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Let's use the aftermath of a major storm to illustrate the differences between collision and comprehensive. Within that storm, let's consider two hypothetical events: First, a heavy telephone pole was blown down and fell on your truck, or second, you swerved to avoid a falling tree and wound up crashing into a guardrail. In the first event, you couldn't control when or why a tree fell on your car. This kind of accident would get reimbursed under your comprehensive policy. In the second situation, you were driving the car and ultimately swerved into the guardrail. This makes it a collision, and collision insurance pays for the damages.
We want to hear from you and encourage a lively discussion among our users. Please help us keep our site clean and safe by following our posting guidelines, and avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank account or phone numbers. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account are not reviewed or endorsed by representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
To help you figure out if you should purchase collision coverage, you should estimate the approximate value of your vehicle. While there are a number of online resources that can help with this, including Kelley Blue Book, we recommend you speak with a State Farm® agent. In addition to helping you determine the value of your vehicle, our agents can tell you how much extra you'd pay to add collision coverage.
Insurance terms, definitions and explanations are intended for informational purposes only and do not in any way replace or modify the definitions and information contained in individual insurance contracts, policies or declaration pages, which are controlling. Such terms and availability may vary by state and exclusions may apply. Discounts may not be applied to all policy coverages.
Products underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies. Not all Nationwide affiliated companies are mutual companies, and not all Nationwide members are insured by a mutual company. Subject to underwriting guidelines, review and approval. Products and discounts not available to all persons in all states. Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH. Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle and other marks displayed on this page are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, unless otherwise disclosed. ©2019. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
Policies typically use vague language when referring to acts of terrorism, but they are generally insured by the comprehensive portion of your policy. For example, if there is an act of terror and you need to make a claim on your car, that can only be made if you have comprehensive coverage. Since some circumstances are out of our control, comprehensive insurance is certainly important to have in your policy.
Products underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies. Not all Nationwide affiliated companies are mutual companies, and not all Nationwide members are insured by a mutual company. Subject to underwriting guidelines, review, and approval. Products and discounts not available to all persons in all states. Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH. Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle, and other marks displayed on this page are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, unless otherwise disclosed. © 2019 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
Insurance terms, definitions and explanations are intended for informational purposes only and do not in any way replace or modify the definitions and information contained in individual insurance contracts, policies or declaration pages, which control coverage determinations. Such terms may vary by state, and exclusions may apply. Discounts may not be applied to all policy coverages.
Today we still answer to our members, but we protect more than just cars and Ohio farmers. We’re a Fortune 100 company that offers a full range of insurance and financial services across the country. Including car, motorcycle, homeowners, pet, farm, life and commercial insurance. As well as annuities, mutual funds, retirement plans and specialty health services.
Are you looking for cheap auto insurance but worried about sacrificing quality and service in favor of a more affordable rate? GEICO has you covered. The word "cheap" might be scary when it comes to an auto insurance policy, but it doesn't have to be this way. With GEICO, cheap car insurance means something completely different. It's affordable. It's good for your budget. All while providing you with 24/7 customer service and top-of-the-line insurance for your vehicle.
Nationwide's insurance professionals can quickly design a car insurance quote that meets your precise needs, even for those on a budget. Rather than going with the cheapest car insurance quote, make sure the company you choose provides flexible coverage and billing options. For instance, Nationwide allows members to pay monthly, quarterly or semi-annually online, through the mail or over the phone. It’s important to keep long-term flexibility in mind when deciding on an insurance carrier, not just go with the cheapest car insurance option.
There is a case to be made for getting just comprehensive and not collision insurance, even if your car is not valuable. Comprehensive covers you for a lot more perils than does collision--including, most importantly, against theft. Regardless of the value of your car, having it stolen is a major inconvenience. Even if your car is worth only $2,000 at the time of the theft, and your insurer gives you $1,500, that sum would go a long way in buying yourself a new vehicle. As we discuss in more detail below, comprehensive insurance generally costs no more than $200 per year, so a $1,500 reimbursement would make the coverage valuable.
Yes, we offer a discount to customers who pay in full in most states. Where applicable, discounts are offered to customers who pay their auto insurance policies in full for both 12-month and 6-month policies. In addition, some states offer discounts when choosing to pay quarterly. No matter what you decide, you can have faith you’re getting cheap car insurance that’s worry-free.
Collision and comprehensive insurance are two optional types of auto insurance where your insurer pays for repairs to your vehicle. While there are other optional auto insurance coverages, liability, comprehensive, and collision are three of the most common. These coverages work hand-in-hand to repair or replace most of the damages to your car. It's important to know the difference, and make sure you're adequately covered.


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“I had absolutely no idea bees could be so interesting. Actually, I thought they’d be a very boring subject until I read Kathy Coatney’s “Beekeeper Pat and the Amazing Dancing Bees.” I especially like the way Ms. Coatney has incorporated second grade vocabulary words in an easy-to-read and enjoyable writing style. The photos are great, too, giving the reader an actual view inside the world of bees. I’ll be reading this story to my 2nd grader grandson during the holidays. He’s interested in so many different things, and this book will help expand his horizons. Thanks, Ms. Coatney. I plan to purchase your other books, as well.”
“Educational with great pictures my kids have the whole series. Love to read them to my young kids. Must have!”
“The second book in the Farmer Guy/Gal series, this is all about bees and honey. Each page contains a photograph with very interesting information about beekeeping and how bees live. The close-ups of the bees are amazing, and not sure if it’s only me, but the bees look kinda yummy!”
Kathy Coatney has spent long hours behind the lens of a camera, wading through rice paddies, dairies and orchards over her twenty plus years as a photojournalist specializing in agriculture. With her roots in agriculture running four generations deep, she felt a deep concern that children didn’t know how their food was produced. Envisioning a new direction for her writing, she launched From the Farm to the Table series of nonfiction children’s books about agriculture.
Kathy also loves—and writes—deeply emotional, small-town romances. She gets her inspiration from movies like While You Were Sleeping, Return To Me, a variety of music, and from her own happily-ever-after. Her favorite place to plot out novels is swinging in a hammock on a warm spring day. Ironically, her fiction books also carry an agriculture thread in them, some more than others.
Kathy’s favorite things: cuddling by the fire, ice cream, fresh-baked scones, mochas, and finding outdoor activities for every season, whether it’s swimming, skiing, mountain biking or a quiet stroll through the woods.
Happily married for over thirty-five years, she and her husband have two grown sons, a granddaughter and a menagerie of animals—a black lab who thinks she’s human, a house cat that looks part bobcat, and numerous wild animals that roam freely on her property.

domain: artistic


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The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) provides several different benefits for our veterans. In addition to the better known “service connected” benefits, benefits can be provided to wartime veterans and the surviving spouses of wartime veterans for medical care and expenses incurred while living at home or at a senior residence. Aid and Attendance, is a little known “non-service” connected pension benefit that may be the key to long term care planning for those who may qualify in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties.
Several of our clients living in Macomb County enjoy this benefit and use it to pay for their care at senior assisted living facilities and senior apartments that provide medical assistance and care. Wihtout, the benefit, many of these clients would otherwise be unable to receive the care that they need. Currently, the VA provides monthly amount of up to:
$2,019.00 for a married veteran;
$1,703.00 for a single veteran; and,
$1,094.00 for a surviving spouse.
The monthly benefit amount is directly dependent on the cost of the applicant’s care compared to the applicant’s monthly income.
If you are interested in learning more about these benefits, please call (586) 264-3756.

domain: medical


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Vacation rentals in Ithaca
Find and book unique accommodations on Airbnb
Top-rated vacation rentals in Ithaca
Guests agree: these stays are highly rated for location, cleanliness, and more.
Villa in Vathy
Galazio - charming 2 bed Vathi town house & garden
Galazio is a gorgeous fully-renovated two double bedroom house in the heart of Ithaki's beautiful main town Vathi. Out of season, the town is chilled & relaxing, in season busy & vibrant with its restaurants, shops and bars all buzzing, & its harbour full of yachts. You choose which version of Vathi to enjoy according to the time of year, both are lovely! The harbour is just two minutes away from Galazio's garden gate. Or it has its peaceful terrace with sea view, where you'll want to linger.
$78 per night
Home in Vathy
FOS - The Artist's House - Ithaki
From the house's beautiful veranda, you can relax and enjoy the natural harbour of Vathy, beautifully embraced by numerous hills and lush vegetation while the boats, entering and exiting the bay, casually and serenely sail right in front of you. It is a traditional but recently rennovated house with several artistic details. While many traditional architectural elements have been maintained, living is very comfortable with all modern amenities provided. You will have a most enjoyable stay.
$79 per night
Cottage in Ithaki
A nature lover's perfect retreat. This charming modern home exudes tranquility & joy. Ideally nestled on an idyllic remote Ithaki hillside, with breathtaking, uninterrupted views of Afales Bay. Surrounded by olive groves and the natural rhythms of this sun-kissed island. Even your water supply comes straight from a nearby aquifer: mountain cool; pure and rich in minerals. A place of eternal solitude, azure blue skies, stunning colorful dawns & the gentle chimes of goats' bells.
$109 per night
Vacation rentals for every style
Get the amount of space that is right for you


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13 Mar 1707/08 intentions and 21 May 1708 marriage of John Leavitt and Joanna Bisbee Hingham Massachusetts Town Records
Source: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line, image 62/2472].
Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).

