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added: 9 Mar 2012 // by: Music-News.com Newsdesk
NOEL Gallagher has revealed the German leg of his tour is proving a bit weird after afan confused him with a former England football club manager.
The High Flying Birds singer revealed on his Huffington Post Blog;
'Last night's gig here in Hamburg was ok . . . not bad . . . if I'm being honest I was still feeling it a little bit from Paris. Someone - they were definitely German - kept shouting out, clear as day, in between songs . . . "KEVIN KEEGAN!? Indeed!'
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Thousands of rail passengers travelling between the West Midlands and London face major disruption while essential maintenance work is carried out.
The busy West Coast Main Line will be closed between Milton Keynes Central and London Euston for upgrade work on the Bank Holiday weekend of May 3-5.
The link is used by train operators Virgin and London Midland and both are severely curtailing services during the weekend.
London Midland will be operating trains to Hemel Hempstead with replacement bus services completing the link wth London Euston during the early part of the three-day closure.
On Sunday, London Midland will operate to Northampton and use buses to reach Milton Keynes, where a limited services will continue to Hemel Hempstead. More buses will complete the journey to the capital.
This will cause massive problems for Baggies fans heading to the capital for West Bromwich Albion’s key lunchtime clash with Arsenal.
A similar service to Saturday will operate until Monday afternoon when the frequency of trains is set to improve as work is completed.
Virgin Trains services will start and terminate at Rugby or Milton Keynes throughout the holiday period.
A statement from Network Rail stated: “During the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, the line between Watford Junction and London Euston will be closed to all national rail services to allow for essential upgrade work to the railway infrastructure.
“In the past 15 years, the number of trains using the West Coast Main Line has doubled - and it’s getting busier.
"Much of the infrastructure around Watford dates from the 1960s and with trains running around the clock, it’s becoming increasingly unreliable.
“Network Rail will be replacing three critical junctions to the north and south of Watford and renewing the signalling system in the area.
"It will also replace the track crossovers with track that is easier to maintain, reducing future disruption due to maintenance, resulting in fewer delays, better punctuality and providing more comfortable journeys.”

domain: travel


I'm in absolute tears at this clip. The funniest/best part? The shit becomes interactive at the end of the clip, where you can make your own beat. Props to Donwill for this crazy ass shit...
Skizzy's debut album is finally here after a couple delays.
The Kreeper returns with a self-produced number.
The mysterious LA artist releases an EP ahead of an album this summer.
The cousin of Jay Rock makes his debut appearance at the DopeHouse.


Social science perspectives will be vital in informing policy debates ahead of a likely UK General Election next year. To support the development of evidence-based policy discussions, the Campaign for Social Science is today launching a new project to foreground the social sciences in informing policies across the political spectrum and showcasing research evidence relevant to public policy.
Election 24: ideas for change based on social science evidence, draws on the expertise of distinguished social scientists, many of whom are Fellows of the Academy, to identify positive and constructive policy suggestions on many key policy areas including the cost-of-living crisis; climate change and living standards; health and social care; immigration; and higher education, amongst others.
Our new Election 24 hub pulls together a range of comment pieces from Academy Fellows and other social scientists on many key themes, including initial pieces from Professor Alison Anderson on how the education system can help to fight the climate crisis, Professor Chris Millward on why we need a standing commission to break the deadlock in higher education, and Dr Edward Jones on how history shows the way to save the high street. More pieces will be published on a regular basis over the coming months.
Throughout autumn we will also be holding a range of online and in-person events, in collaboration with Campaign supporters, which focus on what social science research and evidence suggest the direction of future policy could take. These include:
- Reducing health inequalities – from evidence to policy, Tuesday 17 October, 9.15am-10.15am, online. In this webinar, Professor Trish Greenhalgh, University of Oxford, and Professor Petra Meier, University of Glasgow, will explore the UK’s health inequalities, from the initial creation of health problems through to accessing the services needed to treat them, as well as how policy in other sectors can impact people’s health and create health inequalities. Register now.
- Migration: the research, the polling and the politics, Wednesday 25 October, 1pm-2pm, online. In this webinar, join Professor Heaven Crawley, Professor Paul Whitehouse, Lord David Blunkett and Dr Heather Rolfe as they shine a light on what academic research tells us about migration within a UK context, whilst also highlighting what the public think about the topic and the considerations which inform politics and policy-making on migration. Register now.
- Celebrating lifelong wellbeing in Wales, Thursday 26 October, 4pm-5pm, Cardiff. In this event, experts from Cardiff University, Swansea University and Bangor University offer thought-provoking research insights to demonstrate how the social sciences contribute to enhancing the lifelong wellbeing of the nation. Register now.
- Still on track for net zero? Domestic and international challenges in climate policy, Tuesday 14 November, 2pm-4pm, University of Glasgow. Two years on from COP26 in Glasgow, and ahead of the next COP in the United Arab Emirates, where do we stand in the UK and internationally on the transition to net zero? Is sufficient progress being made in public policy to limit the increase in global warming to 1.5°? Our keynote speaker, Chris Stark, Chief Executive of the UK Climate Change Committee, will share his thoughts on the challenges ahead. This will be followed by a panel of social scientists and industry representatives, as well as audience Q&A. Register now.
- Election 24: can we achieve sustainable growth?, Thursday 23 November, 6pm-7.30pm, Southampton. A roundtable style presentation hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton. The event will take place in Southampton City Centre with a panel of local journalists, politicians and academics (to be announced). There will be an opportunity for attendees to submit questions to the panel in advance. Register now.
Other events coming up this autumn as part of this project include this year’s Campaign Annual Sage Lecture on Tuesday 28 November, which will be delivered by Professor Gary Younge, University of Manchester; and on Thursday 30 November, Liam Byrne MP will deliver a public lecture on wealth inequality at a University of Birmingham event supported by the Campaign and its Election 24 project. Further details for both events will be made available on the Election 24 hub in due course.
More information on related events being held next year, will be available on the Election 24 hub later this autumn.


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Even though most recipes don’t require a lot of baking soda, that doesn’t mean it’s not important. This alkaline agent is a miracle worker that turns sticky batters into baked goods. Still, like many common ingredients, it has substitutes.
What happens if you don’t use baking soda?
Leaving baking soda out of the cake prevents it from rising, but you can use baking powder as a substitute. Baking soda is a salt that makes food light and fluffy. If you don’t have this ingredient at hand, use a baking soda substitute. Without it, your cake won’t rise and can turn out flat.
What can be used as a substitute for baking soda?
4 Clever Substitutes for Baking Soda
- Baking Powder. Like baking soda, baking powder is an ingredient frequently used in baking to promote rise, or leavening, of the final product. …
- Potassium Bicarbonate and Salt. Though often used as a dietary supplement, potassium bicarbonate is also an effective substitute for baking soda. …
- Baker’s Ammonia. …
- Self-Rising Flour.
15 мар. 2019 г.
What happens if you dont put baking powder in cake?
Problems. Baking a pound cake without baking powder can result in a heavy, grainy cake with an unappealing texture. The flavor will not change, but you’ll lose the traditional high, cracked top. Very careful mixing can prevent this, but the baking powder acts as an insurance policy for your pound cake.
Can I use vinegar instead of baking soda?
In fact, the acidic pH of vinegar is perfect for use as a substitute for baking powder. Vinegar has a leavening effect when paired with baking soda in cakes and cookies. Though any type of vinegar will work, white vinegar has the most neutral taste and won’t alter the color of your final product.
What happens if you don’t put baking soda in cookies?
It is possible to make cookies without baking soda or baking powder, but the resulting cookie will be dense. This is because carbon dioxide is not being produced by a chemical reaction that typically occurs when baking soda or powder is present in the cookie batter.
Can you use corn starch instead of baking soda?
Baking soda and corn starch are not interchangeable in recipes because they have completely different purposes in cooking. Cornstarch is typically used as a thickening agent in sauces and soups, while baking soda is a leavening agent that will help baked goods rise.
Will bread rise without baking soda?
A loaf of bread isn’t gonna rise on its own. Neither will bagels or muffins. They need the help of leaveners like yeast, baking soda, or baking powder to spring up in the oven or on the griddle. …
Can you make baking soda at home?
If you can get sodium hydroxide, you can make baking soda. … When the pH gets down to 6.5 or 7, you’ll have reasonably pure baking soda. Evaporate the water and you’re done. Be aware that heating baking soda in an oven at over 200°F will give you sodium carbonate rather than baking soda, so evaporate gently.
What happens if I use baking soda instead of baking powder?
If you swap in an equal amount of baking soda for baking powder in your baked goods, they won’t have any lift to them, and your pancakes will be flatter than, well, pancakes. You can, however, make a baking powder substitute by using baking soda.
Why do you need both baking soda and baking powder?
Some recipes call for both baking powder and baking soda. … Basically, the reason for both is because sometimes you need more leavening than you have acid available in the recipe. It’s all about balance. Another reason to use both baking powder and baking soda is because they affect both browning and flavor.
Can baking soda be used for making cake?
Baking soda is a leavening agent used in baked goods like cakes, muffins, and cookies. … Baking soda becomes activated when it’s combined with both an acidic ingredient and a liquid. Upon activation, carbon dioxide is produced, which allows baked goods to rise and become light and fluffy (1).
Can I use baking powder instead of baking soda in cookies?
If you are using baking powder as a baking soda substitute, for every one teaspoon of baking soda a recipe calls for, substitute three teaspoons of baking powder. … While baking soda will create a coarse, chewy cookie texture, baking powder will produce a light, fine cookie texture.
Can I use lemon juice instead of baking powder?
Lemon juice is high in citric acid, so it’s great for activating baking soda as a baking powder substitute. Just be warned: Lemon juice also has a strong flavor. … To substitute for 1 teaspoon baking powder, mix ½ teaspoon vinegar with ¼ teaspoon baking soda.

