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Postdoctoral Fellowship Positions
The Student Counseling Services will not be offering postdoctoral fellowship positions this year.
Predoctoral Fellowship Positions
Our staff includes 6-7 Predoctoral Fellows who are advanced Doctoral students in Clinical and Counseling Psychology programs in NYC. The Predoctoral Fellows work part-time providing short-term psychotherapy to Graduate Center students. Together with our core staff, they co-lead workshops and groups. As part of their training, they also participate in case conferences and reading seminars, and are supervised by senior staff and our outside supervisors.
Our Fellows are supervised by SCS staff members, and by outside supervisors who volunteer their time. All of our supervisors are licensed clinical psychologists or psychiatrists, and most are also graduates of advanced training programs in psychotherapy.
All of the clinics listed below are staffed by licensed psychologists and social workers who have received, or are participating in, advanced training. These clinics have sliding scale fees determined by income and student status. There is typically an initial intake appointment followed by assignment to a therapist for ongoing psychotherapy.
If you are interested in seeking mental health services outside the Wellness Center Student Counseling Services, we are available to help you with referrals to agencies, clinics or private practitioners. If you prefer to make contact with outside services directly, below are some recommended centers.
National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP)
250 West 57th St.
Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy, neuropsychological testing, career counseling. Also has a program for treatment of trauma through EMDR therapy.
Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy
1841 Broadway, 4th Fl.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy, family and couples therapy, treatment for trauma, eating disorders, gay and lesbian affirmative psychotherapy services, artist treatment service.
William Alanson White Institute
20 West 74th St.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis as well as range of specialized services including eating disorders, compulsions and addictions, trauma response, bipolar discussion group, and more.
Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy
137 East 36th St., Suite #4
Private group practice providing individual, group and couples therapy with a cognitive-behavioral orientation as well as psychological testing and assessment.
Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 905
(646) 863-4225
Cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety, mood, behavioral, attentional and other difficulties. Reduced fee treatment available.
Weill- Cornell Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy Clinic
425 East 61st St., PH
Hospital-based outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy clinic staffed by doctoral level trainees.
Ryan Center
Locations on upper west side, lower east side and midtown manhattan
Offers a range of medical and mental health services at low cost.
The Village Institute
20 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1E
The Village Institute is dedicated to providing high quality, affordable mental health care and related services, and to promoting the education and training of effective, creative psychotherapists.
Emergency Psychiatric Services:
Bellevue Hospital ER
462 First Ave. at 27th St.
New York Presbyterian Hospital ER
525 East 68th St. near York Ave.
St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital ER
113th St. and Amsterdam Ave. (St. Luke's)
59th St. and 10th Ave. (Roosevelt)
Faculty and staff members are often in a unique position to identify and help students who are in distress. Sometimes students cannot or will not turn to family or friends. A student may view you as a trustworthy person in whom to confide. Your expression of concern may be a critical factor in saving a student's academic career or even their life. The purpose of this page is to help you recognize some of the symptoms of student distress and identify specific options for interventions and referrals to campus resources. The Wellness Center is available to assist you with these situations and to consult with you on how to intervene with a student.
Along with the ordinary life stressors, graduate students can struggle with their own special challenges that coincide with early, middle and later adulthood. These include adjusting to a new environment, effectively managing academic transition times, dealing with career path issues, handling financial and family responsibilities, and maintaining productive relationships with faculty and students. The stress can overwhelm their capacity to cope. Students may feel alone, isolated, and even hopeless when faced with academic and life challenges. These feelings can easily disrupt academic performance and may lead to dysfunctional coping and serious consequences such as substance abuse, suicidal thoughts and/or attempts, self-injury or other mental health concerns.
Tips for Recognizing Students in Distress
All of us at some time in our lives may have had challenging days, feel sad, depressed, and/or upset. Significant distress experienced over a prolonged period of time, however, may suggest a more serious problem.
Students experiencing a more serious problem may exhibit behaviors which may not necessarily be disruptive to others, but may nevertheless indicate something is wrong and signal that assistance is needed. These behaviors may include:
• Change from consistently good grades to poor performance.
• Change in class attendance or unexplained absences.
• Changed patterns of interaction that are unusual or markedly different, i.e., avoidance of participation, marked anxiety when called upon, domination of discussions, etc.
• Changes in other characteristics that may indicate that the student is having trouble managing stress successfully include poor concentration; fatigue; sad mood; decreased interest in activities, etc.
Students in moderate distress may exhibit behaviors that indicate significant emotional suffering. These students may also be reluctant or unable to acknowledge a need for personal help. Behaviors may include:
• Repeated requests for special consideration, such as deadline extensions, especially if the student appears uncomfortable or highly emotional while disclosing the circumstances prompting the request.
• New or repeated behavior which pushes the limits of decorum and interferes with effective management of the immediate environment.
• Unusual or exaggerated emotional responses which are obviously inappropriate to the situation.
• Other characteristics that suggest the student is having trouble managing stress successfully may be depressed mood, lethargy; falling asleep in class; very rapid speech; marked change in personal dress and hygiene.
Severely distressed students exhibit behaviors that signify an obvious crisis and necessitate emergency care. These problems are the easiest to identify. Examples may include:
• Highly disruptive behavior (e.g. hostility, aggression, violence, etc.)
• Inability to communicate clearly (garbled, slurred speech; unconnected, disjointed, or rambling thoughts.
• Loss of contact with reality (hearing or seeing things which others cannot see or hear; beliefs or actions greatly at odds with reality or probability).
• Stalking behaviors.
• Inappropriate communications (including threatening letters, email messages, harassment, incoherent communication, etc.).
• Overtly suicidal thoughts (including referring to suicide as a current option or in a written assignment).
• Threats to harm others.
How Can I Help A Distressed Student?
Faculty and staff are not expected to monitor students' behavior, nor are they expected to be clinicians. However, you may be the first contact for a student in distress and to provide an early opportunity to respond with the eventual help the student needs. As a "point-person" for the student's care, just by asking a few questions that could lead to your making a pain relieving or life enhancing referral for the student. If you feel at all uneasy about what to do, seek consultation. When you set up a time to talk with the student, try to arrange it when you will not be rushed or interrupted. Keep your own safety in mind when you interact with a student who is in distress. Consultation can help you decide whether you or others should initiate a discussion with the student.
• Reach out: Extend a genuine statement of interest in and concern for the student. Be calm and matter-of-fact in your approach. State clearly in behavioral terms what you have noticed that has led to your concern (e.g., "I've noticed that you've been absent from class lately, and I've been concerned. How are you doing?
• Listen: Listen in a non-judgmental fashion. Support begins with understanding. Students in distress often feel very vulnerable and are sensitive to real or imagined criticism.
• Empathize: Try to understand the student from his or her perspective.
• Normalize: If appropriate, reassure the student that many college students feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
• De-stigmatize counseling: Take the anxiety out of seeking help. Reassure the student that counseling is here for students because graduate school is a time for growth and development which can sometimes be challenging. You can affirm that seeking professional help is a positive and responsible thing to do, a sign of strength in reaching out for available resources.
When Should I Refer A Student To Counseling?
It is time to refer the student to counseling when…
• You don't know how to help the student.
• You feel that the student's circumstances are overwhelming.
• You feel unable to provide all the support the student needs.
• You feel that you have reached your limit or have exhausted your ideas on how to help.
• The student's struggles leave you feeling helpless and anxious.
• You feel angry or intimidated by the student's comments or behavior.
• You are spending large amounts of time on the student's problems.
Whenever you are in doubt about making a counseling referral, consult with a supervisor, colleague, or mental health provider. You may call Student Counseling Services at 212-817-7020 Monday-Friday between the hours of 9 and 5 to talk to a therapist. The therapist will be able to discuss your concerns and identify appropriate resources. You may not have to give the student's name in order to receive consultation that might be instrumental for resolution.
A student whose behavior has become threatening, violent, or significantly disruptive may need a different kind of approach involving campus security. You may want to call the Security office at 212-817-7777 and/or the Student Affairs office at 212-817-7420 for consultation.
From University of California at Irvine Counseling Center: www.counseling.uci.edu
Websites specifically for graduate students:
A wealth of information on topics from surviving the stress of graduate school to applying for jobs in specific fields.
News on current issues in higher education, as well as suggestions for graduate students and job seeking advice.
Articles, e-mentors, crisis line, survival kits all specifically geared toward graduate students.
Association for Support of Graduate Students website. Tips on doing the thesis/dissertation, links to online bulletin for thesis writers, articles and resources for graduate students.
Discussion, advice and support for students trying to finish their dissertations.
General mental health and wellness websites:
NYC Well is your connection to free, confidential mental health support. Speak to a counselor via phone, text or chat and get access to mental health and substance misuse services, in more than 200 languages, 24/7/365.
Mental health information and resource center for university students.
Virtual pamphlet collection providing information on a wide range of mental health issues.
Information and response to questions on wide ranging health and wellness issues.
Practicum Survey #1


