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Study: Concussion damage 'lasts months'
Concussion has become highly controversial in sport, with concerns raised that players are putting their brain at risk.
Researchers at the University of New Mexico said athletes may be being returned to action too quickly, while UK doctors said the attitude to head injury was "too relaxed" in sport.
Debate over concussion and head injury has lead to resignations over new rules in rugby, controversy in football after a player was kept on the field after being knocked out, and has been a long-standing issue in American football.
The US study, published in the journal Neurology, compared the brains of 50 people who had mild concussion with 50 healthy people. Initially there were problems memory, headaches and dizziness – but these cleared up after a few weeks.Four months later, however, doctors were still able to see differences in the way fluid moved through the brain suggesting the brain still had not healed.
Lead researcher Dr Andrew Mayer compared the impacts of concussion to a burn in which the symptoms, such as pain, can disappear long before the tissue has healed.
He told the BBC: "The big take-home message is that even though people report feeling better, the brain might not be completely healed. In the US, after concussion, athletes sit out for a week or 10 days because that's when people seem to be normal, but that might be premature as it doesn't mean the underlying tissue is healthy."
He said there was evidence that multiple small injuries in a short time were much worse than a single big injury. "It's a vulnerable system," he said.
Commenting on the research, Prof John Hardy, from University College London and one of the UK's leading researchers on brain disease, said he was not surprised by the results and warned against rushing people back into action.
He said: "If there's knee damage they'll have three months off, but after a head injury they're back on the field once they can count backwards from 10."
"I think there's much too relaxed an attitude to head injury, we need to minimise the occurrence and when it happens it needs to be taken seriously and have the proper time off no matter how long it takes."
Prof Hardy has previously called for boxing to be banned, after the repeated blows to the head were linked with dementia later in life.
The link with dementia has since been found in other sports involving regular head injuries.
(Another) Obamacare Horror Story Debunked
Featured Video: Dr. Isai Fishkin DDS, Mountainside NJ


October 30 2017, Guangzhou - XAIRCRAFT Annual Conference 2017 took place in Guangzhou, launching brand new P Series 2018 Plant Protection UAS and XAIRCRAFT Agriculture Intelligence (XAI) service platform.
The P Series 2018 Plant Protection UAS consists of three different UAV sizes, namely P10, P20 and P30. As the flagship product, P30 also achieved water and dust resistance with a protection rating at IP65, allowing the device to withstand adverse conditions.
All three UAVs adopted brand new airframe and appearance design. Meanwhile, the spraying module also adopted new type of nozzle disk, for the purpose of preventing nozzle disk blockage by chemical crystals.
In addition, the XCope visual obstacle detection module and supersonic radar module have been upgraded. The new P Series's obstacle avoidance system can now identify wider range of obstacles that come across the drone's flight path, such as electric wire, lamp post and trees. XCope will help the drone 'see' the obstacle and also by pass the object. Meanwhile, the upgraded supersonic radar provides flexible options for terrain tracing accuracy, allowing the drone to maintain relatively stable height above plants even in lower plant density.
On the other hand, XAI would be a new service platform provided to farmers and P Series operators. The service platform allows farmers contacting various plant protection operation teams, help operators looking for device rental, as well as using a plant identify engine scouting for weed, pests and diseases.
Through XAI service platform, agricultural resources from different parties would be able to connect with each other and circulate idle devices. Thus help increasing usage efficiency and reducing production risk in agriculture.


Rick brings more than three decades of architectural experience in award-winning civic, cultural, public safety, education, library and recreation projects. He is respected for his expertise, project management style and knowledge of all items related to design and construction. Rick has earned the trust of his local and state government clients, delivering excellent results, whatever the project size and scope.
Integral to our firm's transfer of knowledge, Rick developed many of G+P's design standards and procedures for Quality Control, and is a trusted resource to both our clients and our internal teams.


Fancy the idea of cat skiing in a small group? Say, yourself and only five other guests? Fancy skiing or boarding in steep, challenging terrain? Our Small Groups, Steep Chutes ski program might just be for you.
What is the Small Groups, Steep Chutes ski program?
Groups consist of a lead guide, a tail guide and 6 guests. The objective of this program is to ski the most interesting ski lines in the Mustang Powder tenure. Some of the runs will be couloir lines and others will be big, long runs that are not normally accessible by snowcat. The small group of 6 allows us to ski narrower and trickier lines that are difficult to fit a group of 12. Skiers and boarders will, on occasion, use climbing skins for a short or medium length tour to access a run's entrance. This program is for strong, fit and ambitious skiers and boarders who want to ski steep and exciting runs. Weather conditions and snowpack stability will have a bearing on the run choice each day. If stormy weather or poor stability prevent us from skiing the bigger lines we will do a regular cat skiing day in the powder – but still with the smaller group of six.
Our Small Groups, Steep Chutes program is filling up fast. If you are interested in participating in the program this year please check the dates on our Availability page then contact us to make a booking. Group discounts are not available for this program.
Accommodation for Small Groups, Steep Chutes guests will be in single or double bedrooms with en suites.
All skiers and boarders participating in this program need to be experts and must be comfortable on steep terrain. You must also be in great physical shape as most days we will be climbing with skins for upwards of an hour at a time.
Just how much of our uphill ascents will be in the snowcat and how much on skins? This will vary each day but overall about 80% to 90% of the climbing will be the easy way – in the snowcat. This is a snowcat skiing trip with a bit of touring, rather than a touring trip with a few cat lifts. We will try to get as much skiing as possible each day. If you book yourself into the Small Groups, Steep Chutes program and are not strong enough or fit enough, you will be asked to sit out some of the runs and ride down in the snowcat in the more challenging terrain. In severe cases Mustang Powder reserves the right to pull you from the program with no refund.
Skiers will require a ski touring set-up with skins. We have skis with touring bindings, skins and poles available to rent for $50/day if you do not own your own.
Snowboarders will need to have a split board, climbing skins, and collapsible poles to participate in this program. We have found that snowshoes do not work for the climbs in this program. We do not have any splitboards available for rent, so if you need one, please contact Powder Rentals in Revelstoke and you can either pick it up in Revelstoke before your trip, or we can arrange to have it brought up for you.


Structure My Deal tools are complete — you're ready to visit Fox Kia in Grand Rapids!
Take a look at what we have currently on our lot. You can use one of our smart browser tools below to help make your decision easier. If you have any trouble finding the vehicle you are looking for, please try our CarFinder service and we'll find it for you!
*All Advertised Sales Prices include rebate to dealer from manufacturer. Not all customers will qualify for all applicable rebates. Plus tax, title, plate and dealer fees. See dealer for qualifications and complete details. Must take delivery of new in-stock model by November 30, 2012.


Browse > Home / AI, Financial, News / Financial Tremors?
The folks with crypto currency may be having a bit of a thrill. The volatility suggests that bits and bytes may not be as stable as owning a chunk of real estate in Tokyo.
We have also noted rumblings elsewhere. Smart software, for example. Many hopes, of course, but there may be some downstream consequences. Salmon finding life difficult may be one metaphor.
[A]rtificial intelligence will disrupt the industry by allowing early adopters to outmaneuver competitors. It also suggests that the technology will create more convenient products for consumers, such as sophisticated tools for managing personal finances and investments.
But most notably, the report points to the potential for big financial institutions to build machine-learning-based services that live in the cloud and are accessed by other institutions.
This is a very volatile situation, especially as so much finance is starting to hinge on machine learning. For example, many retirement plans are shifting funds around based on AI insights. But take hope for what it is. Quantum computing may be just around the corner.


An expert lifts the veil on the physics of firearms and ammunition, explaining interior, exterior, and terminal ballistics in plain language. He offers details on choosing the best ammunition; successful long-range shooting principles; the terminal ballistics of hunting, target, and self-defense bullets; and more. Well illus.


Tall Garden Phlox. Phlox paniculata 'Jade'. A unique bicolor that features large panicles of pure white flowers bordered with celadon green. The drop resistant petals and somewhat mildew resistant foliage makes this a winner. Makes a nice cut flower. PP#21878.


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Drone Complaints In The UK Have Increased Significantly
12:53 pm April 3, 2017 By Roland Hutchinson
Drones are becoming more and more popular and the number of complaints about the devices in the UK have increased significantly.
The police have received more complaints about the drones in the last two years, complaints rose to 3,456 in 2016 which is around 10 complaints per day.
To put this into contrast, back in 2014 there were a total of just 283 complaints about drones for the whole year, in 2015 there were a total of 1,237 complaints.
The complaints that the police have received have included snooping being used for scoping out burglaries and also being used to smuggle items into prisons.
There has also been a significant increase in near misses with planes, in 2016 there were a total of 59 near misses.
In the US people now have to register their drones with the FAA and also adhere to regulations about when and where they can be used, maybe this is something that we need in the UK with the number of drone complaints rising.
Source The Guardian
Filed Under: Technology News

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Reader's Poll is a long-running tradition here at WAKEBOARDING, and for 2018 it's back. It's also bigger and better than ever. For the first time we're letting you vote on your favorite wakeboard company teams and boat brands. So let's cut to the chase and start casting some ballots!
Note: you are ranking your favorites 1 through ___. For example, in Pro Men's Wakeboarder, selecting 1 for a rider would be your top choice. Selecting 10 would be your #10 choice.
Voting ends Aug. 20, so get going now! Winners will be announced at Wake Awards!


Thank you for your interest in dance and Salsa Secrets. We are happy to answer and questions you may have. We are generally able to return emails within 48 hours.
Feel free to use this space to leave a testimonial about your experience with Salsa Secrets.


