text:
Congress approves 5-year farm bill
The long-tortured farm bill cleared Congress on Tuesday, ending a two-year struggle that split the old farm-food coalition as never before and dramatized the growing isolation of agriculture and rural America in an ever more urban House.
Written off as dead just months ago, the giant five-year measure won final approval from the Senate on a 68-32 roll call and goes next to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Story Continued Below
Throughout the whole drama, Obama has remained remarkably detached, almost a bit player. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his deputy, Krysta Harden, will move to center stage now as they try to put the pieces in place before spring plantings, just weeks away in some regions of the South.
( Also on POLITICO: Full agriculture policy coverage)
"Today's action will allow the proud men and women who feed millions around the world to invest confidently in the future," Vilsack said in a statement released after the Senate vote. "This legislation is important to the entire nation."
Obama himself sounded the same note, saying the bill will add "certainty" for farmers and ranchers and includes "a variety of commonsense reforms that my Administration has consistently called for." A signing ceremony is being planned for Friday at Michigan State University.
"As with any compromise, the Farm Bill isn't perfect — but on the whole, it will make a positive difference not only for the rural economies that grow America's food, but for our nation," the president said.
Indeed, whether the subject is cows, cotton or corn, the bill represents a landmark rewrite of commodity programs coupled with what proved in the end to be bipartisan reforms in the food stamp program.
Factoring in cuts already begun during the two-year debate, the bill should generate about $23 billion in 10-year savings, but all such estimates are vulnerable to wide swings given the drop in corn prices since last summer.
( From POLITICO Magazine: The robots that saved Pittsburgh)
Just hours before the Senate vote, in fact, the Congressional Budget Office released new projections that show a big spike from what CBO had previously predicted for Commodity Credit Corp. outlays over the coming years.
The new CCC estimates are not based on the commodity title in the new farm bill, which will be fully scored by CBO as part of its March baseline. But the added costs are substantial and come from like-minded farm programs that are a harbinger of the volatility ahead.
By comparison, the farm bill's savings from food stamps, about $8 billion or a third of the package, are more consistent.
The single biggest savings comes from cracking down on what many see as an abusive scheme employed by about 16 states that distribute token amounts of low-income fuel assistance to households to help them gain higher benefits.
As little as $1 per year in fuel aid can be used to claim a higher utility deduction and leverage far more in monthly food stamp benefits, especially in high-cost cities like New York. By insisting that the fuel aid be no less than $20, the bill hopes to discourage this practice enough to generate $8.55 billion in 10-year savings.
A portion of these savings is then plowed back into emergency food programs as well as employment and training services. This includes $250 million for a set of pilot programs to test new ideas to move unemployed beneficiaries back into the workforce.
( Also on POLITICO: On the Ground Virginia: Mark Warner theater)
Tuesday's Senate roll call followed a 251-166 farm bill vote in the House on Jan. 29. And the rapid action completes a trifecta of sorts for Congress, anxious to put behind it the embarrassment of last October's government shutdown.
First was the budget agreement in December, followed by a $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill in January and now the farm bill — all in the space of just two months.
In the Senate, all three deals were handled by female committee chairs — a matter of some pride for the Democratic Caucus. And in a bit of comic relief, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a naysayer throughout, jumped on board the farm bill at the end because of a hemp provision important to Kentucky farmers — and his reelection — back home.
"We like hemp," said a smiling aide.


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Splunk is stepping up efforts to make it easier for government IT managers to identify meaningful patterns and statistical trends in far-flung data sets.
The software company just released DB Connect, which integrates structured data from relational databases with machine data generated by back-end IT systems, networks, applications and even mobile devices, giving analysts insights about the data and helping them make more informed decisions in real-time.
Using DB Connect, analysts can take data from databases and put it into Splunk Enterprise, software that collects, indexes and harnesses fast-moving machine data generated by organizations' applications, servers and devices, whether they are physical, virtual or in the cloud. Splunk also troubleshoots application problems and investigates security incidents rapidly, helping organizations avoid service degradation or outages.
DB Connect handles the integration, so users can focus on driving better visibility and intelligence, Splunk officials said. The software is designed to help users complement existing business intelligence tools by taking advantage of machine data to make critical decisions.
"We are helping agencies integrate structured data from traditional relational databases with the machine data from IT systems, networks, applications, websites, sensors and mobile devices that is already indexed and analyzed in Splunk Enterprise," Stephanie Davidson, director of Splunk's federal civilian team, said in an e-mail.
Agency analysts or workers can then combine the business context of structured data with the operational context machine data provides, to create an added layer of visibility for more advanced analytics across the agency, Davidson said.
"For example, Splunk DB Connect can help agencies more effectively and efficiently identify Medicare or Social Security fraud, waste and abuse. With Database Connect agencies can monitor and detect anomalies in the system in real-time and can also review and correlate records months after fraud has been committed to help prevent future cases," Davidson said.
Splunk DB Connect can also help organizations derive insights for IT operations and security, officials said. For example, IT operations teams can track performance, outage and usage by department, location and business entities. Security professionals could correlate machine data with watch lists for incident investigations, real-time correlations and advanced threat detection using Splunk Enterprise. And business users could analyze service levels and user activity by customer in real time to make more informed decisions, according to the firm.
About the Author
Rutrell Yasin is is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
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The August of 2016, the husband, me and a little brown leather bound journal carefully tucked away in my bag , traveled to Italy and checked off plenty from our bucket list. We devoured pasta like locals, indulged in wine like there was no tomorrow, learnt a handful of Italian words and drank in immense art & history. I'm glad I could make a note of our precious encounters during this ten day vacation because the many glasses of wine sure didn't help with the memory! At this point, I'm not sure how many parts this post/journey is going to be sliced into and since I'm heavily ridden with a bad habit of "straying", I cross my fingers and hope that I can keep you entertained and not subject you to boredom. I hope this journey makes you as happy as it did us…..
"Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions and the city of yearning."
– Giotto Di Bondone (Italian Painter)
August 13th, 2016
We weren't about to repeat blunders and discard time amid staggering tourist lines. I don my horse blinkers in the hope to keep away from the usual albeit veritable distractions. Minutes from our Air Bnb, we plop ourselves in a taxi, groggily requesting to drop us off at St. Peter's Cathedral. It is 6 am. The sun has just availed himself from his sanctuary after a long night's endure and the sprawling aurora sky is reverberating with a soft, orange hue. The cathedral & Michelangelo's soaring dome are painted in warm tones, almost fiery. In respect to the Pantheon, the Florentine sculptor made his dome 5 feet shorter across saying, "I could build one bigger but not one more beautiful than the Pantheon."
