text:
Home Page Website Tour
CGN Spaces Tour
ABOUT & JOIN
CGN Spaces
Before CGIN was formed, those wanting to research other co-ops' practices or get sample docu ments would send out letters or call each other by phone. Those able to take the time to answer such requests could be seen at a copy machine reproducing documents and then stuffing samples into envelopes. These tasks were repeated over and over again – sometimes for the same items.
CGIN has streamlined the entire research and response process for all involved. By creating a library of sample materials that co-ops are willing to share with one another, we've made it easy for those needing information to instantly access samples or documents that they can simply use or adapt. Our website now makes available:
over 800 different items such as employee handbooks, newsletter articles, operational forms, job descriptions, board policies, membership materials, consumer information items, etc.
422 different delicious and successful recipes from some of the best co-op delis
24 photo gallery exhibits illustrating such things as specific departments (bulk), merchandising (signs and displays), co-op logos, T-shirts, individual co-op tours, etc.
the CGIN Livable Wage model
basic retail operations training materials produced by the Urban Cooperative Institute
the CGIN/NCGA events calendar
2004 highlights and accomplishments
Working with Carolee Colter, we updated the Livable Wage model and materials. This involved updating links for calculating costs, adding notes on how to make additional adjustments where cost data isn't current or seems inaccurate, including a page of frequently asked questions for explaining the model to employees and boards of directors, and developing case studies illustrating how several co-ops have adapted the model to suit their unique needs or circumstances.
Invisible to most members, we moved our site to a new web host, and changed vendors for webmastering services. These services are now provided by the same vendor, which is leading to financial savings for CGIN, as well as higher quality service. Our new webmaster is also better able to assess CGIN's technical needs and help us make changes to keep the site operating optimally.
As the year winds to a close, we are about ready to go live with several long-promised upgrades to our pages. A portion of the members-only section of our site will be directly accessible to the board members of CGIN member co-ops. While we have always recognized that some of the materials on our site are useful to directors, not all CGIN members have been comfortable with having volunteer directors being able to access materials that are highly proprietary and very operationally oriented items (e.g. deli recipes, marketing plans, department financial indicators and analysis tools, etc.). A majority of CGIN members have indicated that they would prefer that these items, which would be easily adaptable to competitor stores, remain accessible only to paid co-op staff. By setting up different levels of access to the CGIN site, we can make selected items, such as sample board policies, committee charters, member loan documents, etc., available to directors without compromising the security of other materials.
Other year-end changes include making it possible for CGIN members to directly post their own job announcements and classifieds, and an automated password retrieval system. CGIN's job postings pages receive new listings weekly and provide a great way for co-ops to recruit key staff. If these changes aren't all operating by the time you read this report, they will be soon!
CGIN also continues to operate two listserves – our basic listserve (CGIN-list) that is open to anyone and currently has 400 subscribers, and a specialized listserve for member ship and marketing staff ("M & M") that is available on a subscription basis and now has 81subscribers. CGIN also operates the online discussion board for the members of the National Cooperative Grocers Associa tion (NCGA). This web board also has a section where co-op board members can exchange views, ideas, and seek help from one another. We're pleased to find ways to collaborate with the NCGA to maximize the services available to support and strengthen food co-ops.
In 2004, CGIN's total income will amount to a little less than $47,000 and expenses will likely be around $36,000. While we expected a small loss for the year, we once again benefited from strong membership renewals and were able to realize good savings by consolidating our technical support services this year. Our 2005 budget projects a very small loss but we expect it will more likely be a break even year. CGIN's resources are relatively small, but its balance sheet continues to be strong and expenses can be trimmed if membership renewals do not meet projections.
Thanks and acknowledgements
In addition to members, eight groups provided sponsorship support to CGIN in 2004. Our thanks to Albert's Organics, Cooperative Development Services, Frontier Natural Products Co-op, Hershey Import Company, the National Cooperative Bank Development Corporation, CROPP/Organic Valley, Ozark Cooperative Warehouse, and United Natural Foods for their support of CGIN.
Since its founding in 1997 through August of 2004, CGIN received technical support from the University of Wiscon sin Center for Cooperatives. For over six years, UWCC provided CGIN with consistent, reliable technical support through a unique contractual arrangement. Part of CGIN's success in building a strong and viable organization with limited resources belongs to the UWCC and, in particular, to the steady support and guidance of Anne Reynolds. UWCC has long been a major asset to the entire cooperative community and its support of CGIN is just one small tangible example of that commitment and value to co-ops.
CGIN also continues to benefit from a strong partnership with Paul Hazen and the National Cooperative Business Association. NCBA has supported CGIN since its inception and continues to be an invaluable partner in CGIN's success in many ways. Thanks, Paul!
CGIN is an organization that only works with active member support. We continue to be inspired and excited by the possibilities for services through CGIN that can help minimize the disadvantages of independent retail operations and that can help strengthen the benefits of community owner ship. We're deeply grateful to our members who so generously send in materials to share with their colleagues and to all listserve participants for maintaining a respectful and dynamic forum for the exchange of ideas and news relevant to co-ops. In 2005, we look forward to being a partner in helping strengthen and support your co-op in all ways that we can.
Resource Type: Document Page
Created date: September 27, 2012
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About CGN
© 2019 Cooperative Grocer Network


text:
Breaking News this Week
By rctadmin on November 27, 2018 Comments
Car Salesman Dies after being shot at Youbs Auto Sales at 357 Route 59
A Middletown car salesman died after being shot multiple times over the weekend in Rockland County. On Saturday thirty-seven-year-old Joseph Youbens was working at Youbs Auto Sales, a used car business located at 357 route 59, at around 3:15 p.m. when a dispute with a customer led to him being gunned down. A witness said the shooter fled the scene before police arrived, leaving Mr. Youbens to die from his injuries. Police have yet to release any more information than only stating that, "the investigation into the homicide is continuing."
Minor School Bus Accident in Pearl River
An early morning school bus accident has caused the injury of an adolescent in Pearl River Monday morning. Near the intersection of Route 304 and Washington Avenue, a bus carrying eight Albertus Magnus High School students was struck by a Mercedes-Benz at around 7:35 a.m. A young girl injured her chin because of the crash and was immediately taken to Nyack Hospital where she was being expected to fair fine. The driver of the Mercedes-Benz had to be taken to Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, after first responders physically removed him from the car due to the extensive damage caused by the accident. All students were eventually released to their parents with police stating traffic was moving normally again after being congested all morning.
Traffic Meter Signals Placed in Westchester o Reduce Travel Time
As part of the Transit Link Program, new state of the art ramp traffic meter signals were placed in three locations along the Westchester County access ramps. According to DOT spokeswoman Gina DiSarro, "Ramp meters regulate traffic flow to help manage congestion and minimize highway entrance ramp traffic queues extending to nearby roadways." By 2020, Rockland County will have ten more ramp meters inserted at different spots on the Palisades Parkway, I- 87, and I-287. The overall goal of the program is to connect Suffern and Port Chester, while reducing travel time for all motorist and commuters.
Breaking News this Week added by rctadmin on November 27, 2018
View all posts by rctadmin →
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Light Scattering techniques can provide a lot of information about nanoparticle dispersions but some extremely significant particle size distribution information is missed because Light Scattering techniques are not sensitive to small amounts of large particles.These tails of large particles (usually greater than 1 micron) can have huge consequences for a wide range of industrially important nanoparticle systems like inkjet inks and CMP slurries and emulsions.
Detecting these oversized particles is not a problem for the Single Particle Optical Sizing technique (SPOS). Nanoparticle systems are often extremely concentrated. Accurate particle concentrations require accurate dilutions and busy laboratories require fast dilutions. Both of these needs are met with Particle Sizing Systems patented Autodilution system. Fast and Accurate Autodilution combined with the ability of SPOS to count those pesky boulders that can scratch or clog or undergo Ostwald ripening , the Accusizer 780 AD system is the perfect solution for the quality lab that needs to focus minute quality. To reverse a famous saying: "Don't miss the leaves through the forest".
I would like someone to contact me with more information regarding AccuSizer 780 AD. I saw it in the Laboratory Equipment and Supplies Directory.


text:
9 AWOL cops sacked
Sunstar 13 January 2020
NINE police officers have been dismissed by the Police Regional Office (PRO) Central Visayas and will face a case for being absent without official leave (Awol).
Some of them had not reported to work for five days without informing their superiors, which was why Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, PRO 7 director, didn't hesitate to sack them.
On Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, the Personnel Division of the PRO 7 submitted their termination order, which de Leon signed.
According to de Leon, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has been implementing a strict attendance policy, especially since police officers received a huge pay hike.
Despite this, there are still cops who don't take their jobs seriously, he said.
The law allows the nine sacked police officers to appeal their case.
Just because the PNP is in need of additional personnel doesn't mean it will tolerate lazy cops, he said.
"You know what? While the PNP is in dire need of personnel, we should not also be lax on those personnel that are committing nonfeasance. They show disinterest in serving the public, so why allow them to stay?" de Leon said in a mix of Tagalog and English.
The Personnel Division will release the names of the sacked police officers as soon as it retrieves their termination order, which is still with the PRO 7 director's office.
In a phone interview, Major Ma. Theresa Macatangay, deputy chief of the Personnel Division, said that going Awol is a grave offense, which is why police officers who don't show up for work after three days without informing their superiors are automatically in trouble.
First, they will have to explain to the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division why they weren't able to report for duty.
If they don't submit an explanation or if their explanation does not suffice, then the PRO 7 will recommend their dismissal to the regional director. (AYB / PJB )
Two protesters killed as Iraqi police struggle to stem unrest
Off-duty police officers suffer broken eye socket and dislocated shoulder after trying to break up pub brawl


