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Massashusetts Legal Resources
Massachusetts Legal News
Faulk, et al. v. CVS Caremark Corporation, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-175-14)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us
SJC-11650
CAROLYN O. FAULK & another[1] vs. CVS CAREMARK CORPORATION
& others.[2]
Supreme Judicial Court, Superintendence of inferior courts.
The petitioners, Carolyn O. Faulk and Stanley D. Howard, appeal from a judgment of a single justice of this court denying their petition pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3. We affirm.
The petitioners commenced an action in the Superior Court against Faulk's former employer, respondent CVS Caremark Corporation, and two of her former supervisors, respondents Danny Ramoutarsingh and David Seetaram. The complaint alleged that the respondents wrongfully terminated Faulk's employment, and included claims of, among other things, age and gender discrimination in violation of G. L. c. 151B. The complaint also stated that Howard had provided financial support to Faulk after CVS Caremark terminated her employment, and that he seeks damages (essentially, reimbursement) from CVS Caremark on that basis. In their G. L. c. 211, § 3, petition the petitioners complained primarily about two events that occurred in the trial court: the denial of Faulk's request for the appointment of counsel and the respondents' successful motion to dismiss Howard's claims on the basis that he lacks standing.
After a separate and final judgment entered against Howard, he filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, on January 21, 2014. On the same date, the petitioners also filed, in the Appeals Court, a motion to stay the trial court proceedings. On January 27, 2014, while the motion to stay was pending, the respondents filed a motion for sanctions in the trial court. Then, after a single justice of the Appeals Court denied the motion to stay, the petitioners filed their G. L. c. 211, § 3, petition on February 7, 2014. In addition to seeking relief from the denial of Faulk's request for counsel and the dismissal of Howard's claims, the petitioners also sought a stay of the then-scheduled hearing on sanctions. A single justice of this court denied the petition on February 12, 2014. On that same date, the trial court allowed the respondents' motion for sanctions and dismissed the petitioners' underlying complaint without prejudice.
Because the petitioners' complaint has been dismissed, their claim regarding the denial of Faulk's motion for the appointment of counsel, as well as their efforts to stay the trial court proceedings, are moot. See Rasten v. Northeastern Univ., 432 Mass. 1003 (2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1168 (2001). Even if these issues were not moot we would not disturb the single justice's ruling. Relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3, is properly denied where, as here, "there are other routes by which the petitioning party may adequately seek relief." Sabree v. Commonwealth, 432 Mass. 1003, 1003 (2000). The petitioners bear the burden to allege and demonstrate the absence or inadequacy of other remedies. See, e.g., Russell v. Nichols, 434 Mass. 1015, 1016 (2001). They have not, and cannot, meet this burden. Faulk could have sought interlocutory review of the denial of her motion for the appointment of counsel in the Appeals Court, pursuant to G. L. c. 231, § 118, first par. See Greco v. Plymouth Sav. Bank, 423 Mass. 1019, 1019-1020 (1996) ("Review under G. L. c. 211, § 3, does not lie where review under c. 231, § 118, would suffice"). In addition, she could have sought review of the denial of her motion in a direct appeal from the judgment of dismissal. As to the dismissal of Howard's claims, he too had an adequate alternative remedy, one which he in fact pursued: a direct appeal in the Appeals Court.[3]
The single justice did not err or abuse his discretion in denying relief under G. L. c. 211, § 3.
The case was submitted on the papers filed, accompanied by a memorandum of law.
[1] Stanley D. Howard.
[2] Danny Ramoutarsingh and David Seetaram.
[3] The Appeals Court has since dismissed Howard's appeal for failure to prosecute.
Posted by Massachusetts Legal Resources - October 24, 2014 at 3:05 pm
Categories: News Tags: 1017514, Caremark, Corporation, Faulk, Lawyers, Weekly


You are invited to the Festival of Perth Opening Event, Boorna Waanginy, at Kings Park this weekend.
The current Year Three students, who were in Ms Crisp and Ms Mastaglia's class last year, constructed seed pod lanterns for Boorna Waanginy. The lanterns will be featured in the event this weekend.


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Failed Senate Contender Suffers Psychotic Break While Ranting Against Gay Rights, Waves Tampon
Mark Shrayber
Kathleen Tonn is many things: She's a failed Senate contender, she's a fan of slouchy hats, she's a prop enthusiast, and she's also completely and irrevocably mad, as can be seen from her wonderful testimony at an an assembly meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, during which she vehemently protested non-discrimination. No one asked her, but Tonn showed up with a suitcase full of props and a prepared monologue about sin, which, for some reason, included a tampon she waved around.
Raw Story reports that Tonn, who's best known for speaking in tongues while fully dressed in a sauna, didn't waste any time launching into her perplexing tirade, which began when she was asked to state her name and place of residence, something that was apparently not a closed-ended question for this particular Christ warrior.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. You like my trumpet? It's a sound heard around the world," Tonn said, before pulling a Bible from her briefcase.
"Tonn as in a ton of sin, a ton of judgment," she said, as the chairman asked where she lived. "Hillside, where the sun was most of the summer. A ton of 'nucular' destruction."
And then it went even further downhill, which I didn't think was possible, but you should never underestimate the power of people willing to spew cringe-inducing rhetoric in the age of YouTube. Especially when they hear words such as "non-discrimination" and "gay rights."
"Since one of my brethren introduced the King James Bible, since I represent the Lord Jesus Christ the great I am, I'm going to add to your public document and your public record from the public document of the great I am," Tonn told baffled officials.
"Starting with, oh my — a tampon," she said, pulling a feminine hygiene product from between the pages of her Bible. "Reminds me that little girls in pubescence get periods — female girls."
"Now, since you want to create some ordinance to avoid discrimination for members of our community who engage in, I perceive, unhealthy, ungodly behavior, you might want to consider creating an ordinance for one who speaks in tongues."
Fortunately, Tonn's time ended there, but there is literally no way to translate what the hell she was saying into coherent English. There was just no point to the dramatics that were in evidence. It was almost like Tonn had gotten lost on her way to a high school forensics competition, ended up at the assembly meeting and thought "fuck it, I'm here."
Anchorage is considering a non-discrimination ordinance which would prevent employers and landlords from refusing work or housing (or firing and evicting) individuals based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Tonn's thought process has not been verified, but it seems like she wanted to show how ridiculous catering to a fringe minority was—why should gays get rights if people who speak in tongues don't?
According to Raw Story, Tonn shouldn't be too upset. The assembly is considering an amendment which would allow citizens to discriminate against LGBT+ individuals, as long as it's on religious grounds.
Contact the author at mark.shrayber@jezebel.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Neymar's 52-year-old Mother And Her 23-year-old Toyboy Lover Are Quizzed By Police
The mother of football superstar Neymar and her 23-year-old lover have been questioned by Brazilian police over an incident which saw the latter rushed to hospital this week.
Nadine Goncalves, 52, called an ambulance after her boyfriend Tiago Ramos suffered an injury during a reported row in the couple's apartment in Santos on Tuesday night.
It was revealed on Wednesday that Ramos needed 12 stitches in his arm, with Brazilian reports stating the wound was caused by a glass.
A spokesperson for mother-of-two Ms Goncalves said: 'There was a domestic accident with Tiago.
'Nadine thought it best to call for an ambulance as a precaution but they are fine. Everything is fine.'
According to Rio de Janiero news outlet Extra, a neighbour claimed that Ms Goncalves and Mr Ramos were arguing in their apartment on the night in question.
Unconfirmed reports from Brazil say that the model punched a window which lead to his injuries.
A spokesperson for footballer Neymar, a national hero in Brazil who plays his club football for French side Paris Saint-Germain, said: 'They clarified there was no assault, just a domestic accident that left Tiago's arm badly injured.
'He's still recovering. The two of them are doing well and continuing with their social distancing routines.'
The couple began dating in April, but Brazilian press stated the pair began dating again following a break-up on May 21.


