Karen and I set up camp by the light of our car headlights, as choking smoke shrouded Eight Mile Campground along Icicle Creek. Lightning had ignited forest fires in Washington State's western Cascade Range near Wenatchee and Leavenworth; with the year's dry summer and early fall, conditions were perfect for the fires to run with the wind–which they did. This would have been a good place for a face mask; instead, we coughed the night away.
Our purpose in coming to Icicle Creek was not to car camp–if we had come for that, we would have fled the next morning to fresh horizons with clear air. No, we were here for a seven day backpacking trip into a promised land called The Enchantments. We had won a permit in the yearly lottery for access to The Enchantments, and we were not about to give it up, smoke or no smoke. We planned to meet three other hikers the next morning.
There are two major access routes into The Enchantments: from Aasgard Pass and from Snow Lakes. Unfortunately, the Aasgard Pass route was closed by the U.S. Forest Service, because the Cashmere Mountain Fire had scorched through the forest above the access trail, leaving steep slopes bare and subject to tumbling boulders and falling trees. Our original plan had been to hike in via the Aasgard Pass route and out via the Snow Lakes route, leaving a car at the Snow Lakes trailhead to shuttle us back to the second car. But with the closed trail, our only choice was to go in and out by the Snow Lakes route. That worked for us, and leaves us in anticipation of the even steeper Aasgard route on a future hike.
The next morning, much of the smoke had dissipated, and we went into Leavenworth for breakfast, then back along Icicle Creek road to the trailhead. There we met our hiking companions, and did the last-minute packing for the hike. We are all photographers, so our gear added up to quite a bit of weight, with cameras, lenses, and tripods. Adding the weight of a week's worth of food, and we all felt like Grand Canyon pack mules. My gear weighted 57 lbs.–enough to make me wish I had been doing weight training.
This is not a trail for wimps. It goes up and up and up, relentlessly for 6,000 vertical feet of gain over about ten miles. There may have been a time in my distant past when I could easily do 6,000 feet in a day, but not any more, and we planned to do the ten miles over two days.
That said, there is a hardy breed of northwestern hikers who do The Enchantments as a day hike, starting at say 3:00 a.m. and going in by headlamp, hiking the beautiful high country in the middle of the day, and then heading down to the second trailhead in the dark. This is unofficially known as the Death March, though it is also called the Enchantments Traverse. Its popularity is partly because it is a really macho hike to brag about, with over 20 miles of steep trails and the huge elevation gain and loss, and partly because a lottery overnight permit is not needed by someone day hiking the whole route. The Death March would kill me in two ways: the physical way, as well as the awful realization that my photography would necessarily be limited to a few snapshops along the way. Though I guess I could strap a GoPro camera to my head and take pictures automatically every half-second of the hike and of everything I turned my head to look at.
Our group included Karen, my partner (to use the preferred PC Seattle term for "wife" or other similarly close or ambiguous relationships), as well as the youngsters with us known as Heidi, Jeremy, and Ed. At the trailhead we discussed the hike and the fires with the wilderness ranger, who arrived as we did our final packing. He also wrote a parking ticket for a car without a proper permit, and later we would see him exiting the wilderness, sick as a dog, then several days later reentering the high country to do his patrol work.
Finally done chatting and packing, we shouldered our dead weight and ambled down the trail. We crossed Icicle Creek, then quickly started ascending switchbacks through a conifer forest. Up we hiked, entering the Alpine Lakes Wilderness–the huge wilderness area that includes The Enchantments. We stopped to photograph a Douglas Squirrel munching a Douglas Fir cone near trailside Douglas Maples (sometimes not much imagination is used in naming stuff!).
We passed a huge cliff face known as the Snow Creek Wall. We hadn't heard of it, but apparently it is on some bucket list of 50 best climbs in the world, so there are often climbers dangling off the granite wall. In fact, collison-with-Moose-man was on his way to climb this wall, and not much deters a climber from his targeted climb. We could see climbers on the wall, tiny against the vertical granite, and we could see the tracery of their ropes.
The trail passed through an old burn, with snags of Western White Pines and other conifers standing starkly against the slightly smoky sky. There were open boulder fields, where thousands of years' worth of tumbling boulders had met their angle of repose. This is steep country, and there were places where a tall pine would be growing up through a boulder field. Such pines inevitably had bark and wood that was smashed to splinters on the uphill side of the tree, where a boulder or two had tumbled down slope and collided with the tree trunk, leaving the tree looking much the worse for wear, but still alive. At least trees have the strength to resist most boulders–not so, flesh and blood. It was a warning to keep our senses alive in the wilderness.
After a morning of hiking, we stopped for lunch along raging Snow Creek. With the several month absense of rain in these mountains, we couldn't understand how a creek could be flooding its banks and scouring the roots of trees along its path. There wasn't even supposed to be much snow left in the mountains, and the glaciers have almost disappeared. We wouldn't know the answer until the next day.
For Karen and I, lunch consisted of our regular trail food: crackers and cheese, almonds, dried Michigan cherries, and Canadian maple creme cookies. Two of our group had hot lunches; using their Jetboil equipment, they were able to quickly cook a hot meal. Jetboils use Isobutane-propane canisters and can boil a full container of water in a couple of minutes. There are days in this high country when a hot lunch would help keep a hiker warm, but it was unseasonably warm on this autumn day so we weren't cold.
After lunch and a short rest, we struggled into our pack straps and again started the long grunt up the trail. We met several groups coming down, and they said it had been really smoky from the forest fires. They said we would probably have The Enchantments much to ourselves, since most of the hikers were leaving. That proved to be true. When we picked up our permit, it seemed that few other hikers had claimed the permits for which they had successfully won the lottery and paid a fee. The Seattle television horror stories about the fires and the limited access to The Enchantments had scared away most of the backpackers. All the better for us!
The rest of the day was tiring, but eventually we reached our destination, Nada Lake. Which of course brought up an impromptu Abbott and Costello-style routine.
And so on, until I collapsed in giggles as if I was eleven years old all over again.
We set up camp on both sides of the trail, with four tents for five people (my partner and I shared a tent, but nobody else wanted to be partners). It was just a few steps to the lake shore of Nada Lake, and we filtered water while sitting on a granite slab sloping into the lake. Tall peaks reflected on the still surface of Nada. Our dinner consisted of a Backpacker's Pantry meal, in which we simply poured boiling water into a bag of freeze-dried Pad Thai, stirred, then waited about 20 minutes for the meal to rehydrate. These meals are amazingly good–far better than our standard Lipton fake beef stroganoff (made with lumps of gas-giving TVP) back in the 1970s, when we started backpacking. Now, we buy Mountain House and Backpacker's Pantry meals when they're on sale at REI or elsewhere.
We were beat from the hike, so we went to bed soon after dark, our headlamps slicing the darkness as we went about our preparations for bed. I brought my hiking book, "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthiessen. I usually read for only a few minutes before sleep during a backpacking trip, so the first time I read the book it took me 20 years. Really. Now I'm starting it again and hoping that I can backpack long enough to finish it a second time. This book is about a journey of Matthiessen and biologist George Schaller to try and observe the Snow Leopard (and the more common Blue Sheep) in the Himalayas. It reads like a book of zen discovery of the moment, and although Matthiessen never sees a Snow Leopard throughout the course of the book, it doesn't matter either to the author or the reader. This is one of the truly great nature and zen books, and I especially enjoy it when I am on my own search for photographs and meaning and perhaps a Cougar along a wilderness trail (I have yet to see one, but it is the search that counts).
The next morning, we awoke early and started breakfast. A couple coming down the trail had gotten an early start, and they said there were two Mountain Goats just around the bend in the trail from camp. And so there were. A nanny and kid, sauntered into camp as if they owned the place. The nanny investigated the edges of our campsite, while the kid promptly ascended big boulders just behind camp.
When you get a pair of Mountain Goats coming into a camp full of photographers, the cameras come out and the photographers start clicking off hundreds of exposures. We got caught up in the moment, which stretched into at least an hour as we photographed. The highlight was seeing mother and child goat come down to drink from Nada Lake in beautiful light.
We did our final morning packing, then started up the trail. As we approached Snow Lakes, we heard a thunderous roar from Snow Creek. Drawing closer, we saw a huge jet of water coming hard and fast from the area of the lakes. Then it dawned on us that this was the source of torrential Snow Creek that we had experienced yesterday. Each autumn, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removes enormous quantities of water from Upper Snow Lake in order to provide sufficient water to the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery in the valley below. The fish hatchery's mission is raising Chinook Salmon, which are important to the region's Indians and sport fisherman. The loss of water from Snow Lakes is necessary and required in order to accomplish the mission of the hatchery. It is an unfortunate tradeoff in terms of the wilderness experience, but I can understand the reasoning.
Our route led across a dam between Lower and Upper Snow Lake. Near the dam, we encountered a group of five Mountain Goats, including two kids whose white coats looked like they had been playing down and dirty in the mud along the lakeshore. What's the matter with kids today?!
Upper Snow Lake looked like it had lost 90% of its water to the fish hatchery, and consisted of steep, bare, terraced banks of raw soil sloping down to the bit of water that was left. It was SO UGLY that I'm glad we decided not to camp there. We hiked the mile to the upper end of the lake as quickly as possible.
Then we started the ascent into the real high country. The forest started opening up a bit more, and eventually the first Alpine Larches appeared in all their golden glory. Oh, did I mention that the reason we and every other hiker in Washington want to go to The Enchantments in autumn is simply to see the Alpine Larches at their peak of color? No? Well, it is. We timed our lottery dates to coincide with the peak color, or so we hoped.
As we climbed higher, we hiked over broad expanses of bare granite, sometimes giving each other an assist over a ledge or boulder. It often turned into more of a scramble than a trail, but fortunately it wasn't icy–sometimes autumn trips into The Enchantments can be icy and snowy. Although these elements can add interest for photographers, they can be treacherous.
My left foot hurt! While jogging several weeks previously, I tripped over a sisal door mat (don't ask!) during a four mile route and fell hard, sprawled on the ground. That night, I got up from my Lazy Boy and almost fell over from the sudden intense pain. It turned out to be Plantar faciitis, an inflammation of the back bottom of the foot. Hiking with the pain was a necessary side effect of getting into The Enchantments, but I did stretching exercises each day–some of them suggested by a woman we talked to at the trailhead who had dealt with Plantar several years before. When we stopped for lunch, I immersed my bandaged foot (protected by a plastic bag) in the icy waters of Snow Creek, and it immediately felt better.
After a long lunch break, we began the final ascent to the high country. Eventually, we came over a lip of the granite and were at Lake Viviane, the first of the storied Enchantment Lakes. We photographed the lake and its larches and the towering mountain known as The Temple, with sharp Prusik Peak at one end. It was all so stunning, especially after the two days of grunting and trudging up ten miles of steep trail through dense forest.
We could hardly tear ourselves away from Lake Viviane, but we realized that the day was getting a little long in the tooth and we had a mile to go before we could sleep. We hiked over a granite ridge between Lake Viviane and Leprechaun Lake, and were surprised to see a granite slope so treacherous in bad weather that trail makers had put a series of rebar "staples" in the granite so that people could walk without slipping away. Our day was dry, so it was no problem.
When we reached Leprechaun Lake, the lighting was so stunning that we all immediately dropped our packs and began photographing with complete focus. The Alpine Larches glowed bright yellow-gold against the smoky blue of the mountains behind. It was some of the most beautiful light I've seen in Washington's mountains.
Eventually the light faded, and we followed the trail toward the place where we wished to camp, Perfection Lake. By that point, I was really tired and ready to be there. Other members of the group went on ahead and found the Perfect Campsite by Perfection Lake, and we set up camp in the fading light. It was getting chilly, but a hot meal revived us. After that, I had half a chocolate bar and felt energetic enough that I was able to prance around in the darkness for nearly an hour taking night pictures of the lake, the stars, and the larches under a full moon. It was a magical time.
After that, I read a page or two of The Snow Leopard and drifted off to sleep, shrouded in a cloud of warm down.
You'll have to wait for the second installment to see what greeted us when we crawled out of bed on the third morning of the hike.
For more information about hiking in The Enchantments, go to Washington Trails Association and Recreation.gov.
Once in a while I get an itch to twitch. Which means I have to convince Karen that there are some rare birds to be seen somewhere within a 200 mile drive that we really should add to our life lists.
Twitching is the now widely-accepted term for going long distances on a moment's notice to see rare birds–an activity that began in the land of trainspotters and other great eccentrics: Great Britain. The British Isles are small enough that twitchers can go anywhere in pursuit of rare birds. The passion quickly spread to other European countries and to the USA and Canada. I know people who will hop on a plane to go and see a rare species on the opposite coast.
Back in the ancient 1980s, twitchers used phone trees to notify each other about rare birds and where they were being seen. This evolved into recorded phone messages as "birding hotlines." Then, in the mid-1990s, the internet was hatched and birders started posting messages about birds they had seen. Here in Washington State, the regional resource is Tweeters, a great name for an internet posting group that is hosted by the University of Washington. I have followed Tweeters almost daily for about 15 years, so that I can find out about birding hotspots. Other regions have similar informal groups, where people can get emails of all the postings about birds. When smart phones became widely adopted, birders started posting about birds in real time from the field, and using apps to broadcast bird calls to bring in target birds (to some controversy). It has gotten exciting to be a birder in these technological times!
Anyway, word got out on Tweeters that Grays Harbor was suddenly hosting a variety of rare birds in late October, including a Northern Wheatear, Common Eider, Wilson's Plover and several others. Of these, the Wheatear and Eider are usually Alaskans, while the Plover normally calls the Mexican and Gulf coasts home. They apparently decided to meet in the middle for a discussion of the changing climate.
Grays Harbor is often a terrific birding destination; last winter, Damon Point State Park, a sand spit that sticks out into Grays Harbor, was where a dozen or more Snowy Owls escaped the Arctic cold and spent a mild winter. The marina at Tokeland is a great place to observe over a hundred big and gangly shorebirds roosting and feeding together; these Marbled Godwits have wintered in this remote location for years.
Still more rarities have been seen around Grays Harbor lately. There was a Northern Mockingbird at the Tokeland Marina–way out of its normal range. A Tropical Kingbird was sighted at the Hoquiam Sewage Treatment Pond. Now, if you are not a passionate birder, the idea of staring intently through binoculars at a sewage treatment pond might seem a bit odd, but those of us who are truly odd don't find it weird at all. Last Christmas break, Karen and I took Karen's mother (on her birthday!) and father to see Snowy Owls at the Muskegon Sewage Treatment Facility in Michigan. It made for an "interesting" and aromatic day; but we did see the owls and enjoyed an aromatic picnic lunch at the facility, with a nice view of masses of gulls at the adjacent landfill mountain.
Back to Grays Harbor: we got to Westhaven State Park in Westport by 10:00 a.m. This is where the Northern Wheatear was being seen. I asked Karen to look for Subarus in the parking lot, as that would be a good indicator that Seattle-area birders were looking for the bird. Actually, the parking lot was almost full. In addition to all the older birders (including us), there were lots of surfers, kayakers, and dog walkers at the state park. We walked up a dune to where people were intently watching a jetty through spotting scopes, and found the bird. It was hyperactively foraging at one end of the jetty, and apparently did that continuously. We rarely saw it pause. To add to the fun, there was a Palm Warbler feeding among driftwood on the sand. The last Palm Warbler I had seen was in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where one was flying up to within a foot of my face and grabbing the black flies that were hovering there and making me miserable. I wasn't able to photograph the Wheatear, as it vamoosed when we were approaching photographic range. Others were successful in photographing it, as some of the posts on Tweeters show.
We spent the rest of the day searching for other birds. We had great views of the behavior of the Common Eider as it dove and caught Dungeness Crabs in the Westport Marina. We dipped on the Wilson's Plover: okay, I need to backtrack here and talk about British birding again. "Dipping" is another British birder-originated term for when you don't manage to see the bird that you just drove 200 miles or flew 2,000 to see. It is discouraging, but it happens. We decided not to go look for the Tropical Kingbird at the Hoquiam Sewage Treatment Pond because it was getting late, it was raining, and we are wimps.
Near the end of the day, we drove a road through the cranberry farms near Grayland, and enjoyed seeing some the harvest, including huge bins full of fresh cranberries. There is an informative auto tour that you can take, and the guide is available online at Cranberry Bog Tour. There are also opportunities in the Westport Marina to take a chartered boat out for Halibut fishing during certain times of the year, as well as lingcod, salmon, and albacore tuna fishing. Pelagic birding trips are also available occasionally, where birders can see ocean-dwelling species that are otherwise hard to see.
Yeah, I believe that birds evolved from dinosaurs!