Most shop owners have a problem establishing a daily "routine" where it allows them to move the business forward by working "on" the business and not just "in" the business. This topic is usually addressed under the title of time management.
Find out what time-frame of day best works for you to be by yourself to work "on" the business; perhaps 9:30AM-11AM, 11AM-12:30PM, or 1:30-3PM. Experiment and find a time slot that works for you. During this time, your office door is closed, you're unavailable—no calls are accepted. You are in a meeting (with yourself). You are now looking at and measuring the business and determining exactly what needs to be done to improve and move the business forward. You establish your detailed plan.
1) Before you go home at the end of the day, write out a "to do" list (read last week's BLOG on "to do" list) for tomorrow that has to be completed outside your personal meeting time slot. Estimate the time required for each item to be completed on the "to do" list. Do NOT overbook yourself.
2) In your personal meeting time, start by going back to the key measurements of your business and analyzing the progress each week and each month… such as average billed hours per invoice, site efficiency, average cost per billed hour, and analyse random invoices to compute net income made on the job. Those are just some basic measurements to be reviewed. Find out where your weaknesses are and make up a plan to correct them. Check off what's been completed and continue to work on some more. Remember, only 2 items at a time—so take your time and implement them properly. Establish a date and time frame for each to be completed. This keeps you accountable.
3) Thanks to your "to do" list that gets the next day organized for you, when you go home at night, shut the business down in your head. You have it under control. I know that's easier said than done, however, it's now family and personal time. Live in the moment and enjoy. I've noticed how much better one can sleep when the mind is relaxed because you feel organized.
A good night's sleep each night keeps you sharp when you are at the shop.
Routines are important in our lives and for being productive in our business. Routines can also help keep things in perspective. Take a hard look at what you're doing now and work on establishing a daily business routine that works for you and allows you to make the most of each day at the shop.


Executives often have to endure lengthy rounds of interviews before the final nod is given, but you're not the only one in the spotlight. When you are ready to move into a different position at a new firm, the interview process is also an excellent opportunity for you to size up the most significant person in your future work life – the person you'll report to. As a C-suite executive, deciding whether your immediate superior is right for you is perhaps even more important than considerations about your job title or the company you'll be working for.
Choosing your superior can be compared to selecting your life partner – it's a relationship that's going to have a huge impact on your life, as well as that of your family. You'll be spending most of your waking hours with this person, so it's not a decision to be taken lightly. I always find it astounding that executive candidates can make up their minds about this crucial aspect of their new careers based only on a two-hour interview – when they're signing up for a 'commitment' to this person for at least three to five years.
Are they self-aware? Do they understand their strengths and weaknesses?
Can they help me get where I want to in my career?
What is their track record of getting people promoted?
Can I learn from them?
Are they approachable, and do they listen attentively?
Do they deliver on promises made?
Are they respected in the organisation and in the industry?
Do your own due diligence to try and eliminate as much risk as possible before signing on the dotted line. Use your own network and ask around – obtain information from other professionals in the field, but also from company suppliers, and industry associations and institutes. And of course, make use of search engines like Google and social media sites. If your first interview is with a human resources director, use this opportunity to find out as much as possible about your future superiors.
Remember that the 'public persona' (as portrayed in the media) of a company CEO, for example, may be very different from the person you'll be working with every day. So beware if all you're getting is positive information. Everyone has shadows and weaknesses, and you want to be able to make an informed decision with all the relevant facts – good and not so good – at your fingertips.
In the final instance, trust your gut instinct. As in the case of meeting a potential partner, you should be able to determine fairly quickly whether or not there will be chemistry and a connection. Then do as much homework and background checks as possible before making that final decision.


005-006: What are the most difficult aspects of a Mormon Faith Crisis?
003-004: What are the most common causes of a Mormon faith crisis?
002: Are the Stereotypes True About Mormons who have a Faith Crisis?
In this episode, Dr. John Dehlin, Margi Dehlin, and Natasha Helfer Parker discuss the common stereotypes regarding Mormons who have a faith crisis. These stereotypes include: 1) That they were offended. 2) That they were weak and/or never really had a testimony. 3) That they wanted to sin 4) That they were exposed to anti-Mormon literature, podcasts, or individuals.


text:
Chicos fue una revista infantil española que se publicó entre 1938 y 1955, con periodicidad semanal, inaugurando así la época dorada del tebeo español. Tuvo tres épocas diferenciadas:

Primera época (1938-1951)
El primer número de los Chicos apareció el 23 de febrero de 1938, en San Sebastián, ciudad donde estaba centrada la producción de tebeos de la llamada "zona nacional" durante la guerra civil. Su editor y propietario fue Juan Baygual y Bas y su directora artística y literaria, Consuelo Gil Roësset, quienes se habían conocido en la redacción de "Pelayos". Su formato era muy similar al de "Flechas y Pelayos", pero con menos páginas y un precio más asequible (10 céntimos en vez de 25).

El 15 de noviembre del mismo año, la revista pasó a ser propiedad de la Delegación Nacional de Prensa y Propaganda, según documento firmado por el Delegado de esta y Consuelo Gil. A pesar de ello, Chicos nunca fue una revista de propaganda (aunque no pudo —ni quiso— permanecer al margen de la ideología dominante). Gracias a sus buenas relaciones con el régimen franquista, no tuvo problemas para conseguir el cupo de papel necesario para publicar periódicamente el semanario.

Durante estos primeros años, destacaron las versiones de cuentos clásicos realizadas por Mercedes Llimona, amen de las siguientes series:

Consuelo Gil llevaba directamente las secciones de correspondencia con los lectores, El Club de Chicos y Mis Chicas, firmando para ello con los seudónimos de L. de Villadiego y Madrina.

Terminada la contienda, algunos de los más destacados autores barceloneses comenzaron a colaborar con la revista, dando pie a series que se volverían míticas:

Hay que mencionar también a otros dibujantes como Bernal, Adriano Blasco, Alejandro Blasco, Coelho, Cozzi, Delgado, Alfonso Figueras, Arturo Moreno, Julian Nadal, Opisso, Pena, Carlos Roca o Zaragüeta; entre los guionistas, se cita a José María Canellas, José Fernández Gómez y José María Huertas.

Su tirada alcanzó los 115.000 ejemplares, gracias en parte a su precio. Este se mantuvo inicialmente más bajo que en el resto de producciones coetáneas a causa de las facilidades gubernamentales, aunque nunca dejó de subir, poniéndose finalmente a la par que ellas:

En 1949, debido a la competencia de las revistas humorísticas, se introducen importantes cambios. Chicos se convierte en un tebeo dedicado principalmente al humor, y se imponen las historietas autoconclusivas. En esta etapa destacan las aportaciones cómicas de Alfons Figueras, Ángel Puigmiquel y Gabi, entre otros. En el género realista surgen nuevos talentos, como Luis Bermejo, Adriano Blasco y Manuel Gago.

El 30 de mayo de 1950 finaliza la primera etapa del semanario, habiendo alcanzado los 557 números ordinarios, más 10 almanaques.

Segunda época (1950-1952)
Chicos reapareció con nueva numeración, y cambios en el formato. Aunque continúan algunos de los colaboradores y personajes de la etapa anterior, la revista abre sus páginas al cómic estadounidense, que terminará convirtiéndose en su ingrediente fundamental. Esta segunda etapa dura hasta el 8 de junio de 1952 y comprende 70 números ordinarios. Al final de la misma, la publicación mostró un gran interés por el fútbol, hasta el punto de cambiar su título por Chicos Deportivos.

Tercera época (1954-1955)
La tercera etapa del semanario comenzó el 20 de junio de 1954; sin embargo, salvo el título, todo ha cambiado: desde la editora, que es la madrileña Cid, a muchos de los dibujantes, entre los que destacan Bayo, Luis Bermejo, José Fernández Bielsa, Borné, Adolfo Buylla, Carrillo, Casarrubio, Alfons Figueras, Ibarra, Carlos y José Laffond, Santiago Martín Salvador, Montañés, Pizarro y Manuel Zatarain. Esta tercera etapa se prolongó hasta 1955 y comprendió 69 números ordinarios, más el Almanaque Dos Hombres Buenos 1955.
<center>
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!Años
!Números
!Título
!Guionista
!Dibujante
!Género
|-
|20/06/1954
|1, 2,
|Halcón Negro
|
|
|Oeste
|-
|20/06/1954
|1
|Perseguido!!
|John Warren
|A. Ibarra
|Oeste
|-
|20/06/1954
|1, 2,
|Chatillo, agente secreto
|
|Bornés
|Policíaco
|-
|20/06/1954
|1, 2, 3
|Quique Banderas
|José Mallorquí
|Zata
|Policíaco
|-
|20/06/1954
|1, 2, 3, 4,
|Cisco Kid
|
|José Luis Salinas
|Oeste
|-
|20/06/1954
|1, 2, 6,
|Reportajes de emoción por Teófilo Melón|
|Emilio Boix
|Cómico
|-
|04/07/1954
|3
|Promesa cumplida|Red Selton
|Casarrubio
|Oeste
|-
|04/07/1954
|3-4
|Criminales filatélicos|
|Bornés
|Policíaco
|-
|04/07/1954
|3
|El valle verde|John Warren
|
|Oeste
|-
|11/07/1954
|4
|¿Comida por los lobos?|John Warren
|Francisco Blanes
|Oeste
|-
|11/07/1954
|4, 6,
|Paupinadas|
|Alfonso Figueras
|Cómico
|-
|18/07/1954
|5
|El extraño sheriff|
|
|Oeste
|-
|18/07/1954
|5-6,
|Rivalidad ranchera (Johnny Freckles)
|
|Bornés
|Oeste
|-
|18/07/1954
|5
|El hijo de Jim West|
|E. T. Coelho
|Oeste
|-
|18/07/1954
|5
|Petalito|
|
|Cómico
|-
|23/07/1954
|6
|Los filibusteros|
|Carrillo
|Histórico variante piratas
|-
|23/07/1954
|6
|El rancho loco|John Warren
|José García Pizarro
|Policíaco
|-
|23/07/1954
|6
|Los dos terremotos|John Warren
|Santiago Martín
|Oeste
|-
|
|10-16, 19-20
|El Capitán Pantera|Carrillo
|Carrillo
|Aventuras
|-
|1955
|
|Indochina|Clementino
|Juan Antonio Abellán-García Muñoz
|
|-
|1955
|
|Guillermo|M. González Casquel
|Bielsa, Carlos Laffond, Bayo
|
|-
|}
</center>

 Valoración
El historiador Antonio Martín Martínez afirmó en 1968 que Chicos constituía el máximo logro del tebeo español, gracias a su perfecta fusión entre secciones lúdicas y didácticas y a la calidad del trabajo de Alfonso Figueras, Emilio Freixas, Ángel Puigmiquel y sobre todo Jesús Blasco con su Cuto. Otros críticos de la siguiente generación se han apuntado a esta opinión, como Javier Coma o Jesús Cuadrado.

