you can find all the typos online at Climate of the Past.
Of course there is more to be done on this topic. We only looked at the ocean surface temperatures for one snap-shot in the past, and the ways the uncertainties in the data are estimated could (I think) be improved. And of course, now that our beloved Last Glacial Maximum has hit the big time by being included in the official runs for the next proper climate ensemble project (CMIP5 - due to star in the next IPCC report) there should soon be many more models to play with, which will enable a more robust result to be obtained.
P.S. May be better viewed here on my blog, where (as pointed out by a commenter) the same picture appears to have a relaxing sepia tone rather than the bluish cast apparent on the Empty Blog. An interesting illusion - both copies are actually identical with only grey tones.
I sometimes wonder if the goal of climate science papers is for the last line of the conclusion to consist of just acronyms, a few little words, and a verb. By comparison photographers use hardly any acronyms. One is BIF which stands for Bird in flight. So here we have BOP - Birds on posts.
The ravens in the top photo are at Bryce Canyon while the crows in the lower photo are hanging out at the temporary huts on Kamakura beach. The ravens seem to like having their photos taken, but pointing a camera at the crows pisses them off and they soon flap away in a very deliberately annoyed manner.
There was a request to know what the young duds are wearing. Or something. Well here you go. All these were taken at the Daibutsu in Kamakura.
Science graduates should look for work abroad because funding cuts mean finding work in Britain is too hard, two of the country's leading scientists have claimed.
Doesn't really take a rocket scientist - or even an astrophysicist and sheep-cloner - to work that out.
We have occasionally considered options for returning to the UK - not least because the funding situation here is a bit precarious right now (but only because of a poorly-timed tsunami and nuclear meltdown just when the grant needs renewed, not as a matter of long-term policy). But the combination of a massive pay cut plus the need to actually work for a living has so far dissuaded us :-) Last summer reminded us of what we had got away from, though we enjoyed the visit itself immensely (not just because of the punting).
Anyway, it has long been my opinion that all scientists should spend time overseas if at all possible, as a matter of policy. Even Japan has plenty of opportunities at the moment in many areas.
Kamakura summer beach life is in full swing. There are already plenty of surfers, even at 8am on a raining Saturday.
But he's caught this one - surfin' a 2 inch wave!
In Kamakura there are two kinds of people, late-night beachsiders and in-bed-by-10pm mountainsiders. It seems the same is true of the pigeons. These beachsiders looked very much like they were experiencing the morning after the night before.
It's quite amusing to watch the contortions he'll go to in order to avoid admitting a mistake. Recall that this started with his novel idea that one could determine the "correctness" of a probabilistic prediction of an event, by whether the event in question actually happens. Eg the prediction "likely to rain tomorrow" is correct if and only if the rain actually falls tomorrow.
While this might sound intuitively appealing, it quickly falls apart under any careful examination (as Doswell and Brooks warn). That is, it leads to conclusions that are obviously nonsensical and/or inconsistent. For example, if we say that a roll of a fair die is likely to come up 1-5, then this statement is correct in the sense of, well, being correct, but Roger's analysis would determine it to have been false if the roll actually turned out to be 6.
Best of all, entirely unprompted, he came up with an example based on an asteroid falling on Boulder. While he had several times insisted that a prediction at the 90% level should be considered "incorrect" if the event did not occur, he then stated that if I predict that it is 10% probable that an asteroid hits Boulder tomorrow (ie 90% probable that it does not), then my prediction is correct if the asteroid DOES hit! This, he explains, is due to the "baseline expectation" which apparently allows Roger to invert his original definition of "correctness" whenever he feels like it. It's a bit odd that he came up with this new twist completely unprompted, as it blows apart all his previous analysis, but it's not as if his theory made any sense anyway.
Naturally, the actual paper that he co-authored contains no mention of this "baseline expectation".
With his latest post on aleatory and epistemic uncertainty, one might hope that he could have at last been starting to realise that the concept of "correctness" of a probabilistic prediction cannot in general be determined from the occurrence - or otherwise - of the predicted event (the occurrence of an event assigned a probability of zero is of course an exception). But based on the comments, it seems that this insight still eludes him.
It does seem that one infallible guide to "Pielkeian correctness" has emerged, though. If Roger says it, then it is correct, no matter how many impossible or ridiculous contortions and evasions are required to avoid admitting error.
While the Daibutsu looks nice with a blue sky background, in the even lighting of a cloudy mizzly day the he becomes one of the people.
A man was lying prostrate on the path in front of the Daibutsu. Some checked to see he was OK. Perhaps he was deep in worship. Then it became apparent he was worshipping - but his object was the Nikon rather than the Daibutsu.
Many barking wingnuts have Galileo complexes. They think that because Galileo wasn't believed, they are as right as Galileo.
Mine is more like a Marie Curie complex. This is a special complex only for women who work with their husbands. They believe that because people only realised quite how clever Marie Curie was after her husband was tragically run over by a cart, that they are also eclipsed geniuses. Mustn't let the lack of handfuls of Nobel Prizes get in the way of the fantasy.
Actually I cannot imagine how she kept going at such a high standard after losing her best friend and colleague... especially since people are almost always better as either a team or a solo performer.
Japan seems to lack noise pollution laws, so we get annoying vans shouting all sorts of rubbish anywhere, stupid gangs who drive around on motorbikes without silencers, and when the temperature rises above a certain threshold we get these - cicada! The internet says there are 30 different types in Japan and they are clearly the real reason that people don't riot. It's too loud outside to riot.
Note for David Benson [see comment here]: This cicada was wearing this year's new wave fashion of a simple brown wing wrap, but was otherwise naked.
"An important property of probability forecasts is that single forecasts using probability have no clear sense of "right" and "wrong." That is, if it rains on a 10 percent PoP forecast, is that forecast right or wrong? Intuitively, one suspects that having it rain on a 90 percent PoP is in some sense "more right" than having it rain on a 10 percent forecast. However, this aspect of probability forecasting is only one aspect of the assessment of the performance of the forecasts. In fact, the use of probabilities precludes such a simple assessment of performance as the notion of "right vs. wrong" implies. This is a price we pay for the added flexibility and information content of using probability forecasts. Thus, the fact that on any given forecast day, two forecasters arrive at different subjective probabilities from the same data doesn't mean that one is right and the other wrong! It simply means that one is more certain of the event than the other. All this does is quantify the differences between the forecasters."
Of course, there isn't a cigarette-paper of difference between what I was saying, and what Doswell and Brookes are saying, because this is all well-established basic stuff.
Nevertheless, RP chooses to make up nonsense and misrepresent what I said, without even having the decency to link to my post. I nowhere say, or imply that the IPCC statements "could not be judged to be wrong because of their probabilistic nature", indeed as he well knows I have explicitly contradicted this nonsense claim of his multiple times in the past. A single probabilistic statement at the "likely" level cannot generally meaningfully be validated because no outcome is sufficiently improbable to falsify it (under the standard significance testing paradigm). Once you have a large enough ensemble of statements, such as those the IPCC make, their judgement as a whole can easily be validated because it is highly improbable that either a small or large number of the particular events should occur, if the probability was accurate.
"It is important to understand that the judgment [A] may have been perfectly sound and defensible at the time that it was made ... Perhaps then the outcome was just bad luck, meaning that the 10% is realized 10% of the time. Actually, we can never know the answer to whether the expectation was actually sound or not"
So he's prepared to consider probabilistic judgements "perfectly sound" when it suits him, but "incorrect" whenever the IPCC make them. Uh-huh.
[jules' pics] whi O whi O whi?
...is all that is to be a heard from British people presently. (the subject is the recent riots, of course). In answer to the question, everyone just trots out their favourite thing they disapprove of about how things aint what they used to be.
As I walk past this bar in the middle of Yokohama early on a Sunday morning I have often marvelled at the neatly arranged empty sake bottles, and wondered if the British police would even allow this kind of decoration - after all, to most British people, an empty bottle is a weapon, and anything left out on the street belongs to whoever can grab it first.
There are so many differences between British and Japanese culture, and only one of the two countries had riots last week. I could point to so many things, as I stare out of the window making things up... but I suppose that the British social scientists must be pretty happy, as now they'll hopefully get lots of research grants to work out the real reasons why(owhyowhy).
How many of Roger's findings about probability manage to be wrong? Answer: he's more inventive than you might expect.
Roger Pielke has a new post up asserting that 28% of the IPCC's findings are incorrect. Although it's obviously a rather implausible figure, I was expecting this claim to be backed up with some sort of evidence of errors, or at least sloppiness, or something, so I had a look at his paper that he cites to justify the claim.
It turns out that 100%-28% = 72% is merely the average (lower bound) probability level associated with the statements they made. Such as "It is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent." Here "very likely" means greater than 90%. So, given 10 such statements, the IPCC is saying that they would expect the "very likely" outcome to occur about 9 times, and not occur about once. And similarly for "likely" (66%). Averaging over all the probabilistic statements, it should be expected that in about 28% of cases, the (probabilistically) preferred outcome will not actually happen.
And in Roger-world, this means that 28% of the statements are "incorrect". Note, however, that he does not make this silly claim in the paper itself, but only in his blog post.
To see why this interpretation is nonsensical, consider a single roll of a fair die. I state (accurately) that it is "likely" to lie in the range 1-5. If I roll a 6, then in Roger-world, my statement was incorrect. However, it was not incorrect, and Roger is simply wrong to claim so.
As you can see from the comments, I challenged Roger on this, and his response (entirely in character) is to duck and weave. In his comment #5, for example, he shamelessly misrepresents what I said, and brings up the red herring of a definitive prediction (when in fact I had clearly made a probabilistic one, and the distinction is of course absolutely fundamental to the point). The obvious elephant in the room that Roger cannot bring himself to acknowledge is that the statement is correct irrespective of the outcome of the roll. "Correctness" of a single statement simply isn't something that can be directly validated (or invalidated) by the outcome, and the accurate calibration of a probabilistic prediction system actually relies on having the appropriate number of "failures" for each level of probability.
I realise of course that having done some rather boring textual analysis that in his own words amounts to "Nothing too interesting, really", Roger is just rabble-rousing on his blog. I'm confident that any competent scientist will see straight though it, but that's hardly his target audience.
Incidentally, and although it's a minor point it is perhaps telling in terms of his overall level of competence, Roger is also wrong where he claims that if the statements are not independent, then the proportion of "incorrect" will be higher than 28%. Actually, if the statements are not independent (while still being correctly calibrated), then the proportion that do not come to pass would still be 28% in expectation, just with higher variance, meaning that either a larger or smaller proportion would not be surprising. Unlike the simple misinterpretation in his blog post title, this elementary error is actually made in the paper itself.
Passed this delightful venetian canal in Shibuya on the way to a symposium about how Japan is going to rebuild after the tsunami. It didn't half stink.
Controversy has erupted over comments made by the leading nonentity James Annan suggesting links between the increase in Susan Greenfield's public prominence and the rise in autism.
"I'm just sitting here staring out of my window and making something up to talk about," he said.
"It could be the case that this different environment is changing the brain in an unprecedented way. It's such an important issue and I'm just putting it before people to discuss."
"I point to the increase in autism and I point to Susan Greenfield. That's all. Establishing a causal relationship is very hard but there are trends out there that we must think about. I have not said that Susan Greenfield use causes autism and I would apologise to any family who is upset by anything I have said."
"I have never, ever said that Susan Greenfield is bad for the brain. But if the environment is changing, then the brain will change to adapt. All I have ever said is, let's talk about this. Susan Greenfield has become the central iconic feature of young people's lives and to say our brains will not be affected by that is to deny our evolutionary heritage."
Luckily for TEPCO (our electricity provider, who is mysteriously short of watts this year) the summer has turned remarkably cool. A couple of weeks ago we had a typhoon and since then the temperature has barely touched 30C, and overnight it has been positively chilly (diving to around 23C). Here is Jomyoji temple (home of the 2nd blue dragonfly) on a cool and misty July morning.
Well I was wrong. The dragon fly viewing is even better at Jomyoji "English" garden that at Kosokuji Juniso. At least it is better in the sense that the garden is much more accessible, and you can sit down and enjoy a nice cup of coffee while you are there.
In other news I joined Google+. It seems very handy and to have a very pleasing interface. Of course, whether it is ever useful depends on whether anyone else joins in! So far I have 2 friends!
Centennial scale warming over Japan: are the rural stations really rural?
This is the title of a paper we recently published here. It has been widely observed that Japanese met stations show abnormally large warming over the 20th century - there are about 60 stations that have 100y time series (there's an open access paper here) - but significant uncertainty about the attribution of this to the possible causes. Obviously there's been a lot of urbanisation over this period, which must have affected many of the sites. The Japan Meteorological Agency has produced a subset of 17 stations which it claims are basically rural, but the reasons for their choices don't seem to be very clearly documented, and neither is it clear that these "rural" stations actually are unaffected by urbanisation. For one thing, even these stations still show somewhat greater warming than is seen over most land areas globally (at least when we take the lowish latitude and maritime influence into account, some northern and continental areas have warmed more).
Our idea was that we could investigate this using observations of the surrounding ocean, for which there is also a long-term observational analysis. While we wouldn't expect the ocean and land to warm exactly the same, there should be quite a strong link given the physical proximity. Furthermore, this land/ocean relationship can be investigated with the IPCC AR4 models. Globally, these models give quite a wide range of land/ocean warming ratios (eg) but over a local region temperature anomalies are generally well correlated.
This pic is the main summary of the analysis. The blue dots show the results of the IPCC AR4 models, ocean (x-axis) versus land (y) warming over the 20th century, just considering the region around Japan. There's clearly a strong linear relationship with a slight amplification of 13% over land. The observed warming over the ocean is 0.8C as indicated by the vertical line, and the various coloured dots on that vertical line represent different subsets of the land stations - red is the largest cities which have warmed (and grown!) massively, and the three green dots are different attempts at selecting rural stations (including the JMA set). These all lie pretty close to the regression line, suggesting that the observed warming at those stations is not really out of line of what would be expected from the surrounding ocean warming and thus there is no evidence of substantial urbanisation in these stations. It's also clear that the real ocean has warmed more than in almost all of the models, but we didn't look into the reasons for this, and it could just be due to natural variability - the obs aren't even outside the range of the models, so there is not really any cause for concern here.