The Golden Triangle is one of the tourist circuits, which connects Delhi – The national capital of India, Jaipur & Agra. Being en route, you will witness the beautiful marble architecture – The Famous 'Taj Mahal', at the banks of the Yamuna River also one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The tour then heads to Ranthambore – the home to the Tigers, moving on to Jaipur – also known as the Pink city.
Destinations to cover: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Ranthambhore and Jaipur.
Welcome! Our representative will receive you at the 'Indira Gandhi International Airport' in Delhi; who will bring you to your hotel.
Post check-in at your hotel, you can opt to relax or use the in- house facilities available at the hotel like Ayurvedic Massage, steam, swimming pool. Local city sightseeing can also be arranged depending upon your time of arrival. Overnight at hotel in Delhi.
Day 2: Delhi – Agra (The Taj Mahal) 220 Kms / 4 Hrs.
After the breakfast, check-out and drive to Agra. Check in to the hotel at Agra. Post lunch, visit to the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World – Constructed of white marble, it is the epitome of love. After Taj Mahal, we will move to the Agra Fort – which is situated in the north western side of the Taj Mahal.
Day 3: Agra – Ranthambhore en route Fatehpur Sikri (260 Kms / 5.5 Hrs.
After breakfast, check out from the hotel. Visit Fatehpur Sikri – the tomb of Salim Chishti. Depart for Ranthambore (5 hours' drive). Ranthambhore is an ideal home for tigers & variant type of species, a superior example of Tiger Reserve in India. Upon arrival check in at hotel & overnight stay.
Day 4: Morning & Evening Safari at Ranthambore.
Take an early morning Safari (canters or jeeps) to view the Great Indian Tiger. Come back to hotel & after freshen up start for evening jungle safari in National Park. Overnight stay at the hotel.
Wake up early for the morning safari and return back to the resort after sumptuous breakfast leave for Jaipur – the famous Pink City. Upon arrival check in at hotel. Afternoon at leisure. In evening around 4 pm our driver will transfer you to Chokhi Dhani.
After breakfast in the morning you will be taken for Amer Fort, the majestic fort located at the top of Aravalli Hills. Take a short ride on elephant's back to reach at the fort, an overwhelming experience.
Return back to the city, visit the City Palace – which is a blend of Rajputana & Mughal architecture, Palace of Winds popular as Hawa Mahal – a five storied building built in 1799 to enable the royal ladies to view the outside life & world. Later on, opt for Jantar Mantar, an astronomical observatory. Overnight stay at hotel.
After Breakfast, Checkout from the Hotel to drive back to Delhi, Check in to Hotel by afternoon in Delhi. Evening is at leisure.
After Breakfast, Checkout from the Hotel if time permits and get ready to explore Delhi, we start with Jama Majid – Chandani chock in a Rickshaw ride – Red fort – Raj Ghat– India Gate and then you will dropped at the Airport for your departures to your Destination.
Alcoholic & Non-alcoholic beverages, meals or snacks other than mentioned.
Laundry Bills, Telephone Charges, Internet Charges, Other items of personal nature.


