text:
Rust has a special attribute,
#[cfg], which allows you to compile code
based on a flag passed to the compiler. It has two forms:
#[cfg(foo)] #[cfg(bar = "baz")]
They also have some helpers:fn main() { #[cfg(any(unix, windows))] fn foo() {} #[cfg(all(unix, target_pointer_width = "32"))] fn bar() {} #[cfg(not(foo))] fn not_foo() {} }
#[cfg(any(unix, windows))] #[cfg(all(unix, target_pointer_width = "32"))] #[cfg(not(foo))]
These can nest arbitrarily:fn main() { #[cfg(any(not(unix), all(target_os="macos", target_arch = "powerpc")))] fn foo() {} }
#[cfg(any(not(unix), all(target_os="macos", target_arch = "powerpc")))]
As for how to enable or disable these switches, if you're using Cargo,
they get set in the
[features] section of your
# no features by default
default = []
# The "secure-password" feature depends on the bcrypt package.
secure-password = ["bcrypt"]
When you do this, Cargo passes along a flag to
--cfg feature="${feature_name}"
The sum of these
cfg flags will determine which ones get activated, and
therefore, which code gets compiled. Let's take this code:
#[cfg(feature = "foo")] mod foo { }
If we compile it with
cargo build --features "foo", it will send the
--cfg feature="foo" flag to
rustc, and the output will have the
mod foo in it.
If we compile it with a regular
cargo build, no extra flags get passed on,
and so, no
foo module will exist.
You can also set another attribute based on a
cfg variable with
#[cfg_attr(a, b)]
Will be the same as
#[b] if
a is set by
cfg attribute, and nothing otherwise.
cfg! syntax extension lets you use these kinds of flags
elsewhere in your code, too:
if cfg!(target_os = "macos") || cfg!(target_os = "ios") { println!("Think Different!"); }
These will be replaced by a
true or
false at compile-time, depending on the
configuration settings.


text:
Featured EdWords Blogs
Likes and Dislikes
What is your favorite thing to do with a group of young children? What kinds of activities make you excited? What types of materials do you avoid?
Oh, come on. You know that you purposely avoid doing certain types of activities or avoid using certain types of materials. Me? I don't like glitter. I will do just about anything other than use glitter.
It's not the mess. I don't mind mess. I'll make sand and glue pictures or cut paper into little bits. We paint all the time. But something about glitter makes me almost hyperventilate. It doesn't just make a mess – it is insidious, showing up months after we have last used it. I just don't like using it.
I love blocks. We could have blocks as our major focus every week and I would be happy as I could be. I like to experiment, adding rope light or mirrors or straws with the blocks. I enjoy seeing all the different things that children can do with blocks. I like making patterns for kids to follow. Blocks are just about the best thing ever!
But not all kids enjoy blocks as much as I do. And I know there are some kids that enjoy sprinkling that glitter stuff on things.
I must be careful as I think and plan and prepare spaces for boys and girls. I cannot gauge activities or create learning experiences solely based on my preferences. I must think about the kids I teach and what they enjoy. I must look for ways to push the children's boundaries…and my own. I must honor the likes and dislikes of the kids in my classroom.
1. It shows that I am listening to the children and respect them as individuals.
2. It communicates that the learning space belongs to all of us, not just to me.
3. It encourages exploration and learning because kids are able to use what they enjoy.
4. It creates satisfaction and fun to the learning.
Does that mean that we have lots of glitter in my classroom? No. But I do mix it into paint or find glitter crayons or glitter slime or other sparkly media to use. It means that children can choose to create something in the art center, build with blocks, play out scenes in dramatic play. Or they can choose not to do those things, too.
It means that my preferences and my agenda are subordinate to the ideas of my kids.
And, occasionally – rarely – a shaker of glitter will make its way into an area of my room. But I still don't like it.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I had to go and get some tests done this morning and a chest x-ray for my annual pulmonary visit next week. The chest x-ray came back normal but is stated, "There is overall hyperinflation."
What is hyperinflation? Trapped air in the lungs? How do I get it out?
I do pulmonary exercises twice a day on a Hill-Rom Airway Clearance System The Vest, 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening at 10 psi, 16Hz. At this setting it clears out all the secretions out of my lungs.
Everything I read on the internet is for COPD, emphysema, asthma and cystic fibrosis but I just have a spinal cord injury at C6.
Do I need to do more standing frame time to get the trapped air out?
SCI-Nurse any input?


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Digital advertising budgets in Asia Pacific show no signs of slowing down. According to a report by WARC, marketers in the region will outspend their international counterparts in digital channels this year. An estimated 45% of all ad spend is predicted to go into digital compared to an average 40% in other markets. In fact, 2018 is destined to be the year when digital ad spends will finally exceed that of TV. At the same time, despite the prophecies about the impending death of traditional advertising and TV losing ad spend share, it will continue to clock a growth rate of 2.2%.
Commerce itself is prospering across channels – both on online marketplaces and in physical stores. Ecommerce is now a US $1.9 trillion global market. And yet, 90% of purchases are still closed in brick-and-mortar stores.
An era of transformation and flux
These numbers point to a single fact – that ad spends as well as commerce are in a state of flux and transformation in the Asia Pacific region. Marketers are increasingly preparing themselves for the omnichannel future of marketing and shedding their four-walled approach to all things advertising.
Consumers too are changing. Their physical world behaviours are increasingly guided by what they see and engage with online. Their buying journeys are no longer linear. 91% shoppers are now webroomers, i.e. their purchase journeys start online with research but the final purchase is closed in a store. In fact, buying journeys now include innumerable micro-moments in which consumers pick up their devices for product and pricing research. In parallel, consumers' exposure to OOH and TV advertising, mobile promotions, and contextual online advertising also has a role to play in their final purchase decisions and store visits.
All of this has resulted in some tough questions for marketers. The most crucial one is how to measure which specific brand interactions and micro-moments are influencing purchase decisions the most. They need to evaluate which online channels resulted in a desired outcome in the real world. What marketers are increasingly realizing is that marketing measurement is not complete till it takes into account the online-to-offline (O2O) buying journeys of the connected consumers.
And that is why O2O attribution is the new holy grail of ROI-driven marketing decisions.
What is O2O attribution?
O2O attribution is a marketing measurement model that will shape the future of marketing. It uses location intelligence to identify consumer behaviour in the real world as a direct outcome of their online exposure. O2O attribution enables marketers to move away from 'feel-good' metrics – CPC for example – and measure real world outcomes like Cost Per Visit (CPV). These real world outcomes make more sense to businesses and truly impact ROI.
What marketers are increasingly realising is that marketing measurement is not complete until it takes into account the online-to-offline (O2O) buying journeys of the connected consumers
The benefits of O2O attribution are both long-term and short-term. It helps marketers make long-term platform selection decisions that guide annual marketing budgets. At the same time, digital marketing by its very nature is extremely dynamic. Its ROIs are the strongest when continuous insight-driven optimization is an essential and ongoing part of campaigns. For example, if a social media ad is driving store footfalls, marketers should find out in near real-time and be able to redirect additional ad spend to the specific creative and platform. O2O attribution makes these tactical, everyday decisions insight-driven too.
Many brands are now using Lifesight-powered O2O attribution to make strategic marketing decisions as well as to consistently measure and optimize their most crucial campaigns. For example, a German luxury car brand worked with Lifesight Attribution to measure how its launch marketing initiatives on various digital platforms were affecting test drive footfall at roadshows. They used insights from Lifesight Attribution to continuously optimize their platform selection and messaging throughout the campaign. This helped the brand achieve over 40 per cent click to visit ratio for their online launch campaign – a staggering outcome for the USD 250,000+ luxury car segment.
Taking O2O attribution beyond paid media
We are in an era of omnichannel marketing and influencing purchase decisions throughout the marketing funnel. This means brands are not only investing in digital and traditional marketing channels but also in owned media – apps, landing pages, branded content among others. Influencer reviews and aggregator sites also form an extremely important part of the marketing mix for many consumer-facing brands. Location-based O2O attribution can help marketers leverage the true value of each of these investments. It gives marketers a single view into end-to-end marketing investments and the impact of each touchpoint in consumers' final purchase decisions.
We are placing our bet on O2O attribution. It will be pivotal in helping marketers finally achieve the pipe dream of data-centricity by finally bringing all consumer touchpoints under one measurement umbrella. Over the next few years, we foresee location-based O2O attribution impacting not just platform selection but also long-term marketing strategy, ad spends, and creative.
Request a demo to kick-start your brand's O2O attribution – we're here to help!


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I always thought that the thing you hit during badminton was called a "birdie" but upon further research, I see that what you're slappin' around is actually called a shuttlecock. And so I guess now this all makes sense.