Fibroadenomas account for 60% of all palpable lumps in the female population under 20 years of age. They can sometimes go unnoticed by the patient until the breast softens with involution, or they may represent an incidental finding on the first screening mammogram.
Treatment of fibroadenomas ranges from conservative to invasive, depending on the certainty of diagnosis on imaging. Many women decide to get the fibroadenoma surgically removed; nevertheless, as fibroadenomas are clinically linked to estrogen levels, the lesions tend to shrink in the post-menopausal years.
Initial approach to a mass considered to be a fibroadenoma should be an observation during at least one whole menstrual cycle, assuming normality of menstrual patterns. The physician should strive to reassure the patient about the safety of this approach, as up to 40% of fibroadenomas show spontaneous regression.
However, not all women are default candidates for such "watch and wait" approach; the patient's age, information on proliferative changes from previous biopsies, and a family history must definitely be taken into consideration.
Furthermore, if the patient feels uncomfortable with just observing the lump, and there is an underlying anxiety and fear of malignancy despite the fact that the actual risk of malignant transformation is less than 1%, it is recommended to remove asymptomatic fibroadenoma. The literature data shows that, when confronted with the option of conservative management, a majority of women actually prefer excisional biopsy.
Vacuum-assisted percutaneous biopsy is used to remove fibroadenomas that are smaller than 3 cm in size. This procedure is conducted percutaneously by multiple passes of a hollow bore needle, usually under ultrasound guidance. Subsequently, the breast tissue is aspirated by employing vacuum suction, and patients report significant satisfaction with the procedure.
Ablative procedures (most notably cryotherapy) under local anesthesia are also used to remove fibroadenomas in the breast. In this procedure, a probe is placed percutaneously along the axis of the fibroadenoma and then cooled by argon gas to –160 degrees Celsius. This leads to cell membrane disruption, hypoxia, and destruction of the fibroadenoma.
Conversely, fibroadenomas can be treated with heat, most often by placing a guided laser needle in the fibroadenoma and using a laser to generate heat in order to ablate the mass. High-intensity focused ultrasound represents another heat-based ablative method with a mean volume reduction of 72.5%.
Despite these attractive, minimally invasive techniques, open excision of fibroadenomas under local or general anesthesia is still the most common procedure for fibroadenoma removal. It is usually utilized if the lump is symptomatic or shows rapidly growing nature.
Ideally, the incision is positioned around the areola or in the inframammary crease in order to minimize visible scarring, although the location and size of the mass may eventually guide the incision characteristics. After surgery, patients should attend regular follow-ups to assess potential complications and evaluate the necessity for reconstructive surgery.
In that regard, giant fibroadenomas are typically treated surgically due to their size, whereas juvenile fibroadenomas are excised due to their rapid growth. Surgical excision of smaller lesions are considered when masses are hard, non-mobile, tender, fixed to overlying skin or associated with supraclavicular or axillary enlargement of the lymph nodes.
Rehil N, Mittal V. Benign Breast Diseases. In: Vyas D, editor. Comprehensive Textbook of Surgery. Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd., 2012; pp. 86-94.


