text:
Meet Ravish Kumar, the chronicler of love in Delhi
Television journalist Ravish Kumar’s personal journey in the city finds an echo in his collection of vividly told very short stories, writes Poonam Saxena.
It has been about seven months since a slender 90-page Hindi paperback, Ishq Mein Sheher Hona, landed in bookstores. In its third reprint already, it is now racing towards a fourth. The book is unusual for a couple of reasons. For one, it has the rather intriguing title of Laprek (short for Laghu Prem Katha), and is part of Rajkamal Prakashan’s Facebook Fiction Series. But more importantly, it is authored by one of India’s best – or some would argue, the best – television journalist, Ravish Kumar.
But to say that Ravish’s name alone boosted sales would be a disservice to Ishq Mein Sheher Hona, a collection of very short love stories set in Delhi. Because this Delhi is not the Delhi of Ghalib’s couplets or Lutyens’ tranquil bungalows or of rich farmhouses. It is the Delhi of colonies like Seelampur, Sangam Vihar and Karawal Nagar and their intersection with posher counterparts like South Extension or Greater Kailash.
Some of the stories in the book are Ravish’s own – drawn from the 24 years he has now spent in the city. “I always thought I would go back to Bihar,” he says. “But I never did.” When Ravish first came to Delhi from Patna in 1990 to study in college, the only ‘big’ cities he had seen were Lucknow, Jamshedpur and Ranikhet.
He is originally from Jitvarpur village in Motihari, and had gone to Patna for his schooling. There was an immediate village versus city faceoff. "The village was apne log," laughs Ravish. "And the sheher was paraya. Sheher bigaad dega tumhe, was the way of thinking. If we didn’t go to the village for Holi or Chhat, it was considered no less than a crime." In fact, when he started speaking Hindi (not spoken in his village), he was sternly told "zyada angrezi na bolo."
School was all very well but when it came to college, it was a different story altogether. Patna University had collapsed and young boys from Bihar arrived in Delhi in trainloads. "It was like Partition," says Ravish. "It seemed as if all of Patna was here."
Ravish ended up studying History in Deshbandhu College. But this prosaic statement hides within it the pain, trauma and confusion of a huge dislocation. "It was an emotional breakdown for all of us," says Ravish. Many of the boys from Bihar found it extraordinarily difficult to adjust to the freedom and anonymity when they first came to Delhi. "Romantic relationships would get formed, then fall apart," he says. "Because unlike in Delhi, love was viewed differently back home in Bihar, where issues like caste were the breaking point."
The sheher provided for azadi but confusion dominated. Ravish was told that if he wanted to "look at girls," he should head to the M Block GK I market. (In Patna, he recalls, boys used to check out trains at the railway station to "see" girls. The Magadha Express, which connects Delhi to Bihar, was a particular favourite).
He didn’t know much English and to hear everyone around him speaking so much English filled him with terror. Fear of English drove him to colonies shut away from ‘English-speaking zones.’ His first home was a barsati in the bylanes of Govindpuri and his landlord, ‘Sharmaji’ to Ravish, advised him to improve his English by reading the editorials in the Hindustan Times. Ravish did so dutifully without understanding much, but would meekly tell Sharmaji that they were very well written.
Luckily, Deshbandhu had lecturers like Anil Sethi and Rana Bahal, who became his mentors, encouraging and helping him in myriad ways. “They taught me English, how to eat at a table, how to talk to girls, how to wear a tie,” laughs Ravish. “By the end of my BA, I was still not good in English, but I went on to enroll for an MA in History.”
He was profoundly influenced by the brilliant Delhi University History professor, the late Parthasarathi Gupta, affectionately known to his students as PSG, whose lectures on urbanisation became like a guide for him. They changed the way Ravish viewed the city.
That was also the time he met his future wife, Nayana, who was in Indraprastha College. Ravish says she was the one who taught him ‘how’ to read a book – to look at the theme, the background, the story and so on. “Even today when I do my TV show Ravish Ki Report, I think the viewer is like me – that he doesn’t know anything,” he says. “I don’t go for the smart, informed viewer.”
Ravish and Nayana “went around” for seven-odd years. He never had enough money, so they would visit coffee houses and go for long walks. His own love story unfolded against the sheher he had adopted as his own by now. In the anonymity of Delhi, romance blossomed.
His observant eye and his own experiences came into play when, four years ago, he began writing really short love stories on Facebook, which ended up becoming all the rage as Laprek. These stories didn’t fit into any grand narrative of love but dwelt on little moments: A girl leaving her mohalla with her dupatta wrapped around her face like a naqab for a rendezvous in a far-off mall. Or a girl waiting at a metro pillar for her boyfriend. Couples hiding from intrusive stares under the AIIMS flyover, or huddling together in the back seat of an auto with the driver peering at them in his rearview mirror.
When you’re in love, you seek out anonymous corners of the city. These short stories are an urban document, says Ravish. “They’re not literature. I never wrote them for fun or a lark. They were written in days of tension and pain.”
But the stories bring Delhi to vivid life. The little squashed balconies in Pushp Vihar, the DND flyover arching towards Sarai Kale Khan, a crowded bus hurtling from Khanpur to Badarpur, holding hands under the Moolchand flyover, the dhin-chak music in cars streaming out of Khalsa College, the one-hour metro journey from Malviya Nagar to Model Town, a girl resting her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder in the back seat of the Minus Mudrika as it rattles its way from Ashram all the way to Jubilee Hostel, getting attracted to each other while raising slogans at Jantar Mantar…
Discovery of a city
Ravish looks at living and loving in the unlikeliest corners of Delhi. As he says, when it rains in Delhi and newspapers carry the mandatory pictures of people getting wet in the rain, why is it always girls in India Gate? Don’t girls get drenched in Ghaziabad? Or Indira Nagar?
It is the stories of these invisible parts of the city that Ravish tries to tell in his TV show too. The first Ravish Ki Report was on Paharganj and how it was perceived by Delhiwallahs. He met a chaakuwallah who had never stepped out of Paharganj. In Sanjay Colony, he saw women rolling drums in which they had filled water. Madanpur Khadar had ACs but no sewage system. When he first wandered into the gallis of Bhajanpura, he was taken aback by its cottage industry: men making bras out of bales of cloth.
These are also Delhi narratives, but narratives no one seems interested in. But it is not as if love can’t grow in the faultlines – say, between a South Ex girl and a Karawal Nagar boy. Or a Patna boy and a Delhi girl.
Ravish never thought he’d end up living in Delhi for over two decades. Today he is attached to the city. But he can’t get lost in Delhi any more. Because the city has made him its own.
Follow @poonamsaxena_ on twitter
From HT Brunch, September 6
Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch
Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch


text:
Heading to the pool? Before you get there, on your way you’ll find the Montecarlo Bar, where we recommend you stop for a drink and cool off before sunbathing!
During your stay at Sandos Monaco, come to the perfect place to enjoy the Mediterranean sun with a refreshing drink or a healthy cocktail.
Come and experience the relaxed and modern atmosphere at our recently renovated Montecarlo Bar. To get into a holiday state of mind, taste one of our healthy cocktails prepared poolside. During the daytime, you can have fun with activities thanks to our Entertainment Team’s program designed to surprise you, like tasting the local drink “horchata”. If you’re hungry in the evening, we also have a menu of different snacks to satisfy all cravings. This is more than just a bar… Sandos Monaco doesn’t disappoint!
- info & map
Cuisine typeBeverages and snacks
Summer: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Dress CodeSwimwear and/or wet clothing are not permitted. Shoes/sandals and shirt are required.

domain: travel


text:
Good morning geekies and welcome to your Thursday.
Yesterday was exciting as we got to see our first trailer for the remake of Stephen King’s fright fest, Pet Sematary, which originally scared the shit out of us back in 1989.
The trailer looks fun, and similar to this Summer’s blockbuster IT, I think we’re going to see some creative licenses taken with the timing, setting and even storyline. As a King purest that kind of irks me a bit… I really wish they had kept it in 1954 versus the 80s. There’s something magically mysterious and frightening about that era that we lost when we “updated” King’s classic. I understand why it was done, but it doesn’t mean it was the right move.
I fear we’re going to get that with Pet Sematary. The only redemption being if they can top the scene with Zelda, the spinal meningitis cursed sister who haunted my dreams from 1989 to 1993. Just thinking about her now makes me want to pee my pants.
Pet Sematary holds a special place in my heart for many reasons.
- I grew up in the area where they shot the film, and I remember the commotion it caused as well as the tour my Nana would take me on to see all the sets. Hancock County turned into Hollywood for a short period of time and it was excellent.
- Pet Sematary was the first Stephen King book I read (circa 1980 something) and is in my top five King books of all time (we’ll reserve the other four for a different post).
- It’s one of the few Stephen King movies that has an actor who can pull off a Maine accent. RIP Gwyn. John Lithgow’s Jud Crandall is an underwhelming Downeaster if I ever saw one. #Boo. #Sad. #MakeJudCrandallGreatAgain.
What do you think about the new trailer? Will it meet your scare-pectations? Are you missing Fred Gwyn’s Downeast Maine accent?