Monday, December 21, 2009
at 4:35 PM
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text:
Disco Dion
.About Disco Dion
Dion Spencer is based in Salisbury, Wiltshire providing services as a Wedding DJ, Karaoke DJ, Mobile DJ.
Dion also offers additional services like Photo/Video Projection Facilities, Uplighting/Colourwash/Moodlighting
Providing a professional DJ service for children's Birthday parties, grown-up parties, weddings, school discos through to corporate events in the Salisbury, Amesbury, Andover, Wilshire and Hampshire areas ..From high energy children's parties, to teens and grown-up events, I can provide a bespoke service for your big day to keep your guests entertained..
Find more about Disco Dion here http://www.discodion.co.uk
Contact Dion from Disco Dion
Please feel free to call me on , or use the contact form below to give me details of your event and allow me to quote.
Send Message to listing owner
Listing Title: Disco Dion
Here's the area generally covered by Disco Dion, although Dion is happy to quote for your event elsewhere
Memberships of other organisations
Disco Dion PLIHere you can download a copy of the Public Liability Insurance held by Dion Spencer of Disco Dion and save as a PDF.
All Members on this website hold Public Liability Insurance, to ensure that in the unlikely event of an accident, you and they are covered by suitable insurance


text:
Need termite control in the Las Vegas area? There's nothing worse than a termite infestation. If you're in need of assistance, contact us at Red Rock Pest Control. Our certified termite control specialists are fully trained to ensure the health and satisfaction of Las Vegas home owners and business professionals alike. For efficient and successful termite treatment and control, there's no one better to call!
Our team of certified termite pest control technicians are professionally licensed, trained, and experienced dealing with all pest control services. We pride ourselves on being one of the leading termite pest control agencies in the greater Las Vegas area with our capability to be there for you when you need it most. Thanks to our IPM (Integrated Pest Management) programs, which vow safety, efficiency, and convenience in every service, you can entrust our team of technicians to rid of the problem quickly.
In cases of termite treatment, we follow a set playbook. Since termites thrive in a warmer climate, we encounter many problems here in the surrounding areas of Las Vegas, and we've found our process of termite control to be wildly successful at removing both the subterranean and dry wood termite species. However, there are many ways to counter the onset of a termite infestation, such as not storing wood near your home/business, filling in foundation or window openings, and keeping a moisture-free residence.
Unsure if you have termites? There are a few key ways to tell if your home or place of business is currently under infestation. An obvious giveaway includes finding dead termites or feces throughout your home or business. Other clues include a tapping noise within your walls, small holes in your walls, and weak wood. A quick but thorough inspection is all it takes to determine if what you're experiencing is in fact a termite infestation.
Losing sleep or business over a termite infestation is never ideal, which is why we offer same-day termite inspections! You can contact us at 702-685-0616 to request a professional from our company to examine your home or business at a time that's convenient for you.
If you own a business, keeping your establishment sanitary is the top priority not only for good business but for the health of employees and customers. Our commercial pest termite control services cater to property management for apartments, commercial properties, restaurant and food service establishments, retail stores, healthcare facilities, and more. We have years of experience on the commercial side of pest control and termite inspections, and you can count on us to provide satisfactory results.
We don't expect you to choose us as your designated pest and termite control company just on a few paragraphs alone. But we do hope we have solidified your interest in Red Rock Pest Control. For more information on any of the services we provide, from termite treatment to rodent control, we encourage you to reach out. We are always more than happy and willing to speak with potential and returning customers about pest and termite control in your home or business. For free termite inspections, contact us today!
We called yesterday and spoke with Dustin who was very professional and friendly. We had John, his partner out this AM ( came right on time within window of 2 hrs given) and was sooooo great! He explained what the process was and why as well as answered all our questions! He even helped roll out 4 long rolls of carpet ( not installed yet in our new home) to spray them preventatively! He was very professional and friendly as well! He will be back out in a month so we will see how the spray works… But so far the service has been excellent! Thank u John & Dustin!
These guys are great! Very professional and very Knowledgeable. I called them this morning because I saw a few scorpions in the backyard last night and wanted to start treatment ASAP! They were out here this evening and sprayed the entire perimeter of the house. They go over everything that they're doing and answer any questions or concerns you may have. This company is best! Proud to say that I am now a customer with them.
When you hear the term "rodent" you should know that it doesn't necessarily refer to a rat. While rats and mice are rodents, there are other types of rodents out there. If you have rodents, it probably isn't a good idea to have them running around your house. Rodents can do a lot of damage to your home. If you have a rodent problem, then it will be beneficial to have Red Rock Pest Control—your Las Vegas pest control company—come and help rid you of the pest problem. Here are some things about rodents that you may not have known.


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Nominations are being accepted now for 2018!
Nominations are accepted at:
Deadline: December 04, 2018
There are over 20 categories for CWEA awards. Each one has been designed to honor exceptional CWEA members and California wastewater professionals, facilities, and agencies. The awards programs seek to recognize outstanding achievements within the wastewater field, improve the professional status of all personnel working in the wastewater industry and related fields.
Awards are given at the Local Section first; recipients then advance to the State competition.
Recipients will be recognized at our Annual Banquet on January 26, 2019
This year's San Diego awards banquet will be held at Green Dragon Tavern & Museum.
Questions? Contact Past President Jesus Escalona


text:
By Vanita Suneja
In 2030, when I would be turning sixty, I'd like to tell my grandchildren the story of how – once upon a time – the lives of poor people in South Asia were transformed: that leaders came together to bring economic prosperity and social development to people that until then had lived in an unequal and polluted world.
What I am more likely to tell them, is how – even with the knowledge that nearly 800 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation – governments failed to act and people remain locked in a cycle of ill-health and poverty.
Ending the cycle of poverty absolutely by 2030, without leaving behind a single person, is the most ambitious promise made to date by world leaders in 2015 when they adopted the sustainable development goals: which included the provision of universal access to water and sanitation that is essential for achieving significant progress in health, education and equality.
When people have access to clean water and decent sanitation, their wellbeing increases: women and girls have time to go to school because they don't have to fetch water for their families – this responsibility often falls on the female members or a family, and with better health comes increased productivity both in school and at work.
For every £1 invested in WASH at least £4 is returned in increased productivity, primarily based on improved health and more time to work or study.
With floods and droughts affecting the region at different times of the year, it is important that climate-resilient services are set up. This includes managing resources responsibly and minimising the effects of climate change.
Governments in South Asia have taken steps in the right direction. Nepal has taken a rights-based approach to water, sanitation and hygiene in its constitution, which sets the bar for accountability at the highest political level. The constitution states peoples' right to live in healthy and clean environment as well as the right to access to safe water and sanitation.
Through its Clean India Mission, an incredible story emerges from India, where considerable progress has been made on sanitation. The Indian government aims to ensure that the entire population will have access to a decent toilet by 2019, so that nobody has to go in the open after that.
Bangladesh has shown the way on inclusion, having achieved the Open Defecation Free status before 2015. The government of Bangladesh has since adopted an inclusive approach to water as well, and is working to connect all those living in makeshift houses in the capital's slums to a piped network.
Despite this progress, South Asia faces daunting challenges. Governments, donors and the private sector must be held accountable if they are not doing enough. While 88 percent of South Asia's population has access to at least basic water, still more than half the population of South Asia lacks access to even basic sanitation.
Disparities are large between cities and rural areas: while 5.6 percent of the urban population in South Asian nations defecate in the open – having no other option as no decent sanitation is available to them – yet in rural areas, this is as high as 45 percent.
For all nations to deliver on their commitment to provide universal access to water and sanitation by 2030, governments need to prioritise WASH – the NGO term for water, sanitation and hygiene – and ensure that finances are directed towards achieving those goals.
Sanitation, water and hygiene have a bearing on health, education, nutrition, equality and poverty eradication. WASH is thus crucial to breaking the cycle of ill-health and poverty in which too many people still live today.
An important part of the promise to deliver water and sanitation to everyone, everywhere, is to leave no one behind. This requires renewed focus on addressing the equity challenge.
The private sector and civil society groups have an important role to play in partnering with the government to reach out to marginalized and vulnerable populations.
This week, world leaders are coming together at the United Nations in New York to discuss the progress made on sustainable development goal 6 – to provide universal access to clean water and decent sanitation.
This is an important moment to highlight the urgency of having clean drinking water and a proper toilet, and to ensure that the lives of people in South Asia and beyond will be transformed within a generation.
Published on IPS on July 16, 2018
Gender equality in the workplace is key to unlocking significant business growth, and driving positive social and environmental impacts, according to Better Leadership, Better World: Women Leading for the Global Goals, released ahead of International Women's Day
London (5 March 2018) – Women's leadership in business is critical to driving significant economic opportunities and driving better performance, as well as broader, long-term benefits for society and the environment, according a new report released by WomenRising2030, an initiative launched by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission. Better Leadership, Better World: Women Leading for the Global Goals, argues that, gender equality in the workplace can help unlock more than US$12 trillion in new market value linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (or Global Goals).