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A Revolution of Values: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Poor People's Campaign
by Gary May
A striking Atlanta sanitation worker kneels at the grave of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after a rally by Southern Christian Leadership Conference supporting the strike in Atlanta on April 4, 1970. King was killed in Memphis while supporting a sanitation workers' strike there in 1968. The picket signs reading "I Am A Man" were first used in the Memphis strike. (AP Photo/BJ)
Can American history teach us anything about how to eradicate economic inequality? It can and what it tells us is not reassuring. Historically, American reform occurs sporadically, lasts briefly, and brings about only incremental changes. It took the Great Depression to create the opportunity to only partially fix the excesses of American capitalism. And historians have long argued that it was not FDR's New Deal which ended large-scale unemployment but World War II.
Perhaps the most revolutionary effort to end American inequality occurred almost 50 years ago and was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Similarly, Lyndon Johnson's Great Society was the product of the traumatic Kennedy Assassination and Johnson's triumph over Barry Goldwater in 1964. Much was achieved in helping minorities and the poor but by 1967, LBJ was on the defensive, his power weakened by urban riots and the Vietnam War.
Perhaps the most revolutionary effort to end American inequality occurred almost 50 years ago and was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The urban riots that occurred between 1964 and 1967 in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and, worst of all, in Newark, New Jersey, where 44 people died, convinced King that his movement had done little to improve the lives of those trapped in American ghettos. Even before the 1967 Newark tragedy, he decided to dedicate his life to the elimination of poverty. "I choose to identify with the poor," he told his congregation in August, 1966. ".. If it means dying for them, I'm going that way, because I heard a voice saying, 'Do something for others.'" Those words summed up the last two years of his life.
He could not have chosen a worse time to mount a "Poor People's Campaign." The Vietnam War had torn the Democratic Party apart, breaking its reform coalition. On April 4, 1967, King officially joined the anti-war movement.
Speaking at New York's Riverside Church, he publicly denounced the Vietnam War with a passion he'd once expressed for voting rights. "The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today," he said, was the United States. To save itself, America must lead an international crusade against "poverty, racism, and militarism."
Vietnam and the ghetto riots radicalized King. "For years I labored with the idea of reforming the existing institutions of the South, a little change here, a little change there," King told the journalist David Halberstam in April 1967. "Now I feel quite differently. I think you've got to have a reconstruction of the entire society, a revolution of values."
President Johnson went ballistic: "What is that goddamned nigger preacher doing to me?" he screamed. J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, bent on destroying King since 1963, called him "a traitor to his country and to his race." King's allies in the National Urban League and the NAACP urged him to renounce his leadership of the civil rights movement before he destroyed it. King would not relent — "a time comes when silence is betrayal," he responded.
Vietnam and the ghetto riots radicalized King. "For years I labored with the idea of reforming the existing institutions of the South, a little change here, a little change there," he told the journalist David Halberstam in April 1967. "Now I feel quite differently. I think you've got to have a reconstruction of the entire society, a revolution of values." Such a reconstruction, he explained, entailed many of the characteristics long associated with Socialism, such as a "multibillion dollar Marshall Plan" for the cities, a guaranteed national income for the poor and government control of major industries.
In October 1967 he announced that he would soon launch a "Poor People's Campaign," a march on Washington, where the impoverished of all races would set up shelters on the Washington Mall and "cripple the operations of a repressive society" until the federal government granted them an "Economic Bill of Rights." Such an effort included "nonviolent sabotage," poor people "lying on highways, blocking doors at government offices, and mass school boycotts." Such "militant tactics," King believed, were as "dramatic, as dislocative, as disruptive, as attention-getting as the riots without destroying property." To a skeptical staff, he said, "We've got to go for broke this time…If necessary I'm going to stay in jail six months. They aren't going to run me out of Washington."
LBJ, fearing that King's plans would wreck his re-election, begged him to call off the campaign. J. Edgar Hoover told the president that King had now become "an instrument in the hands of subversive forces seeking to undermine our nation," and launched POCAM, a major Bureau effort to destroy the Poor People's Campaign.
King refused Johnson's request and ignored the increased FBI surveillance as well as reports of impending assassination attempts, which grew daily. He toured to raise money while his emissaries visited more than half a dozen cities that had experienced rioting. They hoped to persuade the poorest people to join their cause. But from the first, the campaign faltered. The money wasn't there, siphoned off by people already contributing to the anti-war movement. Nor did the urban poor wish to travel to Washington, where they would live in tent cities until the government came to their rescue. King had hoped to recreate Birmingham and Selma: organize the masses, demonstrate, touch the conscience of the nation, and thus force the government to act. It had happened in 1963 and 1965, so surely it could happen again.
But it didn't. "We're in terrible shape with this campaign," King told an aide. "It just isn't working. People aren't responding." But his plans to occupy the capital went forward.
King's closest friends grew increasingly worried about his physical and emotional health. He was smoking and eating too much, sleeping too little and suffering daily from migraine headaches. Sometimes he broke into tears during public events.
Only one thing might lift King's spirits: a call for help. It came in March 1968 from his old friend Jim Lawson now leading a campaign to improve the lives of Memphis' sanitation workers. Again, his staff opposed his involvement but King saw it as preparation for struggle in Washington and flew to Memphis. It was there that an assassin took his life on April 4, 1968.
Ralph Abernathy, King's chosen successor to head the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, went forward with the Poor People's Campaign. On May 12, 1968, Coretta Scott King brought 5,000 demonstrators to Washington, DC, seeking an Economic Bill of Rights. "Resurrection City," a shantytown, was constructed on the Mall to house many of the visitors who met with congressman and senators to plead their case. None of the disruptive activities envisioned by King occurred, and people quickly began leaving the city before the National Park Service's permit to camp expired on June 23.
The Rev. Ralph Abernathy, who succeeded the slain Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, joined a group of Mississippi protesters on April 25, 1968 in front of the White House. The picketers were protesting any slash in funds needed for the Head Start Program. (AP Photo/ Bob Schutz)
The next day, over a thousand police attempted to clear Resurrection City and several hundred demonstrators were arrested, including Ralph Abernathy. There was sporadic violence and the National Guard was activated to restore order. No Economic Bill of Rights was ever created and the campaign produced only minimal results — more food stamps became available and funding for Head Start programs in Mississippi and Alabama was increased. One SCLC official called the Poor People's Campaign their "Little Bighorn."
Had King lived, it is doubtful that he could have achieved more. The American political system is incapable of producing the massive changes King prescribed in 1968 and other groups like #BlackLivesMatter are recommending today. That such changes are needed is indisputable but how to achieve them in a time of institutional and political paralysis is the million dollar question that lacks a practical answer. That 20 children and six adults could be slaughtered at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012, without producing any reform of gun laws seems to foreclose the possibility that any campaign to eliminate economic inequality could possibly succeed. The unfortunate history of the Poor People's Campaign and the failure to deal with contemporary outrages is not a prescription for inaction, however. Quite the contrary.
King put it best: "I can't lose hope," he once said, "because when you lose hope, you die."
Gary May is a professor of history at the University of Delaware and author of Bending Toward Justice: The Voting Rights Act and the Transformation of American Democracy, now available in an updated paperback edition.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Remembering a Committed Life
Martin Luther King's Multiracial Fight for Justice
What Martin Luther King Might Think of Today's Economic Justice
MLK's Hopes for the Poor: A Dream America Has Yet to Realize
James Cone and Taylor Branch on MLK's Fight for Economic Equality
Now Is the Perfect Time to Fight Poverty Wages
TOPICS: Activism, Economy & Work, History, Inequality
TAGS: civil rights, coretta scott king, fight to vote, income inequality, lyndon johnson, march on washington, martin luther king jr., memphis, newark, poor people's campaign, poverty, protest, war on poverty, widget


This topic explains how to opt out of automatic player updates, as well as setting a player to a specific version. Note: This document uses curl statements to perform operations using the Player Management API. In the curl statements you will see values of $EMAIL , $ACCOUNT_ID and $PLAYER_ID . You must either create environment variables by those names and assign corresponding values, or supply the literal values for the variables.
In this topic, you will learn about reports using the player's last_viewed data.
In this topic, you will learn how to set up the popular Postman HTTP client to make requests to the Brightcove RESTful APIs. Some find curl statements and the command line, used for most of the examples in this section of the documentation, difficult and intimidating. For those, there are numerous tools to send HTTP requests to REST-based services, which include most of the Brightcove APIs. This document will show you how to use one such tool, the Postman app.
In this topic, you will learn how the Player Management API utilizes the Delivery System API to store and maintain information on Brightcove Players.
This document provides a hands-on introduction to the basic operations of the Player Management API.
This topic will assist you in deciding when and how to use the Embed APIs. The decision of choosing between using the Player Configuration APIs versus the Embed APIs is an important one and the content in this document will guide you in these decisions. The curl statements in this guide build upon the work done in the Quick Start: Player Management . Working through this guide after doing the Quick Start to Player Management allows you to see the changes made to a child player, and just importantly the features inherited from the parent player.
This topic describes how to view and alter the player configuration. The JSON syntax is documented as well.


Carlos Ghosn's family lawyer has said the former Nissan boss is being "held hostage" by the Japanese legal system.
Jessica Finelle told the BBC Mr Ghosn's "arbitrary detention" violated his right to a fair trial and says a complaint has been filed with the UN.
His wife, Carole Ghosn, was also a victim of the "brutal" manner in which his re-arrest was conducted, she added.
Mrs Ghosn said she felt "in danger" and has now returned to France to ask the government there to intervene on her husband's behalf.
His lawyer, Ms Finelle, said for some of that time he hadn't had access to his case file or an opportunity to contest his detention – a victim of Japan's "hostage justice system".
"He is basically treated in a way that's he's pressurised – to weaken him so that he will make forced confessions," she said.
She also accused prosecutors of conducting Mr Ghosn's re-arrest last week in a "very brutal" fashion, as if he and his wife were "dangerous terrorists".
She said although Mr Ghosn had adhered to court-imposed bail conditions, the prosecutors office had sent twenty people to arrest him at 05:50 local time on Thursday (20:50 GMT Wednesday).
Mr Ghosn's wife, Carole, was only allowed to shower in the presence of a female police officer and was subjected to a full body search, she said.
They took her passport, cell phones, and computer, and attempted to interview her without her lawyer being present, Ms Finelle added.
Mrs Ghosn later told media outlets she felt "in danger" and had decided to return to France to ask the French government for support.
Mrs Ghosn also told newspapers that before his latest arrest her husband had recorded a video detailing who he believes is responsible for what has happened to him. Mr Ghosn's legal team in Japan is expected to release the video on Tuesday.
He has previously said his arrest was the result of a "plot and treason" against him – a bid by some Nissan executives wanting to stop his plan to integrate Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.
Ms Finelle said last week's arrest appeared timed to prevent Mr Ghosn from speaking to the media after he announced his intention to publicly present his side of the story.