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This story was a finalist in the most recent Fairfield Scribes anthology contest. It's about two people who try to steal the same dead body for different reasons.
The girl in the cat-burglar outfit did not have the thievery skills to warrant her excellent wardrobe. Kit Sheffield lowered his distance lens and squinted at her over the edge of the rooftop. The diseased yellow glow of a sodium lamp showed the girl fumbling at the hospital's rear fire exit was wearing leggings, boots, and a trim leather jacket, all in solid black. A knit cap pressed the curled ends of her hair around her jaw. The clothes were fine for light breaking-and-entering, in his opinion, but she manipulated slender tools that were too delicate for the heavy door.
"Come on, sweetheart," he murmured. Kit figured her for an opioid addict looking to raid the hospital's stash of pharmaceuticals. For both of their sakes, he wanted her to surrender and withdraw. "Give up and get out of my way."
He had planned to use the same door for his own burglary, but he couldn't move in until amateur hour was over. His acetylene torch would make much quicker work of the lock than the dainty picks the girl kept dropping. He admired her backside as she stooped once again to retrieve a thin metal cylinder from the concrete. What she seemed to lack in experience, she made up for in persistence.
After another six minutes and three fumbles of the lock picks, Kit's patience was gone. He descended from the rooftop, gloved hands skimming along ladder railings, and dropped to the ground.
"Ma'am," he called. The girl lifted her head, eyes widening. He fished out his wallet and flicked it open to flash a photo identification card. "I'm going to need you to step away." He stashed the billfold and arranged his face into sternness. But instead of fleeing or stammering out an apology, the girl frowned.
"That," she said, "was an undergraduate library card."
Damn. He should have moved quicker.
"You shouldn't be here," he said. "Go home—or, if you prefer, you'll find a methadone clinic two blocks east of here."
She raised arching eyebrows. "I'm not an addict. What are you doing here, library cop? Do you want to search me for overdue textbooks?"
"I am—none of your damned business. What are you looking for, if not drugs?"
The girl smiled, a slight lift to pale lips. "Just visiting an old enemy."
"How sweet. I suggest trying the front door. And visiting hours are nine to five."
"There are no visiting hours at the morgue." She pressed her mouth tightly closed.
Kit stared in consternation. Overhead, the sodium security bulb hummed an insectoid drone. The morgue was the last place he wanted her to go, since he was heading there himself. And in the morgue, there was only one recently deceased man who might have enemies come to view his corpse.
"John Josiah Seegmiller?" he ventured, just to gauge her reaction.
The girl twitched. "How did you—do you know me?" she demanded. "Are you stalking me?"
Clearly his hunch had been correct. "The infamous cult leader is your enemy?"
"Was. Past tense."
The longtime leader of the Arensen Light of Dawn sect had been shot by federal agents in a raid the day before. Cable news had followed the standoff, and cameras on circling helicopters had broadcast the moment when John Josiah Seegmiller appeared with a rifle trained on the nearest FBI negotiator. He'd been killed in a barrage of bullets.
"The past must be quite tense indeed if you're here to visit his holey corpse."
"He is not holy," she shot back. Kit opened his mouth to clarify, but the girl barreled on. "He was a charlatan. I need to see for myself that he's gone."
He knew that feeling of disbelief. Ten years ago, he had received the phone call about his parents' deaths at the Arensen Light of Dawn ranch. He hadn't really understood until he'd seen their lifeless bodies. From the acid anger in the girl's voice, she must have also lost someone to Seegmiller's cult, but Kit wasn't going to ask.
"I should call the police," he said.
"Oh yeah, library cop?" She folded her arms. "To tell them how you heroically averted my misdemeanor? Maybe the police will decide you're the one hunting for opioids."
Kit hitched up the straps of his backpack. They didn't have all night to argue. "As a matter of fact, I agree with you about Seegmiller."
"Can we perhaps discuss this inside? The longer we stand here, the greater the chances that someone comes along. It will take me less than sixty seconds to burn through that lock, and there are no cameras in the interior rear hallway." He flicked his fingers for her to move away from the door.
"I knew you were a thief!" she said. "And yet so self-righteous."
"I take some pride in my work," he said. He unslung the backpack and opened the zipper to slide out the wand for the torch and three feet of hose. The oxygen and acetylene canisters stayed in his pack. "Unlike those members of our illustrious guild who bring flimsy lockpicks to open a steel security door. And my name is Christopher, not library cop."
"There is no thieves' guild," she said. "Christopher."
He grinned and splayed both hands, palms out. The wand's trigger guard dangled from his thumb. "You caught me. There is no guild."
She snorted, an inelegant sound that might have begun as a laugh, then shifted away from the door. Kit opened a trickle of acetylene. The flint striker he used to ignite it had been purloined from a college chemistry class, one of the many misspent fruits of his education. When the gas burned in a low, steady flame, he twisted the valve for the oxy flow and resettled the balance. The girl watched, although he could not make out her expression.
The cutting flame melted through the lock's tongue in about a minute. When it was done, he straightened and closed the torch valves, then the tank valves. The girl reached for the door's pull bar.
"Whoa." Kit batted her hand away. "That handle is going to be a bit warm, rookie. Since I was just blasting nearby bits of it with a six-thousand-degree flame."
"Oh. Sure." The girl smiled, revealing a dimple in one curving cheek. "Thanks. If we don't snitch on each other, history may record this as my most successful relationship. Not even the shortest. I'm Ruth, by the way."
He finished with the torch and donned the backpack, then tugged the door open with his gloved hand. The destroyed lock grated past rough edges. "After you, Ruth." Kit gestured to the dark interior of the rear service corridor.
"Thanks for the help with my breaking-and-entering," she whispered, slipping past him. Her black clothes made her one of the shadows. "Good luck with your thievery. I'll be gone in ten minutes, tops."
"Actually, I—" Kit let the door close with another rasp. "I'm also headed to the morgue."
Ruth turned back. Her face was a soft-edged oval in the darkness. "I don't suppose you're visiting your dearly departed grandmother."
"What do you want with Seegmiller?"
"Doesn't matter. You'll have your soul-affirming glimpse and be on your way in ten minutes, as you said."
She turned to the utilitarian stairwell that descended to the basement, where the medical examiner's laboratory was located. "Fine, library cop. Come along."
"Walk softly, rookie. It's in the guild rules."
Ruth crept down the stairs, and Kit trailed a few steps behind, listening. The lower-level offices were generally empty overnight, although security and cleaning staff would be circulating.
At the bottom step, Ruth paused and reached up for her cap. With a tug of the stretchy material, she carefully unfurled the brim down over her face. It had eyeholes cut out like a ski mask.
"The cameras," she explained, pointing a round, black dot high on the wall.
"Yeah," said Kit. He towered over her from the step above, so he bent his neck and spoke close to the hidden lump of her ear. "You're adorable in your very serious gear, but please don't be offended if I go another direction, fashion-wise."
He reached into his bag, then showed her a roll of duct tape. The mask shielded Ruth's expression, but she stayed on the last step as Kit squeezed past her. She smelled of black tea and lemon, and he imagined a collection of plastic cups with green straws in her car's cupholders. With a quick nip of his teeth, he tore off a six-inch segment. Pressed close against the wall, Kit slid directly under the camera, then jumped up and slapped the tape over the convex lens.
"Good enough?" he asked softly.
Ruth harrumphed. She raised her mask back up to her forehead, revealing pursed lips. Staticky strands of hair hovered around her chin. "Fine, I suppose."
Together they walked along the hall to a door beside a large plate-glass window embedded with wire mesh. The door was labeled Pathology in no-nonsense hospital lettering. Beside it was a nine-key electronic security pad. A tiny red light glowed in the top corner of the pad.
"Shit," Kit muttered. That little red dot could put his whole plan off by a day.
He shook his head. After the medical examiner signed off on the autopsy, the body would be gone. Even one day was too long. "I thought it was just a physical lock. My buddy told me—"
"The blow to your professional pride must be quite painful."
"If I cut this lock, it'll send alarms to—"
"Dr. Vinod G. Tendulkar, chief pathologist." Ruth nodded at the name plate beside the door.
"What about him?"
She extracted her phone and loaded a social media app on its bright screen. She typed, then scrolled, the blue-tinged display lending a ghostly pallor to her face.
"Please tell me you're not checking your hearts or re-likes or whatever," Kit said.
"Oh-nine-one-six-nine-four," Ruth announced. "Try that."
"No way. It'll freeze up after a certain number of incorrect codes."
"You have a better idea? Melt it with your miniature flameflower?"
"No, but I—it's not a flamethrower."
"Just try it or move out of my way. I think it's right." She pushed two fingers at the center of his chest, but Kit didn't move.
"You think."
Ruth dropped her prodding hand. "How many times have you called me a rookie? I'm not totally sure, but the good doctor only has one daughter, and she only has one birthday. She does have over a thousand friends, however."
Kit pulled in a deep breath and turned to the keypad. "Oh-nine-one-six-nine-four," he muttered as he stabbed at the buttons.
The lock emitted a cheery chirp, and the light turned green. From inside the door, something moved with a slight chunk.
Ruth beamed. "You needed me after all. I'll accept your gratitude later. Let's go see that cultist donkey."
Kit did his trick with the duct tape again and covered the camera mounted above the doorframe. Once inside the lab, Ruth's smile faded. Four cold drawers lined the far wall. The first one Kit opened was empty, but the second was occupied. He rolled the tray out and flipped the sheet back to reveal the pale corpse of John Josiah Seegmiller.
Ruth and Kit stood on opposite sides of the body and stared down. The man had been in his mid-sixties, with trimmed gray hair and an authoritarian beard. The face was waxy and stern, with deep creases in the forehead. His pigeon breast was marked by the neat Y-shaped incision of an autopsy and three bullet holes.
"Nasty old bastard," Kit muttered. He glanced up at Ruth and realized with a start that she was trembling. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks. Her hands were clenched in white-knuckled fists and folded to her belly. "Hey, rookie." What could he possibly say? "Ruth. He's definitely dead, yeah?"
"And so is my sister," she hissed.
"Ah," Kit breathed out. That was her personal connection. It hurt to hear the pain in Ruth's voice. "She was a Lighter of Dawn?"
"Up until her last, poisoned breath ten days ago. This man persuaded her, as he persuaded so many others, that her enlightenment could come only after her death. That she would regain her body but refine her soul. I always wanted to know, refine it to what? I said she was trying to please a madman. I shouted and begged. She said I didn't understand."
Ruth glared at Seegmiller. Kit cleared his throat. "What was your sister's name?"
"Faith." Ruth shook her head. "Look at his smug face. Did you know she died wearing lipstick? He preached endlessly about the sanctity of corporeal forms. The most sanctified, I'm sure, were the beautiful young women. Listen here, you won't believe this."
She wrenched at her leather jacket and parted the zipper. From an interior pocket she produced a slim, soft-bound book, some sort of journal. Ruth touched a fingertip to her tongue and riffled through several pages.
But Kit didn't need to hear the musings of a cultist. "There's no reason to—"
"'Wednesday, the fourteenth of June. One hundred crunches, twenty-five push-ups. Breakfast, eggs with green pepper. Lunch, salad with tuna. Dinner, cod fillet, broccoli, lemon, green tea. Ten units of Botox, forehead and crows' feet.' My sister was twenty-five years old, mind you. 'Thursday, the fifteenth of June. One hundred crunches, three miles at nine minutes per mile. Breakfast—'"
"All right."
"'Eggs with spinach. Lunch, salad with—'"
"All right," he said again. "That's enough."
Ruth shut the journal with a snap and shoved it back into her jacket. "That's scarcely a religion. It's a fitness plan. You must know Seegmiller was obsessed with bodily perfection. There are no emotions in the whole thing, no personal thoughts, no higher meaning to it."
"I'm surprised the police let you have that journal."
"It has no value as evidence." Ruth dipped her chin and spoke to the man's corpse like she was issuing judgment. "Death, for him, had to be conquered before you were worthy of his love. Like clearing up acne before prom. And because no one conquers death, none of his followers were proven to be faithful enough. But she tried anyway. It was the most horrible cycle."
"He told her how much more perfect she should be while he had sex with her." Splotches darkened Ruth's cheeks. "He collected the money she should have spent on college and told her it was necessary for the Light of Dawn."
"Yeah." Kit twitched his shoulders to ease the trickle of sweat that snaked along his spine.
"Seegmiller cut off her contact with her friends and family and somehow convinced her that we were the bad guys. That he and the Lighters of Dawn were the only true family she—"
"Damn it, I know!" He clenched the edge of the rolling tray so hard that the corpse shivered. "Did you think I was here for a social visit? Did you think that Seegmiller meant nothing to me?" Kit drew in a deep breath. Ruth stilled. He had told no one the story in a long time, but it was clear that Ruth was listening.
"Ten years ago," he began slowly, "my parents were the same as your sister. The Arensen Light of Dawn was their retirement hobby. I think it started after my dad's older brother died of lung cancer. The message of truth and eternal life through bodily perfection was… appealing. My sister and I were grown and out of the house. But nobody dabbles in the Light of Dawn and walks away. They spent a few years in the compound. They handed over all their money. Then, on a cool September morning, they joyfully drank poison."
"Oh," Ruth whispered.
"They didn't leave a note, presumably because they assumed they would be—" Kit waved a vague hand in the air above Seegmiller. "Resurrected, or perfected, or whatever the hell this guy said. My mother wore her lipstick, too."
"Christopher." Ruth circled around Seegmiller's feet to stand on his side of the table. "I am sorry for your parents. I'm sorry for you. This means we are the same. You will understand what I must do now."
Do? Kit stared into her face. In the dim light, her eyes glinted with unshed tears. "You've already done what you came for. You've seen his dead body."
"Dead and peaceful," Ruth spat out. "Like he's waiting to rise. He does not deserve it. What will the government do when they're done examining him? I won't see his body released for a solemn burial. No. I'll do to Seegmiller the only thing that would have really terrified him. I'll take him and build him a pyre. I will watch the flesh melt from his bones, then watch the bones turn to ash."
She wanted to take him? Kit couldn't have that. He needed the body for his own purposes. "Ruth, no. You don't believe in his bullshit anyway. He'd dead, end of story."
Nothing about her stance or her face bent under his objection. "I am taking him. And I am burning him."
A tiny, sizzling bolt of panic set Kit's heart into a quicker pace. She looked so certain. He was going to have to tell her the truth. "No."
"You think he deserves better? Embalming and burial according to his insane belief system? Afforded the respect to carry out the strictures of his false religion?
"No, I—"
"Maybe you'd prefer to see him buried beside your parents. Is that it? A nice cemetery where other Lighters of Dawn can come and lay flowers?"
"No! Damn it, I want my fucking inheritance." Kit pushed the heel of one hand across the ridge of his brow.
There was a long silence. "Your inheritance?"
He sighed. "Yes. My parents' money is in the Arensen compound. Probably scammed retirement funds from a lot of others, too. There is a safe. Seegmiller didn't trust banks."
Ruth backed up one step, then another. "You're nothing but a plain, old thief."
"What did you think I was? I'll give my sister her half. And as you keep telling me, Seegmiller deserves whatever post mortem nastiness he has coming."
"What does that have to do with me burning his body?"
"The safe is keyed by a facial-recognition scan."
"You came here to steal him for yourself. For the money." She made money sound like a filthy word.
Kit grimaced. "Not all of him. I just need his head."
"Oh my God, Christopher, are you hearing yourself? That's macabre. And don't you think the police will collect the safe?"
A distant clang of doors slamming reminded him that people were at work in the hospital above them. They had to move on. "They haven't removed the money yet. Look, I'm sure we can work something out. Let's get out of here and discuss once we're on the road."
"On the road…to the Arensen compound?"