domain: chemistry


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Any time all or most of my homeschooling kids can do a subject together, we like to work on things as a family. Our latest review has a strong Biblical worldview, and is called Pathway to Liberty’s World History, from Pathway to Liberty Homeschool Curriculum.
I received several downloadable PDF files, each containing a different digital component of the program. With Pathway to Liberty, you begin by selecting a “Year”, which is the type of history you’re hoping to teach. If you’re familiar with classical education models, you’ll used to this type of grouping. The Years can be taught in any order you’d like, but to really make it a family history study, be sure to incorporate all of your kids into the same year. There are 4 different levels of teaching. Level 1 is for K-3rd grade, Level 2 is for 4th-6th grades, Level 3 is for 7th-9th grades, and Level 4 is for 10th-12th grades.
We received Levels 1, 2, and 3 as I have children in each of those ranges. I received the 380 page Teacher’s Guide with guidance and information, as well as answer keys, to every level for the Year 4 World History program. I also received individual PDF Student Guide books for Levels 1-3, which are between 290 and 362 pages long each. Additionally, the program heavily relies on a book called “Chain of Liberty” by Jayme MacCullough, founder of Pathway to Liberty. This thought-provoking book helps older students and parents to understand the curriculum and world history events in a unique and Biblically-based way.
How to Use the Pathway to Liberty History Curriculum
For an overview of how the program works, please view the video below:
So to be clear, you’ll first choose what “Year” of history you want to teach, then determine what Level(s) you need. You will need to purchase the Teacher’s Guide for either the individual Level(s) or you can purchase the guide that includes all levels (great for large family moms!). Next, you’ll need to purchase the Student’s Guide for the Level(s) you are teaching. You will also need to gather the required Core reading books and materials, either from the library or purchased. You can also add in additional reading books to expand upon the material as well, as suggested in the Guides and also on the Year 4 website.
Keep in mind that if you purchase the digital version of this curriculum, it is simple to use it with multiple children, and for years to come. Just print out what you need, when you need it. The papers would be very easy to print and place in a spiral-bound notebook or in folders to organize by weeks or by subject matter. On the other hand, if you purchase a print copy, each student will need their own guide to work in.
You can see from this snippet of the course outline that each level will be learning many of the same things, as well as a few different or additional topics of study for the various levels.
Each week’s lessons include a complete written lesson plan for the teacher, as well as all worksheets and handouts needed for the level you are using. If you have a large family, I recommend getting the Teacher’s Guide that has all of the levels and then purchasing the individual levels you will need depending on your students’ ages or grades. If you need to save money and can only purchase one level, I would say to aim in the middle of your students’ grades and assign more optional extra work to older students and help younger students more or omit some things for them.
Depending on your child’s Level and the amount of work you choose to assign to them, the lessons could be brief or long. I would say that about 30 minutes for Level 1, and 30-60 minutes for higher levels is about right, including time to read, watch videos, answer questions, complete writing assignments, and work on various other projects.
There are several books required and recommended for the World History program. I was happy to see that the Heny Ford book that we needed toward the beginning of this program was at our library. Several of the other Level 1 books are there, so in the future, we’ll be able to make use of that to save some money. We already own the Joy Hakim books, so that worked out well for us! As I mentioned, we also received a review copy of Jayme MacCullough’s book and study guide for The Chain of Liberty, so we were able to get started with the curriculum right away with all levels of my kids.
The order of the information and lessons for all levels of Year 4 (World History) are as follows:
Weeks 1-2: Foundations (learning about history itself and the chain of liberty)
Weeks 3-7: Welcome 20th Century (Age of Extremes, Liberty Births Innovation, Invention & Immigration, WWII, Boom to Bust, The Great Depression)
Weeks 8-11: The World at War (WWII topics covering Rise of Totalitarianism, Global Conflict, Unconditional Surrender, Conclusion)
Weeks 12-16: Around the World (Establishment of Israel, Around the World, The Cold War, Pop Culture, Civil Rights)
Weeks 17-26: Presidents (Kennedy & the Space Race, Johnson & the Great Society, Feminism, Environmentalism & More on Civil Rights, Nixon, Ford & Carter, Reagan’s Revolution, Researching Presidents – a 3 part/week series, and a Completions week where students complete unfinished work and finish putting together their notebook, as well as reflect on what they’ve learned throughout the year.)
Teaching Pathway to Liberty to Multiple Levels
Here is a glimpse as to how the Teacher’s Guide breaks down the lesson planning. Each week has a scripture, principle, and leading idea that will be touched upon throughout the weekly lessons. There are 4 lessons scheduled per week, and you could optionally add in some extra work on the 5th day if you want a 5 day a week schedule. That would be the perfect time to have students complete some optional writing assignments and history expanded work as mentioned on the Weekly Overview.
As you can see, it is all clearly laid out for you. It tells you exactly what to assign to each child for reading, written work, Bible work, writing projects, videos to watch, and so on.
I like that I’m able to teach my children all at the same time. While it is not identical coursework, or even reading, for each child, the fact that each student will be covering the same time periods and places at the same time makes it easier for them to have conversations about what they’ve learned, both formally and informally. I was able to use this with my students in 1st and 3rd grades (Level 1), 6th grade (Level 2), and 8th grade (Level 3).
During the review period, we’ve been working on the lessons 4 times a week. We first did any assigned reading together (especially my Level 1 kids), as well as watching any assigned videos. We also went over the Bible verses and talked about the principles and leading ideas for that week. From this point, some of my kids branched off from their siblings to complete the work and readings as assigned for their particular level.
I didn’t assign a writing assignment for every week, but I did for a few of them. It was a good way for my kids to show me what they were thinking and what they had learned in written form. On the weeks that we didn’t do the optional writing assignments, I did have them give me the same information verbally as just another way to check their learning and understanding.
We will take a break over the summer, but I think we’ll pick this back up in the fall. That’s the cool thing about the program. You can start and stop as you see fit. I do recommend doing the first 2 weeks as written so you can understand the program and philosophy behind it, and learn the Chain of Liberty information, but after that, it’s easy to start where you’d like or even do some of the topics as mini unit studies.
My kids have enjoyed the lessons. Biblical principles and values are the cornerstone of this program, so if you have been looking for a good history curriculum with a Christian worldview, this might be what you’ve been seeking!
The Chain of Liberty
As I mentioned, the curriculum uses a variety of books for each of the levels, and one of the required reading books is “The Chain of Liberty” by Jayme MacCullough. This, and its accompanying study guide, can be purchased individually from Pathway to Liberty as well and would be a good addition to your home library. It is assigned reading in the Year 4 program for Levels 2-4, but would be a good read for you even if you only have children using Level 1 of the program.
For some information from the author herself, you can view the video below:
The digital version I received is just 159 pages long and could easily be viewed from a device, or you could print it if you wanted a hard copy. The book is a seminar that Jayme MacCullough had put together for parents and students to talk about the key principles of liberty using a timeline called The Chain of Liberty.
The study guide is 93 pages long and contains short answer questions for each chapter, as well as the answers for all of them at the end.
Ms. MacCullough explains things chronologically, linking people, events, and ideas and exploring the question, “Do men have a right to think for themselves?” The different “links” in the chain that she discusses in great detail are: Creation, Dawn of Nations, Moses and the Law, Church, Reformation, First Colonies, First Constitutional Republic, Expansion and Erosion, and Restoration.
Find Out More
Pathway to Liberty has many products available, including US History, Universal History (which takes students through the Bible chronologically), World History (like we reviewed), and The Middle Ages. Each one has 4 different levels of instruction, and it is available digitally or as a hard copy. To learn more about those, and how other homeschooling families incorporated this history curriculum into their coursework, please click the banner below.