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So I wonder where this fear comes from and why it is so persistent. Why do people like Erdogan (but it's not just him) believe they can get away with oppressing the people in their countries? Why do they think they can stop a process which is inevitable and irrevocable since it finds its origin in a different source. What would it take for them to leave throw their petty political and personal agenda out of the window and make room for that which want to become manifest?
Why can't those so-called leaders not see what wants to emerge? Is it that they identify so much with the role they have? Do they take themselves too seriously? And mind you: I'm pretty sure it is rather obscure for many of the protesters as well. But still they have the courage to respond to this new universal signal: no longer is it one for all. (And speaking of courage: what to think about this individual Edward Snowden?) We're in this together. Leadership is a distributed function, and leadership roles will be inhabited by those who can make the contribution which is required for as long at it is required.
The American people are on a diet of fear. And once more: they're not the only ones. It may be the consequence of us living our lives under the illusion of separation in a hostile environment, as Charles Eisenstein illustrates so beautifully: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZkQv25uEs And inevitably that has gotten a solid political foundation as well. Why is it that no one seems to ask why the American people should be afraid? And of what exactly? And what it would take to get rid of the fear? And again: the USA is not the only country where this is going on. It's omnipresent.
The modern world as we have come to know and understand it, has ended. I know. Many of you know. When will enough people know and act responsibly in allowing the future that wants to emerge to actually do so.
For some time I've been wondering how long our current economic system can continue as it is based on scarce money (or better: interest bearing debt), the repayment of which necessitates perpetual growth and leads us to believe we're separate from each other and that we have to compete for this scarce money. There are several authors who are pointing this out as well, like Mark Boyle and Charles Eisenstein (www.charleseisenstein.net) for instance. Since the beginning of this century, money has been even further disconnected from the real world as it ever had been. It's numbers on a computer at a bank and some tangibles like slips of paper and metal coins with symbols on it that do magic to the otherwise relative worthless paper and metal. And the funny thing is: we all agree to it. We all play along with the money game and are all howling at the Euro crisis with every government in Europe fearing for a worsening of it and for their country slipping into a recession. That triggers panic in the political decision-making centers. If the number of paid transactions decreases and possibly (their average price level too) it is feared that eventually the economy will collapse. Well, yeah, if we continue to believe money is the only thing that matters in a human life, it may so happen and we'll all end up hungry, cold, miserable and grumpy. To put it mildly.
A recession is a decrease in the number of paid transactions form one period to the previous. OK, technically speaking, this has to happen two quarters in a row. I am aware that wealth is not evenly distributed around the planet and that there still is poverty around the globe. But what use is it for those in the "developed" world to get more stuff? More stuff doesn't make us happier or having more fulfilled lives. More stuff primarily seems to be driving forces in our society who need the power that comes with accumulating money. Big corporations, all kinds of institutions, the state itself….
What fascinates me how we are going to get there and what changes we have to incur in our thinking about everything but about economics in particular. How can we make sure we make his shift, by not staying stuck in the current political and economical debate that is ruled by fear. And how can we make this shift in a safe and peaceful way?
Earlier this week I landed on the Arte TV-channel here in Germany that had dedicated that day's programmes to the theme 'Why Poverty?' Having studied economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, I guess I could answer this question using economic theories and would probably come up with some kind of an accepted answer. But watching young Chinese adults reluctantly engaging in a struggle for survival, either by trying to get accepted by some top university (thereby ruining their family's monetary reserves to cover for the cost) or by trying to find whatever job that is available amidst countless competitors, made me sick. And those are considered the lucky ones.
Again I came across an interesting post by Umair Haque (I guess you might think by now I'm following him or something) , here it is: http://bitly.com/PIZdeh He makes a point of finding out the meaning of our life or better: of allowing meaning to find us. And to be open to Love. Big love not small love. It seems we have become deaf to the language of mattering, numb to the real meaningful things (which most of the time aren't things anyway) blind to the meaning of our life, closed off from a life with meaning. And why? Is it the overload of stimuli telling us to care about having stuff, to see the world around us in terms of stuff and stuff only? It must be why most people I know are dissatisfied, whether they are regarded successful or not. Constantly living in a state of profound exhaustion, perpetually fuelled by fear. Fear of being hurt, disappointed, turned down, fear for showing up as who we really are, imbued by the fear of not being good enough. Well, if it helps, let me tell you: you are good enough just the way you are. We all are.
It takes courage to see and more so to embrace what our life is about. Too often we get caught up in a complex structure of rules and supposed expectations we think we need to fulfill. letting go of that feels like giving something up, without us being able to see how it holds us back, how it limits our talents, how it prevents us from living wholeheartedly. Freedom is more than just an academic notion, being born in a discussion to which none of the participants are really present. It comes from disciplined action based on self-knowledge and with detachment from the results. So the invitation is to go out there and get dented, bruised scratched in allowing meaning to find you. And in that process to love and be loved. Love yourself for starters and see what comes from that, see how different the world becomes when you do so. Have conversations that matter, with anyone that matters. We think we're alone but once we dare to step out from under our glass dome, we quickly find out we're not. Initiate these conversations, go out and seek the experiences that are meaningful to you and not necessarily to others. Experiences that bring you closer to who you are and what it is that you, and only you, are here for. All are craving for contact, for sharing experiences, for having conversations that matter. For being open to the language of mattering. Allow those conversations to happen so you can help others on their way as they help you continue your journey.
I'm just wondering these days as I read about politicians and civil servants, doing their best to erode the system they are depending on, if they are actually aware about what they're doing. Or is it that they just play a predetermined role as puppets on a string or as pawns in an ancient Greek drama? I find it rather funny (well, is that really the word here) to see how supposedly grown-ups around the world are fighting to be the leader (ahem) of the pack and regardless whether they succeed in becoming so, the least they will do is to secure their own private interests. Sometimes by securing the economic future of an entire family dynasty, sometimes far more petty by claiming a few euros too many for their expenses. But also, like right now in Holland, by putting together a coalition agreement after the elections without having properly thought it through. And then, in an act of utmost disrespect for parliament (and all of society for that matter) kind of toss it over the fence in order for it to be discussed in parliament. (where the majority belongs to those parties having put the agreement together, so guess what the outcome of the discussions will be) To me it makes the case that we're basically done with the old-fashioned way our institutions are run. (Umair Haque wrote an interesting post about it as well: http://bit.ly/PIZdeh) How long do they think we're going to put up with that nonsense? How long are we still going to?
It seems to fit a larger picture as we're moving into a new era. A new era that will eventually be characterised by global consciousness, people living their life, to which they're called, in individual freedom, with a sense of belonging (and contributing) to a local or regional community. So it is clear that in this society there is no need for the malfunctioning institutions of our day. There's this dialogue in my novel 'The Glass Dome' (http://www.geerthofman.com/glass-dome) between the elderly Italian gentleman Romano and Peter Woudenberg, the main character following an accident Peter had been involved in. They talk about the upcoming changes.
"Do you have any idea what is awaiting us?" Peter wanted to know.
Romano smiled and continued in his characteristic calm way.
"That's what you hope," Peter countered.
"It's what I hope and also what I choose to believe to be true," he sighed, seemingly getting somewhat agitated.
"So what you're trying to say is that when more people start living, how shall I put it, their authentical life, human life on the planet will start changing because of that," Peter rephrased.
So yeah, I choose to believe that our society as we know it has begun to change in a radical way. Its very roots will change. Interesting to see how the institutions get help from the inside in being dismantled and interesting to see what comes in their place as some coordination of us living together seems desirable. And also: what institutions will be affected by it….. Any thoughts?
As you know by now, I find this discussion regarding money quite fascinating. As I've mentioned in my previous post, due to its nature you can't ever get enough money. Unless you take a conscious decision that enough is enough, you'll always want more money. And yeah, well, what can you do with more and more and more money? Buy stuff? Buy more expensive stuff? Buy political power? Why? To get tax breaks that result in you having even more money? So, now that our current way of interest bearing debt based and (money) growth driven economics is coming to an end a question becomes relevant: what kind of prosperity would we get if we'd stop monetizing each and everything on the planet? What would it mean if we'd collectively step out of the money game and enter the human game?
Eudaimonia or eudaemonia (Ancient Greek: εὐδαιμονία [eu̯dai̯monía]), sometimes Anglicized as eudemonia ( /juːdɨˈmoʊniə/), is a Greek word commonly translated as happiness or welfare; however, "human flourishing" has been proposed as a more accurate translation. Etymologically, it consists of the words "eu" ("good") and "daimōn" ("spirit"). It is a central concept in Aristotelian ethics and political philosophy, along with the terms "aretē", most often translated as "virtue" or "excellence", and "phronesis", often translated as "practical or moral wisdom." In Aristotle's works, eudaimonia was (based on older Greek tradition) used as the term for the highest human good, and so it is the aim of practical philosophy, including ethics and political philosophy, to consider (and also experience) what it really is, and how it can be achieved.
So it is about good spirit….. Several Greek philosophers have different interpretations of it, though. Roughly they vary from just having a good time (Epicurus) or being active in a life aimed at achieving excellence (arete) in virtue as Aristotle and Socrates suggest. I guess by now we've ticked the box of living a life of (superficial and empty-headed) pleasure which does not prove to be enough for sustainable happiness or fulfillment as the senses require constantly new stimuli in order to remain satisfied (sedated) or have at least the illusion that they are so.
Then this video by Charles Eisenstein came to mind. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZkQv25uEs From 09:26 onward he talks about Adulthood. We're moving out of this childhood phase, where we played around with our talents without connecting those to our true purpose, and entering the phase of Adulthood where the gifts and talents we've developed will now be aimed at our purpose. The first step then being healing, a massive amount of it, to heal what we've made sick. And that requires that we act, apart from having a changed set of attitudes, a radically changed view of ourselves, of the universe and hence how we relate to that. We need to act collectively, based on our radically changed view of the universe, naturally allowing each of us the freedom that is indissociably ours. Sitting around and thinking about the healing is not enough. And: the acting is not a tick-the-box exercise either. It is a change process by itself through which we will learn to see the beauty of life again, and to honour our habitat at large, including everything that lives in it.
As I've also mentioned in my novel The Glass Dome (www.geerthofman.com-glass-dome) one of the conditions that seemingly need to be met is the dissolving of current rigid structures in all fields of our society. And that I expect that not to go peaceful most of the time. Hence interesting times ahead but I'm getting more confident that we'll be able to make the jump thanks to our collective wisdom, once that gets properly mobilised. With contribution from people like Umair Haque and Charles Eisenstein, but also John Renesch (https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatGrowingUp) and many more, not all hope is lost!
Any thoughts? I'd like us to explore our road ahead.
I talked about Charles Eisenstein and his book Sacred Economics in my previous blog (www.sacred-economics.com). Now, I'd like to address another phenomenon enhanced by money: separation. It starts with a view that everything in the universe which you don't recognise as 'you' is separate and hence alien. At best you and it are indifferent about each other but chances are that you, as a human being, see it as something to be afraid of, something hostile. And that asks for control. But how can we control nature? We do impact it but can we control it? When you don't feel part of the universe, part of nature, you may see it as things, or 'a bunch of stuff' as Charles Eisenstein labels it in this video (http://youtu.be/EEZkQv25uEs). It becomes a bunch of stuff you can get hold of, process it and then sell it back to the people to whom it belonged in the first place, leaving you with more money than before. And with that money you can buy stuff. I find it interesting that renting out storage space has become a market of its own, at least in the US and in several European countries. We buy so much stuff that we can no longer store it in our homes. I like to believe that most products we buy, are not bought because of their functional qualities but as a kind of sedation. An attempt to lift the loneliness and void our money driven lives have given us. Who was it that said: 'the best things in life most of the time are not things?'. How can a bag cost several thousands of dollars or euros? And hold the stuff it's supposed to hold indescribably better than a, let's say two hundred dollar bag would? Of course I'm aware of the underlying psychological patterns of the buyers. But really: a 10cm square cm strip of leather with a Luis Vuitton ring to it should cost over a hundred euro's? I'm wondering if anybody has researched the sustainability of the psychological well-being of a person as the result of owning exorbitantly expensive luxury goods, that can be produced at only a fraction more of what it costs to produce commodities. And commodities are what most of the things are that we use in the first place. Or is there anyone out there believing he's the only one with an iPhone? Of course I'm not saying we should move to a state controlled plan-economy where everything we can buy is of poor quality, not sufficient in quantity and as standard as it gets. The point is that I believe (and agree with Charles Eisenstein) that we have come to the point that we're reaching the end of economic growth as we have been taught to have it. And hence a different, arguably far more limited role of money is required. I predict that the focus on human needs will grow. To experience meaningfulness, significance and hence get out of the money game. How much more stuff do we need to have in order to feel happy? Fulfilled? Satiated? What is finally enough? Of course the emerging economies around the world provide the last profitable stretches in this dead-end street. Indeed this was mentioned in my first novel (www.geerthofman.com/glass-dome) I lost track of how much coca cola the average chinese is drinking, how much Cartier and Rolex watches they own and how much Mercedes, Porsches, Beamers and Ferrari's have been sold more to China than last year? More expensive stuff won't fill the void. More expensive stuff doesn't feel the rather basic human needs of wanting to feel fulfilled by deploying our talents where they're needed and where they make sense. Naturally, without being forced to serve whose ever bottom line.
It is time we start seeing and experiencing the connection again. It is time we leave the money game behind us and enter the human game, which is played on a global scale with fairness and access to the planet's richness for all. Charles Eisenstein refers to this as the coming of age ordeal. Now it's time to individually and collectively reconnect to our purpose and direct the deployment of our unique talents exactly in that direction.