"That's where the safe is. After I access it, you can burn him there as well as anywhere else." Kit strode to the side of the lab and yanked at the brake on a wheeled gurney. "You grab his feet." Ruth pressed her teeth into her bottom lip. For a moment, she didn't move. "Or are you ready to walk away?"
She shook her head once, a sharp jerk of her chin. Together they slid Seegmiller onto the gurney, still swaddled in the white sheet. His cold flesh was oddly spongy. Kit swiped his hands on the seat of his jeans when it was done.
"Get the duct tape." Ruth angled the gurney toward the door. "We'll take the service elevator. My car is a hundred yards down along the alley."
"No, I'll drive."
Kit slid the empty tray back into the wall and shut the hatch. Once Ruth and the gurney were clear of the lab, he stretched up and peeled the tape off the camera, sparing a thought for poor Dr. Tendulkar.
No one saw them wheel the gurney from the service elevator onto the loading dock. Ruth waited while Kit backed his battered sport-utility vehicle up to the edge of the ramp. He took the engine out of gear and hit the latch for the trunk.
"I'm going to pay you gas money for this trip," Ruth said when Kit walked around to help load the body. "I don't want any favors from you."
"That's fine, Ruth, I don't care," said Kit. She bent the dead man's knees and shoved the feet inside. "Anybody ever call you Ruthless? Anyway, I already melted the lock on the security door for you. Was that not a favor?"
"I know I could have gotten in. Eventually."
Kit glanced up at the wry tone in her voice. She flashed a tight smile over the dusty roof panel. It was a little manic, the feral gleam in her eye. Kit circled back to the driver's seat, then unlocked her door. Ruth climbed into the car with a whoosh of black leather and black tea. Kit cracked the windows to flush out Seegmiller's sickly smell, and they drove away with the stolen corpse.
"It's a couple of hours to Arensen," he said. "At the edge of the desert."
"I am sorry about your parents, you know," she said. "You truly believe you can break into Seegmiller's safe?"
"I think so. We have the right face for the scanner, anyway," said Kit. "I'm not really a professional thief."
"I guessed."
"And you? What is your life? When you're not body-snatching, I mean."
Kit hoped she would reveal a job or a hobby, but Ruth reached into her jacket again and pulled out Faith's journal. She folded the cover back and angled it toward the window. The moonlight was crisp, and she fanned the pages for a moment before she spoke.
"Here. 'Thursday, the twenty-eighth of September'," she read. "That's my birthday, but Faith isn't writing about her big sister. I doubt she even thought of me. 'I am not yet perfected,' she writes. 'With further work and attention, I expect to be perfected by late February.' Faith did die in February, so there's a little marker of success," Ruth added bitterly. "There's more. 'Dream notation: a hotel bed with white sheets, and I am lying in the center. Someone knocks at the door. It is a maid pushing a cart full of juice, muffins, cereal, yogurt, granola, fruit, and milk. I ask about hot food, but it's only being served in the restaurant downstairs. I am irritated out of proportion by the response. Interpretation: the hot breakfast is an analogy for my strong desire for progress and achievement.' Or here's another grand fucking interpretation, Faith," Ruth said. "Maybe you're fucking hungry."
Kit said nothing. Ruth closed the book and hid it away. She turned her face to the passenger window. Outside, the urban crowding faded to gas stations and acres of parking lots.
"When we get there," Kit said, "I'll open the safe while you build your pyre. Then we'll burn the bastard."
"Thank you." Ruth leaned back against the head rest. "I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing Seegmiller was destined for a venerated gravesite."
"I know what you mean. He shouldn't get to indulge in his cultish beliefs after death." Kit pulled onto a highway ramp and pushed the car up to speed. "Does your family know you're here? What do they think about your sister's cult?"
"I could ask you the same thing. What about your sister? Does she know you're stealing back her inheritance?"
"No. She's in college in Los Angeles." Kit paused, hands twisting on the steering wheel. "You have parents but no sister, and I have a sister but no parents. Together we're practically a whole family."
Ruth huffed out a breath through her nose. "Not exactly."
"No." Kit searched for a different, easier topic. "You can put some music on, if you want. Are you thirsty?"
She angled her hips in the seat to look at him. "It's not a road trip, Christopher. We have a dead guy in the trunk."
"I hadn't forgotten, believe me. You can still listen to music."
Ruth turned away to face forward again. "Sorry. It's just that I… I don't want to like you. You don't have to be kind to me. It won't make anything easier."
Kit laughed. Her grumpy admission pleased him. "So you find me a little likeable? A kind, thoughtful, helpful thief? Don't forget wildly handsome and resourceful."
He kept his eyes on the narrow ribbon of highway ahead, but he heard the smile in her voice. They drove in silence, and at some point Ruth dozed off. Kit drove smoothly, protective of her even breathing. Her lips parted as her head lolled back.
For all the Lighters of Dawn that Seegmiller had damaged and destroyed over the years, perhaps the family members left behind, like him and Ruth, were even more damaged. Maybe the money and the destruction of the corpse would salve their wounds.
The compound was a small, closed village off a gravel county road. A scattering of low aluminum-sided buildings clustered around the central square. The car's headlights bounced off yellow police tape drooping across the entrance road. Thirty-six hours after the standoff and shooting, the place was deserted. Kit slowed the car just off the main road. Ruth inhaled when the car stopped, then pressed her knuckles into her eyes.
"We're here," Kit said. "The sun will be up in a couple of hours. We should try to be done by then."
"Right." Ruth cleared her throat. "I'll move that police tape."
The opened door admitted a gust of cool, dry air to the car, breaking the peaceful stillness that had permeated the drive. Ruth jogged up the lane. Her black cat burglar's outfit blended into the darkness, but Kit had no trouble tracking her movements. She stood at the side of the road and lifted the arc of yellow plastic overhead. A strip of ivory skin was exposed above her waistband. Kit pulled forward, driving under the police tape.
Past the barricade, he rolled the passenger window down. Ruth leaned on the sill with one forearm.
"I'm taking Seegmiller to the office," he said. "He and I will access the money. You find a place for the pyre."
"I can help you with the safe, if you want," said Ruth, one hand on the door frame.
Kit smiled. "Oh, no," he said. "You stay away from my money, rookie."
Ruth rolled her eyes and shut the door. "So suspicious. Have fun, library cop. Bring me that body when you're done with it."
"Ruth, be—" Kit stretched across the seat toward the open window. "Be careful."
She disappeared into the darkness with a wave. Kit idled the car forward along the lane. The structures in the compound were all simple and similar. A few of them looked like dormitories. Had his parents found real happiness here? He tried to imagine them, graying and civilized, carving their initials into a shared bunk, but found it impossible.
The administration building fronted the square and featured a smiling photo of John Josiah Seegmiller in the window. Kit pulled his vehicle between two yellow lines near the door, then uttered a rough laugh. "Legal parking, illegal entry," he mumbled. None of his colleagues at work would have been surprised by the orderly parking job. Kit was the one who tossed expired yogurt from the break room refrigerator. They would have been shocked by the dead body in the trunk.
The safe sat in open sight in Seegmiller's office. With one broken window, Kit was inches from his inheritance. Seegmiller was confident in, or contemptuous of, the trust his cultists extended to him. Kit had no qualms about taking their money. Ruth had called him a plain, old thief, but the gullible Lighters of Dawn were practically begging to be victims.
Kit borrowed the wheeled desk chair to retrieve Seegmiller from the trunk and brought the corpse inside via the front entrance. The safe, when Kit propped Seegmiller before the camera and pulled the shroud away, popped open with a welcoming bleep bleep for its master.
"Well," Kit said. He rotated Seegmiller around to slouch toward the desk in a dark simulacrum of ordinary business. Then he knelt and peered into the interior of the safe.
It held neat stacks of banded hundred-dollar notes. The inky, papery smell of the fresh bills competed with Seegmiller's chemical funk. Was it that easy? The compound remained silent, and the little light on the safe glowed the steady green of a traffic signal.
Kit crammed his backpack with stacks of cash, but it wasn't capacious enough. He wanted everything, and his sister would have her cut. Maybe Ruth could have a couple of stacks. Maybe he could take her out to a nice restaurant for breakfast. He strode to the office's narrow closet, where he rummaged and found two grocery store shopping bags.
Between what he stuffed into his backpack and the shopping bags, Kit pulled over a million dollars from the safe.
"Well," he said again. The success swelled in his lungs. It should have been harder. Maybe it would have been, except for his thorough planning and research. Maybe he should quit his job to pursue his natural criminal knack. He wanted to find Ruth and say, Yeah, sure, I'm done here.
Once the money was stashed in the trunk of his car, Kit returned to the office to fetch Seegmiller. The door swung closed on the empty safe with a smug snick. He chuckled at the stupid thing, fooled by a simple trick.
He found Ruth behind one of the service buildings. A small mound of ash and debris marked where the cultists had burned landscaping waste and trash. Ruth had discarded her leather jacket, and she was stacking split logs in a flat layer. She glanced over when Kit approached.
"The garbage heap?" he asked, frowning. "That seems… rude."
"I'd say we're well past rudeness. Hand me some logs, will you? I have no idea how to build a pyre, so I just decided to make a stack. Did you get your inheritance?"
"Yes. It's done."
"Good for you. Where's Seegmiller?"
"In his desk chair, waiting."
"His desk chair?" Ruth echoed. When she lifted her face, Kit caught the shine of perspiration on her cheeks. "Talk about rude."
They stacked a final layer of wood. Kit retrieved Seegmiller from the chair, and he and Ruth laid the body across the logs. She used a lighter to ignite the pyre in half a dozen places around the perimeter of the body while Kit stepped back to wait. The fire was her closure, not his. His closure waited in the trunk of the car.
When the flames were well caught, Ruth came to stand beside Kit. She folded her arms over her chest. Her unreadable face reminded him that he didn't truly know her at all.
The shroud burned first and revealed the naked flesh beneath. Kit shifted his gaze to watch the logs instead of the corpse. He had no need to add gory memories of Seegmiller to his store of lifetime horrors. He barred his mind to the scent of meat mixed in with the wood smoke.
"I'm glad things worked out this way," he said. "I got what I wanted, and you're getting what you wanted."
"Yes," Ruth said. "This is exactly what I intended. I do wish we had a bottle of whiskey."
"Can I take you to breakfast?"
She turned to him. "Like a date?"
"Um," Kit said. "Yes."
Ruth's lips twitched. "You think tonight has been an auspicious beginning?"
"Why not? We worked quite well together."
"You were very cooperative, Kit," she said.
He blinked at her unexpected use of the nickname. "How did you…my friends call me Kit."
"Oh," Ruth said. "I'm friendly."
Her fingers tangled into his, and he turned to her. She stepped closer, her chin lifted.
"Ruth," he said, one hand moving to her waist.
The warmth of her torso radiated through her shirt. She exerted a steady draw at his belt loop, and Kit closed the gap between them. He dipped his head to brush against her lips. She sighed. It was all the encouragement he needed to lean into a kiss. His hand cupped her jaw, and curling locks of her hair brushed the backs of his fingers. He touched the downy softness of her earlobe. She slanted against his lips, and he was eager for her mouth. He forgot, for a moment, the pyre crackling only ten yards away.
Ruth groaned deep in her throat. Kit was heady with desire and triumph. She leaned back, breaking the kiss, and her eyes were dark.
"Do you like me just because I'm rich now?" he teased, his voice a notch deeper than usual.
Ruth smiled. "No. I swear." But her smile faded, and her expression turned pensive. "You know, I suppose I should burn Faith's journal. To finish the job. There is nothing useful in there."
Kit inclined his head. "It did seem to occupy your thoughts. Maybe you'll have better memories of your sister without it."
"I think you're right. I'll grab it from the car." She squeezed his hand before turning.
Kit tilted his head back and looked at the stars. The column of smoke would be visible for miles. They needed to leave before anyone thought to come investigate. It would be dawn soon anyway, and they had at least half an hour's drive to find a civilized breakfast.
When he dropped his gaze from the heavens, Kit noticed Ruth's leather jacket discarded by the woodpile. A blue corner stuck out near the zipper. He walked three paces and plucked up Faith's little notebook.
"Ruth," he called, pivoting toward the parking lot. "The journal is right—"
An engine turned over. Kit frowned, listening. Wasn't that his engine?
Yes. Someone had started his car. Ruth had started his car. How could she have opened—He groped at his front pocket, where the car keys should be, but their familiar weight was not there.
She tugged at my belt— She had taken his keys. Why would she…
The money. His money was in the trunk. And Ruth had started his car.
"Oh, fuck." Kit ran.
He dashed around the building and saw his car rolling at low speed through the parking area. Ruth wasn't watching the road, though. She had the window cracked two inches and her head turned toward Kit.
"Ruth," he roared. "Stop!"
He dashed alongside the car and pulled at the door handle. It was locked. He shoved his fingers in the narrow gap between the window glass and frame. The engine pitch revved up, and Kit opened his stride into an awkward run. His left arm splayed for balance, the blue journal still clutched in his fist, while his right grasped at the gap in the window.
"Don't," she said. Her voice was muffled by the engine noise and the window, and her beautiful face had that feral gleam again. "You'll get hurt. I'm going to hit the accelerator at the end of the lane, Kit, so let go. I will run you over if you make me."
The end of the lane was a hundred yards away. "You liar!" Kit panted. The car was moving just slow enough for him to keep up if he ran. His lungs burned from exertion and smoke and anger. "You lied about—"
"Nearly everything. Let go!"
"You kissed me. You called me Kit!" Seventy yards to the border of the compound. How much had she known about his parents, about his plan to empty the safe?
"Check the journal, Kit."
"I thought you—I thought you liked me." He wheezed and stumbled a step, his weight dragging on the arm that clutched at the doorframe. Fifty yards. He recovered his footing and stared past his own glass-reflected grimace to Ruth's profile.
"I did like you. Don't blame yourself. You're just a little gullible, and you were fooled by a pretty face. You did what I needed you to do. But I really did like you, Kit."
Thirty yards to the lane. She had provided the passcode to the morgue. He'd called her a rookie. "You had the code for Tendulkar's door. I thought you wanted revenge on Seegmiller!"
"I did. That part was true. Check the journal, Kit. It will tell you everything else I didn't lie about." She flicked a glance through the window, and then Ruth's eyes shifted to the lane ten yards ahead.
"Did you even have a sister in the—"
The engine roared. The car whipped into the turn, and Kit's hand was wrenched away. It pulled him off balance. He stumbled forward and fell face-first onto the gravel road. He cried out as sharp rocks lodged in his knees and palms.
His guttural groan was swallowed by the desert silence. Kit rolled sideways and lifted his head. His car, its familiar license plate illuminated by tail lights, sped away with Ruth and the money inside. The pain in his hands and lungs was nothing compared to the agony of betrayal and humiliation.
Faith's diary had fallen a few yards away. He struggled to his feet and lurched toward it. The cover, as he angled it toward the softening haze of dawn in the east, was embossed with Faith in curving script. It had the glossy, mass-produced sheen of the notebooks in grocery store aisles during back-to-school sales. He flipped open the cover, and something slid out and fluttered to the road.
Kit stared down at the fallen rectangular paper. Two twenty-dollar bills were paper-clipped together with a yellow sticky note on top.
Kit:
Gas money.
— Ruthless
Nothing else fell from the journal when he fanned the pages. The first page inside the cover was blank. The second and third were similarly empty. He flipped to the next, then the next, then skimmed to the center.
Not a single word written anywhere, and no jagged edges marked extracted pages.
He tossed the blank journal to the road. Behind him was the column of smoke that marked Seegmiller's pyre, and ahead the pale horizon dawning across the desert. Kit's throat closed around a spasm of bitterness. He had been nothing but her loyal cultist, her gullible victim.
Good Old Bones
2 thoughts on "Ruthless"
Yaine says:
Loved it !!!!
thank you for reading Yainey!!