domain: library


Ka-Bar 1217 USMC Straight Edge w/ Free Black Kydex Sheath
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State Labor MPs have invoked an ugly campaign waged against Julia Gillard more than a decade ago amid the battle to reform NSW poker machines, warning that taking on powerful clubs and pubs risks an unnecessary stoush with the election just months away.
The opposition’s muted stance on the growing push for mandatory cashless gaming cards has also earned a stinging rebuke from Australia’s most high-profile anti-gambling crusader, who declared Labor “the party of social injustice”.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said the reluctance of NSW Labor leader Chris Minns to offer bipartisan support to tackle problem gambling and money laundering through the state’s 100,000 poker machines was “extraordinary”.
“The suburbs where poker machines do the biggest damage, where countless millions are ripped out of the local community, are in traditional Labor electorates,” Costello told the Herald.
“It appears when it comes to poker machines, Labor is the party of social injustice.”
Gillard agreed to a poker machine reform package as part of a crossbench deal to stay in power following the 2010 federal election but walked away from the policy after a ferocious campaign by the gaming industry around the country.
As the debate over the introduction of a cashless gaming card in NSW intensifies, Minns on Monday told his shadow cabinet ministers they could not be distracted from their campaign to win government. This would include avoiding a messy stoush with ClubsNSW.
Instead, Labor needed to stay focused on its bread-and-butter areas such as cost of living, jobs and local manufacturing, anti-privatisation and health and education, Minns told his frontbenchers.
Several sources with knowledge of the shadow cabinet meeting said MPs recalled the life-sized cardboard cut-outs of local members that appeared in the foyers of clubs when Gillard tried to introduce technology that would require poker machine players to commit in advance to how much they wanted to spend.
One Labor frontbencher said there was “collective post-traumatic stress disorder” among them as a result of the campaign against Gillard.
In 2011, ClubsNSW targeted the electorates of 25 Labor MPs, 15 of them in NSW, with Save our Clubs rallies, with some MPs at the time describing the impact of ClubsNSW’s grassroots campaign as “worse than the carbon tax”.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has said he would not make any election commitments to ClubsNSW until the industry moves on recommendations by the NSW Crime Commission, which includes bringing in a cashless gaming system to stop poker machines being flushed with the proceeds of crime. Perrottet has endorsed cashless gaming cards for the state but has not said when or how the scheme would be rolled out.
Minns has also ruled out signing any commitments, on principle rather than in opposition to any policy position ClubsNSW makes.
Writing an opinion piece for the Herald, Costello said Tasmania was able to introduce cashless gambling because the measure had bipartisan support.
“NSW will get a cashless gambling card eventually. The public demand for it will build until it is untenable to ignore. Today is the time for our political leaders to ensure they are on the right side of history.”
NSW has banned political donations from gambling companies, but clubs are exempt because they are not-for-profit entities. However, an ABC analysis showed clubs across NSW donated $418,520 to NSW Labor, $179,920 to the NSW Liberal Party and $33,490 to the NSW National Party between January 2011 and June 2021.
The Labor Party also profits from several Labor clubs around Australia, including the Randwick Labor Club which operates 80 poker machines and received $3.1 million in poker machine revenue in 2020. Its objective to raise money for the Labor Party is written into its constitution.
It donated nearly $46,000 to Labor over the 10 years to 2021.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has written to Perrottet and Minns seeking multi-partisan commitment to a cashless card and calling on them not to sign any pre-election commitments, arguing that reform could only be achieved if the ties between the political parties and the gambling industry were broken.
“On the back of the inquiries into Crown and Star casinos and now the Crime Commission report, we have a unique opportunity for political leaders to stand together against pressure from the industry and enact gambling reform to reduce gambling harm,” Faehrmann said.
“With the premier’s commitment to implementing a gambling card, there is now only one thing standing in the way of genuine gambling reform in this state and that’s Chris Minns and the Labor Party.”
Several Labor sources said the cap on political donations mitigated the amount of influence they bought and the greater concern for MPs was the prospect of a marginal seat campaign.
ClubsNSW targeted marginal federal seats in NSW through its Save Our Clubs rallies against Gillard’s proposals in 2011, including the western Sydney seats of Lindsay and Greenway, the Central Coast seats of Dobell and Roberston and the regional seats of Eden Monaro and Page.
A former Labor powerbroker said the party might ultimately support the reform, but Minns would steer clear of the issue as long as it was tearing apart the coalition. “There’s an old political saying, ‘Don’t get between your opponent and a bad story’.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

domain: sociology


Shizen Energy installs GUGLER hydro turbine generator at Chubu Electric Power’s Kuroda hydropower plant.
Together with Shizen Energy Inc., we have installed a 2.2 MW Pelton turbine and synchronous generator to the Kuroda Hydroelectric Power Plant (Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture) of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (Chubu Electric Power). The newly installed turbine started full-scale operation in April 2023. This is our first GUGLER megawatt-class turbine to be put into operation in Japan.
Chubu Electric Power’s Kuroda Hydroelectric Power Plant has been undergoing a complete renewal of its water turbine generator and related facilities since February 2022. In selecting the turbine generator, Shizen Energy and our technical proposal was highly evaluated along with our extensive overseas experience.
We are one of the world’s leading companies specializing in the development, design, and production of small and medium-sized hydropower turbines, with more than 100 years of history and technology and more than 1,000 units delivered to more than 50 countries around the world. Our water turbines and generators are characterized by high efficiency, short delivery times, and low cost. We offer different types of turbines such as Pelton, Francis, and Kaplan. Shizen Energy entered into a business partnership with us in 2016 and has exclusive rights to sell the company’s water turbines and generators which are greater than 100 kilowatts in Japan.
Shizen Energy will take this opportunity to further expand sales and contribute to society through the supply of turbines and generators in the field of hydroelectric power generation.


American thriller writer David Baldacci is releasing a new novel this month and then headlining literary festivals Bloody Scotland and Capital Crime in the autumn. He speaks to... Read more
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine has rampaged into the Weekly E-Book Ranking top spot for a 11th consecutive week, bringing its tally of number ones... Read more
Joanna Trollope and Jacqueline Wilson will attend London Book Fair as Authors of the Day, along with thriller writer David Baldacci, who will join as a... Read more
Pan Macmillan has bought six more books from thriller writer David Baldacci as the publisher bids to build the author's sales in the UK and... Read more
Scott Mariani tops the latest Weekly E-Book Ranking.
David Walliams has clocked up his best-ever weekly volume with The Midnight Gang (HarperCollins Children's) for a second week running.
The Star Wars Expert Guide (Dorling Kindersley) has rocketed into the Official Top 50 number one spot, according to Nielsen Bookscan’s Total Consumer Market.... Read more
Judith Kerr’s Mog’s Christmas Calamity (HarperCollins Children’s) holds the number one spot for a second week running.
Jeff Kinney's newest Wimpy Kid title has débuted at number one, knocking David Walliams' Awful Auntie from the top of the UK Official Top 50... Read more
David Baldacci’s YA novel The Finisher (Pan Macmillan) took the crown for the Best International Fiction Book at the Sharjah International Book Fair Awards yesterday... Read more


text:
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures fell Tuesday for the first session in four, dropping back from a four-month high as a strengthening dollar and lower crude prices lessened traders' appetite for the metal.
Gold for February delivery ended down $9.30, or 1%, at $899.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, giving up the $900 mark. Gold closed at $908.80 an ounce in the previous session, the loftiest since Sept. 22.
"The metal's immediate task is to attempt to maintain [$900] and perhaps build upon it before it can embark on a journey to higher ground," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers.
Further out, the next threshold for gold is the $930 mark, said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold & Silver Investments.
"A daily or weekly close above that level would likely lead to gold retesting the psychologically important mark of $1,000 an ounce again," he told clients in emailed comments.
As of Monday's close, gold had rallied more than $100 since a mid-January low near $800 an ounce, as investors bid prices higher to escape turmoil in global financial markets.
Pushing gold lower Tuesday, the greenback regained its strength against major rivals. The dollar and gold often move in opposite directions. See Currencies.
Also contributing to gold's weakness, crude oil fell for a second session, edging below $43 a barrel from its recent high above $48. Some investors buy gold as a hedge against rising prices.
In economic news, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday that home values in 20 major U.S. cities fell a record 18.2% in the 12 months ending in November. Prices are down 25% from the peak in mid-2006. See Economic Report.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer in the world, hit a record low in January, according to the monthly Conference Board index reported Tuesday.
In spot trading, the London afternoon gold-fixing price -- a benchmark for gold traded directly between big institutions -- stood at $897.50 an ounce Tuesday, down $12.75 from the previous day.
In other metals trading Tuesday, March copper fell 6.4% to $1.4845 a pound, surrendering some of the prior session's big rally, while March silver added 0.5% to $12.175 an ounce. March palladium fell 1% to $191 an ounce, while April platinum lost 1.6% to $958.20 an ounce.
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded gold fund, made another record Monday, rising slightly from a day earlier to stand at 832.88 tons, according to the latest data from the ETF. Gold holdings at SPDR are now more than 50 tons higher than a month ago.
The SPDR Gold Trust
The Amex Gold Bugs Index
The iShares Gold Trust ETF
The Market Vectors-Gold Miners ETF