Based at YMCA Camp Copneconic in Fenton, POWER Camp is a summer day camp exclusively tailored to those with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2018 we will celebrate our 8th year! POWER Camp was developed to help expand the capabilities, confidence, and social experiences of youth with autism. The program includes "Peer Buddies" who are typically developing children aged 10-15 who serve as a friend and mentor to campers with autism. Led by adults with specialized ASD training and supported by "junior counselors", the camp encourages fun, learning and social interaction in a supportive and loving setting.
Registration open March 1st - May 1st!!!
The ASRC, in partnership with our trusted friends at YMCA Camp Copneconic, provides a tailored one-week summer day-camp experience for children with an IEP confirmed ASD diagnosis. The ASRC is pleased to offer this twice during the summer!
POWER Camp is held at YMCA Camp Copneconic. They are located at 10407 N. Fenton Rd, Fenton, MI 48430. Camp is held approximately from 8:30am-3:30pm Monday-Thursday. An optional overnight is offered during one of the weeks. Dates will be announced by February each year.
Registration will be available by March and is on a first come, first serve basis. Required items for registration include completed enrollment form, signed waiver, completed health intake form, copy of full IEP or psychological evaluation and full payment by May 1st. NO EXCEPTIONS. Refund policy is noted on application.
POWER Camp is open to campers with a confirmed ASD diagnosis who are ages 7-18. ***NEW TO CAMP IN 2017*** Young adults who have higher needs and are not yet functionally independent (ex. students enrolled in Elmer Knopf or similar programs for those up to age 26) may also enroll, but contact the ASRC first to determine if camp is a good fit.
Diagnosis is confirmed by school IEP. In an effort to make it an inclusive experience, we also incorporate typically developing Peer Buddies ages 10-15 who come recommended from their teachers based on their ability to mentor and be a good friend to those with autism.
Your child may engage in the following types of activities. All activities are supervised by Camp Copneconic staff as well as ASRC professional volunteers. Life jackets are provided and required for certain water activities. You will have an opportunity to tell us about your child's swimming ability in the registration packet.
Does POWER Camp serve the whole autism spectrum?
The activities are all planned so participants can access them regardless of where they are on the spectrum. Campers can have lower or higher needs and can be verbal or non verbal. We do ask that campers are toilet trained. We can offer assistance with dressing and we are able to offer verbal prompting to walk them through their routine, but we are unable to physically wipe.
Camp provides a wonderful and well supervised environment for our ASD youth, however, we are a non-restraint program. Along with that comes potential dangers for those who frequently elope such as open woods, water areas, and access to main roads. Campers who need 1:1 assistance throughout the entire day (either because they are in danger of running away, need physical assistance for most activities, or who are routinely aggressive to themselves and others) might not be a good fit for our program. Please contact us to see if this program is a good fit for your child's specific needs.
Campers are reviewed by our professional staff of educators and social workers. Based on their clinical profile they are carefully placed into groups of about 3- 6 campers, depending on level of need. They are joined by 2-4 peer buddies, again depending on level of need of the campers. Campers and Peer Buddies may request to be placed together in a group.
Who leads the campers and peer buddies throughout the day?
Typically we keep our camper:adult ratio at 2:1. Camp Copneconic has 2 of their counselors who are the "camp experts". They provide instructions on the activities offered each day. They have received autism training and many have worked at POWER Camp in the past. The ASRC also has approximately 2-4 adult counselors in each group. These adults are professionals who work with the ASD population. Professions include special education teachers, OTs, SLPs, social workers, paraprofessionals and respite workers. Many of our volunteers return each year and some have been with the program since it's inception. We also encourage Junior Counselors (JCs) to apply to our program. JCs are typically developing students age 16-18 who come recommended to POWER Camp due to demonstrated leadership within their school environment. Often times, they are in programs in their high-school that help support those with autism. All adult leaders undergo a background check.
Campers must arrive at camp having already eaten breakfast. Camp provides a morning and afternoon snack and lunch and water is readily available. Menus will be provided in advance of camp. Gluten free options are available. Children are permitted to bring their own lunch/snacks that are NUT-FREE (this includes Nutella). The following is list of items to make it a successful experience.
comfort items such a stuffed animals or other "lovies"


text:
De roodteugelvliegenvanger (Anthipes solitaris; synoniem: Ficedula solitaris) is een zangvogel uit de familie Muscicapidae (vliegenvangers).

Verspreiding en leefgebied
Deze soort telt 3 ondersoorten:
 A. s. submoniliger: noordelijk Maleisië, zuidoostelijk Laos en het zuidelijke deel van Centraal-Vietnam.
 A. s. malayana: centraal en zuidelijk Maleisië.
 A. s. solitaris: Sumatra.