domain: library


Different businesses require different equipment and machinery to get the job done. In particular, the trucking and transportation industries. These pivotal businesses not only transport raw materials to producers, fabricators and developers of all kinds, but are instrumental in transporting food, fuel, water and other goods to global markets.
As a result, specialized equipment is often needed to transport specific types of goods or products. Semi-tractor trailers, fuel trucks, refrigerated trailers, and heavy duty haulers, dump trucks, and construction equipment are all expensive pieces of equipment that your company will need in order to get the job done on time. Sometimes because of the costs associated with these pieces of equipment, outright purchasing of new or used means of transportation isn’t applicable – a transportation equipment leasing agreement may be the right option for your business
What Are the Benefits of a Lease?
Leasing provides many positive perks for businesses looking to enlarge and update their fleet of transportation equipment. Leases often require either a low – or no – downpayment, making their access to the right equipment that much easier. This allows a business to operate better, newer, and potentially more fuel efficient vehicles and trucks without having to part with a considerable amount of capital. You’ll also pay fewer sales tax.
Further, leasing alleviates the pains of having to repair these vehicles. Many leasing agreements keep the borrower under the vehicle’s included factory warranty for most manufacturer defects and required repairs.
At the end of the leasing agreement, the business can easily transition into a new fleet every two or three years. New vehicles mean up-to-date technology, reduced insurance, increased fuel efficiency, increased reliability, as well as improved visual aesthetic for businesses looking to hire transportation expertise.
In a nutshell, leasing is a quick and painless way to flexibly upgrade or expand a business’s equipment needs. Predictable lease timelines translate into predictable timeframes to recoup costs and adjust accordingly. This future-proofing mentality covers the need for company growth without the full-scale commitment of having to recoup inflated spending outright.
Leasing also comes with the benefits of potential tax savings over a traditional purchase. When you lease equipment it is possible to deduct – often in full – the monthly cost as an operating expense. With a traditional purchase or finance agreement, the equipment will depreciate in value over time. It’s important to note that leasing what depreciates is a superior option than outright buying something that depreciates. As vehicles depreciate, leasing remains a stable and sound financial decision.
These savings amount to increased liquidity for a business, conserving your capital to be allocated to other important aspects of your operations. This could help to pay for the insurance of a fleet of trucks or construction machinery. There’s also the possibility of hiring additional staff to operate your equipment.
Leases are extremely flexible and manageable agreements because they provide businesses with access to greater working capital and easy equipment upgrades. Through appropriate forecasting schedules and accurate growth channels, leasing can prove to be a valuable tool in your arsenal for quick and exciting company growth.


The trend of model revivals is still going strong, as Lincoln just announced it will be bringing back the Aviator.
The Aviator was a short-lived model back in the early 2000s. It went on sale in 2003, but was pulled from the Lincoln lineup in 2005 due to poor sales.
SUVs and crossovers are hot right now, and Lincoln couldn't have picked a better time to debut this comeback.
Albeit a three-row SUV, staying true to Lincoln's roots, the new Aviator will be as elegant and innovative as they come.
Lincoln comments, "The synchronicity of Aviator's name and form language is intentional; aeronautics has long inspired automotive design."
Flowing lines, the signature Lincoln grille and a wraparound windshield are just a few of the elements that pull together the graceful look of this SUV.
One of the most advanced, and time-appropriate, aspects of the Lincoln Aviator is the way you access the vehicle. Owners are able to use their smartphone as a key, instead of, you know, an actual key. This is being referred to as Phone as a Key.
Humans and smartphones are attached at the hip—both literally and figuratively—and Lincoln is using that to its advantage.
With just the smartphone in tow and the Lincoln Way app downloaded, drivers can unlock and lock, open the trunk and start the vehicle.
Another interesting facet of the Aviator is its powertrain. The twin-turbocharged engine can be paired with plug-in hybrid technology—a first for Lincoln.
"The plug-in hybrid experience provides for a responsive, refined ride, with no powertrain-induced noise and vibration when operating on battery charge, yet is capable of using its twin-turbocharged engine if needed, easing range anxiety."
The appeal of this new SUV is strong. And we don't even know all the details yet.
But is the pull heavy enough that it will rectify the previous generation's disappointing outcome? Only time will tell. Lincoln, however, thinks so.
Joy Falotico, president of the Lincoln Motor Company, comments, "We believe Aviator's elegant design, state-of-the-art technology and refined plug-in hybrid option will draw even more clients to the Lincoln showroom, including families who are looking for three-row capability."
We'll be the first to say it—that's exactly what will happen. The all-new Aviator will be sold for the 2019 model year, and we envision it to be a segment-leading model.


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Hamas official tells 'Time' Dahlan collaborated with Israel during Gaza op
By JPOST.COM STAFF
A senior Hamas official accused Mahmoud Dahlan, PA President Mahmoud Abbas's former national security adviser, of collaborating with Israel against Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.
The unnamed Hamas official alleged to Time Magazine that Dahlan appeared in the Egyptian coastal town of El Arish, near Gaza, shortly before Israel began its military operation, adding that Dahlan had sent Fatah loyalists into the Strip to help the IDF hunt down Hamas commanders.
The allegation is based on the interrogation of suspected collaborators accused of helping to pinpoint Hamas hideouts and weapons caches for Israel, Hamas reportedly claimed.
According to the Time report, Dahlan was hoping to help Israel decimate Hamas in order to reestablish Fatah's control of Gaza.
var cont = `Stay Informed
As the war against Hamas unfolds, our unwavering newsroom remains committed to covering Israel's most profound crisis.
Sign up for our newsletter to get real-time news and in-depth analysis from our top reporters.

domain: news


UK Newswire Archive
The hunger strike is a way of emphasizing the demand that the five political prisoners held by the US: Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González, should immediately be set free. This action is also a protest against the US’s plans for actions of war towards Cuba and Venezuela.
07-07-2004 17:34Serra Pelada gold mine, in the Amazonian State of Para, one of the main Brazilian gold producers, was bought by the US mining company Phoenix Gems, which paid 40 millions dollars to exploit 100 hectares.
The contract of an important part of Serra Pelada mine’s shares, was subscribed last June 5th between a cooperative of "garimpeiros" (Brazilian gold searchers) and the US Company Phoenix Gems.
07-07-2004 16:41"The twofold energetic crisis of capital accumulation consists in that human energy has become vastly unprofitable while fossil energy has become too expensive. Devaluing people and upgrading oil is the short formula for the increasing dilemma of the dominant way of productionand life..The demands of a global growth economy and natural reserves in energetic fossil raw materials are in a disproportion..Production cannot keep up with need
07-07-2004 14:37There has been a long standing interest on the IndyMedia newswire about the issue of patents - particularly those pertaining to intellectual property. A couple of recent events might be of interest.
07-07-2004 13:56Demo against the war in Iraq & St. Paul's Carnival video
07-07-2004 13:34A little published concern regarding Permafrost Thawing and the release of methane-the
most potent grrenhouse gas.
Indymedia Romania is now online available under:
The article is by the Romania editorial collective
07-07-2004 11:04Every year political activists come together in the summer - locally, country-wide and internationally. Here is a quick round- up of forthcoming events listed according to time, issues and location.
07-07-2004 07:24Coalition casualty count to reach 1000 in the next few days, Bliar admits no WMD will be found,
07-07-2004 05:47Candidate for state office David Blomstrom is publicly advocating the death penalty for George W. Bush.
07-07-2004 01:35Come and create your Vision of Another World!
07-07-2004 00:28The sportswear company, Sergio Tacchini, is pulling out of Burma. This is a direct result of the enormous activist campaign directed against it.
06-07-2004 17:25"Open Door" is an Oxford-based community resource for asylum seekers and refugees. Open Door is seeking new members and volunteers to participate. Below is an appeal letter from Saul Goode from Open Door. Anyone with any time with any time spare to help this invaluable community open space, please contact him on his e-mail.
06-07-2004 17:13Forthcoming events at Ex-Grand Banks Occupied Social Centre
06-07-2004 17:03This clip from John Pilger's documentary, Breaking the Silence, contains 2001 footage of Powell and Rice declaring that Iraq is not a threat.
06-07-2004 16:18The "international community" is often cited as either a bulwark against US imperialism, or as a counter-force to sovereign states which butcher their own people. In Haiti, it managed to be complicit with both.


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Did you know, that happiness is a skill? Yep! Believe it or not, we all have the ability to control how happy your life is. Only a small portion of our happiness is due to our genes, and even a smaller portion is determined by circumstances. You see, this is why we shouldn’t blame circumstances, our genes or other people for our own unhappiness. Or perhaps we should stop blaming at all?
There is no need to ignore the negative things in your life either so just you can feel happier. Check out this infographic from Happify, with 15-science-backed ways to be happier. Start making these changes and you will be on your way to a happier life.

domain: psychology


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AGI – “Herd immunity is a concept used for vaccination, in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a vaccination threshold is reached”, is the specification of the WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in response to those who claim to “let the virus circulate to gain herd immunity”.
“For example – explains the general manager – herd immunity against measles requires vaccination of approximately 95% of the population. The remaining 5% will be protected from the fact that measles will not spread among those who are vaccinated. For polio, the threshold is around 80%. In other words, herd immunity is achieved by protecting people from a virus, not by exposing them to it, “Tedros insisted.
“Never in the history of public health has herd immunity been used as a strategy to respond to an epidemic, let alone a pandemic. It is scientifically and ethically problematic,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added in his briefing in Geneva. “Allowing a dangerous virus that we don’t fully know to circulate freely is simply immoral. It’s not an option.”