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subset: commoncrawl


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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Aug. 6, 2014) – UMBC senior back Oumar Ballo (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) was named to the 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, as announced earlier today by NSCAATV.com on the "2014 NSCAA College Soccer Review Show."
Head Coach Pete Caringi's UMBC Retrievers, the two-time defending America East Conference champions, were selected No. 19 in the 2014 NSCAA/Continental Tire Preseason College Rankings.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in NCAA soccer presented annually to one male and one female athlete. The winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at the trophy presentation banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The lists are compiled by the NSCAA Men's and Women's NCAA Division I All-America Committees, based on their analysis of returning All-America and All-Region players, as well as any prominent newcomers.
Ballo was one of only eight defenders named to the Watch List. In 2013, the sociology major was selected to the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Second Team All-America squad. He was also named America East Defender of the Year and to AE First Team and All-Championship team.
Ballo started all 22 games in 2013 and has now started 42 in a row in his two seasons for the Retrievers. He scored his first two collegiate goals last season, including a goal in the America East title game victory over Hartford.
Ballo's former teammate, Pete Caringi, III, was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2013.
UMBC returns eight starters and 22 letterwinners from a squad which owned the nation's best winning percentage (16-1-3, .875) a year ago. During the 2013 season, UMBC placed in the top ten in all media polls and the NSCAA poll. At its highest point, UMBC reached the No. 5 slot in Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News and the Continental Tire NSCAA Poll and climbed to a position of No. 10 in Soccer America. The program finished at No. 8 in the final NCAA RPI rankings.
UMBC has road matches with a pair of teams ranked in the top 25, including at No. 2 Maryland (Sept. 5) and at No. 25 Navy (Oct. 21).
The Retrievers open the regular season on Friday, Aug. 29 when they host Long Island University in the opening game of the Doubletree BWI Classic at Retriever Soccer Park.


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BOULDER, CO - March 24, 2009
Webroot, a leading provider of security solutions for the consumer, enterprise and SME markets, has been honored with the accolade of 'Messaging Product of the Year' for the Webroot® Email Security SaaS solution at the Network Computing Awards, held on March 19, 2009 in London.
Out of 24 categories overall, Webroot was nominated and short listed in six, including 'Security Product of the Year' and 'Environmental Product of the Year'. However, the 'Messaging Product of the Year' award is particularly noteworthy to Webroot as it demonstrates the IT industry's recognition of the company's position as a major contender within the security SaaS market. The Webroot Email Security SaaS service handles billions of messages for thousands of corporate, education, and government customers worldwide.
The award was nominated and voted on by the IT Buyers who read Britain's longest running networking publication, Network Computing. For this award, Webroot successfully competed against other major companies in the sector such as Symantec, Barracuda and F-Secure.
Webroot CEO Peter Watkins said, "With the very intense competition to win these awards, and having beaten other highly respected solution providers, I am truly thrilled that the Webroot Email Security SaaS solution has been voted 'Messaging Product of the Year'. At Webroot, we are continuously appreciative of the acknowledgement we receive from our peers, customers and channel partners in the U.K.," Watkins said.
Ian Moyse, Webroot EMEA Channel Director, commented, "Being chosen over our larger competitors within the SaaS market for this hotly contested award is continued validation of the commitment we bring. Webroot continues to grow within the Email and Web Security SaaS markets, protecting over 3 million end users worldwide. We are absolutely focused on delivering innovative security solutions to protect against the growing malware threat and this acknowledgement motivates us to further strengthen our status as a leader in the market," Moyse said.


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
San Diego • Perhaps senior linebacker Brandon Ogletree summed it up the best, after the BYU Cougars rallied in the fourth quarter to take a tougher-than-it-looks 23-6 win over San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl on Thursday night.
"That's defensive dominance," Ogletree said. "That is deciding as a defense that you are not going to lose another close game."
BYU's nationally ranked defense and superstar linebacker Kyle Van Noy have carried the Cougars all season, so why not in the bowl game against a former rival playing on its home field?
Van Noy scored two touchdowns, recovering a fumble that he caused in the end zone and returning an interception 17 yards for the clinching TD to lift the Cougars to their fourth straight win in a bowl game and send 29 seniors out with smiles on their faces.
"Touchdowns are good," Van Noy said.
Actually, the Cougars' seasonlong mantra has been that touchdowns aren't good, at least from the defense's perspective, and it was their ability to hold the Aztecs to two field goals, instead of touchdowns, when the home team was dominating the first half that coach Rocky Long said was ultimately the difference in the game.
"We felt the momentum turning and just decided in the second half that we were going to come out and unleash hell," Ogletree said. "That has kind of been our mantra all season."
The Cougars (8-5) took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Van Noy rolled in from the left side and dislodged the football from quarterback Adam Dingwell. He pounced on it in the end zone, and after a lengthy review, replay officials refused to overturn the call on the field and awarded BYU a touchdown.
The Aztecs, who had their seven-game winning streak snapped, lost the ball again moments later on a bad snap, and it took the Cougars just one play a 14-yard scamper by Jamaal Williams to find the end zone and take a 16-6 lead.
Until those two costly mistakes, the Aztecs had mostly dominated the game.
But Van Noy wasn't finished. He returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Cougars a 17-point lead, sending scores of SDSU fans to the exits.
"As the nature of the game started to shift, we became more and more aggressive on defense," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
The Cougars outgained the Aztecs 296-263 and were 10 for 19 on third down, but their offense did just enough to win. It was the fifth time BYU's defense did not allow an offensive touchdown this season.
Lost in the defense's dominating performance, perhaps, is the fact that senior punter Riley Stephenson pinned the Aztecs three times inside their 10-yard line with short, precision punts.
"Our punting game really ended up making the difference," Mendenhall said.
The Cougars had a miserable first half at least until the final two minutes. After James Lark struggled to move the team the first four possessions, Mendenhall gave Riley Nelson a chance, but Nelson threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown (only to be nullified by an illegal block penalty), and Mendenhall went back to Lark for the rest of the game.
After the 74-yard drive at the end of the first half, Justin Sorensen's 24-yard field goal cut SDSU's lead to 6-3 at the break, although the Aztecs had dominated most of the first 30 minutes.
"We came out of the locker room at halftime with so much resolve," said receiver JD Falslev. "There wasn't any way we were going to let our seniors walk off this field with a loss."
Twitter: @drewjay
Storylines BYU wins 4th straight bowl game
O IN SHORT • BYU's defense scores two touchdowns and sets up another as the Cougars win their fourth straight bowl game
KEY MOMENT • Kyle Van Noy forces a fumble and jumps on it in the end zone to give the Cougars their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter.


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The title question is too vague so let me be specific.
Much of modern finite semigroup theory uses profinite semigroups and properties of profinite semigroups that depend on the existence of prime ideals in Boolean algebras, which is a choice principle weaker than AC. Often results are proved first via profinite methods and then explicit proofs using finite means are found later.
To narrow my question down, let me consider the following situation. Let V be what is sometimes called a variety of finite semigroups, that is, a class of finite semigroups closed under finite products, subsemigroups and homomorphic images. A pro-V semigroup is an inverse limit of semigroups in V. It is known, using Tychnoff's theorem for products of finite spaces, that every continuous finite quotient of a pro-V semigroup belongs to V. So if you want to show a variety W of finite semigroups is contained in a variety V it suffices to show each element of W is a continuous quotient of a free pro-V semigroup. Sometimes one has good information on the structure of free pro-V semigroups and can exploit this.
For example, Almeida proved that the smallest variety of finite semigroups containing all finite commutative semigroups and all finite groups is the variety of finite semigroups with central idempotents using the approach sketched above. Later Auinger gave a proof using only finite semigroups.
Question. Is there some general result in logic or set theory that would imply that the existence of a proof in ZF+Boolean prime ideal theoerem that a variety W of finite semigroups is contained in a variety V of finite semigroups implies the existence of a proof in ZF that W is contained in V?
Many results of this sort in finite semigroup theory were motivated by questions in automata theory and in principle one would like to avoid choice in this context.
Caveat: I know very little set theory or model theory so please take that into account in answer.


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TORONTO (AP) The Toronto Blue Jays and catcher Henry Blanco have agreed to terms on a one-year, $750,000 non-guaranteed contract.
The team announced the deal Friday.
The 41-year-old Blanco played in 21 games for Arizona last season, batting .188 with one home run and seven RBIs, before torn ligament in his left thumb ended his season in August.
In 15 major league seasons, Blanco has hit .227 with 69 home runs and 284 RBIs with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Diamondbacks.
Left-hander Tommy Hottovy has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.


text: Price does not include tax and title. $589 doc fee included in price. Dealer installed options not included in price. By submitting your information, you consent to receive all forms of communication including but not limited to: phone, text, email, mail, etc. Message and data rates may apply. Consent to these terms is not a condition of purchase. Mention this advertisement to the dealer to receive the advertised price. MPG Disclaimer: Based on model year EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.