"We are at a tipping point when it comes to equality in the workplace," said Marisa Drew, CEO of Credit Suisse's Impact Advisory and Finance Department who is featured in the report. "Business benefits when all employees have a shared vision of the future – one that is fairer, more inclusive and sustainable. This report provides the business case for gender-balanced leadership to help propel these conversations in boardrooms and across the workplace."
In 2017, the Business and Sustainable Development Commission showed in its flagship report, Better Business, Better World, there is a compelling financial incentive for pursuing sustainable business models: unlocking more than US$12 trillion per year and up to 380 million jobs by 2030. This new report, "Better Leadership, Better World: Women Leading for the Global Goals,"showsthat women leaders are accelerators, helping companies unlock this 'economic prize' associated with pursuing the Global Goals – 17 objectives to end hunger, poverty, and inequality, and effectively tackle climate change and resource degradation by 2030.
"Women's leadership cannot be a 'nice-to-have' for business. Companies that continue to have male-dominated leadership will miss out on business opportunities unlocked by gender-balanced teams," said Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and member of the Business Commission. "At the current pace, it will take 217 years to achieve gender equality – and that's bad news for economy and society. We at Unilever understand the importance of gender-balanced leadership and investments across our value chains. Women's leadership makes good business sense."
Better Leadership, Better World identifies six leadership competencies critical to successfully developing business opportunities in line with the Global Goals: long-term thinking, innovation, collaboration, transparency, environmental management, and social inclusiveness. Research highlighted in the report underscores that women in business can play a critical role in deploying these six competencies within more gender-balanced leadership teams.
A number of studies support this argument, showing there are compelling financial incentives for companies to achieve gender balance across all levels. One study found If women were to participate in the economy identically to men, they could add as much as US$28 trillion to global annual gross domestic product by 2025. There is also evidence that businesses with more women in high-level management positions, particularly on directorial boards, are better able to shift their business's focus from maximising short-term profit to achieving longer-term growth goals. Research shows that women leaders also tend to be collaborative and skilled at balancing multiple stakeholders' interests to reach decisions that benefit all parties. Companies with more women on their boards are more likely to invest in renewable power generation, low-carbon products, and energy efficiency.
In addition to highlighting relevant research, the report features interviews with 25 senior women leaders from across diverse industries, including AXA, Credit Suisse, Mars, Symantec, Telenor, Thomson Reuters, and Unilever, as well as from major civil society organisations, including the African Development Bank, Ceres, the International Trade Union Confederation, the UN Global Compact, and Women's World Banking.
Both technology and investment have been identified as drivers of the Global Goals, and industries where women's leadership could help further accelerate achievement of the goals.
"We used to think that leading with purpose was a nice to have, however, today this has become a must have," said Cecily Joseph, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Symantec Corporation. "Technology innovation is moving at lightning speed, and at the same time there is an underutilized opportunity to drive value for business and society. Female technology leaders can apply their unique and individual strengths to capitalize on this, creating businesses that outpace the competition and a world we can all be proud to be a part of."
"There is incredible value in investing in women's leadership, which is a priority for my company," said Vineet Rai, founder Aavishkar-Intellecap Group, a leading impact investor based in India. "With the growth of gender-lens investing and expansion of the number of investments that promote women's leadership globally, there is a positive shift happening in the investment world that cannot be ignored."
The lack of women's leadership is a global business issue. Women occupy just 15 percent of board seats worldwide. In the US, women account for an abysmal 5 percent of all CEOs among S&P 500 companies. And in the UK, the situation is worse: In 2016, there were more men named David (eight) than women (six) CEOs in the FTSE 1000. In the 1,557 largest listed companies in 20 Asia-Pacific countries, measured by market value, women account for just 12.4 percent of board seats. In Africa, women hold 14.4 per cent of board seats at the 300 largest listed companies. In 2016, one study of 1,259 listed companies in Latin American and Caribbean countries showed that on average 8.5 percent of board members were women.
There are promising signs that the winds are starting to shift. In January of this year, the world's biggest asset manager, BlackRock, sent a letter to Russell 1000 companies with fewer than two women directors – an estimated 367 companies – asking them to justify how the lack of gender diversity on their boards aligned with their long-term strategies and to report on their efforts to address this gender imbalance. At the same time, the UN announced it had achieved gender balance across senior management.
"Meaningful change can happen," said Gail Klintworth, champion of WomenRising2030 and Business Transformation Director of the Business Commission. "First, we need to speak in a language that consistently highlights the positive impacts for individual companies when there is gender-balanced leadership. Second, we need to break out of the echo chamber. Business needs to have more open dialogue with both men and women to challenge the status quo, and companies need to prioritise these conversations at every level."
This report is a call to action for more companies to integrate the Global Goals into their core business strategies, value the leadership competencies critical to achieving the goals, build gender-balanced leadership teams, and promote gender equality throughout their value chains.
Published on the Business and Sustainable Development Commission on March 5, 2018
By Sophie Edwards
The United Nations has warned that progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals for women and girls is "unacceptably slow," and has called for better data as well as a special focus on unpaid care work and ending violence against women to drive change.
The monitoring report from UN Women, "Turning Promises into Action," released Wednesday, assesses progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, specifically looking at efforts to achieve gender equality — a prominent and cross-cutting issue across all 17 goals, the report states, as well as a standalone goal in itself.
"Progress for women and girls remains unacceptably slow," UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said in the report, adding that this "new data and analysis underlines that, unless progress on gender equality is significantly accelerated, the global community will not be able to keep its promise."
While there has been some progress in recent years, the report concludes that the focus on women and girls provided by the SDGs is yet to turn into practice in most countries. For example, 15 million primary school-aged girls are out of school globally, compared to about 10 million boys; women hold only 24 percent of parliamentary seats; the gender pay gap stands at 23 percent; and gender-based violence is still a "global pandemic," the report states.
It shines a light on huge disparities in the opportunities offered to women and girls living in the same countries. In India, for example, a woman aged 20–24 from a poor, rural household is 21.8 times less likely to have attended school, and 5 times more likely to have married before the age of 18, compared with a woman of the same age from a rich, urban household. Such disparities in education and opportunities also persist in developed nations, the report finds.
Furthermore, new and re-emerging challenges, such as conservative attitudes towards women's sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as climate change and environmental degradation, which are undermining "the livelihoods of millions," are putting increasing pressure on women's opportunities, the report warns.
It points to a number of key challenges holding back progress and concludes that "making every woman and girl count will require a revolution not only in gender data but also in policies, programming and accountability," and offers recommendations to help member countries translate positive rhetoric about equality into practice.
Better data, statistics, and analysis on gender can be used to hold governments, companies, and other stakeholders accountable for their commitments to gender equality, UN Women advises. Additional financing and policies are also needed, it says.
Katja Iversen, head of Women Deliver, said the report contained "stronger messages, findings, and recommendations than we normally hear from a U.N. agency," which she said is "very appropriate at a time when conservative winds are blowing" and threatening women's health and rights.
She also commended the report for promoting an "integrated approach — looking at the whole girl and the whole woman and how the different dimensions of the SDGs are deeply intertwined with women's well-being."
"The evidence is clear: If we want to solve the world's biggest problems, we need to break down the silos and work together across issues, sectors, and geographies — with women at the center," she added.
Better data
Despite increasing attention to gender statistics in recent decades, effectively tracking and monitoring progress against the global goals is challenging in many countries for a number of reasons, including "uneven coverage" of gender indicators across the targets.
For example, UN Women finds that only 10 out of 54 gender-specific indicators are collected with enough regularity to be classified as Tier 1 by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group, which means they can be monitored in a reliable way at the global level. For another 24 gender indicators, "coverage is patchy and insufficient to allow global monitoring," the report states, while 17 indicators are still being developed.
The report also points to a lack of internationally-agreed standards around how the data is collected as another fundamental challenge to effective monitoring.
Tanvi Jaluka, program coordinator for gender and development at the Center for Global Development, said the report was right to focus on the need for more and better data to monitor the SDG's progress on women and girls.
"Holes in gender data exist because methodologies are not clear or because data standards are not actively being practiced by countries," she said.
New areas of focus
Ensuring gender-equitable access to financial services is another major priority highlighted in the UN Women report, and one which Jaluka said currently receives too little attention.
"Unfortunately, a lot of attention is paid to the creation of jobs in the private sector and not to reducing the gender gap in financial services," she said, adding that "countries should work with financial institutions to invest in and test innovative financial products, as well as deliver products that are specifically targeted toward women."
"Taking these steps will promote productive labor activities, small and medium enterprise business growth, and savings and investment," the CGD expert added.