In the Nordic region, last winter gave us an exceptional amount of snow. Because of this, our clients and customers experienced more snow load-related damages than would normally be expected.
This winter it is natural to ask ourselves if we and our clients learnt anything from last year's experience. I believe it is fair to say that even if an insurance cover provides good economic protection from damage caused by snow load, it is always better to try to avoid such damage.
First and foremost, we all need to realise that snow load represents a significant risk that could compromise building structures. In some cases, people may also be severely injured, even fatally, by collapsing buildings or snow sliding off roofs and the like.
Reducing risks – what to do?
Follow the weather forecast. A lot of wet snow in a short period of time may represent a significant danger. Snowfall followed by rain may also pose an increased threat, as the water content of the snow will increase, and so the weight per square metre will also increase significantly.
One should always be prepared and have plans for the removal of snow load, as snow load represents a general and repeating risk. In geographical areas with a lot of snow, removal, as well as measuring snow load and snow depth on roofs, should be considered a general and normal necessity.
It is important not to jeopardise safety when removing snow. This will normally imply that such undertakings should be left to professionals, who will remove snow safely and in a skilled way. Apart from posing a significant risk of personal injury, unloading may, if done wrongly, actually cause additional damage, for example, if the load on the building or structure becomes increasingly uneven during unloading.
Unskilled workers may also damage the roof when removing snow, causing water to penetrate the roof. Furthermore, trained personnel will also consider the risk and take appropriate measures to avoid harming people due to snow and ice falling from the roof.
A lot of wet snow in a short period of time may represent a significant danger.
Watch for signs – is anything starting to give way? Any cracks or noise? Are doors and windows increasingly hard to open or close? These may all be signals that something needs to be done sooner rather than later. In the long run, monitoring the girders of buildings is not uncommon. Such monitoring is a good and relatively easy way to detect deformation and gives an early warning if something needs to be done. Monitoring and measuring snow depth on roofs should always be considered a viable option to detect possible problems early.
Sometimes frozen drainage systems may cause snow and ice to build up on the roof. To avoid this, consider installing heating in the drainage system, especially in geographical areas with a climate where the temperature frequently varies from below freezing to a milder temperature.
Even though old buildings may have been exposed to a heavy snow load over many years without suffering any damage, the structure may have been weakened over time, and may therefore be more prone to such damage than in previous years. One should take this into consideration when deciding the need for an inspection, and deciding when to start unloading snow. Sometimes an unusual wind direction in combination with heavy snow may cause stress to the building structure that is unusual and causes unexpected damage.
Most property insurance covers damage caused by snow load. If you are in doubt about whether your insurance policy would be sufficient, ask us!
The cover is normally dependent on property owners taking good care of their buildings, meaning that the owners do what they are reasonably expected to do to avoid snow load damage. The owners must, to the best of their ability, make sure that snow is removed before the snow load becomes a problem.
In the real world, unexpected situations happen. The snow may be accompanied by heavy rain; the snow may be heavier than expected; and the wind may be stronger, come from an unexpected direction, and add to the stress. If the building code of the building is met, and the owner has acted in a way than corresponds to normal and prudent behaviour, things tend to end well without damage. However, unexpected things may happen and cause damage, for which insurance will provide cover.
What may the consequences be if you fail to be aware of the responsibility to unload snow?
Apart from the fact that people may be injured, a lack of prudent unloading may have consequences, and may result in a reduction in the insurance settlement.
Beware of the risk. Snow load may lead to the collapse of building structures, and it poses a significant risk of damage to both people and property. Monitor the building and be aware of signs of overload. Use professionals to safely remove snow load.
If damage still occurs, If is there to help you!


This photo was sent to us by Elaine of Alun about to tuck into his breakfast at The Dulaig this morning. She entitled the picture "Not just any eggs.....Carol & Gordon's menagerie of eggs"! Thanks, Elaine and Alun.....and warmest congratulations from us for your 30th wedding anniversary tomorrow!


Springwood's French department has a partnership with The Jeanne D'Arc school , situated in Champagnole, France, very close to Geneva and the Swiss border.
Jeanne D'Arc is an Educational establishment which takes children from 3 to 18+. It offers a wide range of courses including technical and academic studies. It's European option offers language studies. The students who visit us from Jeanne D'Arc are usually aiming towards a career in which they will need a qualification in English ( eg tourism / commerce / banking ). When Springwood students do work experience there they usually work as assistants in the English Department and they stay with local families, teacher or students' families.
Each year pupils from both schools complete a work experience placement in the partner school. Year 11-13 pupils from Springwood usually visit Jeanne D'arc during the Spring term and the return visit takes place towards the end of the Summer term.
Look at the Jeanne D'arc website and video to find out more about the school.


Over the past several years, the Mediterranean diet has been touted as being one of the healthiest diets. Several studies have shown that this diet reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases, as well as other health conditions. It is an easy and delicious diet to follow, and the health benefits are far reaching.
A Mediterranean diet focuses on eating plant-based foods, including healthy vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and legumes. It also incorporates eating fish and poultry at least twice a week while limiting red meat consumption to only a few times a month. In addition to the healthy diet itself, it is also associated with healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating meals with family and friends and being physically active. Social engagement and exercise are two essential elements of living a healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk of many chronic illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
A recent study shows that the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet start at a young age. Children who consume the diet have a lower risk of being overweight or obese. The researchers used data from the IDEFICS study, which covered eight European countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, Estonia and Belgium.
The study also included asking the parents of the children about how often they consumed 43 foods. The researchers also measured the weight, height, waist circumference and body fat percentages of the children. Then, they created a Mediterranean diet adherence guide by using a scoring system that included giving a point for each of the food groups that are typically included in the Mediterranean diet. Consuming low amounts of food that are not part of the diet also got a point. The participants who received high scores were labeled high adherent.
Those who had a high adherence to the diet were 15 percent less likely to be overweight or obese and had a 10-15 percent less chance of having major increases in BMI, waist circumference and body fat. The children who adhered the most were actually from Sweden, and those with the least adherence were from Cyprus.
Obesity increases the chance of developing diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Therefore, maintaining a healthy weight is essential to overall health and wellbeing. Childhood obesity is on the rise, which has significant implications on the future health of these children. Studies have shown that children who are overweight or obese have a much higher risk of also being obese adults. Finding the best ways to facilitate healthy eating and lower children's risk of being overweight or obese is important.
Following a Mediterranean diet can be simple, and is definitely delicious. The dishes are full of flavor, while packing a nutritious punch. It is healthy for the whole family, so why not try to implement it today. You do not have to cook the recipes that the Greeks, Italians, and other Mediterranean cultures traditionally eat. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is more about focusing on eating a plant-based diet rich in healthy fat, such as olive oil and nuts, along with eating some fish and reducing the amount of dairy and red meat you eat. You can easily find recipes your family will love that adhere to the guidelines of the Mediterranean diet.


This quarter's patient spotlight highlights the journey of Mrs. Carmen Ramos through the Balance Clinic at CSHC. In December 2016, Mrs. Ramos was referred by her neurologist to the CSHC Balance clinic with a history of long-standing vestibular dysfunction, but with a recent increase in the severity of her symptoms. Diagnostic vestibular testing revealed severely impaired vestibulo ocular function, caused by a series of strokes that left her with daily bouts of vertigo, marked instability, and at severe risk for continued falls. Once proper diagnosis was established, Mrs. Ramos was scheduled for vestibular rehabilitation to treat both her feelings of vertigo and her unsteadiness. CSHC vestibular therapists designed a rehab program for her needs. She attended therapy once a week and completed self-directed home exercises between therapy appointments. She was a model patient, and her hard work and diligence has paid off. Today, she can walk backwards down the stairs, balance on a tilted platform, and bounce balls in the air without dizziness or instability.
WAY TO GO MRS. RAMOS AND THE CSHC BALANCE CLINIC TEAM!
VNG testing is considered the gold standard for testing vestibular function and is used to determine if a vestibular (inner ear) disease may be causing a balance or dizziness problem. IT is one of the only tests available today that can decipher between a unilateral (one ear) and bilateral (both ears) vestibular loss. VNG testing is a series of tests designed to document a persons ability to follow visual objects with their eyes and how well the eyes respond to information from the vestibular system.
This test also addresses the functionality of each ear and if a vestibular deficit may be the cause of a dizziness or balance problem. To monitor the movements of the eyes, infrared goggles are placed around the eyes to record eye movements during testing. VNG testing is non-invasive and paintless. Appointments usually last about 1.5 hours and covered by most insurances.
Electrodes will be placed on the patient's head and neck while simulated sound is being projected. The electrodes will record the patient's vestibular nerve's movements. If movement isn't detected, trauma or injury can be detected.
The video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) incorporates a new technology that uses a high speed, lightweight video goggle to measure (left or right) eye velocity and record "catch up" saccades (and other abnormalities) in patients with impaired VOR function. vHIT provides a quick and objective measure of the vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) in response to head movements in the natural range of daily motions.