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JC restoration release 3.7
March 07, 2011
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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Honors J.C. Restoration for Business Excellence
Via online voting, firm is in running for Small Business of the Year Award
J.C. Restoration, a Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based company, has received the Blue Ribbon Small Business Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The firm is now in the running to win the organization's DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award.
The firm received word this week that it is one of 75 companies nationwide selected for the honor. Along with other winners, J.C. Restoration will be recognized at America's Small Business Summit 2011 from May 23 to 25 in Washington, D.C.
Winners must demonstrate excellence in financial performance and business history, staff training, community involvement, customer service, and business planning.
"We are thrilled and humbled to have been picked for this award," said J.C. Restoration President Warner Cruz. "Every day, we strive for excellence, whether it's helping homeowners and business owners recover from damage to their properties, helping agents and adjusters perform their important roles, or helping business associates advance their career through specialized continuing education."
The laurels come less than a year after Cruz was named the Second Runner-Up for the National Small Business Person of the Year. That award, conferred by the Small Business Administration, recognized the company for embodying the spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and determination that make small businesses the economic engine of the United States.
The company has 70 employees working from a 102,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility at 3200 Squibb Ave.
As a Blue Ribbon Award winner, J.C. Restoration is now vying for the Community Excellence Award, designed to highlight a business that has found success in the eyes of its community. The top seven vote-getters in online polling—one from each of seven designated regions throughout the country—will advance to the final round for selection of the Community Excellence Award.
The online voting is available through Friday, March 11. The DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award finalists will be announced on Monday, March 14.
To learn more about the contest and cast a vote for Community Excellence Award finalists, please visit http://www.uschambersummit.com/cea-award
About J.C. Restoration
J.C. Restoration is one of the fastest growing independent restoration companies in the Midwest. For nearly 30 years, JCR has been providing top quality service, training, and support -- earning them an exemplary reputation among their clients, customers, and peers. JCR is a Member of Disaster Kleenup International, a network of contractors 400 strong, located across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about J.C. Restoration, please call 800-956-8844 or visit www.jcrestoration.com.