The report also makes specific recommendations for change around unpaid care work which experts say is one of the key reasons why women, as the default providers of care, are less likely to have quality jobs, attend school, participate in political life, and become financially independent.
In South Africa, for example, providing free and universal child care for children aged 0 to 5 would "at least in part" pay for itself, the report suggests, by creating between 2.3 million new jobs and bringing 10 percent more women into the workforce. The associated tax and social security revenue from these new jobs would cover more than a third of the costs of investing in free early childhood education and care, it says.
The report also takes an indepth look at the issue of violence against women and girls, noting that despite the prevalence of violence against women inflicted by an intimate partner, there are still no laws to protect victims from such abuse in 49 countries. It offers a range of recommendations, including pushing countries to adopt and implement comprehensive legislation, and overhauling services for victims in order to reach the most marginalized.
Published on Devex on February 15, 2018
Promises to world's poorest need to be kept to stop massive inequalities, new trends show
Economic development in the world's most-disadvantaged countries – mostly in sub-Saharan Africa – is stalling against the background of a lukewarm global recovery, risking widening inequality, new analysis from UNCTAD has revealed (see report below).
Data suggests that the 47 least developed countries (LDCs), a long-established category of nations requiring special attention from the international community, will fall short of goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development unless urgent action is taken.
"The international community should strengthen its support to LDCs in line with the commitment to leave no one behind," Paul Akiwumi, Director of UNCTAD's Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes, said.
"With the global economic recovery remaining tepid, development partners face constraints in extending support to LDCs to help them meet the Sustainable Development Goals."
GDP growth rates will likely continue to fall short not only of their 2002–2008 average, but also of their 2010–2014 levels, Mr. Akiwumi said.
"Inequalities between the LDCs and other developing countries risk widening."
The analysis highlights that LDC growth averaged just 5% in 2017 and will reach 5.4% in 2018 – below the target of 7% growth envisaged by target 1 of Sustainable Development Goal 8 on promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Sustainability Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Hong Kong, as a chapter of the global SDSN of the United Nations, was launched on Monday.
It aims to mobilize expertise, information and resources from academia, philanthropy, government, business and nonprofits to respond to challenges of sustainable development at both local and global scales.
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said at the launching ceremony at the Chinese University of Hong Kong that HKSAR government is fully committed to sustainable development, especially its three main dimensions, namely economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection.
She noted that SDSN Hong Kong will connect stakeholders from various sectors forming a global network for the exchange of scientific and technological knowledge for the development of innovative ideas and practical solutions to sustainable development.
"Such connection is set to benefit Hong Kong, other members of the network, and the sustainable development of the world," Lam said.
Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of SDSN of the United Nations, delivered a keynote speech and called for international cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals.
"We are launching a partnership of great significance. I am deeply confident that we will contribute to Hong Kong's well-being, but I also especially excited that, through the collaborative partnership, Hong Kong will contribute to global well-being," Sachs said.
Published on Xinhuanet on January 8, 2018
At UN Assembly, South American leaders urge commitment with global development goals
🔎 Sustainable Development Goals; UN General Assembly
Addressing the general debate at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, leaders from South American countries urged the global community for greater cooperation and collaboration in addressing a range of pressing issues – from poverty to security challenges.
Underscoring the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), David Granger, the President of Guyana, said that the Goals represent the international community's collective desire and determination to eradicate hunger and poverty, and ensure equal opportunities in education, employment and social justice for both men and women.
However, advancement of these Goals, he noted, is obstructed by violations of human rights, as well as by conflicts and violence that is displacing many from their homes, adding that the challenge before the UN is "to resolve to reinforce respect for the rights of citizens within the governance structures of [its] Member States."
He also underscored the need to combat the impact of climate change, and expressed his country's commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
"Climate change is not a fiction of a few extremists," said the President, noting that most recently, Caribbean islands and North American countries had felt the devastating impact of five successive hurricanes.
Also in his remarks, the Guyanese President reiterated that humanity must continue to striving for peace and highlighted the important role the UN through the International Criminal Court and the Security Council have in ensuring peace and respect for justice.
"Peace for the world's peoples is the mandate of the UN. It can be achieved by addressing the world's humanitarian crises, promoting justice within and between nations and resolving long-standing conflicts between states," he concluded.
Also speaking today, Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, the President of Paraguay, underscored the importance of the UN in confronting global challenges such as poverty and inequality, climate change, transnational crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.
Reaffirming his country's commitment for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, President Cartes Jara urged all States, and in particular those with greater responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, to take all necessary measures to preserve the planet from the consequences of global warming.
"In Paraguay, we have taken a social responsibility perspective, by fostering greater production of clean and renewable energy," he said.
The President also informed the Assembly of Paraguay's efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including building an innovative and inclusive institutional architecture to advance progress towards the SDGs and targets.
He also spoke of work in his country to combat poverty, build opportunities for the indigenous and rural communities, promote greater investments, as well as increase transparency and efficiency in Government processes.
Turning to the crisis emanating from the nuclear weapon development programme of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the President reiterated Paraguay's condemnation of the nuclear tests conducted by the DPRK, in clear defiance of its international obligations, and urged a "firm rejection" by the UN General Assembly of such acts by the country.
Also addressing the General Assembly today, President Lenín Moreno Garcés of Ecuador said the road to achieving peace and successfully implementing the SDG's depends on cooperation and dialogue.
Reflecting on misuse of resources, the President asked: "How could it be possible that resources allocated to implementing the SDG's have been wasted on the absurdity of war?"
He added that fallout from conflicts extends beyond economic damages – they also rob people of "true freedom and democracy."
For this reason, he said, it is important to respect sovereignty of States and reject the notion that militarism is the solution, which, he stressed "brings suffering, pain and death."
Also in his remarks, Mr. Garcés informed the General Assembly of a temporary bilateral ceasefire signed just a few days ago in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, between Government of Colombia and an armed group, as an example of regional strides towards achieving peace.
In conclusion, the President expressed optimism about coexisting in "a more human, and just world," can be attributed to the power of dialogue, political decision-making power, and collective action.
Published on UN News Centre on September 20, 2017.
By DELIA PAUL
14 September 2017: Saad Alfarargi, Special Rapporteur on the right to development, delivered his first report to the UN Human Rights Council. The report highlights the disproportionate impact of global pandemics, corruption, the energy and climate crisis, and other adverse global trends on the world's poor and those living in Africa, least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS).
Alfarargi (Egypt) was appointed during the February-March 2017 session of the Human Rights Council. He is the first person to hold the post of Special Rapporteur on the right to development. In his first report to the Council, he laments that many people are not even aware that such a right exists, although the UN adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development more than 30 years ago. The Special Rapporteur also observes that the right to development has become politicized, with the international community failing to agree on what the right to development means or how to measure progress towards this right.
The report outlines the Special Rapporteur's preliminary views, highlights implementation challenges and presents a preliminary strategy that will inform his work, including his approach to stakeholder engagement. Key challenges addressed in the report include politicization of the issue, lack of engagement in promoting, protecting and fulfilling this right, and adverse global trends, such as the energy and climate crisis, the increasing number of global disasters, corruption and illicit financial flows.
In his report, Alfarargi calls on development agencies to place the right to development at the center of their work. He emphasizes that the recent adoption of global agreements on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate, financing for development, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) means that 'the building blocks for change' are available.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration in its resolution 41/128 of 4 December 1986. The 10 articles in the Declaration represent a wide range of intentions, including to bring about complete disarmament in the interests of strengthening international peace and security. The Declaration encourages states to undertake 'all necessary measures' for people to realize the right to development, including through providing equality of opportunity and eradicating all social injustices.
Published on IISD on September 19, 2017.
July 2018


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Dubai's Award Winning Seafood Restaurant Pierchic, introduces Head Chef Paolo Bellamio and all-improved menu
Internationally acclaimed restaurant and arguably Dubai's most romantic venue, Pierchic, has welcomed new Head Chef Paolo Bellamio to the kitchen. Previously the Head Chef at Rosso at the Amwaj Rotana Jumeirah, bringing with him the restaurants most creative, elegant, and picturesque new menu to date. Making waves across the multi-award winning Mediterranean restaurant, Chef brings his own flair to the venue, enhancing the unique, magical experience with his extensive culinary knowledge and cooking techniques, revamping a selection of Pierchic favourites, and sharing his own exquisite creations.
Starting with the beautiful Pink Oyster 'Tarbouriech', Chef Paolo serves the fresh, firm meat in its beautifully pink shell with Champagne Mignonette and lemon, making for a delicious raw addition to the menu.
A new addition to the starter menu, Chef Paolo's Marine Plankton Risotto sees slow marinated Mazara gently tossed with red shrimps and fresh Marine Plankton, combined with risotto and topped with lime air, lecitined lime juice, resulting in a light foam, delicately complimenting the flavour. A unique ingredient, Marine Plankton is a true revolution in the culinary world and trending superfood, naturally seasoning dishes with an intense and exquisite flavour of the sea.