domain: entertainment


text:
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- PublicationSynthetic Positron Emission Tomography Using Conditional-Generative Adversarial Networks for Healthy Bone Marrow Baseline Image GenerationA Conditional-Generative Adversarial Network has been used for a supervised image-to-image translation task which outputs a synthetic PET scan based on real patient CT data. The network is trained using only data of patients with healthy bone marrow metabolism. This allows for a patient specific synthetic healthy baseline scan to be produced. This can be used by a clinician for comparison to real PET data in the absence of a baseline scan or to aid in the diagnosis of conditions such as Multiple Myeloma which manifest as changes in bone marrow metabolism
- PublicationCross-Correlation Template Matching for Liver Localisation in Computed TomographyMany of the current approaches to automatic organ localisation in medical imaging require a large amount of labelled patient data to train systems to accurately identify specific anatomical features. CrossCorrelation, also known as template matching, is a statistical method of assessing the similarity between a template image and a target image. This method has been modified and presented here to localize the liver in Computed Tomography volume images in the Coronal and Sagital planes to achieve a mean positioning error of approximately 11 mm and 20 mm respectively based on between 1 and 25 datasets to create the template liver.
- PublicationMachine Learning in Prediction of Prostate Brachytherapy Rectal Dose Classes at Day 30A retrospective analysis of brachytherapy implant data was carried out on 351 patients that underwent permanent I125 brachytherapy for treatment of low-risk prostate cancer. For each patient, the dose received by 2cm3 of the rectum (D2cc) 30 days post implant was defined as belonging one of two classes, ”Low” and ”High” depending on whether or not it was above or below a particular dose threshold. The aim of the study was to investigate the application of a number of machine learning classification techniques to intra-operative implant dosimetry data for prediction of rectal dose classes determined 30 days post implant. Algorithm performance was assessed in terms of its true and false positive rates and Receiver Operator Curve area based on a 10-fold cross validation procedure using Weka software. This was repeated for a variety of dose class thresholds to determine the point at which the highest accuracy was achieved. The highest ROC areas were observed at a threshold of D2cc = 90 Gy, with the highest area achieved by Bayes Net (0.943). At more clinically useful thresholds of D2cc = 145 Gy, classification was less reliable, with the highest ROC area achieved by Bayes Net (0.613).

domain: health


text:
The 2019 men’s baseball season is in full swing and the Broncos are working hard and gearing up for their first game that is a little over a week away.
The Broncos will start play as the No. 16 ranked team in the NCAA Division II pre-season poll.
Although the Broncos lost seven seniors last season, they have a large returning class to help bolster their chances for success.
“We have  seniors this year, we are an older ball club, so I’m excited to see what those guys can do,” head coach Randy Betten said. “Some guys are going to get pushed up to more significant roles.”
One of those seniors is first baseman Nic Hernandez, who is entering his fourth year playing for the Broncos.
Hernandez has had an impressive career at CPP and serves as one of the team’s leaders.
Last season he led the team with a .356 batting average, 10 home runs and 41 runs batted in, earning him First Team all-CCAA honors.
This will be his last season in green and gold and he has high expectations for the team.
“This is probably one of the best teams we’ve had since I’ve been here, so I expect us to go all the way to North Carolina and win it all,” Hernandez said.
“We have our first starting nine guys on the field who can hit and another nine right behind them that can do the exact same.
“Pitching-wise, we have a lot more relievers than we’ve ever had and the starters have upped their game too.”
In the 2018 season, the Broncos finished conference play with a record of 25-19, with a season record of 30-24.
The Broncos are ready to take on this year’s competition with the goal of going all the way to the College World Series.
“Last year we struggled with the doubleheader days. We would be strong the first two games, but then the third and fourth we would slow down,” senior pitcher Austin Isenhart said.
“I think if we just put our foot on the gas the entire year and not let up, that will help us out.”
This season will mark coach Betten’s ninth year as head coach for the Broncos.
In his eight years prior to this one, he has led the Broncos to five NCAA tournaments and two NCAA Division II West Region Championships.
“My first year, I inherited a group that was older and they performed really well. I think this team will, hopefully, do the same,” Betten said.
“This team reminds me of the 2011 team, older on the position players side and older on the mound. The chemistry has been great and they have been working extremely hard.”
The Broncos are returning five players from last season who received All-CCAA honors last season.
Senior pitcher Dylan Francis is returning for the Broncos this season.
Francis had a record of 5-3 with an era of 3.80.
Being third last season with 71 innings pitched, Francis led the team with 75 strikeouts.
The Broncos will be hopping on a plane and heading to Colorado for their first game of the season against UC Colorado Springs on Feb. 1.

domain: news


text:
Arts in Nature Festival. Courtesy Arts in Nature
Arts in Nature
The Arts in Nature Festival in West Seattle’s Camp Long is a one-of-a-kind festival that breaks down the barrier between artist and audience to celebrate creativity of all kinds. Yes, there are dance and music performances, including Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir, Naomi Wachira, Gamelan Pacifica and more. But families will also have many opportunities to participate with open mics, workshops on everything from marimba to creative writing, interactive art exhibits, Native American storytellers and naturalist events — including a costumed hike through the forest!
When: Saturday–Sunday, Aug. 25–26
Where: Seattle, Wash.
Cost: $10–$12/day for adults, $8–$10/day for students and seniors, $5–$6/day for youth ages 10–17, ages 9 and under free. Weekend passes available for $8–$20. A $50 Friend of the Festival ticket admits one adult all weekend and sponsors attendance for a low-income youth.

domain: artistic


text:
Alexandria City Public Schools is requesting an extension of its controversial school resource officer (SRO) program through the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
School Board Chair Meagan Alderton says that the extension is part of the reimagining of the $800,000 program, as Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. will work to develop a School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) Advisory Group and formulate an SRO plan to present to City Council next year.
The SROs — police officers stationed at Alexandria City High School and the city’s two middle schools — were defunded last summer and then brought back in October after Alderton and Hutchings pleaded for their return in the wake of numerous violent incidents with weapons in schools. The SRO program is currently funded through June 30, 2022.
Once formed next year, the advisory group (comprised of ACPS staff, police, students and members of the community) will report to Hutchings, who will take their recommendations to the Board, which will send a finalized plan to City Council for approval. The advisory group will also make recommendations on the bi-annual memorandum of understanding between ACPS and the Alexandria Police Department.
“This will give the SLEP advisory group enough time to form, meet and make recommendations on the school-law enforcement partnership, to receive community and stakeholder input on the program, as well as allow our two elected bodies to make sound decisions on the future of the SRO program,” Alderton wrote in a memo to City Council. “Additionally, the importance of having a security presence in our schools in order to provide safe and secure environments for students, staff, families and community should be maintained while the most appropriate structure for safety within our facilities is determined.”
There are still no SROs at Alexandria City High School. In December, both SROs at ACHS were placed on leave after a “serious complaint” from a former student alleging “sexually inappropriate conversations” while she attended ACHS, and Alexandria Police have since rotated officers in and out of the school on a daily basis.
Mayor Justin Wilson says the SRO program needs to be carefully deliberated.
“In the aftermath of the Council’s decision in October, I have made it clear that I think we need to pull together an inclusive community process to determine a path forward for our City on school safety and security,” Wilson told ALXnow. “Once we put together that process, I certainly support providing the space and time for that process to conclude.”
The extension will be discussed in a School Board meeting tonight (March 24).
Work to expand the I-495 Express Lanes to the north is only just warming up, but the Virginia Department of Transportation is now turning its attention to the southern end of…
A 37-year-old Maryland man is being held without bond after allegedly sexually assaulting a girl younger than 13 years old in the Braddock area. The incident occurred at around 9…
Local non-profits donate school supplies — “On Wednesday May 18, 2022, the entrance of Francis C. Hammond Middle School was flooded with backpacks of school, hygiene, and arts and crafts supplies.”…
Alexandria’s Part 1 crime rate is up, and it’s mostly due to an increase in larcenies and thefts from cars. Police released the city’s Part 1 crime statistics for 2022…

domain: sociology


text:
Once you understand this might not necessarily come naturally, therefore listed below are 13 indications to consider.
A lot of my expert job has involved talking, composing, and interpreting research about the way to handle relationships which have gone incorrect: partnerships which are controlling or toxic, for example, or where trust happens to be broken. We’m often expected how to deal with infidelity, betrayal, or upheaval that is emotional a relationship — plus it can be heartbreaking how widespread those problems are generally.
But simply as crucial is learning how to determine whenever a relationship is certainly going well. Many individuals are not sure of what things to try to find, or even worse, they don’t understand all of the positives which they really deserve to own inside a relationship. If somebody was raised viewing their moms and dads or other household members act down chronically toxic habits, then that individual might easily come to define those habits as “normal” while having trouble knowing the standard of exactly what a beneficial relationship appears like.
Knowing that, let me reveal an accepted spot to start out. Healthier, practical relationships have actually these faculties — which apply especially to committed intimate relationships. They need ton’t be optional. So when they truly are lacking, it is vital to address the difficulty.
Trust is arguably being among the most relationship that is important. Without trust, you have the not enough a good foundation on which to create psychological closeness, as well as your possibility of hurt — over and over again — grows ever larger. Without trust, you are left constantly not sure of for you, and whether or not they really mean what they are saying whether you can count on your partner to come through. There are numerous how to build and rebuild trust inside a relationship, however, if you’re not on the road to doing this, your relationship is fairly susceptible to stress and uncertainty.
Interacting genuinely and respectfully, particularly about items that are difficult, is one thing that will not come automatically to any or all. We might have discovered to help keep uncomfortable things under the outer lining with regard to harmony or perhaps the look of excellence, or we additionally could have never ever also discovered how to acknowledge hard emotions to ourselves. Other challenges include escalating a conflict in to a full-out war: lacking the capacity to perhaps not simply just take things over-personally or lashing down whenever we feel threatened. It is fine when you yourself have these tendencies; what’s essential is the fact that you work with them, as strong and healthier interaction is the lifeblood that nourishes good relationships.
No-one can be perfectly patient on a regular basis, and facets like sleep disorders, anxiety, or health that is physical can certainly make you more effortlessly agitated at different points that you experienced — that’s section of being human being bbpeoplemeet app. But lovers in a wholesome, loving relationship extend one another a simple typical denominator of persistence which allows for peace, freedom, and help when one individual is having a negative time or perhaps is maybe maybe perhaps not at their utmost. Whenever lovers are chronically impatient with one another, they frequently produce a powerful of resentment and bean-counting, where they truly are mentally racking within the “offenses” that the other partner has committed. Being able to conform to the ebbs and flows of a partner’s emotions in day-to-day life — within reason — can alternatively allow a feeling of being unconditionally liked.
Being ready to simply simply just take someone else’s viewpoint is effective in a lot of situations — whether in parenting, being fully a neighbor that is good or also simply letting someone merge prior to you on the road. However it is perhaps vital aided by the individual you have opted for as a partner. Could you undoubtedly help with the time and effort to try and comprehend their viewpoint, even if you disagree along with it? Does their discomfort spur you to attempt to assist them to feel a lot better? Can you feel delighted about their triumphs? Empathy is a must for long-lasting love.