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WALLA WALLA COUNTY, WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. beef industry's dependence on the muscle-building drug Zilmax began unraveling here, on a sweltering summer day, in the dusty cattle pens outside a TysonFoods Inc slaughterhouse in southeastern Washington state.
As cattle trailers that had traveled up to four hours in 95-degree heat began to unload, 15 heifers and steers hobbled down the ramps on August 5, barely able to walk. The reason: The animals had lost their hooves, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture documents reviewed by Reuters. The documents show the 15 animals were destroyed.
The next day, the hottest day of the month, two more animals with missing hooves arrived by truck. Again, the animals were destroyed, the documents show.
The animals' feet were "basically coming apart," said Keith Belk, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Belk said he reviewed photos of the lame cattle, though he declined to say who showed them to him.
The 17 animals had a factor in common, according to an examination of U.S. government documents and interviews with people who had direct knowledge of the events. In the weeks before the cattle were shipped toTyson's slaughterhouse, outside the city limits of Pasco, all had been fed Merck & Co Inc's profit-enhancing animal feed additive, Zilmax.
The day after the hoofless animals were euthanized on August 6, Tyson told its feedlot customers it would stop accepting Zilmax-fed cattle. After Reuters reported the existence of a videotape of apparently lame Zilmax-fedanimals - shown by an official of meatpacking giant JBS USA LLC at a trade meeting in Colorado - Merck itself temporarily suspended sales of the drug in the U.S. and Canada. The rest of the nation's leading meatpackers soon followed Tyson, the largest U.S. meat processor.
Merck, in a statement to Reuters, stressed the safety of its product. It said the company investigates all reports of adverse reactions to its drugs, and did so after the deaths near Pasco.
"Several third-party experts were brought in to evaluate the situation, review the data and identify potential causes for the hoof issue," Merck's statement said. "The findings from the investigation showed that the hoof loss was not due to the fact these animals had received Zilmax."
Merck declined to identify the names of the third-party investigators or provide more detail on the research findings.
After temporarily halting Zilmax sales, Merck continues to state Zilmax is safe when used as directed, with no welfare concerns discovered in 30 research studies since the product was introduced in the United States in 2007. In addition, Merck said, the company is planning more field evaluations of Zilmax, using "a well-designed collection and analysis of data by third-party industry experts." A "prominent" epidemiologist and veterinarian will oversee the work, Merck said.
Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said his company doesn't know exactly what happened to the small group of cattle that were destroyed at the plant near Pasco. Some animal health experts have told Tyson the use of Zilmax is a possible cause, he said.
Tyson had seen some cattle mobility issues in the past, but "the issues at Pasco this summer were more severe" than the company had seen before, Mickelson said.
Scientists say they have yet to determine whether Zilmax causes ailments so severe that cattle must be euthanized. One theory is that the federally approved feed additive may compound the effects of common feedlot nutritional disorders such as acidosis, which can affect animals that consume too much starch (primarily grain) or sugar in a short period of time. Heat and animal genetics, too, may be factors.
Regardless, the episode at the Tyson plant - which hasn't been publicly disclosed until now - is coming to light at a time of growing concern over risks to animal and human health posed by the increased use of pharmaceuticals in food production. Livestock pharmaceuticals use is expanding as part of the push to produce more meat at lower cost.
Earlier this month, in an effort to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threatens human health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rolled out new policies to phase out the use of antibiotics that make cows, pigs and chickens plumper. The FDA has said that meat produced from cattle fed with Zilmax is safe for human consumption.
The cases of hoofless cattle also raise ethical questions about whether the drive by modern agriculture to produce greater volumes of food, as cheaply as possible, is coming at the cost of animal welfare.
Of the more than 30 million beef cattle slaughtered in the U.S. annually, most move smoothly through a mechanized system that is among the most efficient in the world.
Reports that Zilmax causes lameness in some animals have raised concerns about the tradeoffs associated with a drug that adds up to 33 pounds of marketable meat to a 1,300-pound steer and has helped some feedlots stay in business at a time of punishing industry consolidation.
Livestock nutritionists, veterinarians and cattle researchers told Reuters that cattle losing hooves would be in great pain. Animals that have lost their hooves may take tentative steps, as if walking on glass, they said. Even when prodded, they sometimes refuse to rise back to their feet.
Livestock researcher Temple Grandin, who has pioneered humane slaughterhouse practices as a consultant to major beef processors, said it would be like a person having their toe nails yanked off.
"It would hurt a whole lot," said Grandin, who said she has not witnessed any of the incidents of Zilmax-fed cattle with lost hooves.
When animals delivered to slaughterhouses are unable to walk on their own, Agriculture Department regulations require such "downer" cattle be destroyed and their meat prevented from reaching consumers.
Federal law requires Merck to report all animal deaths, as well as any other adverse reactions, in connection with use of its products. A review of reports submitted by Merck and others to the FDA shows at least 285 cattle have died unexpectedly or been destroyed in the United States after being fed Zilmax since the drug was introduced in 2007. The FDA reports specify the ailments that led to the unexpected deaths, but do not consistently state whether the animals expired on their own or were euthanized.
According to the reports, reviewed by Reuters through a Freedom of Information Act request, at least 75 animals lost hooves and were euthanized after being fed Zilmax over the past two years. The reports show pneumonia was a factor in the death of 94 Zilmax-fed cattle. And a build-up of gas in bovine stomachs, referred to as bloat, was listed as a cause in 41 cases of cattle fed Zilmax.
Of the 285 animals that died, 113 were fed either an animal-based antibiotic, or another medication to boost weight, or both, in conjunction with Zilmax.
Some veterinarians and animal experts say there is no proof Zilmax was the chief cause of any cattle deaths.
"My assessment is that I do not see data supporting the concerns today, at least the data that I have reviewed and been aware of," said University of Nebraska-Lincoln animal science professor Galen Erickson, in response to questions from Reuters about Zilmax's safety.
But some previously staunch supporters of Merck's innovative growth drug are beginning to question the product's safety record.
"Maybe we found the point where we pushed the cattle just so hard in the sake of making a buck that we exceeded the biological limits of the cattle," said Abe Turgeon, a prominent livestock nutritionist, who had previously recommended Zilmax to some customers.
Merck Animal Health, the unit that markets the additive, said proper use of Zilmax "does not affect the safety or well-being of cattle." Moving beyond the 30 studies it cited at the time it suspended Zilmax sales, Merck in August launched an audit of how the product was being used in the field, created an advisory board to review management practices in the feedlot and animal nutrition industries, and provided new funds for field research onZilmax-fed cattle.
Today, the company has said it plans to reintroduce Zilmax, but noted it is too soon to know when sales to U.S. and Canadian customers may resume.
Merck has begun approaching cattle nutritionists, livestock academics and other professionals who influence opinion in an effort to gain industry insight and win support for the return of the drug, according to several people who have met with the company.
The FDA regulates livestock feed additives sold in the United States, and is charged with intervening when a pharmaceutical product it has approved causes harm when used as directed.
The agency said it has taken no action related to Zilmax. When asked for comment about the adverse-event reports filed by Merck, an FDA spokeswoman in a statement said the agency "has not reached any conclusions on the safety of Zilmax but the agency is continuing to receive and evaluate data. As part of this process, the agency is always interested in new information."
The Merck suspension of Zilmax sales is voluntary, and at this point the company could return Zilmax to the market without seeking permission from the FDA.
Zilmax is a medicated feed supplement for beef cattle that belongs to a class of drugs known as beta-agonists, which are also used in humans to ease asthma symptoms. Zilmax, with its active ingredient zilpaterol hydrochloride, is a federally approved weight-gaining supplement. It is added to cattle feed in the weeks before slaughter to add extra pounds of profit-producing meat.
Zilmax was worth nearly $160 million in annual sales in the United States and Canada last year, and was a steady cash generator for Merck's animal health business, which has about $3.3 billion in global sales.
The additive served as a go-to solution for a troubled cattle industry, as one-fifth of the nation's feedlots went out of business over the last decade. With cattle herds in sharp decline, Zilmax worked along with improved animal genetics and feed to produce more meat with fewer animals.
The United States produced nearly 26 billion pounds of beef from a herd of 91 million cattle in 2012, according to USDA data. In 1975, when the nation's cattle herd hit a peak of 135 million head, the industry produced nearly 24 billion pounds of beef.
Last month, beef cattle walking into a U.S. packing plant on average weighed a record 1,346 pounds — up more than 20 percent in the last two decades.
Merck's Zilmax quickly developed a loyal customer base. Its popularity spread even to the show circuit, where ranchers' children today can win prizes exceeding $100,000 for raising big-girth bovines.
Tyson and rival beef processor Cargill Inc have told Reuters they will not accept Zilmax-fed cattle until Merck can provide a scientific vetting of Zilmax's safety to animals and the companies are confident any animal welfare issues are resolved. (Cargill says it didn't see the cattle lameness problems cited by JBS and Tyson.)
Both companies, too, have cited concerns about China and other nations that have barred the importation of meat produced from Zilmax-fed cattle. They fear that if such meat is accidentally sent to these countries, it could hurt their export businesses.
FDA records based on 59 adverse event reports filed since 2008 by Merck and Intervet Inc - the original developer of Zilmax before Merck acquired the firm in 2009 - chronicle incidents of Zilmax-fed cattle experiencing stomach ulcers, brain lesions and blindness. Merck also has reported incidents of Zilmax-fed animals showing signs of lethargy, bloody noses, respiratory problems and heart failure.
In September 2011, an unidentified veterinarian at an Oregon feedlot reported "unusual hoof loss in cattle being fedZilmax," according to one adverse event report reviewed by Reuters.
In August this year, Merck reported an additional five episodes involving 66 cattle in Oregon and Idaho that lost their hooves after a Zilmax feeding regimen. In some cases, a consulting veterinarian also cited high ambient temperature and a cement-and-rebar floor that may have exacerbated the hoof damage.
Also in August, one Nebraska cattle producer, who is not named in the FDA documents, reported he had more dead cattle when he used Zilmax than when he didn't, according to the documents.
A Reuters review of data kept by the U.S. Agriculture Department show that euthanizations of cattle have risen substantially since Zilmax came on the market.
In the two years after Zilmax was introduced, the number of beef steers and heifers euthanized prior to slaughter at U.S. packing plants rose nearly 175 percent from previous levels. The number of euthanized steers and heifers has ranged between 1,600 and 2,300 cattle each year since then. That new plateau is well above the average of 670 a year in the four years before Zilmax came on the market in 2007.
The government data does not, though, draw a link between Zilmax or any other possible factors and the increase in euthanized cattle at meatpacking plants.
The number of euthanized cattle and the other reports of cattle dying is also quite small relative to the more than 30 million cattle slaughtered each year. It is small enough that it likely hasn't raised significant red flags with the FDA, said David Acheson, the agency's former Associate Commissioner for Food.
"I suspect that that's not going to trigger them to do much," Acheson said.
Tyson's plant, about 14 miles southeast of Pasco, is an integrated modern-day packing operation, stretching the length of several football fields. Five days a week, more than 1,300 workers arrive and walk past security guards toward a mechanical rumble emanating from the plant's gunmetal gray walls.
Tyson acquired the operation, one of its smaller plants, in 2001. It processes roughly 2,000 cattle a day, according to workers and local residents. Tyson would not comment on the number.
Washington state lies in the Pacific Northwest, with its soaring mountains and chilly rain. But the eastern flatlands around Pasco more closely resemble the Southwest's desert - and sometimes share its soaring summer temperatures.
To guard against the heat, Tyson has provided cover or shade for some holding pens at the plant. Overhead sprinkler systems help cool the cattle, too.
But 2013 saw one of the hottest summers in a quarter century, with at least three heat waves in which temperatures in the area topped 100 degrees, according to National Climatic Data Center. Temperatures were spiking on many of the dates when a total of 37 cattle were euthanized this summer due to lameness associated with Zilmax.
According to USDA documents and people knowledgeable about the events, some of the animals were shipped from Beef Northwest of North Powder, Oregon.
On August 5, of 17 cattle that were euthanized at Tyson's plant, the USDA inspector who condemned the animals noted that 15 had "lost toes." Two were destroyed for other reasons. The inspector identified at least one of the animals in the group that was put down as a heifer originating from Nyssa, Oregon.
Beef Northwest operates a feedlot in Nyssa. Animals making the trip to Pasco would have stood in a trailer for four hours on a 95-degree day as it traveled to Tyson's plant.
John Wilson, managing partner of Beef Northwest, confirmed that his company was using a Zilmax feed regimen this summer. About 40 of Beef Northwest's animals "developed lameness after arriving at a packing plant in two incidents in July and August of this year," he said. Wilson declined to identify the slaughterhouse and would not confirm the animals were destroyed.
Wilson said Beef Northwest had never faced lameness problems with its Zilmax-fed animals before this summer. While Beef Northwest was dispensing Zilmax, Wilson said, the company strictly followed Merck's dosage and other instructions.
Beef Northwest says it frequently conducted internal and third-party audits to ensure employees were not over-feeding Zilmax to the animals.
"In our cases, dosages were not an issue, never an issue," Wilson said in a phone interview. "I'd like to think that we were on the upper edge of the industry as far as heavy oversight of all of our protocols."
As feed-grain prices soared amid strong demand among livestock and ethanol producers in recent years, and with drought ravaging the U.S. crop belt, Zilmax seemed like an attractive solution. Some feedlot owners nicknamed it "Vitamin Z."
"We couldn't find feed cheap enough to make any money" on raising cattle, said Turgeon, the cattle nutritionist who works with Beef Northwest.
Many clients had adopted another beta-agonist - Optaflexx, made by Eli Lilly and Co's Elanco Animal Health unit.Elanco is Merck's biggest rival in the animal health business.
The two products use different active ingredients: Optaflexx is based on ractopamine, while Zilmax uses zilpaterol. But Zilmax added more weight to cattle than Optaflexx did, say industry nutritionists and feedlot owners. That perceived advantage helped Zilmax gain market share and sales faster than Optaflexx in recent years, say industry experts.
Turgeon had heard from his customers about lameness problems associated with Zilmax, and a colleague this summer showed him photos of animals with hooves peeling off, he said. Reuters has not seen any photos of cattle with missing hooves.
Merck is now trying to win the industry back. At a closed-door session of an Academy of Veterinary Consultants conference in Denver on December 5, some 300 cattle veterinarians sparred over Zilmax.
During the debate, they broke into informal camps of "believers" who think Zilmax hurts cattle, and "disbelievers" who discount its negative effects, according to Larry Moczygemba, president of the academy.
The veterinarians debated the effects of Zilmax and other beta-agonist drugs, Moczygemba said, without reaching a conclusion. Merck employees stayed in the room, mostly remaining silent.
"Few, if any, think this is just a beta-agonist problem all on its own," Moczygemba said. "But our role as vets puts animal well being first."
(Reporting By P.J. Huffstutter in Pasco, Washington, and Chicago, and Tom Polansek in North Powder, Oregon, and Chicago.; Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Pasco, Brian Grow in Atlanta and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles.; Edited by David Greising and Martin Howell.)