text:
Shop from your couch: MS to offer games on demand for 360
For those who hate driving to the store, good news: starting this summer, …
Michael Thompson - Jun 2, 2009 3:24 pm UTC
Today's Microsoft press conference resulted in a number of headlines, which included news about the company's new Zune, the announcement of Crackdown 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, and the revelation of Metal Gear Solid: Rising. However, no reveal was bigger than the news that, starting this august, the company will allow gamers to download full Xbox 360 games directly to their consoles.
General Manger of Xbox Live Marc Whitten made the announcement today, showing a dashboard interface that would allow players to buy games and download them. While no games were officially announced, titles displayed in the projected images showed games like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed and LEGO Star Wars. According to Whitten, new games will be available for purchase every week and gamers will not have to rely on MS Points in order to buy them; full credit card support will be offered instead.
While digital delivery of video games isn't exactly brand-new, the fact that Microsoft is planning to use such a system could prove a huge blow to the retail industry; after all, if you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch in order to buy that new game you've been eyeing, why would you want to drive a half hour out to GameStop? At the same time, no official list of games available for delivery has been announced, nor do we know if new releases will be available at the time of release. We'll provide updates about the system as more details become available.


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Ganesha (ook wel Ganesh, Ganapati Tantra, Ekadanta of Vinayaka) is in het pantheon van het hindoeïsme de deva met het olifantenhoofd. Hij is de god van kennis en wijsheid, neemt hindernissen weg en is de beschermheilige van reizigers. Zijn vahana, voertuig, is een muis of een rat genaamd Mashika. De hindoes bidden tot Ganesha voor ze aan iets nieuws beginnen, zoals een nieuwe baan of wanneer ze verhuizen. Ganesha is de zoon van de god Shiva en de godin Parvati, die eigenlijk tezamen in de kosmogonie van het hindoeïsme symbool staan voor de eenheid van alles. Daarbij staat Shiva voor het subjectieve bewuste en Parvati voor het energetische materiële. Een beeld van hem staat vaak op splitsingen van wegen in India, zodat hij de reizigers kan helpen als ze een keuze moeten maken en een nieuwe weg inslaan. Ganesha staat altijd aan het begin van iets, een eerste impuls.