Externe link
Avibase

Vliegenvangers
Dier uit het Oriëntaals gebied
IUCN-status niet bedreigd

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
**Views**

With [assemble][]:

```js
var assemble = require('assemble');
var app = assemble();

// create a collection (this is already done in assemble)
app.create('partials', {viewType: 'partial'});

// load a template onto the collection
app.partial('foo', {content: '# {{title}}', title: 'Heading'});
```

Use the helper, specify the name of the view you want to convert to HTML

```handlebars
{{md "foo"}}
```

**Files**

Or, you can specify a filepath to include content from external files.

```handlebars
{{md "posts/foo.md"}}
```

Both result in something like:

```html
<h1>Heading</h1>
```

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Our team in Sydney is growing. This is a fantastic opportunity for a talented and passionate relationship builder to join NSW LEATHER CO as a Commercial Account Manager working closely with Architects, Designers and Commercial Upholsterers.
Since 1952, we are a family run, third generation leather supply company (import & export). For over 60 years now we've been at the forefront of the market delivering exceptional quality product and customer service to customers in Australia, NZ & SE Asia.
This role will focus predominantly in the NSW area, with the aim to broaden our already substantial market share while maintaining strong relations with existing customers specifically in the Architectural, Designer and Commercial Upholstery market.
As the business expands, the candidate will have the opportunity to grow with our company and reap the rewards of success through an excellent bonus programme and outstanding working conditions.
If you think this sounds like you, and you'd love to join the NSW Leather Co team in Sydney, we'd love to hear from YOU!
* The candidate we are looking for is exceptionally passionate, professional and organised.
* You will already be working as an experienced Account Manager/ Sales Executive, selling products to Architects and Designers.
* Experience working with leather and / or fabrics will be highly advantageous.
* Your relationship management focus, networking skills, and attention to detail will be of paramount importance.


text:
Q: Laplace derivative formula This is a question from a sample test. I'm just not quite sure how my professor has gotten to this answer. I'm good up until the part where she starts differentiating
$\mathcal{L}${x$^2$y''}
= $\frac{d^2}{ds^2}$[s$^2$$\mathcal{L}${y} - sy(0) - y'(0)]
= $\frac{d}{ds}$[2s$\mathcal{L}$ + s$^2$$\frac{d\mathcal{L}{(y)}}{ds}$ - y(0)]
=2$\mathcal{L}${y} + 4s$\frac{d\mathcal{L}(y)}{ds}$ + s$^2$$\frac{d^2\mathcal{L}{(y)}}{ds^2}$

A: She applied the product rule:
$$(fg)'=f'g+fg'$$
So that:
$$\dfrac {d}{ds}(s^2 \mathcal{ L}(y))=2s \mathcal{ L}(y)+s^2\dfrac {d}{ds} (\mathcal{ L}(y))$$
Because $\mathcal{ L}(y)$ is also a function of $s$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A civic artist and playwright plans for change in theater and democracy.
Anna Deveare Smith is poised for a one-woman performance at Duke University.
It seemed an important question about civic dialogue for a conversation with Anna Deavere Smith: Did she think it was still possible?
The question was left up in the air at the end of her latest book, Talk to Me: Travels in Media and Politics. The book provides a detailed account of the years she spent in Washington, studying the presidency and the press in much the same way she examined Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, and Los Angeles in the early 1990s. Back then, hundreds of interviews with people from all walks of life resulted in Fires in the Mirror and Twilight, two one-woman shows that documented our culture's difficulties in dealing with issues involving race and ethnicity.
Her time in D.C. produced the controversial play House Arrest, and also arguably prepped her for subsequent roles in both the 1995 film The American President and the television series The West Wing. But Smith's sojourn also left her with a series of disturbing questions about our national discourse. Those concerns could only be heightened given events in Washington since the publication of the book.
Bush became president, an ensuing "war on terrorism" began and the country slowly edged to the brink of war with Iraq. In recent months, one could conclude that a national monologue has supplanted the national dialogue which Smith notes could take place in Washington. Meanwhile, the media's pundit class hasn't monopolized the public conversation less in three years' time. On some levels, neither government nor the media seems to be listening to the American people.
So, in this time of war, is civic dialogue still possible?
"Not only is it possible--I wouldn't use the word 'required'--I think it is absolutely bursting to happen at this moment," Smith says. "Maybe not in huge circles: it can't happen like what happens when people turn on the television and watch Survivor or Bachlorette.
"But I think we have to settle for the grass-roots ways it can happen, and work diligently with the expectation that that is going to grow into something. That's how social change has always happened anyway.
"I don't think we can count on the media to engage us," she continues. "We really expect too much of the media. In the end, they are a big business. And it's a mistake to equate democracy and capitalism ... "
Or democracy with a free press? I interject.
"The press is not free. It's really owned."
Smith returns to Duke University this week for a Friday evening performance at Page Auditorium. Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change, is the keynote performance for a weekend symposium on "Race and Gender in Global Perspective," sponsored by Duke's Women's Studies program.
It's a perspective that Smith has decided she has to seek out on her own. After recent trips to Brazil and Peru, she has concluded that the American character and identity can't be truly measured with readings taken only from the inside. "Absolutely not," she notes, "especially not now. I'm talking about a whole new stage of work that I have to prepare for." The work will take Smith to places where she "can go to see America from a different point of view."
"You know, we're an empire," Smith says. "If I stayed just on the inside with our domestic issues, I would fail to see, appreciate and think about us as an empire."
But when we spoke by phone last week, Smith had larger civic conversations on her mind. Her prime candidate for facilitating those conversations? The citizen artist.
It's an expectation based on one of the more surprising findings from her three-year summer Institute for Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard: "In this historical moment, now more than ever, artists actually have the public trust," she notes, "at a time when many other kinds of professions and institutions do not. So as artists we have a wonderful opportunity to engage with the public and to engage them in the issues of our time. This is the time for us to seize that."
Smith asks, "The question is, as artists, do we use our sensitivities and our ability to attract attention only for our own personal glorification? Or do we use them in order to convene people around the issues of their time?"
"It isn't easy," she notes, "because you have to be at the top of your form technically, and have a lot of energy to spend with the public. That's not spending it with them just to talk about who you are as a celebrity, but to really engage with the problems of our time. That is a lot of physical, emotional and intellectual work, and I do think it calls for educating artists in a different way than they have been in the past."
Smith notes a change in the theater's artists would necessitate changes off-stage as well: "It also means that the audience has a different responsibility, too.
"It basically means, 'No fair standing in awe of us, right? You're expected to do something too, besides just sit here and watch. Let's hear what you have to say--and hopefully, what are you going to do. We're here refining our skills, to make a call to cause people to think and feel differently,'" she says. "What are your skills? What do you bring to the table? What are you going to do?"
All of which is part of Smith's ongoing quest to achieve a new kind of engagement with the audience. "It's a proposal about art which is actually probably very old, and at the very core of what democracy is all about," she says. "It's about an involved citizenry."
"In the end, it proposes to the audience that, even as we are delighted to have a standing ovation, we don't want them so smitten with us that they forget about what it is they could do."
This impulse turned the final act of the Los Angeles production of House Arrest into an open conversation with the audience, and as the L.A. Times noted, Smith's gambit paid off in the most engaged and diverse audience Los Angeles saw in 1999. "It was saying 'This is how much we can say so far about our presidency,'" she says. "We want to know what you think.'"
An unlikely model for the change Smith has in mind--for theater and politics in America--came from her experience in, of all places, an old Southern church in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 1996. In Talk To Me, she writes of her experience in the congregation at the Rising Star Baptist Church. "The droning voices, the sounds, the community. People were talking to Jesus, and they were talking to each other. The Preacher, Elijah C. Weaver, weighed about 350 pounds; a very dark-skinned man in a purple suit under his white robe. His preaching was more sounds than words."
In the book, a redemptive telling of the story of Daniel in the lions' den, and "the drone of the music, the sweat of all of us" in singing "Amazing Grace," Smith asks, "What if democracy felt like that?"
As our conversation closes, I ask Smith to take the question further.
"What I meant there is it's not just the fact of the spiritual uplifting--it's that everybody is participating in its happening.
"You know, it's the complete opposite of the Episcopal church, right? Elijah C. Weaver is just one figure there. He doesn't assume that he can be the complete conductor of it. He's responsible for the words. But everybody there is in that church for one reason and one reason only: They want to meet Jesus this Sunday morning. They want to convene Jesus right now. And they all come prepared to do the work."
"That's what I'm talking about," Smith says. "That's what I'd like the theater to feel like."
"And," she closes, "if a democracy were like that, it would be extraordinary."


text:
Q: Why using Self as return type is not considered as the protocol's constraint? This is a valid protocol declaration in Swift:
protocol Proto1: class {
    func method1() -> Self
    func method2() -> [Proto1]
}

But this isn't:
protocol Proto2: class {
    func method1(param: Self)
    func method2() -> [Proto2]
}

The error message is:

Protocol 'Proto2' can only be used as a generic constraint because it
has Self or associated type requirements

So it seems that, when using Self as function's return type, Swift doesn't consider that as a constraint of the protocol being defined and hence it's OK to use the protocol itself as functions' return type. But when using Self as function's parameter type, the behavior is completely different.
I wonder why such a difference?

A: Because it's not useful to have a Self as a parameter type of a method. Suppose that you can do:
protocol P {
    func f(_ x: Self)
}

class A: P {
    func f(_ x: Self) {
        // not relevant
    }
}

class B: A { }

Now suppose I have:
func g(x: A) {
    // what can I do with x?
}

The fact is, there is no way to call x.f. Because I can pass an instance of B to x, in which case x.f would accept a B instead. x could be an instance of any subclass of A that I have no way of knowing at compile time, so I don't know what I can pass to x.f.

Compare that to Self used as the return type:
protocol P {
    func f() -> Self
}

// Implementation:
class A: P {
    func f() -> Self {
        self
    }
}

class B: A { }

func g(x: A) {
    let foo: A = x.f()
}

Here, we know that I can at least assign the return value of x.f to a variable of type A. Even if x is an instance of B, which means that f returns a B, we can still assign that to a variable of type A.