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Denver's Landmark Preservation Commission made the right call when its members unanimously shot down an effort by a University of Colorado student to have the old Gates Rubber Co. property landmarked.
The site is a cesspool of contamination, and anything that slows efforts to clean it up and make it ready for re-development is just wasting time.
Eugene Elliott, a CU senior, had ponied up $250 and asked for the designation for three buildings at the site, even though he has almost no connection with the property, unless you count the five times he trespassed to engage in "urban exploring."
The commission agreed with a staff study, which concluded the site has "low preservation potential."
Now that this sideshow is concluded, property owners can get on with tearing down the remaining buildings, cleaning up the industrial contamination and marketing the site for redevelopment.


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1361 Views | Published on 2nd Feb, 2019
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People have been asking about the hangouts, here's what's going on for the coming year.
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The Creepshow
Sean "Sick Boy" McNab, Sarah "SIN" Blackwood, The Reverend McGinty and Matt "Pomade" Gee
Formed in the dirty back alleys and dive bars of Toronto, Ontario in 2005, THE CREEPSHOW has redefined the saying "No Rest For The Wicked". Since their inception, the band has brought their genre-defying blend of country-tinged, psycho punk rock n' roll to over 25 countries worldwide with plans to conquer many more as soon as possible. Fronted by the fiery Sarah "SIN" Blackwood (guitar/vox) and backed by the swarthy Sean "Sick Boy" McNab (stand-up bass/vox), The Reverend McGinty (sermons/organ/vox) and the righteous Matt "Pomade" Gee, THE CREEPSHOW is an explosion of live energy that is a tasty treat for the ears and eyes alike… Whatever you do though, don't write THE CREEPSHOW off as just another psychobilly band. While their lyrics draw inspiration from b-movies and early horror films, they're also full of personal insight and personal stories dealing with everything from addiction to anxiety to love gone horribly wrong.
***Named as "One of the top bands you need to know about in 2009" by Alternative Press.
THE CREEPSHOW's passion for touring is borderline obsessive-compulsive. They have an incredibly personal dedication to their fans and their live show that is nothing short of astounding. Watching their set is a full frontal assault on all your senses and you definitely have to stay on your toes when you're at one of their shows. You never know when or if Sarah might decide jump off Sean's stand-up bass and launch herself across the stage or drop a size 4 TUK creeper upside the head of unruly photographers. THE CREEPSHOW have shared the stage with countless awesome bands including Rancid, Tiger Army, The Unseen, Agnostic Front, Mad Sin, Demented Are Go and have appeared on killer touring fests like Warped Tour, Ink n' Iron, Festival Of Fear, Mighty Sounds, Rebellion etc.
***Winner of the FU Award for "Best Live Band" by Edge 102 (Canada's biggest rock radio station.
THE CREEPSHOW's debut album "Sell Your Soul" came out in 2006 and immediately caught the attention of fans and press worldwide. With the onslaught of media attention and demand from fans, the band dropped everything and embarked on an endless tour across the USA, Canada and Europe. At they very beginning of their European tour, they were hijacked by fake cops in Spain and robbed of nearly everything they had. While most sane bands would have hung their heads and called it a day, THE CREEPSHOW sucked it up and finished the remaining 5 weeks of the tour without batting a lash. That's just how they roll.
*** "Seriously, if you like psychobilly bands with great female vocals you'll love this album and this band. It really is a must-have for fans of this genre" - Punknews - 4 outta 5 stars
In late 2008, THE CREEPSHOW took a month off from the touring to go into the studio and record the stunning follow up full-length "Run For Your Life". Featuring a tighter, faster and more aggressive sound, the new album took fans and the media by storm. Rave reviews came flowing in like a flood so the band packed up and headed out on tour again, bringing their revamped live show to the farthest reaches of the earth. The never-ending tour took the Creepshow across Canada, the US and Europe several times and even included stints in Australia on the Soundwave Festival and in Japan for PunkSpring Fest. The album also caught the attention of Hellcat Records and saw The Creepshow become the first Canadian band to sign to the label!
*** "Not all great rock n' roll needs to be performed by complete greasebags. As Toronto psychobilly stalwarts THE CREEPSHOW prove, you can look great while rockin' a city to it's foundations" – Chart Magazine
In the summer of 2010, the Creepshow finally returned home to their native Toronto for the first time in a very long time. Inspired by their years of travel, hundreds of shows and slightly battered by the experience, the band entered the studio with only one thought on their collective mind…REVENGE. The resulting full-length "They All Fall Down" is by far the band's best and most terrifying to date. From the opening explosive chords on "Get What's Coming" to the deceptively seductive ballad "Sleep Tight" to the knock-down-drag-out punk rock title anthem, "They All Fall Down" is a full throttle hellride into the Creepshow's dark and wonderful world. Slated for an October 2010 worldwide release, The band will once again be taking their eye-popping live show on the road. Like a bombshell in a whirlwind, the force of nature known as The Creepshow will be descending on a town near you soon and you don't want to miss them when they do. Just don't get too close...
They All Fall Down
- 01 The Sermon III
- 02 Get What's Coming
- 03 Someday
- 04 They All Fall Down
- 05 Last Chance
- 06 Sleep Tight
- 07 Dusk 'Til Dawn
- 08 Keep Dreaming
- 09 Hellbound
- 10 Going Down
- 11 Road To Nowhere
- No: #80519
- US Rel. Date: 10/05/2010
- EU Rel. Date: 10/04/2010
- Type: Full


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ALEX Toys Little Hands My Tabletop Easel
by ALEX Toys
In stock
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Product Description
Perfect for a young artist just starting to discover the world of art and color, Tabletop Easel is ideal. Securely rests on any flat table or surface. Double sided, it has a chalkboard on one side and wipe-off board on the other. Simple, modern design assembles easily with no tools, no hinges, and no small parts. Includes a paper roll, four non-spill paint cups, four beginner brushes, and a removable storage tray in the base.
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"It's not everyday you see 300 Dachshunds parade down the street in fancy dress," asserts the description on this video. True enough. But here dachshund owners in Poland display an imaginative and creative yen for putting their dogs in costumes of all varieties. I don't want to give anything away, but there are definitely one or two fake moustaches.
Oddly enough, these dogs don't have the same existential sadness in the eyes that actual show pets do. Clearly even dogs know the difference between the goofiness of Halloween and the bone-crushing solemnity of a beauty pageant.
[via Tastefully Offensive]