Betekenis
De naam Ganesha komt van de Sanskrietwoorden gana (=groep/menigte) en ish (=god) en betekent dus 'god van de menigte'.

Geboorte en Verlies van hoofd

Shiva en Matsya Purana
De ouders van Ganesha, Shiva en Parvati, leefden in een paleis op de berg Kailash. Volgens de Shiva Purana hechtte Parvati aan haar privacy als zij zich baadde in de badkamer. Toch kwam Shiva soms onverwachts binnen. Daarop stelde Parvati een wachter aan om iedereen buiten de badkamer te houden als zij zich daar baadde. Maar de wachter kon Shiva niet tegenhouden; hij was te zwak. Daarom boetseerde Parvati volgens de Matsya Purana uit zeepresten en haar eigen huidcellen een poppetje. Ze bracht met haar levenschenkende krachten het poppetje tot leven; de geboorte van haar zoon Ganesha. Die zoon begiftigde ze, met alle machten en krachten vanuit haar goddelijke wezen. Ganesha is dus een zoon, niet geboren uit de vleselijke gemeenschap van Shiva en Parvati, maar een mythische emanatie (uitvloeiing) uitsluitend van Parvati; een goddelijke zoon die rechtstreeks vanuit de wil, het bewustzijn en het lichaam van Parvati is voortgekomen. Parvati gaf haar zoon opdracht niemand tot het paleis toe te laten als zij zich baadde.

Toen Shiva thuiskwam en zijn eigen paleis wilde betreden, werd hem de weg versperd door Ganesha. Hij wist niet dat deze zijn zoon was. Toen bleek dat Ganesha na lange tijd niet in een gevecht te overwinnen was, wist Shiva met behulp van zijn halfgoden en een list, Ganesha te onthoofden. Parvati voelde dat onmiddellijk en met haar verschijnen bij de ingang van het paleis werd het Shiva duidelijk dat hij zijn eigen zoon had gedood. Een ruzie tussen Shiva en Parvati ontstond die escaleerde tot een algehele verschrikkelijke oorlog tussen de goden en de godinnen.

Uiteindelijk wist een heilige bemiddelaar, Narada, de vrede te herstellen. Narada, die niet echt mannelijk of vrouwelijk te noemen is, is een zeer vroege emanatie van de scheppergod Brahma nog voordat Hij het verschil tussen man en vrouw had doen ontstaan. Hij heeft toegang tot alle bestaande werelden. (Narada staat symbool voor devotie.) Toen de vrede was gesloten, beval Shiva zijn dienaren om hem het hoofd of de kop te brengen van het eerste het beste levende wezen dat ze tegen zouden komen; zij keerden terug met de afgehakte kop van een olifant (Airavata). Shiva bevestigde de olifantenkop op het levenloze lichaam van zijn zoon, die terug tot leven kwam en de geschiedenis zou ingaan als de halfgod met de olifantenkop. Alle goden en godinnen zegenden Ganesha.

Brahmavaivarta Purana
Volgens de Brahmavaivarta Purana vereerde Parvati Vishnu (Hari), met hulp van Sanat Kumara volgens de rite van Panyakavrata, aan de oever van de Ganges om een kind te krijgen. Krishna (een gedaante van Vishnu), de heer van Goloka, verscheen als haar zoon. De goden brachten een bezoek om het pasgeboren kind te zien. Sani, de planeet Saturnus, was door zijn vrouw vervloekt, omdat hij haar had verwaarloosd door zijn langdurige meditatie op Vishnu: Sani zou diegene vernietigen waarop hij zijn blik wierp. Toch stond Parvati toe dat hij even naar Ganesha keek. Toen Ganesha zijn hoofd door de blik van Sani verloor, verloor Parvati het bewustzijn. Vishnu vloog op Garoeda naar de rivier Pushpabhadra en nam het hoofd van een slapende olifant. Het was het hoofd van Airavata, de witte olifant van Indra. Airavata kreeg een nieuw hoofd van Vishnu. Sani liep voortaan door een vloek van Parvati mank.

Volgens een verhaal was Shiva door Kasyapa vervloekt en zou zijn zoon het hoofd verliezen. Shiva had namelijk Aditya verslagen, omdat die hem beledigd zou hebben. Toen Parasurama, de favoriete leerling van Shiva naar Kailash ging om Shiva eer te bewijzen, werd hij door Ganesha tegengehouden, omdat Shiva sliep. Parasurama sloeg Ganesha een slagtand af en daarom wordt Ganesha ook Ekadanta (Eén tand) genoemd.

Varaha Purana
In de Varaha Purana wordt verteld dat Shiva zelf Ganesha schiep, maar dat Uma (Parvati) jaloers was op Ganesha's schoonheid en hem een olifantenhoofd en dikke buik gaf. Shiva maakte Ganesha tot leider van de Vinyaka's en Gana's.

Skanda
In de Skanda is Ganesha door Parvati geschapen om voor de mensen obstakels op de weg te plaatsen naar de tempel van Somnath (Soma, Someswara), die naar de hemel leidt. Zo zou het in de hemel minder druk zijn en ook de zeven hellegebieden worden bevolkt.

Kenmerken

Er zijn vele verschillende voorstellingen van Ganesha, telkens met andere attributen. Hij wordt meestal afgebeeld met een dikke blote buik, vier handen, een roze-oranje (of rode) huid, rode kleding, een rat aan zijn voeten en natuurlijk een olifantenkop met één slagtand (Ekadanta). De rat (die opvallend klein is) is zijn persoonlijk vervoermiddel (vahana). Soms heeft hij tussen zijn ogen (boven zijn slurf) een symbool dat op een "3" gelijkt, het symbool voor Om of Aum: de klank (vibratie) waaruit het heelal is ontstaan.

Schrijvergod
Ganesha zou de Mahabharata hebben opgeschreven, terwijl de wijze Vyasa hem de tekst dicteerde.

Ter vergelijking
Sir W. Jones vergeleek Ganesha in zijn Asiatic Researches (i 277) met de Latijnse god Janus.

Afbeeldingen

Literatuur
 Ruud G. Greve: Ganesha: de hindoegod met het olifantenhoofd, Zevenster (1998), ISBN 9050640834