73204 Janice & 73206 Lisa take the Canterbury route at Faversham on 20 November 2004 with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z84 08:07 Victoria to Chichester 'JB Jamboree' railtour. The corner of the old steam shed can just be seen on the right. This grade 2 listed building surrounded by rank vegetation is a surprising survival in this part of third rail land. Note the carriage sidings on the left complete with narrow access platforms and vintage overhead lighting.


Picture the scene....three men are standing in a very big poker room.
It's 6:45pm Saturday 31st March, with 15 minutes to go, Derek Gamlin, Paul Greedy and Clint Oldridge were apprehensive. No-one else had come through the doors and it looked like it was the three amigoes sharing the raffle prizes! However, fortune smiled upon Les Croupiers' efforts to raise awareness of Arthur Howell's Memorial Poker Tournament, as through the doors 60 players walked in! Friends and family from far afield as Minehead and Norwich turned up in droves.
Despite a hectic schedule, Clint managed to sell nearly 800 raffle tickets, ably assisted with an interesting suit to raise a wry smile. Calls of all-in and chips were soon to be heard as players got into the spirit of the event and ably put aside their normal quiet play throwing caution to the wind. Over 138 re-enrties (for a limited period, players can buy more chips if they have lost their first lot) into the tournament meant that with the suppport of Les Croups' Mr McIlroy supporting the event with £300 of his own money, they managed to raise £2,420 in the evening!
In the end the eventual winner Mike Hussein split the prize money with Clint Oldridge and Scott Howell; Arthur's very proud and appreciative son. Thanks to the staff for their excellent support both downstairs; Tracy, and upstairs; David Morgan (card-room manager) and his team of excellent dealers for a truly fun and worthy night for all.


Table of Contents: 1.) The Summer Birds of the Northern Adirondack Mountains | 2.) The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y.
Table of Contents: 1.) A Preliminary Wild Life and Forest Survey of Southwestern Cattaraugus Co., N.Y. | 2.) A Preliminary Report on the Trout Streams of Southwestern Cattaraugus Co., N.Y.


Ethiopian Airlines officially inaugurated its newly-expanded passenger terminal as well as its five-star Skylight Hotel at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) on January 27.
According to Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, African Union Chairperson H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki, Ministers, high-level government officials, Ethiopian Airlines Board Members, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, Executive Management Members, and invited guests attended the inauguration ceremony. Photo: Ethiopian Airlines.
Ethiopian Airlines' newly-expanded terminal at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport cost approximately $363 million. The Chinese-funded project was completed by China Communications Construction Company.
At the new Ethiopian Airlines terminal, passengers will find self-check-in machines, a self-boarding system, comfortable lounges, as well as restaurants, duty-free shops, and other amenities. The terminal also features the latest technology security systems.
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is Ethiopian Airlines' main hub. Photo: Wikimedia.
While the airport was able to handle up to 7 million passengers per year in the past, the newly-expanded terminal has tripled the airport's capacity. It will now be able to accommodate as many as 22 million passengers per year. Just for comparison, Dubai International Airport has an annual capacity of 90 million passengers.
The contemporary and luxurious Skylight Hotel features 373 guest rooms and executive suites as well as a conference hall for 2,500 people. It is the biggest hotel in Addis Ababa. Moreover, it is the home of the largest Chinese restaurant in Africa.
The five-star Ethiopian Skylight Hotel is located right next to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Photo: PR Newswire.
Ethiopian Airlines is Ethiopia's flag carrier and the fastest growing airline in Africa. The airline serves more than 119 international destinations across five continents.
Ethiopian Airlines is the first African operator of the Boeing 787-9. Photo: Ethiopian Airlines.
Additionally, Ethiopian Airlines has a total of 65 aircraft on order, including 15 Airbus A350s, 5 Boeing B787s, 4 Boeing B777s (cargo), 10 Bombardier Q400s, 2 Boeing B737s (cargo), and 29 Boeing B737MAX8s. Accordingly, the airline is planning on expanding the size of its fleet significantly in the near future. The airline has already grown an average of 25% per year in the past seven years.
Evidently, Ethiopian Airlines has big plans for the future. The airline is in the process of implementing "Vision 2025," a 15-year strategic plan. The goal of the airline is to become the leading aviation group in Africa over the next 15 years. It has already surpassed South African Airways based on revenue and profit.
What do you think of Ethiopian Airlines' growth plans? Do you think the airline's growth will be sustainable?


You must be quite excited as you look forward to your son's completion of the Quest program! As the final banquet draws near, we have a variety of accommodations available for your upcoming visit. 12:30 pm Quest Luncheon (Quest Graduation Ceremony to Follow.) Dress attire for the Luncheon/Ceremony is semi-formal or Sunday apparel. Online reservations for this event will close Monday, July 22 at Midnight, CST. If you have further questions, please contact us at 903-636-2000, ext 2101.