In the vast expanse of the Piazza San Pietro, are standing two souls. Hopeful, grateful. One, infinitely elated, clicking buttons at the rate of 100/minute, in the quest to make the best of the Golden hour. The other, equally overwhelmed and in the hope to imbibe this ephemeral experience to perpetuity.
The piazza is desolate for the moment, save for security guards who are indulged in cigarette drags. Nuns scurry past us as they scrupulously gauge my attire. The morning din seems like a far cry for now but the city is slowly gearing up.
The piazza facing the cathedral illudes as boundless, flanked by fountains on either side of a soaring central Egyptian Obelisk. Encircling the square are two colonnades extending from either side of the facade. Hundreds of columns, sparsely separated, they masquerade as colossal but in reality they are simply affectionate embracing arms. We stand in line to witness the grandeur of St. Peter's Cathedral. Apparently copious amounts of research coupled with my imaginative skills failed to prepare me for the splendor we were about to encounter.
Our early rise proved successful for the church is uncrowded giving the husband a chance to capture it's infinite beauty. I wordlessly walk along the nave, amid low murmurs and a soft haze of sunlight travelling through the windows, basking in the unfazed calm. A silence that is not, in the least bit, unnerving.
Magnanimity aside, it is the masterpieces by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Lorenzo Bernini and others that we're here to etch our memories with. Although they're but, a microscopic glimpse of art tethered to the past, it certainly is thoroughly pleasing to the soul.
Top Right: Bernini's Baldacchino, Lower Right: Michelangelo's Pieta
Fortunately, there's more because the next stop happens to be Musei Vaticani.
The streets leading up to the Vatican Museum are speck less and well interspersed with souvenir shops and cafes. We promptly grab a Chocolate Cornetto and string along with other tourists, in the hope to elude despicably long lines. Pontifical Swiss Guards stand at intervals and if not for Dan Brown's detailed description in his book, Angels and Demons, I might have stopped to take a second look. Out of respect, we don't take pictures. They are after all the de facto military of the Vatican City and not merely posing as costumed clowns. The contemporary attire draws inspiration from Rafael's frescoes : Stripes of ultramarine blue, red & a bright ochre, white collar & cuffs, complete with a black beret. They stand out offering an insignia of the Renaissance period.
Image Courtesy: Google
The Vatican museum is indubitably a treasure house of art, that reveal a clandestine past, and shines despite the rummage and ravage it has endured. Maybe I should mention the gilded ,enchanting ceilings bearing the most delicate of patterns, or the walls of a long hall that carry, 40 geographical maps of Italy from north to south or the enormous rooms that are perfectly swathed in the young artist, Raphael's frescoes. I wonder if I should talk about Giuseppe's staircase that curves in a double helix, or the countless sculptures, both mortal & biblical that are only shattered on the outside or Michelangelo's thought provoking colossal masterpiece, The Last Judgement, draping the walls of the Sistine Chapel. It's easy to get lost in the past, almost painful when jolted back to reality.
Come evening, we once again stroll along the byzantine Roman pathways towards Via Dei Condotti. After a brush with history, we prepare to indulge in a little modern fashion. Although I think it's not fair to label it "modern" when just a few yards ahead, lie the Spanish Steps: 135 steps built between the years 1723-1725. The husband is immersed in photographing the architecture while I window shop the streets that nestle quintessential luxury names…Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Jimmy Choo, the works. However, a little corner on the street is home to a street vendor, gently roasting chestnuts on an open fire. The aroma is inviting and moments later, we're staring at a paper bag with mounds of chestnuts whilst contemplating if we should give in to our curiosities. We do, we love it and pat ourselves on the back!
Piazza Di Spagna
The Spanish Steps
Before we bid farewell, we sit on stone benches at the Piazza Di Spagna, binge on Pistachio Cannolis and plan the following morning's journey. It is a bittersweet moment. Rome gave us glorious cathedrals and gorgeous sunsets. We were introduced to sweet Cornettos and flavour bound pastas. Rome shared with us secrets of it's poignant history and helped us attempt Italian words. For that & more, Grazie! It's never enough, the heart is hardly content but Florence awaits….Farewell, Roma.
I have to take a little break to share with you all the magic of the holidays in my next post. In the meanwhile, do stop by my Instagram account to see some of the holiday goodies I baked this year! Happy Holidays:)


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Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 6730
Location: Earth
Posted: Wed 19 Oct 2011, 19:04
Post subject:
Developing FirstRUN for Puppy CD's initial boot
Subject description: Starting Puppy Linux CD DIRECTLY to X desktop
Its no secret that I am a big fan for the Puppy effort(s). It is fabulous to see a community come together and achieve so much. Its a testament to mankind in the kind of innovation thru cooperation Puppy achieves.
I am NOT a developer nor am I a distro builder. I am an implementer and user of technology for practical purposes.
Having been associated with Unix-Linux (and a host of other OSes) over my years, I quickly "got" (meaning "understood") what Shinobar was offering us when I first saw it. FirstRUN.
Linux has added and moved to X from its beginning with text base, There are 4 things that traditionally plague all users over the planet:
LAN, localization, sound, and video.
In the past, users were forced to stop along the way in answering boot-time questions about these things. And, if you got it wrong, you had to search the system for some tool to fix that (probably easy for system developers), or you started all over.
Shinobar fixed this. For the first time, he gave all distro owners a method to allow any user the opportunity to select and change these basis needs in a single screen "FirstRUN" after reaching desktop without having to stop at various times along the way.. He made it so that you no longer had to stop and answer questions just to get to the X desktop. This was a major and "startling" change in booting of today's OS. Just insert CD and go straight to X! FirstRUN completes the tailoring in one place and user begin the system, immediately.
Since the outset, that single screen has had a name change across most distro which employ it now as "Personalize Settings"
For example when this invokes to the desktop, a user knows
sound works, when they hear "woof-woof"
the name of the PC and They can set it for their needs
Time zone needs
keyboard needs
Video options for various needs
And, it even checks you LAN connections for you and alerts you it there's a miscue.
iff there is a "screw up", one can simply go back thru that single screen again for adjustments.
They know this.
This tools has done so much for us in a single screen. Many of us have used this for various good reasons.
As we approach 2012, Barry is also moving to improve the user experience at boot time.
Barry raises a good point as he is looking at improving the startup desktop processing for Woof, WARY and RACY.