text:
U.K.: International Transport Federation Takes Action Against Piracy Following Incident Involving Danish Ship Near Lagos. 1977
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The International Transport Federation, which represents merchant shipping officers and crewmen, is to take action against piracy.
SV International Transport Federation General Manager, Mr. Ake Selander, talking to reporter. (3 shots)
SELANDER: "Well we were initially informed by one of our British affiliated who had a report from Lagos as yet unconfirmed that the master had been thrown overboard and that there were several other injuries. We later checked this with out Danish affiliates and it has now been established that the master was shot and thrown overboard and has not been found, and all the other crew members, 14 in all, have all been injured, many of them seriously. I believe one Indonesian crew member lost both eyes."
REPORTER: "Have there been any other incidents of this sort before?"
SELANDER: "Yes there have been, although not quite as serious as this one. There have been several regarding Danish vessels, British vessels, and I believe Greek vessels.
REPORTER: "What sort of action is the Federation planning to take against such acts of piracy?"
SELANDER: "Well we have cabled the Nigerian Government and we have asked the Nigerian Government to strengthen the security measures. We have offered the government maximum co-operation but we have also told them that our members cannot tolerate the situation any more and we are afraid that if there isn't an improvement pretty soon then the seafarers will refuse to sail to Nigeria."
One leading Danish shipping company, Mercandia, halted shipping services to Lagos last year. Mercandia owner Per Henriksen said "We had trouble with African canoes that came up alongside our ships waiting in the roads. But we installed high pressure hose pipes to wash the would-be raiders off. Another problem came when we found that captains reporting raids to the Nigerian authorities were themselves charged with aiding and abetting smuggling." Mr. Henriksen said the Lagos traffic was lucrative and many shipping lines were evidently prepared to task risks."
Initials VS 23.50
SHARON WILSON
Background: The International Transport Federation, which represents merchant shipping officers and crewmen, is to take action against piracy. This follows an incident near the Nigerian Port of Lagos on Tuesday (22 November) in which African pirates boarded the Danish ship Lindinger Ivory. All crew members were wounded in the pre-dawn attack, which was one of a number reported to have occurred recently off the West African coast. The Federation's general manager, Mr. Ake Selander, said this development was a cause for concern. Speaking in London on Wednesday (23 November) to Visnews' Sharon Wilson he outlined details of the latest incident.
U.K.:
INVOLVING
VLVAEODKKI63STK3V3H580HVIT2GW

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Team England boxers ready to enter world champs ring in Russia
Seven Team England boxers will compete at this month's AIBA World Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
Running from September 7-21, the 13-man British squad includes four Commonwealth gold medallists from last year's Gold Coast games including Galal Yafai, Peter McGrail, Pat McCormack and Frazer Clarke.
They are joined by Commonwealth bronze medallists Luke McCormack and Cheavon Clarke as well as Ben Whittaker.
For Whittaker, the Championships represent a further opportunity to establish himself as a medal contender at the 81kg light heavyweight division after moving up to the new weight earlier this year.
Falling short of the medals at the Gold Coast, Whittaker's decision to move up a weight class paid off with a silver medal at this year's European Games, and now the Birmingham-born boxer is ready to show his credentials on the world stage with next year's Tokyo Olympic Games looming.
"We've got a really strong team, the European Games showed it, nearly everybody medalled and we did really well, but the World Championships is where it matters now," said Whittaker.
"You get the Cubans and the Americans and stuff like that and it sets you ready for the Olympics next year then.
"At the World Championships I get to look at, especially being at the new weight, I get to see different boxers from different countries, see what they're about, and then really just put that in the back of my mind, some data for when I do come to Tokyo."
Having competed at the previous World Championships in 2017, as well as the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games, flyweight boxer Yafai knows exactly what to expect when he steps into the ring in Russia.
Yet despite a wealth of experience in the amateur ranks, Yafai isn't overlooking the competition awaiting him at the World Championships.
"As everyone knows, the World Championships are like Olympic Games. It's everyone in the world, they're very hard," said Yafai.
"It's a very hard tournament as you know already, obviously I'm looking to go there and get a medal and I'm more than capable of doing it, and so are most of the boys in the GB team.
"There's a lot of things I can work on, as can a lot of athletes, we can always improve, can always get better and I'll be looking to do just that.
"I've just got to keep working hard and hopefully get it right in Russia and Tokyo."
Benjamin Whittaker Boxing Galal Yafai
See all athletes
Benjamin Whittaker
Galal Yafai
Black History Month: Chev Clarke and Emily Campbell
Seven boxers from GB Boxing squad ranked in top five in the world at their weight
Gold Coast 2018 gold medallists Galal Yafai and Peter McGrail secure Olympic qualification