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Long Island was once the “backbone” of New York’s solar industry, according to Steven Engelmann, business development director at New York-based EnterSolar. Home to more than 7 million people, it accounts for nearly a third of the state’s total solar installations.
More recently, though, Engelmann says the region’s distributed solar market has fallen off “a cliff” due to constraints on the commercial solar market, which have only recently lifted.
Total solar installations on Long Island dropped from 111.7 megawatts in 2016 to 83.2 megawatts the following year, and then fell to 66.2 megawatts in 2018, according to numbers from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Solar advocates like Engelmann blame two factors for the drop: decreasing incentives from a rebate program called NY-Sun and the transition to the Value of Distributed Energy Resources tariff, which appraises projects based on stacking of benefits like location-based price. The industry claimed problems with VDER from its early stages, arguing the stack doesn’t fully value all the benefits that distributed resources offer.
With VDER set to begin applying to community solar starting on January 1, developers on Long Island worry a similar fate could befall those installations even before the market takes off at scale.
This spring, the state attempted to ease some of those concerns by rolling out its latest set of reforms, including a “community credit,” to be added to the VDER stack for community solar projects. The Solar Energy Industries Association said the change would “more fairly and accurately compensate larger solar projects.”
Analysts at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables said in September they expect the credit to help push New York to topple Minnesota as the community solar market with the greatest annual growth in 2019.
But solar developers on Long Island say the solution is not enough. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) set its community credit much lower than the one in adjacent Consolidated Edison territory, instead modeling the price on the credits offered upstate. Due to high labor and land costs more akin to New York City than Buffalo, community solar developers on Long Island say the credit means projects are financially unviable.
“It’s a substantial reduction in income for projects, and it’s so severe that we believe, in the current configuration as planned, the market will stall completely,” said David Schieren, CEO at local developer EmPower Solar.
Though Long Island's community solar market remains small, developers believe the region — traditionally a powerhouse for solar development — could fall behind as New York's community solar sector blossoms.
After months of criticism, the industry is making a last-ditch effort to push LIPA to raise the credit before VDER officially hits community solar there in January, or to allow community solar projects below 750 kilowatts to continue with net metering as LIPA allows for commercial projects below that capacity.
LIPA, however, told Greentech Media that the region is well positioned to achieve its solar goals, citing 69 percent attainment of its portion of 2025 state distributed solar mandates. The authority has "long sponsored programs to help kickstart the industry," said LIPA CEO Thomas Falcone.
"But it’s a kick-start," Falcone added. "The goal is to get to a self-sustaining industry that doesn’t require as much support."
It's a fight that developers say matters to New York’s efforts to aggressively increase renewables required by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act signed into law this summer. As the state pushes ambitious offshore wind plans, the industry worries local solar could suffer.
A complex credit
New York rolled out VDER in 2017 in an attempt to transition from net metering to a system that more accurately values projects for their grid contributions. Since then, the state has continued to tinker with the tariff’s details.
The addition of the community credit in April came alongside numerous other tweaks, including offering net metering to onsite commercial projects under 750 kilowatts — changes the solar industry welcomed.
On Long Island, a delayed VDER rollout means that community solar projects have yet to switch from net metering. But developers are anxiously eyeing the January 1 change.
The industry believes LIPA’s 2.25-cent-per-kilowatt-hour community credit, meant to bridge the gap between the retail rate of solar and the VDER rate, could hurt a community solar market that already lags behind the rest of the state.
“Projects on Long Island are just not viable; they’re not bankable if we were to try to get any kind of financing,” said Engelmann.
PSEG territory, which covers Long Island, has 14 community solar projects according to NYSERDA. Con Ed, a utility that serves New York City and Westchester County, has 55, while National Grid has 90 and New York State Electric and Gas has 118.
Con Ed uses a community credit of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour.
With the VDER rate, EmPower’s Schieren said projects will get a “haircut” in net income rate from around 16 cents per kilowatt-hour under net metering to about 10 cents.*
“That pushes the simple payback past any point that interests a serious investor,” said Schieren. “At this point, we consider it unworkable.”
LIPA's Falcone disputed claims that the credit is too low, and said larger projects of around 5 megawatts should be able to leverage economies of scale. Of the 26 megawatts of current applications for community solar on Long Island, 20 megawatts' worth are for 5-megawatt projects.
"That's very competitive compensation," said Falcone of the credit. "There is a scale advantage to projects, and that’s not really different than what’s happening in the rest of the state. [...] The average community solar project...they aren’t typically 100-kilowatt projects."
LIPA also noted that VDER pays more for certain parts of the value stack in Long Island than upstate, pointing to figures showing that Long Island accounts for 40 percent of New York's distributed solar projects compared to Con Ed's 21 percent. The power authority said it will soon be meeting with concerned members of the solar industry to discuss their cost modeling.
Community solar is a small but growing portion of overall U.S. solar capacity, with this year an “inflection point” in its development, according to analysts at WoodMac. They forecast between 600 and 800 megawatts in annual U.S. additions through 2024, with New York ranking as a leading market. The state already ranks fifth for installed community solar capacity.
PSEG's Long Island subsidiary told Greentech Media that the community credit is “consistent” with the rest of the state, aside from Con Ed territory.
In a possible response to concerns, LIPA unveiled a program on Wednesday called Long Island Solar Communities, which will serve low- and moderate-income households with 20 megawatts of projects in 2020. The power authority said that capacity will “roughly double” the area’s community solar market based on 26 megawatts of current applications in various stages.
Because the program will be administered through a competitive solicitation, it's unclear how much of the business will go to local developers. In the meantime, Schieren said, he’s shifting focus to New York City and upstate for future community solar projects.
A fight over state mandates
Long Island advocates say their success could impact state requirements that were cemented when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that would rid the electricity system of carbon emissions by 2040, draw down greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by midcentury, and hit 70 percent renewable energy by 2030. The law requires 6 gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025, and according to LIPA the state has installed just 35 percent of that total.
“Long Island really risks being left out of the state’s march toward clean energy,” said Shyam Mehta, executive director of the New York Solar Energy Industries Association. More broadly, Mehta worries that the state’s recent embrace of offshore wind could knock solar to the sidelines, “pitting two renewable technologies against each other.”
New York has the nation's most ambitious offshore wind target, set at 9 gigawatts by 2035. This summer New York awarded its first offshore wind contracts, with Ørsted and Equinor to build an initial 1.7 gigawatts to serve the state. More tenders are on the way.
Most of that 1.7 gigawatts is slated to serve Long Island. Developers in the area, however, say they’d prefer to see hometown companies benefiting from renewables goals, rather than international corporations.
“Solar is taking a back seat. That’s where our fight is,” said Scott Maskin, CEO and co-founder at Long Island-based Sunation Solar Systems. “It’s become increasingly obvious that our utility is sacrificing solar for wind initiatives.”
*Correction: this article originally compared the net rate for VDER and net-metering to the gross retail rate, it has been corrected to only reflect the net rate under net-metering and VDER.