2015 Annual Science Report
Astrobiology Roadmap Objective 5.3 Reports Reporting | JAN 2015 – DEC 2015
Roadmap Objective 5.3—Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments
Our multi-disciplinary team from the University of Southern California, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Lab, Desert Research Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Northwestern University is developing and employing field, laboratory, and modeling approaches aimed at detecting and characterizing microbial life in the subsurface—the intraterrestrials. We posit that if life exists, or ever existed, on Mars or other planetary body in our solar system, evidence thereof would most likely be found in the subsurface. This study takes advantage of unique opportunities to explore the subsurface ecosystems on Earth through boreholes, mine shafts, sediment coring, marine vents and seeps, and deeply-sourced springs. Access to the subsurface—both continental and marine—and broad characterization of the rocks, fluids, and microbial inhabitants is central to this study. Our focused research themes require subsurface samples for laboratory and in situ experiments. Specifically, we are carrying out in situ life detection, culturing and isolation of heretofore unknown intraterrestrial archaea and bacteria using numerous novel and traditional techniques, and incorporating new and existing data into regional and global metabolic energy models.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.2
Project 1: From Generalist to Specialists (Or Not): A Case Study in Enzyme Evolution
Metabolic enzymes, although prodigious catalysts, are not perfectly specific for their physiological substrates. They typically possess secondary activities as a consequence of the assemblage of highly reactive functional groups, metal ions and cofactors in their active sites. Secondary activities that are physiologically irrelevant, either because they are too inefficient to contribute to fitness or because the enzyme never encounters the substrate, are termed promiscuous activities.
Promiscuous activities are important from an evolutionary standpoint because they provide a reservoir of catalytic potential within a proteome that can be drawn upon when the environment changes. A promiscuous activity may become important for fitness when a new source of carbon, nitrogen or phosphorous appears in the environment, or when a previously available compound, such as an amino acid or cofactor, becomes unavailable. A promiscuous activity may also become critical when the organism is exposed to a novel toxin, such as an antibiotic or pesticide.
A newly recruited promiscuous activity is unlikely to be the optimal solution to an environmental challenge or opportunity. In this project, we are using a model system in E. coli to characterize the genetic changes by which a gene encoding an enzyme whose promiscuous activity has become essential for growth duplicates and diverges to encode a pair of genes encoding efficient specialist enzymes. This work will provide a better understanding of the process by which large superfamilies of enzymes have diverged from generalist enzymes in the last universal common ancestor.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.3 6.2
Jon Toner NAI NPP Postdoc Report
Aqueous salt solutions are critical for understanding the potential for liquid water to form on icy worlds and the presence of liquid water in the past. Salty solutions can form potentially habitable environments by depressing the freezing point of water down to temperatures typical of Mars’ surface or the interiors of Europa or Enceladus. We are investigating such low-temperature aqueous environments by experimentally measuring the low temperature properties of salt solutions and developing thermodynamic models to predict salt precipitation sequences during either freezing or evaporation. These models, and the experimental data we are generating, are being applied to understand the conditions under which water can form, the properties of that water, and what crystalline salts indicate about environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, pressure, and salinity.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 5.2 5.3
Field Activities at the Coast Range Ophiolite Microbial Observatory (CROMO)
CROMO provides ongoing excellent exposure to samples of ophiolite-hosted serpentinites and associated rocks, access to monitoring wells important for observing serpentinization-related groundwater flow regimes, and serves as a community-building platform that fosters new scientific collaboration. CROMO has served as a test-bed for refining new experimental approaches, and progressing from basic observations to more complex, multi-disciplinary science.
Within the past year, studies at CROMO have focused on the subsurface hydrogeochemical dynamics, by monitoring groundwater hydrology, measuring the concentrations and composition dissolved iron, sulfur, dissolved inorganic carbon, major inorganic anions and cations, dissolved hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane gases, and organic compounds, in addition to time-series analyses.
CROMO datasets are being incorporated into an exploratory database project aimed at addressing NASA’s public data requirements. Once developed, this database will help to address data sharing plans for collaborators and serve as a valuable tool for CROMO data management across collaborating labs.
In 2015, project members Dawn Cardace, Masako Tominaga, Michael Kubo, Lauren Seyler, Mary Sabuda, Abigail Johnson, Ken Wilkinson, & Cameron Hearne participated in a field trip to CROMO from August 21-27, to continue seasonal bio/geo/chemical monitoring of the wells, as well as assessing the site for future geophysical measurements.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2
Project 1C: Analysis of Dissimilatory Iron-Reducing Microbial Communities in Chocolate Pots Hot Spring, Yellowstone National Park
This study represents the first targeted exploration of the active microbial community at source vent of Chocolate Pots hot springs (CP), a warm, circumneutral pH hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. This work was motivated by previous in vitro dissimilatory iron reducing (DIR) incubations of the native microbial community present in the Fe(III) oxide deposits (hereafter referred to as “CP oxides”) near the vent. DIR has the potential to generate distinct signatures of microbial Fe redox metabolism, and identification of the microbial assemblages involved in this metabolism is important for making a concrete linkage between biological metabolism and the generation of geochemical and isotopic biosignatures in relation to redox gradients on Earth and other rocky planets. The central goal of this study was to obtain a phylogenetic and metagenomic characterization of the active acetate-oxidizing DIR community at CP using 13C stable isotope probing (SIP) techniques. CP oxide sediments and spring water were collected from the CP vent source and used to initiate in vitro SIP incubations using labeled (13C) and unlabeled acetate. Incubations targeted the active microbial community which is capable of coupling the oxidation of acetate to DIR. The SIP results allowed us to clearly separate the active acetate-metabolizing microbial community from the rest of the community and identify which organisms native to CP make up this population. The role of some members of this community can be inferred with reasonable confidence from the phylogeny of the OTUs from the amplicon libraries (e.g. Geobacter, Ignavibacteria), and the design of the incubations. The metabolic role of other dominant taxa is less well understood at this point and we are preparing to submit samples for shotgun metagenomic sequencing to address these questions.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 5.1 5.3
Project 3: Consequences of recA Duplication for Recombination, Genome Stability and Fitness
Homologous recombination (HR) – the exchange of genetic information between similar DNA molecules – is an ancient process that is central to the emergence of biological complexity, diversity and stability. Yet, it must be tightly regulated, as it is likewise an important source of destabilizing genomic rearrangements. Despite the importance of HR, we still have a poor understanding of the balance of these creative, stabilizing and destabilizing contributions to organismal fitness, complexity and genome evolution. We are using the extraordinary genome evolutionary dynamics and duplicated copies of the HR gene recA in the cyanobacterium Acaryochloris as a model to gain novel insights on the fitness consequences that emerge from the interplay between HR-mediated maintenance of genome stability, selectively favored gene duplications and non-adaptive genomic rearrangements.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.1 6.2
Astronomical Biosignatures, False Positives for Life, and Implications for Future Space Telescopes
In this task, we identify novel biosignatures and also identify “false positives” for life, which are ways for non-biological processes to mimic proposed biosignatures. Of primary concern are false positives that could mimic easier to detect biosignatures like O2, which we plan to search for with future space-based telescopes. This is a growing area of research that VPL’s past work has motivated, leading to multiple research teams across the planet following our example. Our work continues to be at the forefront of this area of work, as we have identified new non-biological mechanisms for mimicking signs of life. Further, we explained the ways in which these non-biological mechanisms could be identified, and “true positives” from biology confirmed with secondary measurements. Finally, we communicated these lessons to various teams that are studying concepts for future missions that would search for these signs of life. This connection to missions will ensure that our research is incorporated into those missions, so that they will not be “tricked” by these false positives.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 4.1 4.3 5.2 5.3 7.2
Insights Into Geochemical and Biological Processes in Serpentinizing Systems From Hyperalkaline Seeps in Oman
Rock-powered life makes its living from reactions between rocks and water as part of the overall processes of rock weathering. There can be energy available because rocks from deep in the Earth are moved by tectonic forces into regions populated by microbes faster than chemical weathering processes alone can act. Under the right conditions, energy left behind can be consumed by microbial communities, and resulting biogeochemical reactions expedite overall weathering processes. In many cases, these energy sources and the communities they support are independent of sunlight. Instead, their energy and nutrient requirements are met by a combination of slow tectonic and rapid fluid mixing processes. One particularly dramatic example of how the combination of these processes support microbial communities is found in an area of Oman called the Samail ophiolite. Owing to unusual geologic proceses, tectonic forces moved rocks normally in the Earth’s mantle to the surface of the continent on the Arabian peninsula about 65 million years ago. Ever since, the introduction of mantle rocks into the surface hydrosphere has been a source of energy tapped by microbes. At present, in the arid climate of Oman, small amounts of annual precipitation infiltrate these rocks, react, and reappear at springs. Owing to the unusual rock compositions, these springs have remarkably unusual compositions. Not only does the pH go to extremely basic values, nearly reaching 12, but the solutions are so reduced that they can bubble with escaping hydrogen and methane. Although these springs are not hot, they can look like they are boiling in places with lots of escaping gas.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.2 5.3 6.1
Subsurface Serpentinization Processes and In-Situ Microbial Life in Oman
The Rock-Powered Life team has initiated several field-based efforts in Oman focused on characterizing the geochemistry and microbial community structure and activity within massive exposures of peridotites undergoing low-temperature serpentinization. In this project, we are using deep wells drilled hundreds of meters into peridotite catchments to access waters stored in the deep subsurface, and to capture the mineralogical and biological processes that give rise to hyperalkaline fluids rich in dissolved H2 and CH4. In particular we extract biomass from the fluids for genetic sequencing in order to identify the types of life that can live within the extreme conditions of low energy and carbon availability, and to infer the metabolisms that sustain in-situ life activity. These analyses are paired with mineralogical analyses of the subsurface rocks and isotopic analyses of the dissolved gases in order to quantify the water/rock reactions occurring in the modern system that give rise to energy transfer from the rocks to living ecosystems.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 4.1 5.3 7.2
Biomarker Profiling Using the Life Detector Chip (LDChip)
We have worked on the detection of molecular biomarkers in three relevant environments: Dry (Atacama), acidic (Río Tinto) and deep lake sediments (Andean lakes). Samples have been analyzed in situ by using a powerful biomarker detection chip with and antibody microarray sensor as well in the laboratory with other geomicrobiological tools.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.3 6.1 7.1
Project 1D: Comparative Genomic Analysis of Chemolithotrophic Fe(II)-Oxidizing Bacteria
A comparative genomic analysis was performed to identify candidate genes involved in extracellular electron transfer (EET) by Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB). The analysis included a variety of publically-available FeOB genomes, together with genomes from FeOB isolated from subsurface sediments, previously-isolated marine basalt-associated FeOB, and metagenomes from chemolithoautotrophic aerobic pyrite-oxidizing and nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing enrichment cultures. We identified outer membrane multi-copper oxidase (MCO) genes homologous to proteins known to be involved in EET in several of the FeOB genomes, as well as homologs to the outer membrane c-type cytochrome (ctyc) Cyc2 known to be involved in bacterial Fe(II) oxidation by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans under acidic conditions. Further, we found gene clusters that may potentially encode novel “porin-cytochrome-c protein complex” (PCC) in the well-known neutral-pH FeOB S. lithotrophicus ES-1, and homologous operons were found in other recognized FeOB (Leptothrix cholodnii SP-6 and Leptothrix ochracea L12. Another gene cluster consisting of a porin and three periplasmic multiheme cytc was identified in Hyphomicrobium sp. genome retrieved from a pyrite-oxidizing enrichment culture, and its homologous gene clusters are also present in five marine Zetaproteobacterial FeOB genomes. Overall, this analysis, which is based on our current understanding of bacterial EET in Fe redox reactions, provides a list of candidate genes for further experimental and genomic studies.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 3.2 4.1 5.1 5.3
Mars Analogs: Habitability and Biosignatures in the Atacama Deser
This project focuses on the study of habitability in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, one of the driest regions on Earth. We want to understand how life adapts and survives in an environment where liquid water is exceedingly rare, and how biosignatures are preserved in that environment after microorganisms die. These studies can become a very useful guide for future robotic missions to Mars. This year we focused on microbial communities that inhabit the interior of salt nodules in evaporitic lake deposits. These are the only known active microbial comunities in the driest parts of the Atacama. We wanted to understand how these microbial communities survive in an environment that excludes every other form of life. We suspected that the salt communities use atmospheric water vapor as a source of water to run their metabolic processes. We showed that this is indeed the case with a combination of field and laboratory tools. Our results suggest that the salt substrate could be one of the last possible habitats for life in extremely dry environments.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 5.1 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2