2016: Chicago's greatest dining year ever?
These chefs, bartenders and restaurants helped make 2016 an incredible year for Chicago dining.
The quantity of quality restaurants that hit Chicago in 2016 was so impressive that this might have been the city's greatest dining year ever. And points for the bar side too: Drinking in Chicago has never been so fun or so accessible. It's almost as if that Michelin Man should be dropping more stars than ever on our big, indulgent city. Oh, wait ... More on that, and other year-in-dining highlights, below.
There was a seemingly record number of splashy openings in 2016, but the caliber of the chefs involved made each as exciting as the last. Noah Sandoval, ex-proprietor of beloved Lakeview restaurant Senza, opened Oriole to unanimous, coast-to-coast acclaim for its tucked-away location and inspiring tasting menu. Another tasting-menu-only spot, Smyth — a much-anticipated homecoming for Charlie Trotter alums John and Karen Shields, who had quite a successful run in Virginia — opened later in the year but is proving to be every bit as impressive as Oriole.
Rick Bayless made his first appearance on Randolph Street with two side-by-side restaurants, the Baja-focused Lena Brava and the brewery-taqueria combo Cruz Blanca. The Alinea group debuted Roister, a restaurant so boisterous and primal that one famous critic (OK, me) dubbed it "the anti-Alinea." Stephanie Izard debuted her long-awaited Chinese concept, Duck Duck Goat (adding yet another Peking duck to Chicago's must-try list), and a few Sepia alums combined to create Honey's, a terrific restaurant that would have gotten way more attention in a more normal year.
Art Smith and partners converted Table Fifty-Two into Blue Door Kitchen, which combined Smith's Southern specialties with more health-focused dishes. Charlie (Lillie's Q) McKenna took a serious look at Southern food at Dixie. Billy Lawless opened two restaurants: Beacon Tavern, a cozy destination for good seafood and perhaps Chicago's tallest burger; and Coda di Volpe, a nice place for aperitivo hour on Southport Avenue. The Shieldses opened The Loyalist, a dark, casual restaurant right below Smyth. The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group (Homestead on the Roof, Roots Handmade Pizza, West Town Bakery) took a rare stab at modern fine dining in the Loop with Steadfast, the group's most ambitious restaurant to date. Jason Vincent, who took a year off from the chef game to be an at-home dad, returned with Giant. The restaurant itself is tiny, but Vincent's flavors are yuge.
The hits kept coming with meat-focused fast-casual spot Animale from the Osteria Langhe crew, El Che Bar (see "Flame On!" below) and GT Prime, a truly different take on a steakhouse from GT Fish & Oyster chef Giuseppe Tentori. In the suburbs, we got The Barn (Evanston), fourteensixteen (La Grange) The Heritage (Forest Park), Primo (Geneva) and Terra & Vine (Evanston, again, this one from master sommelier Alpana Singh).
Revival Food Hall took the food-court concept to unexpected heights, convincing an all-star lineup of Chicago restaurants (and one food truck) to essentially open fast-food outposts in a historic building in the Loop. Between Aloha Poke Co. (deconstructed sushi bowls), Antique Taco, Black Dog Gelato, The Budlong (Nashville-style hot chicken), The Fat Shallot (decadent sandwiches), Furious Spoon Ramen, Smoque BBQ, Graze (burgers from Johnny's Grill chef Sarah Jordan) and Union Squared (Detroit-style pizza), you could have happily eaten here every weekday — and many Loop workers did.
Tribune reporter Nick Kindelsperger gives a tour of the highly popular Revival Food Hall in the Loop. Oct. 13, 2016.
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises continued to lure talented chefs to its Intro restaurant but gave the chef-in-residence concept more stability by installing Stephen Gillanders as permanent executive chef (the guest-chef program continues, however). Intro's very first chef-in-residence, C.J. Jacobson, got his own restaurant with Ema, a California-Mediterranean mashup. Longtime Lettuce chef Naoki Nakashima got a restaurant as well, opening Naoki Sushi in Intro's former private-dining room. Paris Club was converted into the casual-Italian Il Porcellino, and the Shaw's Crab House principals opened the casual Oyster Bah just steps from established Lettuce concepts Summer House Santa Monica and Stella Barra Pizzeria.
And while it wasn't a new opening, Alinea, reopening after a five-month, god-knows-how-expensive renovation, justifiably earned headlines for its beautiful interior, Grant Achatz's relatively compact menus (no more 30-course marathons) and the resurging theatricality of its service.
Just under the wire: Bad Hunter, a veggie but not-that-veggie restaurant on Randolph Street; Eden, a fine-dining restaurant just two blocks from the United Center; Ronero, a Latin-American restaurant and rum bar; and Elske, the first spot from former Blackbird chef David Posey and former Publican pastry chef Anna Posey, the married couple we're sure must throw Chicago's best dinner parties.
While beer remained as hot as ever, a slew of spots opened this year to slake our curiosity in new (to Chicago) realms of wine, spirits and even cider. Income Tax, Bad Hunter and Publican Anker each brought a smart take on approachable, easy-drinking wine lists. The movement toward low-intervention, small-production wines has been going strong for years on the coasts, but with the exception of a few spots (Webster's, Rootstock, Perman Wine Selections, for example), it's never exactly been in the spotlight here. That's all changing, thanks to Chicago's ever-growing, tight-knit wine community. Drinkable, well-priced and increasingly available on the most progressive wine lists or bottle shops, natural wine took hold in 2016. Drink it in.
Then you had booze spots like 1952½, the jewel-box of a bar attached to Dixie, or Steadfast, where antique spirits dating back decades were poured by the ounce, allowing you to literally taste history (for a steep price). And don't forget The Northman, North Center's long-awaited cider bar, which served up a bevy of ciders and apple brandies spanning France, Spain and the good ol' U.S. of A. When times were tough, Chicago's top bar men and women helped us get through it together.
Agave spirits were big this year, but people left tequila on the back bar, reaching for distinct, expressive mezcal instead. Logan Square's Mezcaleria Las Flores and Dos Urban Cantina, and Rick Bayless' Lena Brava in the West Loop, led the charge, serving the small-production, culturally rich spirit (and its cousins, raicilla and stool) to growing legions of fans, straight up or mixed into beautifully crafted cocktails. As if to put a fine point on mezcal's hold over cocktail culture, the city even hosted mezcaleros — producers of the stuff — for two events, Mezcal: Mexico in a Bottle and a buzzy Mezcal Week.
Poke (pronounced poh-KAY) rang in 2016 as a Hawaiian dish of cubed raw fish that was popular in LA, but hard to find in Chicago. A year and three dedicated poke restaurant concepts later, all you have to do is follow the insane lines that continue to spill out into the sidewalks of the Loop to find the dish here.
Poke has landed, Chicago. Here are the places to get the Hawaiian dish of chopped raw seafood, from poke-dedicated spots to restaurants with the dish on the menu. Plus, reporter Nick Kindelsperger lists his favorite dish at each spot.
Though skeptical at first, eventually we succumbed to the fresh and well-crafted poke bowls coming out of Aloha Poke Co. and FireFin Poke. Which is convenient, seeing as both are expanding so quickly there will probably be a location in your neighborhood very soon.
One of the most popular restaurants of 2016 was a jukebox diner loaded with '90s kitsch. Saved by the Max, a replica of the diner dubbed The Max on TV show "Saved by the Bell," opened as a pop-up in an empty Wicker Park space for a three-month run, and every available seat was snapped up in a matter of minutes. The owners, no dummies, extended the run and recently announced a Final Semester run that will keep SBTM open through May 2017.
Chicago nabbed a record number of Michelin stars in 2016 (though officially these were the 2017 stars, the recipients were announced in November). Alinea and Grace repeated as three-star restaurants, and, perhaps most notable, Oriole snagged an out-of-the-gate two-star designation. There were four other two-star winners (Acadia, 42 Grams, Sixteen, Tru) and 19 one-star recipients.
In May, the James Beard Foundation named Alinea the year's outstanding restaurant, and Curtis Duffy (Grace) was named best chef in the Great Lakes region. The Cherry Circle Room received a design award. For the second straight year, Chicago hosted the JBF Awards Gala, and in October, signed a deal to continue to host the so-called "Oscars of the food industry" through 2021.
Rick Bayless received the Julia Child Award. Iliana Regan (Elizabeth) was named one of Food & Wine magazine's best new chefs in America; Julia Momose (then GreenRiver) was named one of the best new mixologists. Bon Appetit's top 50 new restaurants included Boeufhaus, Monteverde, Roister and Pub Royale. And a Frenchman — Martial Noguier, of Bistronomic — won Chicago Gourmet's Hamburger Hop competition. Sacre rouge, blanc et bleu!
Yes, fire has been cooking food since fire was discovered. But it's new to see it roaring in so many open restaurant kitchens, mere feet from your chair. John Manion's Brazilian-inspired El Che Bar cooked nearly everything on its massive open hearth. Ditto for Roister. Lena Brava's commitment to flame-cooking was so complete that the restaurant was built without gas service. Though it doesn't have an open kitchen, Maple & Ash, a late-2015 opening, also cooked its steaks, vegetables and even oysters over wood coals. Even Smyth included a small open-fire section in its display kitchen.
Chicago did a good job stocking other cities with talent in 2016. Dave Beran left Next and is in LA, working on a restaurant he'll open in 2017. A10 chefs John Vermiglio and Joe Giacomino headed for Detroit, opening the well-received Grey Ghost. Chris Marchino exited Spiaggia to head up Cotogna in San Francisco; former L2O executive chef Matthew Kirkley headed to San Francisco as well, heading up the acclaimed Coi. And Ryan Poli (ex-Butter, Tavernita) became executive chef at the stellar Catbird Seat in Nashville.
We bid adieu to Belly Shack, Bunny the MicroBakery, Cantina 1910, The Cape Cod Room, Embeya, Moto, Feast, Itto Sushi, Packed, Paris Club, Parthenon, Perennial Virant, Rosario's, Rose Angelis, Salpicon, Tete Charcuterie and Vivo.
Patrick Fegan (68), author, columnist and educator, founded the Chicago Wine School and made an incomparable contribution to our understanding of wine. Legendary pizza-maker Burt Katz (78), whose Burt's Place in Morton Grove was a cult favorite among pizza aficionados, made "the only deep-dish pizza I ever loved," according to Anthony Bourdain. Jean-Claude Poilevey (71), whose restaurants included Jean Claude, Le Bouchon and La Sardine, inspired a generation of French (and even non-French) chefs with his consummate skill and quick wit. William Rice (77), a food and wine writer for multiple publications (including 17 years at The Tribune), was a journalist on a first-name basis with the world's top chefs who could communicate, without condescension, with the fledgling home cook, and who wore his encyclopedic culinary knowledge in a gentle, unassuming manner.
The Boka Group, which opened two very good restaurants (GT Prime, Duck Duck Goat), has three irons in the 2017 fire, planning one Gold Coast project, reinventing Lincoln Park's Perennial Virant space and creating a new restaurant (location undisclosed) to star chef Jimmy Papadopoulos (formerly of Bohemian House, 2015's surprise hit). Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe) is developing a restaurant that will open in the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Sepia team (Emmanuel Nony, Andrew Zimmerman, Arthur Hon, Cindy Shuman) are working on a next-door sequel restaurant. BLVD will attempt to re-create vintage Hollywood glam along West Lake Street; SafeHouse, a Milwaukee concept, will let Chicagoans dine and spy, beginning soon; and a Michael Jordan Restaurant is headed to Oak Brook. Rick Tramonto is contemplating creating another Restaurant R'evolution (the original sits in New Orleans' French Quarter). And onetime Ada St. chef Zoe Schor hopes to have Split-Rail, her modern American restaurant in West Town, open by early spring.
Coco Pazzo Cafe, Mercat a la Planxa, Trenchermen and Ruxbin all closed in late 2016 in order to move, remodel, re-concept and remodel, respectively. We eagerly await the 2.0 versions.
Lamb belly with huckleberry, rapini and chermoula was one of the courses on Oriole's outstanding tasting menu earlier this year.
Smyth restaurant got a reputation for its savory brioche doughnut cooked in beef fat, pictured here with a rectangle of milk chocolate, huckleberry and preserved shiitake mushroom.
Grant Achatz, left, chef and co-owner of of Alinea restaurant, and Jenner Tomaska, executive chef of Next, and finalist for Rising Star Chef, stand on the red carpet at the 2016 James Beard Awards gala Monday, May 2, 2016, at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. Alinea won Outstanding Restaurant.
Chef Curtis Duffy of Grace restaurant in Chicago enters the press room after winning the Best Chef Great Lakes award at the 2016 James Beard Awards gala Monday, May 2, 2016, at the Civic Opera House in Chicago.


text:
Album Review: " Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses" by Jaime Foxx
When most people think of Jamie Foxx, they look at him as a great comedian, actor, & impressionist. However, the man is a classically trained pianist, and singer. Jamie Foxx has had a few hit songs and albums over the years. So it's time to call him a musician as well.
After hearing, seeing appearances on talk shows, I knew I had to review his latest album, "Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses". Jamie's ability to collaboration with other popular artists is not forgotten on this album. The song "You Changed Me" features Chris Brown. The only gripe with this album right off the bat is the use of the N word lyrically. R&B music shouldn't be alienated as "Black Music" anymore, thus the use of this language set us back as a society.
"Like a Drum" features rapper Wale, and aside from the beat and music, the song is a amateur lyrically. "Another Dose" is much better with the vocals by Foxx as well lyrically, it also has a great R&B beat. This song makes you wonder why the collaborations thus far aren't really that good. Then comes the collaboration with Pharrell Williams "Tease" and you are instantly dancing along.
It's clear why the first single off of the album is "Baby's in Love" featuring Kid Ink. It has an infectious beat, killer vocals by Foxx, and Kid Ink adds a flare to the song you would expect. "Text Message", "Hollywood", "Vegas Confessions", "Socialite", all tell person stories along with great beats and music composed by Jaime. It's clear that this album is a way for Jamie to get many things off his chest about life, love, and being a celebrity.
"Dozen Roses" interludes add to the album, but that's about it. "In Love by Now" tells a heartbreaking tale of being single in the public eye as well raising a daughter. "Jumping Out the Window" displays Foxx's skills at the piano as well as a songwriter. "On the Dot" features Fabulous, and is also has an infectious beat to dance to. Take a listen to "Right Now", "Pretty Thing", & "Ain't My Fault" to round out the album as the you might hear homage to Michael Jackson, as well as other in the R&B music game.
Overall, it's a good album, but I expected it to better. Then again the competition in the music industry these days, and need to stay relevant.
Album Review: " Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Rose...