This effects an advantage to distro builders as improvements can be made to process the startup/reset of the system experience in a
single "friendly" intuitive screen
The development of the FirstRUN tool, as it exist today, is a combination of its start, along with 'the ideas and offers' that other Puppy distro developers had already filtered into Shinobar. He has been responsive to this.
He has produced a very useful tool for some, but, I have not heard anything negative about its services to Puppy thus far. Thus one would assume it provide a positive experience from the distro developers who employ it to the users who use.
Is there any ideas or suggestions that anyone feels would improve the startup desktop experience in this single screen approach?
P.S. FATDOG can take a user to desktop, but, FATDOG does NOT provide a single screen for changing anything done by the FATDOG boot process.
Whereas, FirstRUN give any distro owner the advantage of a single screen where the user can either undo or correct what was initially booted. This is what makes FirstRUN so powerful.
Question, again
Is there any ideas or suggestions that anyone feels would improve the startup desktop experience in this "single screen approach"? I'm sure everyone would welcome any and all suggestions to support Barry in his efforts.
Old version - FirstRUN 1.84
New Version - FirstRUN 1.9
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Joined: 11 Sep 2008
Posts: 326
Posted: Wed 19 Oct 2011, 21:14
Post subject: expansion
Subject description: add printer set up
Years ago I used a flavor of Linux that automatically set up your attached printer.
That feature would be welcomed with Puppy.
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Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 6730
Location: Earth
Posted: Thu 20 Oct 2011, 12:06
Post subject: Additions
If there becomes a 2012 version of startup in "X", like FirstRUN does, he's a couple more ideas.
Ideas for newer single screen tool
Put IP address, it available on-screen (not for changing, simply for information awareness)
Allowing password to remain the same or be changed(never displayed nor maintained in a FristRUN log)
I am sure that adding additional features has its pluses and minuses. But, the awareness this tool brings to newbies "may" reduce their questions about their PUPs.
Just ideas. I sure there are other ideas as well.
Get ACTIVE Create Circles; Do those good things which benefit people's needs!
We are all related ... Its time to show that we know this!
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Joined: 10 Nov 2009
Posts: 631
Location: Austria
Posted: Thu 20 Oct 2011, 14:48
Post subject:
big achievments were made last year. I regard shinobars contributions in so many fields simply amazing (localisation, Grub4Dos, sfs_load, firstrun, pupsaveconfig, frugalinstaller and sure I forgot lots of others). Thank you shinobar!
Better = simpler.
If the woof build stays simple an user interface can be installed on top of it. Its abit like different wm's - it depends on personal preference.
since you asked:
Setup of password and hostname (Maybe put it into "Network security" together with "Firewall" and maybe generator of ssh keys)?
Configuration System Files? (shinobars PupSaveconfig and the swapfile tool)
Software Setup button which leads to an improved and unified package manager GUI (unifying ppm, quick/slickpet, Bootloadmanager, sfs_load on the fly, flash downloader)?
should this things be rushed? - I think not.
Last edited by emil on Thu 20 Oct 2011, 14:55; edited 1 time in total
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Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 2647
Posted: Thu 20 Oct 2011, 14:49
Post subject:
Well, it's a sort of oxymoron to create a GUI program to setup X. If you can't manually setup X or write a script which hopefully gives you at least a basic working X configuration, then you'll not be able to run such a first-run program. The idea is certainly not unique. Almost every distro's installer willl guide you through the intricacies of setting up essential things. The big problem is deciding what is essential and what is not. Running any sort of setup program which presents you with choices which don't apply to your needs or usage is tedious.
Lots of folks don't even want any X at all -like for a server where even having X installed is a security risk. So your perfect one-stop do-it-all program will not help them at all.
Almost by definition, a liveCD is gonna need to present the user with at least a couple of choices every time it boots -unless some sort of 'persitsence' is implemented. even then, the range of possibilities is huge -well demonstarted by Puppy. For instance, you have the thing installed, or 'frugally-installed', but then for some reason you want to boot and ignore your 'installation'. Both the ability to have 'persistence' and the ability to ignore persistent data require added code during the boot-up process -which adds time to the bootup process. The more options you contemplate, the more complex the routines. At some point -like now, you have so many options that one can hardly remember how to use them or what options exist -and the large amount of conditionals used to achieve the versatilty penalizes every user in every case by making you either answer too many questions, or by making too many assumptions which don't agree with what you want. And in every case, the boot-time will be much longer than what is really needed to do the job.
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Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 15544
Location: Paradox Realm
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 01:26
Post subject:
Better = simpler
'Just works' is about what happens for the user.
Anything that interferes with that process is a bug
or 'geeky stuff' as my sisters inform me . . .
One of the most difficult things for developers to understand
is that most users when for example seeing code lines during
boot up - think the system is 'crashing' or not working right.
When they boot up and have to answer questions
(something they do not do on a smart phone or I p a d)
. . . well the OS is at fault . . .
If giving people a choice or interaction
- you can set up AND Introduce simultaneously
For example
Welcome to Puppy
Did you hear Puppy bark?
Set up sound?
Puppy thinks you are in the US
Is Puppy a smart dog or just a pup?
Do you want to go on-line NOW?
Click on connect?
Later Dog / Get me on-line now Buddy
Is that the time (shows time)?
Puppy time is right / Set to MY time
I need some grooming?
Make me look different / You'll do Puppy
This may seem cute
but it is basic psychology
getting people to interact with their OS
as a friendly 'buddy'
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Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 1462
Location: North Lincolnshire. UK
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 05:13
Post subject:
One of the things that bugged me about Puppy is the startup screen.
Most other polished distros use a splash screen to hide the text bootup. This is achieved using the frame buffer.
Some also magically setup your locale. (This I suspect is derived from an existing windows install, if it exists, or from the hardware clock.)
Pizzasgood started on this when he produced 'Pebble'. Unfortunately he had other commitments and it stalled.
I've been working on this area but admit it is not a field I'm knowledgeable about.
I liked the graphical boot menu type screen and tried to implement it further in boot process with the console messages backgrounded.
I altered a few scripts and got some results but constant lockups and reboots gets tiring developing something. I'm also not sure if I'm pursuing the right path.
To create a more polished Puppy I feel it really needs this, followed by something like shinobars effort.
Most new computers come with Windows preset to boot and ask simple questions in a graphical format, this doesn't frighten newbys so much.
One of the projects occupying my free time was a trayicon that showed the country flag for the current keyboard. I implemented a first start version similar to firewallstate. This could be expanded, however it did not follow X as to which keyboard was in use after a keyboard change 'on the fly'. It just used 'keymap' at startup.
The right click menu brought up a window where keyboard, locale etc could be changed. It could also bring up shinobars First Run if required.