 Revistas hermanas
Entre 1941 y 1950, Consuelo Gil publicó una revista dirigida a las jóvenes, Mis Chicas. En 1945 apareció también El Gran Chicos, de carácter más didáctico que su cabecera originaria, y Chiquitito.

 Referencias

 Bibliografía
 COMA, Javier (1981). Y nos fuimos a hacer viñetas, Madrid: Ediciones Penthalon S. A.
 CUADRADO, Jesús (2000). De la historieta y su uso 1873-2000, Ediciones Sinsentido/Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez
 DELHOM, José María (1989). Catálogo del tebeo en España. 1865/1980, Barcelona: Círculo de Amigos del Cómic y el Coleccionismo.
 MARTÍN MARTÍNEZ, Antonio (02/1968). Apuntes para una historia de los tebeos III. Tiempos heroicos del tebeo español (1936-1946)''. Madrid: Revista de Educación, n.º 196.

Enlaces externos
Chicos, "Kioscopedia"
Chicos, Consuelo Gil, San Sebastián/Madrid, 1938 por Manuel Barrero, "Tebeosfera"
Chicos 2ª etapa, Consuelo Gil, Madrid, 1950 por José Manuel Rodríguez Humanes, Manuel Barrero, Andres Alvarez, "Tebeosfera"
Chicos, Cid, 1954 por José Manuel Rodríguez Humanes y Manuel Barrero, "Tebeosfera"

Revistas de historieta de España
Revistas semanales
Revistas desaparecidas de España

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


DreamCalc provides a range of accessibility features to assist with impairment.
The "rugged" variant is shown right.
For example, click Mode→Keypad Voice→Calculator to Speak, or go to the "Accessibility" page on the Options Windows.
With this option is selected, voice feedback will be generated whenever a key is pressed.
Where possible, DreamCalc will generate correct and natural pronunciation of mathematical formula and numbers above and beyond what an external narrator would deliver. For example, it will correctly pronounce unit conversions, constants and function names such as "sin", "sinh" and "tanh" etc. Furthermore, the number 1.5E21, for example, will be read out as, "1.5 times ten to the 21," rather than "1.5 ee 21.".
IMPORTANT: DreamCalc will speak in the English language only, and an English language voice must be installed on your system for it to function properly.
With this option selected, DreamCalc will speak only the final result shown when the [ENTER] key is pressed.
By default, when speaking a number, DreamCalc will not read out all digits after the decimal place, but will round up to a few decimal places. For example, the number PI will be rounded and read out as, "three point one four," even though more digits may be shown in the display. This is intended to avoid verbose and potentially unuseful voice output.
You can change this setting from the "Accessibility" page in the Options Window. If you wish, it can be disabled so that the entire number is read out by setting spoken precision to "Speak Full Number".
The following voice features can be used independently of the keypad voice setting.
Irrespetive of the keypad voice setting, you can have DreamCalc read out the display value at any time by clicking on Edit→Speak Result from the main menu. For convenience, this feature can also be used from the keypad itself (look for the shifted [] function key).
It is also possible to have the Paper Roll & Register Window speak the entire last input expression, irrespective of the calculator's voice setting.
Clicking on Edit→Speak Last Input (or the  button) in the paper roll window will cause DreamCalc to speak the last input expression.
Right-clicking on a calculator key in the main interface will normally show a help hint describing the key's function. From the accessibility page in the Options Window, you can configure DreamCalc to speak these help hints also. Note that this feature can be used irrespestive of whether the calculator is set to speak in use or not.
DreamCalc supports a comprehensive range of input keystrokes (for example, you press "S" rather than typing out "s-i-n"). Additionally, you can toggle the keypad focus mode by pressing TAB. In this mode, the key with input focus is surrounded by dotted rectangle, as shown below.
Press RETURN to activate the focused key.
Press "H" to show the key help hint (this is the same as right-clicking on the key).
DreamCalc's key focus behavior is similar to that of standard Windows input controls, however you should use the arrow keys to move input focus rather than TAB. You can also use the HOME and END keys to jump to the top and bottom of the keypad respectively, and PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to skip multiple rows. In key focus mode, keystrokes other than RETURN and the arrow keys, work as normal.
Press TAB again to leave the key focus mode.


text:
Q: Why IE8 doesn't understand my css I have the following code, and I don't understand what is wrong, what is that IE8 don't like about it
var flap = $("#flap");
var animationSupport = _g.animationDetection();

if(animationSupport) {
    flap.addClass("showAnimation");
}
else {
    flap.css('width', flap.width() + 'px').css('right', '-' + flap.width() + 'px');
    flap.animate({right: 0}, 1500);
}

When I do this, I have the message:
Object doesn't support property or method 'width'

Though , if I do the following, seems to be fine:
$("#flap").css("width", "300px").css("right", "-300px");

A: I think the .width() might not be supported by IE8. Try this :
flap.css('width', flap.css('width')).css('right', '-' + flap.css('width'));

A: Remember to add ie8 support code in body and head

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Nested Action Listener not working I am trying to have buttons respond to being pressed and output to a textfield in Java Swing. The GUI will show once I execute the code, however it is pretty small and I must extend the window.  The main problem is that the listener is not working.  I do not understand why.  It is a nested ActionListener.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;

import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.Insets;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.JRadioButton;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import java.awt.event.*;

public class MyAtm extends JPanel {
private final ButtonGroup buttonGroup = new ButtonGroup();
JTextField inputField;
JText text = null;
JButton withdrawalButton;
JButton depositButton;
JButton transferButton;
JButton balanceButton;
JRadioButton checkingAccountRadioButton;
JRadioButton savingAccountRadioButton;

/**
 * Create the panel.
 */
public MyAtm() {
    GridBagLayout gridBagLayout = new GridBagLayout();
    gridBagLayout.columnWidths = new int[]{0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 173, 0, 0, 172, 0, 0, 0, 27, -21, 0, 0, 0, 0};
    gridBagLayout.rowHeights = new int[]{0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 36, 0, 0, 31, 30, 0};
    gridBagLayout.columnWeights = new double[]{0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, Double.MIN_VALUE};
    gridBagLayout.rowWeights = new double[]{0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, Double.MIN_VALUE};
    setLayout(gridBagLayout);

    JButton withdrawalButton = new JButton("Withdraw");
    withdrawalButton.setName("Withdraw");
    //buttonGroup.add(withdrawalButton);
    GridBagConstraints gbc_withdrawalButton = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_withdrawalButton.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
    gbc_withdrawalButton.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_withdrawalButton.gridx = 5;
    gbc_withdrawalButton.gridy = 2;
    add(withdrawalButton, gbc_withdrawalButton);

    JButton depositButton = new JButton("Deposit");
    GridBagConstraints gbc_depositButton = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_depositButton.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
    gbc_depositButton.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_depositButton.gridx = 8;
    gbc_depositButton.gridy = 2;
    add(depositButton, gbc_depositButton);

    JButton transferButton = new JButton("Transfer");
    GridBagConstraints gbc_transferButton = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_transferButton.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
    gbc_transferButton.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_transferButton.gridx = 5;
    gbc_transferButton.gridy = 5;
    add(transferButton, gbc_transferButton);

    JButton balanceButton = new JButton("Balance");
    GridBagConstraints gbc_balanceButton = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_balanceButton.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
    gbc_balanceButton.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_balanceButton.gridx = 8;
    gbc_balanceButton.gridy = 5;
    add(balanceButton, gbc_balanceButton);

    JRadioButton checkingAccountRadioButton = new JRadioButton("Checking");
    buttonGroup.add(checkingAccountRadioButton);
    GridBagConstraints gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton.anchor = GridBagConstraints.WEST;
    gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton.fill = GridBagConstraints.VERTICAL;
    gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton.gridx = 5;
    gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton.gridy = 7;
    add(checkingAccountRadioButton, gbc_checkingAccountRadioButton);

    JRadioButton savingAccountRadioButton = new JRadioButton("Saving");
    buttonGroup.add(savingAccountRadioButton);
    GridBagConstraints gbc_savingAccountRadioButton = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_savingAccountRadioButton.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
    gbc_savingAccountRadioButton.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_savingAccountRadioButton.gridx = 8;
    gbc_savingAccountRadioButton.gridy = 7;
    add(savingAccountRadioButton, gbc_savingAccountRadioButton);

    JTextField inputField = new JTextField();
    inputField.setToolTipText("Enter Your amount");
    GridBagConstraints gbc_inputField = new GridBagConstraints();
    gbc_inputField.gridwidth = 6;
    gbc_inputField.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 5);
    gbc_inputField.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
    gbc_inputField.gridx = 4;
    gbc_inputField.gridy = 8;
    add(inputField, gbc_inputField);
    //pack();
    //text = new JText();
    withdrawalButton.addActionListener(new JText());

}

private class JText implements ActionListener {
    @Override
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        try {
            if(e.getSource() == (withdrawalButton)) {
                System.out.println(withdrawalButton.getName());
            }
        }catch(Exception ex) {
            System.out.println(ex);
        }
    }
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
    JFrame frame = new JFrame();
    MyAtm atm = new MyAtm();
    frame.getContentPane().add(atm);
    frame.setVisible(true);

}

}

A: JButton withdrawalButton = new JButton("Withdraw");

Remove "JButton", you want to assign to an instance variable, not to a local variable.
Look at your action listener implementation, it is as follows:
private class JText implements ActionListener {
        @Override
        public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
            try {
                if (e.getSource() == (withdrawalButton)) {
                    System.out.println(withdrawalButton.getName());
                }
            } catch (Exception ex) {
                System.out.println(ex);
            }
        }
    }

and the e.getSource() == (withdrawalButton) check compares the source to an instance variable.