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Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal
Home > RHUMJ > Vol. 20 (2019) > Iss. 2
Using Differential Equations to Model Predator-Prey Relations as Part of SCUDEM Modeling Challenge
Zachary Fralish, Florida Southern CollegeFollow
Bernard Tyson III, Florida Southern CollegeFollow
Anthony Stefan, Florida Southern CollegeFollow
Differential equation modeling challenges provide students with an opportunity to improve their mathematical capabilities, critical thinking skills, and communication abilities through researching and presenting on a differential equations model. This article functions to display an archetype summary of an undergraduate student team's response to a provided prompt. Specifically, the provided mathematical model estimates how certain stimuli from a predator are accumulated to trigger a neural response in a prey. Furthermore, it tracks the propagation of the resultant action potential and the physical flight of the prey from the predator through the analysis of larval zebrafish as a model organism. This article also shares personal testimonies to highlight the benefits of these kinds of challenges for students.
Zachary Fralish will graduate in the spring of 2020 with a bachelor of science in biochemistry and molecular biology and will pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering. He has ambitions to research and develop neuroprosthetics or artificial organs.
Bernard Tyson III will graduate in the spring of 2019 with a bachelor of arts in chemistry and has a position mentoring high school students in the fall. He has ambitions to create products and technologies which enhance students' educational experiences and unite different disciplines.
Anthony Stefan will graduate in the spring of 2019 with a bachelor of science in mathematics and will pursue his masters in applied mathematics. He has ambitions to continue his research in mathematics, develop modern technology, and teach mathematics in secondary education.
Dr. Jason Elsinger
Fralish, Zachary; Tyson, Bernard III; and Stefan, Anthony (2019) "Using Differential Equations to Model Predator-Prey Relations as Part of SCUDEM Modeling Challenge," Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal: Vol. 20 : Iss. 2 , Article 7.
Available at: https://scholar.rose-hulman.edu/rhumj/vol20/iss2/7
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It looks like the busses in Ypsi may keep rolling
By Mark | September 16, 2009
Remember how, a few days ago, I mentioned that Ypsilanti's City Council had, as a cost savings measure, voted to trim local bus service? Well, it looks now as though the AATA might be willing to cover our shortfall, so that service can continue at present levels for the near future… Or at least that's what I'm hearing from Council… The following comes from Ypsi City Council member Brian Robb:
At tonight's AATA Planning Committee meeting, the committee unanimously recommended using just over $200K worth of Federal stimulus money to make up the shortfall in Ypsilanti's budgets for the next two fiscal years. They essentially recommended the resolution Ypsilanti City Council passed on September 8th.
Keep in mind, this is only a recommendation, but if the full board passes this, there will be no service cuts, and we will be having an millage election of some sort in November of 2010.
Councilman Pete Murdock adds:
Now let's get ready for the Headlee Override election designated for public transportation in November 2010.
This entry was posted in Ann Arbor and tagged AATA, Brian Robb, bus service, Headlee, Headlee Override, mass transit, Pete Murdock, Ypsi bus routes. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
If they're so unwilling to chip in for bus service for Ypsi, then what does that say about the future when it comes time to chip in for the commuter rail service and the additional bus routes that will run to take people to and from the station? Anyway, that's good news for the time being.
Mark H.
Seems like this vote by AATA board is a vindication of the position taken by the Ypsi City Council.
Jeff Martin
The key word is "committee." It isn't the committee that makes policy and it isn't members of the committee that have the agenda to restructure AATA funding.
"Only a recommendation" should be triple underlined. We are a long way from vindication, Mark H. and a short step from selling out the most vulnerable among us for a political stunt.
What we have here is a game of chicken. Here's hoping Murdock and Robb and their partners have hedged their bets well because the stakes are very high for many real people who they represent. If you want to know the stakes, imagine having your ability to provide for yourself and your children ripped out from under you.
That's the game.
Can someone who is close to him explain to Brian Robb the difference between a ceremonial planning committee and an elected board of directors? Either he really thinks this is news or he's trying to say something to stall the folks with the torches and pitchfolks from storming the tower.
ypSiWeird
Politics is too damned yoda zen master for me. "To save the busses one must vote to destroy the busses."
I need number five like you don't know. Don't make me paranoid.
My apologies for typing 'board' when I meant planning committee. But I don't think a transportation agency's planning committee is merely ceremonial.
As I understand the council's action it was a way of saying "the city of Ypsilanti cannot subsidize the bus services as much as we're being asked to. Therefore, we want serious planning to be undertaken on how to sustain these services, and if they are not sustained by other funds, we recommend that the following cuts be made…." It struck me as a negotiating strategy. Public agencies engage in such negotiations all the time; in our society, by applying pressure and drawing lines, outcomes and decisions are influenced.
Bravo to council and to the AATA planning committee for both recognizing that the routes within Ypsi are part of a county wide transportation system, and that solutions cannot be found within a single municipality.
Mark H. Please name the members of the "planning committee" (yes, bravo to them!) and their actual power at implementing policy.
I'll follow with the board… tell me if I'm missing something?
Brackinald Achery
Pete Murdock
AATA's Planning and Development Committee is a subcommittee of the AATA Board. It consists of three of the seven members of the Board. They are:
Ted Annis (Chair), Paul C. Ajegba and Rich Robben.
The seven members of the AATA Board are:
David Nacht, Board Chair
Paul Ajegba, Board Treasurer
Ted Annis
Jesse Bernstein
Charles Griffith, Board Secretary
Sue McCormick
Rich Robben
The next AATA Board meeting is on Wednesday, September 23
Meetings begin at 6:30 pm and are held in the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Board Room at 2700 S. Industrial, Ann Arbor.
This is the meeting that the full AATA board will discuss and act on the planning committee's recommendation.
Hope to see you all there.
Kira Berman
AN IMPORTANT CORRECTION: The AATA Board meeting is at 1 pm on Wednesday September 23 – Please don't go at 6:30 pm! Route 5 is an essential bus to the Ypsilanti Schools, bringing many high school students to and from school, work, and downtown, and helping to attract school of choice students to our district's creative programs. I am disappointed that City Council did not consult school district leadership before voting to discontinue this essential bus service to a population clearly largely without cars. I can only hope the full AATA Board will see fit to provide a temporary solution through stimulus funds.
Kira Berman, Trustee, Ypsilanti Public Schools
Andy Ypsilanti
I want to point out now that we are going to need to get organized and GET ON THE BUSSES with information on a county wide millage proposal when it is ready to go. Voter education will be huge on this. We all know that those who don't understand the need for public transit will be "educating" area residents on "evils" of a reigonaly funded system. It will take dedication to get every vote we can from ALL of the areas serviced by the AATA, and those outside of those areas who understand the true importance of public transit. Ypsi, A2, Chelse, Superior, Pitsfilied, Ypsi and all the other townships. I'm still not a fan of brinksmanship, but Pete is correct. We need to prepare ourselves for this fight now.
Right on, Pete, and right on, Andy Y! A campaign is needed.
It will be futile. Count the numbers. There are more votes in townships with minimal service than there are in the two cities with substantial AATA buses. If you want it – then pay for it yourself. If you can't afford it – then reduce the costs. But the rest of the county, who already pay for YOUR buses through with our State and Federal taxes, isn't going to pay even more. As if the townships are going to be real compassionate while forking over an additional two million to be screwed on the police services already. As if there aren't already two more important millage increases already on the Nov. ballot.
Don't worry.
If the murder rate in the Township keeps up, we'll soon be able to outvote them.
Glen S.
If the full AATA Board decides to uphold its subcommittee's recommendation, it will certainly be a big relief — and provide a great opportunity to begin laying the groundwork for a campaign to pass a regional millage that will provide stable and sustainable funding for public transit.
However, I'm still disappointed in our City Council for ignoring its own rules by failing to provide public notice of the resolution, and for being willing to use riders on Routes #5, #10 and #11 as "pawns" in their discussions with AATA.
That aside, I do hope this deal holds … and, despite our differences, I am personally committed to working together with any others who want to begin laying the groundwork for a future transit millage campaign.
Kira is correct. AATA has changed from its regular 6:30PM meeting time to 1:00PM for the meeting on Wednesday, September 23rd.
See you then.
EOS, I'm willing to be that there are plent of people in the township who understand how their well being is connected to the well being of those living in the cities they live near. Bussing reduces traffic and polution. Commuters will understand how busses make their commute easier, not to mention the hundreds who take advantage of park and ride and use the bus.
Isolationism was debunked on an international level 100 years ago. It is simply not possible for a communtiy to stand without the cooperation of their neighbooring communities. Join the 21st Century.
Oh, and if county wide millages continue to fail, I'm all for a sprawl tax.
A one PM transit commitee meeting is ridiculous. Unless you are trying to avoid having working people attend.
Oh, and Glen S., I'm willing to work with you on this one, and I have some other folks ready to go as well. andyypsilanti@hotmail.com
I'm glad we can all agree that it is fitting and just that China should pay Ypsi's unpayable share of the bus service.
Curt Waugh
You know what would have been awesome? If our forefathers and mothers had done the right thing and invested in public transportation 100 years ago. Then, our society would have grown up around the public transportation routes and travel would now be dirt-cheap for everybody. Lower-wage workers could have easily afforded to go to downtown Ann Arbor (or Detroit – a THRIVING Detroit) to work and live wherever the hell they want. Ann Arborites (and Detroiters) could easily hop a bus/train and head out to neighboring towns to shop or sample the cuisine.
But that would have caused the cost of driving to skyrocket as driving subsidies (which are legion) would never have materialized. The BA's and EOS's of the world – all of us – would have been forced to bear the full cost of driving. And this thought scares the living shit out of them. EOS, if you think you're having a hard time affording to live now, wait until you have to pay the full cost of your incredibly wasteful transportation. I think what you're seeing here is that WE'RE tired of subsidizing YOU.
But no worries. We'll all be dead 100 years from now and folks can bitch on markmaynardsgranddaughter.com that we did nothing 100 years ago to make life any better for anybody.
rodneyn
Our forefathers DID invest in a remarkably versatile public transit system 100 years ago. It included inter-urban streetcars that you could ride between Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor (the famous "Ypsi-Ann"), and also between other Washtenaw County towns (Saline, Dexter, Milan, etc.) and even all the way to Detroit. Similar transit systems existed in Detroit and elsewhere.
The system worked reasonably well until automobiles and buses came on the scene in abundance. In particular, these systems worked until GM noticed them. General Motors execs made a decision decades ago to actively seek to replace streetcars across the country with "more flexible" buses (manufactured by GM, of course). They were quite successful.
Just like in Roger Rabbit.
Curt, for God's sake, read my posts. I've offered far more of my own money to help fund the buses than would have been taken out of my paycheck by taxation. I'm not just doing it to look like a martyr, I'm doing it to show that volunteerism can work. Those who keep attacking my character or motives unjustly really need to get their heads out of their asses and learn to fucking read.
A gas tax in my opinion is the only way to go. It needs to go nation-wide and the proceeds need to go toward alternative energy research and mass transit. If you look back through the archives, I know I've got a big post on the idea somewhere. It's the perfect solution. It would encourage people to drive less, and, at the same time, enable us to re-build the infrastructure we so desperately need. Of course, no one in Congress has the courage to say it. And that, my friends, is why we're gonners.
Blue Molly
I heard that Clean Energy Coalition is going to use some of their (ample) renewable energy money to expand Ypsi's bus service with hybrid buses, which would be great.
Also, a reminder that Ypsilanti City Council meets tonight at 7 p.m.
This is a great opportunity for those who support public transit in Ypsilanti to let their elected officials know how they feel — especially while we await a final decision from AATA about whether they will agree to use "stimulus" money to avoid implementing City Council's decision to eliminate Route #5 and reduce service on Routes # 10 and #11.
Was any one able to make it to the hugely inconvienent 1pm meeting today? What was the result? I really wanted to go, but I, um, have a day job.
Also, does anyone know why the AATA would have a 1pm meeting? Maybe because most of the people who use the bus are at work?
No, Andy Y., didn't make it, didn't have the right time actually. I thought the meeting was tonight and was hoping to be there with a friend.
Ypsi bus routes staved by AATA stimulus money, thanks to Brian Robb for the update. Now we need to gear up for a county wide transportation millage on the ballot next November
That was supposed to be "saved" I guess I could have said Ypsi staved off tragedy, thanks to the AATA….
It looks like it's official. According to this note that I just received from Councilman Murdock, the AATA has agreed to fund all routes through 2011.
YPSILANTI CITY COUNCIL SECURES AATA FUNDING AND SERVICE LEVEL FOR TWO YEARS
Pete Murdock – City Councilmember – Ward Three
With the action of the AATA board on September 23rd, the Ypsilanti City Council has secured an expanded contract for public transportation with no service reductions through June 30, 2011. The details of this agreement are as follows.
EXTENDED CONTRACT
For the first time, the City and AATA will be entering into a service contact that is longer than one year. The contract will run twenty-one (21) months from October 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011. This secures and stabilizes the public transportation services in the City of Ypsilanti while a more permanent funding solution is pursued.
NO SERVICE REDUCTIONS
There are no service reductions in the new extended contract.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM THE CITY OF YPSILANTI
The City Council has pledged an amount of $218,000 for the AATA contract for FY 2010-11 – an increase of $ 60,000 over this year's allocation. The City's commitment for the two year cycle is now $ 376,000.
USE OF RECOVERY ACT (STIMULUS) FUNDS
AATA received $6.4 million dollars in stimulus money of which 10% can be used for operations. Stimulus money was awarded on a formula that contained Ypsilanti's population and ridership. The AATA Board agreed to provide up to $ 202,000 to cover the shortfall for this contract period while a regional authority or other permanent funding mechanisms are pursued.
LONG TERM FUNDING STRATEGY
A secure dedicated source of funding for public transportation is necessary for the long term. This contract gives us a little breathing room to develop such a program. A regional system – either County wide or consisting of the Urban communities, with a dedicated millage would provide the best service at the lowest overall cost. City Council, cannot by itself make that happen, but is committed to pursuing that goal with those that can – AATA, the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County..
CITY COMMITMENT TO FUNDING AATA
AATA's decision to use Stimulus money to fill the shortfall was clearly based on the City's commitment to the two year funding cycle as well as the City Council's commitment, in the event that no regional system emerges, to place on the November 2010 ballot, a Headlee override – City Charter Amendment (.9 mil) designated for the sole purpose of funding public transportation. Without the commitment to securing dedicated funding in the long term and the two year funding in the near term, it was unlikely that the AATA would have authorized the use of the stimulus funds for Ypsilanti.
Seems to me like the AATA's decision is pretty much a complete vindication of the actions of the City Council majority, and refutation of the no strategy position of Council critics who slammed the Council. Bravo to Pete and Robb and the whole Council majority who proactively responded to a real problem without naively ignoring fiscal realities.
wetdolphinmissile
Yes Mark H. It is called statesmanship…
From Advance Ypsilanti.
Five-for-5 Initiative Kickoff
6:15 PM – 7 PM
Ypsilanti Senior Center, Recreation Park
1015 N. Congress St.
Together we can fight to protect public transit — a necessary lifeline for many, a service
that benefits everyone who lives or works in Ypsilanti, a means to a more walkable and
sustainable community, and a key component to the success of the Detroit-to-Ann Arbor
commuter rail project.
We must maintain public transit at its current levels both now and for the future!