domain: geography


text:
|Poral Nagaraj1, Kruthika S2
|Related article at Pubmed, Scholar Google|
Visit for more related articles at International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering
Generally huge number of preventable medication errors occurs annually, causing enormous number of deaths. Medication errors do increase as the number of medications being administered increases . Therefore, people with mult imorbidity who take several medications at once are more vulnerable to medication errors. The main objective of this paper is to present a novel solution using android based mobile device integrated with RFID reader and application to reduce medical errors due to drug interaction. The scope of the proposed framework focuses on detecting a drug allergy or drug interaction, alerting the physician, providing adequate information about the case detected, enhancing the commun ication among the treatment staff (mu ltip le physicians), updating the patient’s health record in case of an unknown allergy or non-recorded allergy detected by another physician. In this system, an RFID module is integrated with Hospital Information Systems (HIS) with the help of Android based mobile devices and Bluetooth interfaces. It facilitates cross verification processes and reduces medical, medicat ion and diagnosis errors.
|Framework, medication error, mult imorbidity, Rfid, Rfid tag, Rfid reader.|
|In the medical field, medication errors lead to significant clinical and financial consequences . In Canada alone, medication errors are the third leading cause of death after cancer and heart disease [1, 3]. Moreover, medication errors increase as the number of medications being administered increases . Multi -morbidity patients who has more than one chronic disease (like cancer, heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, mental illness, and musculoskeletal diseases) are more likely to take s everal medicat ions at once [6, 7]. The occurrence of medication errors such as adverse drug events in patients with multimorbidity can have impacts that seriously affect patients’ quality of life [5, 8]. Medication errors can be reduced depending on the detection method used .|
|In case of an error, the nurse usually tries to communicate with the case physician or pharmacist by making a call and/or writing a report to get instructions and critical information that will help to rectify the action. However, nurses find that this way of communication is not effective, time-consuming, and keeps them away from attending to their patients. Furthermore, phone calls cannot completely convey critical observations and a report may not be read. Therefore, nurses, physicians, and pharmacists need to get a better understanding of the case to be able to share the right information with each other . A more effect ive form of communication would help them to avoid medication errors and increase patient safety .|
|The need to enhance patient safety and control medication errors has increased attention on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID is a wireless technology for communication  that uses radio frequency to transfer data from a tagged object. RFID has the capability to identify, track and monitor objects|
|The system has been implemented using Samsung Galaxy Core Prime Smartphone with Android 4.4.4 platform, MIFARE Classic 1K tags, and a database populated with 1 patients’ record and 4 medications. This system informs t he physicians about the new drugs that are being administered to the patient and the physicians can guide the patient in order to avoid any medical interference.|
|The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II presents a brief summary of related works already existing in literature and highlights the distinguished approach of our solution as compared to them. Section III describes the proposed framework. Sect ion IV presents results and discussions. Finally, Section V presents the conclusion and future work|
II. RELATED WORK
|RFID has a powerful ability to track items. In a study by Halamka , RFID was used to track medical objects such as IV pumps, medical equip ment, tools, devices, and even employees and patients. The purpose of Halamka ’s study was to determine whether RFID technology could substitute barcode tracking, with RFID showing considerable superiority. Another study by Wang et al  used RFID to track SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) - infected patients, with the objective of spott ing new infections and to increase patient safety.|
|Additionally, due to RFID’s high monitoring functionality, a study by Dalton and Rossini  used RFID technology for blood transfusion monitoring. In this application, the caregiver would read both the patient’s tag and the blood tag; if both tags would match, then the blood transfusion can be safely conducted. The purpose of the study was to test the efficiency of RFID to supervise blood donations and transfusions .|
|Moreover, Bardram  developed a context-aware RFID system, where the patients and the caregiver wear tags while the system monitors their activities. This system was intended to develop hospital infrastructure and applications. Similarly, Laboratories  developed a hygiene monitoring system, where a 9 RFID reader was placed on a hygiene dispenser and RFID tags were placed on the badges of caregivers. The dispenser gathered informat ion regarding its users and then prepared a report. This system’s objective was to ensure proper hand hygiene for patient and employee safety.|
III. PROPOSED FRAMEWORK
|Figure 1 shows the Framework for the Proposed RFID Applicat ion. The Reading Tags phase is the starting point in this framework. The drug that is being administered to the patient is swiped against the RFID tag reader. The RFID application has the ability to do the following: read tag IDs and send them to the hospital serv er (database); receive the response from the hospital server (auto mode) or doctor (manual mode); and display the response to the patient|
|The hospital server works as a link between the RFID application and the hospital database. The hospital database includes patient information such as active medication(s), names of treatment team members. It also includes drug information such as the drug’s name and usage and drug interactions information. In this way, the hospital database works as a trusted source for providing the required data.|
|The workflow in this system is as follows:|
|1. The patient swipes the patient’s RFID tag using the RFID reader.|
|2. The RFID applicat ion stores the patient’s unique ID that is read fro m the patient’s tag|
|3. The patient swipes the drug’s RFID tag by using the RFID reader.|
|4. The RFID applicat ion stores the drug’s unique ID that is read fro m the drug’s tag.|
|5. The drug informat ion is sent to the doctor’s android device and the doctor’s respons e is communicated back to the patient through the bluetooth module.|
|6. The drug information is sent across to the hospital database through the server, along with the doctor’s directions for the particular drug|
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
|The simulation study includes the following modules:|
|1. RFID reader and tag|
|2. Microcontroller and its interface with LCD|
|4. Android application|
|The experimental results are obtained by executing the code on Eclipse. The hardware components showed in figure 2 are initialized by displaying a request message on LCD to punch the card against RFID reader. After punching the card, the RFID reader reads the card and transmits card details through the multiplexer to the microcontroller. Microcontroller in turn conveys this informat ion to the bluetooth module. The bluetooth module then communicates this information to the respective doctor’s mobile phone.|
|Consequently, the doctor invokes his android app to log in as shown in figure 3. The credentials of the doctor are required for logging in, which ensures the security of patient information.|
|The doctor responds to the patient’s message. The response is either automatic or manual. The automat ic response to patient’s query, without any involvement by doctor, is shown in figure 4. In the automatic response, when the patient punched the Rfid card against the reader, the reader will read the card and send the information to the doctor and the patient gets automatic response from the module.|
|The manual reply, which requires doctor’s manual involvement, is shown in figure 5. The doctor’s reply is then received by the bluetooth module and conveyed to the microcontroller. Figure 6 shows the display of doctor’s response. The doctor’s reply is received by the bluetooth module and conveyed to the microcontroller. The microcontroller displays this information in the patient’s LCD screen.|
V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
|Drug allergies and drug interactions are serious problems for patients with mult iple health ailments. These interactions happen during the medicine administration phase. In this paper we presented a novel solution of using a smart phone and an RFID application to detect drug allergies and drug interactions for people with mult imorbidity when being administered medications. This application helps to improve patient safety by detecting drug allergies and drug interactions before they happen. It also helps to increase the quality of healthcare by promoting, enhancing and better enabling commun ication between the patient’s trea tment team members. Moreover, RFID provides a better way of informing the physician in case of drug allergies or drug interactions by saving the patient time and giving the right informat ion to the attending physician.|
|The RFID module can be integrated with a pre-programmed microcontroller along with a LCD screen and GSM communicat ion module, to form a dedicated error prevention device. This device can be optimized for space and portability, thus enabling the patient to always carry the device during drug administration process. This module can be extended to include a multi-patient multi-doctor architecture through which a single doctor can be able to attend to the queries of multiple patients simultaneously using patient ids.|
|1. Alabdulhafith, Maali; Sampangi, Raghav V.; Sampalli, Srinivas, “NFC-enabled Smartphone applicat ion for drug interact ion and drug allergy det ect ion”, Near Field Communicat ion (NFC), 2013 5th Internat ional Workshop on , vol., no., pp.1,6, 5-5 Feb. 2013.
2. T.-Y. L. Sung., Fei-Hung Hung., and H.-W. Chiu., “Implement at ion of an int egrated drug informat ion syst em for inpat ient s to reduce medicat ion errors in administrat ing stage”, in Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society EMBS, 30th Annual Internat ional Conference of the IEEE, vol., no., pp.743,746, 20-25 Aug. 2008.
3. P. Quily., “Adult ADD St rengths,” 05062005[Online]. Available: http://adultaddst rengths.com. [Accessed 23 07 2012].
4. L. Covell C., and A. Ritchie J., “Nurses' responses to medicat ion errors: suggest ions for the development of organizat ional st rategies to improve report ing”, J Nurs Care Qual, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 287-297, 2009.
5. R.G. Hughes., and M. A. Blegen., “Medicat ion Administrat ion Safety”, in Pat ient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses, Rockville, AHRQ, p.no.08-0043, 2008.
6. P. L. Ramage-Morin, “Medicat ion use among senior Canadian”, Health Reports, vol. 20, no. 1, 2009.
7. “P ublic Health Agency of Canada,” 03 07 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca. [Accessed 12 07 2012].
8. R. A. Goodman., A. K. Parekh., and H. K. Koh., “Toward a more cogent approach to the challenges of mult imorbidity”, The Annals of Family Medicine, vol. 10, no. 2,pp. 100-101, 2012.
9. M. O’ Daniel and A. H. Rosenstein., “Professional Communication and T eam Collaborat ion”, in Pat ient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses, Rockville, AHRQ, 2008.
10. J. Halamka., “Early experiences with posit ive pat ient ident ifi-cat ion”, Journal of Healthcare Informat ion Management, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 25-27, 2006.
11. S.-W. Wang, W.-H. Chen, C.-S. Ong, L. Liu., and Y.-W. Chuang, “Rfid applicat ion in hospitals: A case study on a demonstrat ion rfid project in a Taiwan hospital”, Hawai'i Internat ional Conference on System Sciences, no.8, p.184a, 2006.
12. J. Dalton., and S. Rossini., “Using rfid technologies to reduce blood transfusion errors”, white Paper by Intel Corporat ion, Autent ica, Cisco Systems and San Raffaele Hospital, 2005.
13. J. E. Bardram., “Applicat ions of context-aware comput ing in hospital work: examples and design principles”, in Proceedings of the ACM symposium on Applied comput ing, New York, pp. 1574–1579, 2004.
14. W.Laboratories,2004[Online].Available:http://www.woodwardlabs.com/pdfs/iHygienePressRelease.pdf. [Accessed 2012].


xDonations 1.96 - FINAL
Category : Modules
Published by zyspec on 22-Sep-2010 16:39
xDonations 1.96 - FINAL
Accept Paypal Donation with IPN Notifications
xDonations is a XOOPS 2 module that allows a site to accept donations from Paypal and track donations using the Paypal IPN notification.
There have been no code changes since v1.96 BETA 2.New in this release:
- Manual entry of 'offline' donations to keep the Treasury in sync
- Search / Display Transaction History
- Display / Clear IPN History
- Allows the administrator to set the default currency
- Selectable donation amounts (and default) configurable through Admin
- 3 XOOPS blocks
- Accept donations
- Display donors
- Display recent donations
- Ability to use custom donation button
- Let donors Show / Hide their name (give anonymously)
- Ability to automatically add donors to XOOPS group
- Ability to automatically give donors a specific XOOPS ranking
- Provide users with a 'landing' page for Thank You or Cancelled transactions
- Set Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly goals
- Language string define can be translated using XOOPS language files. Release includes English and partial French.
- Test features:
- IPN connection test
- Track various levels of Information (Info, Errors only, etc)
- Log file to track history
- Test configuration using Paypal Sandbox account
See INSTALL.TXT for a more complete change log.
- Australian Dollar as a default currency option
- Language constants to improve translation capability
- New constants to enhance error tracking capability
- Ability to display/clear IPN log in Admin
- Ability to search/display by Transaction ID in Admin
- Variable sanitation in various places
- Support for xdonations_ipn.log file in XOOPS upload directory
- 'edit' and 'delete' icons in Admin to use Crystal graphics
- Html code to improve W3C compliance and readability
- Mysql file to use 'ENGINE' instead of 'TYPE'
- Mysql to add table indexes to improve performance
- Mysql queries in various places to reduce number of db calls
- requirement for FormSolution class, removed file
Please read the INSTALL.TXT file for installation and configuration information. You MUST change configuration settings (Paypal URL, Receiver Email, etc) before using this module.
Backup your existing site before installing/upgrading any new XOOPS module.
Please report any issues to the issues list.
Download: XOOPS xDonations


Seaming tool PS 55
- For clamping and positioning components with a smooth surface, such as ceramic, granite, Corian®, plastic, sheet metal and glass, which require low clamping forces (up to 260 N)
- Clamping levers on the suction cups ensure rapid handling
- Cam lever to compensate for differing heights at the joint
|Order number||Opening||Width||Length||Weight approx.||PU|
Corian® is a registered trademark of DuPont
Gentle suction cups, Easy to use. Engage the handle on the suction cups to generate a vacuum, and the seaming tool adheres automatically to the sheet.
Practical cam levers, The two levers on the guide bars can be used to easily control the height differences which can occur when pulling together the sheets.
Sturdy construction, Cold-drawn, electro-galvanised guide rods in sturdy aluminium profiles prevent the seaming tool from bending open during the clamping process and hold the seaming tool on one level. This guarantees a precise finished result.
Ergonomic plastic handle, With the perfect handle, you can achieve up to 260 N of clamping force in the horizontal plane. This need is met by the high-quality two-component plastic handle with easy-to-move trapezoidal thread spindle.