This is similar to the mainline distros.
However again, I've spent a bit too much time on it and need a code break
The moment after you press "Post" is the moment you actually see the typso
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Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 1462
Location: North Lincolnshire. UK
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 07:23
Post subject:
Well, well. Surprised myself.
After posting above I took one more look and discovered where I went wrong with pizzasgoods Pebble. I abandoned extending graphical grub.
This is on a frugal install and is very basic for now. Animation of sorts can be added. All thanks to Pizzasgood.
This is a YouTube video that I took with my mobile phone. I was so pleased that I forgot to speak until part way in.
Bootsplash video
This is on Puppy 5.2.9 but I can modify it to run on most Puppys.
The moment after you press "Post" is the moment you actually see the typso
Last edited by tasmod on Fri 21 Oct 2011, 09:26; edited 2 times in total
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Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 15544
Location: Paradox Realm
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 08:20
Post subject:
I was so pleased that I forgot to speak until part way in.
lovely jubbly
When I boot in I quite often use 'puppy pfix=ram' - unless using fatdog
where it is 'fatdog pfix=ram'
From what I remember of this way of booting
It had an 'f2 extended boot options' text and a scrollable menu
of options . . .
Friendliness for noobs
Options for geeks
Puppy on Raspberry Pi
Release Candidate
Puppy Links Page
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Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 1462
Location: North Lincolnshire. UK
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 08:28
Post subject:
Still quite pleased with this.
At the moment I have let the splash continue as I need no options.
However, on a remastered live cd or during an 'update puppy' the screen can be paused whilst choice is made then resume again.
Using different screens will create an animation of sorts but at expense of overall package size and boot time slight increase.
I still think it's worth it though.
I've managed to get it to work on a USB as well.
I believe it will work on a Full install as long as lilo or grub is used to boot.
The moment after you press "Post" is the moment you actually see the typso
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Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 1462
Location: North Lincolnshire. UK
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 08:49
Post subject:
Hmmm. Interesting.
Based upon my install on Puppy 5.2.9.
I modded initrd.gz and loaded the extra files. Two extra themes were incorporated.
Now just doing some basic file size checks I can see no appreciable size increase as long as I remove the extra themes.
In fact after modding initrd.gz I saved 500k thus leaving room for the extra files.
The moment after you press "Post" is the moment you actually see the typso
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Joined: 11 Sep 2008
Posts: 326
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 09:18
Post subject: YES Yes, splash screen
Yes, I like the idea of a splash screen...and agree with above comments on making Puppy look more professional. PLEASE if possible add animation in the form of a time line or running Puppy or even sound... why.... it it very hard to determine if something is RUNNING. On big systems I used to give messages to my users to "Hang In There, I am Working". That is the purpose of the hour glass. Even better if you can in some way give a estimated time to desktop. Just a few suggestions. Keep up the good work.
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Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 1462
Location: North Lincolnshire. UK
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 09:24
Post subject:
Yep, I hope to have that working by to-morrow.
I posted it up even though it's at very early stage for me.
An animation of sorts is the next thing to show.
The moment after you press "Post" is the moment you actually see the typso
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Joined: 03 Apr 2007
Posts: 3425
Location: Oregon
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 09:35
Post subject:
This is just a thought, but how about a full screen gif for the animation?
That way, one file could be used for the animation and not have to switch between graphic files.
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Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 1462
Location: North Lincolnshire. UK
Posted: Fri 21 Oct 2011, 09:56
Post subject:
'Fraid not. It's hard coded to jpg.
Remember, the system isn't loaded yet, so there's nothing to interpret it.
The moment after you press "Post" is the moment you actually see the typso
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text:
But if you have book ideas for this international reading group to consider down the road, wed like to hear them.
The current lineup:
Dec. 16 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Jan.18, 2012 The Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez with Kristin Ohlson
Feb. 15 The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman and That Used to be Us, by Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum
March 21 The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry
April 18 The Devil's Highway by Luis Umberto Urrea
May 16 You Have Given Me a Country by Neela Vaswani
June 20 Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
The group meets from noon to 1 at the Main Library. Brown-bag lunches are welcome. Anyone can attend any session.
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Its story was a great picture of friendship and the magic of story-telling.
And it offered a vivid look at the social and political history of China. To compare this picture of China to the China of today was amazing.
Have you read it? Share your thoughts here.
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The term graphic novel was coined by Will Eisner who is considered to be one of the most important creators in the realm of sequential art -- which essentially is what graphic novels are. Today the most prestigious award that can be won by a graphic novel the Eisner Award.
Graphic novels are no longer simply comics about super-heroes and the battle over good and evil. Today they cover all the literary genres including comedy, tragedy, romance, mystery, thrillers, science fiction, horror, fantasy and realistic fiction.
They have become a very powerful medium for storytelling and they are a great tool for reluctant readers, students learning English and those with reading challenges. They can also make historical events more accessible to people by having dramatic visuals accompanying the text.
In recent years graphic novels have become a popular medium for autobiographical stories. Blankets, by Craig Thompson, is an example of a young mans coming of age and this months selection Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Many find the combination of image and text to be very powerful. Not only biographies, but social issues, health issues and powerful stories about loss are all addressed through this medium. One of the latest trends: adapting novels into the graphic format. The Kite Runner and Ayn Rands Anthem are two examples.
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Cutting for Stone , a novel by Abraham Verghese, a book they generally liked especially its vivid picture of life in Ethiopia and a doctors world.
Put the next meeting on your calendar Octtober 19 and get ready to imagine life in the middle of a political revolution, from the experience of a child. The next selection is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, who grew up in Iran. The format is black and white comic strips a graphic novel.
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Stick around Breckenridge, Summit County for one of these Labor Day weekend events
Still trying to decide how to spend your Labor Day weekend? Here's a rundown of what's going on around Summit County, so you can make the most of the last official days of summer.
Author speaks at French Kiss in Breck
James "Mac" McCarty, author of "The Vatican Conspiracies," will speak about his book Saturday at French Kiss in Breckenridge.
"The Vatican Conspiracies" revolves around crisis and controversy at the very top of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican city state. In a story that could have been ripped from recent headlines, the novel weaves mystery, political intrigue, Catholic Church history, power struggles, Church teachings, Vatican art treasures, espionage, legal tangles, extortion, international relations and a little romance into a fun and surprising plot. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's recent resignation and replacement by Pope Francis make this book especially timely, as the novel also addresses papal incapacitation and succession (as well as such subjects as the ordination of women and the important role of gay priests).