RPL and Expedition 357: Serpentinization and Life at the Atlantis Massif
Circulating hydrothermal fluids associated with mid-ocean ridges represent some of the most prominent examples of the intersection between chemical energy and the biosphere. The Lost City Hydrothermal Field, which sits atop the Atlantis Massif near the Mid Atlantic Ridge hosts a microbial ecosystem which feeds off the products of serpentinization. IODP Expedition 357, which sailed in Fall 2015, obtained rock cores and fluids from the Atlantis Massif, which are being used for the coordinated investigation of serpentinization processes and life. Lost City is known to sustain abiogenic organosynthesis reactions and as such has been suggested to be an analogue to prebiotic early Earth environments and potential extraterrestrial habitats.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.4 5.1 5.2 5.3 7.2
High Temperature W/R Hosted Microbial Ecosystems in Yellowstone
Geochemical data indicate that life on early Earth was dependent on chemical forms of energy. This attribute, when coupled with phylogenetic data indicating that early evolving forms of life were thermophilic, lead many astrobiologists to believe that life evolved in a high temperature environment and was dependent on chemical forms of energy to sustain its metabolism.
Hydrothermal environments with temperatures >70ᵒC exclude life dependent on light energy, leaving only those life forms that can sustain themselves using chemical energy. The >14,000 hot springs in Yellowstone National Park therefore provide a unique field-based early Earth analog environment to examine the processes that sustain life dependent on chemical energy and to investigate the metabolic processes that sustain this life. Moreover, the chemical and physical variation present in these environments affords the opportunity to examine how this variation drove the diversification of life in these early Earth analog environments. RPL investigations in hot spring environments in Yellowstone in 2015 centered on answering questions related to the array of energy and carbon sources available to chemosynthetic life, the preferred carbon sources supporting this life, and the role of hydrogen transformation in the metabolisms of these organisms. By answering these interrelated questions, we will provide a framework by which we can use to begin to understand the processes that most likely sustained microbial life on the early Earth. Since it is possible, if not likely, that such processes would also sustain early life on other planetary bodies, this research has the potential to guide the search for life in non-Earth environments.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.3 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1
Project 7: Mining Archaeal Genomes for Signatures of Early Life: Comparison of Metabolic Genes in Methanogens
Methanogens represent the largest diversity among the archaea and have the unique ability to generate methane from simple compounds such as carbon dioxide, acetate and methylamines which were common in the anaerobic environments of early Earth and perhaps Mars. Methane biosynthesis also requires the presence/uptake of important ions such as sulfates, sulfides, carbonates, phosphates, and various light metal ions. In this project, we are attempting to analyze the evolution of the methanogens’ central cellular functions of translation, transcription, replication, and metabolism. To accomplish this, we are constructing the metabolic and regulatory networks of Methanosarcina acetivorans, the most complex methanogen known, and using these models to establish a framework for studying the evolution of methanogens. Results will be tested through microfluidic studies using varying carbon and ion sources.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1
Subglacial Environments as Water‐Rock Hosted Microbial Ecosystems
Glaciers, ice sheets and ice caps cover ~11% of the earth’s surface, and likely covered up to 100% during Neoproterozoic glaciations. The beds of these ice masses can have significant sectors at the pressure melting point. The resulting water lubricates ice sliding and accelerates erosion, provides habitat for subglacial microbial ecosystems, and may have acted as refugia during past global glaciations on Earth. Such environments may also act as habitats for life on other planetary bodies.
Grinding of bedrock by glaciers exposes fresh mineral surfaces capable of sustaining microbial metabolism. The foci of RPL investigations on subglacial environments are categorized into two key areas of relevance to habitability studies: i) determine the extent to which minerals support chemotrophic metabolism and the production of biosignatures (e.g., weathering products), and ii) quantifying the influence of water-rock interactions in supplying substrates to support energy metabolism. Through these interdisciplinary and collaborative studies, we aim to characterize the active microbial processes in subglacial environments and to define the sources of energy that sustains this microbial life.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.2
Advances in Gene Sequencing From Low-Biomass Water-Rock Hosted Ecosystems
One of the approaches our team is taking to explore rock-powered life is to study microorganisms hosted within rocks that are undergoing potentially life-supporting reactions with water. The chemistry of the rock microenvironments shapes the abundance, diversity and distribution of microbial life. In turn, that microbial life locally affects the in-situ geochemistry. This project is currently focusing on the successful extraction and sequencing of the exceedingly small amounts of DNA that accumulates within rocks, in order to successfully detect and characterize the rock-hosted life. Ultimately our improved approaches will support the application of next-generation DNA sequencing technology in the study of natural microbial ecosystems that are key for understanding the mechanisms of rock-powered life.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.2
The Long Wavelength Limit of Oxygenic Photosynthesis
Oxygenic photosynthesis (OP) produces the strongest known biosignatures at the planetary scale on Earth: atmospheric oxygen and the spectral reflectance of vegetation. The pigment chlorophyll a was long considered the unique controller of both of these biosignatures, in its capability to enable water splitting to obtain electrons and thus produce oxygen as a biogenic gas, through spectral absorbance of light from the blue to 680 nm in the red. Then the discovery in 1996 of the cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina shattered this conventional wisdom. A. marina was found to have replaced 93-97% of Chl a with Chl d, which enables it to perform oxygenic photosynthesis with much lower energy photons in the far-red/near-infrared. Since that first discovery in 1996, more far-red oxygenic phototrophs have been discovered, revealing a previously unsuspected diversity in the photosystems of oxygenic phototrophs. We seek to determine the long wavelength limit at which OP might remain viable and what factors affect the selection of that wavelength limit. This would clarify whether and how to look for OP adapted to the light from stars with a difference radiance spectrum from our Sun.
Under this project in previous years and with other co-investigators, we spectrally quantified the thermodynamic efficiency of photon energy use in Acaryochloris marina str. MBIC11017, determined that its water-splitting wavelength is in the range 710-723 nm, and that it is more efficient than a Chl a cyanobacterium. The current focus of the project is to understand the adaptations of far-red/near-infrared (NIR) oxygenic photosynthetic organisms in general: in which environments they are competitive against chlorophyll a organisms, and what energetic shifts have been made in their photosynthetic reactions centers to enable their use of far-red/NIR photons. We are conducting field sampling and measurements to isolate new strains of far-red-utilizing oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, to quantify the spectral and temporal light regime in which they (and previously discovered strains) live in nature, and to use these light measurements to drive kinetic models of photon energy use to determine efficiency thresholds of survival.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.2 7.2
Rock Powered Life: Education and Communications
The central theme of the Rock Powered Life research effort is to define how, where and when water/rock interactions release energy and how this energy is harvested to support microbial communities. These studies are of fundamental importance for improving understanding of how microbial life was supported on early Earth. Moreover, since similar reactions can be expected on any rocky planet with liquid water, these studies provide new constraints for predicting the distribution of life on other planetary bodies.
The focus of our team – rock-hosted microbial ecosystems that are dependent on chemical rather than light energy – provides novel avenues to engage the next generation of astrobiologists and to disseminate knowledge to the broader public. Here we describe current and ongoing efforts by members of Rock Powered Life that are aimed at improving engagement and training in astrobiology. Of particular relevance are efforts to provide opportunities to provide underrepresented high school and undergraduate students hands on training opportnities in astrobiology-focused studies. We also describe advancements in Rock Powered Life’s digital-based information sharing technologies. Through these integrated team efforts we aim to attract and train future generations of astrobiologists and to provide greater access to the current knowledge base with which to understand the potential for life elsewhere on other planetary bodies.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2
Project 10: Evolution Through the Lens of Codon Usage
The sequences of protein encoding genes are subject to multiple levels of selection. First, amino acid changes that adversely alter protein function are unlikely to survive. In addition, the genetic code is degenerate; it includes alternative (synonymous) codons for most of the amino acids. The codon usages of genes reflect a balance between drift and selection for rapid and accurate translation of mRNAs into proteins, and in the case of horizontally transferred genes, the codon usages of their sources. Our studies of genes and their codon usages have led us to discover that: (i) most of the recently acquired genes come from such closely related organisms that their distinctive codon usages cannot be attributed to a phylogenetically distant source; (ii) the transfers commonly exceed recognized boundaries of microbial species; (iii) some genes do not drift to match the native codon usage of their current genome, but resemble the most recently acquired genes; (iv) many of the genes that are most up-regulated under starvation conditions also have this codon usage; and (v) a distinctive stress/starvation-associated codon usage is a recurring theme that is observed in diverse Bacteria and Archaea.
These results have changed our understanding of the dynamics with which genetic novelties are shared in the biosphere, and revealed that there are selective forces on codon usage beyond those currently appreciated in the field.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1
Physiology of Microbial Populations From W/R Hosted Ecosystems
Microbial communities supported by chemical energy (chemotrophic communties) released through water / rock interactions are widespread in contemporary Earth environments, including the subsurface where light is excluded and in surface environments where physical or chemical conditions preclude photosynthetic metabolisms. Chemotrophic microorganisms are key targets of astrobiological investigation due to the strong likelihood that they predate photosynthetic metabolisms and because they can be physiologically tested to define the habitable limits for life on Earth, including those associated with extremes of temperature, pH, salinity, and energy availability. Research by RPL scientists is focused on identifying and characterizing the physiological strategies or mechanisms that allow life to persist under extreme conditions at the habitable limits. By combining this information with phylogenetic approaches, we aim to determine how and when these mechanisms evolved and what role they played in the diversification of early life. As such, this research effort is highly interdisciplinary and employs both traditional (e.g., activity assays, cultivation) and contemporary (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics) microbiological approaches in combination with geochemical approaches. In addition, RPL investigators are studying the evolution of these communities to hone in on the nature of key physiological processes (e.g., central carbon metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and iron-sulfur metabolism) in chemotrophs prior to the onset of photosynthetic metabolisms. Field-based RPL investigations of microbial physiology in water/rock ecosystems to date have focused on populations inhabiting subglacial environments (cold-adaptation), hot springs (adaptation to acidity, high temperature), and subsurface peridotite environments (adapation to energy stress, nutrient stress, alkalinity).ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3
Progress in the Elucidation of Microbial Biosignatures
A number of discrete individual investigations have contributed to improved knowledge about the occurrence and interpretation of microbial molecular biosignatures across all geological timescales.
A new analytical approach enabled a revised geologic distributions of fossilized biomarkers for anoxygenic sulfur bacteria. The prevalence of okenane and chlorobactane suggests that marine photic zone euxinia (PZE) was more intense and frequent in the geologic past. However, the presence of these compounds in some sediments and oils may also be a signature for basin restriction rather than one indicating more widespread marine anoxia.
In a related work, pervasive photic zone euxinia and disruption of biogeochemical cycles was demonstrated for a sequence of rocks deposited on the northeastern Panthalassic Ocean during the end-Triassic extinction.
A study of lipids and their isotopic compositions, combined with stable isotope probing experiments, demonstrated that streamer biofilm communities, which are a present in the high temperature zones of hydrothermal features of the Lower Geyser Basin of Yelowstone National Park, can alternate their metabolism between autotrophy and heterotrophy depending on substrate availability.
Other collaborations with numerous colleagues resulted in documentation of lipid and isotopic biosignatures in cultured bacteria.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1
Earth’s Evolving Nitrogen Cycle – Implications for Community Complexity and Stability
This project examines nitrogen isotope patterns in Proterozoic and Paleozoic rocks, as part of a broader effort to understand the co-evolution of Earth’s redox cycles and marine ecosystems. The results are being incorporated into a growing framework of data and models that have as their primary objective to show how planetary geochemical cycles evolve with and/or help to record signatures of living systems – both microbial and complex. The project aims to yield a better understanding of the transition from primarily anoxic to primarily oxic deep oceans, and how that transition is mirrored in nutrient budgets (i.e., nitrogen) and the marine ecosystems that depend on the stability of these cycles. Understanding N-cycling throughout Earth’s history has critical implications for the evolution of complex marine ecosystems on geologic timescales.ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 5.2 5.3 6.1