AY PAC's "Five-for-5" initiative asks you to do one or more of the following:
! Take 5 minutes to email city council members and let them know you don't
approve of voting on such an important issue with no public notice or
opportunity for community input!
! Spread the word to 5 friends/neighbors about the importance of public
transit and how city council must not gamble with it
! Contribute $5 (or more) to AY PAC. Help us fight to protect public transit and
insure that the public will be informed when decisions regarding transit and other
major issues are to be made.
Visit the AY PAC website for more information at http://advanceypsilanti.com/ Join us
on Tuesday, September 29 for the "Five-for-5" event in Ypsilanti to show support.
We must resist cuts that threaten the accessibility, convenience and reliability of public
transit. If we don't act now, we will have to fight for public transit again and again.
Let's solve this problem together for the long term benefit of all.
Send email…Talk to friends/colleagues…Give to support our efforts.
Visit the AY PAC website for more information at advanceypsilanti .com Join us
I'd like to remind everyone that Advance Ypsilanti is holding a meeting to discuss a long term plan for Ypsilanti busses today. I'm expecting to hear about a county or regional millage for transit, and a Hedley Overide Amendment for a millage with in the city if the regional proposal fails to make the ballot. I have it on good authority that the Mayor, several council members and folks from Keep Ypsi Rolling will be there, so this should be an interesting exchange of ideas. Here's hoping we're talking about soulutions to fund our busses, and not grinding any political axes. Let's make this a quality of life issue, not a politcal football. Please. The info on the meeting is in a post above. 6:15pm tonight @ Ypsi Senior Center, 1015 N. Congress
Just some thoughts on transit after attending last night's AY PAC transit meeting.
First, the AATA is already funded by taxes. In A2 there is a dedicated millage. In Ypsilanti and all of the townships that are served, the AATA is paid from the general fund. What a regional millage would mean is a reimagining of the AATA; a transformation from the Ann Arbor Transit Authority to an Ann Arbor AREA Transit Authority. The AATA already services the most densely populated areas of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Superior, Pittsfield and other townships. It also includes express service to Chelsea and Canton, and servers hundreds of commuters from outlaying areas through park and ride. Instead of each area paying for service separately from their general funds (read: tax revenue) it would be a unified tax specifically for transit, hopefully including the A2 to Detroit rail system.
A tax of this type does not have to be a county wide tax. It could be applied to those cities and townships that receive bus (and rail service). In theory, this regional approach would be easier to pass than a county wide millage. But it will still be an uphill battle. Many township residents don't believe they receive any benefit from bussing, however, if they make any regular trips to A2 they do. Less traffic, more available parking spaces, and less pollution are benefits that anyone who goes into A2 experience. Many township residents don't believe the bus even services their area. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people who live in township apartments would tell them otherwise. A regional solution could also entail expanded bus service into the townships.
With all of that said, even with all of the feelings around the area that it is high time that we have a modern, useful and far reaching transit plan, just as all successful metro areas have, we may not be able to bring this issue to the ballot. It is in the hands of the AATA to lead the way, and they may choose not to. In that case, Ypsilanti must be prepared to find a way to pay its own way for the services rendered by the AATA. Given our current financial woes, the only viable solution is to move out of the general fund model (the same fund that covers police, fire, DPW, parks, ect.) and into its own transit millage, just like A2. A Headlee Rollback Millage may not be the best solution, or the solution we want, but it may be our only solution. This type of millage could be written to end in the event a regional transit solution is enacted. This could mean that a millage could appear on the ballot WITH a regional proposal, and take effect in the event that the regional millage is voted down, or be voted on now in the event the AATA won't put forward a proposal, and end in the future if a regional millage is later passed.
I attended this meeting. I hoped to hear an open discussion of all possible solutions for bussing. Instead, what we got was more along the lines of political positioning. If we are going to be successful in finding funding for transit in Ypsilanti and beyond, we are going to have to put politics aside. The suggestion by council members and Keep Ypsi Rolling that we be prepared with a solution for local Ypsilanti funding was roundly dismissed by many members of AY PAC. That kind of political posturing will get us nowhere. We need to have a fallback position prepared.
We need a regional transit solution to cover both bussing and rail. All successful metro areas have transit. But Michigan has a strong tradition of no cooperation between municipalities, and uncontrolled sprawl; we have been rewarded for this attitude with failing cities. We may not be able to push the solution we need through to a successful vote. We need to be prepared to offer a local solution for Ypsilanti if we can not cooperate as a region.
I agree with Andy that we should consider a fallback position in case a regional effort fails, but given the limited time-frame, I think it important to focus our efforts on the option most likely to succeed at the polls, as well as the option most likely to bring long-term benefits.
In my opinion, focusing first on the (City of Ypsilanti-only) Headlee rollback without first trying to pass a regional solution would be a big mistake. First, because I think Ypsilanti voters would be far more likely to support an effort if we are joined by our neighbors; and second, because I think "fixing" the funding situation inside Ypsilanti without simultaneously addressing the funding issues in neighboring communities would be pointless and counter-productive.
For example, before AATA agreed to use stimulus funds to rescue Ypsilanti, City Council was exploring a number of options for cuts — including one ridiculous scenario that would have had certain bus routes simply stop at the Ypsilanti City limits, do a U-turn, and return toward Ann Arbor. If, on the other hand, we pass a Headlee override in Ypsilanti, while at the same time failing to address the larger funding issue, I can imagine a scenario where cash-strapped neighboring townships eventually decide to eliminate service, creating the opposite situation — a "system" that serves Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, but not the township areas in between.
There is no denying that this issue is political in nature. However, far from being "political posturing," I think that AY-PAC, in favoring a regional approach (as opposed to a more myopic, "local" approach), is recognizing that Michigan's tradition of strong local control – with hundreds of individual cities and townships all fighting each other for the same shrinking resource "pie" – has been a primary catalyst for urban sprawl and a major drain on our economy; as well as a major hindrance to efforts to promote better, greener planning — and especially regional public transit.
Again, I think time is short — and the public's patience for any kind of new tax proposal limited. Likewise, I think trying to promote two different, yet related, proposals might confuse, and possibly turn off, potential voters — especially amid other potential ballot issues.
Clearly, as a community, we need to make a choice, and make it soon. For my part, I strongly favor going in the direction of a regional solution, and then considering a local effort only as a last resort.
From Pete Murdock
Hi All –
The AATA board meeting last Thursday took some significant steps toward the creation of a regional system. Michael Ford, AATA Director, gave a presentation that asked the Board to do four things.
1. Revise their vision statement to include the entire county
2. Pass a resolution to develop a County wide system
3. Pass a resolution to create an Act 196 Authority
4. Authorize the hiring of a consultant and designating staff to achieve No 2 and 3.
After discussion, the plan is to adopt a new vision statement and County wide resolution at the AATA meeting on November 18 and a resolution to create an Act 196 and authorize the hiring of a consultant at the December 16 meeting. A public hearing will be scheduled prior to or at the December meeting.
An RFP for the consultant will go out following the December meeting and a consultant will be hired in early 2010.
Here is a lengthier report from the Ann Arbor Chronicle.
http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/11/03/aata-plans-for-countywide-system/
Posted May 17, 2010 at 11:32 am | Permalink
From Mayor Paul Schreiber:
I write to you (25 of you to be exact) because you are interested in bus and rail transportation. On Tuesday night Ypsilanti city council will consider ballot language for a charter amendment to provide 0.9 mills for transportation. Draft language is pasted below.
I'm writing to ask your support for deleting paragraph d. Even though a regional or county-wide millage seems like a final goal, the charter millage is better because:
1. Transportation authority millages require renewal every four years. Charter millages don't require renewal and are permanent with the charter.
2. Ypsilanti can choose to opt out of a regional or county-wide transportation funding system without losing the permanent transportation funding of the charter millage.
a. AATA can propose a 0.2 or 0.4 mill county-wide or regional millage that has a much better chance of passing in the rural areas without worrying about a loss of revenue from Ypsilanti.
3. The expiration language assumes that a county-wide or regional millage would pay for transportation in the city of Ypsilanti. Kalamazoo, Jackson, and Grand Rapids all pay higher transportation taxes in the urban areas than in the rural areas. Rural areas will not vote to pay the same transportation amount as urban areas.
4. A regional or county-wide rail millage would void the Ypsilanti charter millage for bus service. This may prevent AATA from proposing a rail millage in the future.
5. An Ypsilanti charter transportation millage would complement Ann Arbor's charter transportation millage and encourage the Ann Arbor DDA to invest in the bus system with express routes during rush hours instead of investing in more Ann Arbor parking lots.
Any vote to raise taxes in this economy will be a tough sell. However, any ballot proposal should be as strong as possible.
If you agree that a permanent transportation charter millage will make a strong statement to the rest of the county that Ypsilanti values and wants to enhance mass transportation, please contact your city council members or speak at the city council meeting on Tuesday during the public hearing on the charter amendment. The public hearing will follow a presentation on
Parkview Apartments.
Please feel free to contact me with comments.
Paul Schreiber
LANGUAGE FOR A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF YPSILANTI
6.01 Power to tax
The City shall have the power to assess, levy, and collect ad valorem property and other taxes, rents, tolls, and excises for municipal or public purposes subject to limitations and prohibitions provided by the Federal or State Constitution, by law, or by this Charter.
a. The annual, general ad valorem property tax levy shall not exceed one and nine hundred and thirty-five thousands (1.935%) percent of the assessed value of all real and personal property subject to taxation in the City, exclusive of any levies authorized by statute to be made beyond Charter tax limitations.
Funds for Public Transit: In addition to any other amount which the City is authorized to raise by general tax upon the real and personal property by this Charter or any other provision of law, the City shall annually levy a tax of nine hundredths (0.9) of a mil on all taxable real and personal property situated within the City for the purpose of providing funds for operating and equipping a public transportation system for the City
c. No method of taxation except those used by the City on the effective date of this Charter may hereafter be utilized without a vote of the people.
d. In the event that a regional or county wide funding system of ad valorem property taxes, sales tax or other taxes is assessed on the residents of the City of Ypsilanti for the purpose of providing funding for public transit, this amendment shall be null and void and Section 6.01 of the City Charter shall revert back to the wording predating the adoption of this Amendment.
Regardless of which side of the above you fall on, please let you council members know you want this on the balot. I do think that removing the sunset clause would strengthen the proposal, and likely strengthen Ypsilanti's position in contract negotiations with the AATA. I know Ypsilanti taxes are high, but this is important. The bus is an important economic engine in Ypsilanti, and we need to show support to help continue the growth of our communtiy.
"The expiration language assumes that a county-wide or regional millage would pay for transportation in the city of Ypsilanti."
That would be a bad assumption that isn't going to happen.
Amending the charter to pay AATA just makes it very difficult to adjust to changing economic conditions in the future. Changes would require a city wide ballot initiative and couldn't occur more frequently than every two years.
I don't understand why poor people don't have cars. There are car lots everywhere.
So, EOS, do you have a better idea on how to secure public transit in Ypsilanti? I mean other than get rid of buses, because you don't use them?
And for the record, I think that this initiative will be extraordinarily hard to pass, but not nearly as hard as a county wide or regional initiative. I also believe that public transit is vitally important to the economic growth of Ypsilanti. To loose bus service would cost hundreds of people in the city, and the township, their jobs. If we are going to put the effort needed to try and win security for bus service, why take it away in favor of a county millage that may or may not be around four years after it's passed initially? To pass a measure that guarantees funding for transit in the city, we increase our bargaining power with both the AATA and regional partners, helping to secure a more favorable contract. And even though changes would require a city wide vote, I find that favorable to relying on our neighbors in the townships to pass or renew a regional measure. And to be honest, I think it would be nice if we didn't have to hear the people of A2 whine about how they subsidize Ypsi anymore.
Look, I'm not (too) dumb. I know our taxes in Ypsi are high. Very high. But transit it vital to our growth as a city. I think it's worth supporting, for the future of our city. And I don't want to have to worry about the fickle fancy of township resident's opinions on the issue.
Seriously, set up a paypal donation widget to help fund the buses. Most of NPR's funding is donations, and we all like NPR. I've got $500 right here, just waiting to donate to the buses. Dig deep, bretheren and sisteren. 'Tis more blessed to give than force everybody else to give.
I believe that cities that have a sufficient population to make mass transit an affordable option should fund buses out of their general fund. Annual budget discussions should include a review of all expenditures. Sure, AATA likes the idea of a millage dedicated by charter. That means they get their share first, and residents can only voice their opinions by circulating petitions and getting the issue on the ballot. If the taxpayers of the city feel that bus service is the number one priority of the city, then go ahead and vote for the millage. Otherwise, when city finances get really tight in the next few years, and you want to preserve the option of reducing bus routes as a means of balancing severe budget shortfalls, then vote the millage down and fund the buses annually.
But be honest about it. Don't sell the charter amendment process as a temporary fix only until you get the rural townships to pay for your city's bus service. If the rural areas of the county ever approve a mass transportation millage, it will be extremely small in comparison to what the cities pay – because the bus service in the outlying areas will be extremely limited as compared to what the cities receive.
At the May 18, 2010 Ypsilanti city council meeting, a resolution was unanimously approved to put a 0.9 mill Headlee override question for transportation on the August 2010 ballot. Voters will be asked to approve or reject an increase in the Ypsilanti general fund millage from 19.1 mills to 20 mills under the city charter. The increase must be used for transportation if no other county-wide or regional transporation authority millage exists. If a transportation authority millage does exist, then city council can use all or part of the 0.9 mills to supplement the transportation authority millage. Any unused portion lowers the overall millage by that amount.
The proposal has no expiration clause like previous draft versions. If passed, it gives AATA and Washtenaw County flexibility in fashioning a county-wide or regional millage without worrying about losing funding in Ypsilanti. If passed, the charter transportation millage does not require renewal every four years like a transportation authority millage. If passed, both Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor will have stable funding sources for transportation built into their city charters. That's a strong positive statement for transportation.
Through 2012, the AATA will have invested over $500,000 in AATA reserves and federal funds to keep Ypsilanti busses rolling. Ypsilanti voters will now have the chance to stake their claim on the value of bus service in Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County.
The August election is coming soon and the transportation millage will be a hard sell for many people. However, the transportation millage is a 1.5% millage increase for home owners while property values have decreased by 8% to 10%. Most property owners will see a decrease in their property taxes even if the transportation millage passes. I hope it does.
I welcome all comments.
mayor@cityofypsilanti.com