A: Your problem is that you're shadowing the withdrawalButton variable by declaring it twice, once in the class, where it is null, and again in the MyAtm constructor. The first one is never assigned an object and so is null, while second one is the one that is being added to the GUI and being given the ActionListener. In your listener, you test if the source is equal to the first null variable.
Solution: don't do this, don't declare the variable twice but rather once, in the class only. e.g., change this:
JButton withdrawalButton = new JButton("Withdraw");

to this:
withdrawalButton = new JButton("Withdraw");

In greater detail, here's what you're doing:
public class MyAtm extends JPanel {

    // ....

    // alternatively, you can assign the object here
    JButton withdrawalButton;

    // ....

    public MyAtm() {

        // .....

        // creating a **local** variable, one that shadows the class field
        JButton withdrawalButton = new JButton("Withdraw");

        // ....

        withdrawalButton.addActionListener(new JText());

    }

    private class JText implements ActionListener {
        @Override
        public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
            try {
                if (e.getSource() == (withdrawalButton)) {
                    System.out.println(withdrawalButton.getName());
                }
            } catch (Exception ex) {
                System.out.println(ex);
            }
        }
    }

    // ...
}

Here's what you want to do:
public class MyAtm extends JPanel {

    // ....

    // class field is never initialized
    JButton withdrawalButton;

    // ....

    public MyAtm() {

        // .....

        // initialize the field
        withdrawalButton = new JButton("Withdraw");

        // ....

        withdrawalButton.addActionListener(new JText());

    }

    private class JText implements ActionListener {
        @Override
        public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
            try {
                // here withdrawalButton is the null field
                if (e.getSource() == (withdrawalButton)) {
                    System.out.println(withdrawalButton.getName());
                }
            } catch (Exception ex) {
                System.out.println(ex);
            }
        }
    }

    // ...
}


text:
Locating the microcinema: Echo Park Film Center, Light Industry, and Other Cinema
LOCATING THE MICROCINEMA
ECHO PARK FILM CENTER, LIGHT INDUSTRY, AND OTHER CINEMA
Santiago Vernetti
This thesis is presented to the
ART AND CURATORIAL PRACTICES IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE
Copyright 2013 Santiago Vernetti
Title Locating the microcinema: Echo Park Film Center, Light Industry, and Other Cinema
Author Vernetti, Santiago
Author email santivernetti@gmail.com;santivernetti@usc.edu
Degree Master of Arts
Document type Thesis
Degree program Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere
School School of Fine Arts
Date submitted 2013-05-05
Date approved 2013-05-06
Restricted until 2013-05-06
Advisor (committee chair) Anastas, Rhea
Advisor (committee member) Higa, Karin
Wedell, Noura
Hudson, Suzanne P.
Abstract The term microcinema has emerged over the last decade in scholarship of film and film culture, journalism, and organization mission statements. This thesis explores three microcinemas as case studies: Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles, CA; Other Cinema in San Francisco, CA; and Light Industry in Brooklyn, NY in order to approach an understanding of microcinemas as small-scale revisionist responses to the norms of movie theaters and screenings in film and art worlds. The microcinema is a contextually responsive critical space that must also be understood as a product of its locality. ❧ I consider the microcinema in relation to historical precedents, specifically the early years of Canyon Cinema. Secondly, each of the microcinemas is described in terms of their physical characteristics, their organizational models, and their programming. Lastly, I turn to Hollis Frampton's notion of Infinite Cinema as a unique source with which to expand ideas and characterizations of the microcinema. This study argues for the microcinema as a small-scale institution that functions as a necessary site for the activation and preservation of marginalized forms of cultural production and their related distribution networks.
Keyword microcinema; Echo Park Film Center; Light Industry; Other Cinema; film studies; art history; Craig Baldwin; Ed Halter; Thomas Beard; Paolo Davanza; Lisa Marr
Legacy record ID usctheses-m
Rights Vernetti, Santiago
Physical access The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.
Repository name University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository address USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA
Filename etd-VernettiSa-1655.pdf
Archival file uscthesesreloadpub_Volume3/etd-VernettiSa-1655-0.pdf
Full text LOCATING THE MICROCINEMA ECHO PARK FILM CENTER, LIGHT INDUSTRY, AND OTHER CINEMA Santiago Vernetti This thesis is presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ART AND CURATORIAL PRACTICES IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE Copyright 2013 Santiago Vernetti
Locating the microcinema: Echo Park Film Center, Light...


Shared housing (or home sharing) is a long-term living arrangement in which two or more unrelated people share a house or an apartment. Each person has their own space — a bedroom and sometimes additional rooms — while sharing common areas such as the kitchen.
Shared housing has been characterized as "independence through interdependence", and illustrated in a number of short videos and news reports. There are also numerous Facebook pages (such as Radical Resthomes), books and websites promoting the idea.
This option is especially important for the health and well-being of seniors. Once their children have left home, and especially when their partner has died, many seniors face a painful choice of remaining alone in a house that may be too large and expensive for them, or uprooting themselves and moving into a seniors' residence or retirement home.
Shared housing provides a way for seniors to remain independent, while reducing the financial, physical and social challenges that often accompany aging.
Researchers have long known about the health benefits of "social capital" —ties that build trust, connection, and participation. These links are particularly important for seniors, precisely because both our health and our social capital tend to decline as we age. We lose friends and loved ones, and our world tends to contract. Social connection is therefore very important to enhance vitality and extend life expectancy.
What may be needed to encourage more seniors to consider this option is both greater awareness, and some form of facilitation to help people explore the idea and connect with one another. Sharing a home may not be for everybody, but for many, it is a promising way to remain independent, secure, and financially solvent.


A water leak can be a serious problem in your home. If you don't find a leak and then take measures to fix it, you could wind up with severe water damage. The water damage can soak into the structural elements of your home and cause weakness in walls, partial collapse, mold, mildew and termites. When it comes down to it, finding and fixing the leak is all about tuning in to all your senses. Moreover, you have to know where some of your main shutoff valves are. If you catch a leak soon enough, you can drastically reduce the damage. Here is how to find and fix a water leak in your home.
The pressure relief valve on your hot water tank – it may be leaking. Hot water tanks usually have an automatic pressure relief valve that goes off when there is too much pressure. Basically, this is to prevent a blow out. Sometimes, though, these valves can leak without you knowing. All you have to do is reset the relief valve setting to fix the leak.
Listen for leaks in your toilet – something may be broken and need to be replaced. Our toilets are not impervious to the rigors of daily use. Springs get damaged and other parts may become dislodged. If you are hearing a constant ringing in your toilet, there is a good chance that you will need to get inside the tank of your toilet and replace a certain part.
Check for leaks in your attic – you could have a leak in your roof, which will require professional service. Roof leaks can be especially troublesome – mostly because they can cause so much damage. However, finding roof leaks is relatively easy – all you have to do is head up to your attic and shine a flashlight along the edges of your roof. If you notice areas of moisture or discoloration, you may have leak. Your best bet is to call a service like Leak Masters to have the issue resolved in a timely manner.
One of your pipes may be old and rusty – your main water valve will need to be turned off while you replace the section of broken pipe. If you have an older home, you may also have older pipes. If this is the case, you may experience a broken or damaged pipe. When this happens, you will need to head outside to turn off the main water supply. After that, you want to carefully remove the old pipe and replace it. If you have multiple pipes that need replacing, you may as well replace those too.
Your faucets and shower heads may be old and leaky – you will need to replace them. In some cases, you may have leaking shower heads and faucets. To avoid wasted water and lime build up, you will probably want to completely replace the shower heads and the faucet. When it comes down to it, the issue will only get worse if you don't fix the problem sooner rather than later.