Matthew McConaughey & Charlize Theron Promote Upcoming Animated Film 'Kubo'
Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron pose for photos together while attending a photo call for their upcoming animated film Kubo and the Two Strings on Friday (July 8) at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
The stars were joined at the event by the movie’s director Travis Knight and actor Art Parkinson, who voices the title character Kubo, as well as singer Regina Spektor.
Here is the film’s synopsis: A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armor worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.
Kubo and the Two Strings hits theaters on August 19!
20+ pictures inside of Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron at the photo call…


text:
Stone Disease Research
Finding innovative solutions
More than a thousand patients seek care for kidney stones at Capital Health each year. This accessible patient population is ideal to support our research efforts in stone disease. The recently established Stone Disease Research Program will focus on studying the most effective treatments and management of this common problem.
Current research includes investigating predictors of successful outcomes of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, determining practice patterns of shockwave lithotripsy and optimizing stone treatment outcomes, while minimizing side effects.


text:
8 Things to Remember While Holiday Shopping
Many people embark on the holiday season ready to shop; relentless in getting exactly what they want. This usually leads to the spirit of attitude, anger, and anxiety filling the air, smothering the Christmas spirit. Here are eight things to remember when shopping this holiday season.
“The most important things in life aren’t things.”
-Anthony J. D’Angelo
1. Put the money in their hand. When paying for your purchases, please be kind enough to put your form of payment in the hands of the cashier. Cashiers are people that deserve respect. Let’s face it without them you would just be considered a thief. When paying, if you see their hand is out, place your payment there; not on the counter. I’m sure you would think it rude if they gave you your change back on the counter…so be mindful and courteous.
2. Retail workers are people too. Retail associates work long strenuous hours just for you to be able to shop, so they should not be treated as servants. Their job is to service you and all the other thousands of customers they will encounter this season. Most people associates will encounter during this time of year will probably act just as bratty you, so don’t expect them to be on their best behavior at all times. This time of year is just as stressful for them as it is for your wallet.
3. It’s not their fault. When things are out of stock, it is not the fault of those that work in that store. Major chain stores are operated through a corporate office. Everything ordered and supplied goes through the corporate office. Use restraint of your ‘entitled’ attitude to understand that just because you curse the retail associate to hell doesn’t mean you will get the item you so desperately want.
4. Manners. “Please” and “Thank You” should be overused during this time of year. From shoving and bumping into one another in overcrowded stores, to accidental dings on your car in the parking lot, remember, everyone is doing the same thing you are.
5. Those that are less fortunate or in need. Do you have a neighbor that you don’t know? Why not introduce yourself. Do you know a neighbor that is out of work and has kids, drop off a dish or buy a toy. Visit a home for the elderly, or shelter for families. Make a difference in someone’s life. That’s the most valuable gift any of us can give. Any small gesture of kindness can make a grand difference in someone’s life.
6. People will never remember what you said or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Make people feel the way you would want to feel this holiday season. Suicide rates increase during this time of year. Is this really a time to kill someone’s spirit when so many people are already depressed and lonely?
7. Respect. Respect is a 2-way street. Treat people with it and it shall be returned. Who knows, you may even come out of this holiday season with a great deal AND a new friend. No deal or item is worth disrespecting anyone.
8. Smile. The holiday season shouldn’t be a time of stress and chaos. There should be peace, love, and tranquility flowing through our hearts. A smile can change not only your day but the day of those stressed retail associates and other disgruntled customers around you. Be the light.
Too many people are without family and friends during this time of year. Give the gifts of kindness and love and it comes back to you. And at the end of the day, IT’S JUST STUFF!
These tips aren’t only for the holiday season but should be remembered throughout the whole year.