Learn more about this timely novel and its author and discuss some of the contemporary issues facing today's Roman Catholic Church — the world's oldest institution. McCarty will present remarks about his book, take questions and sign books.
The event runs from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and books will be available for purchase. French Kiss is located at 226 S. Main St. in Breckenridge. Visit http://www.vaticanconspiracies.com for more information.
Copper Country brings amateurs to spotlight
Aspiring country music stars will share the stage with some of the genre's biggest names this weekend during Copper Country at Copper Mountain.
The 31st annual Texaco Country Showdown is designed to find the most promising country music talent in America and to give these performers a chance to launch their professional music careers. Copper Mountain will host the state finals of the Showdown on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Troy Harris and Brandon Lee Gardner, a two-man band from Eagle County, are hoping this will be their year to move on to regionals and ultimately find their way to the national finals.
"This is my third time making it to state," Harris said. "I met Brandon last year, and we decided to team up this year and play together."
Harris and Gardner qualified for the state finals by winning the KSKE Ski Country local contest at the Eagle County Fair & Rodeo in July. The two will take the stage mere hours before country legend Kenny Rogers occupies the same space.
"It's a big audience, a big-time stage; it's pretty cool," he said. "It's a rare opportunity to get to play on a big stage that other big names have played on."
Harris said he thinks this will be the duo's year to win it.
"We play four times a week at bars in Vail and private gigs and stuff, so we're always practicing," he said. "We started playing with each other four months ago, and we kind of just click."
The two share vocal responsibilities, with Gardner on rhythm guitar and Harris on lead.
"We've definitely got it as far as the best vocals," Harris said. "There are some girls out there who can sing, but our stage presence is key for us, the audience really gets into it, so I think it could be our year."
The Country Showdown begins each spring with more than 450 local talent contests sponsored by country music radio stations throughout the U.S. Winners advance to their respective state competitions and compete for a $1,000 prize, the state title and the opportunity to advance to one of five regional finals. It's the last step before the prestigious national final held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. The audience cheers on the regional winners, as they compete for the grand prize of $100,000 and the national title.
For more information on the Texaco Country Showdown, visit http://www.countryshowdown.com. For more information on Copper Country, visit http://www.villageatcopper.com/coppercountry.
Lake Dillon Theatre presents 'The Owl and the Pussycat'
The Lake Dillon Theatre Company continues its 2013 theater season with "The Owl and the Pussycat," a witty yet moving interpretation of the age-old tale of attraction between opposites by Bill Manhoff.
Out of the window from his San Francisco loft, aspiring author Felix spies his neighbor, Doris, an actress, model and sometimes prostitute, accepting money after an evening rendezvous. Felix complains to the building's landlord, who then evicts Doris, leaving her out on the street. Furious, she demands an explanation from Felix, and ultimately, the two find themselves on a hilarious, bumpy and touching journey of self-discovery and love.
"'The Owl and the Pussycat' is a funny and smart look at a romance between two opposites in the 1960s," said Josh Blanchard, Lake Dillon Theatre Company executive director, who also serves as director for "The Owl and the Pussycat." "It's a gem that we are very excited to share with our community."
Debuting on Broadway in November 1964, "The Owl and the Pussycat" originally starred Alan Alda and Diana Sands. Denver-based actor Scott McLean makes his Lake Dillon Theatre Company debut as Felix, and Selah Grace, who starred in last season's "Kiss of the Spider Woman," plays Doris. The play has scenic design by Jared Grohs, lighting design by Nick Kargel, costume design by Nikki Harrison, sound design by Lake Dillon Theatre Company production manager Ben Whitmore and properties design and stage management by Hannah-Elise Johnson.
Performances begin today and run through Sept. 22. Tickets are $27 to $31 for adults and $23 for students and may be purchased by visiting the Lake Dillon Theatre Company website, http://www.lakedillontheatre.org, or by calling (970) 513-9386. For a full schedule of performances, visit http://www.lakedillontheatre.org.
Oktoberfest comes early to Frisco
Oktoberfest Frisco comes to Frisco Adventure Park/Peninsula Recreation Area this weekend, today through Sunday. The event features live music from Those Austrian Guys and the Polkanauts, as well as traditional stein-holding and leg-wrestling contests.
Grub on bratwurst, schnitzel and knodel, and wash it all down with a beer from one of Germany's finest breweries, Paulaner.
Andy Grogger, of Andy's Kitchen, and the Summit Community Orchestra, the event's beneficiary, will be hosting Frisco's Oktoberfest celebration. Grogger was born and raised in Austria before moving to Munich, Germany, to learn the craft of ice sculpting.
"For several years, I worked at the Munich Oktoberfest and managed one of the beer tents," he writes on the event's website. "Since coming to America, I have enjoyed sharing my heritage with my friends. I bring my love of the music, food and culture to host the most authentic Oktoberfest west of Munich."
Grogger invites local residents and visitors to join him in Frisco to "dance a polka, drink a stein and eat a brat, all in the traditional Oktoberfest style."
For more information, visit http://www.oktoberfestfrisco.com.
DooWop Denny's season finale
The Silverthorne Pavilion will host local favorite DooWop Denny and his last rockin' oldies dance of the season today.
Lifelong entertainer DooWop Denny promises "music to bring out the rock 'n' roll kid in you," with songs from the '50s and '60s, island tunes and slow dancing. "Wear your dancin' sneakers!" Denny said, as he encourages folks of all ages to feel the foot-stompin' beat at Silverthorne's elegant ballroom.
As a Motown kid in the 1950s, Denny grew up to the pulse of rockabilly and R&B and still can't seem to get it out of his system. For the past 14 years, he has spent summers in Summit County bringing his unique show from his home in Sarasota, Fla., to a variety of events in and around Colorado.
The town of Silverthorne hosts tonight's dance party. Doors and cash bar open at 6 p.m., and dancing begins at 7. Bring your own snacks and munchies. Tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door, available at the Silverthorne Recreation Center or by calling (970) 262-7370. All major credit cards are accepted. Because the show usually sells out, it is recommended that tickets be purchased in advance. For more information on the DooWop Denny Rockin' Oldies Show, visit http://www.doowopdenny.com.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.


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Configuring the Greenplum Database System
A newer version of this documentation is available. Click here to view the most up-to-date release of the Greenplum 5.x documentation.
Configuring the Greenplum Database System
Server configuration parameters affect the behavior of Greenplum Database. They are part of the PostgreSQL "Grand Unified Configuration" system, so they are sometimes called "GUCs." Most of the Greenplum Database server configuration parameters are the same as the PostgreSQL configuration parameters, but some are Greenplum-specific.