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Twenty years ago, Alexander Lingas '86 started Cappella Romana, the only professional Byzantine choir in the world. Photo by Bill Stickney.
Channeling medieval voices
MEDIEVAL CHORAL MUSIC—dramatic, harmonic, and unheard for more than 500 years—is the specialty of Cappella Romana, a Portland-based vocal ensemble started 20 years ago by singer and music scholar Alexander Lingas '86.
The choir, considered a world leader in the performance of Byzantine chant from ancient manuscripts, is launching its 20th anniversary season with performances April 2 in Portland's St. Mary's Cathedral and April 3 in Seattle's St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.
For Lingas, the music performed by Cappella Romana comes from a nurtured appreciation of Eastern choral music. While growing up in Portland, he spoke his parents' native language, Greek, and attended a Greek Orthodox Church where he sang in the choir.
Lingas's foray into professional performances is another story—one with a cataclysmic start. In 1989, an earthquake damaged a Greek Orthodox cathedral in San Francisco. Lingas organized a fundraising performance of Byzantine choral music, the subject of the dissertation he was hard at work on. He gathered friends and colleagues for two performances, dubbed the group Cappella Romana, and, that, says Lingas, "was the beginning of the ensemble."
Cappella Romana evolves with every performance, drawing different singers, depending on the requirements of the music. Sometimes the performance may have 30 singers, sometimes four. Singers gather from around the world—the United Kingdom, United States, Greece, and beyond—forming for a particular performance or season, then dissolving.
One of the best parts about being in the group, says Lingas, who remains its artistic director, "is the shared love of music. It's a committed group of singers, a collegial environment. We all get along well—go out to the pub together. So it's a community of friends, too."
The group performs primarily in Portland and Seattle, but it's collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Royal Academy of Art in London, among others. A dozen recordings have been made, and the Portland Baroque Orchestra features the group in its annual Messiah.
For his work with the ensemble, Lingas, now an instructor in London and at Oxford University, earned the 2010 Medallion of St. Romanos the Melodist awarded by the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians. The award honors "exemplary national contributions to church music in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America."
His wife, Ann Warton Lingas '88, a baroque violinist and former concertmaster for the Portland Youth Philharmonic, is finishing a doctorate at Oxford, where they live with their two daughters.
Publishing in da U.P., eh!
Alumni Laura Smyth and Elmore Reese are producing literature for adults and children in Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula.
LAKE WOEBEGONE, the fictional town Garrison Keillor reports from each week on National Public Radio, is a lot like Copper City, Michigan, population 200.
At least, that's how Laura Smyth '80 and Elmore Reese '83 see it. About three years ago, the couple moved to this remote corner of the world on the edge of Lake Superior.
But even in the remotest corners, culture can sprout. Smyth and Reese own Thimbleberry Press, a small, on-demand publishing company that produces Adventures in the U.P., a magazine for children about the adventures of a dog, and Further North, a magazine about life and art in the region that features the work of local writers and photographers. The press also has two books under its imprint: Draw on Culture, an activity book to introduce children to Chinese culture, and Dragon's Daughters Return, Thimbleberry's first book.
Smyth, originally from upstate New York, and Reese, a Portland native, would visit family in Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula, or the U.P. as it's known, and fell head-over-heels with the whimsical Lake Woebegone quality of the area.
"It's a very odd, quirky, pretty place," says Smyth. "We just sort of fell in love with it."
In moving to Copper City from Montclair, New Jersey, the couple and their daughter, Jane, gave up easy access to the opposite kind of place, New York, which is just 12 miles away from Montclair.
Today, all their publications are print-on-demand, which helps keep overhead low. Still, Thimbleberry Press is young, and the publishing world is struggling. So, Reese and Smyth both hold other jobs, but the hard work, they say, is worth it.
"'Press' is what we know," says Smyth. "It's what we love to do."
Come to campus
PSU Theater Arts presents Fefu and Her Friends, a hallucinogenic, Obie Award-winning play by avant-garde dramatist Marie Irene Fornes about the lives of 1930s aristocratic women. This West Coast premiere of the Cuban-born playwright's one-set version runs Feb. 25 through March 5 in Lincoln Performance Hall. Tickets are $12 for adults; call the PSU Box Office at 503-725-3307.
New Works
By Keith Eggener '85, W.W. Norton, 2010
Brew to Bikes: Portland's Artisan Economy
By Charles Heying (urban studies faculty), PSU Ooligan Press, 2010
Dreamless and Possible: Poems New and Selected
Christopher Howell MA '71, University of Washington Press, 2010
Pacific Northwest Hiking
By Scott Leonard and Sean Patrick Hill MA '06, Avalon Travel, 2010
Gimme Refuge: The Education of a Caretaker
By Matt Love '86, Nestucca Spit Press, 2010
Alert the Media: How the American Indian Movement Used the Mass Media
By Marilyn Catherine McDonald '75, CreateSpace, 2010
Imperial Japan at its Zenith
By Kenneth Ruoff (history faculty), Cornell University Press, 2010
A Secret Weeping of Stones: New and Selected Poems
By Ron Talney '60, Plain View Press, 2010
American Hebrew Literature
By Michael Weingrad (Judaic studies faculty), Syracuse University Press, 2010
WE WANT TO HEAR about your books and recordings and your future exhibits, performances, and directing ventures. Contact the magazine by e-mailing firstname.lastname@example.com, or mailing Portland State Magazine, Office of University Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751.


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Former Twins Player Throws First Pitch At Rox Home Opener [VIDEO]
ST. CLOUD -- Former Twins baseball shortstop Greg Gagne threw the ceremonial first pitch at the home opener of the St. Cloud Rox game Friday night.
Gagne was traded to the Twins in 1982 after being drafted by the Yankees in 1979. He played with the Twins during both World Series Championships.
Gagne was on-hand during the ball game to sign autographs and meet fans. He says it has been awhile since he has thrown a pitch but he was excited to open the game.
About 2,000 people were out to watch the Rox take on the Thunder Bay Border Cats from Canada.
The Rox president and co-owner, Gary Posch says the fan turnout was good and a great way to start off the home opener.
See a video of the home opener below.


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It's 11:17 a.m. in São Paulo, Brazil. A stadium-size room sports 4,500 pup tents, many settled by students and new entrepreneurs, sleeping, finally, after one more night innovating until dawn.
Meet Campus Party, the largest event on the planet for connecting ideas and sparking creativity. Innovationpalooza at its best.
Campus Party organizers take over empty warehouses and even aircraft hangers, creating a giant petri dish where innovation thrives. The massive mashup includes fighting robots, beanbag chairs, leading-edge technology, bathrobes, big names in tech and science, and some of the youngest, brightest, most pioneering people in the world.
Vivek Dev, Group Director of Digital Services at Telefónica, Campus Party's global partner, describes the event as, "Woodstock for young geeks," as we tour the giant indoor festival. As far as the eye can see, future tech leaders–young people in emerging markets, eager to make a difference and a name for themselves along the way–experience collaboration's power firsthand.
Together industrious people come up with solutions that can become products serving niches or whole industries.
Thanks to the arboretum-size pizza cafe and seemingly endless shower stalls, Campus Party smells sweeter than Woodstock would have on day four of a seven-day event. This is a new day and a new breed of party. Launched 16 years ago, having reached over 180,000 people, and still largely unknown in the English-speaking world, it's coming to a country near you.
While Campus Party's sheer size astounds, attitudes and vibrancy in the building take your breath away. At times I found myself looking around, in search of what caused the buzz. It wasn't one thing, rather many. Three stand out.
1. Intentional Encouragement
Imagine yourself standing in line at a swarming supermarket, waiting to pay and finally go home. Your mobile phone rings and you confirm you're heading to Campus Party. You hang up, staring at the powerful device in your hand, wondering why you couldn't use this same phone to check out and leave.
When you arrive at the event you share this observation. A young woman you've never met before says she wrote some code that could be used for something like this. An old friend searches the web for news of a similar system he's heard about. You calculate the percentage you would need to charge. Three more people begin writing other features, talking back and forth at their keyboards.
Within a few days you have a prototype. You pitch your idea to a roomful of leaders in various fields brought in by conference sponsors. They encourage your new team to consider where else this technology could help people get back to their lives. You're energized as you refine what a few days ago was only the question, "Why not?"
Innovation is not something you can directly pursue. At Campus Party innovation rises out of the creative tension and electrified atmosphere that comes from asking "why not" then "how." Trying, doing, mixing, fixing, then digging in again. It's born out of circumstance, intersections, and need.
In the new book Jugaad Innovation, Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu, and Simone Ahuja introduce the colloquial Hindi word jugaad that roughly translates to "an innovative fix." Jugaad is widely practiced in India, Brazil, China, and Kenya, anywhere entrepreneurs pursue growth in challenging climates. Brazilians call this approach gambiarra. The Chinese call it zizhu chuangxin. Kenyans refer to it as jua kali. It's a gutsy way to respond to adverse conditions, transforming insufficiency into opportunity. Some of the most successful are simple solutions address vexing problems that fellow citizens face.
Telefónica awards a prize for the most commercially viable plan. The winning team gets a yearlong contract with technical, marketing, and legal support so the ideas reach all the people who will benefit. When I met with some of the teams, each was authentically overjoyed at the opportunity to talk with people about their work. The prize was only a small part of what drove them.
Encouragement taps into an intrinsic well, filled as you turn a nascent idea into something valuable to the community around you. Encouragement amplifiies as people celebrate with you because they know that what you can accomplish together is better than what any of you would do alone.
2. Inclusive Diversity
Campus Party, the brainchild of Belinda Galiano, Pablo Antón, and Paco Ragageles, was created to spur innovation in communities that have historically relied on the ideas of others. To generate energy and cross-pollinate thinking, they encourage something beyond working together with technology. They also focus on entertainment, geekdom, and #somethingbetter.
"It's wide and it's young," says Galiano. "We unite talent. They create the future." Young people want to put their creative skills to use for a larger cause. A 2011 report conducted by Euro RSCG showed 92% of millennials agree the world must change, and 84% consider it their duty to drive this change.
The same research showed a majority of millennials believe it is women, not men, who will lead change. Unlike some tech events I've participated in where men outnumber women 5:1 and everyone leaves their family back home, Campus Party nurtures a fusion of women, men, and children. While the tented areas were for individuals, some families came for the day, imbuing an even-deeper sense of inspiration, creativity, and energy, grounded in the real world.
This ensures ideas flow in what Steven Johnson calls liquid networks, representing a free-flowing, high-contact medium. Campus Party provides an environment where an eclectic diversity of thoughts collide, people learn faster, and ideas spread widely.
Writes Ragageles, "The word impossible only lives in the minds of humans who have never loved. Campus Party is about people who through their love for technology, are making the world a better place and for them nothing is impossible. Habito en el tercer planeta del sistema solar (I live on the third planet in the solar system)."
3. Impassioned Hearts
At the heart of Campus Party is the human factor. A banner reads, "The Internet is not a network of computers, it's a network of PEOPLE."
And they are happy people, participants and sponsors alike. Sponsors get access to a massive pool of tech talent and the vibrant energy that comes along with it. They often hire people from the event and provide yet another value, moving passion toward purpose.
Radjou, Prabhu, and Ahuja found in their research that jugaad innovators rely more on heart and intuition than on analysis to successfully navigate a highly complex, uncertain, and unpredictable environment. "They use their gut intelligence and innate empathy for customer needs to innovate breakthroughs that defy conventional wisdom. Their underlying passion acts as the fuel that sustains their efforts to make a difference in the lives of the community they serve." The fast-paced volatile environment forces many to think on their feet all the time.
When Tim Berners-Lee set out to develop the web, he envisioned a technology that could serve as "a collaborative medium, a place where we can all play; a place where we can all meet, read, and write."
That vision plays out each day in unconference-style BarCamps, global online mega-events like IBM Jams, and both offline and online hackathons focused by the Management Innovation eXchange on management and Facebook on code.
At Campus Party, where Berners-Lee spoke when I was there, he also now sees how the connections the internet enable encourages people to foster change even when they aren't online. At this party, young entrepreneurs learn to be themselves, they're not alone, and that ideas come in all shapes and sizes.
By finding encouragement, catalysts, and heart, young people locate a fountain they'll be able to learn from over a lifetime.
Brian Duperreault, President and CEO of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, has said, "There's now an equal, and maybe greater chance, that innovative ideas will come out of [emerging markets], where the action is, where the need to deliver more for less is even more heightened."
Campus Party is a global phenomenon leading the way; ensuring young entrepreneurs, women and men alike, are at the forefront of that action.
Are you ready for the party? Campus Party coordinators are looking now at large venues in Silicon Valley to host an event later this year. Perhaps then it will work its way to cities across the U.S. If you're interested in participating, check out the website. If you're interested in sponsoring one of the events, sponsor details are posted there too.
If you think this isn't really all that unusual, consider the two Guinness World Records set at Campus Party. Most people on a single network using ipv6 and the most people in bathrobes. Really.
[Images: Flickr user Loïc Le Meur and Marcia Conner]