text:
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your ReverbNation experience.
“by SAINT BRYAN / KING TV5-Evening Magazine - Seattle Washington Posted on July 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM The Minidoka Swing Band is a tribute band vowing to never forget Japanese Americans interned during WWII. Once you hear their music you’ll never forget them either!”
“Dear Larry and Laura, I didn't get a chance on Saturday night to tell you both how wonderfully the band played; you all sounded so tight! All my friends who came really enjoyed it and probably would have gotten out on the dance floor, but there were professionals out there! Really, we just enjoyed watching the dancers and listening to the great music. You all sounded marvelous and I hope it met your expectations. I was so happy that Oregon Nikkei was able to combine our groups together. Thank you so much for agreeing to play for the event! Sam took some photos, so I will post them on our website. I am currently in the process of getting ready for an exhibit, so it will take me another week or so, to get them online, but I'll email you when it's up. Again, thank you so much for the fabulous music. My 91-year-old friend was enthralled and you brought her back to her past in a flash. Warmly, Amy Searchlight Serenade Premier at Hilton Portland Grand Ballroom on 8/5/13”
“I was transported to my boyhood imprisoned in two U.S. internment camps at that memorable evening two weekends ago at the reception for the Oregon Nikkei Endowment. Our barrack was just across the way from the mess hall at both camps. So, one of my cherished memories from those years is that of the music that wafted over on Saturday nights from the mess hall after my mother put us to bed. The music of the 40’s that I heard from the Minidoka Swing Band sounded so familiar and sweet. That was the music of my boyhood. That was the sound that I loved. And it was brought back to me so marvelously that evening in Portland. My appreciation and gratitude goes to those talented musicians for keeping a dulcet part of a dark experience so melodically alive. My thanks to you and the talented musicians for the great work that you are doing. Warm regards, George Takei" ”


text:
MIAMI -- A scarred, small-time boxer, described by police as witty, intelligent and ashamed of his crimes, just might be the worst serial rapist ever to have stalked South Florida, police said Friday.
Robert Louis Major, 27, has confessed to 47 rapes and attempted rapes that occurred over the past four years, including the rape last February of a Miramar woman in her home, Metro-Dade police announced.
``It`s the most significant case our office has ever investigated,`` said Sgt. David Simmons, who heads the Metro-Dade sexual assault unit.
Focusing on women who lived alone or with small children, Major often cased neighborhoods during the week for potential victims and then returned on the weekend when he thought people would have cash from paychecks, Simmons said.
Major, picking homes in which a light was left on so he could watch the residents and determine when to sneak in, would commit as many as five burglaries on a weekend night, Simmons said.
``If he had the opportunity and the circumstance was right, he would rape the women,`` Simmons said.
Major generally armed himself with a knife he picked up inside the victim`s house. The women were roughed up and punched, but none was cut, Simmons said.
The light heavyweight boxed at the Elizabeth Virrick Gym in Miami`s Coconut Grove for more than two years, police said. He had a losing record, and he has scars on his arms, face and head.
Major began raping his burglary victims in 1982 in Carol City but spread out through northwest and northeast Dade and southwest Broward County to elude police, Simmons said.
Major was charged Friday with 13 counts of sexual battery, seven counts of burglary, five counts of theft and two counts of robbery in connection with five burglary-rape cases. The investigation continues.
Major has been in custody since Sept. 28, charged with sexual assault, armed sexual assault and armed burglary in connection with two other cases.
Major, described by Simmons as bright and charming, began cooperating with police soon after his his arrest.
``He wasn`t particularly proud of what he did. As a matter of fact, he was remorseful,`` Simmons said of Major`s attitude about the rapes.
But Major is very proud of his abilities as a burglar, Simmons said.
``He called himself the world`s greatest burglar,`` the detective said. ``He is a very skillful burglar.``
Simmons said Major had given information to police that tied him to more than 350 burglaries, some of them in Broward County.
Major`s involvement in many of the burglary-rape cases has been confirmed by physical evidence, fingerprints or photo lineups, Simmons said.
About one-fourth of the victims initially reported only the burglary, Simmons said. The rape victims, one of whom police tracked down to Ontario, Canada, said they feared retaliation or had personal reasons for not reporting the rape, Simmons said.
Major was arrested after a fingerprint expert linked him to a 1985 burglary in which a 37-year-old woman was raped by a man who burglarized her home, Simmons said. Major was linked to the crime by a palm print lifted from a kitchen counter, Simmons said.
Investigators had grouped a number of burglary-rape cases that they thought were linked, Simmons said. The break came when Major was connected with one of the cases, he said.
Major, who is married, attended Coral Gables Senior High School, but dropped out in the 11th grade, Simmons said. Major began a criminal career in the 1970s, has been arrested 10 times and served several short jail sentences for auto theft and burglary, Simmons said.


Everyone has their options, and everyone makes their own choices. We’re not here to shame anyone out of doing what works for them or what they prefer.
Some people think that a whole house water filter or water filter pitches are adequate to purify their drinking water. Others prefer and choose bottled water. It is what it is, and it ain’t no more…
That being said, there are a lot of common-sense, conservation-minded reasons why people should at least try to cut down, if not totally quit drinking bottled water.
Here’s are our reasons to Quit Drinking Bottled Water:
- Mexico, China, and Brazil come in at numbers 2,3, and 4 in the world as the largest consumers for bottled water. Firmly in 1st place, though, is the USA. Ironically, the country with some of the cleanest and safest drinking water in the world is number 1.
- In 2017 the volume of bottled water in the United States that consumers bought amounts to13.7 billion gallons.
- The average American drinks close to 25 gallons of bottled water per year.
- From 1997 to 2015, the use of water bottles surged dramatically, from 3.3 billion in 1997 to over 22 billion in 2017.
- And get this: National Geographic says that it takes 17 million gallons of crude oil each year to produce those plastic bottles. Not only are we littering the Earth with plastic, but we’re also contributing to greenhouse effects by using bottled water. Fill a water bottle da quarter of the way with oil, and this is how much oil was used to produce that single bottle!
- Environment Working Group did a study of tap water vs. bottled water and found that bottled water contained byproducts of disinfectant, residue from fertilizer, and pain medication.
- Despite the US having some of the safest, purest tap water in the world, the water bottle industry leaders have done a great job at convincing Americans that our water is dangerous or tainted (not helped by the Flint, Michigan situation). This is scare tactics 101.
Okay, so you’re not going to quit drinking bottled water. That’ okay. We get it. Pure water is our number one mission here at WaterOsmo. But would you consider, at least, a more significant effort in recycling those water bottles?
3 Great Reasons to Recycle those Water Bottles
- There are a lot of plastic bottles being recycled for re-use as a bunch of different things. However, only about 1 in 6 bottles will make it to a recycling bin.
- Recycling saves energy.
- Recycling ONE plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60-watt bulb for 6 hours.
Good Ideas for Green Recycled Plastic Bottle Use
- RPET. This stands for Recycled, Poly Ethylene Terephthalate, and it’s a member of the polyester family. And there are lots of items to buy that are using RPET!
- Get a beautiful stainless steel cup or glass that you can use over and over again.
- Grand Canyon National Park Service eliminated the sale of bottled water and instead have placed water refilling stations for people to refill their reusable drinking containers.


Carlos Da Silva
"..Proof that some producers are still pushing boundaries." -DJ MAG UK
"..Mean Streets catches a groove that I cannot let go of. Nice work.." -Pezzner | Freerange | OM Records
"..very nice, i like all the tracks. will play them out.." -Gregor Thresher | Cocoon | Great Stuff | Ministry of Sound
"Love It! Carlos and Dan Berkson make a great combination." -Satoshi Tomiie | Renaissance / Saw
"Love the sound of this.. a sublime house groove that is both hypnotic and ruff enough to capture any decent house dancefloor!" ..Murray Richardson | 20:20 Vision
"Love the deep, bouncy vibe on this one. Included it on my Kiss FM mix." -Tyler T-Bone Stadius | Fabric UK
"I love the Dan Berkson mix! Been hammering it for months and will continue to do so for a long time." -MAZI | Gourmet Rec
"As usual Carlos comes up with another genre defying ep. ...been a mainstay in my regular play rotation." -Jay Tripwire | Fabric UK
"It has that deep and chunky vibe that is sure to keep the dancefloor on it's toes. Perfect for any bigroom set." -Jacob London | Classic Rec
" "...sexiest bassline I have heard in a while. Lovely late night material that you should seek out and add to your collection at once." -Paul Dailey | DJ Times / XM Radio
As Carlos da Silva, he was best known for making music that is played and praised by some of the worlds most respected underground Djs and producers. Carlos seems to have made a regular home on the charts of such luminaries as Satoshie Tommie, James Zabiela, Chris Fortier, Jay Tripwire, MAZI, Tyler Stadius, Jay Tripwire, Swag, Chris Udoh, Grant Dell, Chris Lum, Dj Linus, Chris Udoh, to name a few. Jay Tripwire lists him as one of his favorite producers saying... "...this guy is definitely a producer to watch out for." Now Based in Miami, Florida and originally from Portugal this long time Seattle resident was instrumental in laying the foundation for what would become Seattle's electronic music community.
As a DJ Carlos is regularly headlined to play all over the world and booked along side such notable talents as Laurent Garnier, Sven Vath, Ritchie Hawtin, Green Velvet, Derrick May, Stacey Pullen, Derrick Carter, Kenny Larkin, Spring Heel Jack, DJ Garth, and Mr. C from the Shamen to name a few..... Carlos da Silva's history in the electronic music community spans far beyond just DJ/Producer.
In the 90's he founded the record store, Delicious Music, devoted to the often overlooked styles coming out of USA and Europe. Always eager to develop and promote talent, he used his EatKnowledge, and EatHouse labels to find and expose techno and house artists such as Jacob London (Pezzner) and Chris Lum, as well as internationally recognized artists such as Fred Gianelli, Rabbit and the Moon, Junior Vasquez, AK1200, and DJ Garth. With the knowledge from these past experiences combined with his time in the studio, you can expect nothing but quality from a man who's knowledge and skills lay deeply in the roots of house and techno.