STAMFORD, Conn., Nov 04, 2009 -- World Wrestling Entertainment® has announced that tickets for its annual global pop culture extravaganza, WrestleMania XXVI, will go on sale this Saturday, November 7 at 10 AM MT. WrestleMania XXVI will take place Sunday, March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ.
Ticket prices including tax and facility fee range from $25-$255, with a limited number of "Platinum Ringside" seats available for $755. Tickets can be purchased through the University of Phoenix Stadium box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Last year, 72,744 fans from all 50 states, 24 countries and seven Canadian provinces converged on Reliant Stadium in Houston for the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.
WrestleMania is more than just a one day event, it is a week long celebration, as WWE® will take over the greater Glendale/Phoenix area during WrestleMania Week. In addition to WrestleMania XXVI, other activities will include: WrestleMania Axxess – WWE's interactive fan festival; WrestleMania Art; WrestleMania Reading Challenge competition; WrestleMania Pro-Am Golf Tournament; and the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Additional information on these events will be announced in the future at www.wrestlemania26.com.


View Full Post Today on the show... The Dream Jurnal Episode.
View Full Post Life ain't easy when stuff like this shows up on the counter in the break room.
View Full Post Check out what happened when Morgan from HR gave Jayar a little guidance on how to apply his wife's make up.
View Full Post Princess Elsa's final story aired today.
View Full Post Today is World Hello Day! The idea is simple: just say hello to everybody you see and maybe strike up a few conversations.
View Full Post Some images of our Turkey stops in Newnan, Villa Rica, LaGrange, and Macon.
View Full Post When DJ Frap tells you that we're going on a 3 mile run, don't believe him!
View Full Post Worshiping God through his creation at Clearwater Marine Aquarium.


text:
Tamim (Tam) Saidi
MAPLE GROVE, MN — Dr. Tamim Saidi envisions a community where people of all faiths live peacefully without bigotry or discrimination. A refugee from Afghanistan who earned a doctorate in pharmacy after arriving in Minnesota, he has also become a part-time imam and activist with a passion for building trust and connections between Muslim Minnesotans and the wider community. Now, to be a transformational leader for his community, he seeks to maximize his efforts as an imam with the skills to bridge cultural and religious differences. With his Bush Fellowship, he will pursue double master's degrees in Islamic studies and leadership.
My handwritten notes from the 4/15/2018 retreat mentioned: "Grateful, honored, humbled, excited, and a bit nervous." I still feel extremely grateful, exceptionally honored, exceedingly humbled, extraordinarily excited, and still a bit nervous about what the future holds.
How has your understanding of your own leadership changed through the Fellowship to date? How has focusing on your own leadership changed the way you lead in your work? How do you now view the role of self-care in sustaining your ability to lead?
------------- ---------
Dear 2019 Bush Fellow,


I love to walk on the beaches, and mountains.
I just really want to see some nice. Breast size is nice, but I really like a thick, round, full boobies, wider hips, femalely thighs. Of a real relationship.
Beautiful older ladies seeking seduction Lexington Copyright 2018 I want the kind of friendship where we know the ins and outs of each other. Occasionally, we like going out to a gay bar for dancing and drinks.


text:
English and Drama blog
Seven things that you might not know about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
With the Library's Alice in Wonderland exhibition now almost half way through its run I have been thinking about some of the surprising things that I have learnt about Carroll's famous story whilst working on the exhibition. I shared seven facts about Alice as part of one of the breakout sessions at the Alice themed Festival of the Spoken Nerd event that was held at the Library on 1st February and I thought that I would share them here too.
1. It took Lewis Carroll over two years to create the manuscript, Alice's Adventures Under Ground, after he first told the story to Alice Liddell and her sisters on the 4th July 1862. Carroll recorded in his diary that he had finished the text of the manuscript (which is written in a very neat hand in sepia ink) by February 1863. However Carroll was not a professional artist and it took him more than a year to finish the illustrations.
2. Carroll added two new chapters, 'Pig and Pepper' and 'A Mad Tea-Party' when he reworked the story for publication. These chapters include some of the most famous characters – the Duchess, the Cheshire Cat, the Hatter and the March Hare. It is hard to imagine Alice's Adventures in Wonderland without some of its most famous and eccentric characters!
3. The model for publication was rather different in the Victorian period. Although Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was published by Macmillan Lewis Carroll bore most of the financial liability for the publication of the book himself. This meant that decisions about all aspects of publication from selecting the illustrator and engraver to the size and colour of the volume were made by Carroll. This may help explain part of why Carroll was so determined that the book should be a success.
4. John Tenniel who illustrated both of the Alice books was blinded in the right eye in a fencing accident aged only 20. Tenniel sustained the injury in a fencing match against his father though he managed to conceal his disability from his father for the rest of his life in order to spare him any guilt. This isn't strictly a fact about the book but I found it so incredible that Tenniel was able to become such a successful artist with such a disability.
5. The first colour illustrations of Alice which are featured in The Nursery Alice (1890) show Alice wearing a yellow dress rather than the blue and white outfit which we often tend to associate with her.
6. The success of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland can be seen in the range of 19th century merchandise and Alice themed music and theatre which were created. This included Charles Marriott's Wonderland Quadrilles and the Wonderland Postage Stamp Case which Carroll personally helped to create.
7. Copyright for Carroll and Tenniel's edition of the book expired in 1907. This meant that any artist who wished to publish their own version of the story could do so. The market was flooded with new editions with twenty being produced between 1907 and 1920 alone.
If you haven't already seen the exhibition please do visit before it closes on the 17th April. In addition to the free exhibition the Library is also running an interesting series of events based around the exhibition. These include two Ekphrasis poetry evenings inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on the 4th and 5th March and an Alice in Wonderland Discovery day for all the family on Saturday 20th February.
Finally the Library is running two adult learning courses with Alice themes, Illustrating Alice and Alice and the World of Children's literature which will begin in February and March. Please see the Library's website for more details.
Posted by Helen Melody at 2:00 PM
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Home Blogs Inflow Of Influence!
Jun 02, 2013, 08:33 IST
Inflow of Influence!
Blog by Narayanan P
Interdependence engages influence... perhaps ...... to makes its presence 'felt'!
The earliest recognition of this aspect dates back, maybe just around middle of the 18th century, when the influence of stars was believed to be cause for an affliction, a viral one, affecting masses at a time, to beget yet another name for itself, 'Influenza'....
What perhaps started as a word to denote a mass affect on people, by a large mass of a body at a far off place... stayed back to connote the 'star' effect of an individual, when we chose to say, "A very highly influential person"!!!
A diluted form of confession finds an expression thus: "Please forgive me, but I was under the influence of alcohol, when I said those things" (perhaps, a sutble influence of escapism, in fact when we blame the poor achohol, which would not have found its way into us, without our influence on it!... Only that we patronise the best brewers, by way of outsourcing our efforts towards 'influencing'... Thus we aggregately constitute a confluence of influences!
With all these influences, incessantly working on us, I wonder, as to how we are going to re-influence our spirit through a highly influential spiritual quest, on that 'difficult-to-influence pathless path of spirituality, so as to remain 'detached' from all influences!!!
Unless we master the influence, influence of Masters is bound to keep us under the spell of influence, at least here on spiritual forum!
Influentially yours,
psn (2nd June, 2013)
THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE BIOLOGICAL WORLD
Dear .... We Care Too!!
On Independence & Interdependence
Discovery of a beggar in me!
Interdependence & GRATITUDE
Crystallisation of Focus
Urgency by Choice!
Put on notice!
The First Born!