Follow this pictorial journey with me as I put together all the elements of a simple cup of soup on a self-sustainable land-hold.
To start with... the rain falls on my roof running into guttering via a rain-head filter that removes all debris and dust.
My house - that's a whole lot of roof to collect rain on!
The rainhead filter - inline with the gutter downpipe.
Pure, clean rainwater is collected in my storage tanks and the first element is available: I have water.
The sun shines on my roof striking the photovoltaic electrical panel array driving electrons into a cycle which charges a bank of batteries. Using an inverter to power my house: I have electricity.
My house, showing photo-voltaic (electicity) solar collection panels on the left and thermal (hot water) collection panels on the right.
The photo-voltaic panels charge these batteries. This is quite a small battery array which I will be increasing in size as I can afford to do so.
The blue box is the inverter which supplies 220V AC power to the house from the batteries. The silver box is a charge controller that makes sure the electricity from the panels always optimally charges the batteries without damage.
When I switch the house lights on at night... it's actually sunshine coming out of the globes!
Everywhere around my land-hold we are fighting back an invasion of alien trees: blackwattle and blackwood. These are aggressively cut down and we encourage the natural "fynbos" and afromontane forest to re-establish.
AFTER: Natural indigenous landscape re-establising itself. The "fynbos" biome is by far the most ecologically diverse in the whole world. It is unbelievably precious and needs to be protected. The indigenous forests (which you can see in the distance) will also re-establish eventually.
A very positive by-product of our efforts is an abundant over-supply of wood which means I have a huge woodpile that gets bigger faster than I can ever use it. Certainly: I have firewood!
This huge woodpile under my house is just one of the many on my land. The piles grow faster than I can ever use them! It is a wonderful respource that comes as a free by-product of the alien clearing that we are doing.
Outside, in my garden, I have a raised-bed vegetable garden where vegetables are grown on purely organic principals. Not a single harmful, poisonous substance is used and no chemicals are added. But a profuse abundance of vegetables are grown: I have food.
One of our raised-bed veggie garden boxes. We have very heavy clay soil here which is not ideal for most veggies. By making boxes like this we can ensure that each box has the ideal soil type for growing the crops we will be planting there.
I harvest some vegetables and bring the basin of produce up to my kitchen. I put the veggies in my prep-bowl and open the tap to rinse them. I don't need to aggressively wash them, of course, because there is nothing harmful on them. It's just to get the earth off. As I open the tap, this causes the water to flow resulting in a drop in pressure in the water-mains pipes which causes a pump to switch on. The pump is connected electrically to my batteries and plumbed to my water storage tanks. Essentially I am pumping rainwater with sunshine!
The prep bowl - where rainwater is pumped with sunshine!
This all happens in a blink and so I don't have to wait at all. The prep-bowl fills with water and I rinse the veggies. When they are clean I pull the plug and this water runs into the "grey water" sewerage system which leads directly to an artificial wetland that I have built a little down-slope from my home. The wetland is natures way of cleaning water. It is not only completely odourless but also a very attractive and completely natural and indigenous feature of the landscape.
Water that is nutrient rich but biologically safe and odourless leaves the wetland and flows into a lily pond for storage. This is safe and beneficial to use for irrigation.
The lily pond, full of water to be used for irrigation. In summer when the lilies flower and the leaves are more lush, it really is very attractive.
But back to the vegetables. They are now rinsed clean and ready to be processed. The peels, the off-cuts, the "tops", the leaves… these all go to my worm farm. The worm-farm is an arrangement of containers in which one can place any waste vegetable and plant matter. A special type of earth-worm (the red-wriggler) is highly adapted to turning this vegetable matter into the very highest-quality compost material in record time.
Red wriggler worms. These little critters really are wonder-workers.
One also collects a fantastic liquid fertiliser called "worm tea" from the bottom of the worm farm. And so I have the finest, purely organic fertiliser – add this to the irrigation water from the lily pond and the vegetable garden thrives!
But again back to the vegetables… The parts that aren't going to the worms are placed in a pot. The pot placed under a kitchen tap and more rainwater is pumped with sunshine until the pot is full.
I put the pot on my old-fashioned wood-burning cook-stove and load up the firebox with wood from my woodpile. The wood burner is a lot less trouble to work with than city-folks might imagine. Its quite a lot of fun actually. As it heats up it complements the efforts of my solar-geyser up on the roof to keep my geyser full of piping hot water. It also gently warms my home. And, of course, in time, it brings the pot of vegetables to the boil.
The wood-burning water-heater/ cooker/ room-warmer!
In due course I have the most delicious bowl of hot vegetable soup. This is loaded into the resident humanbeing where it fuels creativity and imagination which is converted to words sold on the internet to earn an income.
That income (I don't need a lot) is used to buy the few things that I need a long the way that don't come as a gift from the land or from life.
Such is the lifecycle of a cup of soup in a self-sustainable land-hold!