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A series of "posts about place."
posted by globalchameleon @ 9:43 AM
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Welcome to this series of "posts inspired by place" - from Central America to China to Chevy Chase (the town not the guy) and now Reston(TM), VA - where I'm a Ghost World kind of girl living in a Tracy Flick kind of town.
View my complete profile


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K.S. Brown has shown that much of abstract homotopy theory can be carried out in the setting of Brown (co)fibration categories [MR0341469]. The decisive property, immediate from the axioms, is that any morphism can be factored into a cofibration, followed by a weak equivalence.
H.-J. Baues [MR0985099], Cisinski [MR2729017] and Radulescu-Banu [arxiv.org/abs/math/0610009] then followed a similar path. Now someone wants to convince me that this is the proper setting for abstract homotopy theory. To begin with, I do like the simplicity of the axioms. Still, I'd like to be convinced of the practical necessity of this approach. Therefore my question:
Are there examples of Brown (co)fibration categories that are not already Quillen model categories?
More precisely, does there exist a pair (C,W) consisting of a category C and a subset W in Mor C (weak equivalences) such that (C,W) can be equipped with the structure of a Brown fibration (or cofibration) category, but not with the structure of a Quillen model category?
I would particularly be interested in examples in which the lifting axioms of Quillen are the obstacle. If they fail to be a Quillen model category just because they lack limits or colimits, I would be less enthusiastic.
On the other hand, I would also welcome examples in which it is relatively easy to show that they are Brown, but relatively hard that they are Quillen.
I would also welcome good general stability properties. For instance, in the Brown case there are no big problems if you want to enlarge the set of weak equivalences, as long as the larger set satisfies (2 of 3) and as long as the resulting larger set of acyclic cofibrations is stable under pushouts (incision).
To summarise, I want to be able to exclaim: "Good that we have the Brown apparatus!"


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Morning MarketBeat: Short Sellers Getting Antsy
Pre-Market Brief:
MARKET SNAP: At 05:55 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures up 0.2%. Treasury yields little changed. Nymex crude up $0.70 at $86.59; gold up 0.1% at $1,699.25. In Europe, FTSE 100 down 0.1%, DAX up 0.2% and CAC 40 down 0.1%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 down 0.1% and Hang Seng up 0.7%.
Overnight action: Honeywell CEO in middle of fiscal cliff standoff; ECB handed power to police banks; Alcatel gets $2.1 billion debt refinancing.
Watch for: November consumer price index (8:30 am Eastern Time): consensus, -0.2%; previous, +0.1%. November industrial production (9:15): consensus, +0.2%; previous, -0.4%. November capacity utilization: consensus (9:15): consensus, 77.9%; previous, 77.8%.
For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.
The Breakfast Briefing
The short trade is getting crowded heading into year-end.
Short interest, or bearish bets, on S&P 500 stocks increased to 4% of shares outstanding during the last two weeks of November. That's close to a 2012 high, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
Short sellers borrow shares in hopes of buying them back at a later date, aiming to profit from a price decline.
Given the looming fiscal cliff, a rise in short interest doesn't come as a total shock. "There's a lot of risk in this market right now," says Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners, a New York hedge fund. "People are betting we're going to have a pretty sizable correction in the near term."
But just because short interest is rising doesn't necessarily mean people should be overly concerned.
Investors could be positioning themselves to lock-in gains following a successful 2012. The S&P 500 is up 13% this year and is only 3% away from the year's high, reached in mid-September.
"It strikes me as a very logical hedge on a strongly profitable year," says Michael Farr, president of portfolio-management firm Farr, Miller & Washington. "Fund managers have had a good year and they want to protect that."
Some investors take the increase in short interest as a bullish sign. Just like other sentiment indicators, when short interest swings too far in one direction, contrarians assume the opposite will play out.
The market also could be more susceptible to a short squeeze on any whiff of good news, such as Washington reaching a deal earlier than anticipated.
Paul Hickey, co-founder at Bespoke, points out previous instances of rising short interest this year have coincided with market bottoms.
"Every time bets from the short side have seen a pick up, the market has snapped back to the upside, biting off the feet of traders who tried to dip their toes in from the short side," Hickey says.
Morning MarketBeat Daily Factoid: On this day in 1946, New York City was designated as the headquarters of the United Nations.
–Steven Russolillo[wsj-responsive-more-in tag="Morning MarketBeat" category="" ]
Stocks to Watch
Among the companies expected to report results on Friday are Rick's Cabaret International and Ocean Power Technologies.
In addition to Rick's Cabaret and Ocean Power, Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc., London Mining PLC and North West Company are also due to release quarterly earnings.
Overnight Headlines (Links)
Heard on the Street: Shaken Stocks Shouldn't Stir Investors
"With year-end approaching, the annual ritual of totting up which stocks did best and which did worst is just a few weeks away. But it might also be worth considering which ones jumped around the most."
UBS Faces $1 Billion Fine Over Libor
"UBS is close to finalizing a settlement with U.S. and British authorities in which the giant Swiss bank is likely to pay more than $1 billion to resolve allegations that it attempted to manipulate benchmark interest rates, according to people briefed on the negotiations."
Natural Gas Tumbles for Sixth Straight Day
"Natural-gas futures closed lower for a sixth straight day after a U.S. inventory report showed surprisingly lofty inventories. Thursday's report from the U.S. Department of Energy marked the latest bearish twist for the commodity as mild temperatures linger in much of the U.S. Thursday's closing price was the lowest since late September, prompting speculation on just how much lower the commodity could fall."
EU Reaches Deal on Bank Supervisor
European Union finance ministers reached a landmark deal early Thursday that would bring many of the continent's banks under a single supervisor, in what governments hope will be a major step toward resolving their three-year-old debt crisis.
Heard on the Street: Sprint Isn't in the Clearwire Yet
"Sprint Nextel hopes to add to its airwaves. But the spectrum it aims to buy may keep it grounded. The No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier offered $2.1 billion to acquire the 49% of Clearwire it doesn't already own. While it may end up having to pay more, its status as the only natural Clearwire buyer gives it negotiating leverage. And Sprint does need additional spectrum."
SEC to Seek New Trial for Bents
"The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to ask a federal judge for a new trial against mutual-fund managers Bruce Bent Sr. and his son, Bruce Bent II, according to a court filing. In November, a seven-member jury cleared the Bents, who managed the $62 billion Reserve Primary money-market fund, on fraud claims after a four-week civil trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York."