Dr. Ahmendani joined the Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) in 2010. The Center for Health Services Research investigates ways to improve the quality, efficiency and equity of health care. This podcast discusses some of the the history of the zero suicide initiative and Henry Ford Health System, including recent research findings on suicide prevention in health systems.
Adam caught up with Julie at the AAS 2017 conference in Phoenix to chat about Zero Suicide. Julie is the Director of Health and Behavioral Health Initiatives at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Dr. Goldstein Grumet provides strategic direction to improve the effectiveness of behavioral health, clinical care, and primary care providers to recognize and respond to suicide emergencies. She oversees the Zero Suicide initiative for SPRC, supporting the work of state and health care leaders who are implementing system-wide approaches to suicide prevention.
Tony Pisani, Ph.D. (University of Rochester Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide) discusses his model for suicide safer care, prevention-oriented risk formulation, and the need for a common framework for assessing, communicating, and responding to suicide risk for clinicians, patients, and the medical record. Dr. Pisani will be releasing new materials and training opportunities soon. To be notified when updates are available, please visit tonypisani.info.
Adam interviews Dr. Nathaan Demers, Director of Clinical Programs at Grit Digital Health. Nathaan and Adam discuss an online program Grit developed to reach the digital native!
Melissa McHarg interviews Michael Haynie, Ph.D. the Executive Director & Founder of Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. The conversation takes a close look at AmericaServes. The mission of AmericaServes is "to empower human services providers in the United States, and equip them with the technological and informational resources needed to efficiently and effectively guide service members, veterans, and their families to the most appropriate services and resources." As Mike explains it, it is not so much that there are a lack of services for Veterans but there is not a community network to make those services available when and where they are needed. AmericaServes helps communities create strong service networks.
Veterans who present with PTSD and moral injury often report spiritual distress that places them at higher risk for suicide. In this podcast, we share up to date research on moral injury, spiritual distress, and empirically tested techniques for helping veterans use their own spiritual resources as an asset in their recovery. "Building Spiritual Strength," a manualized group intervention for PTSD and moral injury, is described, along with resources for therapists who would like to learn new techniques for assisting veterans who are managing PTSD and moral injury.


text:
__version__ = '0.2.0'
__all__ = ['Locus','RefLoci','Fasta']

import pyximport
pyximport.install()

from .Chromosome import Chromosome
from .Fasta import Fasta

from .Locus import Locus
from .RefLoci import RefLoci

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Picture a children's play pit full of sand. It is perfectly smooth. Now, assuming you were invisible how would you make a small hole appear to run from one side of the pit to the other?
One way to do it would be this. Use your finger to make a hole and let everyone see it. Then, as quickly as possible, fill the hole in and make another one just to the side of where the first one was. If you do this over and over again, really quickly, what will someone watching the sand see?
A hole moving across the sand.
This code uses the basic building block of the DO... UNTIL... loop that increases a foo% counter. The first gAT... gCOPY clears away the old picture we've copied in (the picture being whatever mbm was gLOADED with id%(1) previously), and the second gCOPYs the mbm into the new location.
And that, in a nutshell, is how things move!
(I'll leave the relatively trivial exercise of how you'd adapt this to using a Mask and a Background Image to your imagination - it's not difficult to work out if you read Tutorial 5 closely).
What sort of things can move?
Have a think through the applications and you'll see movement in many different places. As with many of the principles you're seeing in this course, the above can be used in many different places.
Think of the tile blocks moving in Vexed. Think of the moving hand choosing cards in Card Deck. Think of the cursor moving through names and addresses in Contacts. All these use movements and masks - it's not difficult and it looks good. Which always key in a good application.
As you'll remember, we've broken the writing of our application into small areas to work on. You'll remember that on the game grid, up and down will move an on-screen cursor in the corresponding direction, selecting where to place a colour.
So in essence, we're going to write a small routine to move the cursor!
Okay, so we've introduced a new variable here. cursor% (which we set in PROC init_game: to be equal to 1) keeps track of which row the cursor is currently in (the top row is 1, the bottom row is 4). When we move the cursor up or down, we change the value of cursor% to represent the new row, and then call the procedure that will display the cursor.
The IF... ENDIF statement in the middle checks to see if we have moved down while on the bottom row, or moved up when on the top row. If we have, the value of cursor% is set to the opposite end, so the cursor effectively wraps round the rows.
rem *** copying the ball back into the square.
rem *** Now copy the cursor mask, and the cursor itself.
If you were writing Master yourself, then now is a good time to translate and see if the cursor moves up and down. If you're keeping up with Master, have a look at the code at the end of the tutorial and you'll see where the above fits in.
The tutorials cannot explain everything, but I'm aiming to cover the broad principles here, and then hope you look at the downloadable source code at the end of the tutorials to see how it all fits together.
What we are doing in Master is creating a 'toolbox' of techniques that you'll hopefully be able to apply to your own programs.
For each turn, we are going to hold the temporary guess an array called guess%(4). Once we've guess the four balls, we'll hit enter and see how good our guess is. At the start of the turn, we'll set the four array elements to zero. This is so we can check that the player actually puts 4 colours into the guess (i.e. all four values are non zero).
Left and Right, Red or White?
This is going to look pretty familiar to the movement code. You'll see you increase or decrease the value of the guess%() depending on the current cursor% value (1 through 4). Where the value of guess% is more than the number of balls to choose from, it loops back to one, and if it drops below one, then it loops to the highest value.
Yes, this highest value is determined by the skill level. The easy skill level (skill%=1) gives you 4 balls to choose from. Medium skill% (2) gives 6 balls, and Hard skill% (3) gives 8 balls.
In the same way we called the show cursor routine, we do the same here with the show ball routine, which we detailed off in the last tutorial. See, it's all falling into place now.
So, here's the OPL code as it stands just now. Copy this onto your Communicator (or into the emulator) and see how exactly we're doing everything.
MASTER is starting to look more and more like the finished product, isn't it? When you get to this part of your own future projects, you'll get a lovely thrill, because it's all working, and on the screen. If you've followed the course up to here, well done.
You can download the OPL source code for Master as it is at the end of tutorial 5 here. You can download the opo program (the runtime file) as it is at the end of tutorial 6 here.


text:
Offsettryk er en form for plantryk (planografi), dvs. det er udviklet fra litografien (stentryk) og som denne baseret på det litografiske princip, at trykfarve med (vegetabilsk) olie som bindemiddel skyr vand. Den var betinget af fotografiske teknikker og blev opfundet i 1904 i USA af Ira Washington. En forløber for offset til tryk på papir var engelsk metode til tryk på tin (emballage og lignende). Richard March Hoe opfandt i 1843 offset-rotationspressen, med en metalcylinder i stedet for Aloys Senefelders litografiske stenplade.

olie skyr vand:

Offsettrykpladen med det retvendte trykbillede påføres vand (fugt). Trykbilledet skyr vand, hvorpå farvevalser med den oliebaserede trykfarve afsættes på trykpladen netop dér hvor der ikke er fugtet med vand. Deraf navnet "offset". Trykpladen afsætter et spejlvendt billede med trykfarven på en gummivalse, der herpå afsætter trykket på papiret.

Selve offset trykkemaskinen eller "trykpressen" har ikke undergået de store forandringer siden mellemkrigsårene. Måske bortset fra offset-rotationspressen, der navnlig havde avisproduktion for øje. Men forarbejdet til fremstillingen af offsetplader, selvom de groft sagt benyttede de samme gamle principper fra begyndelsen af 1900-tallet, har undergået en teknologisk udvikling, der stadigvæk pågår.

I offsettryk er trykmediet en plade, oftest af aluminium, hvis overflade er gjort modtagelig for fugt (vand med additiver (typisk alkohol). Pladen er dækket med en lysfølsom polymer (emulsion). Denne polymer belyses gennem en fremkaldt fotografisk film, direkte i en lasersættemaskine, CTP (Computer to Print). Trykpladen kaldes her for Ablation Plate (ablationsplade), idet trykbilledet brændes fast til pladen med laserteknik der i det store og hele overflødiggør fremkaldervæske og fixér: økonomisk tidsbesparende og miljøvenligt fravær af fotografiske kemikalier, der indgår i den traditionelle pladefærdiggørelse med negativ film som mellemkopi, hvor de belyste områder hærdes, mens de ikke-belyste områder af polymeren fjernes.

Pladen anbringes nu på en cylinder i trykmaskinen, som ovenfor skitseret.

Frem til ca. 1965 var højtryk fremherskende trykteknik (bortset fra fotogravure til kulørte blade i meget store oplag) . Højtryk med blysats og kostbare klicheer til billeder Desuden blev satsen slidt under trykket, og ved nogle systemer skulle de løse blytyper genbruges, hvilket gav uens slitage). Fordelen ved offsettryk, baseret som den er på reprofotografiske arbejdsgange ("repro"), at billeder kunne gengives billigere og bedre end med klicheer i højtryksteknikken.

Udviklingen af foto- og filmsats gjorde også offsetteknikken konkurrencedygtig i tekstbaseret reproduktion, "brødtekst". Det næste skridt var skærmombrydningens gennembrud, omkring 1985-90, dvs typografisk tilrettelægning ikke som hidtil i papirmontage (eller ved at montere negativfilm) men derimod i særlige computerprogrammer (DTP-programmer).

Ved tilrettelæggelsen af Telefonbøger (navnebøger "de hvide sider") uden billedelementer (firmaannoncer i fagtelefonbogen, "de gule sider") blev arbejdsgangen med papirmontage sprunget over, idet trykbilledet blev overført direkte til negativfilm, dvs. på lith-film, der kun kunne gengive sort-hvid, ikke gråtonerne imellem. En fordel ved off-set var selve trykprocessens mekaniske aspekt under selve trykningen, nemlig at offset-trykpladen består af én enkel komponent (nemlig trykpladen), mens der i højtryk med sin blysats opereres med mange elementer: stregklicheer, autoklicheer (med raster), maskinsats og håndsats (til overskrifter og titelblad); disse elementer afgiver et forskelligt pres mod trykemnet (papiret), som (gennem prøvetryk) forsøgtes afstemt ved en teknik der krævede håndværksmæssig opmærksomhed og håndelag, foruden mange prøvetryk.

Offset-trykpladen derimod, monteres en valse og udøver et ensartet pres. Desuden ikke kommer trykpladen ikke ni direkte kontakt med trykemnet, og "holder" derfor til store oplag: Gummivalsen tager slæbet, modsat højtrykkets sats og klicheer, der udsættes for stort tryk og deraf følgende slitage.

Herhjemme anlagde forlaget Gyldendal trykkeriet Nordisk Bogproduktion i Haslev på Sjælland, med det formål at trykke romaner og lign.

Trykmaskinen påføres vand til trykpladen fra et fugteværk, vandet sætter sig kun på de kornede, udækkede områder af trykpladen. Fugtevandet er normalt tilsat alkohol og et hårdhedsregulerende middel. Derefter påfører valser trykfarve, der så ikke sætter sig på trykpladen, der hvor denne er fugtig. Trykpladen presses nu mod en gummibeklædt valse, hvor trykfarven overføres til gummiet. Gummivalsen rører nu papiret, der presses mod denne af en anden valse. Farven afsættes nu på papiret. Deraf navnet offset.