Externe links
Ganesha in de Indiase Kunst
Symbolen van Ganesha
Boekuitgave

Hindoeïstische god

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Home / Articles / Entrepreneurs & Leaders / Science & Technology / Social Impact
Retail Visionary: Warby Parker's Online Eyeglass Strategy Focuses on the Consumer
Until this summer, 19-year-old Zac Schwartz's retail expertise came only from shopping in his hometown of New York City. But thanks to an unexpected summer internship with the new, hip Manhattan-based online prescription eyeglass retailer Warby Parker, he is getting a closer look at what it takes to run a successful retail business. "The biggest thing I've learned so far is the importance of customer service," says the soon-to-be junior at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. "As a retail worker, I serve as a face of the brand and have a direct impact on the company's success."
It was this philosophy of absolute customer service upon which Warby Parker was founded a year and a half ago by four friends at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa. "We put ourselves in the customers' shoes," says Neil Blumenthal, who co-founded the company along with David Gilboa, Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider. "None of us were retail experts, so we simply focused on treating people the way we like to be treated while shopping."
As a result, the foursome created a unique business model that provides customers with a fun and easy way to buy quality, stylish prescription eyeglasses online for $95 – compared to $300-plus for glasses sold by most optical shops.
27 Frames and a Monocle
Schwartz often gets asked how Warby Parker (named for characters created by pop culture icon Jack Kerouac) can sell prescription glasses at such a reduced price. The secret, he says, is in its web-based sales approach, which allows the company to sell its own designs directly to consumers, rather than work through a middleman — a go-between who buys from manufacturers and sells to retailers. What's more, retailers typically buy glasses from large companies that manufacture brands such as Prada, Ralph Lauren and Gucci, and then mark them up an additional three times before selling them to customers. "We create our own designs, use high-quality materials and use the same manufacturers as the big companies, but we can sell glasses for less because we don't have to pay the licensing fees [to the big-name eyeglass makers like Ralph Lauren]," adds Blumenthal.
To date, the company – referred to by GQ Magazine in March 2010 as "the Netflix of eyewear" — has sold some 60,000 pairs of glasses and has expanded its staff to nearly 50 employees. Customers, both men and women, can choose from 27 frames in an assortment of styles and colors. They also sell a monocle (as worn by Batman's nemesis The Penguin).
"I don't go anywhere without wearing my Warbys," says Schwartz, who also happens to be the company's target consumer. "I'm a college student who wants to look stylish, but can't afford a $500 pair of glasses."
Recognizing that it made a lot of sense to use young people like Schwartz to market its products, the company recently began a brand ambassador program involving some 100 unpaid promoters who each get a free pair of glasses and a discount code to share with friends.
"This is a really smart retail strategy because it gets the product out in front of people by giving it to individuals who will be influencers," says Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "It's also a great way to establish brand recognition by leveraging social relationships. When people think about hip eyeglasses, Warby Parker wants to be the first name that pops into their heads."
In addition to answering customer questions, processing orders and talking to optometrists about prescription issues, Schwartz also works in Warby Parker's New York showroom, one of several around the country where customers can try on glasses before ordering online. "Seeing how they look in the glasses is really important to people," says Schwartz. "I love interacting with customers and offering my advice on which ones look best."
'Putting the Fun in the Hands of the Consumer'
Because shopping for glasses is inherently social, Blumenthal says the company incorporated some engaging e-commerce (online selling) features. For example, a facial recognition technology on the website allows shoppers to upload a photo of themselves and try on glasses virtually. In addition, customers can sign up for the home try-on program, which mails out five loaner frames. "A lot of our customers will actually post photos on our Facebook page in order to get feedback on which [glasses] look best," says Blumenthal. "We're all about putting the decision making and the fun in the hands of the consumer."
For Schwartz, who recently returned from volunteering at an orphanage in Rwanda, Warby Parker's social mission was a big selling point in accepting the summer internship. Through its "Buy a Pair, Give a Pair" program, every time the company sells a pair of Warby Parkers, it also helps someone in need buy a new pair of glasses through non-profit organizations like VisionSpring. "The really smart retailer understands what resonates with their consumers and what gets them excited and how they can provide it," says Mitchell. "Consumers like knowing that in some way their purchase is making the world a better place."
While Schwartz originally looked at his Warby Parker internship as a great opportunity to observe a growing company, it has evolved into so much more. "The experience has empowered me and opened my eyes to all I can accomplish," says Schwartz, who is studying economics and entrepreneurship at Tufts. "I'd love to open a company like Warby Parker some day.
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IRVING, Texas (AP) The College Football Playoff management committee approved having weekly rankings again this season, but put off making a decision Wednesday on how to incorporate the Army-Navy game into the final rankings when the game is played after selection Sunday.
The selection committee's first top 25 will be released Nov. 3 after the ninth week of the season. The final rankings will be released Dec. 6. The selection committee had recommended keeping the status quo with the rankings process earlier in April.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said the FBS commissioners recalled the constant tweaks to the Bowl Championship Series that caused fans to lose confidence in that system and decided it was best not to tinker with the new format after a successful first season.
''Don't fix it if it ain't broke,'' Hancock said after what was scheduled to be three days of meetings in North Texas concluded in only two.
Fourth-seeded Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff national championship last season, beating No. 1 Alabama in the semifinals and No. 2 Oregon in the title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be played in the Orange and Cotton bowls on New Year's Eve this season and the national title game will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Jan. 11.
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said the response to the playoff from those who participated in it and fans was overwhelmingly positive. Hancock said according to ESPN's research the playoff drew more casual fans to college football's postseason than ever before. The playoff set ratings records for ESPN and cable television.
"The pop we experienced was the public saying thanks for giving us what we had been asking for,'' Delany said.
Hancock said the management committee, comprised of the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, had a ''robust'' discussion about Army-Navy but didn't come up with a way to handle the Army-Navy game if either team is in the running for a spot in one of the New Year's bowls that is in the playoff rotation.
Army and Navy play the weekend after the selection committee reveals its final rankings and the matchups are set not just for the semifinals, but the four other New Year's Six bowls.
The most potentially problematic part of Army and Navy playing after selection Sunday involves the Midshipmen giving up their independent status this season and moving into the American Athletic Conference, which will play a league championship game on Dec. 5.
If Navy wins the conference title and is ranked as the best champion from among the American, the Mountain West, the Sun Belt, Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference it would earn a spot in either the Peach or Fiesta bowls this season and still have a game to play against Army.
American Commissioner Mike Aresco came to the meetings in North Texas with plans to figure out a way to leave Army-Navy on its exclusive date, one built into the schools' television contract with CBS that runs through the 2018 season, and have it count toward the playoff rankings.
The most likely issue that could arise for the so-called Group of Five conferences is: What happens if Navy is the highest ranked among the champions of those leagues and then loses to Army? Could the pairings be adjusted to place the next highest-ranked team from the Group of Five in major game, while dropping Navy into a lesser bowl. That scenario would create problems for the bowls trying to set matchups and sell tickets.
Hancock said there is no timetable to come up with a solution for Army-Navy, but expects more discussions over the next couple months. The commissioners meet again in June.


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Tag archives for SLM
SLM and PREMIER GROUP in Court on 14 July 2016
3rd February 2016 by admin under Legal Action
SLM (Surrenda Link Mortgages) and Premier Group will attend trial at the Bilbao Courts on the 14/07/2016. Lawyers for all parties have objected to at least three trial date appointments as they had other cases to attend.
According to the claimants' writ, SLM and the Premier Group, both lacking permission to operate in Spain, orchestrated the marketing and sale of a financial product for inheritance tax mitigation purposes.
SLM has argued that they were just the lenders, having no participation in the investment side of the product. For its part, The Premier Group argued that they had never operated in Spain and that they are not the same company as The Premier Group that operated prior to 2009, which was domiciled in the BVI.
Lawyers for claimants proved that both companies are the same, having shares offices, telephone and fax numbers and even today, email and website addresses. The document proving this has been recently admitted by the Court as evidence in support of claimats' allegations.
tagged in Equity Release, Premier GRoup Isle of man, SLM
SLM Group Gave 40 Million in Spanish Equity Release
24th May 2014 by admin under Legal Action
(image of Peter Hardy)
It has been revealed that Surrenda Link Mortgage Holding Limited, now SLM Group, gave 40 million Euros in Spanish tax evading mortgage loans.
The firm Blake Morgan assisted Surrenda-link Mortgage Holding Limited, a mortgage originator, in obtaining a €40 million ring-fenced Spanish asset funding facility.
For its part, Pinsent Masons, a London based banking team, advised Via Capital Limited, in its capacity as arranger of a €40 million secured loan facility to finance a pool of 'cash release' mortgages originated by Surrenda-link Mortgage Holdings Limited.
SLM then employed local IFAs, such as Hamiltons (pictured), to peddle this toxic waste in the Spanish Costas.
Nothing new under the sun save for the exceptionally high size of the lending.
tagged in SLM, Spanish Equity Release, Surrenda Link Mortgage Holdings


It's that time of year again that the best restaurants in Denver make a special menu to honor the mile high city. For only $52.80 for two people or 28.40 for one you can get a delicious dinner at one of Denver's best eateries. Denver Restaurant Week 2010 will be held for two weeks, from February 20 – March 5 and over 100 restaurants are participating.
Last year a group of us went to Elways, the food was great and the people watching was even better. This year I'm planning on trying Mizuna for something new and going to one of my favoites Zengo. I know that I'm biased with it being located in Riverfront, but it never dissapoints! Click here to make your reservation.