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Flights to popular U.S. cities
Flights to popular international cities
Why Hipmunk?
Hipmunk is the fastest, easiest way to plan travel. Hipmunk saves you time by comparing top airlines and travel sites to find the cheapest flights and the best deals on airline tickets. Our exclusive agony sort also takes into account price, flight duration, and the number of layovers to find you the flight with the least amount of agony.


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Largemouth bass virus detected in Arizona
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Game and Fish Department officials have confirmed the presence of largemouth bass virus in Lake Pleasant north of Phoenix.
Tests on largemouth bass tissue samples collected during a routine survey last month showed presence of the disease in some samples.
While the virus can affect largemouth bass, officials say it doesn't pose a risk to people and pets and the water is safe for drinking and recreation.
Game and Fish hasn't documented any fish kills at Lake Pleasant associated with largemouth bass virus to date.
The only prior fish health survey conducted at Lake Pleasant was in 2002 and largemouth bass virus wasn't detected then.
Authorities say the virus most likely entered the lake's fishery within the past decade.
The virus has been found in 18 states since 1991.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.


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While DHS manages the child care subsidy program, licensed providers are licensed through DCFS. If you are interested in becoming a licensed child care provider in the state of Illinois, you must apply at the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
Non-licensed providers who wish to care for subsidized children through this program, must pass a background check consisting of three elements:
Your Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency will inform you of which elements need completed and how to do this. Use the DHS Office Locator to locate your local CCR&R.


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Caterina Scorsone Expecting First Child
"We're over the moon," the Private Practice star, 30, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I'm starting to show now. Everybody on set has been pretty sweet and is offering me fruit."
Caterina Scorsone and her husband, musician Rob Giles, are expecting their first child this summer.
"We're over the moon," the Private Practice star, 30, tells PEOPLE exclusively.
"I'm starting to show now. Everybody on set has been pretty sweet and is offering me fruit."
On Thursday's episode, fans of the show will learn that Scorsone's character, Dr. Amelia Shepherd, is pregnant.
"This year Amelia — who had been sober — fell off the wagon after her friend died," the actress explains of her character's story arc. "She hit rock bottom, had an intervention and went to rehab. So this news is on the heels of that."
Upon learning of Scorsone's pregnancy, Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes was inspired.
"The news came out of left field and I think she decided she could use this for dramatic purposes," jokes Scorsone. "As an actress it never feels like the right time. But once we knew what was happening we were like, 'This is perfect.'"
"Shonda was immediately excited and talked about what we could do when the baby came so [he or she] could be on set," she continues. "She's been unbelievably supportive."
Maybe that's because Rhimes thinks of Scorsone and Giles, who's a member of The Rescues, as part of her extended family. Years before Scorsone joined the cast, the band's music was featured on both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, while Giles, 36, also worked with Grey's stars Sara Ramirez and Kevin McKidd.
— Monica Rizzo


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Who is League Lab For?
We run Leagues, Just like you
You can find lots of software to help you register teams. But how many of those companies have ever run a sports league, dealt with a rainout, made a shirt, tried to collect a team fee, made a playoff bracket, or scheduled a ref?
At League Lab we focus on the particular needs of larger organizations who run top-quality leagues. Our customers need more efficient and integrated tools than Wordpress, post-its, and spreadsheets. They need to save time every day with processes like:
- Online staff scheduling
- Tracking team shirts and colors
- On-site paperwork for game days
- Batch payments and stored payment info
- Posting scores, reports, and photos directly from the field
We use everything League Lab offers. We aren't guessing, we are in the trenches with you, solving problems and using League Lab across thousands of teams a year to deliver an easier experience for field and office staff, captains, and players.Try it Out


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Embossing Sheet
by ArtEmboss
Create beautiful projects with these pure metal sheets. Available in 100% pure pewter, copper, brass, aluminum, and colored aluminum (color is one-side only), ArtEmboss can be used to decorate virtually any object or room in your home. A special manufacturing process makes ArtEmboss extremely soft and pliable. A fine point stylus is all that is needed to trace a pattern into the metal.
There are two weights of ArtEmboss metal sheets: light and medium. Light sheets are perfect for intricate detail patterns and decoration of lightweight objects such as greeting cards and gift tags. The medium weight sheets work well on photo albums, picture frames, gift boxes, as well as for a variety of fine art projects.
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Average User Rating: Based on (33 Reviews)
Cheryl D. Langley from Vernal, UT says:
Great product. I had to teach a small group how to emboss. The copper metal sheet was easy to work with and did not tear. I was happy with the results.
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Product Questions and Answers
I am looking for metal sheets to use in dry embossing folders and a press. Can you tell me which is best for this use?- Asked by Jan Warren on 23-Feb-14
Our embossing sheets are recommended for use with hand-held embossing tools. Mechanical embossing processes may tear the metal sheet depending on the device. The medium weight may hold up best in the press, but if the design is intricate, it may not capture the detail.- Answered by MisterArt on 27-Feb-14
What is the difference between the St. Louis Decorator's Foils and the ArtEmboss Embossing Sheet?- Asked by Piper on 03-Jan-14
These similar foils are both foldable and pliable. The ArtEmboss offers two weights, light and medium. The ArtEmboss selection is 9 1/4 in. wide, and the St. Louis Crafts foils are 12 in. wide. Each offers a different array of colors.- Answered by MisterArt on 08-Jan-14
I want to make labels for each rose bush in my garden. Which weight sheet would you recommend?- Asked by A. Moore on 21-Dec-13
We recommend the medium-weight (the heavier of the two). Use the light-weight if intending to emboss intricate details.- Answered by MisterArt on 26-Dec-13
Can you print directly onto these sheets with an inkjet printer?- Asked by jc on 26-Feb-13
The Embossing Sheets are not suggested for use in a color copier or inkjet printer.- Answered by MisterArt on 26-Feb-13
Can the light sheets be easily cut into thin strips (1/4 in. wide)?- Asked by Olwen on 26-Sep-12
Yes, these embossing sheets can be cut easily with scissors or a stencil knife.- Answered by MisterArt on 11-Oct-12
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Posted by Editoress on 02/12/10
Web company 7thgroove and RE:FORM Body Clinic in Ottawa are proud to announce a new elite women's cycling team with hubs in Ottawa and Toronto. Allison Lampi and Julia Farell (Miranda Athletics) will manage the team.
"Our vision and passion is to compete successfully at the highest levels of the sport, and to grow the sport by providing opportunities for elite women to ride and compete within an experienced women's team."
For the full article go to Cycling4Women.ca
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