The Wagyu Kobe 7 with Black Truffle is a rare non-seafood dish welcomed to the Pierchic menu. Using grade seven to grade nine, perfectly marbled Australian Wagyu Beef, the meat is thinly sliced, topped with a creamy mushroom dressing and fresh black truffle.
For those looking to share, Chef Paolo suggests his Organic Scottish Salmon En Croute. Taking a modern approach to a traditional beef wellington-style favourite, Chef gives it a seafood twist using organic Scottish Salmon. Prepared over a two-hour period, the oven-baked fish served on a bed of savoy cabbage and mushrooms with a white wine mustard sauce, and plated tableside.
Bringing a touch of authentic Italy to the menu, the Homemade Black Ink Tagliolini Mare is a delicious blend of homemade squid ink pasta, sautéed in a Crustacean and Lobster sauce with Sicilian red cherry tomatoes. Alternatively, the Truciolo Pasta Latini with Green Asparagus Carbonara brings an all-new vegetarian option to the menu. Traditionally served with beef bacon, the creamy carbonara is made with fresh asparagus, and topped with shaved black truffle for a subtle bite.
Boasting over 15 years' experience, Chef Paolo hails from Padua, Italy, and started his career as a Culinary Technician for Catering and Restaurant Services across a number of Italian restaurants, before finding himself in the kitchen full time. With experience working amidst cuisines including Spanish, Arab, Mediterranean and Greek, Chef Paolo moved to Dubai in 2010. He joined the Jumeirah Restaurant Group team in 2015 as Head Chef of the bustling Trattoria, before taking up his new role at Pierchic, noting it to be his career highlight. Situated high above the turquoise waters of the tranquil Arabian Gulf, Dubai's stunning 'over-the-water' Destination offers a number of culinary opportunities. The Destination Lunch invites guests to take in the crystal waters surrounding the iconic location during the day, with three courses for a modest AED 199 between 12pm and 3pm, Saturday to Thursday. The famed Sunset Menu is available daily from 6pm to 7pm, priced at AED 350 per person for three courses and a cocktail, boasting panoramic views of the stunning Arabian Gulf sunset. Pierchic is a must-visit for seafood aficionados and experience seekers alike.
For Reservations
+971 4 432 3232 / firstname.lastname@example.com
For more inspiration on traveling in style, take a look at Tumi's new luggage collection here


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Don't think that the East Village would not look the way the it does without the assistance of NYU, The New School and the Medium Box fashion chain stores.
What the East Village has that Harlem does'nt are abundant owner occupied apartments and town houses. The EV also several blocks and areas zoned as historic.
I knew it was gonna happen. I just could not figure out how.
Then I saw this article and it crystalized for me.
City has built a dorm at 130 & St. Nick. Peep the excerpt below.
The scene might have been typical at any other university. But at City College's 36-acre campus, it was an unusual sight, as students moved into the college's new $56 million dorm building for the first time yesterday. The building, called the Towers at the City College of New York, is a beige-brick, ultramodern complex at West 130th Street and St. Nicholas Terrace. There are 164 apartments to house 600 students and faculty members.Don't get me wrong. I understand that "Progress" is inevitable.
That is a major underpinning of property law.
However my question is allways, progress for WHOM?
Especially in Millionaire City!?!?!?!!?
A Blind Man can see that the evolution of Columbia and City College are going to be the two major forces that take Harlem beyond the tipping point.
N*ggas ain't even useta go past Avenue A ten years ago. Unless they stayed there or if it was crack related.
Sh*t, when we usta go to Nuyorican's in '98 + '99 we usta roll kinda deep, lest we get caught out there onna late night. Hyped up from 3 hours of open mic performances.
Peep Jarett Murphy's dope piece in the Village Voice that brings all this issues together, tight, like a RZA beat.
What's more, you could end up working or studying in what will take their place in Manhattanville: nearly 7 million square feet of offices, research space, and housing for Columbia University. With scant wiggle room at its main Morningside Heights campus or uptown medical center, Columbia wants to move onto 18 acres roughly north of 125th Street and just east of Twelfth Avenue. To do it, the state's oldest college is asking the city for a special rezoning, scooping up parcels of land, and preparing to ask the state to invoke eminent domain if necessary.
Needless to say, not everyone in the area is thrilled with the idea. Residents, business owners, and some Columbia students have banded together to oppose the plan. The local community board is pushing an alternative development scheme. Civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel has signed on to resist eminent domain. A sign on a door in the area reads, "Dear Columbia: Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself."
In the constant evolution of New York neighborhoods, this sort of fight isn't anything new. And for Columbia especially, this is not a first. Thirty-eight years ago, the university's bid to expand into Morningside Park�coupled with outrage over the school's military contracts�touched off days off unrest on campus in which students occupied five buildings and, in some cases, clashed violently with cops. After the bloodshed, that expansion plan died. Columbia has pursued projects in the years since, but none were as ambitious as the vision for Manhattanville.
Walt. I read this and I thought of you.
"We're not rednecks," Will joked. "We're Appalachian-Americans."
Contrast the excerpt below with the journalist normally cover the side show. Notice also the point made about how, if the ability to cruise is taken away, then the young bucks won't have anything to do.
"The kids ain't gonna leave, I don't care how many tickets the cops write," said Laura Strother, 22, who had driven from Waynesville, a tiny outlying town with an odoriferous paper mill, she said. She was trolling Patton that weekend in her 2001 black Mustang — nicknamed Bullitt, after a favorite movie. Her cruising companion, Kelly Edwards, 17, also of Waynesville, who wore a tiny rhinestone stud in her nose, agreed: "If you take this away, then nobody has anything to do."
For some teenagers on this side of town, cruising becomes a chance to explore, and define, their budding identities. Will Thompson and his friends proudly fly Confederate battle flags — "They say 'Heritage, Not Hate,' " Will emphasized — and crank up old Conway Twitty albums on the car stereo while cruising Patton. Most nights, they set up lawn chairs that teeter in the bed of their pickups.
"We're not rednecks," Will joked. "We're Appalachian-Americans."
The Dixie vibe is readily apparent on Patton Avenue in the form of rebel-flag bumper stickers and decals. Still, it's hardly universal. Many of the teenagers would not seem out of place in Santa Monica, Calif., with their Abercrombie & Fitch meets "The O.C." look — baggy jeans, flip-flops, oversize surfer-style shirts.
One man's heritage is another mans hate.Thats some deep sh*t to being a week thinking about.
How was your weekend la familia de la blog.
I have an interview with an artist friend in the works.
What have you all been working on.
By the way. I hate when my innernet service gets interrupted.
Other than that. Life is bien!


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Nanoparticle transportation through a permeable duct with Joule heating influence
Publication Details
Li, Z., Shafee, A., Kandasamy, R., Ramzan, M. & Al-Mdallal, Q. M. (2019). Nanoparticle transportation through a permeable duct with Joule heating influence.Microsystem Technologies: micro and nanosystems information storage and processing systems, 25 (9), 3571-3580.
Nanofluid radiation in a semi permeable duct is analyzed in existence of Lorentz forces. Lorentz forces impact on energy equation are involved. Last ODEs were solved via RK4 approach. Effects of suction, radiation, Eckert, Hartmann numbers on flow, heat and mass transfer have been described. Outputs reveal that as Ha augments, vertical velocity reduces but temperature enhances. Concentration of nanofluid reduces with augment of magnetic force.


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This action might not be possible to undo. Are you sure you want to continue?
From the "author to watch" (Kirkus Reviews) of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes an "equal parts sarcastic and profound" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving.
Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button.
Only he isn't sure he wants to.
After all, life hasn't been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer's. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend's suicide last year.
Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him.
But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.
Life is bullshit.
Consider your life for a moment. Think about all those little rituals that sustain you throughout your day—from the moment you wake up until that last, lonely midnight hour when you guzzle a gallon of NyQuil to drown out the persistent voice in your head. The one that whispers you should give up, give in, that tomorrow won't be better than today. Think about the absurdity of brushing your teeth, of arguing with your mother over the appropriateness of what you're wearing to school, of homework, of grade-point averages and boyfriends and hot school lunches.
And life.
Think about the absurdity of life.
When you break down the things we do every day to their component pieces, you begin to understand how ridiculous they are. Like kissing, for instance. You wouldn't let a stranger off the street spit into your mouth, but you'll swap saliva with the boy or girl who makes your heart race and your pits sweat and gives you boners at the worst fucking times. You'll stick your tongue in his mouth or her mouth or their mouth, and let them reciprocate without stopping to consider where else their tongue has been, or whether they're giving you mouth herpes or mono or leftover morsels of their tuna-salad sandwich.