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Kevin Durant Posts 50-Point Game in KD12s to Put Away Clippers
by Lola Watson | April 30, 2019 | 07:43
The back-to-back defending champs get another opportunity to reveal themselves Friday night at Staples Center, where they face LA in Game 6 of their National Basketball Association playoff first-round series.
The two teams met in the Western Conference finals last season, with the Warriors prevailing in a seven games.
The Warriors, who clinched the first-round series 4-2, advance to face the Houston Rockets, beginning today in Oakland. Assuming the Warriors play with focus and intensity the whole time, they get the slight edge - but it certainly won't be easy.
"They are a talented ball club with a lot of high-IQ players that shoot well and penetrate well, so we got our work cut out for us", he said.
Now back in Los Angeles for Game 6, the Warriors are hoping their road magic continues.
In the last four games, he averaged 42 points on 55 percent shooting, and at times was a singular force against the stubborn Clippers.
More news: Avengers: Endgame Shatters Records With $1.2 Billion Global Opening
"Ralph never speaks to me before the game when I'm on the floor, and he walked up to me, first time ever, and said, 'Coach, I've had too many people congratulate me on my career and say good luck, like tonight is the end of Ralph".
Stephen Curry added 24 points and Green had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth career playoff triple-double, despite five fouls. Klay Thompson, as is his pattern, went ballistic for one game, then was rather tame by comparison in the others.
Gallinari led the Clippers with 29 points and rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22.
Not only do they have an energetic starting five, but reserves Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are two of their most unsafe players. "I wouldn't say s-tty but more so a little more relaxed than we were to start the game". "He said, 'Hi. I'm John Havlicek.' Like I didn't know".
Warriors: Durant tied Phoenix's Charles Barkley, who scored 38 in a half against Golden State on May 4, 1994, in a first-round series. He retires after 40 years with the team and 60 years in the business.
Microsoft profits and revenue rises; 23 percent gain in share prices
Net income rose to US$8.81 billion, or US$1.15 per share, from US$7.42 billion, or 96 U.S. cents per share, a year earlier. At present Azure is following Amazon for cloud services, and leads Google's own products and services.
Seattle college says student was among those killed by crane
Two of those killed were crane operators and the other two had been in cars, Harold Scoggins, Seattle's fire chief, said. The crane - erected for the construction of new Google campus, according to the Seattle Times - landed on six vehicles.
Verizon to turn on 5G in 20 United States cities
I had noticed that my other phone, a Huawei, could hold onto a Wi-Fi network better than the S10 and I'm glad this has been fixed. The company's existing 5G coverage is extremely limited - even in launch cities - and it requires a compatible smartphone to use.
China seeks to allay Belt and Road debt concerns
He said relations between the two countries are "strong, resilient, unbreakable". Prominent Pakistani and Chinese businessmen will attend the event.
Suspect in custody after five bodies found in two homes
Authorities say a suspect is in custody in the investigation into five bodies found in two rural Tennessee homes. A number of law enforcement agencies were searching for Cummins, saying he could be armed and risky .
STV Man Reduces People to Tears with Billy McNeill Tribute
A statement from his family said: "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our father Billy McNeill ". Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United manager, described the Celtic legend as "a truly good man".
Elon Musk agrees to new tweeting rules with SEC
Last year Musk, 47, tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take the vehicle maker private at $420 a share, or $72bn (£56bn). Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday over his use of Twitter , according to a filing in Manhattan federal court .
North Korea hands over $2 million medical bill for Otto Warmbier
This story has been corrected to note that Warmbier died in 2017, not previous year . Trump said Kim denied knowing about it and that he takes the dictator "at his word".
Toronto Raptors set to begin second playoff series this weekend
But in five career head-to-head meetings with Gasol, he's never scored more than 15 points and never shot better than 40 per cent. Philadelphia also made a pair of in-season additions, trading for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris in preparation for the playoffs.
Chris Paul fined $35,000 for actions in Game 1
The specific incident to which the league is referring took place during Paul's second technical foul and automatic ejection. The Rockets in Game 1 shot 29 free throws, two more than the Warriors, who were whistled for 24 fouls to Houston's 21.
After Game 1, Warriors vs. Rockets will be decided on the margins
Both players have been undergoing treatment since their injuries, including prior to the team's film session Saturday afternoon. He had rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Harden that could have tied the game with 9 seconds left and was arguing for a foul.
'Game of Thrones' Fans Pay Tribute To The Fierce House Mormont
Theon, who took the assignment to protect Bran Stark, found valiantly to kill every undead that tried to get near Bran . They scaled the walls, and a wight giant made its way onto the grounds, knocking Lyanna Mormont over.
Socialists lead in Spanish election as far-right make gains
Outside, hundreds celebrated in the street, waving red party flags and chanting "Long live Spain" and "Long live Socialism". A woman picks up a ballot at a polling station in Ronda near Malaga, during general elections in Spain , on April 28, 2019.
Boyz N The Hood Director John Singleton Dead At 51
She said that her son was involved in a number of business ventures and recently agreed to sign a sizable settlement agreement. Celebrities and fans of legendary director John Singleton flocked to social media to mourn the star after he died Monday.
A First Take on the Terrorist Attacks in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's military says the gunfight Friday night in Ampara District in the country's east left 15 dead, including six children. It had deferred the matter until talks with Islamic clerics could be held, on the advice of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
U.S. oil companies to make billions out of tougher sanctions on Iran
The waivers have allowed Iran to proceed to export about 1 million barrels per day, down from roughly 2.5 million bpd a year ago . Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 2.96 per cent lower at $72.15 a barrel at the time of writing the story.
Sri Lanka bans burqas for 'public protection' after bomb attacks
He said there are some fundamentalist groups who seek to preach violence but a vast majority of Muslims do not approve of it. Both Christianity and Islam are minority religions in Sri Lanka, each accounting for under 10% of the total population.
Trump says Japan trade talks coming along 'very nicely'
Trump also told reporters that talks with Japan on a trade deal to remove tariffs on key products were "moving along very nicely". The U.S., however, could still impose the so-called Section 232 tariffs on autos, which would escalate trade tensions.
Taylor Swift releases new song 'ME!' on YouTube, featuring Brendon Urie
Taylor Swift can't stop smashing records! In the 'Me!' music video, Taylor gets offered a wedding ring and says no to it. Am I somehow invested in Taylor Swift's future nuptials despite thinking most of her music is safe cotton candy? Yup.
Trump Says He Doesn't Want Aides to Testify Before Congress
And yet, given all that, the majority of Americans do not believe Russia's attack on the 2016 election undermined its legitimacy. As a result of this cooperation, the special counsel's report contains some embarrassing moments for the president.
Authorities Respond to Shooting at California Synagogue; Multiple Injuries Reported
At least three other people were wounded in the shooting, including a juvenile female and two adult males. The spokesperson added that they were expecting as many as four patients, reported the news broadcaster.
American Airlines executives confident 737 MAX will be ungrounded by August 19
Parker added that American is also expected to pay $650 million more in fuel expenses this year because of spiking oil prices. Kelly praised Southwest employees as the driving force behind the Company's continued success amid the MAX jet groundings.


At the Fence: Aerobie AeroSpin Yo-Yo!
Summertime fun has me thinking about things we used to do in the summer. Does anyone remember playing with Yo-Yos and trying to copy all the fancy tricks? I do! And now my children had a chance when Aerobie sent us their AeroSpin Yo-Yo. It was fun watching them try to coordinate just having it go up and down. Some of them decided to move on to some of the tricks in the included booklet.
But let's start at the beginning! We received our AeroSpin Yo-Yo right before our trip to Chicago, so we brought it with us. My two daughters and one of their friends were the first to experiment with the AeroSpin. The AeroSpin is soft sided so is easy use, much more comfortable to grab. This is a great trick and all around Yo-Yo. Perfect for beginners, yet also works well for advanced. The AeroSpin Yo-Yo has an adjustable gap so you can set it the way you like it. The AeroSpin is made in the USA and comes with a 36 page booklet that includes tips, care of your Yo-Yo, and tricks. The tricks include Walk the Dog, Around the World, Loop the Loop and many more, all with easy to understand instructions. And near the end of the booklet they list some websites you can visit for more information.
Aerobie carries many fun products for your children to enjoy. We have several of their products, like the Aerobie Pro Ring, Aerobie Sprint, and their Skylighter. We have also reviewed their Megatop. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.
The Aerobie AeroSpin Yo-Yo is perfect for that rainy, stay inside day. One of my neighbors will be receiving an Aerobie AeroSpin Yo-Yo for their family.
Disclosure: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I did receive an AeroSpin Yo-Yo for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are entirely mine.
Yes, I could Walk The Dog.
Walk the Dog was about the extent of my trick abilities.
Cindy B (on rc/fb) ~ I used to play with yo-yo ~ still do on occasion ~ but no, I couldn't really do any tricks.
i used to be fairly good at it but haven't done it for a long time.
I played with a Yo-Yo as child, but could never do any tricks!
Back in the 70's I owned a Duncan Yoyo. The only trick I mastered was called "Walking the Dog".
I hope to win for the sake of my two daughters, as they have never played with a yoyo before.
I did play with a yoyo, but my brother was much better with the tricks.
yes. but I couldn't do any tricks.
I used to play with yo-yos as a kid, and I could kinda do walk the dog, but I wasn't exactly a pro.
I played with yo-yo's and I could do the rock the baby trick.
I have played with a yo-yo and can only walk the dog.
I did have a yo-yo, but didn't do tricks.
I use to have a yo-yo the only trick I could kind of do was the walk the dog.
I never could do any tricks.
yup. all the time. i do walk the dog really well.
I did when I was a kid and no tricks.
I fondly remember the duncan yo yo's and was not good at the tricks.
I used to play with yoyos but couldn't do any tricks!
I loved playing with my yoyo but I could never get it to do tricks!
i loved playing yo-yo when i was a kid.i could do a few tricks.
We had yoyo's and my Dad was awesome with performing tricks with it, however, I only managed to get the string in a knot!
I used to play with yo-yo's when I was small but wasn't very good at it.
Yes! I could "walk the dog"
I have never been able to yo yo. My kids can though!
I used to play all the time. The only trick I could do is Walk the Dog.
I used to love playing with a Yo-Yo, I could never do any "good" tricks, sometimes I would get it to sleep but that was about it. This would be great to have!
I was never very good with a yo-yo.
Yes, I played with a yo-yo and I could do the yo-yo trick called walking the dog.
I loved the yo yo but couldn't do tricks.
I love my yo yo but never could do any tricks that my brother could.