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The members of Coldplay took top honors for songwriters of the year and song of the year at the ASCAP London Awards, recognizing the performing rights org's most performed tunes and presented Wednesday at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin were feted collectively as cleffers, while the title cut of their album "Viva La Vida" was named song of the year.
Universal Music Publishing took publisher of the year honors for its most-performed winning songs "Heartless" (by Mr. Hudson), "Pour Some Sugar On Me," (Philip Collen, Stephen Clark, Joseph Elliott, Robert "Mutt" Lange and Richard Savage), "Sweet Dreams" (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart) and "Viva La Vida."
British native Taio Cruz, whose recent debut album "Departure" was a U.K. and U.S. hit, took home the Vanguard Award for his breakthrough work. English pop band Scouting for Girls received the College Award for its sophomore release "Everybody Wants to Be on TV."
Film and TV theme honorees included Nicholas Hooper ("Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince"), Erran Baron Cohen ("Bruno"), Alex Heffes ("State of Play"), Dario Marianelli ("Everybody's Fine," "The Soloist"), Paul Englishby ("An Education"), Cathy Dennis, Julian Gingell and Barry Stone ("American Idol Theme"), Josh Phillips and Dan McGrath ("Dancing With the Stars"), Elizabeth Fraser ("Teardrop," from "House"), and Keith Strachan and Matthew Strachan ("Who Wants to be a Millionaire").


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Feinstein will seek limits on who can see NSA spy data
The Senate intelligence committee chairman on Thursday vowed an effort to limit the access of government contract workers, such as Edward Snowden, to highly classified information.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., made the promise after senators received a closed-door briefing about the National Security Agency's massive domestic telephone surveillance programs, which Snowden divulged to the media.
Based on information supplied by Snowden, a British newspaper reported that one program involves cellphone records. The Guardian newspaper, along with The Washington Post, also reported that another program permits the government access to the online activity of users at nine Internet companies
"We will consider changes," Feinstein told McClatchy after being briefed by Gen. Keith Alexander, the NSA director, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and five others. "We will certainly have legislation which will limit or prevent contractors from handling highly classified data. We will do some other things."
Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton fired Snowden, a 29-year-old computer technician from Maryland, after he admitted leaking information about the surveillance programs.
Snowden had been staying at a Hong Kong hotel. But he checked out Monday and his whereabouts are unknown.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that Snowden "is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation."
"These disclosures have caused significant harm to our nation and to our safety," Mueller told the committee. "We're taking all necessary steps to hold the person responsible for these disclosures."
Not all lawmakers agreed with Mueller's assessment or embraced Feinstein's call for security restrictions placed on government contractors.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, complained about a growing intelligence bureaucracy and a massive increase since Jimmy Carter's presidency in the amount of documents marked classified.
"We don't have a good whistleblower law . . . that's what we need," Harkin told a roundtable of African-American journalists Thursday. "I don't know about this Snowden. My God, everybody's rushing to judgment . . . stringing him up, hang him first, we'll have the trial later.
"I don't know what he did, but when I hear intelligence agencies coming out with these huge pronouncements, I say 'Wait a second . . . quite frankly, they're covering their you-know-what.'"
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended the surveillance efforts Thursday and expressed dismay that President Barack Obama wasn't doing the same on a regular basis.
"For those of us who have been briefed on these programs, who are aware of these programs, we're aware how much safety they brought us," Boehner told reporters. "And we're also aware of many examples where they've helped eliminate terrorist threats."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., hoped that some information about the program will be declassified in the next week or so.
"I'll tell you this as strongly as I can – the National Security Agency is not reading Americans' email," he said. "They're not collecting Americans' email by either of these programs. I've heard it repeated in news outlets. That is absolutely incorrect."
Senators were reluctant to talk after the secret briefing, which lasted about an hour. But some lawmakers said they remained convinced that the surveillance program was worthwhile.
"That Americans private information, telephone calls and emails are being rummaged through by the government. That's not true," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Some skeptics remained eager for more information but were pleased to learn more.
"I can't say I came out with a master's degree understanding of it, but it was certainly a step in the right direction," said Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., after the briefing.


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Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
from the pressing-on dept
This week, it should come as no surprise that Tim Cushing's epic post about the OnPress attribution trolling saga yielded our runaway winning comment of the week, taking first place in both the Insightful and Funny categories by a wide margin. It comes courtesy of an anonymous commenter who highlighted the simple but massive irony of the situation surrounding Shaun Shane's poem:
I enjoy the irony of someone being a complete jerk regarding a quote about being polite and civil.Second place on the Insightful side goes to Josef Anvil on our post about an Australian court finally wising up when it comes to Google's third-party liability. Josef broke things down to basics:
I just don't understand why this is so confusing for people. Fact #1: The internet is a COMMUNICATION platform, just like the telephone.
Fact#2 Google is NOT the internet, it's a search engine. It indexes websites like the card catalogue in a library.
Is that so hard to comprehend?
If you wouldn't sue your phone company for the misconduct of its users then you shouldn't sue internet service providers for the same thing. If you wouldn't sue your library because someone left misleading advertising on display in public, then you shouldn't sue Google for the same thing.
NB: The internet is not some magical thing that turns shit that we already know how to do into new patents.
For editor's choice, we start out on our post about national firewall rumblings in Iceland. PaulT took on an absurd quote from Iceland's interior minister:
"But surely if we can send a man to the moon, we must be able to tackle porn on the internet."
That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen a politician say, which has to be a new record. For many reasons, but I'll focus on the two most obvious:
First, define "porn". You can't. It's a totally subjective term. Sure, hardcore penetrative sex might be unquestionably porn, but what about mere nudity? If so, how much nudity? Does the definition of such change depending on whether the subject is young or old, male or female? Going to the moon is easy by comparison - it's a clearly defined goal, the only hard part is working out how. With blocking porn, you can't even tie down an objective since every Icelandic citizen will have a different idea of what "porn" is.
Secondly, the issue is not blocking porn, it's how to do it accurately without destroying perfectly legitimate material. Every attempt to implement any such block *always* stops non-pornographic material and *always* leaves some porn unblocked. On top of that, even if you somehow managed to accurately block every time, that one horny teenager is going to find a way to route around said blocks and then it's completely ineffective. Yes, that includes offline methods, which you're not going to be able to block - I shudder to think of some of the unintended consequences.
Oh, and from the original (urgh) Daily Mail article that the Mashable link is referring to:
"This move is not anti-sex. It is anti-violence because young children are seeing porn and acting it out"
Sounds like you have a *parenting* problem... Just another "for the children!" excuse for implementing censorship on adults.