The task was simple; the potential payoff, massive.
Guests of the 2015 Horn Point Laboratory Open House were asked to find their birthdate on a chart that indicated the biggest rain events and hottest days since 1930. The goal was to help those guests visualize how much climate in the Chesapeake Bay region has changed in their lifetime.
At the end of the exercise, one thing was clear—many of the most extreme weather events happened in the past 20 years.
Victoria Coles and Raleigh Hood, two scientists from University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory, have spent the past two years working with a postdoctoral scholar Kari St.Laurent, compiling data and using it to tell a story of climate change in the region that people can understand.
“Our point here was to talk more about what we’ve been seeing in a way that might convince people to take actions that would increase their own personal and community resilience,” Coles said.
The project is a collaborative research effort with the National Estuarine Research Reserves, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; UMCES; Chesapeake Environmental Communications; and NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, which also funded the effort.
The overall goal was to help residents of the Bay region understand what’s happening in their backyard, as well as governing officials to help drive policy and action.
With Coles’ experience working on the state’s climate assessment and Hood’s expertise in nutrient cycling in the Bay, both got to work compiling information. They paired some historical data, such as about annual rainfall in the Chesapeake Bay region, with new data, and they compared predictions with actual events to make new predictions going forward.
Among their findings they learned:
● The number of days where the maximum temperature is higher than 77 degrees is growing with the southern Chesapeake Bay experiencing almost 40 more summer days each year than it did 100 years ago.
● There are fewer days in the year when the low temperature is less than 0 degrees.
● The Bay region is seeing more precipitation with each passing decade, receiving 2 to 7 more inches of precipitation per year than it did a century ago, in the northern and southern Bay respectively.
● Over 100 years, growing seasons have lengthened by 20 days in the northern Bay, and 40 days in the southern Bay.
The group made graphics to help visualize the data, which painted a direct picture of climate change in the Bay area.
“It’s really brought home in the most tangible way how much climate change is impacting this region,” Hood said.
They wanted to measure extremes and variability—how much of a month’s rainfall was really extreme versus light rain, how many warm nights were there, what was the coldest temperature in a month—because that resonates well in people’s memories.
“Organisms and people feel weather; they don’t really feel climate,” Coles said. “Climate dictates what your annual average fuel bill is maybe, but it’s the weather events that you’re actually experiencing and those weather events are changing. Those are things that people notice.”
With each finding came an explanation. More summer days means more money spent on air-conditioning, for example, and warmer winters could leave room for new agricultural pests and diseases. Coles, Hood, and their collaborators on the project wanted to tell a story with the data that would not only show evidence of climate change, but also help people understand its personal impact. They ended up with four stories.
1. Pathogens live for longer during summer
The first story showed longer summers could increase someone’s exposure to human pathogens that naturally occur in the Bay. Humans are at risk of contracting vibrio vulnificus, if they have a wound or infection, but can also get infected through shellfish that would also be more at risk of a lengthened exposure time, Hood said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vibrio bacteria live in higher concentrations between May and October when water temperatures are warmer. About a dozen Vibrio species can cause human illness, known as vibriosis, which causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United States every year.
2. Water temperatures on the rise
One story from their findings involved submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), or grasses that act as key nursery areas for crabs and young fish.
“A lot of our grasses are at the southern limit of their range, so if temperatures are increasing, they’re going to be thermally stressed,” Coles said.
Stress can lead to massive die offs with subsequent consequences for nursery areas for crabs and fish. Key nursery areas also feel stress from nutrients and cloudiness in the water. Matching historical data with past high temperature swings, the researchers found high temperatures occurred at the same time as losses of SAV. They used this to make a model of how high temperature events affected SAV over the past century.
“Thermal stress wasn’t an issue over the past century except a few times in the past 15 years,” Coles said of the model. "It may be at this tipping point where it’s really becoming more of a stressor.”
3. Seasonal shifts confuse wildlife
Another story focuses on the timing of spring and fall, and the mismatch that results from the shift.
“Everything’s sort of greening up earlier,” Hood said.
The shift in the timing of the spring bloom affects species that depend on the bloom for food. Seasonal shifts also impact wildlife that rely on environmental cues, for example, to know when to migrate.
“Just because it’s generally warmer in the fall doesn’t mean you won’t have a dip down to freezing, so what we see are these cold stuns where fish that should have migrated out didn’t migrate out because it was warm. Then the temperature plummets 20 degrees in a day and then suddenly you have stunned or dead fish everywhere,” Coles said.
This has happened, too, with brown pelicans. Some of the juveniles don’t migrate because it’s staying warm later, and they aren’t as prepared for winter when it comes.
4. Knowing when a hard rain will fall
The last story regards nutrient loading in the Bay and changes in precipitation, including how it falls—heavily, moderately, or lightly.
During their research in the Bay, they found an increase of very wet days, little or no change in moderately wet days, and a small decline in mildly wet days in the northern part of the Bay while there was a small increase in the southern half, signaling regional differences over the past century.
“Overall, there has been an increase in heavy precipitation over the past century consistent with what other studies at larger spatial scales have shown,” Coles said. “We don’t have the information to go down to storm scale, but basically, more precipitation is being delivered in large events.”
How much it rains matters, Coles explained, because nutrient management strategies are dependent on how intense the rainfall is. If it’s coming in large events, then stormwater management system upgrades could be critical compared to relying on a sewer system, for example, she said. If it’s coming in light or moderate events, then maybe rain gardens could be useful. Not being prepared could be environmentally and financially costly, Hood added.
Along with their partners, Coles and Hood developed an iBook on the Chesapeake Bay with a chapter on climate change, written papers and blogs, and created a website with their findings, Detecting Climate Change in Chesapeake Bay.
The UMCES team hopes the project will help individuals understand how the climate is changing and how they have a responsibility to help the environment.
“Let’s face it, addressing climate change ultimately has to happen at the individual level. We all are going to have to reduce our emissions. We all need to understand that we have to go to alternative energy sources,” Hood said. “That’s why it’s important to show how our weather and climate extremes are changing right here in our communities, we want people to understand that their own lives are impacted by changing climate.”
Banner photo credit: Integration and Application Network/Jane Hawkey