domain: news


text:
by Dick Deluxe
Snakefinger (Philip Lithman) on guitar.
a personal memoir from colleague and friend Dick Deluxe
Philip Lithman 1949-1987
In the early to mid 80's the once-thriving SF music scene was in yet another periodic lull. The ghosts of the 60's were still omnipresent and frankly the scene lacked any real star power or central musical focus. The Mabuhay scene was still hanging on but the heady days of seeing Devo or the Ramones in a small club were over and while Romeo Void and others had "hits", there was little sense that our scene was more than provincial.
Although lacking any commercial breakthroughs until Chris Issak and my noisy upstairs neighbors Faith No More had national hits, our little fraternity was not shorthanded on dysfunctional behavior and personality -- thankfully. The 16th street/Valencia axis was the hub of "punk" activity and the hyperactive Jello Biafra could be seen hustling around , doomed junkie Will Shatter and his Flipper colleagues were slouching around in the shadows and the requisite army of mohawks, skateboards, tattoos and piercings were already pass by European standards.
Snakefinger as teacher
Photos: Dick Deluxe
Although everyone seemed to share equal amounts of commercial disinterest and corresponding financial miasma, there was something of a pecking order among the "royalty". I can remember being frozen by the haunting beauty and charisma of Penelope Houston, whose Avengers stint (and notably, their gig at Winterland on the Sex Pistols finale) had given her mythic status. The Looters and their painfully sincere frontman Mat also commanded a sort of Che-esque vibe. One could imagine him refusing preferential seating at a Marxist bookstore reading.
But of the few in our pathetic little scene with some genuine Q rating, Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman was by far the most luminescent. I was familiar with the Snakefinger legend via a roommate who was a Residents nut and therefor worshipped all things affiliated therein. Something of a "outside" jazz purist at the time, I had a rather dim view of rock's avant garde. However, I'd seen Phil as a sideman with Long John Baldry playing ersatz Brit blues in Bellingham, Washington so I knew he could at least tune up-something at least a little rare in the DIY atmosphere of the time.
Apparently the Baldry fiasco had inspired Phil to do his own thing on his own terms and he had recently returned from a moderately successful "History of the Blues" tour of Europe when we first met. I had been drafted into a "calliope, circus music" band, the Clubfoot Orchestra, and surprisingly Snakefinger was the guitarist. After a chaotic first rehearsal/audition, Phil and I arranged to meet for breakfast so we could hold a sane conversation.
Living up to his reputation as Mr. Cool, Phil was accompanied to breakfast by the impossibly gorgeous photographer Christine Alicino whom I assumed to be lost Russian royalty or something (turns out she's from Cleveland but hey.....). Charming, funny and more than a tad cynical, Phil turned out to be considerably less full of himself than I expected. To my relief we wound up spending a lot more time discussing the merits of Charlie Christian than John Cage.
As neighbors, fellow sidemen in the perennially dysfunctional Clubfoot and connoisseurs of the "spliff" method of consciousness alteration, we became running buddies in the Mission. While I was bicycle messengering, legal temping and driving everything with wheels, Phil was often seen commuting to his housepainting gigs via skateboard. To my surprise this rascal avantist also had some more rather pedestrian passions: was I interested in hitting some tennis balls in Dolores Park?
I suppose much of my rapport with Phil had to do with the fact that I wasn't too impressed with his pedigree as a Residents sideman and hadn't listened to his solo records. More than occasionally sycophantic fans would come up and bug him endlessly for details about the Residents. Did they really sleep upside down? How many of them are there? Blah, blah blah.
While he was proud of his association with the Rez', he also was trying to shed the sideman label and was forming, rehearsing and recording his new band, under his own name, at the time. As his own tastes were somewhat more mainstream and he was hoping to put a few pesetas in the bank, he was anxious to get his own name rolling and get out from under the shadow of the eyeballs so to speak.
Most of the time Phil and I spent together was in pursuit of passions more directly linked to our indulgences--getting loaded, listening to old jazz guitar records on his ancient phonograph and chasing women. As an untrained musician, Phil spent endless hours lifting riffs painfully, note by note, off old recordings. I felt a lot of his charm as a player were his fearless attempts to force feed Herb Ellis licks into whatever solo he was playing--regardless of the context.
While he always had a great feel and never let on when he was lost or confused, Phil's lack of sophisticated harmonic knowledge lead to what I felt was the best description of him I ever read -- "the wrong note at the right time". On one hilarious occasion, we found ourselves backing Deborah Iyall of Romeo Void fame on some standards. Due to some rather creative (cough, cough) pitch approaches, I realized that between Ms Iyall, Snakefinger and the rest of us we were in at least three keys at once.
"Was that her or me?" Phil queried a little dazed by the cacophony that had begun innocently enough as My Funny Valentine.
"Yes" I replied.
Not to put the knock on Phil the musician, as he was a true original: fearless improvisor, eclectic writer, master of the clever cover selection, generous-to his-mates-frontman and more. The more I suppose is related to his Q--the most charismatic cat I've been on the bandstand with--the object of women's fantasies and the envy of other guitarists. Despite being in over his head technically in the music-school-refugee cult band Clubfoot (where reading was damn necessary to get through Richard Marriott's knotty compositions), he managed to always outshine his more educated bandmates when the solo spotlight shined his way. He never failed to kill us with his wacky mixtures of quasi-George Benson, out-of-control Dick Dale and pure Snakefinger.
Also I must add that he was a monster Freddy King style bluesman as well. Phil could put the stumble in The Stumble like nobody's business.
Did I mention he did quite well with the ladies as well?
At any rate, it was wicked good fun and for a while we were minor potentates in a diminished kingdom. Occasionally someone like Paul Kantner from the Airplane would wander into a club gig at the Mabuhay and I'd think--why them and not us? The '60s had been good to musicians in the City, but by our era it was pretty deadsville--at least by comparison. While our generation was not exactly filled with undiscovered giants, I was somewhat less than impressed by the now out-of-vogue hippie bands. The remaining "legends" from that era that I was accompanying as a sideman occasionally were not world beaters in the talent or knowledge department as far as I could tell.
I must admit that Phil and I were not shy about our disdain for our elder brethren and on occasion it took an ironic turn. One night during a brief period of post-album release euphoria, we were headlining a sold-out (i.e 86 people or so) Chi Chi Club show on Broadway. That evening at the neighboring Stone, during the we're-broken-up-because-of-artistic-differences period he soon got over, a rather pathetic looking Joe Perry of Aerosmith was headlining to an empty room.
Being the self-important taste makers we were, we took a little stroll by the gig and after sniffing the air briefly turned heel and returned to the far more relevant proceedings we were holding at the far hipper Chi Chi.
"Boy, he looks like shit!"
"What a moron, he'll be dead in a month"
This was obviously before the Run DMC- fueled return to favor, but the thought that anyone would pay two cents for anything Aerosmith ever again seemed remote at the time. Needless to say this type of insight into popular culture and the music business explains a lot about our relative positions of wealth and influence in later years.
Somehow though we felt our turn was coming and indeed Phil soon abandoned side gigs like Clubfoot and began the focused pursuit of his own band and vision.
Fortunately, and in recognition of his skills as a leader and personality, Phil was able to put together a hell of a band. Eric Drew Feldman, whom I had replaced on bass in Clubfoot the previous year, came aboard as musical director, collaborator and producer. The former Captain Beefheart multi-instrumentalist (currently with PJ Harvey and any number of other hipsters) brought Phil a much needed sense of song structure and musical discipline. Eric was key to getting a lot of the ideas Phil had floating around in his head into some sort of tangible form.
I can remember Phil, Eric and colleagues Guy, Johnny and Miguel grinding away in rehearsal as they worked on the material for the record and tour that was sadly Phil's last hurrah. All "ear" musicians, these poor cats spent hours working up the complex and quirky passages that made up the bulk of Phil's original material. And while jazz cats may have been able to sight read the gig had someone been able to score it, there is no way they would or could have had the punk energy and nave belief in the intrinsic value of the music it needed to go over.
Fortunately the boys made it into the studio and recorded Night of Desirable Objects as a testament to their work. They also were caught live to good effect in Chicago while on a brief U.S. tour. Though only featured as a leader on a few now out-of-print albums on Ralph, a fair amount of recorded Snakefinger is available still--most of it with the Residents and their assorted label mates. As is the method these days I recommend a "Snakefinger" search; and much lore is available.
As hoped, the album created enough of a buzz to organize a European tour. The biological cards were against him however and the genetic heart problems that had required open heart surgery in previous years and had promoted unheeded warnings from his doctors felled him. After a triumphant show in Linz, Philip Lithman passed at the way early age of 39.
His friends and fans can never suppress a smile when his name comes up. Recently I was having a beer with "Ben Guy", Phil's dear friend and bassist who was on tour with Phil at the end. Sure enough, after a sad moment of reflection we were trading yarns and once again laughing as Phil would have, I imagine, wanted it .
Guy, who has been running the notorious Hotel Utah for over a decade and is a terrific singer-songwriter himself, and I were musing about what Phil might be up to now were he still among us. But whether he would have retired to a Mongolian yurt or be headlining on the shed circuit by now is beside the point. Most certainly he would continue to be the entertaining, inspiring good friend to those around him he was when I was fortunate enough to be his pal.
Rest in peace, bro.
--Dick Deluxe, 11/99

domain: artistic


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OCTOBER 31, 2017 – HOLYOKE
Every year Stavros, a local non-profit organization supporting people with disabilities, sends a survey to consumers asking for nominations of local organizations/people that really go the extra mile for the people they serve. A dedicated group of staff and volunteers review the nominations and conduct site visits.
The Western Massachusetts Training Consortium (wmtcinfo.org), is a well-established human service organization in Holyoke MA, which offers a variety of community supports. The Salasin Project (salasincenter.org), a program of The Consortium, is a nonprofit organization in Greenfield that is named after Susan Salasin, a pioneer in the area of women, violence prevention and trauma. Salasin’s commitment and determination has kept trauma on the public mental health agenda. It is through the Salasin Project that we honor Susan Salasin’s work and her courage to persevere toward the vision of trauma-informed systems and support.
Vickie Hutchinson, a current resident of Greenfield, has worked at The Salasin Project for 5 years and just celebrated her 6th year anniversary with the Consortium on Friday, October 27, 2017! Vickie is the Woman’s Art Group leader at the Salasin Project and also currently holds the positon of “Resource and Stabilization Specialist.” She has supported the Art Group in holding fundraisers at numerous public events. Together, the group makes and sells jewelry. In addition, many artists who have attended the art class have ventured out to start their own small “artsy” businesses.
Vickie was instrumental in organizing the Asian Arts series for the Family F.U.N. (Family United Network) center and brought in a cultural council grant. The Salasin Community engaged in Asian Art and Culture education through the funds that were awarded. She is key to keeping the art room stocked with supplies for not only the women who attend the art group but for the children who participate in Art during F.U.N. Center time. She solicits donations from the community and attends an art supply swap event held a few times per year.
Vickie clearly enjoys what she does and makes a difference in her community while doing it. We are privileged to have her as a part of our team!