Have you set your IP address to a mere 123456 or admin? Keep your eyes peeled then. You might fall prey to a destructive botnet attack. The Internet Protocol (IP) addresses with full login details have gone mainstream. It appears to be of some 33000 IoT devices exhibiting the Telnet credentials.
The sprawling data of the username and password could enable anyone to access your home router or your 'Internet of things' devices.
The list of unsecured devices has remained obscure since June. But it only became viral after a Twitter post by Ray Watson, a security researcher on August 24. It had originally been put up on a Pastebin account.
The Chairman of GDI Foundation, Victor Gevers has rectified the error note and reported that it only contained unique 8233 IP addresses. The Netherland based non-profit internet security researcher also found that out of the 8233, 2174 hosts still operate the open telnet services. While 1774 of this active telnet service are open to hack with the leaked credentials.
Gevers also noted that this spilled information belongs majorly to the Chinese users (61 percent), seconded by other Asian countries.
He has further sent out an alert that these accessible systems are vulnerable to abuse and can close down your right to entry as well.
The said 8233 IP addresses are observed to display just a mere 144 unique set of username and password. Yet even out of these, the vast majority were default-factory settings.
The Pastebin dump exhibited scripts tagged as 'Mirai Bots' and 'Bashlight', which indicates to a malicious network system. Through the denial of service attacks, these botnets can infect security cameras, modems, internet-connected devices, etc.
The ready availability of these IP addresses brings a single device at a risk of attack from multiple groups.
Although Pastebin has removed the dangerous list from the web, it had been viewed 20000 times before being taken down.
Security experts advise you to replace your default passwords to a strong one, going up to 12 or more characters. Also, ensure that you have tightened your security system with a more trustable firmware. Moreover, you should keep changing your passwords from time to time and keep up with the latest security updates.