Next, we go to our post about Bjork's Kickstarter "failure", where an anonymous commenter noted how that word isn't quite right for the situation:
This was not a "failure!"
Platforms like Kickstarter have changed the way the market is functioning, and our ways of thinking about it (even here on Techdirt) have to catch up.
Bjork's campaign did not fail, even though the results were not what she was hoping for. She successfully learned that the market was not interested in this product.
Spending £375,000 of her own money? Now THAT would have been a failure.
Using Kickstarter is more like running a science experiment than it is like selling a product. It increases the efficiency of the market by orders of magnitude, and apparently beyond our ability to think about it clearly.
On the Funny side, we've already had our first place comment, so we'll move on to number two—and what do you know, it's not only also from the OnPress post, but from Tim Cushing himself. In this case, it was a response to a comment from one of our often-confused trolls, whose grasp on the subject matter seemed tenuous at best:
Bob -
Pretend this post is an anatomically-correct doll. Show me on the post where you stopped reading.
For Editor's Choice on the funny side, the first choice comes in response to Chris Dodd's latest comments, where That Anonymous Coward noticed a particular quote and realized that this is likely a classic case of PEBKAC:
"We can and must have an Internet that works for everyone"
So that is the source of the problem, he can't figure out how to use the internet.
And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't make a nod to the comment thread on our post about Chubby Checker, but in this case the award goes to Oblate for bucking the obvious trend with one of the few family-friendly jokes in the entire thread, responding to another commenter's self-confessed typo problem:
Next time use a Chubby Spellchecker.
And with that, we're done! See you next week.


text: We attended Extreme Autofest with our friends at Airrunner this year. We enjoy this event very much because there is a big mix of cars from DUB, Lowriders, Import Tuners, Exotics, Luxury, Trucks, Vans, and everything in between. It makes for a very diverse and fun show. We are happy to say that our Lexus LS460 won an award and Airrunner did to in the Best Toyota Category and Best Lexus GS category. Big congrats to all the winners and big thanks to everyone who came out to support us. Until next time!


text: Asthma & Pregnancy: Triggers Make an Appointment Refer a Patient Ask a Question Reviewed by David Tinkelman, MD (April 01, 2012) These are things that may make your asthma worse, especially during pregnancy. Irritants Do not smoke cigarettes and avoid exposure to second hand smoke. Both can make asthma worse and pose major risks for your unborn baby. Learn more about the risks of secondhand smoke. Allergies During pregnancy, make a special effort to avoid things you are allergic to (allergens). Pollen, mold, animal dander, house dust mites and cockroaches are common allergens. Learn more about allergies and asthma. Exercise Continuing to exercise while pregnant is desirable, but if exercise makes your asthma worse, talk with your doctor. Using inhaled medication before you exercise can often prevent asthma symptoms while you exercise. Read more about exercise-induced asthma. Infections A cold, the flu or other respiratory infection can make asthma worse. Good hand washing is the most effective way to avoid the spread of common cold viruses. And the yearly flu vaccine is strongly recommended for people with asthma, and it may be given during the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Sinusitis Sinusitis can make asthma worse, especially at night. Treating the inflammation in the nose and decreasing the post-nasal drip can reduce cough and throat irritation. Sinusitis is often treated with a nasal wash and/or a steroid nasal spray. It also may be treated with an antibiotic. Learn more about sinusitis. Emotions Pregnancy can be an intensely emotional time. Emotions do not cause asthma, but if a person has asthma, emotions can make it worse. Weather Your asthma may worsen with changes in the weather, especially when they are sudden. You should be prepared to dress accordingly and avoid polluted and/or cold air. Work with your doctor on keeping your asthma under good control whatever climate you live in, whatever the season. Gastrointestinal or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) In some people the muscle between the esophagus and stomach allows some back flow of stomach acid into the esophagus. This can cause heartburn and may also cause constriction of your bronchial tubes, resulting in asthma symptoms. This is more common during pregnancy and is treatable. Learn more about gastroesophageal reflux disease. Hormone Changes You will experience a variety of hormonal changes during pregnancy. These hormones can effect both your emotions and your asthma. Your asthma may worsen, improve, or stay the same while you are pregnant. If you are among the 1/3 of pregnant women whose asthma worsens, you may need additional medication. Asthma Triggers for Anyone Learn more about asthma triggers that can affect anyone - not just pregnant women - at asthma triggers and associated conditions. Asthma & Pregnancy: Medications Clinical Trials For more than 100 years, National Jewish Health has been committed to finding new treatments and cures for diseases. Search our clinical trials.


text:
This exclusive edition Canvas Print, designed by Stewart Wood, comes with a numbered and signed certificate of authenticity. Ready to hang, this image is printed onto a 450gsm white finish, 100% cotton canvas and stretched over 1.5" deep wood stretcher bars (3/4" for XS). Each print comes with wall hanging hardware.
R3-D2. Splatter effect artwork inspired by the Star Wars universe.
Cannock, United Kingdom


text:
Students identify the actual colors of objects bathed in monochromatic light and learn how three colors of light can be combined to produce colors ranging from black to white. Students see how space observatories make use of monochromatic filters to collect data on the color of objects in space.
In this video clip, see how NASA measures soil moisture from space with the Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission (SMAP). Learn to calculate soil moisture in your own backyard and discover the real world applications for this data. NASA eClips™ are short, relevant educational video segments.
This experimental activity is designed to develop a basic understanding of the relationship between temperature and pressure and that a barometer can be constructed to detect this relationship.
If you've ever seen a picture of a solar eclipse, you may have noticed that the Moon comes very close to covering the entire Sun. Learners will use a coin and a plate to investigate why the Sun and Moon look like they're the same size, though the Sun is much bigger.
This is a lesson to introduce the Kp index, a common numerical indicator of magnetic storminess. Learners will access and analyze Kp index plots of magnetic storm strength and determine the relative frequency of stronger versus weaker magnetic storms.
This activity prepares the student to launch an investigation of the relationship between precipitation and Streamflow for a local watershed. It can enrich a study of the water cycle.
This is a lesson about solar system exploration. Learners will understand that combining information gathered by a variety of robots gives us a more comprehensive understanding of our solar system.
This science news story highlights Comet ISON's travels through our region of the solar system. Star Witness News is a series of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases.
This interactive, online module allows learners to study the history of the discovery of black holes. Learners may work independently or in small groups to complete the activity. By completing this activity students learn the history of the discovery of black holes.
This is a lesson about locating impact craters on Earth using longitude, latitude, and maps.