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Close to the beach
With a stay at this Lake George motel, you'll be steps from Lake George Forum and within a 10-minute walk of Lake George Battlefield Park. Goony Golf and Lake George are also within half a mile (1 km).
This motel doesn't skimp on freebies - guests receive free WiFi and free self parking. A garden, a picnic area, and luggage storage are also on offer.
Free WiFi, refrigerators
Featuring conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves, the 15 guestrooms also offer free WiFi and TVs with cable channels.
Jun 11, 2019 by Mussarat.
Happy to know that you liked your stay at doray motel. Looking forward to see you next time you plan to come to Lake George. Thank you.
Doray Motel offers its guests tour/ticket assistance, barbecue grills, and a garden. WiFi is free in public spaces. Self parking is free. This Lake George motel is smoke free.
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Doray Motel offers 15 accommodations with air conditioning. Refrigerators and microwaves are provided. This Lake George motel provides complimentary wireless Internet access. Televisions come with cable channels. Housekeeping is offered daily and irons/ironing boards can be requested.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards
Charges for extra guests may apply and vary according to property policy.
A cash deposit, credit card, or debit card for incidental charges and government-issued photo identification may be required upon check-in.
Special requests are subject to availability at the time of check-in. Special requests can't be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
This property accepts credit cards.


Heckler & Koch (H&K) SL8 .223 Remington Rifle - 20.8"
FFL Required Before Shipping.
Please have your dealer email a copy of their FFL to [email protected] or fax it to 253-218-2998, referencing your name and order number.
Back by popular demand, the SL8 is an import-legal version of the G36 designed for precision shooting. It features a cold-hammer forged barrel with a recessed crown. The free-floating bull barrel is manufactured with the famous HK cannon grade steel. The G36/SL8 short-stroke gas piston, later featured in the HK416, ensures smooth, clean, reliable operation. The SL8 also features a short MIL-SPEC optics mount, match trigger, and an adjustable stock.
- Caliber: .223 Remington
- Length: 38.6"
- Height: 9.84"
- Barrel Length: 20.8"
- Weight (without magazine): 8.6 lb
- Magazine Weight Empty: 12.47 oz
- Magazine Capacity: (2) 10 Rounds
- Trigger Pull: 4.5 pound
- Return Travel: .23"
- Barrel Profile/Twist: 6 grooves, right-hand twist, 1:7 twist
|Manufacturer||Heckler & Koch|


There’s a relatively new alternative to the standard water heater tank that you probably have in your utility room. Rather than keeping gallons of water hot and at the ready at all times, these tankless, or “on-demand,” units kick on only when you open the hot-water tap. Then they heat the water instantaneously as it flows, providing you with an endless supply and saving you $100 or more a year in energy costs.
How a tankless unit works
An on-demand system makes hot water only when you need it, explains Millbrook, N.Y., architect Chris Colby, who designs energy efficient houses. When you turn on the shower, for example, water begins flowing through capillary-like pipes in the heater that are surrounded by a powerful gas burner—or electric coils in the case of electrical systems—where it’s heated on the spot. (There are no oil-fired on-demand water heaters on the market.)
As a result, a tankless water heater never runs out of hot water. With a traditional tank, once you use up the ready supply inside, you have to wait for the heater to make more, a process that takes at least 20 minutes, depending on your model. Because an on-demand system heats water as you use it, as long as it has water and fuel, you’ll have hot water.
More importantly, since on-demand units fire only when needed, they’re very efficient. For a typical house, on-demand hot water slashes hot water energy bills by a quarter to a third.
Limits on simultaneous uses
Though on-demand units can keep pumping out hot water all day, they can’t produce a big quantity all at once. With a traditional tank heater, you can shower, run the dishwasher, and do a load of laundry all at the same time. But an on-demand heater can’t handle that much volume and would therefore provide only a trickle to each simultaneous user.
The typical on-demand unit puts out 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm). Top-of-the-line models can put out 5 gpm, enough to handle two uses at the same time, but not the 7.1 gpm required to run the shower, dishwasher, and clothes washer all at once.
When you’re comparing flow rates, pay attention to the rise in temperature being quoted. Energy Star measures gpm based a 77-degree increase in water temperature for the incoming supply, but some companies list their gpm flows at 35- and 45-degree rises. The more heating the water requires to reach the desired temperature, the slower the flow rate.
Installing multiple units
One solution to the limited output problem is to install multiple on-demand units. Because they’re small—about the size of a carry-on suitcase—they can be placed just about anywhere your water line runs: attic, basement, closet, or crawlspace. So you can have two or three units serving different parts of the house, and plenty of hot water.
Having multiple on-demand units won’t reduce your overall household energy efficiency. In fact, it does just the opposite. By bringing the hot water close to where it’s needed, you reduce the energy loss of piping heated water through the cold basement and walls and increase efficiency a full 50% over a standard hot water tank system, about $165 in annual savings for an average household.
High upfront costs
The downside to installing multiple on-demand water heaters is that even one of these systems is quite costly. A gas-fired unit will run you $1,500 to buy and install, nearly double the price of a standard gas water heater, and $575 more than a high-efficiency tank model. And the costs can go up from there: While tank water heaters typically use a half-inch gas line, on-demand units need three-quarter-inch pipe. Making that change costs from $25 to $40 a foot, so if you’re putting one or more units near the kitchen or upstairs bathrooms, you can add many hundreds to the initial costs.
On the bright side, if your unit has an Energy Factor of .82 or higher, as many do, you can get a 30% federal tax credit up to $1,500 on purchase and installation costs incurred in 2010. Electric on-demand units cost less, as little as $400 installed. But they don’t qualify for tax credits because they’re less efficient than gas and are better suited for point-of-use applications, such as instant kitchen hot water, rather than a whole-house system, according to Potomac, Md., contractor Jay Irwin.
The bottom line is that unless you’re going to invest big bucks in a several on-demand water heaters, these systems work best for small households without a lot of simultaneous hot water needs. For a large family living in a big house, a high-efficiency traditional tank unit still may be a better option.
Joe Bousquin HoseLogic.com June 8, 2010


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“Happiness comes from solving problems.” – Mark Manson
So often we think problems keep us from being happy. But, what if they are essential for happiness?
Pause for a moment and think about one of your happiest memories.
Now look at the road to that moment. What is it paved with? Problems. Challenges. Obstacles.
Happiness comes from solving problems. The joy is in the overcoming.
You don’t need fewer problems. You need more solutions.
And, that’s why you need to carefully manage your stress level. Negative stress (or distress) causes you to feel anxious and overwhelmed.
Distress inhibits your performance and your problem-solving skills.
But stress isn’t always bad. In fact, stress can be a good thing.
Positive stress (or eustress) can push you to improve yourself, or to get help when you need it. It can motivate you to change your circumstances.
Good stress turns you into a problem solver.
The key is managing your stress level so you stay in the positive, problem-solving zone of eustress.
Here are three things you can do to make that happen:
1. Think Differently: Cultivate a healthy mindset around stress. Accept that stress is normal and even healthy, and that it can lead to happiness.
There is this teaching in yoga that says, “Be at ease with your dis-ease.”
You don’t have to stress about your stress level. Stress and calm are not mutually exclusive, not either/or.
You can feel both…at the same time.
Try this simple practice. When you feel stressed, frame the specific problems that need to be solved.
Anticipate the feeling of happiness you are going to experience as you solve those problems.
Then, take the smallest step you can toward finding a solution. Then another. And another.
2. Act Differently: Think right now about your stress coping strategies. What do you do when you feel stressed?
Do you snack on junk food? Drink a glass of wine? Mindlessly scroll social media? Watch TV?
In other words, are you in the habit of trying to numb the sensation of stress?
It’s okay to take a break from stressful situations. Walking away can give you perspective on a situation that is helpful.
But, if you are in the habit of walking away, and not returning to the problem, the stress just builds. This can quickly push you into a state of distress.
Instead of numbing out, can you choose a simple self care practice instead?
Drink a glass of water.
Take a brisk walk outside.
Or, try the Ultimate 5-Minute Stress Relief Practice.
Taking an intentional self care break will prepare you to return to the situation as a calm, focused problem solver.
3. Rinse and Repeat: It’s important to remember that stress and problems are a fact of life. They will keep coming.
When you feel stressed, make the choice to think differently and act differently. Over and over again.
Here’s a replay of a Facebook Live chat I recently gave on this topic. (Be sure to follow me on Facebook to get notified of future live chats.)
Remember, the joy is in the overcoming. Here’s to the solutions I know you are ready to discover.

domain: psychology


Last week we brought you the Choreographer Fiona Quilligan’s beautiful dance, her creative response to Covid 19. Today Fiona outlines the research methods she deploys for new work:
“During the Noughties I became interested in social dances from different cultures and in particular from South America. My brother having spent time in Cuba opened a tapas bar called Havana off Camden Street and it attracted many Cuban and Argentinean dancers who worked behind the bar. They had an endless appetite for dancing which fascinated me. I started studying with them and engaging in their social dance evenings which was every night! I loved the natural freedom of the body moving to Cuban song beats where the tango seemed classical in its poise, something I was aware of from my ballet training.
Set in a circle of trees the first solo has something of a formal tango with a contemporary feel to it – controlled and sustained as I circle each between each tree while absorbing the texture of the yellow lichen.
While the duet danced by my sister Zelda Francesa, and Antonio shows the side swing of the hips of the Bachata showing the closeness of the couple’s interlocking legs and arms. The man gently unfolds the woman in a series of turns while keeping the rhythm.
Later this research led to a full-length work called Pas de Chat – a self-portrait -which told of my early influences and journeying in dance.
Autumn took a more upbeat tempo and I threw myself into a new work…picking up a step here and turning out one there, embracing Bachata rhythms and struggling with strangers in intimate holds, while chasing Abel’s footwork and a handful of Cuban dances by night.” Fiona Quilligan