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Former Franklin resident moves to L.A., wins Daytime Emmy
Erin Serpico
Editorial Intern
Former Franklin resident Carlo De Santis moved to Hollywood after high school to work for "Extra"
De Santis won a Daytime Emmy this year for his work with the show
De Santis' aunt, the senior executive producer of the show, used to host him every summer
25-year-old De Santis is a field producer and segment writer for the entertainment news show
FRANKLIN (Somerset) – When former Franklin resident Carlo De Santis was 15 years old, he contributed his own writing to Home News Tribune's "Teen Scene" in attempts to get his voice heard.
But now, 10 years later, the 25-year-old is a field producer and segment writer for the television entertainment news program, "Extra," which recently won a Daytime Emmy this year thanks to his and the rest of the crew's work on the show.
"I really want to share my story, and encourage those to continue," he said. "I always felt like I had a story to share, and I didn't feel like I had much of an outlet for that."
De Santis resides in West Hollywood working on the show and fulfilling his dream of interacting with dozens of celebrities. But he didn't start there — he grew up in Franklin, graduated from Franklin High School in 2006 and has been captivated by fame and fortune for as long as he can remember.
"It was just growing up in a small town and wanting to see if there was something more out there ... I'm also just a fan of outrageous behavior," he said. "It's sort of like a real-life drama that you can constantly get updated on."
He always had countless posters of celebrities of all kind, robust knowledge about them and interest in the "glamorous factor," he said. Constantly watching TV and music videos when he was a kid makes him think his absorption in the industry is just part of who he is.
The Hollywood fan also has thoroughly enjoyed being involved in journalism since he was an eighth-grader.
To further all of this enthrallment, De Santis would go to California almost every summer during middle school and high school to stay for a few weeks with his aunt, Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, the senior executive producer of "Extra." She would give De Santis the opportunity to shadow her and to "learn the ropes" of the industry, he said. Gregorisch-Dempsey, also a Franklin High School alumna, has lived in California while working on several projects for years.
"He sort of grew up around here," Gregorisch-Dempsey said.
When he was 15 years old, the ambitious teen started writing on his own, becoming involved with Home News Tribune's "Teen Scene." He wrote reviews and pieces about anything he cared about, one even explaining a visit he had to California when he got to write a brief for Warner Brothers' "Celebrity Justice" and met Ashlee Simpson.
After graduating high school, De Santis moved on to Montclair State University for a semester and quickly realized it wasn't for him. He took a few months off to figure out where to go from there, until one morning he realized he'd go after what he loves. He moved out to California in February 2007 and by April of that year got a job working at "Extra," writing stories for extratv.com and learning how to edit, assist hosts and form video blogs.
"I didn't know he had it in him," Gregorisch-Dempsey said. "I definitely didn't realize he had such a way with words; he's amazing."
De Santis said that while the adjustment was tough at first, he couldn't ask for anything more for a job. It was just what he always wanted to do, and eventually he started to make his way to the production side of the industry.
"People started requesting me," he said. "It sort of became a thing where I was getting in with young Hollywood ... They knew that I cared."
Gregorisch-Dempsey said that De Santis is a skilled worker and writes the way he talks. She also attested De Santis' love for celebrities, but said he puts it to good use when interviewing and meeting them. He asks the right questions and does enough research about their work to interest them, he said.
"If there's one person that I could expect to be doing this, it would definitely be Carlo," said Kristina Miranda, De Santis' friend. "I've seen it in him for so long."
Miranda grew up with De Santis and graduated in high school with him. Miranda said he would always tell her about celebrity sightings and Hollywood, so this career path doesn't come as a surprise.
"He has a great, great sense for who is going to make it," Gregorisch-Dempsey said. "Carlo can do anything; the sky is the limit for him."
De Santis said he's always wondering who will be the next A-list celebrity. In 2009 when he saw one of Lady Gaga's first music videos, he was struck by her presence and wanted to keep tabs on her.
"I didn't know what it was — there was just so much hype," De Santis said. "It was just one of those things where I was like, 'I think this is going to be the next big thing.'"
He followed what the singer and performer produced and eventually begged "Extra" to interview her in hopes that she'd go far. Lady Gaga has now sold more than 20 million albums and has had several Billboard Hot 100 hits.
When this year's Daytime Emmys came around in June, De Santis was in New Jersey for some time off with his family. The awards were broadcast online and he began streaming the show from home just as the category his show was nominated for was being announced.
"Extra" and "Entertainment Tonight" tied for the win for Outstanding Entertainment News Show, and he didn't know what to do but scream with joy when he heard the winners.
"It was so unexpected, to be completely honest," De Santis said. "It was a first time category; we didn't know what to expect."
But his journey has always taken him places he would have never expected. He's able to have conversations with celebrities and form relationships with them without being the center of the fame himself. For instance, five months ago, he was invited to come up on stage with Britney Spears during one of her Las Vegas concerts.
"It was the craziest moment of my life," he said. "It can't get any better than that."
Even though De Santis left New Jersey more than seven years ago, he still comes back often to spend time in his home town and to visit his friends and family.
Miranda said she knew De Santis' move across the country would be a perfect fit for him., and she got to visit him one summer to watch him interact with well-known Kim Kardashian as she referred to him by name.
"He has made his friends and his family so proud of his accomplishments, I couldn't imagine living across country," Miranda said. "It's very inspiring."
De Santis said he is thankful for everything he has and has done so far, but he can't wait to see how his life and career will evolve as time goes on within the industry.
"When I moved out here, I just knew that I wanted to do something with my life," De Santis said. "I didn't know it would go this far. I hoped it would be successful, but I didn't know it would be this great."
Readers can follow De Santis and his journey on Twitter at @CandidlyCarlo.
Editorial Intern Erin Serpico: 908-243-6602; ESerpico@mycentraljersey.com


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Teixeira-Poit Receives NIH Grant to Study Impact of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Design
09/09/2022 in College of Health and Human Sciences, Social Work
Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, Ph.D., associate professor at the John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has received a $568,960 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, "Identifying and Mitigating Health Disparities Following a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Design Change from Open-Bay to Single-Family Rooms."
N.C. A&T Social Work Program Ranked Among State's Best
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has been ranked among the Best Social Work Schools in North Carolina for 2022 by Social Work Degree Center.
N.C. A&T Sociology Professor Teixeira-Poit Receives 2021 Mauksch Award
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University assistant sociology professor Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, Ph.D., has received the 2021 Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Sociology.
Joint School of Social Work Director Shears Featured in WalletHub Report
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University's Jeffrey K. Shears '90, '94, Ph.D., director of the Joint School of Social Work, is featured on WalletHub, a personal finance website.


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Profiles in "Literature" Expertise Area
Bruce Matsunaga
Matsunaga holds a PhD in English Literature with an emphasis in British Romanticism and Digital Humanities. He is the Director of Digital Technology, Graduate Faculty, and an Academic Professional.
Bradley Ryner
Ryner's teaching interests include Shakespeare and Renaissance drama; British literature to 1700; drama as a genre; literary theory and cultural studies.
Sarah Duerden
In addition to teaching First-Year Writing, Duerden also enjoys teaching Writing About Literature for nonmajors, which ties into her own interest in contemporary British fiction.
Patrick Bixby
Bixby's research addresses Irish studies, modernist studies, postcolonial theory and criticism, Continental philosophy, and issues of travel, mobility, and the body.
James Wermers
Ron Broglio
Broglio's research focuses on how philosophy and aesthetics can help us rethink the relationship between humans and the environment.
Andrea Dickens
Dickens currently teaches a wide variety of Writing Programs classes at ASU-Tempe, including ENG 101, 102, 107, 108, 301, 302 and WAC 107. She specializes in business writing and L2 writing.
Mary Austin
Austin teaches English and mainly focuses on English lit and writing about literature. Austin has a PhD in English literature (2009) with a Certificate in Scholarly Publishing (emph. Editing).
Joanne Tsao
Dr. Joanne Tsao's primary field of research is pre-modern Chinese literature. She teaches Classical Chinese, Chinese literature, Modern Chinese language, and courses on Chinese history and culture.
Lindsey Plait Jones
Lindsey oversees academic services for Tempe-campus graduate programs, manages graduate student hiring and funding, and advises current and prospective students in the MA, MS, PhD, and PhD in Sustainable Energy Programs.


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This Whack-a-doo Dem Claims Border is Secure AND Sovereign
Tiffany Layne
Image courtesy: ABC News
If you want to understand Leftists derangement, consider what this Democrat clown declared about America's porous and grossly unprotected Southern border.
And you wonder how the dead vote Democrat!?
Okay, I will play along. If you believe the Southern border is sovereign and secure, then you might believe the following:
The Clinton Foundation is legit!
Barack Obama is the smartest president ever.
The Obama administration was "scandal free."
Benghazi was the result of a CA videographer.
The Russians did it.
Joe Biden isn't demented.
The economy is thriving.
Hunter Biden would make a great husband.
Rosie O'Donnell really is cute.
Maxine Waters is not a racist.
AOC is not a brainless attention whore.
And most of all, Biden is a GREAT President!
I could go on, but I think you get my drift. Meanwhile, Biden's party is running out of patience. They knew he was a lying, senile jackass, but they had no clue things would get this bad.
Code Blue!
Democrats are sounding the alarm, as they know voters will soon hold them accountable for the president's agenda.
Fox News reports:
Rep. Susan Wild, D-Penn., on Tuesday night said she was "disappointed" in the Biden administration for the lack of results in handling the crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I will be very honest with you and tell you I am a little bit disappointed. I know that the President assigned responsibility for the border crisis to the Vice President," Wild said during a telephone town hall. "I'm a little bit disappointed I haven't seen much in the way of results."
During the town hall, Wild also hit Biden for repeating the talking point about his "Build Back Better" agenda costing "nothing," saying it's "hard for people to believe that" when he doesn't follow up with any details about how the $3.5 trillion bill will be paid for.
"I'm waiting to hear how we make all of this happen at no cost," Wild added.
No cost? Yep, that's a Biden lie if I ever heard one. Kind of like you can keep your doctor. Or the Russians did it.
Mounting Criticisms
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We've been listing Biden's lies for months now. But recently, more and more Democrats join the chorus. They're starting to feel embarrassed by their own coup.
FNN adds:
This isn't the first time that Wild has been critical of Biden. In late August, Wild released a statement attacking the Biden Administration on the evacuation in Afghanistan, saying the "evacuation process has been egregiously mishandled."
"In order to move forward, our country will need to receive answers and accountability regarding the cascading failures that led us to this catastrophic moment, and I look forward to using my platform on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to secure answers from the Biden Administration about what went wrong," Wild said. "Our troops deserve nothing less than a complete and unvarnished account of the truth."
Wild is not the only Democrat in Congress who has been critical of Biden. Several House Democrats have taken shots at Biden in recent weeks. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., who was one of the House Democrats who wanted an immediate vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, told the New York Times that the "way he is governing doesn't reflect the skills I know he must have from his years as a legislator." She also said it was "disappointing and frustrating" to see Biden not fight harder for the legislation he wanted.
They say experience counts, but I beg to differ, because Biden has plenty of experience. Yet, I see no benefits to his years in office. Further, I have no idea what Wild means by "skills," because I've yet to find a single impressive accomplishment in his decades of so-called service. Instead, I see a long line of lies and deceptions along with some pretty creepy moves. The only saving grace in any of this is the fact that his own party is starting to turn on Joe.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., also recently criticized Biden over his pitch to Congress for infrastructure, calling it "disappointing" and saying he spent most of his time talking about the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.
"Well, if it's not a priority for him, then maybe it's just not a priority period," Costa said. "It's a priority for me."
Biden was thrown under the bus by Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe earlier this week, less than three months after they campaigned together in Northern Virginia.
"We got to get Democrats out to vote," McAuliffe said. "We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know. The president is unpopular today, unfortunately here in Virginia, so we have got to plow through."
I have a bit of news for McAuliffe. Virginia's not the only state currently loathing the president. Forty-nine others seem to be in agreement.
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Tiffany Layne - January 16, 2022
Donald Trump kicked off 2022 with a rally in Arizona, and one thing is abundantly clear. Trump owns the GOP. Despite the few loud...
United Airlines Employees Getting Even with CEO
Like it or not: Trump Makes and Breaks Candidates
Civil Rights: Biden and Democrats Return to Mama's Milk


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Absolutely. While exact treatment times can vary depending on each individual patient, a typical session usually only takes 30 to 45 minutes.
How far apart / often should I get the treatments done?
What does the treatment fell like?