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Home » Events » Hand Skills: Why do they matter and why do we need to pass them on?
Hand Skills: Why do they matter and why do we need to pass them on?
« Kate Malone MBE Studio Visit – Exclusive to London Potters members
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In this 2023 kick off lecture for London Potters, Duncan Hooson and Julia Rowntree of Clayground Collective will challenge the conventional view of clay simply as a medium for making pots. They will share insights from their creative projects and learning initiatives to re-engage people with clay wherever it occurs, in response to an acute decline in ceramic courses in schools and colleges. Large-scale public artworks have put tonnes of clay at the centre of cities inviting thousands of people to make alongside one another, celebrating the creative potential of this abundant and universal material.
Their research has led them to connect with cultures around the world, to Mars, Britain's canal system and the Thames foreshore. Work with poets, artists and archaeologists has opened up fresh opportunities to engage people of all ages in clay and making. Discussions with scientists, medics and literacy development experts has revealed the significance of craft skills in the brain's development and wider learning. Clayground will challenge you to look at your own skills in a new light and reflect on the responsibility to pass these on.
Date Tuesday 17th January 2023
Time 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Location Virtual via Zoom
Ticket Price £11 London Potters members
£12.50 non London Potters members
Recording This talk will be recorded only for ticket holders
Minimum Attendees 30
Cancellation There is no refund for cancellation by attendees
London Potters reserves the right to cancel if we do not receive the minimum numbers required
Clayground Collective was established in 2007 by Duncan Hooson and Julia Rowntree, subsequently joined by producer and craft expert, Claire West. The company combines participatory public art, education and research and has worked with over 100,000 people in the UK and internationally. Commissioned by the Crafts Council to lead Firing Up, they taught teachers over 3 years in 13 cities across the country. A National Craft Skills Award in 2013 recognised their 'commitment towards excellence in craft skills, success, ambition, and exemplary and imaginative approaches in passing on craft skills.' Their book Clay in Common was published in 2018 (Triarchy Press ). Clayground's approaches have inspired a new generation through formal integration into ceramic design courses at Central Saint Martins and informally through artists' practice further afield. Winner of the Whitegold Prize in 2020, the company led participatory projects with communities in St Austell throughout lockdown and is now developing ceramic skills with medical and other staff at University College Hospital.
Duncan Hooson is Reader in Knowledge Exchange; Stage 1 Leader, BA Ceramic Design at Central Saint Martins. He produces work for public and private commission employing a wide range of ceramic techniques at varying scales; from high-relief murals to domestic and sculptural forms for internal or external locations. His educational and public engagement experience spans schools, hospitals and communities.
Julia Rowntree, amateur potter, is a producer, writer and researcher. She specialises in exploring today's questions via the arts by forging partnerships across art forms, civic, commercial and community spheres. For 20 years prior to Clayground she was Development Director at the London International Festival of Theatre. She has received awards for international research and writing from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts). She now focuses on Clayground's archaeological strand.
Claire West is a craft expert, product and exhibition designer. For 11 years, she was Head of the Programmes at the Crafts Council and is now part of design duo bobandalf.
Feature Image: Left to Right – Julia Rowntree, Duncan Hooson, Claire West. Photo: Steph Buttle
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Rato Dratsang
Some of the Rato monks in front of the temple at Rato Monastery, January 2015
Gelug
Currently (2015) is Ven. Khyongla Rato Rinpoche
Currently in the Tibetan Settlement, Mundgod, Karnataka, India (before 1959 near Lhasa in Tibet)
Tak Pa Zang Bo
Date established
Nyingma
Kagyu
Jonang
Sakya
Rimé
Key personalities
First dissemination
Śāntarakṣita
Kamalaśīla
Second dissemination
Atiśa
Abhayakirti
Niguma
Sukhasiddhi
Longchenpa
Mipham
Dolpopa
Taranatha
Gorampa
Gelugpa
Je Tsongkhapa
5th Dalai Lama
13th Dalai Lama
General Buddhist
Three marks of existence
Skandha
Four Tenets system
Rangtong-Shentong
Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction
Pointing-out instruction
Practices and attainment
Lamrim
Pāramitās
Avalokiteśvara
Vajrayana
Tantra techniques
Deity yoga
Buddhahood
Major monasteries
Tradruk
Drepung
Ganden
Jokhang
Kumbum
Labrang
Mindrolling
Namgyal
Narthang
Nechung
Pabonka
Palcho
Ralung
Ramoche
Rato
Sanga
Tashi Lhunpo
Tsurphu
Yerpa
Institutional roles
Panchen Lama
Rinpoche
Geshe
Tertön
Tulku
Chotrul Duchen
Dajyur
Galdan Namchot
Dosmoche
Monlam
Sho Dun
Kangyur
Tengyur
Tibetan Buddhist canon
Nyingma Gyubum
Sand mandala
Tree of physiology
Festival thangka
Rato Dratsang (Dratsang in Tibetan means school or university), also known as Rato Monastery (sometimes spelled Ratö Monastery), is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery or monastic university of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" tradition. Rato was, for many centuries, one of the major monastic colleges in Tibet.
The 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), called Rato Monastery the "Tiger Nest". The monastery served as a center for the study of logic; monks from many other monasteries came to visit Rato every year to study formal Buddhist logic intensively, and debate rigorously.
After 1959, Rato Monastery was reestablished in the Tibetan Settlement at Mundgod, in Karnataka state in south India. In recent years Rato Dratsang Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was set up to help the monastery flourish and grow. In 2012, a westerner monk, Nicholas Vreeland, was appointed as the new abbot.[1][2][3][4][5]
2 The Rato Dratsang Foundation
Rato Monastery was founded in the 14th century by Tak Pa Zang Bo, on the outskirts of Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.[6]
During the 17th century, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama called Rato the "Tiger Nest", commenting in verse:[6]
"In the heart of the dense forest of
Scriptural knowledge,
Lies the Tiger Nest sounding
The roar of the wisdom of logic.
May the study of logic to clear the minds,
Forever develop in the boundaries of the upper,
Middle, and lower parts of the land of snow."
Venerable Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, (born in 1923), who is the head lama of Rato, studied at the original Rato Monastery when he was a young monk. In 1959, before the Tibetan diaspora started, about 500 monks studied at Rato.[6]
After the diaspora had started, in 1983 a small version of Rato Monastery was established in the Tibetan Settlement near Mungod, in Karnataka, India. At that point the monastery comprised a temple, monks' room, and kitchen, all in a two-storey building on one quarter-acre of land. Over time, more land was gradually acquired by being purchased from surrounding farmers. In 2008, a plan was devised for several much larger buildings, using local building materials and low-cost sustainable technologies.[7] As the money was raised, the buildings were gradually constructed.
Venerable Khen Rinpoche (Nicolas Vreeland) in front of the newly inaugurated Rato temple, January 2015
When Rato Dratsang was first reestablished in Karnataka in India, it was administered as part of the re-established Drepung Loseling monastery, which is in the same area. In the late 1980s, however, Rato was able to become a separate monastery or monastic university.[8]
By 2012, there were about 100 monks in the reestablished Rato Monastery in South India. In May 2012, the 14th Dalai Lama appointed Geshe Thupten Lhundup (Nicholas Vreeland) as the new abbot of the monastery, the first time a westerner had been appointed abbot of a major Tibetan Buddhist monastery.[6] Rato Dratsang is "one of a few important Tibetan Government monasteries under the patronage of His Holiness the Dalai Lama".[9][10] At Rato Monastery, Geshe Thupten Lhundup is now addressed as Khen Rinpoche.[8] "Khen" means abbot in Tibetan, and "rinpoche" is a respectful honorific that is used for high lamas and abbots; it literally means "precious one".[11][12]
Rato Monastery is featured extensively in the 2014 documentary film, Monk with a Camera.
The Rato Dratsang Foundation[edit]
As of 2018, Khyongla Rato is still Rato Monastery's head lama (spiritual teacher). In 1986, he and Ven. Geshe Thupten Lhundup (Nicholas Vreeland), along with some of their friends, created Rato Dratsang Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation, in order to "generate financial support for the monastery, establish scholarly affiliations with Western centers of higher education, provide for the translation and publication of important writings currently unavailable to English-speaking and Chinese-speaking people, and establish a sister monastic college in the west."[6]
Rato Dratsang Foundation
The Tibet Center, New York City and New Jersey
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Visits to Deyang Dratsang and Ratö Dratsang
Photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visit to Rato Dratsang
Website of Nicholas Vreeland, Abbot of Rato Dratsang, Director of The Tibet Center
^ Religious News Services, 8 May 2012, Dalai Lama Appoints Ven. Nicholas Vreeland as Abbot of Rato Monastery in India - First Time Westerner Becomes Head of a Tibetan Monastery [1] Accessed 2014-6-1
^ Vreeland, Nicholas. "Photos for Rato". tricycle.org. Tricycle. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Lawton, Kim (June 15, 2012). "Buddhist Abbot Nicholas Vreeland". Religion and Ethics Weekly, PBS. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Alvarez, Lizette (May 19, 2010). "Even the Dalai Lama Has a Point Man". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Elder, Sean (December 11, 2014). "Nicky Vreeland: The Playboy and the Prayer Wheel". Newsweek. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ a b c d e Rato Dratsang Foundation website [2] accessed 2014-6-3
^ Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, Projects, Architecture, Rato Monastery, Mungud, The Re-establishment of Rato Dratsang [3] Accessed 2014-6-3
^ a b Website of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Teachings, Mandala, Archive, Mandala for 2015, January, Dharma and the Modern World, January–March 2015, "The 'Monk with a Camera': An Interview with Khen Rinpoche Nicholas Vreeland", Accessed 2015.1. 28
^ Tasveer Arts, Nicolas Vreeland - "Photos for Rato" [4] accessed 2014-6-3
^ Nicholas Vreeland [5] Accessed 2014-6-3
^ "Visits to Deyang Dratsang and Ratö Dratsang". dalailama.com. The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^ Vreeland, Nicholas. "His Holiness Visits Rato Dratsang to inaugurate our Constitution in the new Choera Pavilion". nicholasvreeland.com. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rato_Dratsang&oldid=880167651"
Gelug monasteries
Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in India
Karnataka articles missing geocoordinate data


GrAL (Grid Algorithms Library) is a generic library for mesh data structures and mesh-based algorithms.
GrAL is an open source C++ library supporting geometric data structures for meshes and mesh-related algorithms. GrAL is based on generic programming, a relatively new programming paradigm allowing the development of very general software and the data-structure neutral implementation of algorithms.
GrAL is actively maintained and available from http://gral.berti-cmm.de.
The design goals of GrAL are on the one hand to provide generic and thus universally usable software components for geometric meshes and algorithms, and on the other hand to investigate and further develop the methods and concepts of generic programming for applications in scientific and technical computing.
A complete overview over GrAL's components can be found in the GrAL documentation.


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To start making your Plunge Pool dream a reality, contact us today for a auote.


Highs could fall short of the 40-degree mark on Tuesday and Wednesday, and below-normal temperatures are likely to continue over the rest of the month.
LANSING - Spring officially arrives on Tuesday, with sunshine and all of its promise.
But that doesn't mean it is going to feel much different.
Highs will likely fall short of the 40-degree mark on Tuesday and Wednesday, and below-normal temperatures are likely for the rest of the month, forecasters said.
There's even a chance for snow, possibly mixed with rain, on Saturday or Sunday, said Ernie Ostuno, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.
Until then, the high pressure system bringing cooler air from Canada means clear skies and lots of sunshine, and that makes it seem more, well, spring-like, Ostuno said.
"When you get sun at this time of year, it doesn't feel that bad," he said. "From lows to highs, you get a pretty good range of temperatures. With the sun, it can warm up pretty good (during the day)."
So far, the average temperature for the month is slightly below normal, Ostuno said. This March looks a lot like the March of 2014, when snow hung on the ground until late in the month, he said.
Expect highs in the high 30s Tuesday and Wednesday and in the low 40s on Thursday and Friday, with sunny skies each day, the weather service said.
Saturday and Sunday should be cooler, with highs in the high 30s.
At this time of year, it generally gets up into the mid-40s in mid-Michigan.