Offset har fuldstændigt afløst bogtryk til større oplag. Offset havde førhen også en større udbredelse på mindre trykmaskiner, det kaldtes kontoroffset (f.eks. Rotaprint). Dette er nu afløst af xerografisk tryk, Digital Printing med udgangspunkt i PDF eller som fotokopier.

Fremtiden.

Miljømæssige og økonomiske hensyn vil på sigt muligvis erstatte aluminiumspladerne med plastic. Trykplader af særligt præpareret papir til små oplag forekom allerede omkring 1940. "Print on Paper"/tryk på papir i fremtiden: Offset med oliebaseret trykfarve vil måske fusionere med Digital Print: I digital print dannes trykbilledet typisk elektrostatisk og farvepigmenter indkapslet i mikroplast brændes fast på trykemnet (eller rettere smeltes ind i det med varmevalser efter strygejernsprincippet, sådan som det kendes fra laserprintere og fotokopieringsmaskiner). Overfor det sidste med farvens - eller mere præcist: sammensætningen af bindemidlet i trykfarven/toneren - har den litografiske offsetmetode baseret på at vand skyr olie - stadig sin store praktiske og økonomiske fordel, især til mellemstore og store oplag. Den fotografiske bearbejdelse af det grafiske forlæg vil yderligere blive digitaliseret og automatiseret. Ulempen ved offset, bortset fra det tekniske apparat, er den kostbare og omstændelige pladefremstilling. Denne videreudvikles i en ikke fjern fremtid. Det er mindre en teknologisk udfordring end et spørgsmål om afvejning af økonomi og kvalitet.

Kilder/referencer
 Kap. 13: Tryk i: Grafisk Kogebog. – Frederiksberg 2003 / Kaj Johansson, Peter Lundberg og Robert Ryberg. 2003

Trykning og typografi
Kommunikation
Teknologi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Spring was born after viewing a computer-generated photo exhibit of weathered trees morphing into beautiful women. She emerged from a piece of juniper that had been lying dormant for an untold number of years in West Texas.
Because of her arching posture, she needed stability at her base. Ironwood , a dense rare wood from the Sonoran desert, provides weight and stability and offers a wistful reminder of the ferocity of life in the desert.
When polished, Ironwood comes alive in a bright sheen like the flash of a flood in a Tucson lightning storm.
If you would like to see how the red-phase Spring was created, the work in progress images are available here. Use your browser's back button to return to this page.


text:
package it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.predictionfunction;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Vector;

import org.apache.commons.lang3.SerializationUtils;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore;

import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.data.example.Example;
import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.data.example.SequenceExample;
import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.data.example.SequencePath;
import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.data.label.Label;
import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.data.label.SequenceEmission;
import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.predictionfunction.model.Model;
import it.uniroma2.sag.kelp.predictionfunction.model.SequenceModel;

/**
 *
 * This class implements a classifier in a sequence labeling process. During
 * this labeling process, the history of an example is dynamically estimated by
 * a classifier and the entire sequence of labels is derived through a Viterbi
 * Decoding step combined with a Beam Search Strategy.
 *
 * @author Danilo Croce
 *
 */
public class SequencePredictionFunction implements PredictionFunction {

	/**
	 *
	 */
	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1007864099644753892L;

	public static final int DEFAULT_MAX_EMISSION_CAND = 5;

	public static final int DEFAULT_BEAM_SIZE = 20;

	/**
	 * During the labeling process, each item is classified with respect to the
	 * target classes. To reduce the complexity of the labeling process, this
	 * variable determines the number of classes that received the highest
	 * classification scores to be considered after the classification step in
	 * the Viterbi Decoding.
	 */
	private int maxEmissionCandidates;

	/**
	 * The size of the beam to be used in the decoding process. This number
	 * determines the number of possible sequences produced in the labeling
	 * process. It will also increase the process complexity.
	 */
	private int beamSize;

	/**
	 * The model produced by a SequenceClassificationLearningAlgorithm
	 */
	private SequenceModel model;

	public SequencePredictionFunction() {
		super();
		this.maxEmissionCandidates = DEFAULT_MAX_EMISSION_CAND;
		this.beamSize = DEFAULT_BEAM_SIZE;
	}

	/**
	 * @param model
	 *            The model produced by a
	 *            SequenceClassificationLearningAlgorithm
	 */
	public SequencePredictionFunction(SequenceModel model) {
		this();
		this.model = model;
	}

	/**
	 * @return The size of the beam to be used in the decoding process. This
	 *         number determines the number of possible sequences produced in
	 *         the labeling process. It will also increase the process
	 *         complexity.
	 */
	public int getBeamSize() {
		return beamSize;
	}

	/**
	 * Given the classification scores produced by the instance based
	 * classification function, these are converted into a sort of probability
	 * by applying the softmax operator
	 *
	 * @param observationsPrediction
	 * @return
	 */
	private HashMap getEmissionsProbabilities(Prediction observationsPrediction) {
		double sum = 0;
		List labels = model.getBasePredictionFunction().getLabels();
		for (Label label : labels) {
			sum += Math.exp(observationsPrediction.getScore(label));
		}

		HashMap emissionProbabilities = new HashMap();
		for (Label label : labels) {
			emissionProbabilities.put(label, (float) (Math.exp(observationsPrediction.getScore(label)) / sum));
		}
		return emissionProbabilities;
	}

	@JsonIgnore
	@Override
	public List getLabels() {
		return model.getBasePredictionFunction().getLabels();
	}

	/**
	 * @return During the labeling process, each item is classified with respect
	 *         to the target classes. To reduce the complexity of the labeling
	 *         process, the returned variable determines the number of classes
	 *         that received the highest classification scores to be considered
	 *         after the classification step in the Viterbi Decoding.
	 */
	public int getMaxEmissionCandidates() {
		return maxEmissionCandidates;
	}

	@Override
	public SequenceModel getModel() {
		return model;
	}

	@Override
	public SequencePrediction predict(Example example) {

		SequenceExample sequenceExample = (SequenceExample) example;

		int sequenceLenght = sequenceExample.getLenght();

		List<SequencePath> resBeam = new ArrayList<SequencePath>();

		/*
		 * Intial states
		 */
		SequencePath initaliaState = new SequencePath();
		resBeam.add(initaliaState);

		for (int elementId = 0; elementId < sequenceLenght; elementId++) {
			List<SequencePath> newBeam = new ArrayList<SequencePath>();

			/*
			 * For each path from the beam
			 */
			for (SequencePath p : resBeam) {
				Prediction observationsPrediction = null;

				/*
				 * Get the previous classifications
				 */
				Example enrichedObservedExample = model.getSequenceExampleGenerator()
						.generateExampleWithHistory(sequenceExample, p, elementId);

				/*
				 * Classify the observation
				 */
				observationsPrediction = model.getBasePredictionFunction().predict(enrichedObservedExample);

				/*
				 * Get the emission probability
				 */
				HashMap emissionProbabilities = getEmissionsProbabilities(observationsPrediction);

				/*
				 * Order the states by the emission probability
				 */
				List<SequenceEmission> orderedStates = new Vector<SequenceEmission>();
				for (Label label : getLabels()) {
					orderedStates.add(new SequenceEmission(label, emissionProbabilities.get(label)));
				}
				Collections.sort(orderedStates);
				Collections.reverse(orderedStates);

				/*
				 * If transitionOrder==0 adding only the emission
				 * probability and jumping to the next example
				 */
				if (model.getSequenceExampleGenerator().getTransitionsOrder() == 0) {
					SequenceEmission bestState = orderedStates.get(0);
					SequenceEmission sequenceLabel = new SequenceEmission(bestState.getLabel(), bestState.getEmission());
					p.add(sequenceLabel);
					p.setScore(initaliaState.getScore() + Math.log(bestState.getEmission()));
					newBeam.add(p);
					continue;
				}

				/*
				 * Selecting the $maxEmissionCandidates$ most probable classes
				 */
				if (orderedStates.size() >= maxEmissionCandidates)
					orderedStates = orderedStates.subList(0, maxEmissionCandidates);

				for (SequenceEmission scoredLabel : orderedStates) {

					Label label = scoredLabel.getLabel();

					SequencePath newPath = SerializationUtils.clone(p);

					float emissionProbability = emissionProbabilities.get(label);

					/*
					 * Adding a new state in the path that is the sum of the
					 * emission and prior probability
					 */
					SequenceEmission newSequenceLabel = new SequenceEmission(label, emissionProbability);
					newPath.getAssignedSequnceLabels().add(newSequenceLabel);
					newPath.setScore(newPath.getScore() + Math.log(emissionProbability));

					/*
					 * Adding the path to the beam
					 */
					newBeam.add(newPath);
				}
			}

			/*
			 * Selecting the $beamWidth$ most probable paths from the beam
			 */
			Collections.sort(newBeam);
			Collections.reverse(newBeam);

			if (newBeam.size() > beamSize) {
				for (int i = newBeam.size() - 1; i >= beamSize; i--) {
					newBeam.remove(i);
				}
			}

			resBeam = newBeam;
		}

		/*
		 * Returing the prediction with the $beamWidth$ most probable paths
		 */
		SequencePrediction prediction = new SequencePrediction();
		prediction.setPaths(resBeam);
		return prediction;
	}

	@Override
	public void reset() {
		this.model.getBasePredictionFunction().reset();
		this.model.reset();
	}

	/**
	 * @param beamSize
	 *            The size of the beam to be used in the decoding process. This
	 *            number determines the number of possible sequences produced in
	 *            the labeling process. It will also increase the process
	 *            complexity.
	 */
	public void setBeamSize(int beamSize) {
		this.beamSize = beamSize;
	}

	@Override
	@JsonIgnore
	public void setLabels(List labels) {
		this.model.getBasePredictionFunction().setLabels(labels);
	}

	/**
	 * @param maxEmissionCandidates
	 *            During the labeling process, each item is classified with
	 *            respect to the target classes. To reduce the complexity of the
	 *            labeling process, this variable determines the number of
	 *            classes that received the highest classification scores to be
	 *            considered after the classification step in the Viterbi
	 *            Decoding.
	 */
	public void setMaxEmissionCandidates(int maxEmissionCandidates) {
		this.maxEmissionCandidates = maxEmissionCandidates;
	}

	@Override
	public void setModel(Model model) {
		this.model = (SequenceModel) model;
	}

}


You can expect a lot from the 2013 Audi Q5. Under the hood you'll find a 4 cylinder engine with more than 200 horsepower, and for added security, dynamic Stability Control supplements the drivetrain. Turbocharger technology provides forced air induction, enhancing performance while preserving fuel economy. Audi prioritized handling and performance with features such as: leather upholstery, front and rear reading lights, automatic temperature control, front fog lights, cruise control, a roof rack, and power seats. Premium sound drives 10 speakers, providing you and your passengers a sensational audio experience. Audi ensures the safety and security of its passengers with equipment such as: dual front impact airbags, front side impact airbags, traction control, brake assist, a panic alarm, and 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS. You'll never lose visibility with rain sensing wipers, which activate automatically when the drops start to fall. It also arrives with a Carfax history report, providing you peace of mind with detailed information. Our team is professional, and we offer a no-pressure environment. We'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have. We are here to help you.