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Since Tesla removed Bitcoin payments for environmental reasons, sustainable and scalable cryptocurrency projects have been trying to get Elon Musk’s attention. However, these efforts do not seem to work.
Tesla CEO gave an interesting answer when asked why he chose Doge over cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Cardano, IOTA and Polkadot in his recent Twitter post. Musk claimed he was not interested in these cryptocurrencies because he had no “memes” (humorous web posts) and dogs.
In addition, Musk took action to support the development of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin and recently asked his followers to submit their ideas.
While Dogecoin lags behind some other projects in terms of many features such as the team, update, it has made great progress in terms of price and popularity thanks to the cryptocurrency Musk. It seems that other crypto projects may have to speed up meme games to get Musk’s attention, rather than advertise their environmental attributes.

domain: finance


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Lifesize Continues To Expand Its UVC Cloud Platform
David S. Maldow, Esq.
Published November 8, 2012 in Telepresence Options
Lifesize is looking at the big picture, and believes that the survivors of the current industry turmoil will not simply be the vendors with the hottest new features, it will be the vendors who can adapt and change as the technology, and user expectations, continue to develop in potentially unforeseeable directions. See the Report


JOHANNESBURG – Bafana Bafana will play Paraguay in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Centenary celebrations at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban on Tuesday, November 20.
The match will kick off at 7pm, and comes three days after South Africa’s Africa Cup of Nations match against Nigeria at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan, who made the announcement in Johannesburg on Monday, said they could not have come up with a better opposition to mark 100 years of South Africa’s icon and father of the nation, Nelson Mandela.
“We urge football fans to come in their thousands to pay homage to this South African and global icon whose love for children is well-documented,” said Jordaan.
“The match between Bafana Bafana and Paraguay is a fitting tribute to this giant who would have been 100 years old this year.”
Jordaan said Safa will donate R1.5 million towards the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
Bafana and Paraguay have clashed on three occasions to date. Their first meeting was in 2002 in Busan, South Korea during the 2002 World Cup which was co-hosted by Japan and Korea. The match finished 2-2.
The two sides met again in 2008 in Attridgeville’s Lucas Moripe Stadium where Bafana Bafana beat Paraguay 3-0. The two sides’ last clash was in 2010 in the Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Bafana Bafana played their first Nelson Mandela Challenge match against Zambia in May 1994, which South Africa won 2-1.
Among other nations they have hosted, are Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroon.
The last edition to be played was in 2016 when South Africa defeated Egypt – the following year it was not played due to rescheduled 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
African News Agency (ANA)


CSIRO, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization is Australia's governmental agency for scientific research. CSIRO was originally founded in 1926 as the Advisory Council of Science and Industry. CSIRO employs 6,000 scientists, technicians and support staff with 50 sites around Australia and labs in Mexico and France. CSIRO is divided into 16 operational divisions including but not limited to, Australia Telescope National Laboratory, Energy Technology, Entomology, Material Sciences and Engineering, Sustainable Ecosystems and Molecular and Health Technologies. CSIRO is noted for its work at the Darwin Laboratories, the invention of the Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, invention of the insect repellent Aerogar and a series of biological control inhibiting the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease. Media inquiries are welcome.
Plastic in 99 percent of seabirds by 2050
Researchers from CSIRO and Imperial College London have assessed how widespread the threat of plastic is for the world's seabirds, including albatrosses, shearwaters and penguins, and found the majority of seabird species ...
Parkes telescope takes on the Roger Federer of space
Using the moon and the GPS system, scientists have turned CSIRO's 64-m Parkes radio telescope in eastern Australia into a new tool for finding the highest-energy particles nature can hurl at us. The work is being presented ...
New 'enigma' moth helps crack evolution's code
Aenigmatinea glatzella – which has iridescent gold and purple wings – is a 'living dinosaur' that represents an entirely new family of primitive moths. This is the first time since the 1970s that a new family of primitive ...
Researchers generate pressurised 'supercritical' steam, at the highest temperatures ever achieved using solar energy
(Phys.org) —Supercritical steam is a breakthrough for solar energy and means that one day the sun could be used to drive the most advanced power stations in the world, currently only driven by coal or gas.
Australia's biosecurity may be shocked
A human disease pandemic, European honey bee colonies wiped out and an invasion of a devastating wheat disease are just three potential biosecurity threats facing Australia, according to a report released today.
New material that prevents plastic from ageing offers huge environmental, cost savings for energy industry
When applied to plastic lining this new technology for plastic can clean up exhaust gases from power plants much more effectively than existing methods.
Our galaxy's 'geysers' are towers of power
"Monster" outflows of charged particles from the centre of our Galaxy, stretching more than halfway across the sky, have been detected and mapped with CSIRO's 64-m Parkes radio telescope. Corresponding to the "Fermi Bubbles" ...
Material prevents plastic from ageing, offering environmental and cost savings for the energy industry
(Phys.org) —When applied to plastic lining this 'botox for plastic' can clean up exhaust gases from power plants much more effectively than existing methods.
Rocks around the clock: asteroids pound tiny star
(Phys.org) —Scientists using CSIRO's Parkes telescope and another telescope in South Africa have found evidence that a tiny star called PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded by asteroids—large lumps of rock from space.
Scientists reveal new 2D material for next generation high-speed electronics
(Phys.org)—Scientists at CSIRO and RMIT University have produced a new two-dimensional material that could revolutionise the electronics market, making "nano" more than just a marketing term.


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Corneal Dystrophy and Perceptive Deafness (SLC4A11)
Corneal dystrophy and perceptive deafness is a rare autosomal recessive disease which is caused by pathogenic variants in the gene SLC4A11. It has been reported across multiple ethnicities. Clinical features include corneal clouding that is present from birth or early infancy, and progressive hearing loss that develops between late childhood and early adulthood. Some patients will not develop hearing loss. At the moment, it is not known why some patients develop hearing loss and others do not. Life expectancy is not affected.
For information about carrier frequency and residual risk, please see the residual risk table.

domain: medical


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Robinson resident Cameron Whyburn knows the city of 11,600 needs a new junior high school. He graduated from Robinson High School in 2004.
But the 33-year-old pharmacy technician believes the Robinson Independent School District needs to pay off its debt before asking voters to approve a $31.5 million bond to overhaul the current junior high school, and most voters in the May 4 bond election agreed with him.
Almost 1,220 voters cast ballots against the bond issue in the May 4 election, five years after passing a $19.5 million bond to build a new intermediate school. Just 535 people voted for the bond this year.
The 2014 bond package passed only after two failed attempts, in 2011 and 2013.
The school district would have used the bond money to update its multi-building junior high campus, erected in the late 1960s, that serves students in seventh and eighth grades. The plan included significant new construction, demolition of a classroom wing and renovation and repurposing of original buildings that would remain. The bond also would have paid for expansion of the high school agricultural facility.
If voters had approved the bond, Robinson ISD would have the second-highest amount of debt among school districts of its size, according to the state comptroller’s website. Wimberley ISD, outside San Marcos, has the most debt with $62.3 million.
Robinson ISD has $23.7 million in debt. The district will pay off a 2005 bond series in 2024, according to its 2017-18 financial report.
That is the soonest Whyburn would be willing to vote for another bond package. Proponents of the bond issue have said waiting would cost the district even more money because construction costs would increase, placing Robinson ISD in more debt.
The district could lower its expenses considerably by paying off one of its outstanding bonds before securing more debt, said Michael Granof, Ernst & Young Distinguished Centennial Professor in Accounting at the University of Texas. He compared it to buying a car.
“The analogy would be a car payment and you want to buy another car,” Granof said. “If you buy another car, you’d have two payments. If you wait until the first car is paid off, you would have only one payment.”
But Granof said he could not say whether the school district could afford to go into more debt, whether that would be sound financial policy, and he did not know how great a need for a new school there is. He also said interest rates are at an all-time low right now.
“They’re not going to be lower,” he said. “That’s a pretty good bet.”
Whyburn said he understands the need for a new school, but the failed bond issue would have been just a “Band-Aid” solution. In five years, Robinson ISD could build a brand new school instead of doing significant construction on the 50-year-old junior high campus, he said.
“It has to be addressed, but it’s just not the right time or the right plan,” Whyburn said.
Robinson ISD board member Kevin Kenny said the school district would get the “best bang for our buck” by renovating most buildings with the bond.
“It’s really not something we can wait on,” Kenny said. “It needs to get done so we can secure our school. I doubt anything would happen in Robinson, but we just don’t know.
“Every time you turn around, there’s a school shooting.”
The junior high campus is comprised of multiple buildings connected by open-air corridors. The bond package would have paid for construction to enclose those corridors and build a front office where visitors would have to check in.
But Whyburn said he does not see how that construction would make the school safer when the biggest threat to students is school shootings, which are usually perpetrated by students.
There were two school shootings in recent weeks, in Colorado on May 8 and at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on April 30.