We shave our legs and pluck our eyebrows and slather our bodies with creams and lotions. We starve ourselves so we can fit into the perfect pair of jeans, we pollute our bodies with drugs to increase our muscles so we'll look ripped without a shirt. We drive fast and party hard and study for exams that don't mean dick in the grand scheme of the cosmos.
Physicists have theorized that we live in an infinite and infinitely expanding universe, and that everything in it will eventually repeat. There are infinite copies of your mom and your dad and your clothes-stealing little sister. There are infinite copies of you. Despite what you've spent your entire life believing, you are not a special snowflake. Somewhere out there, another you is living your life. Chances are, they're living it better. They're learning to speak French or screwing their brains out instead of loafing on the couch in their boxers, stuffing their face with bowl after bowl of Fruity Oatholes while wondering why they're all alone on a Friday night. But that's not even the worst part. What's really going to send you running over the side of the nearest bridge is that none of it matters. I'll die, you'll die, we'll all die, and the things we've done, the choices we've made, will amount to nothing.
Out in the world, crawling in a field at the edge of some bullshit town with a name like Shoshoni or Medicine Bow, is an ant. You weren't aware of it. Didn't know whether it was a soldier, a drone, or the queen. Didn't care if it was scouting for food to drag back to the nest or building new tunnels for wriggly ant larvae. Until now that ant simply didn't exist for you. If I hadn't mentioned it, you would have continued on with your life, pinballing from one tedious task to the next—shoving your tongue into the bacterial minefield of your girlfriend's mouth, doodling the variations of your combined names on the cover of your notebook—waiting for electronic bits to zoom through the air and tell you that someone was thinking about you. That for one fleeting moment you were the most significant person in someone else's insignificant life. But whether you knew about it or not, that ant is still out there doing ant things while you wait for the next text message to prove that out of the seven billion self-centered people on this planet, you are important. Your entire sense of self-worth is predicated upon your belief that you matter, that you matter to the universe.
But you don't.
Because we are the ants.
• • •
I didn't waste time thinking about the future until the night the sluggers abducted me and told me the world was going to end.
I'm not insane. When I tell you the human race is toast, I'm not speaking hyperbolically the way people do when they say we're all dying from the moment our mothers evict us from their bodies into a world where everything feels heavier and brighter and far too loud. I'm telling you that tomorrow—January 29, 2016—you can kiss your Chipotle-eating, Frappuccino-drinking, fat ass good-bye.
You probably don't believe me—I wouldn't in your place—but I've had 143 days to come to terms with our inevitable destruction, and I've spent most of those days thinking about the future. Wondering whether I have or want one, trying to decide if the end of existence is a tragedy, a comedy, or as inconsequential as that chem lab I forgot to turn in last week.
But the real joke isn't that the sluggers revealed to me the date of Earth's demise; it's that they offered me the choice to prevent it.
You asked for a story, so here it is. I'll begin with the night the sluggers told me the world was toast, and when I'm finished, we can wait for the end together.
The biggest letdown about being abducted by aliens is the abundance of gravity on the spaceship. We spend our first nine months of life floating, weightless and blind, in an amniotic sac before we become gravity's bitch, and the seductive lure of space travel is the promise of returning to that perfect state of grace. But it's a sham. Gravity is jealous, sadistic, and infinite.
Sometimes I think gravity may be death in disguise. Other times I think gravity is love, which is why love's only demand is that we fall.
• • •
Sluggers aren't gray. They don't have saucer-wide eyes or thin lipless mouths. As far as I know, they don't have mouths at all. Their skin is rough like wet leather and is all the colors of an algae bloom. Their black spherical eyes are mounted atop their heads on wobbly stalks. Instead of arms, they have appendages that grow from their bodies when required. If their UFO keys fall off the console—boom!—instant arm. If they need to restrain me or silence my terrified howls, they can sprout a dozen tentacles to accomplish the task. It's very efficient.
Oddly enough, sluggers do have nipples. Small brown buttons that appear to be as useless to them as most men's. It's comforting to know that regardless of our vast differences and the light-years that separate our worlds, we'll always have nipples in common.
I should slap that on a bumper sticker, © HENRY JEROME DENTON.
• • •
Before you ask: no, the sluggers have never probed my anus. I'm fairly certain they reserve that special treat for people who talk on their phones during movies, or text while driving.
• • •
Here's how it happens: abductions always begin with shadows. Even in a dark room, with the windows closed and the curtains drawn, the shadows descend, circling like buzzards over a reeking lunch.
Then a heaviness in my crotch like I have to pee, growing painfully insistent regardless of how much I beg my brain to ignore it.
After that, helplessness. Paralysis. The inability to struggle. Fight. Breathe.
The inability to scream.
At some point the sluggers move me to the examination room. I've been abducted at least a dozen times, and I still don't know how they transport me from my bedroom to their spaceship. It happens in the dark space between blinks, in the void between breaths.
Once aboard, they begin the experiments.
That's what I assume they're doing. Trying to fathom the motives of an advanced alien race who possess the technological capacity to travel through the universe is like the frog I dissected in ninth grade trying to understand why I cut it open and pinned its guts to the table. The sluggers could be blasting me with deadly radiation or stuffing me full of slugger eggs just to see what happens. Hell, I could be some slugger kid's science fair project.
I doubt I'll ever know for certain.
Sluggers don't speak. During those long stretches where my body is beyond my control, I often wonder how they communicate with one another. Maybe they secrete chemicals the way insects do, or perhaps the movements of their eyestalks is a form of language similar to the dance of a bee. They could also be like my mother and father, who communicated exclusively by slamming doors.
I was thirteen the first time the sluggers abducted me. My older brother, Charlie, was snoring his face off in the next room while I lay in bed, translating my parents' fight. You might believe all doors sound the same when slammed, but you'd be wrong.
My father was a classic slammer, maintaining contact with the door until it was totally and completely shut. This gave him control over the volume and pitch, and produced a deep, solid bang capable of shaking the door, the frame, and the wall.
Mom preferred variety. Sometimes she went for the dramatic fling; other times she favored the heel-kick slam. That night, she relied on the multismash, which was loud and effective but lacked subtlety.
The sluggers abducted me before I learned what my parents were arguing about. Police found me two days later, wandering the dirt roads west of Calypso, wearing a grocery bag for underwear and covered in hickies I couldn't explain. My father left three weeks after that, slamming the door behind him one final time. No translation necessary.
• • •
I've never grown comfortable being naked around the aliens. Jesse Franklin frequently saw me naked and claimed to enjoy it, but he was my boyfriend, so it doesn't count. I'm self-conscious about being too skinny, and I imagine the sluggers judge me for my flaws—the mole in the center of my chest shaped like Abraham Lincoln or the way my collarbone protrudes or my tragically flat ass. Once, while standing in the lunch line waiting for shepherd's pie, Elle Smith told me I had the flattest ass she'd ever seen. I wasn't sure how many asses a twelve-year-old girl from Calypso realistically could have been exposed to, but the comment infected me like a cold sore, bursting to the surface from time to time, ensuring I never forgot my place.
Part of me wonders if the sluggers send pervy pics back to their home planet for their alien buddies to mock. Check out this mutant we caught. They call it a teenager. It's got five arms, but one is tiny and deformed.
It's not really deformed, I swear.
• • •
When the sluggers had finished experimenting on me that night, the slab I was resting on transformed into a chair while I was still on it. During previous abductions, the aliens had locked me in a totally dark room, attempted to drown me, and once pumped a gas into the air that made me laugh until I vomited, but they'd never given me a chair. I was immediately suspicious.
One of the sluggers remained behind after the others disappeared into the shadows. The exam room was the only section of the ship I'd ever seen, and its true shape and size were obscured by the darkness at the edges. The room itself was plain—a gray floor with swirls that gave it the impression of movement and that was illuminated by four or five lights beaming from the shadows. The slab, which had become a chair, was obsidian black.
My limbs tingled, and that was how I realized I could move again. I shook them to work out the pins and needles, but I couldn't shake the impotence that rattled in my skull, reminding me that the aliens could flay me alive and peel back my muscles to see how I functioned, and there wasn't a goddamn thing I could do to stop them. As human beings, we're born believing that we are the apex of creation, that we are invincible, that no problem exists that we cannot solve. But we inevitably die with all our beliefs broken.
My throat was scratchy. Even caged rats are given water bottles and food pellets.
If you're testing my patience, I should warn you that I once spent three weeks in a roach-infested RV with my family on the antiquing trip from hell. Twenty-one days of Dad getting lost, Mom losing her temper, and my brother finding any excuse to punch me, all set to the glorious song of Nana's deviated septum.
Nothing. No reaction. The slugger beside me waggled its eyestalks, the glassy marbles taking in a 360-degree view. They were like one of those security cameras hidden under a shaded dome; it was impossible to know where they were tracking at any given moment.