text:
Manufacturing industries that employ the most women
Records of American women being a part of the manufacturing workforce have been documented as far back as 1899.
At that time, it was cheaper to pay women to work in factories than men. Women's presence in the manufacturing workforce surged during World War II, including making weapons and other military equipment. Companies laid off women after the war ended in favor of hiring returning veterans. In the ensuing years, automation use expanded to support manufacturing workers and, in some instances, replace them.
Even today, women remain underrepresented in the manufacturing industry, accounting for around 3 in 10 employees overall and 3 in 10 junior staff. They are rarer at higher levels—2 in 10 mid-level staff, less than 2 in 10 senior-level staff, and 9 in 100 CEOs.
There is a fair amount of variation across sectors, though. Women make up only 17% of those working in primary metals and fabricated metal products but comprise 50% of the workforce for textiles, apparel, and leather manufacturing.
To better understand how women contribute to the manufacturing industry today, Get It Made collected data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2021 Current Population Survey to rank the manufacturing industries that employ the most women. Survey respondents were limited to binary gender classifications.
Efforts are underway to diversify the manufacturing workforce. Some manufacturers have formal programs they use to recruit women, and the Manufacturing Institute, a workforce development company, has started the STEP Women's Initiative to train, study, and publicly recognize the role of women in the manufacturing industry.
Women can fill gaps in the manufacturing industry, which is currently facing a workforce shortage. Beyond that, there is room for them to help expand opportunities, replace an aging workforce, and fill roles in highly skilled and technical positions.
Read on to learn more about women working in different manufacturing industries in the U.S.
BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock
#16. Primary metals and fabricated metal products manufacturing
– Total employment: 1,539,000
– Percent women: 17%
Primary metals manufacturers refine metals from other materials to create castings, wires, rods, strips, sheets, and other basic products.
Fabricated metal products manufacturing handles the next step, turning the metal into various parts or end products. The main processes in this industry include machining, forming, bending, stamping, and forging to give shape to individual metal pieces, as well as assembling and welding to join metal pieces together.
In 2021, women metal workers made 93 cents for each dollar that men in the same job earned, despite demonstrating strong skills and holding vital positions.
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
#15. Wood products manufacturing
– Total employment: 427,000
Wood product manufacturers create prefab wooden buildings, manufactured mobile homes, wood trusses, wood flooring, wood containers, veneers, plywood, lumber, and more. Women woodworkers earn 82 cents on the dollar of their male counterparts.
This subsector's main production processes include laminating, shaping, planing, and sawing of wood products, as well as smoothing, planing, and assembling them.
The forest products industry is a top 10 manufacturing employer in 45 states, employing almost 950,000 people nationwide. Yet women in 2019 occupied just 16% of top management jobs in the sector.
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
#14. Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing usually involves the process of petroleum refinement, achieved through chemical techniques such as distillation and cracking. The subsector also includes establishments that further process coal and refined materials and manufacture products like petroleum lubricating oils and asphalt coatings.
Men who worked year-round, full-time roles as petroleum engineers made a median salary in 2019 of $138,456 (the most recent data available), while women with the same job made $126,712.
BearFotos // Shutterstock
#13. Nonmetallic mineral products manufacturing
Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturers take clay, stone, gravel, and sand and transform them into finished products like cement, ceramics, and glass. Processes may include honing, shaping, cutting, and grinding. The techniques often involve heat and mixing, like when producing glass.
Of the nearly 9,000 firms in this sector in the U.S. in 2020, two-thirds were majority-owned by men, 12% were majority women-owned, and 16% were owned in equal shares by men and women. The remaining 6% did not report ownership statistics.
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
#12. Machinery manufacturing
Machinery manufacturers make products such as levers and gears, and other equipment. Some of this industry's main processes include machining, forming, bending, stamping, and forging to shape metal pieces, while other methods involve assembling and welding to join together various parts.
While these processes are comparable to those used in the fabricated metal products manufacturing subsector, machinery manufacturing focuses on creating different machine parts through various metal-forming operations and more elaborate assembly operations.
There has been a wage disparity between men and women in the machinery manufacturing subsector. In 2019, year-round, full-time employed tool and die makers who were men earned a median of $58,378, while women in the same position earned $47,200. Men mechanical engineers also made more, earning a median of $91,189, while women mechanical engineers earned a median of $90,524.
Women are making strides in leadership in this subsector. In Ohio, French Oil Mill Machinery promoted Tayte French Lutz to vice president of the custom equipment manufacturing company in August 2022.
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
#11. Beverages and tobacco products manufacturing
Beverage manufacturing includes producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages and ice. Tobacco manufacturing includes establishments that redry and stem tobacco and those making products such as cigars and cigarettes.
The average beverage manufacturing annual salary for men is $65,317 and $62,999 for women. But in tobacco manufacturing, the average woman's salary is actually higher, at $85,493, while the average man's salary is $81,978.
John Gress Media Inc // Shutterstock
#10. Transportation equipment manufacturing
Transportation equipment manufacturers make equipment that moves goods and people. Processes are similar to those used in the machinery manufacturing subsector, from welding and forming to assembling plastic or metal parts into finished components and products. However, the processes used in the transportation equipment manufacturing subsector more commonly end in the manufacturing of finished vehicles and other modes of transport.
Men regularly make more than women for the same roles within this subsector, as is the case throughout manufacturing. In 2019, male aerospace engineers earned a median income of $112,402, more than $10,000 more than their women counterparts. Similar gender wage gaps are evident among machinists. Mechanical engineers have a much smaller gap—less than $1,000.
Dusan Petkovic // Shutterstock
#9. Furniture and related product manufacturing
Making furniture and related products—from fixtures and cabinets to window blinds and mattresses—also requires the incorporation of fashion and design trends. Manufacturers may incorporate their own design services or buy them from industrial designers.
In the furniture and related product manufacturing subsector, the average annual salary for a man is $47,798, while for a woman, it's $45,935. Three furniture manufacturers—Ikea, Steelcase, and Williams-Sonoma—made Forbes Magazine's list of 2022's Best Employers for Women.
pikselstock // Shutterstock
#8. Paper manufacturing and printing
Paper manufacturing subsector industries involve at least one of three related product types: pulp, paper, and converted paper products. They print products like business forms, stationery, business cards, labels, books, newspapers, and other materials. That subsector includes tasks like bookbinding, platemaking services, and data imaging.
Overall, paper manufacturing has a significant wage gap, with year-round, full-time male paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders in 2019 earning a mean of $51,357 versus $32,943 for their female counterparts. But wages are virtually matched between men and women in the printing and related support activities subsector: $55,808 and $55,026 a year, respectively.
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
#7. Electrical equipment and appliances manufacturing
Establishments in the electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing subsector make products that produce electrical power, as well as distribute and use it. These products include lighting fixtures, electric lamp bulbs, and household appliances ranging from coffee grinders and blenders to refrigerators and deep freezers. They also include electrical equipment such as transformers, generators, and electric motors, as well as other electrical components and equipment such as batteries, insulated wire, and fuse boxes.
Women entered the electrical manufacturing workforce in the early 1900s, mostly making electric motors and lightbulbs. With mechanization across manufacturing mainly driven by demand during World War I, employers sought lower-wage workers. That often meant recruiting women and minorities. The factory jobs generally reserved for white men opened up during the two world wars, with many roles returned to veterans following the wars.
#6. Computers and electronic products manufacturing
Computer and electronic product manufacturing subsector industries include communications equipment makers, computer peripherals, computers, and comparable electrical products and components.
Men dominate the electronics manufacturing industry, but women in the industry have carved out places for themselves. In the past, when technology jobs did not pay as much as today and were considered menial, women held those jobs—only to be overshadowed by men when they became profitable.
Sata Production // Shutterstock
#5. Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
Businesses in the plastics and rubber products manufacturing subsector process raw rubber and plastics materials to produce goods.
In the plastics manufacturing industry in 2021, women represented a more significant share of workers than they had 10 years earlier, with 3 in 10 workers being women. But even then, according to Robin Graves—an executive search firm senior account manager at Midland Consultants who has over two decades of experience in recruitment in the rubber industry—there were "quite a few women" in the industry in 2012. She reported they held various positions, including those of chemists and presidents and those in sales and marketing.
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
#4. Miscellaneous manufacturing
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries produce products that are not classifiable in other Bureau of Labor Statistics categories. Examples of industries in this group include those that manufacture musical instruments, artists' materials, dolls, caskets, silverware, and jewelry.
In 2021, 34.7% of the people employed in this industry were women.
#3. Chemicals manufacturing
Chemical manufacturers create products from inorganic or organic raw materials. Some examples of industry groups include manufacturers of paints, soaps, medicines, pesticides, resins, and other products.
More women in the chemical manufacturing industry are entering the workforce and taking leadership positions. Additionally, support organizations exist expressly to bolster women in the industry, including the Women in Specialties group of the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates and Women in Chemicals.
#2. Food manufacturing
Food manufacturing companies turn crops and livestock into products ready for food supply chains or consumer consumption. Some examples include tortilla manufacturers, bakeries, dairy product manufacturers, slaughterhouses, animal food manufacturers, and others.
Women hold fewer than 2 in 10 senior leadership positions in the food and beverage industry, according to Females in Food—even though 8 in 10 women worldwide make food-buying decisions.
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
#1. Textiles, apparel, and leather manufacturing
Textile mills turn basic fibers into a product like fabric or yarn. Textile or apparel companies will then use that fabric or yarn to produce consumer items like textile bags, towels, sheets, and clothes—and, sometimes, companies might also use materials from various industries.
Textile product mills manufacture textile products that are not apparel, such as towels and sheets.
Apparel manufacturing industries are involved in two manufacturing processes: making the fabric itself and then cutting and sewing it to create a garment. Leather and allied product manufacturing include making leather out of hides and using that leather to create final products, as well as creating leather substitute products out of textiles, plastics, or rubber.
In the leather tanning and finishing and other allied products manufacturing industry, men make slightly more than women, on average—with the average man's salary being $46,088 and the average woman's salary being $45,281. Globally, the textiles, clothing, leather, and footwear sector provides many employment opportunities, especially, and increasingly, for young women.
This story originally appeared on Get It Made and was produced and
Founded in 2017, Stacker combines data analysis with rich editorial context, drawing on authoritative sources and subject matter experts to drive storytelling.
10 housing markets where institutional investors are buying the most
Best-performing stocks last week
The U.S. stock market is a complicated beast, and with recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen some volatility in the last few years. Stocks dipped quite a bit during the pandemic but have recovered since.
To get an idea of how the stock market has fared in the last 10 years, watch trends of major market indices—or certain groups of companies' stocks that give a sample of how the entire market is performing. Perhaps the most well-known market index is the S&P 500, a group of the 500 largest companies on the U.S. stock market.
While the S&P 500 is widely regarded as the best indicator of how the stock market is faring, other market indices can give you a different view based on the type of companies they track. Dow Jones, for instance, follows 30 of the largest companies in the country from various industries. The NASDAQ includes all stocks on the NASDAQ market, largely comprised of tech companies.
By watching the performance of these and other market indices, investors can get a good idea of how the U.S. stock market as a whole has performed over time. Olive Invest examined historical equities data from S&P Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and other data sources to see how the stock market has fared over the last decade.
Olive Invest
How stocks have performed over the last decade
This chart shows a significant increase in stock index values from the last decade, despite a brief drop in 2020 during the pandemic. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a steep drop-off in index values. However, they bounced back by the end of 2020 into 2021.
Index values have held relatively steady growth across the last 10 years. The NASDAQ, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average have all doubled in value since 2012.
Tracking volatility
This chart measures the Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index (VIX index), designed to show how current events and uncertainty affect stock prices. Essentially, the more fluctuation you see here, the more uncertainty investors and the public have about the future, which can significantly impact the market and even help project market crises.
Unsurprisingly, the most significant spike in volatility from the last decade was in March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last two years have shown a reduction in volatility since this spike, but in general, there is more uncertainty than 10 years prior.
Rates of return since 2000
The S&P 500's annual return on investment is a critical indicator of the stock market's performance. The average return since the S&P 500's establishment is 11%.
There are a few notable data points here—perhaps the most prominent of which is the Great Recession in 2008. That financial crisis resulted in the most significant drop in the S&P 500 return of the last 20 years. Since the recession, however, the rate of return has been above average almost every year.
S&P stocks by sector
The S&P 500 tracks the top 500 U.S. companies on the stock market. Knowing what types of businesses make up the majority of the index is essential to understanding which sectors have the most success.
In 2022, Information Technology made up 26.4% of the S&P 500—an industry high in the last 20 years. Similarly, health care is gaining ground in the previous few years, though it is still short of its historical high.
The financial sector has seen a downturn in the last decade—though this may change with the reclassification of major shares next year.
Number of publicly traded companies declines
In the last 20 years, there has been a significant drop in how many publicly traded domestic companies are on the U.S. stock market as more companies exit the market and there are fewer IPOs.
The last decade, however, has been far more stable. Experts suggest the change is connected to natural fluctuations and changing dynamics in the market's major industries. McKinsey attributes a significant portion of the drop-off to acquisitions.
Still, there have been fewer IPOs in the last several years, which can be a disappointment for new investors trying to get in on the ground floor.
This story originally appeared on Olive Invest and was produced and
Recruitment company Randstad published 2023 lists for Canada's most in-demand tech jobs and skills.
DX Journal Staff
Today's businesses continue embracing digital transformation through automation, cloud systems, and remote work arrangements into 2023.
Still, skill shortages and employee attrition plague the Canadian workforce. One constant that remains is the demand for highly skilled IT and tech professionals — which just increased by 25% in 2022.
Recruitment company Randstad recently released roundups of Canada's most in-demand tech skills and IT and tech jobs for 2023. The good news is prospective workers have ample fields, industries, and salary ranges to consider as they peruse the job market.
And we're not just talking about the IT industry. Randstad reminds us that tech professionals are sought after in pretty much every industry, especially banking, administration consulting, employment agencies, and software publishers.
Randstad cites data, security, business system, and quality assurance analysts in their list. These roles require not only technical skills like Microsoft Azure and experience with cloud technology, but also project management skills earned through previous tenures or certifications like the project management professional (PMP) or certified scrummaster (CSM).
Other in-demand jobs listed include cloud architect and network engineer, positions calling for significant expertise in Java, Python, and cloud technology, on top of other technical and soft skills.
We also see an increase in average salaries for 2023, jumping from $51,900 to $154,300 in 2022 to $74,000 to $130,600 in 2023. But tech professionals seeking the highest salaries should gravitate toward developer/programmer roles, a position that also made Randstad's more general best jobs in 2023 list. Notably, the full-stack developer role topped Randstad's highest-paid jobs list, fetching as high as $130,000.
Randstad also shares a long list of highly sought-after technical skills, from C# and Java to Linux and API.
While years of professional experience would certainly help today's prospective candidate, it's not always a deal breaker. McKinsey reminds us of a curious phenomenon in the tech industry — 44% of tech professionals transitioned from a non-IT role. That's because companies indeed want qualified candidates with skills, but also seek enthusiastic, hardworking professionals interested in learning and growing with the field's constant innovations.
Another notable finding was Ranstad's certification recommendations. These aren't suitable for beginner tech professionals; rather, they're a way for an entry-level, associate, or executive professional to easily highlight their prowess on their resumes, like the certified information security manager (CISM) certification.
Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of research firm Everest Group, described the tech demand to Forbes as a result of consistent investment in software-driven operating platforms despite reduced discretionary spending.
Meaning?
Companies are cutting out the fluff — but people who can create and improve technology, security, and cloud computing solutions and systems are certainly not fluff.
Learn more about Randstad's 2023 best IT and tech jobs and top skills wanted.
DX Journal covers the impact of digital transformation (DX) initiatives worldwide across multiple industries.
Owning a vehicle comes with a whole host of costs—from insurance and maintenance to parking and tolls. And if the past year has proven anything, it's that another cost associated with vehicle use—namely fuel—can fluctuate wildly, putting further strain on your bank account for an already costly necessity.
CoPilot looked into the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Surveys to see how much Americans spend on fuel for their vehicles and used sources from insurance companies, transportation fleet managers, and government agencies to determine some ways to lower that expenditure.
On average, Americans spent $179 per month (or $2,148 annually) on gasoline, other fuels, and motor oils in 2021, accounting for around 3% of overall annual expenses. In terms of finding decisive ways to cut that cost, one front-of-mind idea might be to consider an electric vehicle. EVs are gaining in popularity, the major automakers are investing heavily in an electric future, and the government incentivizes most EV buyers.
While switching to a car with better fuel economy, such as a hybrid or fully electric vehicle, can lead to big reductions in monthly fuel expenses, hybrids and EVs often cost more than their gasoline-only counterparts, and the fuel savings may not offset that difference for a number of years. What's more, the infrastructure EVs depend on for charging remains in something of a developmental stage, making them a limited alternative to gas-powered vehicles—at least for now.
There are approximately 250 million cars and trucks on U.S. roadways; less than 1% are electric. So for those either not in the market for a new vehicle or simply content to stick with the reliability of gasoline-powered travel, the following list offers a wide range of suggestions, best practices, and easy lifestyle adjustments that can reduce the monthly costs associated with fueling a personal vehicle.
Wealthy households spend more than twice as much on gasoline
Even as gas prices were at their highest since 2014 (adjusted for inflation), spending on fuel in 2021 increased from 2019 levels by only $54 per year on average. And while the drastic reduction in driving brought on during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had a great impact on fuel spending that year, it does not seem to have extended to significantly changed habits in the following year—driving in 2021 dropped by only 1% when compared with 2019 levels.
Though average spending on fuel in 2021 was high, the lack of an even more dramatic increase due to high gas prices can be attributed mainly to the steady rise in the fuel efficiency of vehicles over the past decade.
Another important consideration raised by this is whether or not the burden of those fuel expenses is felt equally across income levels. Bureau of Labor Statistics data suggests it does not. For those in the lowest income quintile, spending on fuel represented 3.6% of total expenses. The burden decreased for each subsequent income bracket; in the highest quintile, it represented just 2.4% of total costs.
While this disparity might seem minimal when considering the upper limit of the lower quintile's household earnings is just over $27,000, and the lower limit (or floor) of the highest quintile is $141,000, that 1.2% difference comes starkly into focus.
So while the increase in the fuel economy of newer cars seems to have a relative equalizing force on fuel expenses when taken on average, income disparity implies that those in lower income quintiles do not reap the benefits of those improvements in automotive engineering.
Consider alternative forms of transportation
From their walkability to the accessibility and affordability of public transit, urban areas such as cities offer residents, especially those living in city centers, alternatives to using personal vehicles to get around. This isn't just beneficial to their health and that of the environment; it also helps people reduce fuel costs.
Overall, those who live in urban areas spent $3,303 less on transportation than those in rural areas in 2021. Fuel expenses accounted for roughly 13% of transportation costs, meaning even those who owned cars in urban areas spent on average $39 less per month on fuel than those in rural settings.
This is not to say, however, that rural or micropolitan areas cannot take advantage of alternative forms of transportation. Small towns across the U.S. have begun to see the value in investing in bike-share programs, using its infrastructure funding to add bike-protected lanes on their streets. This is especially true in smaller college towns, where foot and bike traffic tends to be high.
So whether it's via bike, scooter, or sneakers, tackling short-distance trips by means other than your vehicle can translate to more cash in your pocket.
Keep a close eye on how you're using your vehicle's features
The data is clear: Sensible driving makes a meaningful impact on the efficiency of your car.
Frequent braking and acceleration, fast driving, and A/C overuse are a few habits that can increase the overall cost of travel in your vehicle. Using A/C during hot weather can reduce fuel economy by more than 25%, according to the Department of Energy. Parking your car in shade, rolling down your windows at low speeds, and preemptively letting hot air out of the cabin as you begin your journey are a few ways to decrease the impact of heat and make your car more comfortable A/C-free.
The power of a car's acceleration is something many, if not most, drivers love, and many car buyers put a particular value on speed capability when making their decision. For most vehicles, however, speeding also comes at a cost. For every 5 mph above 50, the cost per gallon of gas increases, depending on your vehicle's make, model, and year.
Suppose you are driving a 2020 Ford F-150 4WD (incidentally, the bestselling truck in the U.S. since the late 1970s); the difference between going 65 mph and 80 mph is approximately $1 per gallon of gas—meaning what it costs you per 100 miles to hit the highway at 80 is equivalent to the price of an additional gallon of gas or more. Considering the average person drives 13,476 miles per year, keeping to the lower speed (on average) translates into more than $440 in fuel savings.
Coupled with the 15%-30% decrease in fuel economy brought on by frequent braking and acceleration, maintaining steady speeds, accelerating and braking gently, using cruise control, and leaving ample space between your car and the one in front of you can cut your fuel costs while also keeping you safer on the road.
Properly maintain your vehicle
In addition to benefiting its life span, properly maintaining and organizing your vehicle can lead to a small but mighty decrease in monthly fuel expenses.
Keeping your tires inflated to recommended levels, reducing excess weight, and using the recommended grade of motor oil all benefit fuel economy, according to the DOE.
Moreover, and as per basic physics, your car's fuel use is greatly impacted by aerodynamics; so, while it might seem handy to keep that cargo pod on your roof, or that bicycle rack on your bumper, it can decrease your car's efficiency by as much as 8% when you're just tooling around town and as much as 25% on the interstate.
T. Schneider // Shutterstock
Purchase fuel with purpose
An ongoing myth is that premium fuels will make your car more efficient. While they won't hurt your vehicle's performance, premium fuel makes no difference for most cars.
There are ways to get more out of your gas purchases through grocery store, gas station, and credit card reward and money-back programs. If you know your habits well enough, you'll be able to make such programs worthwhile. As per capita gas consumption has hovered in the 350-450 gallon range over the past 20 years, using such programs can translate to big savings.
One of the more effective ways to minimize the price of gas is by using apps and services that, when combined with a little forward planning, allow you to chart out your gas refuels at stations you know will have favorable prices.
Gas prices can fluctuate wildly within a relatively small area. Apps like GasBuddy are built specifically to help you plan around gas price variance and minimize its impact on long trips or high monthly usage. Most navigation tools like Waze or Google Maps also come with built-in gas price features as well.
Avoid driving altogether
This might seem a rather extreme recommendation, but even if you don't live near public transit, there are still ways you can reduce the time you spend driving and, therefore, the amount you spend on driving.
Carpooling even a few times a week can lead to many positives, including a decreased carbon footprint and lower fuel expenses. Moreover, carpooling is often supported by corporate incentive programs, so it's worth looking into at your place of work.
Other options to reduce your reliance on a personal vehicle include riding a bike or e-bike, walking when possible, reducing the number of cars in your household, and coordinating your errands to minimize individual car usage. These alternatives can make a substantive difference not only for your budget but for your health and well-being as well.
Finally, the easiest way to lower your spending on fuel is to spend no money on fuel whatsoever. If you're able to consider ditching your car entirely, the widespread availability of ride-share and taxi services and car rental agencies can help fill your personal transportation needs when and if they arise.
This story originally appeared on CoPilot and was produced and