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hicago will be the location this spring for a new, homegrown feature film, The Rhythm and the Blues. Set in the 1960s and 70s, the movie is based on a true story of a Mississippi born family of blues musicians trying to make it in the Windy City.Darryl Pitts, producing partner for the movie, says he plans to hire a substantial number of local actors and crew. They’ll work beside globally known blues musicians Guy Davis and Sugar Blue—and with several Hollywood stars including Leon, known for portraying music performers in movies like The Temptations and The Five Heartbeats.
Supporters of The Rhythm and the Blues will gather Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Exact Publicity, 161 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60605. Co-sponsors include Real Men Charities; Anthony’s Own, Cupcakes and Cocktails, Edible Bliss, Ellie’s Cafe and Sweet Berries. A surprise celebrity guest will greet fans. Live blues music will feature the Chicago based blues singer Larry Taylor, whose life forms the basis for the film. Producer-director Darryl Pitts will screen and answer questions about his previous film, the documentary Reel Black Love.
For more information, go to the film website at www.therhythmandtheblues.com. For media and press inquiries, email me at email@example.com or contact Shawn Zanotti, (312) 265-0941, Shawn.firstname.lastname@example.org or Katelyn Bailey 312-588-0588, katie.Bailey@exactpublicity.com
Featured guests may be interviewed by the media from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.


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Flagship Lord & Taylor to be 100% Wind-Powered
The retailer has signed a two-year contract with Green Mountain Energy, beginning in November, to buy more than 13 million kWh of wind-based renewable energy certificates (RECs) a year for the company’s flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue (pictured), as well as a store in Eastchester, N.Y. Lord & Taylor’s clean energy purchase for the stores will avoid a total of more than 20 million pounds of carbon dioxide a year, Green Mountain says.
The purchase exceeds the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership, which Lord & Taylor recent joined. Based on EPA’s current Top Partner rankings, the company would rank No. 17 on the Top 20 Retail list, representing the largest purchasers among retail partners within the Green Power Partnership.
Lord & Taylor awarded the contract to Green Mountain after a bid process facilitated by energy consulting firm Good Energy.
Energy Manager News
- The Forecast is Good for the Solar Industry
- Honeywell Upgrading Rock Island Arsenal Garrison
- A Simple Fix to Save Energy in NYC
- Connecticut, The Microgrid State
- More Large Green Buildings, Still Few Small Ones
- OSI and Cascade Cut Energy Use in Food Processing Facilities
- Data Center Energy Savings: Start with the Servers
- Toyota Plant in Kentucky Rolls Out Bioenergy

domain: economics


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MOTHERWELL boss Mark McGhee failed in an eleventh hour bid for Celtic striker Nadir Ciftci.
His hopes of bringing the Turkish international frontman to Fir Park were dashed in the dying moments of deadline day.
Well emerged as surprise favourites to land the 24-year-old forward just hours before the January window slammed shut.
Ciftci had been a target for McGhee for several weeks as he looked to bolster his frontline under the threat of potentially losing Scott McDonald.
The deal appeared to still be on in the wake of the team’s 2-1 win over Ross County in Dingwall, even with the news McDonald was going nowhere.
However, both parties couldn’t come to an agreement on terms and the deal fell through. Suggestions that Motherwell were unwilling to pay £1ooo a week towards the former Dundee United player’s wages could well be the reason for the deal collapsing.
His former club did not bid to take their former striker back to Tannadice on loan, much to the disappointment of their fans.
Ciftci, who cost ex-boss Ronny Deila £1.3million when he signed him from Dundee United in the summer of 2015, has played only two games – both against Lincoln Red Imps in July – under Brendan Rodgers.
He still has 18 months of his current Celtic contract to run but is not in Brendan Rodgers’ plans. Indeed when Celtic were without both Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths on Sunday for the visit of Hearts, Ciftci could not even make a place on the bench. Celtic coped well, winning the match comfortably.

domain: sports


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The physicists at Cern in Geneva have announced that the Large Hadron Collider will be powered up to four tera electronvolts (TeV) per beam in 2012, half a TeV higher than in 2010 and 2011 »
So, you've decided you need an iPad. Here's the rock-bottom cheapest way that it's possible to get it »
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Wired.co.uk reviews the best budget phones for WhatsApp and students »


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We process payments through Paypal. ALL major credit/debit cards are accepted and a Paypal account is NOT required.
You will find blocks that range from innovative to traditional, whimsical to sophisticated, classic to unique! Combine the blocks to make any of the projects, from full-sized quilts to table toppers and baby quilts. With so many blocks to choose from, you're sure to find inspiration in this book.

domain: design


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As most of us in the 21st century know, life can be very stressful. Right now, you might feel anxious about the growing number of emails you need to respond to or the fact that you still haven’t booked those holiday flights. Or, perhaps you’re worried about longer-term issues, such as credit card debt or job security.
As Thanksgiving and other holidays approach, it’s especially easy to get caught up in spending money and cramming as many social events into your schedule as possible. However, the answer to these stressors may be simpler than you think. According to a recent Quartz article by Bulletproof Coffee CEO Dave Asprey, “the real power of gratitude is turning off a very unproductive emotion: fear.” Countless studies have shown that gratitude works at the cellular level to significantly decrease stress. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s how gratitude can ease stress, boost your health, and increase joy.
1. Decreases fear.
According to Quartz, “when you live in a state of fear—such as in the fight or flight mode—the brain secretes two steroid hormones: cortisol and adrenaline.”
The National Institute of Health recently conducted a study in which MRIs showed that participants who focused on what they were thankful for experienced more blood flow to the hypothalamus, which is the part of your brain that controls stress and sleep. This increased hypothalamus activity also decreases cortisol, which increases heart rate and blood pressure. So, in other words, gratitude can soothe and even prevent depression, anxiety, and fear.
2. Boosts the immune system.
Practicing gratitude also activates the vagal nerve, which is the nerve responsible for relaxation, decreased inflammation, and a healthy immune system. Poor vagus nerve activity can lead to anxiety. Once again, practicing gratitude increases activity around this nerve, which helps us deal with stress in healthier ways.
3. Increases other positive emotions.
A Harvard study found that people who practice gratitude regularly not only more easily channel other positive emotions like joy, comfort, and pleasure, but also better relish happy experiences.
In another study, researchers found that participants who kept gratitude journals felt 10% happier than participants who did not, “which is the same boost to happiness you’d get from doubling your income.”
4. Builds resilience.
The American Psychological Association reports that those who practice gratitude seem to better handle challenging situations. In fact, Olympic athletes include gratitude practices and positive thinking into their training, which increases their ability to focus.
5. Improves sleep.
Again, feeling grateful stimulates the hypothalamus, which leads to better sleep. In another study, participants who practiced gratitude journaling reported that their sleep quality improved by 25%.
So, where to start? A study from Indiana University suggests that even small daily activities, like keeping a gratitude journal or sharing your gratitude with friends and family, can make you feel better. Some people take gratitude walks, where they practice being present and feel gratitude for the beauty out in the world. Quartz recommends sitting down before bed tonight and writing down just three things you feel grateful for. It’s that simple.
Here are my three gratitudes: making it to the climbing gym with my partner yesterday, freshly baked pumpkin bread with butter this morning, and my dog snuggling up to me as I write this post.
What are you grateful for this year? Feel free to reach out to Pickett Street at email@example.com or 425-502-5397 to share your gratitudes and other thoughts. And have a joyful Thanksgiving.


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Serpentine, the a winding lake in Hyde Park, London, constructed in 1730, as part of the laying out of the gardens by the royal gardener Charles Bridgman (d. 1738).
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domain: history


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Car valet entrepreneurs clean up with record-breaking sales
With Autosmart franchisees “experts at identifying sales opportunities”, becoming a franchisee and running your own car valeting business could be lucrative
Automotive cleaning franchise Autosmart is celebrating as its franchisees, who run showrooms and “mobile supermarkets” retailing the brand’s cleaning products, have broken company sales records.
The average turnover achieved by Autosmart franchisees has increased by 9% over the past year, while the number of sales taking place in each showroom has reached an unprecedented high – “the highest that we have ever known in the history of Autosmart”.
According to the car valeting brand, its recent success is thanks to three factors:
- Firstly, the franchise has put in place a computer-based support system, SmartFIT, which the brand says “acts like a FitBit for your business” by providing up to date information on how it is performing compared to the goals set out for it. As well as saving time that would otherwise be spent on administration, Autosmart says that franchisees who use SmartFIT are growing two times faster than those still using paper records.
- Secondly, in the last year the franchise has launched three new flagship cleaning and polishing products, and says that a staggering 100,000 litres of each product have been sold by its franchisees.
- Thirdly, Autosmart attributes the year’s successes to the business nous and expertise of its franchisees.
Established in 1979, Autosmart manufactures and distributes professional vehicle and food processing cleaning products to trade customers across the UK and Ireland. It currently has a network of over 150 mobile supermarkets in operation.
Martin Jeffers, UK sales director at Autosmart, commented: “We’ve had another phenomenal year.
“Our franchisees are experts at identifying sales opportunities in lots of different industry sectors. Despite challenging market conditions in the U.K. Autosmart franchisees have enjoyed consistently strong growth since 2012.”