Seriously, it was the worst trip of my life. Every night we all had to lie still and pretend we couldn't hear Charlie polishing his rifle in the overhead bunk. I'm pretty confident he broke the world record for the most number of times a kid's masturbated while sharing breathing space with his parents, brother, and grandmother.
A beam of light shot over my shoulder, projecting a three-dimensional image of Earth in the air a few feet in front of me. I turned to find the source, but the slugger sprouted an appendage and slapped me in the neck.
I really hope that was an arm, I said, rubbing the fresh welt.
The picture of the planet was meticulously detailed. Feathery clouds drifted across the surface as the image rotated leisurely. Tight clusters of defiant lights sparkled from every city, as bright as any star. A few moments later, a smooth pillar approximately one meter tall rose from the floor beside the image of the earth. Atop it was a bright red button.
Do you want me to press it? The aliens had never given me the impression that they understood anything I said or did, but I figured they wouldn't have presented me with a big shiny button if they hadn't intended for me to press it.
The moment I stood, electricity surged up my feet and into my body. I collapsed to the floor, twitching. A strangled squeal escaped my throat. The slugger didn't offer to help me, despite its ability to grow arms at will, and I waited for the spasms to recede before climbing back into the chair.
Fine, I won't touch the button.
The projection of the earth exploded, showering me with sparks and light. I threw up my arm to protect my face, but I felt no pain. When I opened my eyes, the image was restored.
"So, you definitely don't want me to press the button?"
Under the watchful eyes of my alien overlord, I witnessed the planet explode seven more times, but I refused to budge from my seat. On the eighth explosion, the sluggers shocked me again. I lost control of my bladder and flopped onto the floor in a puddle of my own urine. My jaw was sore from clenching, and I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
You know, if you just told me what you wanted me to do, we could skip the excruciating pain portion of this experiment.
They restored the planet again; only when I tried to sit, they shocked me and blew it up. The next time the image was whole, I scrambled to the button and slammed it with my hand. I was rewarded with an intense burst of euphoria that began in my feet and surged up my legs, spreading to my fingers and the tips of my ears. It was pure bliss, like I'd ejaculated a chorus of baby angels from every pore of my body.
That didn't suck.
• • •
I lost track of how many times I pressed the button. Sometimes they shocked me, sometimes they dosed me with pure rapture, but I never knew which to expect. Not until I saw the pattern. It was so simple, I felt like an imbecile for not seeing it sooner. Being shocked until I pissed myself probably hadn't helped my problem-solving abilities.
Those shocks and bursts of euphoria weren't punishments and rewards, nor were they random. They were simply meant to force me to see that there was a causal relationship between whether I pressed the button and whether the planet exploded. The sluggers were trying to communicate with me. It would have been a much more exciting moment in human history if I hadn't been wearing soggy underwear.
I decided to test my theory.
Are you going to blow up the planet?
Am I going to blow it up?
I finally gave up and stayed on the floor. "Is something going to destroy the earth?"
Can you stop it?
My eyes rolled back as a shiver of bliss rippled through me.
How do we stop it? I looked to the slugger for a clue, but it hadn't moved since slapping me. What I knew was this: when I pressed the button, Earth didn't explode. When I didn't, it did. It couldn't be that simple, though.
Pressing the button will prevent the destruction of the planet?
So, what? All those other times I pressed it were just practice?
Great. So, when is this apocalypse set to occur? I wasn't sure how the aliens were going to answer an open-ended question, especially since they'd never answered me before, but they were capable of interstellar travel; providing me with a date should have been cake. A moment later the projection of the earth morphed into a reality TV show called Bunker, and a hammy announcer's voice boomed at me from everywhere at once.
This group of fifteen strangers has been locked in a bunker for six months. With only one hundred and forty-four days remaining, you won't want to miss a single minute as they compete for food, water, toilet paper, and each other's hearts.
You guys get the worst stations up here. The commercial faded and Earth returned.
So, one hundred and forty-four days? It took me longer than I'll admit to do the math in my head.
That means the world is going to end January twenty-ninth, 2016?
I never got tired of being right.
When my head cleared, I came to the conclusion that the sluggers were screwing with me. It was the only logical explanation. I refused to believe that they had the power to prevent the world's end but had chosen to leave the decision up to a sixteen-year-old nobody.
But if it wasn't a joke, if the choice was mine, then I held the fate of the world in my sweaty hand. The aliens probably didn't care one way or another.
Just to be clear: I have until January twenty-ninth to press the button?
And if I do, I'll prevent the planet's destruction?
And if I choose not to press it?
The earth exploded, the projection disappeared, and the lights died.
I darted across the dawn-drenched lawn in front of my duplex, gushing sweat in the muggy Florida heat and shielding my privates with a trash can lid I'd stolen from a house a couple of streets over, hoping Mr. Nabu—who sat on his patio, reading the newspaper every morning—was too busy scouring the obits for names of friends and enemies to notice my pasty white ass scramble past.
After my second abduction, I began hiding a duffel bag with spare clothes behind the AC unit under my bedroom window. The sluggers don't always return me totally naked, but when they do, I assume it's because it amuses them to watch me attempt to sneak from one end of Calypso to the other without being arrested for indecent exposure.
As I dressed, I tried to wrap my brain around the possibility that the world was going to end, and the absurd notion that aliens had chosen me to determine whether the apocalypse would happen as scheduled or be delayed. I simply wasn't important enough to make such a crucial decision. They should have abducted the president or the pope or Neil deGrasse Tyson.
I don't know why I didn't press the button for real when I had the chance other than that I don't think the aliens would have given me such a long lead time if they hadn't wanted me to consider my choice carefully. Most people probably believe they would have pressed the button in my situation—nobody wants the world to end, right?—but the truth is that nothing is as simple as it seems. Turn on the news; read some blogs. The world is a shit hole, and I have to consider whether it might be better to wipe the slate clean and give the civilization that evolves from the ashes of our bones a chance to get it right.
I used the spare key under the dead begonia by the front door to sneak into my house. The smell of cigarette smoke and fried eggs greeted me, and I sauntered into the kitchen like I'd come from my bedroom, still bleary-eyed and sleepy. Mom glanced up from reading her phone. A cigarette hung from the tips of her fingers, and her curly bleached hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail.
About time. I was calling you, Henry. Didn't you hear me calling you? My mom is shaped like an eggplant and often sports bags under her eyes of the same color.
I leaned against the door, not planning to stay. Alien abductions always make me feel like I need a boiling bleach shower.
Nana smiled at me from the stove. She slid a plate of pepper-flecked fried eggs onto the table and set the mayo beside it.
Eat. You're too skinny. Nana is gritty and hard; she wears her wrinkles and liver spots like battle scars from a war she'll never stop fighting. She's the gristle stuck between Time's teeth, and I love her for it.
Mom took a drag from her cigarette and jabbed it in my direction.
I called you a hundred times.
Before I could reply, Charlie stomped into the kitchen and swiped my plate. He ate one egg with his hands as he flopped into a chair, and then set to work on the rest of my breakfast. Sometimes it's difficult to believe Charlie and I come from the same parents. I'm tall, he's short; I'm skinny, he used to be muscular, though most of it turned to fat after high school; I can count to five without using my fingers. . . . Charlie has fingers.
Henry didn't hear you because Henry wasn't home. Charlie smirked at me as he grabbed a fistful of bacon from the plate in the middle of the table. He grimaced at Mom.
Do you have to smoke while I'm eating?
Mom ignored him.
Where were you, Henry?
Liar, Charlie said.
Your bed was empty when I got home from Zooey's last night.
What the hell were you doing in my room?
Mom took a drag off her cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. Her mouth was pursed and tight like a bright pink sphincter, and her silence spoke louder than any slammed door. The only sounds in the kitchen belonged to the eggs frying on the stove and Nana whistling the Bunker theme song.
I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. What's the big deal?
Charlie coughed
bullshit under his breath; I replied with one finger.
You're not . . . sleepwalking . . . again, are you?
I was walking, Mom, but I was definitely awake.
Charlie whipped a toast wedge that struck me below my eye.
Two points!
Did you just try to blind me with toast? What the hell is wrong with you? I grabbed the toast off the floor to throw it away, but Charlie held out his hand and said,
Don't waste it, bro.
Mom lit another cigarette.
No one would blame me if I smothered you both in your sleep. I think my mom might have been pretty once, but the years devoured her youth, beauty, and enthusiasm for anything with an alcohol content of less than 12 percent.
Nana handed me a paper bag stained with grease.
Don't forget your lunch, Charlie.
I peeked inside the bag. Nana had dumped two fried eggs, three strips of bacon, and hash browns at the bottom. Broken yolk oozed over everything like sunny pus.