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First time councillor promises business-friendly outlook for Calgary
By Noel Harper
Ward 6 city councillor Jeff Davison spent years marketing and promoting large companies, but he now faces the difficult task of helping Calgary become a welcoming place to invest and grow businesses as a newcomer to Calgary politics.
"We're getting to a place where we can start climbing out of the slump. The question is, what is the strategy forward, and it's not just about attracting business here, it's about retaining business here."
The new councillor won with nearly 45 per cent of the vote in his ward in Calgary's municipal election back in October 2017. The success of his campaign, he claims, may have stemmed from campaigns he ran for various brands in the past.
"You're marketing yourself, you're marketing the vision you have for the city, you're marketing your background, you really become the brand in the campaign," he said. "No marketer likes to market themselves."
Davison believes his time spent as a brand marketer and corporate liaison for several companies has prepared him to work in the public sector.
"When you boil it down, it's really the same assets you're looking at, in terms of a political campaign," said Davison, who describes his work as being a storyteller for brands.
"Calgary offers a lot of world-class assets to people, whether it's the talent that we have here, the people we have here, the space we have available, the cost of living, the quality of life... all of those things are going to play big factors into drawing industry back here." — Jeff Davison
"The interesting thing about [brand and product marketing] is that it's cross-sector. I've worked in oil and gas, entertainment, so the skill set of having marketing communications behind me is really one that now I can bring into politics."
Andrew Osis, Davison's friend and business partner, describes a phone conversation the two had before Davison entered the race for Ward 6, saying that Davison felt confident in his chances of winning.
"He was convinced that, given the landscape of people who had put their names forward at the time, he felt he could do a better job," said Osis. "When he decided to make the run for it, he was fully committed."
Osis has known Davison for 15 years. The two worked together on several different projects including the discontinued business search mobile application Poynt. At one time, Osis said, Poynt hosted 25 million users.
Osis' contribution to the Davison campaign was one of a economic angle.
"Where I tried to help Jeff was providing a bit of analysis and expertise from a financial perspective… talking through various issues and providing advice, so he could shape his platform, and how he wanted to approach the election," Osis said.
Osis expects that his friend will not shy away from tough decisions while on city council.
"I know Jeff will continue to ask both the right questions, but also the practical questions, of fiscal responsibility."
Davison remains cautious but hopeful for Calgary's fiscal situation. He describes the current dilemma as "a very unique economic downturn." Davison said he plans to take great strides to encourage businesses to return to the city.
"Calgary offers a lot of world-class assets to people, whether it's the talent that we have here, the people we have here, the space we have available, the cost of living, the quality of life... all of those things are going to play big factors into drawing industry back here," said Davison.
He also stressed the importance of maintaining diversity within Calgary's business portfolio.
"That will be the challenge over the next cycle of council, to affect strategy that does allow big business to come to Calgary, but also allows small businesses to operate here too."
Steve Chapman, co-campaign manager for the Davison campaign, shares Davison's concerns for the future of the city.
"Calgary is not providing the opportunities that it was 10, 15 years ago, and his concern is if we continue on that trend, then realistically, people in the next generation are going to have to leave Calgary," Chapman said.
Chapman met Davison through campaign manager Bruce Lee. Lee also served as campaign manager for Davison's predecessor, Richard Pootmans.
According to Chapman, Davison invested a considerable amount of time into his own campaign.
"He certainly had ideas as to what could work, so he was certainly an active participant in the campaign process."
Chapman says council needs to engage with business in the city, in order for Calgary's entrepreneurial spirit to remain."Unless we start to see government step up to encourage entrepreneurship, then we could see a massive decrease in that availability," he said.
Chapman believes that Davison will bring an awful lot to city council.
Davison will not only work for Ward 6, but for the entire city in order to improve the relationship between businesses and the local government.
"One of the reasons I came to this job is because I wanted to see city council do a lot more, or create closer ties, between council and industry," Davison said.
Davison looks forward to showing his prospects to a council largely made up of incumbents.
"I don't think having prior political history means anything anymore. I think it's really about bringing the unique perspective to the table, and having a unique perspective doesn't always mean that you're new to politics."
Editor: Abby LaRocque | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Noel Harper