text:
When Courtney Love began appearing in public wearing Versace gowns and an elegant bob, that whining, tiresome drone heard across the land was the sound of punk purists airing their dismay and disappointment. They, as well as straight-ahead rock fans, gossip columnists, some music critics, you name it -- all the people who'd hated her to begin with -- now had proof that her early punk image (the ratty hair, the smeared lipstick, the kinderwhore dresses) was just a sham. Clearly, though, most of those people had never listened to her music that carefully anyway. What was more disappointing was the attitude of the fans who'd loved her band Hole's first two records ("Pretty on the Inside" and the magnificent "Live Through This") but who now turned away from her in disgust, claiming she'd sold out -- months and months before they'd even had a chance to hear the third Hole LP, the defiant and blazingly direct "Celebrity Skin."
It's absurd to make pronouncements about Love's commitment to punk ideals -- or, for that matter, her devotion to her late husband -- based solely on her image makeover. But even if the personae of public figures are largely about surfaces, words and pictures can also help us piece together a kind of truth. Maybe that's why I was relieved when I started seeing photos of the buffed, revamped Love, simply because a live show I saw her give in Boston, in the fall of 1994, had scared me more than any live performance I've ever seen. It scared me precisely because it didn't seem so much a performance as a kind of public breakdown, an intensely personal outpouring by a musician who'd peeled away every protective layer between herself and her audience -- an audience that didn't seem sure whether it wanted to embrace her or tear her apart. The band came on late because Love had received a death threat. At the time, I wondered -- as many in the audience must have -- whether the threat was just a ploy, a publicity stunt. (It wasn't.) When Love came onstage, she said, "So what if I die tonight? What a pathetic footnote to rock 'n' roll history. This is bullshit. Let's just play." And if the acid in her voice throughout that performance -- the conviction that on that stage, that night, she didn't really care whether she lived or died -- was an act, then I'm a sucker (just as I'm a sucker when I listen to one of Bud Powell's late recordings and hear him unraveling groove by groove -- or when, for that matter, I hear the naked anguish in Kurt Cobain's voice on Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box").
So if those Versace dresses put one extra layer of armor between Love and her public -- if they mark her outwardly as a performer who happens to like pretty clothes, rather than as a human sacrifice, which is what she seemed to me that night -- then I say she should pile it on. Her refusal to let her audience define how she presents herself is a defiantly punk act. And ultimately, anyone who wants to judge her as an artist should do so only on the basis of "Celebrity Skin."
We had no way of knowing it, but Hole's 1996 cover of Stevie Nicks' "Gold Dust Woman" pointed, true as a compass, to the innate fierceness of "Celebrity Skin." Love's hissing of the line "Shadow of a woman, black widow," just before the fade-out of "Gold Dust Woman," sounded as punk as anything I'd heard that year. It was a deeply personal statement, compact and defiant, both an acknowledgment of the public's perception of her and a challenge to anyone who felt qualified to assess just how much pain she was capable of feeling. In "Celebrity Skin," her anger is sometimes (but not always) more muted, and yet it's always there, whirling just beneath the surface. One of the great virtues of "Celebrity Skin" is that it's not a showy record, not a blatant "fuck you" to all those who wondered -- buying wholeheartedly into that ancient sexist canard -- if "Live Through This" wasn't really a Cobain record instead of a Love record. The truth is that "Live Through This" sounded like a Hole record, which is even more apparent in the context of "Celebrity Skin," which represents a natural refinement (but not necessarily a softening) of the band's earlier sound. Love wrote all the lyrics on the new LP, but she and bandmates Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Mar and Patty Schemel, as well as occasional guest collaborators like Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan and former Go-Go Charlotte Caffey, wrote the music together. Love has repeatedly asserted that Hole is a band, not a backup group for Courtney Love, and although her scraped-raw vocals are always the focal point of the music on "Celebrity Skin," her persona never steamrolls over it. Love knew better than anyone how much her reputation would ride on this record, and the fact that she doesn't hijack it with prima donna attitude is a mark of classiness, as well as sound instincts.
I know in my gut that "Live Through This" is a great record, but I also know that my feelings about it are inextricably tied in with the fact that it came out the week after Cobain's death, in April 1994. At the time, "Miss World" was the only song that meant anything to me -- I clung to it like a talisman, mostly because the music (and to a lesser extent, the words) reflected the defensiveness, the isolation and the deep melancholy I felt at the time. Partly because of my age (I was 33), I was surrounded by people who dismissed Cobain's death as a minor event. Many of them even said, in print and in casual conversation, that it wasn't as if he were John Lennon or anything -- which was, in addition to being simply callous, a handy and loathsome way of dismissing a younger generation's feelings as being less genuine than their own. In the weeks after his death, I recall having to explain to the terminally clueless just what Cobain had meant not just to his audience but to the culture at large, and whenever I heard "Miss World," I felt as if Love were putting a sword in my hand, just when I needed it most.
"Celebrity Skin" isn't as deeply affecting as "Live Through This," but it's easier to like: The lyrics cut deep, but the pop-metal edge of the songs is what reels you in. In terms of its craftsmanship, it sounds like nothing so much as Love's effort to set herself free, an assertion that no matter how much she craves attention, she would rather be a musician than an icon. Love has been unabashedly vocal about her influences -- she loves the New Romantic and pop bands of the early '80s like Duran Duran and Echo and the Bunnymen -- and you can hear them here in the glittering-hard, shimmery guitars and reworking of classic '60s-pop rhythms. "Awful" conjures the cherry-bop sensuality of early Joan Jett or the Go-Go's in their heyday. "He's drunk, he tastes like candy, he's so beautiful," Love sings, sounding insatiable, greedy, clearly immersed in the hedonistic pleasures of rock 'n' roll -- but she's using the image of incredible-looking boys who are nothing but trouble only as a metaphor. "Awful" is a lush, alluring, bristly pop song that could be an indictment of the people who've claimed Love has deserted her roots ("It was punk/Yeah, it was perfect, now it's awful"), but she's moving too fast to waste much time on them. Instead, she's fixated on a dank kind of optimism: "If the world is so wrong, you can take it all with one song," she sings, a taunt to anyone who'd dare underestimate the power of a pop song.
That's part of what makes "Celebrity Skin" such a fearless-sounding record. Just when Love's fans are criticizing her for softening up too much, she indulges her sweet tooth by making an LP laced with tough but pretty rock songs. Erlandson's guitar on "Heaven Tonight" starts out sounding like a twinkly medieval ballad and ends up conjuring neon-lit boulevards and pink Cadillacs -- and he makes the two seem like a natural fit. "Here comes a storm in the form of a girl/she's the finest, sweetest thing in the world," Love sings, painting a picture of a goth Peggy Sue -- perhaps a mixed metaphor for the girl Love thinks she is and the one she wishes she could be. Even if Love's lyrics are sometimes a little oblique, she's so emotionally direct that she never leaves you hanging. "Hit So Hard," the most gorgeous song on the album, is also the most unsettling. "He hit so hard, I saw stars/He hit so hard, I saw God," Love sings with a lacerating tenderness, the words a mournful inversion of the Phil Spector song Love once covered, "He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)," an admission that sometimes the ugliness and the sweet mystery of romance overlap. Love's dusky vocals speak of wanting something so badly you can't stay away from it, no matter what kind of damage it wreaks.
There's always an awareness of danger, and an undercurrent of rage, rushing beneath the pop veneer of "Celebrity Skin." Love's anger reaches the boiling point on "Playing Your Song," in which she seems to be lashing out at people who've co-opted her husband's legacy. When she sings, "And oh, they've bought and sold it all, it's gone/They've taken it and built a mall/And now they're playing your song," there's both mother-bear protectiveness and wrath in her voice, echoed by the song's spiky guitars. Love hasn't sold out or cashed in. If anything, she's pulled off an amazing feat: She and her band have made a record that sounds so confident, so astute, that the sheer power of its sound is the best response to Love's detractors. She doesn't have to stoop to dis them -- with lines like "Oh, make me over/I'm all I wanna be/A walking study in demonology," she withers them effortlessly, reminding them that she knows herself better than they think they do. "Celebrity Skin" is proof that Love can't be buttoned down, dissected, smoothed out. She's heard all the gossip, the vicious rumors, the petty criticism, the kind of garbage to which there's no suitable response except "This is bullshit. Let's just play." And so, at last, she does.


text:
The ‘Luxembourg-Fiji Drua Innovation Small Grants Scheme’ seeks to support inclusive and resilient economic development in Fiji through the financing of activities that support the private sector and and civil society to increase alignment with the objectives and principles of the Fiji’s Climate Change Act (2021) and associated National Climate Change Policy 2018-2030. Activities in scope for support must show consideration and treatment of two cross-cutting themes:
A – Addressing gender inequality issues at risk of exacerbation by climate change
Proposals must align with the gender equity principles of the Climate Change Act. Proposals that deliver tangible benefits to women’s livelihoods through engagement with women’s collectives, support to women in business, scale up of empowerment and income generation diversification initiatives, and other activities that seek to support involvement of women in private sector-led climate risk management will be prioritised.
B – Minimizing and Addressing Loss and Damage
Proposed activities to be funded via the grant scheme must demonstrate awareness of current and future climate change impacts and risks and offer solutions that help to either minimize potential loss and damage or address unavoidable loss and damage due to climate change.
The Luxembourg-Fiji Drua Innovation Small Grants Scheme offers small grants up to 75,000FJD to support private sector and civil society organisations to contribute directly to the market diversification, resilience building, and the internal business reform required to grow our economy and minimise our exposure to climate change risks.
Grants will be be awarded based on merit and assessment against pre-determined performance indicators as detailed in the ‘Call for Proposals’ linked below.
The Grant Selection Committee will be comprised of stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, government, and key implementation partners. In alignment with the objectives of the grant scheme, the composition of the committee must be gender-balanced.
Track 1: Grant funding up to $75,000 FJD
Track 2: Seed funding up to $50,000 FJD
Note: It is compulsory to provide the completed submission form.

domain: politics


Skating on the power play after a tripping call to Brent Burns, Mike Ribeiro sent a pass from the right circle to the high slot for Robidas, who didn’t get everything on the one-timer but got enough to get it past Jose Theodore for the win.
Steve Ott had a goal and an assist while Karlis Skrastins and Adam Burish also scored in regulation for the Stars, who have won six straight. Kari Lehtonen stopped 28 shots in the win.
Martin Havlat tied the game late in the third while Antti Miettinen and Chuck Kobasew also scored for the Wild, who have dropped their last five games. Theodore finished the game with 29 saves.


text:
Our chicken bone broth is high in protein 2.5g in 100ml for chicken broth. All our bone broth is a great addition to your pet’s regular diet. We also add chia seeds to help with additional fibre requirements.
Ingredients: Chicken bones (65%), water, and homemade organic apple cider vinegar used for mineral extraction only. No added ingredients.

domain: pet


text:
The prints for the Spring Fever oil paintings are finally up in the shop!
Limited edition Giclee print on acid free archival paper, hand numbered, signed and with a certificate of authenticity. 10 at and 1 Art.
The Wandering Sisterhood Painting from the end of last year. Based on the Wandering Sisterhood of the Sodality of AEthernauts from the Thomas Pynchon book Against the Day.
Naughty girls, filthy fairy tales, tongue-in-cheek rudeness and other bizarre and perverted nonsense from Bristol, UK based painter and illustrator Ben Newman. A master in the craft of creating sinfully erotic scenarios and sexy narratives.
Loving this artist right now - Ben Newman - Recess II
By Stuart Kolakovic. This vector art style
Cheeky ladies, confused robots and other perverse nonsense!
Ben Newman: Mask print by Ben Newman
The new Cinema Sewer book is available for pre-order! The awesome cover is by Vince. In other news I should have some more finished art to.
Photo by Matt Berby
A retro spec portrait of Animal Muppet Art Show 2012
UK based artist Ben Newman and his fantasy/erotic worx.
Plumage by Ben Newman on ArtStation.
The Bento Bestiary / Ben Newman
'All that dreams matters' illustration - Ben Newman Illustration