text:
Miscarriage can be really difficult, especially when the pregnancy is something really meaningful to the mother.
Some experience miscarriage in the first few weeks of pregnancy while others experience it much later. A number of women also miscarried due to ectopic or molar pregnancy. It can be a really shocking first experience - or a recurring ordeal.
In any situations of miscarriage, the overwhelming and draining emotions can distract you from focusing on the right things to do. While it is okay to grieve, the right medical attention is needed to protect your wellbeing.
What is a miscarriage?
Some of you may had went through a miscarriage. A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy during the first 23 weeks.
Symptoms include vaginal bleeding, which may be accompanied by cramping and pain in your lower abdomen. If your pregnancy is at a later stage, you may be referred to a maternity ward.
Coping with miscarriage - how do I approach it?
Your emotions should not be left unchecked. Some may feel that miscarriage is heavier on them than other people who deal with the same circumstance. Know that it’s definitely personal and there is no right or wrong way to grieve.
Here are our recommendations on how to cope with miscarriage:
• Know that you are not alone. Do not feel isolated as miscarriage happens more often than people realize.
• Don’t blame yourself. Majority of miscarriage causes are not anything the mother has done.
• Don’t ever think that you are not normal. So many women experience miscarriage. At least 10 to 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage.
• Stop listening to negativity or unsolicited advice. You are doing great just as you are and you deserve good support from a positive community.
• Know that it is okay to tend to your emotional needs. Cry once in a while and just give in when it gets heavy.
• Stop worrying what other people think. Everybody’s journey to pregnancy is unique (and difficult) in their own ways. Focus on your journey and don’t compare it to other people.
• Get professional help when you feel drained, or if you need any guidance to bounce back. Things will get better when you speak to an expert who understands your condition.
What LUMIROUS Fertility Counselor/Coach can help you?
A miscarriage can be emotionally and physically draining. You don’t have to go through it alone. Our Fertility Counselor/Coach support you at any stage of you fertility journey.
You are not alone!
Visit LUMIROUS and book FREE 15mins fertility counseling/coaching session to talk with our experienced fertility counselor/coaches


text:
Presidential Candidate John Kasich Against Marijuana
Presidential candidate John Kasich was quoted saying marijuana legalization is a “terrible idea”.
John Kasich home state Michigan has a marijuana proposal on the upcoming fall ballot on November 3 which he is against.
Kasich say’s he does agree that marijuana is safer than harder drugs but he does not want to give young people the idea that’s it’s not a drug. Kasich believe we should all just say no to all drugs.
Did Kasich take into consideration how many people actually use marijuana for medical benefits. Should we also tell them its a drug and they should stop.
Kasich was ask how would you respond to marijuana if elected president. Kasich say’s he will discourage states from legalizing marijuana. Kasich says he is not sure if we will try to undo the legalization in certain states. Kasich is on the fence about that one. With over half the country in support of legalization, John Kasich is making his platform against legalization. This might intern cause him the young vote. Young people are tired of politician telling them how they should live there lives. When you’re not contributing to my bills or household. Run your own home Mr. Kasich make drugs illegal in your home in my home legal or not were blazing.
Never Vote for someone who infringes on your civil liberties
Don’t Vote for anyone who’s against marijuana

domain: politics


text:
Oakland Raiders tattoos indicate being a fan of the football team, so the Raider Nation fan club is a good place to start. Other places include photo-based social media such as Instagram, tattoo websites and tattoo studios, especially in the Oakland area.
Complex has assembled a series of the 10 best Oakland Raiders tattoos. These include a tattoo of the Raider shield with the raider removing a mask to reveal a skull. Another tattoo features a football player's hand holding an Oakland Raiders helmet that appears to be dripping blood. One tattoo replaces the traditional male raider with a female pirate. A photo shows a fan who has tattooed his entire back with an Oakland raider with crossed swords on a barbed-wire shield. According to the article, the worst example is a fan who tattooed his face with slogans such as "Property of the Raiders" and player numbers.
Social media websites, such as instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, allow users to search according to key words. Searching for Oakland Raiders tattoos yields many examples of fan body art. Another option is a website such as Rate My Ink, where people display their tattoos. Likewise, tattoo artists keep portfolios of their best work. Any artist who has inked a stellar Oakland Raiders fan tattoo is certain to have a photo in a portfolio.

domain: hobby


text:
The Avila Beach Community Center is owned and operated by the Avila Beach Civic Association. The Avila Beach Civic Association is a non-profit community-based organization and has been serving the community of Avila Beach since 1958. We are committed to connecting the communities of and around Avila Beach and continue to offer and develop programs, events and activities for all ages that promote personal growth and development and social interaction in a fun positive atmosphere. Check our Schedule of Events for upcoming activities!
The Avila Beach Community Center has something to offer for all Occasions


text:
Really The Appropriate Pet Collar
How You Can Realize Top Rated Dog Collar With Metal Buckle
The dog dog collar will likely train the pets. It's obvious over it. However, you ought to be patient realize its functionality. Simultaneously, you must utilize the collar right. These customer-friendly and/or convenient equipment have always been for everyone. There Is electrical right dog training kits that can come at three fundamental sizes.Consistency try key in puppy training. That the trainer must provide the dog a positive reinforcement once she reacts right to ensure that the girl to understand she xsmall dog collar actually is doing anything appropriate. In case your trainer fails to reward the dog perfectly, the dog wont understand regardless of whether this has done wrong otherwise appropriate. Disciplined, positive reinforcement concerning perfectly performed commands is likely to make sure that you understand how puppy training functions.It displays other reasons. Besides knowledge, it can also be used as an easy way out of identification for your animal. Spray otherwise citronella collars are fast-becoming the possibility out of owners more than some sort of electrical collars. Some sort of citronella device squirts off your odour similar to lemon grass typically dogs aren't keen on. One Other number of knowledge collars forward the docile fixed pulse otherwise razor-sharp reverberation which can make your pup stick to explicit commands otherwise avoid this off jumping through the garden.
However, you should be client then adhere friendly choices for sample positive reinforcement classes like puppy receiver collar. Never inflict agony otherwise scold your puppy, take some sort of diplomatic route and stay content with the outcome. Offering some kind of identification for the doggy infants may possibly noise overly cautious for you personally. Especially, when your furry infants happen to be microchipped, right?Lost PetsStudies have tried and tested there is no more than a 15 towards twenty potential for looking for your pet with no a microchip to ID tag. As part of an urgent situation including a storm, flood, tornado and more numerous animal agencies assist in looking for plus safeguarding animals. However, with no kind of identification these types of animals cant get came back with their houses.
How Much Point To Confidence A Union Jack Dog Collar
Whether Or Not you are looking for a certain 2: handle leash or another options for dog collars leashes, you will find a wide variety of alternatives which will healthy your requirements. Dog collars leashes are very important throughout the knowledge strategy also to maintain get a handle on of the pet constantly. Besides, by purchasing a two: handle leash it is possible to insure the protection of those at least we also. Would be the dog receiver collar beneficial to owners?Dog Classes functions on the basis of the straight forward idea of uplifting reinforcement, utilising the puppy being rewarded towards correct conduct. Some sort of trainer asks your puppy to perform one action, additionally the puppy are rewarded with regards to does right, thus training that behaviour. As soon as the puppy does that demand right, that trainer immediately praises your puppy and offers the woman a motivation once and for all performance. Some sort of trainer must certanly be sure to still give you the puppy a motivation quickly and also regularly, and also to ignore damaging conduct. Rewarding bad actions will help you to confuse your dog achieving training which far more confusing.
Just as canine is indispensable due to their masters, this one Dog receiver collar is very important undergoing classes your dogs. It's going to allow you to reach finally your classes objectives. With all the growth of technology, interesting implements attended out there incorporating collars that are controlled with modern devices. Our phenomenal device discharge emits fixed pulse that'll excite your pet in order to avoid misbehaving.If a good wind if rattle lose the fencing and your furry baby if escape, exactly how will they become came ultimately back homes not one ID tag? However if some one see them and they do posses recognition, they are able to perfectly become cut back for you.When purchasing puppy collars leashes, you will want to consider the dog plus the use of the object you might be buying. Two- deal with leash alternatives are extremely convenient for many individuals concerning they feature an improved control of one's puppy. Vegan Leather puppy collars incorporate their appearance and feel concerning leather-based but do not apply any kind of animal-based products.
About Three Good Reasons To Store A Brief Dog Collar Illusion
This are an on-line puppy boutique meant to consider all the requires of the puppy. At puppy clothing towards food you obtain it all here. They are going to allow you to at all action. To begin with you have got to ask the visitors. In which are you able to obtain the invitation cards at? The very best response is internet puppy boutique. Following the invitations your afterwards proceed to the plans for the celebration. That would consist of food, beverages and decoration. The web puppy boutique has recently important treats for the puppy with regards to food. Offer your dog party, an actual adolescent celebration looks among important browser alcohol for the puppy. There are more cookie treats and food especially intended for dogs. Your whole menu are your pet dog important 1. When it comes to decorations you could once more come here, be it towards hanging decorations or the table centerpiece. In fact you can also have ads and confetti with your dogs visualize about it.

domain: pet


text:
Pretoria - The DA has proposed new legislation that would permit guide dogs and service animal owners to access both public and private areas.
The party announced its intention to introduce the Performing Animals Protection Amendment Bill, 2023, in the Government Gazette.
The party said there was an increasing occurrence for people with disabilities who use assistance animals being turned away from public and private spaces as well as from accessing public transport.
“In the Equality Court judgment of SA Guide-Dog Association for the Blind and Amanda Bester vs The Department of Home Affairs and the Western Cape Department of Home Affairs, the court held that the denial of access to the applicant, Amanda Bester and her assistance animal, Reo, to the premises and offices of the department of home affairs, amounted to unfair discrimination,” said the party in a statement.
The DA said there was currently a lack of legislation preventing assistance animals and their owners from being turned away from private and public areas, buildings and transport.
“The DA will therefore be introducing legislation to protect persons with disabilities from being denied entry to public and private areas based only on being accompanied by their licensed assistance animal,” said the DA.
The party added that the licensing system will provide people with tangible proof of their right to enter or access any public or private area, building, facility or transport with their assistance animal.
“Any person who denies a licensee access to these places will commit an offence and be liable to a fine or imprisonment,’’ said the DA.