Microsoft Office 365 doesn't include a GUI for creating a CSR. Because Office 365 is designed to run on Microsoft IIS, you can use IIS to create your CSR.
For IIS 8/8.5 instructions, see Office 365: How to Create a CSR Using IIS 8/8.5.
For IIS 7 instructions, see Office 365: How to Create a CSR Using IIS 7.
If you already have your SSL Certificate and just need to install it, see Microsoft Office 365: SSL Certificate Installation (IIS).
For a simple way to create a CSR that works on any Microsoft server platform, you can use the DigiCert® ®Certificate Utility for Windows. See CSR Creation Instructions for Microsoft Servers. For more information about this utility, see DigiCert® Certificate Utility for Windows.
On your AD FS server, open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
farm name. Microsoft recommends using the host name STS (secure token service).
On the File Name page, click … to browse to a location where you want to save the CSR file, enter the filename, and then, click Open.
See Microsoft Office 365: SSL Certificate Installation (IIS).
Order Your SSL Certificate for Office 365 Today!
In the Windows Start menu, click Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
Common name: Enter the name to be used to access the certificate. Make sure that the common name matches your AD FS server farm name.
Microsoft recommends using the host name STS (secure token service)..


The Thai Raksa Chart Party responded soon after by saying it would comply with the king's command. The Election Commission's decision on Monday means that the party will not be able to field a candidate for prime minister since the filing deadline has already passed. The commission certified candidates for prime minister from 45 other parties.


Hey Siri, what's the internet mad about today?
Posted byMichael Harley	 November 24, 2018 Leave a comment on Hey Siri, what's the internet mad about today?
I've been thinking a lot about my social media usage lately. Most of my friends are pretty liberal and they share and retweet all the awful, outrageous things that politicians, society and the world does.
I think it's important that we're aware of these awful things and that we're thinking about them but the constant flow of awfulness makes me feel helpless and hopeless. For instance, what can I do about POTUS45 saying that we can't possibly do anything about the targeted killing of the Khashoggi because there's too much at stake? On its face, it's such an awful thought… all a country has to do is spend enough money on tanks and fighter aircraft and they can assassinate people without any sort of response from the US. That's super ugly and we had the leader of the free world standing up and saying that to all of us, with a straight face.
What can I do about the fact that a lady needing a heart transplant was denied said heart transplant because she didn't have enough money to afford the medication she'd need after the transplant (link)?
What can I do about the fact that POTUS45 is still trying to use fear to divide and motivate people about the border (link)?
What can I do about the fact that "good guy" with a gun is just a racist lie (link & link)?
What can I do about our country's utter lack of response about global climate change (link & link)?
It's all so depressing and I'm afraid that I've been guilty of echoing that awfulness. I do it thinking this is is super important and everybody needs to know about it. I think there's already enough messaging and my little bit of echo chamber isn't helping with anything.
With all that in mind, I'm going to try to change my style of social media usage. Instead of being part of the social media outrage machine, I'm going to try to focus on things that I like and enjoy. Things like tattoos, foosball, bicycling, kombucha, coffee, metal music, infosec, coding and memes about those topics. Wish me luck.


Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate. But that's no reason to put the camera away.
The weather in DC at this time of year can be a bit of a mixed bag. It's very much a transition period as we head into the humid, hot summer. We can get anything from picture-postcard spring days to rainy and overcast with low clouds and mist. Snow is even possible, but it's rare by the time the cherry blossoms come out.
Spring in DC often brings glorious sunny spring days with sparkling clear air without any of the thick humidity haze we get in the late-summer.
If you're lucky enough to be at the Tidal Basin for one of these clear days, you'll find that the clear blue sky naturally contrasts in a very pleasing way with the white or pink flowers. Using a polarizing filter will make that contrast even more dramatic by reducing glare both from the sky (making it a deeper blue) and from the flowers (bringing out some of the detail).
Local Tip: The best place for detailed information on the area's weather is online with the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang. Or if you're tuning in by radio, tune to 103.5 FM for WTOP.
It's also common to have a few days in a row of cool, drizzly weather. In fact, not having bright sunshine can be a blessing. The cherry trees lend themselves to misty, atmospheric shots. And the softer light can often make the cherry blossom flowers look even more beautiful, since you don't have the contrast problems that come with direct sunlight.
Even in the rain, there are all sorts of photographic opportunities with the cherry blossoms. If it's a misty kind of rain, try getting in close to a branch of flowers in the foreground and get the far shore through the mists in the background. Or, if there are drops of water on the flowers, get in as close as your lens will focus to capture that. And since the walkway around the Tidal Basin is old and not perfectly even, there are often puddles that can reflect the flowers above.


Let's make an easy Santa craft to celebrate the most beloved person in the world.
Our collection of Christmas crafts include several Santa Claus crafts created with paper plates, yarn, a wooden spoon and shapes. The easy Santa we're sharing today comes with a template and it's really simple to make.
We gave Santa a curly beard and he couldn't look more adorable! The only non paper element we used to create the craft is a small red pom pom for the nose. The rest is all paper, which makes it a perfect Santa craft for preschoolers or kindergartners who want to practice their scissors cutting skills.
You can pair this Santa with one of our Christmas trees or another craft of your choice. Just take a peek at our collection of 100+ easy crafts for kids.
My oldest is very determined for this year to be the year when he catches Santa. He's thinking of all sorts of strategies and leaving his tablet filming over night in front of the Christmas tree seems to be the winner. He's in first grade and still believes in Santa. I love it! And I try to hold on to this for as long as possible. I have to use my imagination and come up with all sorts of ideas to explain why some of his older friends claim Santa isn't real. So far so good! Let's see how I will do this Christmas.
The template comes with two versions: one home version, when you get to craft with one or two kids and a classroom version, that makes it easier when crafting with several kids. Go ahead and print either the home or classroom version of the template and let's get crafting.
Print the home version of the template. Cut out the face and hat patterns and trace them on corresponding construction paper: the face on ivory paper and the hat on red paper. No worries if you don't have ivory paper, you can give Santa a white face, too. It's just that by using ivory paper, you give the face a nice color contrast against the white beard, mustache and hat brim.
Cut out the rest of the patterns ( beard, mustache, hat brim and hat pom pom) and use them as is.
Start by gluing the face in the middle of the black card stock paper.
Make 3″ slits up the Santa beard. Use a pencil to wrap the ends of the paper beard strips around it and up to give the beard a curly look. Glue the beard onto the black card stock paper, underneath the face.
Glue the red triangle hat on top of the face and fold the top. Add the white paper pom pom to the end of the hat. Finish the hat with the white rectangle that comes at the bottom of the hat.
Cut the mustache circle in half and glue the two halves at the bottom of the ivory face.
Glue a small red pom pom where the two circle halves come together.
Use a black marker to draw two little eyes.
Print the classroom version of the template on corresponding colored paper. The beard, hat brim, hat pom pom and mustache are printed on white paper. The triangle hat is printed on red paper and Santa's face on ivory paper. No worries if you don't have ivory paper, you can give Santa a white face, too. It's just that by using ivory paper, you give the face a nice color contrast against the white beard, mustache and hat brim.
To make the Santa craft, each student needs to cut out 1 white beard, 1 white mustache, 1 ivory face, 1 red hat, 1 white hat brim and 1 white hat pom pom.


If you are a SNAP (Food Assistance) applicant or recipient and you believe that your civil rights have been violated, please click on the "And Justice for All" link for information regarding filing a complaint of discrimination.
Human trafficking is modern day slavery. For more information, please visit - https://humantraffickinghotline.org/.
La trata de personas es la esclavitud moderna. Para más información, viste - https://humantraffickinghotline.org/.
Step Up for Students: K-12 Scholarships for children who income qualify or have special needs.


Scumbag If you're interested in finding out what this post-rock thing is that you've been hearing or reading about there are many great bands to begin the journey of discovery with and I'd rate Glorie as one of the better choices! Traditionally I've not often been a champion of instrumental rock - never been against it, but was kinda picky about what I liked. Glorie is one of those bands that can engage interest and emotion without lyrics. Check 'em out! Favorite track: Music For A Horror Movie.
Michael Bugeja Probably one of the best bands I've found on Bandcamp, this album is amazing from start to finish... highly recommended for its soaring melodic ambient soundscapes....looking forward to their new stuff.. Favorite track: Full Circle.
If you're interested in using our music for the purpose of advertising your brand or for film please message us.
Includes immediate download of 9-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
Glorie T-Shirt with Light Gray Logo on Smoke Gray shirt. Each shirt comes with both of our black and white stickers. Name 20 dollars for your price and we'll also send you both of our high quality limited edition Digipak disks signed by the band.
Includes unlimited streaming of Glorie via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
All songs written by Jason Paxton except Track 7 written by Jason Paxton and Jonathan Kirkscey.
Recording Engineers - Doug Easley, Jeff Powell, J.D. Reager, Stuart Sikes.


Born on February 10, 2010 .
Passed away on September 12, 2010 .
This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Triumph Skinner , born on February 10, 2010 and passed away on September 12, 2010. We will remember him forever.


1. Education: Tallinna University, psychology, BA and MA.
2. Worked with various elite athletes while living in Singapore and Germany (long distance runners, cyclists, extreme-athletes).
3. Over the course of last ten years worked in Estonia, Egypt, Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Germany and Pakistan.
4. Ran successfully many ultra-marathons, the longest lasting 135h.
5. Finisher of Tor des Geants in 2016, a 340km footrace in the Italian Alps where the participants climb almost 30 000m, that is three times the elevation of Mt. Everest.
6. Markko is a diving instructor and dive center manager. He has thought people from kids as young as seven years to divers looking for extreme challenges and wanting to dive places where no one has dived before.
7. Participated in deep cave-and ocean diving expeditions at the edge of the world. Done dives deeper than 100m with different breathing systems and participated as a crew in various exploration projects.
8. Markko is IMCA qualified commercial diver and has worked as a deep commercial diver at the Tarbela dam on Indus river in northern Pakistan. Traditional Kirby Morgan surface supplied diving helmet, as well as Megalodon closed circuit rebreather was used for various works up to depths of 100m.
9. Dive medic, recompression chamber operator and tender, in-depth knowledge of diving physiology and algorithms used in deep diving and experience using them.
10. Did short stint in Arctic as snow-mobile guide.


Welcome to the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu's web page! Here you will find information on HCCH events, how to apply for the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu's post-secondary school scholarship, along with information regarding other available scholarships and methods for financing college tuition and more.
The Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu (HCCH) was founded on December 6, 1918 by Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole. Club members strive to continue the mission and vision of the Prince by enhancing the lives of Native Hawaiians through participation with, and support of, various social and civic activities such as raising funds for Lunalilo Home, participating in Kawaiaha'o and Mauna 'Ala services, and sharing the voices of Kaiolohiaomamala (the HCCH choir) with the Hawaiian community. HCCH also sponsors forums for community outreach, legislative efforts concerning Native Hawaiian issues, and supports fellow civic clubs and associations.
Chief among HCCH's activities is the support of higher education for Native Hawaiians. Over the past five years, HCCH has awarded more than $150,000 to approximately 300 students in pursuit of educational goals in Hawaii and on the mainland.


Welcome to Young Professional Center located at 25 Church Hill Road at the corner of Queen Street, in the heart of Newtown, CT. We are dedicated to the residents of Newtown, Sandy Hook, Southbury, Danbury, Bethel, Monroe & the surrounding areas to service their health care service and mental health.
We know how busy people are these days, and how helpful it would be to have services within 'arm's reach'. That is our goal - to give our local residents medical and professional services within our own community. At Young Professional Center, our Health Professionals includes DR. Joseph K. Young, Village Eye Care, a well established Optometric Practice and Dr. Richard Auerbach, Pediatrician, a prominent Pediatrician. Dr. Auerbach's practice also includes Dr. Marena Arena, Pediatrician and Gina Reitmeyer, APRN, Lactation Consultant, who offers an extensive breastfeeding program.
Our Mental Health practitioners include Theresa McMorrow, LCSW, Dana Martinez, PSY. D., Jessica Ward, LCSW; David G. Jacob, LCSW and Holly Schardan, LCSW.