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Is it possible to earn real cash by playing live casino games online? This is because there are more cards in the deck, virtual pokies to win real money free bonus pokies can be a lot of fun to play.
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To use Paypal, which allow you to play against a real dealer in real-time. In this article, you will be pleased to know that there are many free Australian pokies with real money payouts available. In addition to checking the maximum limit, including slots.
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domain: game


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The local government put “sustainability” ahead of safety. One major culprit is already coming into view: a local government pushing “green energy” renovations at the expense of safety.
From The Guardian, The Chartered Institution for Water and Environmental Management (Ciwem) Photographer of the Year competition was set up 10 years ago to chronicle human impact on the natural environment. Spectacular collection of environmental photographs. These 2 kids are starving and alone.
If the crime of ‘ecocide’ were recognized in international criminal law, the activities of Monsanto could constitute such a crime, panel declares. Biotech giant Monsanto “has engaged in practices which have negatively impacted the right to a healthy environment, the right to food, and the right to health,” five international judges comprising the “Monsanto Tribunal” declared […]
Ashoka entrepreneur Jason F. McLennan started the Living Building Challenge a decade ago to radically reframe how we relate to our built environment. With a global community of pioneering architects, designers, and entrepreneurs, he imagines what the future looks like, then builds it – literally!
2015 Building Environment winners , The Crown Estate are a values driven business investing in and managing some of the UK’s most important assets, ensuring they are sustainably worked, developed and enjoyed to deliver the best value over the long term.
The Philippines suspended the operations of Berong Nickel Corp., adding to the list of miners that the government has shuttered for failing to meet environmental and welfare standards, the mines bureau said. Mining in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the south of the country has also been halted as authorities start to review company permits, […]
Instead of talking about the marvelous skyscrapers in New York City, they may soon be able to marvel at the Lowline, the world’s first underground park. New York City is now considering building the world’s first underground park in an abandoned trolley terminal. “The Lowline is a plan to use innovative solar technology to illuminate […]
The UN’s new environment chief has called for a post-Brexit Britain to link up with the EU on environment policy, adopting key bloc climate laws and maintaining its nature directives. In his first interview since taking office, Erik Solheim told the Guardian it was vital that supranational decisions continued for problems such as pollution and […]
In Jordan’s newest retail and leisure hub, the typical high-end boutiques, cinemas and gourmet coffee shops are tucked into an intricate ecosystem of natural heating and cooling, water recycling and hundreds of solar panels soaking up the sun’s rays. The three-story Abdali Mall in Amman is the first large-scale commercial complex in Jordan to be […]


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World Cancer Day was declared by United Nations and is been commemorated by Citizens across the globe on the 4h of February in order to raise the consciousness of Citizens on the effect of Cancer which has claimed countless numbers of life. Research conducted reveals that Citizens pay little or no attention to the deadly scourge due to lack of awareness/information. Thus, haven realize to bridge the information gap, JCI Benin Metropolitan resolved to commemorate this year World Cancer Day as a tool to increase awareness in a bid to mobilize citizens to prevent Cancer. Notwithstanding, the Cancer awareness took place at a popular and populated Market (New Benin Market) in Benin City wherein the Chairman/Chairlady and Traders of the aforesaid Market were on ground to received us for the takeoff of the project at about 9:00am. A walk round the Market reveals that majority of the Market dwellers were unaware of the causes and perhaps prevention to the scourge but with our awareness they (the traders) admitted their ignorance and pledged their support to increase awareness on the causes and prevention of Cancers.
Highlights of the awareness outreach were the distributions of awareness materials to traders of the Market.


Iv-Groep is the crane expert, and has a keen eye for functionality, detail, practical requirements and optimization measures. Our professional team has extensive experience in all types of crane.
We have produced highly successful designs for container cranes, floating cranes, grab cranes, Ship-to-Shore cranes, automatic stacking cranes and RMGs, and also for transforming existing cranes into gantry cranes and customised cranes. Besides excelling in design Iv-Groep is your ideal partner for engineering, inspections, calls for tenders and consulting. A full list of references is obtainable from us on request.
Our expertise in mechanical engineering, dynamics, fatigue calculations and detail design for cranes, together with in-depth knowledge and experience in hydraulic, mechanical and electronic drive and movement systems, assures clients of the highest level of quality. For further information, go to 'Infrastructure & Ports' and choose 'Container ports'.


This repository contains code for our paper: Understanding building occupant activities at scale: An integrated knowledge-based and data-driven approach. Advanced Engineering Informatics 37, 1-13.
This file performs the primary component selection process as described in the paper. It reads a time-series dataset (specifications below), and it fits varitional Bayesian Gaussian mixture models (up to 5 components each) to each sub-dataset (defined as time series for one occupant for one day). It prints a histogram showing how many components were chosen for each sub-dataset.
If the primary componenet selection process results in 2 components, then this file should be run (as described in the paper). It completes a similar process as in
primary-component-selection.py, but only for the higher-energy data as classified through a two-component Gaussian mixture model.
This file completes the classification process, using a Gaussian mixture model. It is currently set up to first fit a 2-component Gaussian mixture model to each sub-dataset (for each occupant for each day), separate the higher energy data, and then fit another 2-component Gaussian mixture model to the higher-energy sub-datasets. This two-step, two-component set up is based on the results from the component selection processes. See the paper for details.
The scripts are currently set up to read the
UIL_data_15min file, which contains 12x96 rows and 7 columns, where the columns indicate the 7 occupants and the rows indicate the time steps. The data and the code are set up for 15-minute energy data, where 1 day contains 96 data points for each occupant.


An article in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal this weekend has had me thinking about bicycling in our town. In the article, cyclists were minimalized by our mayor, Glen Robertson. "...cycling is a niche issue that concerns a small segment of the population." I also learned that the mayor feels that bike lanes are a waste of money. (To be fair, though, he was elected through a campaign based solely on saving money for our citizens - not on improving life, health, or safety for those who live here.)
Road Rage: Lubbock cyclists decry lack of safety
I have been a bicycle rider all of my life, but somewhat recently I turned into a bicycle commuter. I live in the center of town and my home is located five miles from my office. In case you are familiar with Lubbock, my commute requires me to cross Indiana Avenue, 50th Street, Quaker Avenue, Slide Road, and Loop 289 South. People who know my commute refer to me in terms ranging from brave to suicidal. I am surrounded by people who would love to ride, but they are too scared to ride in this town.
USDOT Survey: How Bike Lanes and Paths Make a Difference
I love riding and the benefits of riding; however, I am a fearful man and I have learned the most dangerous obstacles in my commute:
- unleashed dogs
- mothers in GM SUVs
- men in F250 Ford trucks
- anyone driving an Escalade
- people who roll through stop signs
- anyone on the phone while driving
Outside of these groups, though, I find most of our drivers to be friendly and courteous.
PeopleforBikes.org: Protected Bike Lane Statistics
Memphis Ave south of 50th St
(You can see where the lane/stripe ends)
I do not feel welcome on our streets. I do my best to stick to our infrequent bike lanes and nebulous bike routes. (If you are wondering about the difference, a bike lane has occasional signs and painted lines, a bike route has occasional signs only. In Lubbock, bike lanes are suspended as they near busy streets and public schools.) I mostly use the lanes and routes located on Flint Avenue, 42nd Street, and Memphis Avenue. (If you would like to experience the challenge of maneuvering a Lubbock bike lane, try crossing 50th street at Memphis on a bike. It's like being a mouse at the cat farm.) I try to stay on residential streets and avoid school traffic. I do my best to follow traffic laws and to be courteous, and I never ride in traffic on busy streets. I even use bike lights and a helmet. I love my wife dearly and want to return home safely to her every day.
Cyclists, please be safe out there and watch out for yourself.
May you live in a place where your elected officials view you as something more than an insignificant niche.


HYDERABAD: Municipal authorities have managed to acquire land worth over Rs 2,000 crore, located at different places in Greater Hyderabad
for the two-bedroom (2-BHK) housing scheme
, a flagship project
of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Contrary to the expectations that land is not available in the state capital for the housing project and, even if available it is very costly, officials have been able to get over 66 acres of land in various sizes.
GHMC commissioner B Janardhan Reddy told TOI that “tsunami surveys and counselling by psychologists” among other strategies helped them in convincing the dwellers of 38 slums to agree to give up the land. Though the land on which slums came up actually belongs to the government, he hastened to add that it’s the slum dwellers who are owners of this land and 2-BHK units to be constructed on the land would be allotted to them. This statement from the civic body chief was obviously made to allay fears of the slum dwellers about their fate once they handed over the land for the housing scheme. “The nine-floor 2-BHK buildings would be on the lines of posh gated communities.
From improper and inadequate civic amenities to to underground drainage, roads, water supply and other facilities, it is going to be a decent living in 2-BHK gated communities for slum dwellers,” he said.
Tsunami surveys are 15-hour non-stop survey by a large number of teams to measure the area of land occupied by each dweller, number of people, or families, and their income. It is the brainchild of B Janardhan Reddy aimed at avoiding political interference. For example, 150 teams, each comprising three members, including a revenue officer were formed to conduct survey of 1827 huts and houses in Bhojagutta slum from 9pm to 12noon the next day. “Before any politician could stage dharna, the survey was completed. We had details of how much land holding was held by each family. There were two or three families holding as little as 70 square yards and a majority of them had less than 40 sq yards. There were also dwellers with just seven sqare yard plot. We placed before them the details of land holding and took the help of psychologists and NGOs to convince them,” he said.