Author(s): Feltus, C. ; Khadraoui, D. ; Aubert, J.
The main objective of this paper is to provide a global decision-reaction architectural built on the requirements for a reaction after alert detection mechanisms in the frame of information systems security and more particularly applied to telecom infrastructures security. These infrastructures are distributed in nature, therefore the architecture is elaborated using the multi-agents system that provides the advantages of autonomous and interaction facilities, and has been associated to the ontoBayes model for decision support mechanism. This model helps agents to make decisions according to preference values and is built upon ontology based knowledge sharing, bayesian networks based uncertainty management and influence diagram based decision support. The Multi-Agent System decision-reaction architecture is developed in a distributed perspective and is composed of three basic layers: low level, intermediate level and high level. The proposed approach has been illustrated based on the network architecture for heterogeneous mobile computing developed by the BARWAN project. Accordingly: the Building Area constitutes the low level and aims to be the interface between the main architecture and the targeted infrastructure. The Campus-Area is the intermediate level responsible of correlating the alerts coming from different domains of the infrastructure and to smartly deploy the reaction actions.


text:
Question: How Much Tax Do I Pay Employees Budapest?
1 How much does a employer pay in taxes on an employee?
2 How much tax do you pay in Hungary?
3 How are employee taxes calculated?
4 What is the percentage of tax Does the employer usually pays in w2?
5 Do employers have to match employee taxes?
6 Is my employer paying my tax?
7 What is a good salary in Hungary?
8 What is the minimum wage in Budapest?
9 Is Hungary a tax haven?
10 Who pays payroll tax?
11 How is tax deducted from salary?
12 How do I calculate the percentage of taxes on my paycheck?
13 Does your employer pay half your taxes?
14 What is the tax rate for a single person in 2020?
15 What percentage of FICA is taxed on your salary?
How much does a employer pay in taxes on an employee?
The current tax rate for social security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total. Combined, the FICA tax rate is 15.3% of the employees wages. Do any of your employees make over $137,700?
How much tax do you pay in Hungary?
Hungary has a personal income tax rate of 15% of the tax base.
How are employee taxes calculated?
To determine each employee's FICA tax liability, you must multiply their gross wages by 7.65%, as seen below. These are the amounts you withhold from employee wages and send to the IRS. Now, onto calculating payroll taxes for employers.
You might be interested: Question: How Much Do Yoy Tip The Hotel Im Budapest?
What is the percentage of tax Does the employer usually pays in w2?
If you get paid under a W-2 form, you only pay half of your Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes. The employer must pay the other half. This means you pay 5.65 percent of your wages for these taxes as of July 17, 2012.
Do employers have to match employee taxes?
As an employer, you must also pay a matching amount of FICA taxes for your employees. Currently the social security tax rate is 6.2%. The Medicare tax rate is 2.9% for the employee and the employer. You will withhold 1.45% of an employee's wages and pay a matching amount for Medicare tax.
Is my employer paying my tax?
As an employee, your employer is responsible for paying your tax. But things do not always go according to plan. The self-employed are responsible for paying their own tax and National Insurance through self assessment. Employees pay tax and National Insurance via their employer through PAYE.
What is a good salary in Hungary?
A person working in Hungary typically earns around 493,000 HUF per month. Salaries range from 125,000 HUF (lowest average ) to 2,200,000 HUF (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher). This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits.
What is the minimum wage in Budapest?
As of 2021, the minimum salary in Budapest, Hungary is of 167400 HUF or roughly €466 euros per month gross for unskilled labor. The minimum wage for skilled workers is of 219,000 HUF or approximately €609. These salaries are valid not only for Budapest, but also nationwide.
You might be interested: Question: Why Was The Final Scene In Black And White In The Grand Budapest Hotel?
Is Hungary a tax haven?
Hungary is not officially seen as a tax haven, but its low corporate tax rates, easy incorporation laws, and prime location as a European Union nation make the Hungarian company an advantageous corporate vehicle for foreign investors.
Who pays payroll tax?
That's $1.31 trillion out of $3.42 trillion. These taxes come from the wages, salaries, and tips that are paid to employees, and the government uses them to finance Social Security and Medicare. Employers withhold payroll tax on behalf of their employees and pay it directly to the government.
How is tax deducted from salary?
The payer has to deduct an amount of tax based on the rules prescribed by the income tax department. For instance, An employer will estimate the total annual income of an employee and deduct tax on his Income if his Taxable Income exceeds INR 2,50,000. Tax is deducted based on which tax slab you belong to each year.
How do I calculate the percentage of taxes on my paycheck?
How do I calculate taxes from paycheck? Calculate the sum of all assessed taxes, including Social Security, Medicare and federal and state withholding information found on a W-4. Divide this number by the gross pay to determine the percentage of taxes taken out of a paycheck.
Does your employer pay half your taxes?
The FICA tax consists of both Social Security and Medicare taxes. FICA taxes are paid both by the employee and the employer. Each party pays half of these taxes.
What is the tax rate for a single person in 2020?
Marginal Rates: For tax year 2020, the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $518,400 ($622,050 for married couples filing jointly). The other rates are: 35%, for incomes over $207,350 ($414,700 for married couples filing jointly);
You might be interested: Readers ask: How To Get From Budapest To Amsterdam?
What percentage of FICA is taxed on your salary?
Not to be confused with the federal income tax, FICA taxes fund the Social Security and Medicare programs and add up to 7.65% of your pay (in 2020). The breakdown for the two taxes is 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to $137,700) and 1.45% for Medicare (plus an additional 0.90% for wages in excess of $200,000).
Often asked: How Far Is The Drive From Budapest To Prague?
Question: What Terminal Is Easy Jet In Budapest?


text:
Q: Annihilator method, $y''-4y'-5y=x^2 e^{-x} +6e^{-x}$ The equation $y''-4y'-5y=x^2 e^{-x} +6e^{-x}$, has a characteristic polynomial  $$(r^2 -4r -5)$$
with roots $-1$, $5$. Our operator $M(y)$, which is the equation to which the RHS is a solution of, has a characteristic polynomial $$p(r)=(r+1)^3  (r+1)=(r+1)^4$$
which has roots $-1$ with multiplicity of four. The relevant polynomial for this problem is then $$(r+1)^4 (r^2 -4r-5)$$
which has roots $-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,5$. And a particular solution of the differential equation is then $$\psi_p=c_1e^{-x}+c_2xe^{-x}+c_3x^2e^{-x}+c_4x^3e^{-x}$$
, where $c_i$ are constants to be determined. Notice that we can remove two terms because they are solutions of $L(y)=0$. Is this correct? I'm not sure how to deal with repeated roots.

A: $$y''-4y'-5y=x^2 e^{-x} +6e^{-x}$$
The homogeneous solution of the DE is:
$$\implies y_h=c_1e^{-x}+c_2e^{5x}$$
And the guess for the particular solution should be:
$$y_p=(ax^2+bx+c)e^{-x}\color {red}{x}$$
$$y_p=(ax^3+bx^2+cx)e^{-x}$$

Annihilator method:
$$y''-4y'-5y=x^2 e^{-x} +6e^{-x}$$
$$ (D^2 -4D-5)y=x^2 e^{-x} +6e^{-x}$$
$$ (D^2 -4D-5)y=(x^2  +6)e^{-x}$$
$$\color{red}{(D+1)^3} (D^2 -4D-5)y=0$$
$$\color{red}{(D+1)^3} (D+1)(D-5)y=0$$
With the annihilator method you should get for the particular solution:
$$y_p=c_1xe^{-x}+c_2x^2e^{-x}+c_3x^3e^{-x}$$
$$y_p=e^{-x}(c_1x+c_2x^2+c_3x^3)$$
And for the homogeneous solution:
$$y_h=Ae^{-x}+Be^{5x}$$
So your solution  looks good :
$$\psi_p=c_1e^{-x}+c_2xe^{-x}+c_3x^2e^{-x}+c_4x^3e^{-x}$$
But the first term is absorbed by the homogeneous solution so that you only have three constant.
$$\psi_p=c_2xe^{-x}+c_3x^2e^{-x}+c_4x^3e^{-x}$$

A: Make your life easier from the starting point using $y=z\, e^x$. This gives
$$z''-6 z'=x^2+6$$ Reduction of order makes the problem quite simple.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


32-12-26.1. Period of residency for purpose of licensing requirement. Any person who has resided in this state for a period of ninety days is considered a resident for the purpose of being licensed to drive a motor vehicle under the laws of this state.
Source: SDC Supp 1960, § 44.03B02 as added by SL 1968, ch 174.