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Want your West Seattle event/meeting/performance to be listed here? Please send basic info AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE to firstname.lastname@example.com – thanks! Please include full details AS PLAIN TEXT IN YOUR E-MAIL, *not* in an attached doc/poster/flyer/etc. A web link for more info helps too. Thank you!
ADMIRAL THEATER SCHEDULE (updated link)
USING THE CALENDAR: Mouse over any entry to show the "plus" sign at right; click it to expand the item for more info without leaving this page; click "read more" for the FULL listing, usually including a map, plus a chance to post a comment/question.
Benefit! Fun! Read all about it here.
From the Seattle Aquarium:
Explore Constellation Park/Richey Viewpoint beach in West Seattle during two winter nighttime low tides with Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists and discover what creatures we see at this time of year. This is a free, family-friendly, drop-in program—no registration necessary! Dress for the weather (bundle up!) and for tide pooling: boots, hats, gloves and a good flashlight are musts.
• Friday, January 10, 8:30–10:30 pm (-2.73 @ 10:40pm)
• Saturday, February 8, 8:30–10:30 pm (-2.45 @ 10:22pm)
Constellation Park/(South) Alki Beach
1. Take Spokane St. exit off I–5 to West Seattle
2. Take Admiral Way exit off West Seattle Bridge
3. Stay on Admiral through West Seattle to 63rd Ave SW
4. Turn left at 63rd to Beach Drive SW
5. Park on Beach Drive SW
6. Meet the Naturalists at the canopy at 63rd Ave SW and Beach Dr. SW


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have (one's) fill (of something)(redirected from had your fill of something)
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have (one's) fill (of something)
To have, consume, or experience as much (of something) as one desires or is able to. Often used in the present perfect tense ("have had one's fill"). Make sure you have your fill of cake—we made plenty for everyone! I've had my fill of people giving me advice about my love life. Janet: "Would you like any more of this curry?" Mark: "No, thank you, I've had my fill."
had one's fill
Also, have one's fill. See get one's fill.
See also: fill
have had your fill of something
COMMON If you have had your fill of something, you have had as much of it as you can bear, and do not want any more. I've had my fill of office politics over the years. They have had their fill of war, poverty, and repression.


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So today, as I mentioned last week is a cello sectional coaching day, but I was so distracted by thoughts about the current DSO situation that I found it hard to concentrate at the task at hand. What I also had on my mind, in light of the recent piece I rediscovered and blogged about a few days ago, Changing US Demographics and Classical Music, and especially as Elysia and I have been having a discussion about such issues in a review of a Sacramento Philharmonic concert she went to this weekend which included a composition ("New Conception") by Egyptian Composer, Nader Abassi, was the quote (in the title of this blog post).
It was a response to a possible solution for the DSO that I had made back in August at the Cello Chat forums. I tend to envision an orchestral world that isn't so dominated by European styled Orchestras sure–and I'm not at all shy about stating my desire to form my own World Music Orchestra that would be international in a way that Orthodox Orchestras will probably never be. Continue reading ""…and it never occurred to me that musical tastes and offerings will change as demographics change…""


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Spring 1978.
J. Edgar Hoover had been dead six years. Former President Richard Nixon had retreated to exile in San Clemente.
Across the United States, the wounds from the divisions of Vietnam and Watergate had begun to heal.
Jimmy Carter, a Georgia peanut farmer held the White House. William Webster, a former federal judge, ran the FBI. And, neither man cared much for white-collar crime nor political corruption.
A few years earlier, the FBI's image had taken a beating. Once the nation's top law enforcement agency, a series of congressional hearings had exposed the bureau's involvement in a domestic spying program known as COINTELPRO and a series of break-ins and other illegal activities.
"The bureau was getting raked over the coals," recalled former FBI agent James Wedick. "Then Webster came in. He was a judge and thought that public corruption was out of control and believed the bureau should get into white-collar crime and public corruption cases."
From that new mission came Abscam, the mother of all political corruption investigations, and the template for a modern sting operation that resulted in a federal indictment that could put Los Angeles area politicians Ron and Tom Calderon behind bars for decades — if not the rest of their lives.
"That's really the prototype," Wedick said.
Tom Calderon appeared in federal court Friday and entered a not guilty plea to charges of conspiracy and money laundering. State Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, is expected to surrender on Monday morning.
He faces a host of charges including money laundering, bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, honest services fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and aiding in the filing of false tax returns.
Ron Calderon's attorney Mark Geragos was unavailable for comment. On Calderon's behalf, Geragos filed a suit in federal court alleging the government acted illegally in their investigation.
Wedick said he wasn't amazed that it was an Abscam-like sting that put the Calderons in the spotlight.
It was bound to happen. It had before.
'American Hustle'
The movie "American Hustle" fictionalized the very real Abscam operation. The scheme involved FBI agents who videotaped members of Congress taking bribes from a fake Middle Eastern sheik in return for legislation or political favors. The sting was the first of its kind in American politics and resulted in bribery and conspiracy cases against six congressmen and a U.S. senator.
The FBI set up a fake company and loaned it $6 million to fund the operation through a outfit called "Olympic Construction," its then owner, Richard Muffaletto of Long Island, N.Y., told a UPI reporter in a 1980 story published in The New York Times.
The FBI also created a dummy company called Abdul Enterprises Ltd. The company was owned by the bureau's fake sheik named Kambir Abdul Rahman. The cover story was that the sheik came into a great deal of money through oil.
Ultimately the spirit of the operation was in keeping with the times. And editorials around the country applauded Webster's new and improved FBI.
"The percentage of congressmen reported to have taken the Abscam bait testified to the inability of far too many public officials to discern between right and wrong," read an opinion piece published in the Daily Plainsman of Huron, S.D.
It wasn't long until Wedick, who cut his teeth playing a minor undercover role in Abscam, was dispatched to Sacramento to root out public corruption in the California state Capitol, long suspected as a rough-and-tumble den of inequity.
Going undercover isn't easy. During the early days of Abscam, the FBI's fake sheik was nearly exposed when one target, a crooked attorney, decided to test the undercover agent's knowledge of Arabic, Wedick recalled. Quick thinking saved the day.
"Everybody goes, 'what are we going to do here?'" Wedick said. "And when it happened, 'the sheik' just ignored (the attorney) and walks away."
Another agent in on the scam pulled the sneaky attorney aside and scolded, "don't you ever speak to the sheik in Arabic again. Look, there are too many people in America trying to rip him off and he thinks your speaking Arabic to him is a way to get his money. He's very offended."
The attorney backed off.
Wedick and others learned some very important lessons on that operation. Chief among them was that they would master all facets of whatever role they were playing.
With that in mind, Wedick set up shop in Sacramento and took out reams and reams of official paperwork. In the process he set up a fake shrimp processing company that needed speciality legislation to survive.
He made it apparent he was willing to pay to play.
"We made it clear that we were greedy and we wanted to make money," Wedick said. "If you were of like mind, you would seek us out."
The case, officially known as Brispec, for bribery special interest, resulted in several arrests and a handful of corruption, money laundering and bribery convictions. Among those caught up in the scandal were Los Angeles area legislators Gwen Moore, Pat Nolan, Joseph Montoya and Frank Hill.
"That was 10 percent of the Senate," Wedick said. "Not only that, three of those people were chairmen of three of the most influential committees in the Legislature and they had been there for 15 or 16 years. It was an incredible, incredible time."
Spinal Tap
There's no catchy name for the sting that resulted in the Calderons' indictment, but the use of a dummy Hollywood film company in need of speciality legislation, undercover FBI agents and free flowing cash in the operation mirrors many of the Abscam and Shrimpscam techniques, experts said.
And, officials said Friday, Calderon has yet to pay back the money he was given under the table.
But, as Wedick sees it, there's an added bonus for prosecutors this time around — a real person at the head of a real company who actually admitted to paying off bribes.
On Friday, that real person, Dr. Michael Drobot, who ran Pacific Hospital in Long Beach, admitted to orchestrating a conspiracy that fraudulently billed workers compensation insurers for more than $500 million over five years. Federal prosecutors allege he attempted to keep the scheme alive by enlisting the help of Ron and Tom Calderon.
Some of Drobot's assistance was under the table, some above board. In 2012 alone, employees of Drobot's gave $27,300 to Tom Calderon's now suspended bid to return to office.
But Drobot also admitted he funneled secret payments to Ron Calderon through Calderon's son and daughter. Neither child was indicted.
In a statement issued Friday, Drobot's attorneys said their client, who could do 10 years in federal prison, was cooperating with authorities.
"As his plea agreement reflects, Mr. Drobot has acknowledged and accepts responsibility for his actions. He is providing information to assist the government in its expanding investigations."
Wedick, now a Sacramento-based consultant, said even though there is an historical precedent for wide-ranging corruption in Sacramento and Washington, the public shouldn't worry too much.
"People like to give the Legislature a hard time," he said. "Most of the folks down there try to do the right thing, live within the law and do what they are supposed to do. There are 2 or 3 percent who are there to make money. They look at the system to see where there are design flaws, if you will. And they get that message out that they are looking to be reimbursed — or paid — if someone is looking for official action. That's what this case looks like."