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A Quebec city mayor, known for anti-Israel remarks, has gone even further and vehemently declared that Israel has not right to exist.
Huntingdon, Quebec Mayor Stéphane Gendron said on a television program that he hosts, that he enthusiastically supports a Montreal man, Amir Khadr, who called for a boycott of a store that sells Israeli clothes.
"I want to pay tribute to him for his boycott of the boutique... There were boycotts of South Africa, there were ad campaigns saying 'there is organized apartheid, we will stop buying products made in South Africa'. It was a long process, the regime collapsed.
“Unfortunately, Israel has not yet collapsed but I support the boycott…because products made in Israel on land stolen from the Palestinians that is walled in, in an apartheid regime where they are cut off, it's very serious. And a country like that does not deserve to exist.”
In early November, Gendron charged on television that Israel was about to “bulldoze” people in order to build homes, In his words, “In revenge for the admission of Palestine to UNESCO, [Israel] decided to build 2,000 homes in areas that do not belong to them, the occupied territories, so they are going to bulldoze people, kill people, they will give them five minutes to get out and then they'll run people down with bulldozers. And Canada supports this."
Honest Reporting Canada said that after the episode, complaints were filed with the "V Television" management, which aired the program, and that it replied, "In order to avoid repeating a similar occurrence in the future, we have reiterated the need for the program to adhere to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council’s guidelines.”
Gendron was not reprimanded.
During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Gendron called Israelis “modern-day Nazis” but later said he was referring to the government and not all Israeli citizens. He stood by his comparison to the Nazi regime.
In the middle of the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza in January 2009, Canada’s pro-Israel Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s support of Israel brought an insulting response from Gendron, who wrote him, “You are a shame for Canada; you are just disgusting; you have no clue of history and humanity.
“You are just a bandwagon follower of Israel, its racist Government, and the dumb president Bush and the Republican Party….
“Your position does not represent the majority of Canadians and you have no mandate to encourage the criminals of the Government of Israel.
“You act like Chamberlain dealing with Hitler before World War II. Just a plain blind sinister person, you are.”


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90 Day Fiance star Big Ed Brown is sitting down to talk about how he’s been catfished by 15 different women. Despite trying to move on to new relationships, he’s still breaking down into tears as he’s talking to Rose Marie.
90 Day Fiance Bares All: Ed Brown Talks About Ex
90 Day Fiance Bares All star Ed Brown is talking about how he’s getting back into the dating scene. This comes after his nasty public split with Rose Marie.
Ed Brown talks about how the last time he’s talked with Rose Marie is at the Tell All. Next, he says that he hopes one day he’ll be able to talk to Rose and tell her some things. He says he just wants Rose to be happy.
Next, Ed says Rose’s impacted his life in so many ways. He even says she’s the most influential person in his life. Also, Ed says he wants Rose to be happy and he doesn’t want her to be mad at him.
TLC Star Gets Catfished
90 Day Fiance star Ed Brown says he’s been catfished by women fifteen different times. He says that the pictures he has on his dating profiles are all current. And he admits that he isn’t a “pretty man.”
But, Big Ed says that the pictures that the women are putting up on their dating profiles aren’t current. Next, he says that the ladies he’s talking to are posting pics of themselves from college and high school.
So, he says when he meets up with the gals for a date, he can’t recognize them. 90 Day Fiance celebrity Big Ed explains he’ll get to a restaurant and start looking around for his date. And when he sees them, he tells himself “here we go again.”
90 Day Fiance: Big Ed Cries Over Past and Rose Marie
90 Day Fiance star Ed Brown is crying over his ex-girlfriend, Rose Marie. This is because TLC manages to call Rose and have her join for Bares All. Now, Big Ed’s taking the opportunity to talk to Rose for the first time in a while.
Ed tears up as he asks Rose if she regrets meeting him. Next, Rose says she doesn’t regret it because it’s something that already happened. She says it’s in the past and it’s a part of her life.
Then, 90 Day Fiance star Rose Marie talks about it not making sense to regret it because she’s already moved on. Big Ed says he’s happy that Rose Marie is happy. And that he doesn’t regret meeting her at all.
Also, Big Ed tells Rose she’s changing his life. And that she changed his life for the better. Next, he thanks her for improving his life.
90 Day Fiance news and updates are always on Soap Dirt.

domain: entertainment


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Mental Health in the Workplace: Some numbers…
Last week I Chaired another sell-out Jelf event in central London – this time on Mental Health in the Workplace.
Now this is not a topic that has particularly featured on this blog over the last few years, although we have of course regularly commented on workplace stress issues. So in my preparation for the event I undertook some research in order to make my comments as relevant as possible to our delegates.
During my research I found this rather useful document from Business In The Community (BITC) which was published last October. And some of the findings from this report subsequently appeared in my slides also.
So the four key numbers that our employer followers may find of interest are these:
77% of employees have experienced symptoms of poor mental health at some point in their lives
29% of employees have been diagnosed with a mental health condition
62% of employees attributed their symptoms of poor mental health to work or said that work was a contributing factor
9% of employees who experienced symptoms of poor mental health faced disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal
Now I believe that all of these findings are of importance to employers as they show the (perhaps higher than otherwise expected) incidence of poor mental health in employed populations, and indeed how work can be a contributing factor to such issues. The last point also highlights that employers sometimes end up taking disciplinary action against an employee with poor mental health, and therefore legal complications could follow if a lack of support and understanding from the employer is evidenced.
The bottom line here is that employers need to accept that employees who are experiencing symptoms of poor mental health will be present in most workforces, and probably much of the time also. It follows that policies and procedures should be in force to help employees as needed.
However, to get to that point employers need to first acknowledge that they have an issue to tackle here. And this paragraph from the BITC report I think is particularly relevant:
"Acknowledge that a gap may exist in your own business between leadership perception of support for employee mental health, and reality of employees’ experience. Take action to identify the gaps and be clear that you are committed to resolving this.”
Which pretty much is the key message of this post. It would be remiss of me not to mention that the targeted use of many Employee Benefits (and the associated tools inherent within same) can also play an important role in this issue. For more information on this issue please speak to your usual Jelf consultant in the first instance.

domain: sociology


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DHC Adapter – Connect anything to anything
DHC offers an adapter that is 100% custom. For one set price you can design an adapter to your own needs and specifications. Just order the number of adapters you need, then let us know in the “order comments” box during checkout (or email us at email@example.com) with the length and what gear/cables you’d like to connect, and we will consult with you to design something that works.
Like all of our products, this adapter will have no negative impact upon the audio signal, providing a seamless connection – it will not be the weak link or a third wheel.
Orders of just adapters may take longer to ship, unless there is an accompanying or recent cable purchase.
“Peptide” Litz cryo ultrapure OCC copper throughout
Kester lead-free silver solder
Up to 8 inch length
Includes most types of connectors.
Possible adapter types include:
3 pin female XLRs to 4 pin XLR male
4 pin XLR female to 3 pin female XLRs
3 pin female XLRs to 1/4″ male
3 pin female XLRs to 1/8″ male
4 pin XLR female to 1/4″ male
4 pin XLR female to 1/8″ male
1/8 female to 1/4″ male
1/4″ female to 1/8″ male
Any adapter for iBasso Toucan/Boomslang or RSA Protector
Or – you name it!
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

domain: hobby


Introducing the Coaxial N Connector, exclusively designed and produced by Telsto Development Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer, supplier and factory of high-quality electrical products based in China. This versatile connector is engineered to support a wide range of commercial and industrial applications that demand reliable and efficient cable connections. Crafted using high-grade materials and precision-crafted to exacting standards, the Coaxial N Connector delivers superior performance and long-lasting durability, even in extreme conditions. Users can rely on its stable, low-loss transmission of RF signals and its robust construction for enhanced protection against electromagnetic interference and weather elements. With Telsto Development Co., Ltd.'s decades of experience in the electrical industry, this Coaxial N Connector is designed to offer reliable connectivity and superior effectiveness for various applications including wireless communications, broadcast, and military. Whether you require a single connector or a custom-order for your project, Telsto Development Co., Ltd. can work with you to meet your requirements.