Brussels, 13 September 2023
The European Commission published the report of the Industrial Forum, providing a comprehensive set of recommendations for accelerating the deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies across European industry. The report is the culmination of many months of work by a dedicated task force, bringing together the views of a wide range of participating stakeholders from the Commission, Member States, industry, NGOs, social partners, and research and innovation organisations. EuropaBio was an industry representative and active collaborator in the structured dialogue and preparation of this report.
The report features important case studies to illustrate the transformative power of advanced manufacturing across industrial ecosystems. This includes two examples of biomanufacturing in the Health and Agri-Food industrial ecosystems: “Car T cell manufacturing in health” or “Enabling biomanufacturing of Vitamin B2”. The inclusion of healthcare and industrial biotechnology examples in the report confirms the key role that biotechnology and biomanufacturing play in advancing Europe’s industrial transformation.
Learn more about biomanufacturing with EuropaBio’s Biomanufacturing 101 Definition.
About the Industrial Forum
The Industrial Forum is a mechanism to support the European Commission to implement the European Industrial Strategy and therefore carry out the twin green and digital transitions. It aims to assess and the risks and needs of the different industrial ecosystems and foster a cross-ecosystem collaboration through a structured dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders. A set of five task forces were created to deliver different objectives. EuropaBio actively contributed to Task Force 5 on Advanced Manufacturing, including the development of recommendations to speed up the uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies and to increase Europe’s competitiveness.


text:
Online dating may be a method which usually enables individuals to discover and propose themselves to prospective romantic relationships online, generally while using the aim of building romantic, personal, or mental relationships in person. There are many benefits to online dating. It may be the answer to many any time not almost all of your romantic relationship questions. Down below is a great internet dating definition described briefly to use.
The first important aspect of the online dating definition is the not enough face-to-face connection, which is often a key element to successful intimate relationships in the real world. When you meet a person personally, there is often a chance to turn into more knowledgeable about one another because you discuss even more about that particular subject. You get acquainted with one another better and connect to one another in a non-pressured establishing. This allows both of you to develop a lot more honest and clear picture of who also you are, where you want to go, and everything you expect from relationship. With this explained, many people are still hesitant to establish a true romance online. Yet , as this is age the computer, the need for face-to-face conversation is not so as important as it was previously, and therefore, persons can enjoy better levels of online dating sites safety and anonymity.
An alternative area of the online dating definition furthermore relates to the greater level of decision that the net provides. Having a multitude of seeing websites obtainable, each composed of millions of associates, the possibilities for finding that special someone is really limitless. Individuals looking for relationship can search through thousands of offered profiles to get the one that fulfills their particular criteria. This allows for an individual to browse through thousands of obtainable dating sites until they discover the one that matches plan their beliefs.
The last component of the online seeing definition includes the term “e-books”. This term is often instances used reciprocally with ebooks. The truth is, nevertheless , that these are incredibly different. Whereas e-books happen to be essentially information-based books, a “dating guide”. These are books that give you information about how to meet people, as well as ways for getting your message across towards the most persons feasible.
The term no-one refers to people who make a living out of promoting products on the Net. The information can then be gathered to make available to the ones in need. There are actually thousands of people who make a living out of selling e-books and other information to those in search of a good online dating experience. This is exactly why “no-one” can be mentioned in the online dating description. As far as the “who” is concerned, just means that any individual can use this term.
Internet dating seems like a basic idea. Choosing the best person for your relationship only seems like the simplest task that two people can attain. It would not really seem like such a complicated matter to accomplish, if the term “no-one” mentioned inside the definition www.elite-brides.com/italian-brides did not exist. So , when someone brings up that true love can simply be found online, it is actually simply proclaiming a fact. It is not an idea or possibly a complicated theory.


text:
located in the North-West of the island of Cyprus, is located on the shores of the Gulf of the same name. Morphou is surrounded by citrus orchards, a large number of greenery, historical monuments make it very attractive for tourists. Thanks to the fertile, well-watered grounds, Morphou became the leader in the agricultural production of Northern Cyprus. Orange, grapefruit, mandarin trees, melons, watermelons, potatoes, pomegranates, vegetables, strawberries are all grown in Morphou.
Every year in June and July an orange festival is held, which symbolizes the end of the harvest of citrus fruits, the festival attracts visitors from all over the island. In Morphou, you can admire the beautiful views of the island's largest mountain system, the Troodos.
Along with the natural beauty of Morphou is rich in its history. The ancient city of Soli, the Vouni Palace, the Church of St. Mamant, the Archaeological Museum attracts guests.


text:
Diamondback Octane 24" Kid's Mountain Bike - 2017
Save $50.00 (14%) $300.00 MSRP $350.00
Is your child ready for bigger wheels and the fun that comes with it? Designed for adventures around the block and getting started on the trail, the Octane 24 is a great all-purpose mountain bike for growing kids.
The Octane's aluminum frame is lightweight and durable. 24" wheels easily roll over holes and obstacles. A suspension fork helps keep everything in control when things get bumpy and an easy-twist Shimano grip shift selects from 21 terrain-gobbling gears. Knobby mountain tires, comfortable Kraton grips, and mountain-style saddle add comfort to every ride.
- 6061 heat treated aluminum alloy construction is strong and light
- Suspension fork for smooth ride
- Linear pull brakes are simple and strong
- Shimano 21-speed drivetrain


text:
ALBANY – Calling it a triumph for Cattaraugus County and Western New York, Senator Catharine Young said that the state Senate has secured a commitment from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to commence the environmental study necessary to restart work on U.S. Route 219.
The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Route 219 will be included in the state’s five-year transportation capital plan. The Senate has worked closely with NYSDOT and the Governor on establishing this agreement, which has the potential to bring jobs and economic opportunity to our region, according to Senator Young.
“Progress on Route 219 has been stalled since November of 2010, when we opened the Section 5 expressway and high-level bridge that spans Cattaraugus Creek in the town of Ashford. As Senate Finance Chair, I pushed for the environmental study to be included in the current five year road and bridge plan, and the resulting agreement is an enormous step forward. We give our sincere thanks to Governor Cuomo and NYSDOT Commissioner Matthew Driscoll for working with the Senate, listening to the people and addressing the economic needs of Western New York,” Senator Young said.
The roadway runs south from the heart of Buffalo to northern Cattaraugus County as a four-lane expressway, and turns into a two-lane highway to the Pennsylvania line. The vision of turning Route 219 into a major international trade route from Toronto, Canada, to Florida has been a priority for many, and other states such as Maryland and Pennsylvania have made progress while New York has lagged, according to Senator Young.
Assemblyman Joe Giglio applauded the environmental study as a step towards improving the area’s future.
“It is such great news it almost leaves your speechless. It is what we’ve been striving for, and finally having movement after six long years is phenomenal for the entire region,” he said.
According to Senator Young, “Completing Route 219 has been a huge priority for Cattaraugus County for decades because of the job growth and economic potential that would result. In 1998, the state announced that Route 219 would become a four-lane highway from Springville to the I-86 Southern Tier Expressway, because a study found that up to 28,700 permanent jobs would be generated. The project was expanded via Continental One, a group which is working with multiple states to complete the entire route.”
“Building the expressway would put people back to work in good-paying jobs and help Western New York be more competitive in economic development. It will enhance tourism and bring more visitors to our region to enjoy our recreational assets such as Allegany State Park, ski and golf resorts, area wineries and other attractions, bringing more prosperity to the Southern Tier,” she said.
“It also would make it safer for the traveling public. It is a roadway that is heavily used by cars and big trucks. There have been accidents and fatalities on the existing two-lane, and my office has received multiple concerns over the years,” Senator Young said.
“Local leaders, manufacturers, small businesses, labor, academic institutions, healthcare organizations and trade groups all agree that Route 219 must be completed to put Cattaraugus County on the map,” Senator Young said.


igus Inc. (as seen in Robotics Online)
Today, machine and equipment manufacturers are feeling more pressure than ever to reduce costs without sacrificing machine performance and this balancing act can be difficult to achieve. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) often overlook a simple solution that can have a positive, long-term impact on profitability for themselves and their customers: the elimination of bearing lubricant. By eliminating lubrication systems where possible, OEMs can reduce production costs, while at the same time making their equipment more marketable and less expensive to operate for the end users.
What are the issues with bearing lubricant? According to a major ball bearing company, 54 percent of bearing failures are lubrication-related. In a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), it was estimated approximately $240 billion is lost annually (across US industries) due to downtime and repairs to manufacturing equipment damaged by poor lubrication (footnote 1). Improper bearing lubrication or re-lubrication accounts for up to 40 to 50 percent of machine failures. By eliminating lubrication from machinery, OEMs can minimize the costs and risks associated with maintenance for the end user. At the same time, costs related to the proper disposal of oil can be eliminated and the initial expenditure for ancillary components and processes (grease lines, zerks, manifolds, etc) can be decreased.
There is a lower cost, easier-to-maintain machine component that eliminates the total cost of bearing lubricants: high performance, dry running plastic bearings.