I'm Henry, Nana. As soon as she turned her back, I tossed the sack lunch into the garbage can.
Do you need a ride to school, Henry? Mom asked.
I glanced at the clock on the microwave. If I hurried, I'd have enough time to shower and walk to school.
Tempting. I've read that beginning your day by doing something absolutely terrifying is good for you, but I'm going to pass.
Could you drop me off at Zooey's? Charlie mopped up the last of my eggs with the projectile floor toast and stuffed it into his fat mouth.
Don't you have class this morning? I asked, knowing full well Charlie had withdrawn from all his classes but still hadn't told Mom.
I can swing you by the community college on my way to work, Mom said.
Thanks. Great. Charlie faked a smile with gritted teeth, but I knew he was dreaming up a hundred ways to cause me excruciating pain, most of which likely involved his fists and my face—my brother isn't terribly creative, but he is consistent.
For the record: if the sluggers ever abduct Charlie, I'm certain he'll earn the anal probe.
Henry, I need you home right after school today.
Why? I stopped my excruciatingly slow exit from the kitchen even though I needed to get out of there and take a shower if I didn't want to be late.
I'm working a double at the restaurant, so you'll have to look after Mother tonight.
Charlie jeered at me behind Mom's back, and I wanted to punch that smug look off his face.
What if I have plans? I didn't have plans, but the dismal state of my social life was none of her business.
Mom sucked on her cigarette; the cherry flared.
Just be home after school, all right? Can you do one fucking thing I ask without arguing?
Watch your mouth, young lady, Nana said from the stove,
or you can go straight to your room without supper.
Sure, I said.
• • •
On the day I was born, photons from the star Gliese 832 began their journey toward Earth. I was little more than a squalling, wrinkled, shit-spewing monster when that light began its sixteen-year journey through the empty void of space to reach the empty void of Calypso, Florida, where I've spent my entire, empty void of a life. From Gliese 832's point of view, I am still a wrinkled, shit-spewing monster, only recently born. The farther we are from one another, the further we live in each other's pasts.
Five years in my past, my father used to take me and Charlie deep-sea fishing on the weekends. He'd wake us up hours before sunrise and treat us to breakfast at a greasy diner called Spooners. I'd stuff myself full of grits and cheesy eggs. Sometimes I'd really indulge and order a stack of chocolate-chip pancakes. After breakfast we'd head to the docks, where Dad's friend Dwight kept his boat, and we'd aim for carefree waters.
I always sat at the bow, dangling my feet over the side, letting the water tickle my toes as we sped through the intracoastal toward the deep sea. I loved how the sun and salt spray perfused my skin, filling me with the memory of light. God surely meant for humans to live like that. He hadn't


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Fabulous article! What a wonderful way to live. I love the style and your photos are great- thanks for sharing 🙂
By Palma Hansen –
Our house is in California, but our hearts are in Italy. Though we enjoy our daily life in the southern California desert eleven months a year, it is where we live until we can go "home" to bella Italia!
Over the past ten years of our marriage, my husband and I have taken 14 trips to Italy. When we are not physically there, we try to live as close to an Italian lifestyle as is possible in the United States. Yes, we have jobs, and a "normal" life with daily responsibilities and the usual ups and downs, but we have tried to create "La Dolce Vita" Italian style.
We have discovered that life in Italy is more simple. It focuses, especially in the small towns, on family, friends, food and wine, and sharing these blessings generously with others. The scenery is stunning, laughter is abundant, and traditions are as important as change. The people are warm, kind, and welcoming.
My love affair with Italy began as a child, as I grew up in an Italian-American family. My grandparents arrived from southern Italy just after the turn of the century. My mother was the youngest of ten siblings. Her five brothers remained on the east coast, and the five sisters all came to California in the 1940s. My four aunts and uncles all lived within a couple blocks with Italian neighbors on each side. Everyone had a vegetable garden and a couple of fruit trees, and every Sunday of my first 20 years was spent at one of these homes for Sunday pranzo (lunch). The women all spoke their childhood dialect and cooked the communal meals, the men played cards in the evenings. By the time I was five, if asked where my family was from, I would rattle off, "Gioia del Colle, Provinci di Bari in southern Italy" with perfect pronunciation.
Life in what was almost a tiny Italian village of our own revolved around the food. The women were either cooking, talking about the last meal, planning the next meal or eating. All of my aunts and my mother were wonderful cooks. They shopped in quantity and split up the 20 pounds of pasta, or the cases of olive oil or wine they purchased from friends who were local producers. The double yolk eggs came from the farm, and the fruits, vegetables and nuts came from their (or their neighbors' ) gardens. Friends came to share in these multi-course feasts, and every Saturday there was a huge new pot of ragu on their stoves.
They each had specialties: Mom was the best baker, turning out huge coffee cakes, breads and pizzas, Aunt Anna made millions of hand cut cavatelli pasta with her arthritic fingers, Aunt Mary was the "lasagna queen", and Aunt Jenny made fabulous desserts. Each aunt, and my mom converted their garage into a "summer kitchen", complete with air conditioning, all kitchen appliances and a huge table for meals and parties. They made gallons of canned fruit, preserves, and jars of fresh tomatoes to use in the winter months. My mother taught me to ALWAYS have sauce in the freezer, and maybe a torta or two. You never know when friends might stop by for lunch or dinner!
I was fortunate to marry a man who shares my passion for all things Italian. Since we are now over 50, all of my family members are gone, except for a couple of cousins. We have created our own "Italian lifestyle". So how DO you bring Italy home?
During our first few trips to Italy, we shipped home lots of colorful ceramics, sets of dishes, linens, and even a patio table top. We purchased a new home seven years ago in a small community (called "Venezia") that gave us even more opportunities to decorate and landscape our own tiny "villa". We have niches for artwork of Italian country scenes. We have a courtyard complete with a stone fireplace, a small fountain and an olive tree. Our back yard has a "Roman" pool, several olive and lemon trees, pots of geraniums and fresh herbs, and a grapevine-covered pergola for the dining table.
Life at our home centers around the cucina, with stone surrounding the cooktop and an island that is perfect for rolling out and cutting fresh pasta. The dining room table changes its look monthly according to the season with lemons, olive branches, fall pumpkins or spring flowers. We also love to dine al fresco at outdoor tables, with 2 to 46 friends!
We cook Italian, and that means fresh, seasonal produce and simple ingredients. We always try to involve our dinner guests in part of the process. We've had olive oil and balsamic blind tastings, and had friends who rarely cook in their own homes hand rolling pans full of freshly-made garganelli pasta, or designing their own pizza for the grill. I've had neighborhood cooking classes where friends learned to make perfect polenta or a simple risotto. It doesn't matter what the menu is, it is about simple, tasty food, some good Italian wine, and the friendships that grow around the table. Impromptu meals are often the best, so keep some good cheese, salami, olives and fresh veggies and fruit on hand!
Now what I bring home from our Italy visits usually comes from the supermarket! I bring an empty piece of luggage to fill with 00 flour for pasta (a finer grind), Cannaroli rice, Italian tuna in olive oil, jars of honey, condiments, balsamico, my favorite coffee from Rome, and maybe a bottle or two of fabulous wine. I bring home cheeses on every visit, and of course small gifts for friends!
The internet has allowed us to expand our Italian "family". Because of a wonderful website, http://www.slowtrav.com/, we have found a community of like-minded Italophiles who are as passionate about Italy as we are. They "get it" why we return to Italy each year and explore new regions, cities and villages. They share information about house or apartment rentals, transportation, and restaurants that we would never have found on our own. We have made many good friends all over Italy and North America, who also gather all over the country for get-togethers to share meals, friendship, and travel stories.
Bringing Italy to your home is simple: all you need are a bowl of lemons, a handful of sunflowers, candles on the patio, a simple meal with good seasonal ingredients, Italian wine, and some friends or family to share it with!
Palma's passions are Italian travel, cooking, and living an Italian lifestyle in the southern California desert. She is in private practice as a licensed Marriage Family Therapist. Palma and her husband love sharing their knowledge of Italy with others during their small group tours to bella Italia. http://www.palmabellasitaly.com/.
September 1, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Fabulous article! What a wonderful way to live. I love the style and your photos are great- thanks for sharing 🙂
Barb Cabot
September 6, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Brava! Wonderful article.
Carole Longo
September 14, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Wonderful article! I know exactly how you feel since I have had a similar childhood as yours. It was great having all my Italian relatives around me when when I was growing up and like you, I am in my fifties and I love all things Italian. Thanks for a great read.
Lisa Keys
December 5, 2011 at 11:50 am
Great read! Now I'm craving Italian food! I love your creativity and I envy your stone fireplace!
Jessica Brooks
December 5, 2011 at 11:52 am
Thanks for sharing your story! I hope to read more stories like this from you in the future! And next time you go to Italy, take me with you!!
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