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Elijah Cummings hospitalized for bacterial infection
Rep. Elijah Cummings was admitted to the hospital for a bacterial infection in his knee, his office announced Friday....
Posted: Jan 6, 2018 12:56 PM
Updated: Jan 6, 2018 12:56 PM
Rep. Elijah Cummings was admitted to the hospital for a bacterial infection in his knee, his office announced Friday.
"Doctors drained the infection in a minor procedure today. He is resting comfortably and expects a full recovery," his office said in a statement.
The Maryland Democrat, 66, is being treated at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Cummings is the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
His wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, abruptly announced Friday she was suspending her campaign for governor "due to personal considerations."
"Making a positive and direct contribution to the state of Maryland and to our nation was my greatest motivating factor for stepping into the public arena," she wrote. "Unfortunately, due to personal considerations, I am suspending my bid for governor of Maryland."
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WILLOWS WEPT REVIEW
Issue Nineteen: Winter 2021
← An Evening of Delight
The Call of the Coppersmith Barbet
Posted on June 27, 2011 by Murali Sivaramakrishnan
All afternoon the Coppersmith Barbet on the fig tree beside the river had been tonking away: tonk . . . tonk . . . tonk . . . , his call reverberated over the steely-still waters of the Mahanadi, while like a skillful ventriloquist the bird hid behind the large green leaves far from the inquisitive eyes of humans. Only the sound floated about. From where I sit I can see miles and miles of water; little wonder this is Mahanadi, the great river, the lifeblood of Orissa! A few miles off the trees I can see the rising concrete structure of the Hirakud dam in the district of Burla. The waters are stopped by the massive structure and canalized for purposes of generating electricity and to irrigate large areas of otherwise dry terrain. Now the river flows into the evening as darkness starts to descend slowly. One by one an array of lights come alive piercing the sky and water like arrows. Only the lapping of the strange silent waters as they caress the shore. And now the sounds of night begin–the chuk . . . chuk . . . chuk . . . chukkoor of the nightjar announces the settling in of the night. The cicadas and frogs take it up. Suddenly all nature is once again up and alive, the transference of light into life. Of course, what we see, what we feel, and what we hear, is only a tiny, tiny slice of nature. Life around us is so abundant, so very varied. And we are immersed in its being–our being is no different. And yet we see so little, feel so little, and hear so little.
Now, from over the waters I can hear bits and pieces of bhajans from some temple somewhere upstream where the devotees have gathered for puja and arathi. The voices and instruments are so soft, so very like the rise and fall of the waters of the Mahanadi. Like the deft fingers of the maestro moving over the tiny holes cut into the bamboo stem, the waters of the Mahanadi lap and lave over the sand shore. Everything blends so well. I am at peace. I could sit for hours like this while the bhajans die out and the lamps are put out. The devotees would troupe back to their homes and their home lights would come on. Life is so perfect!
In nature all sounds have meanings. We have also learned to mean much through our own production of sounds; in fact we have created a parallel acoustic world through our sounds and voices. There are hardly any human communities without speech or music. Of course, we have come so far away from the primitive noise making process and our super technologies have helped us constitute complex structures of the likes of Hirakud in terms of sounds and voices. Perhaps humans have almost forfeited their ability to listen to silence. We need to recourse to voice and sound to analyze, interpret, and mean. The worst part is what technology has done to our voices: we can record and replay and resort to a thousand ways of delivering the sound through a million modes and means. We can make it sound a thousand times over. An ordinary whisper can be magnified to resound like thunder. While the Hindu displays his religion's magnificence through the loud notes played all mornings and evenings over the temple loud-speakers, the muezzin in the Islamic tower casts out louder verses from the Koran at the very top of his voice! Of course he needs to wake up the ardent devotee and remind him of his religious duties of worship. The Christians are not far behind: they have their own ways of keeping the spirit of religion alive and sparkling through the loudest of notes. Religion in the present depends so very much on the world of sight and sound. Sing aloud and thou shalt be heard! The Christians were missionaries before anybody else; they carried the word of god to all and sundry. Now the television has afforded them another way of televangelism! Indeed all religions have their own special channels for dispensing their version of truth! After all we need to tell the other how to live better and reach god faster, whether we need it ourselves or not! All sounds and notes of religions apparently are meant only for the other. One does not pause to consider whether the other needs it or not ever. Songs and sermons are blasted from over a million loudspeakers everyday and every minute, from all corners of India, tearing any remaining silence into shreds of disconnected dots and dashes. Religions are so loud these days, and they get louder by the minute. The word of god is to be treasured and meditated up on in our silent hearts and never to be violated like this. But who cares!
There are rules and regulations in our civil societies about personal space and private space. There are rules that one cannot hurt the other; neither should one trespass on what is termed private property. However there is almost nothing to stop one from screaming aloud one's religion right into the other's delicate apparatus of hearing! What violence, what aggression, when one considers the songs and slogans renting the sacred air of morning and evening in our towns and villages! This is sheer desecration of human acoustic space; no one seems to care! The genuine searchers of religious and spiritual truths have always left the marketplaces of the world to seek for silence elsewhere. Nietzsche wrote: solitude ends where the market place begins. The entire civilized world has become a market place of meaningless sounds and screeches. And yet the Mahanadi flows with majestic peace and silence. There is a genuine silence in the heart of any river, provided one can sense the same. This cannot be dislocated by the aural-oral discourses of the vociferous culture of our religions. All rivers are compassionate and they proffer their hearts to the listening ear.
Somehow we have come to believe that it is through a culture of sound we reach the other shore of communication and meaning. Bhartrhari, the Sanskrit linguist of ancient India, speaks of the Nada Brahmam, the Sound Absolute of the Eternal Spirit. Tyagaraja, the Saint Singer, writes of Nada Brahma as well, to where the song eternal would lead the singer ultimately. There is also the Sabda Brahmam, the articulate universe of sound. Between Nada and Sabda there is a world of difference. Sabda is definitely of the lower order in the scale, where the presence of articulated meaning and interpretation dwells. Sabdartha sahitam kavyam, says Bhamaha, one of the Sanskrit aestheticians–poetry is the perfect union of sound and sense. But sound and sense do not often go together. Most of our everyday life is replete with the former devoid of any sense. And many people mistake mere sound as meaning.
Sound is so often a corruption of silence. Sound can also be seen as defiance and disturbance. Perhaps sound is one way man defies god in the face of the absurdity of his existence. It could be that sound issues forth from his disordered mind or brain. Often enough mere sound could also substitute the sense and spirit. However, the louder we make out sounds the farther we move from the logic of meaning; the maha satta, or the ultimate meaning remains seated so far deep in silence, one cannot wean it through the disturbances in the acoustic space, neither can one defy the might of the silent spirit that is both immanent and transcendental at the same time. Those who know this, move away from the cacophonic conglomeration of our absurd world of sounds, the repertoire of our weak minds, the noise of our perturbed souls. The Mahanadi moves and yet moves so still in time.
All sounds in nature apart from those made by us humans sometimes have an intrinsic balance. We too can sing, we too can whistle, we too can make a million other ways of expressing delight and pain. However, the moment we resort to the complex technological modes of delivery and broadcasting, we begin the de-sacralization of nature and spirit. The human ear has a fine delicate sensibility to sounds and voices to noises and notes. We have the great ability to distinguish the slapdash from the harmonious–or at least some of us have.
The human ear can receive and respond to sounds of a certain decibel range, below or beyond which the audibility ceases to be. Many animals and bats have inbuilt sensitivity to sound waves of amazingly lower and higher range. The vibrations our sounds make in the air can either be sensed as audible or even inaudible. Even if a large tree falls in a deep jungle where no human ear is available to receive it as audible sound, the vibrations it causes ranges through the entire cosmos. Even the closing and unclosing of butterfly wings can travel miles and miles of apparently silent space. There is a sense of sound as we humans make it out and there is a sound of sense which we often times ignore. The Mahanadi's lapping waters speak to me of the age old wisdom of the saints and seers, in a language of silence, where the gaps and crests hold equal sense, an uncanny balance.
The calls of the Coppersmith Barbet has left this shore so long ago and yet they will be traveling for all eternity.
About Murali Sivaramakrishnan
MURALI SIVARAMAKRISHNAN-- poet, painter, professor and literary critic, is the author of The Mantra of Vision (1997), Learning to Think Like Myself (2010), Communication, and Clarification: Essays on English in the Indian Classroom (2014), and a number of critical essays and seven volumes of poetry. As artist and poet he is a committed environmentalist. His paintings have gone on display at several major exhibitions. He is a member of the scientific committee of English Studies, University of Valladolid, Spain. He was also a Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Teen Murti, New Delhi, and an Associate of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He is member and coordinator of research of the Herman Hesse Society of India. Dr S Murali is the founder President of ASLE India. Murali's Nature and Human Nature: Literature, Ecology, Meaning (2009) is a pioneering work on Indian ecocriticism. Its sequel, Ecological Criticism for Our Times: Literature, Nature and Critical Inquiry (2011)--ASLE India's second book—has also received high accolades. He was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Travel Grant to teach and do research in the University of Nevada at Reno(2006), and was invited to read his poems as part of the inauguration of the International Conference on Poetic Ecologies, held in the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, in May 2008. Murali's sculpture (cast in fibre) of Prof CD Narasimhaiah, now adorns the conference hall of Dhvanyaloka, Mysore. Murali was featured as Poet-Artist in Indian Literature, Jan-Feb 2010, 255, pp. 127-132. The books he has authored include: South Indian Studies (Ed) (1998); Figuring the Female: Women's Discourse, Art and Literature (2005)' Tradition and Terrain: Aesthetic Continuities. (both co-authored with Dr. Usha V.T.); Ecological Criticism for Our Times: Literature, Nature and the Critical Inquiry ( 2011); Under the Greenwood Tree: Reading for Pleasure and Comprehension.(Ed) Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan, 2011;Image and Culture: The Dynamics of Literary, Aesthetic and Cultural Representation.(2011); Inter-Readings: Text, Context, Significance. Ed. (2012); Communication, and Clarification: Essays on English in the Indian Classroom. 2014; Sri Aurobindo's Aesthetics and Poetics: New Directions. 2014; Strategies and Methods:Relocating Textual Meaning,2018; Losing Nature,2018 and Roads to Nowhere,2019. Awards include the Life-Time Achievement Award for Poetry by GIEWEC, Guild of Indian English Writers, Editors and Critics, 2014. And IMRF Excellence Award, 2015 His poetry volumes include Night Heron (1998); Conversations with Children (2005); Earth Signs (2006); The East-Facing Shop (2010); Selected Poems (2014) and Silverfish (2016)
View all posts by Murali Sivaramakrishnan →
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Pushcart Nominations: First Words
Issue Eighteen: Fall 2020
Issue Seventeen: Summer 2020
Issue Sixteen: Spring 2020
Winter is coming, but so is spring.
If you want me again…
Places, in Passing
Issue Fifteen: Spring 2012
Issue Fourteen: Winter 2012