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Biomarkers and Early Detection Research
Abstract A24: Diagnostic performance of PET and PET/CT for cancer detection in asymptomatic volunteers
Ji In Chung, HanByoul Cho, Jae‐Yong Shim, Joon Young Choi, Kyung‐Han Lee, Byung‐Tae Kim and Yoon‐Ho Choi
Ji In Chung
1 Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea;
HanByoul Cho
2 Kangnam Severance Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea;
Jae‐Yong Shim
3 Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea;
Joon Young Choi
4 Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kyung‐Han Lee
Byung‐Tae Kim
Yoon‐Ho Choi
DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.PREV-09-A24 Published January 2010
Abstracts: AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research‐‐ Dec 6–9, 2009; Houston, TX
Purpose: We investigated retrospectively the diagnostic performance of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT for cancer detection in asymptomatic volunteers.
Materials and Methods: This study consisted of 5091 whole‐body PET or PET/CT underwent as a part of annual health check‐up at one hospital from 1998 to 2008. Annual health check‐up program of the hospital includes comprehensive blood tests, urinalysis, stool examination, chest X‐ray, mammography, abdominal sonography, and gastrofiberscopy. Lung CT, brain MRI, breast sonography, thyroid sonography, or colonoscopy were performed in some individuals. To find the incidence of cancers, medical records of the subjects were thoroughly reviewed for a follow‐up period of one year. Cases with cancer detected before PET or PET/CT scanning were excluded. The pattern of formal readings of PET and PET/CT were analyzed to assess the sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection. The stage and histopathology of the cancers were evaluated in relation to detection or missing by PET.
Results: Eighty‐six cancers (1.7%, 86/5091) were diagnosed within one year after PET or PET/CT. Sixty‐nine (1.5%, 69/4503) cancers were detected in men and 17 (2.9%, 17/588) cancers were detected in women. They included 33 thyroid cancers, 10 prostate cancers, 9 stomach cancers, 9 colorectal cancers, 7 lung cancers, and other cancers. PET and PET/CT in combination had a sensitivity of 53.5% (46/86) and a specificity of 81.1% (4061/5005) for cancer detection. Positive predictive value was 4.6% (46/990) and negative predictive value was 99.0% (4061/4101). PET only had a sensitivity of 51.3% (40/78) and a specificity of 81.4% (3625/4452), and PET/CT only had a sensitivity of 75.0% (6/8) and a specificity of 78.8% (436/553) respectively. A total of 44 PET negative cancers (little FDG uptake) include 13 thyroid cancers, 7 prostate cancers, 7 colorectal cancers, 4 stomach cancers, and others. When comparing tumor stages, early cancers (stage 0 or 1) comprised 59% (26/44) of PET negative cancers, and 40% (17/42) of PET positive cancers. However, there were no statistically significant differences in cancer site, stage and histopathology between PET positive cancers and PET negative cancers. In 19.3% of formal readings of PET and PET/CT, further evaluation was recommended to exclude malignancy or significant disease. Commonly recommended sites for further evaluation were head and neck, upper gastrointestinal tract, thyroid, lung and mediastinum, and lymph nodes. Diagnostic modalities recommended for further evaluation were physical examination, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, CT, biopsy, and others.
Conclusions: PET and PET/CT showed a moderate performance for detecting cancers in asymptomatic adults in this study. More experience and further investigation are needed to overcome limitations of PET and PET/CT for cancer screening.
Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A24.
Copyright © January 7, 2010, American Association for Cancer Research
Volume 3, Issue 1 Supplement
You are going to email the following Abstract A24: Diagnostic performance of PET and PET/CT for cancer detection in asymptomatic volunteers
Cancer Prev Res January 7 2010 (3) (1 Supplement) A24; DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.PREV-09-A24
Abstract PR10: Identification of novel candidate serum metabolite biomarkers for distinguishing between gastro-esophageal reflux disease, Barrett's esophagus, and high-grade dysplasia/esophageal adenocarcinoma
Abstract CN01-01: Big challenges of big data: Biomedical science in the petabyte era
Abstract CN06-03: Disease dynamics: Cancers evolving fast and slow or not at all
Show more Biomarkers and Early Detection Research
Poster Presentations - Proffered Abstracts
Abstract A01: Environmentally prevalent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons elicit cocarcinogenic properties in human and mouse lung cells
Abstract A33: Untapped biospecimens and novel mass spectrometry scanning techniques for DNA adductomics
Abstract A41: Assessing the effect of glucobrassicin-rich Brussels sprouts on the metabolism of deuterated phenanthrene: Developing food-based chemoprevention of tobacco-related lung cancer
Show more Poster Presentations - Proffered Abstracts
Poster Presentations - Cancer Surveillance and Screening
Abstract B18: Personalizing the frequency of mammography: Cost effectiveness of screening mammography for women age 40 to 80 by breast density and other risk factors
Abstract B19: Evaluation of progression of cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma using site-specific protein glycosylation analysis.
Abstract A22: Spirometric surveillance for premalignant and malignant bronchial lesions
Show more Poster Presentations - Cancer Surveillance and Screening


I "bought" two Scratch Lounges from CVS Pharmacy before Christmas. One for Caymus and Murphy and one for Charlie and Trigg. I put "bought" in quotes because I used coupons and CVS ExtraCare Bucks to pay for it – because of my crazy couponing habit.
I had seen 3-sided The Original Scratch Lounge on Facebook, on other blogs and Floppycats' readers had told me about it. I had reached out to The Original Scratch Lounge for a product sample, but did not receive one.
So when the opportunity presented itself to get two free with coupons, I went for it. And I am glad I did.
As you can tell in the videos above, all of them liked it and they continue you to use and like it – is there anything more to say? Oh, I suppose you want the details and that sort of thing.
The dimensions are 13.5 x 22 x 4.8 inches and it weighs 3.5 pounds.
You can also buy The Original Scratch Lounge Cardboard Cat Scratcher on Amazon.com for $22.32.
Love this! I love these kind of scratch "posts." The first time I saw them, I thought they were so silly, what kind of a cat would like that? Much to my surprise, they love them. I like the ones that you have pictured with the raised sides too.
Yay! Glad it's working! Hope you'll share Charlie and Rosie as Ragdoll Cats of the Week!
Quick question, Trigg lays down on a circular mat/bed looking item during the 1st video on this page. Might I ask what it is? Looks really neat and I just love that scratcher featured!
Yes, that's the Sleepypod Crater Dot – we also reviewed it. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued.


Above is an example of my potential copyright warning. The other day I was texting back and forth with my web designer and bestie about my upcoming website. I was asking her about my copyright warning. Something I had not really thought about previously. The possibilty of someone taking my work and putting it out there as their own. Plagarism abounds out here in the vast internet does it not?
Every artist is influenced from those who come before of course. These influences however, should be properly credited by notating the source of said work. When proper credit is not given, the person stealing the work is saying "I don't want to take the time to actually create my own work so I will just take yours." It should be flattering I suppose, stealing my words for their own gain. But it is far more flattering if my words are properly credited.
The fact that I have to consider this possibility is new for me. It means that my dream of making my living from writing is becoming a reality.
But I cannot allow myself to go nuts by this either. Those that I discover using my work and passing it off as my own will be notified to stop. A few may get away with it but their theft of others' work says more about them. It says they do not want to do the work. That they do not believe in their own talent and abilities and so take from others. While they may get away with it for awhile, at some point discovery of thier lack of ethics and talent will be discovered.
Through it all I will continue to plug away. Honing my writing skills the more I work. Those that prefer to take what they did not create will not grow in any way. There are no short cuts in this writing thing. A lot of it is working , sweating with each keystroke. Some days the words just flow and others its easier to start cleaning the house. At the end of the day, it is worth all the effort, frustration, dead ends and clean houses. Because it's what real writers do. Write.
Posers seek the glory but what they fail to realize is that the real glory lies in the finished work. They will never experience this until they honor their talents and write.


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I frequently receive requests from investigators about whether anyone has or is studying a certain problem, or where particular reagents may be obtained, or best methods to perform studies, etc. The Newsletter List is set up so that anyone on the list can send out an email message/query to everyone else on the list. If you would like to be part of this interactive network, email [email protected], using the word "subscribe" as your subject. This will automatically add your address to the list. To send or reply to a message from this mailing list, send email to the following address (distinct from the address above): [email protected].
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