Nissan Unveil The 370Z Nismo
Nissan’s second member of the new Nismo range has been revealed the 370Z Nismo.
Following the Juke Nismo, the 370Z Nismo shows what the ultimate Z has to offer, this thrilling coupe has been unveiled before its public debut at the March Geneva Motor Show.
As any other Nismo model, the 370Z Nismo features dramatic styling with red Nismo design signatures, it also has improved aerodynamics and improved power. The 370Z Nismo is available only as a coupe with a six-speed manual gearbox. This power machine is already on sale in North America and Japan but for the European market a unique specification has been developed to suit both road conditions and the tastes of European drivers.
Like the Juke Nismo, every change over the original 370Z has been carefully thought about and has been based on Nismo’s motorsport experience. All of the design modifications have been done to improve its aerodynamic capabilities.[video mp4=”http://www.get-into-something-good.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/101195_1_5.mp4″ poster=”http://www.get-into-something-good.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/370Z-nismo.jpg” preload=”auto” autoplay=”false” width=”352″ height=”288″ id=”Clip of 370Z Nismo” video class=”alignleft”]
A more aggressive front design has been given to the 370Z Nismo, improving the airflow under the car, this has then giving it more stability at higher speeds and taking corners. The additional downforce is complemented by a re-engineered chassis and suspension set up, enhancing handling and stability both on the road and track.
Other exterior changes include the distinctive Nismo red pinstripe lines visible at both the front, rear and on the door mirrors. It also has 19-inch forged, unique dark grey alloy wheels with sports-derived red brake calipers and wider high performance tyres. The rear has been given a smart new spoiler adding the finishing visual touch, whilst also improving aerodynamic performance.
The interior has also had some changes, making it more driver-focused than ever. The steering wheel is finished in alcantara and leather with a red race-inspired ‘top dead centre’ marker, previously seen on the Juke Nismo. The sports seats are fully electric with red stitching and Nismo badges for a premium and sporty feel. The final touch is a numbered Nismo plate added exclusivity to each 370z Nismo.
Nismo’s fine tuning has giving the Z’s 3.7-litre engine a 344ps delivery, up from the original 328ps on the standard car, while torque has been increased from 363Nm to 371Nm. This results in an improved responsiveness across the low and mid rec range and a 0-62mph time of only 5.2 seconds (a tenth second of a second faster than the standard 370Z, subject to homologation).
The braking has also been enhanced, which was a crucial part of the Z’s development, Nismo engineers have adopted high rigidity brake hoses and high performance brake fluid from the R35 GT-R. Also an exclusive Nismo dual exhaust system has been given to the 370Z which enhances and amplifies its thrilling sound of the 3.7 litre V6 engine.
More details will be revealed on the 5th March at the Geneva Motor Show


The Delhi Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (DGPC) pitching for a ban on jokes ridiculing the Sikh community, the Supreme Court on Monday said it would examine with all seriousness the petitions that allege that such jokes were serious violation of human rights of the community members. The first petition in the nature of a public interest […]
The Delhi Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (DGPC) pitching for a ban on jokes ridiculing the Sikh community, the Supreme Court on Monday said it would examine with all seriousness the petitions that allege that such jokes were serious violation of human rights of the community members.
The first petition in the nature of a public interest litigation was filed by advocate Harvinder Chowdhury who had said the jokes on Sardars were being circulated with impunity in the cyber world presenting the members of the Sikh community as persons of “low intellect”.
Such is the ferocity of the jokes and severity of its taunts that many members of Sikh community have changed their names to escape public humiliation. “This is an example of gross human rights violation as a person because of his birth in a community was being treated discriminately,” she argued.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, asked whether “Singh” surname made one get subjected to such ridicule? “If that is so, then I too have a ‘Singh’ in my name,” the CJI said in an attempt to inject some lighter moments during the high-pitched emotional arguments advanced by Chowdhury.
Justice Thakur said: “Isn’t it true that members of the Sikh community are large-hearted and the only community which has the capacity to laugh at itself?”
Chowdhury compared the jokes with “bullying” and said there should be an enactment to stop this rampant violation of human rights of the members of Sikh community.
Jokes on Sardars and the late Khuswant Singh are inseparable as the author published books compiling jokes on Sikh community members. When his name cropped up, Chowdhury said he might be a friend of the CJI but the jokes were certainly not appreciable as they were cracked at someone else’s expense.
The CJI was quick to clarify that Kushwant Singh was a client of his when he was practising in J&K High Court. “Khuswant Singh had allegedly made a statement that lawyers were more interested in making money than justice. So, an advocate had filed a complaint against him for which he was summoned from Mumbai. In that connection he had consulted me.”
The bench directed the registry to list Chowdhury’s petition along with the one filed by the Delhi Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.
~ Source: Times Of India


Short sword so-called because of its characteristic antenna-shaped hilt decoration. This small version may have been made for votive purposes. Bronze. Possibly lost-wax casting.
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- What Are Magic Truffles?
- Are Magic Truffles Different from Magic Mushrooms?
- Where to Find Magic Truffles?
- Tips on Hunting for Magic Truffles
Hunting for magic truffles is a fun experience which rewards you with plenty of hallucinogenic goodness at the end of the day. However, not all magic truffle hunters are successful. Before you set out to look for these precious truffles, it’s best to know important details about magic truffles.
What Are Magic Truffles?
Magic truffles are also known as Philosopher’s Stones. Among scientific circles, they go by their more formal name: sclerotia. Sclerotia are compact masses of hardened fungal mycelium. They act as food reserves underground to help the mycelium survive extreme environments. Basically, they’re mushrooms that grow underground.
While they were initially thought to be separate species, sclerotia were eventually recognized for their importance in fungal life cycle and reproduction. They also offer many benefits to humans by acting as food source, medicine, and they also help reduce agricultural blight. Read this Magic Truffles article for more info.
Are Magic Truffles Different from Magic Mushrooms?
Magic truffles taste differently from magic mushrooms. The former has a flavor that leans towards sour while magic mushrooms are starchier. However, the experience you can get from magic truffles is identical with the psychedelic effect from magic mushrooms. Whether in truffle or mushroom form, the psychoactive substances in them are the same.
Just like magic mushrooms, magic truffles produce visual distortions and euphoric effects. Colors become more saturated, walls will appear to breathe, sounds will also be more enhanced, emotions become more magnified, and higher doses may allow you to hallucinate taking to divine beings or otherworldly, intelligent creatures.
Magic truffles also work with similar timing to magic mushrooms. Come up starts in 10-60 minutes, peaking start around 60-80 minutes, plateau will occur for the next 2-6 hours, and the come down happens afterwards.
Of the nearly 200 species of magic mushrooms that contain hallucinogenic compounds, the three most common types of magic mushrooms the produce sclerotia are:
- Psilocybe mexicana
- Psilocybe tampanensis
- Psilocybe galindoi
Where to Find Magic Truffles?
When hunting for magic truffles, it’s important to seek out areas where these three types of magic mushrooms thrive and learn identifying features of these magic mushrooms that produce sclerotia.
Hunting for Psilocybe mexicana
Psilocybe mexicana is a psychedelic mushroom that was first used by Central American and North American natives over 2,000 years ago. They aptly named it “teonanacatl” which translates to “Ggod’s flesh.”
This fungus is identifiable by its small cap which is 1-3cm across with a conic shape. It starts out with a brown hue but turns to beige or straw with age. It also turns blue when injured because of its psilocybin content. Its spore prints are a dark, purple brown.
You can find these magic mushrooms and their truffles among moss growing along roadsides and trails, humid meadows, or cornfields particularly in the grassy areas bordering deciduous forests. They’re also more common in higher areas, between 300-500 meters. This species is only known in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala and they usually fruit from May to October.
Hunting for Psilocybe Tampanensis Truffles
Psilocybe tampanensis is a rare psychedelic mushroom which was originally collected in the wild in a sandy meadow near Tampa, Florida in 1977. It was never found again in the state but was later collected in Mississippi in a similar location: a meadow with sandy soil in a deciduous forest.
- tampanensis is distinguishable from other types of mushrooms because of the yellowish-brown, convex caps which can measure 2.4cm across and produce purple-brown spore prints.
Hunting for Psilocybe Galindoi Truffles
Psilocybe galindoi is another psychedelic mushroom that produces sclerotia and is named in honor of Mr. Carlos Galindo Arias and his family.
This magic mushrooms has a cap that’s 2cm across with a brown or yellowish brown color that stains blue-green where its injured. Its spores are quite uniquely dark purple gray.
When hunting for magic truffles, remember that P. galindoi grows gregariously in soil at higher elevations and in tall grass or near pine and oak forests in Mexico. The exact location is Pie de la Cuesta, Jalisco, Mexico, just south of Guadalajara.
Tips on Hunting for Magic Truffles
Hunting for magic truffles is an exciting way to go on an outdoor exploration with a psychedelic prize in the end. Here are some valuable tips you should remember when hunting for magic truffles:
- The soil should be moist and warm. Magic truffles are typically found 10 to 14 days after a heavy rain. The mushrooms which pop up after raining can be used a kind of clock. Look for truffles after these mushrooms started to appear.
- The right trees should be present. Truffles are formed by fungus that partners with certain types of trees. Use the trees mentioned above as a guide. Keep in mind that the trees to watch for are: first, pines, oaks, hazels nuts, hickories, birches, beeches, and eucalyptus.
- Spores are dispersed because of animals. In North America, magic mushroom spores are dispersed by squirrels, and chipmunks. Check for signs of these creatures. Their presence may indicate magic truffles.
- Rake around fresh pits. Search for pits that aren’t filled with leaves or other debris. A four-tined garden cultivator with a shortened handle works wonders for digging into the soil at the right depth of 8 to 10cm.
- Probe for truffles using your bare hands. When you find evidence that point to magic truffles growing underground, push your hand under the surrounding duff and feel around for hard, ball-shaped objects, generally the size of a walnut or a ping-pong ball. There may just be one or there may be several.
- To confirm whether what you think you’ve found is a truffle, sniff it. Truffles have rich, earthy, pungent smells. Take it home and smell it. If there’s not much scent, wrap it in paper towels and place it in the fridge to ripen.
If you don’t live anywhere near places where magic truffles naturally grow, you can grow your own magic truffles by purchasing magic truffle grow kits online!
Experience the joy of magic truffles by having them delivered right to our doorstep!