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Stockton has been called the city of the future because of its melting pot of residents.
Stockton has been called the city of the future because of its melting pot of residents.
The city's diversity - 15 cultural backgrounds identified by the U.S. census, 44 languages spoken by students in the city's largest school district - also is its strength. And it is crucial to its economic engine.
Hundreds of small businesses are owned by immigrants from Mexico, Southeast Asia, India, China and Japan. There are chambers of commerce and trade associations that serve black and Asian-American businesses. The most recent group, created last summer, is the American Punjabi chamber.
The oldest ethnic chamber is the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which has been around for 35 years.
For many residents, the cultural interface takes place inside the dozens of restaurants that offer ethnic food.
"If you hide behind a gate, you miss out on life," said Douglass Wilhoit, chief executive officer of the granddaddy of area chambers, the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce (founded in 1921).
"Diversity is one of the strongest points we have. It's a great plus. Yes, we are diverse and we can all help each other."
Wilhoit, a fifth-generation Stockton resident, said he and his wife regularly frequent the city's ethnic restaurants. "There are so many choices. It makes it exciting. If we were a one-nationality community, we wouldn't have those opportunities."
Today, we introduce you to shoe-shine business owner Frank Henderson and the folks at Cal-Pine Barber Shop and the Super King Food Centers - people and places emblematic of Stockton's rich diversity.


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Margaret Hall | Charles Lyell | Joseph Sturge | Charles Dickens
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. October 25, 1827. Visit to the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb; Visit to the Prison.
The next place we went to was of a very different character, the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. The head teacher, Mr. Gallaudet, went both to London and Edinburgh, where he met with but little cordiality. There seemed to be a jealousy of letting a foreigner into their secret, so he went next to Paris, and there he was taken at once into the Abbe Sicard's school, got all the information and instruction he wished, and brought out with him a young man who had been educated there to be one of the teachers at this institution. Four of the teachers are deaf and dumb the other five have all their faculties. This happened to be the last day of vacation, so that the schools were not in operation, but most of the pupils had returned, and a more cheerful or more intelligent looking group I never saw. Mr. Gallaudet brought three of the girls and two boys into the school room to give us a specimen of their advancement. One of the young men, nineteen years old, is now a teacher. He is uncommonly intelligent and has read a great deal. There was no trick, nothing got up in the exhibition. We wrote down questions on the slate and they answered them, sometimes off hand, at other times they required a little reflection. We then wrote a word, an adjective, or adverb, or any part of speech we chose which they brought in in a sentence and always so as to show that they understood the meaning perfectly. There was generally a great deal of imagination in the form of their replies. The system of signs is very quick. They use the alphabet very little and entirely with one hand. One poor girl we saw who is deaf, dumb, and blind, of course she cannot be taught much, but I saw her knit and thread a needle. They do not teach their pupils to speak, in which I think they show their sense, for nothing can be more unearthly than the sound made by those who have lost the organ of hearing by which to modulate their voices. At first when they go to the Institution the children are in the habit of making disagreeable sounds, but the masters check them immediately, and except for one boy who had been there a very short time I did not hear a single sound except a hearty laugh, which had nothing strange in it. Mr. Gallaudet married one of his own pupils and Mr. Clerc, the teacher who came from France, also married a deaf and dumb person. He was extremely anxious to ascertain after the birth of his eldest child whether it heard, and it was sometime before they could persuade him that it did. He has since had two more equally gifted. Having gone through his own hobby Mr. Gallaudet next asked us if we would not go to the Retreat, the asylum for the insane, which is also particularly well conducted. We went there, accordingly, and were fortunate in finding the physician, Dr. Tod, who by the by is almost insane upon the subject, at home. His treatment of his patients is very different from that generally followed. Unless the person is in a state not to listen to anything, he tells him why he is sent there, that he is mad, and sent to be cured. He treats them all with the most perfect frankness, never resorts to confinement so long as the patient can be at large with safety to himself and others, provides amusement and occupation for them, and to those whom he thinks it will benefit carries strangers to visit them in their sitting room, where they have the companionship of those in an equal state of convalescence with themselves. The result of this system has been hitherto the cure of ninety-five persons out of a hundred. This appears a great many, but it is to be hoped that there will be no relapses, for as yet the establishment has only existed three years. It was delightful to see the three men at the head of those three institutions, each equally enthusiastic in his own department. Mr. Pilsbury at Weathersfield seemed to have no thought but for the Improvement of prison discipline and reformation of prisoners; Mr. Gallaudet's whole soul is wrapped up in the sharpening of the remaining faculties of his interesting charges; whilst Dr. Tod when speaking of the happy effects produced on the insane by gentle treatment, lashes up and kindles into a degree of enthusiasm which might lead one to think he may one day be a fit subject for his own experiments, especially when we are told that his father and only sister have both been mad and many other relations more or less deranged. Imagination carries one a great way while visiting such places. At the prison I saw crime in every countenance though the Prisoners proved often to be very trustworthy keepers. At the Deaf and Dumb I started when I heard anyone speak, and at the Retreat (having the first impression of the prison still on my mind) I wondered to see the women allowed to sit together and talk, forgetting that solitary confinement was not necessary there as a punishment.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. December 12, 1827. Visit to the Orphan Asylum; Visit to the Asylum for Poor Widows.
Our next visit was of a much more agreeable nature, the Orphan Asylum, an admirable institution, where upwards of sixty children are well taken care of and educated until they are twelve years old, when they are bound into different trades, the boys at least, and the girls go into service. Close to the Orphan Asylum is another excellent institution totally unconnected with it, an Asylum for Poor Widows, where for thirty dollars of entrance money, a sum easily procured amongst friends if the individual possesses it not, any widow of reduced circumstances and too infirm to better them, can gain admittance to a comfortable home for the rest of her life. There are forty-three now in the establishment, and really the old ladies look most comfortable, fifteen of them are unable to leave their rooms, at all events not able to go downstairs, but one story there is a gallery round the centre of the building where each can take exercise without having the fatigue of climbing the stair. Some have a room entirely to themselves, in other rooms here are two persons, but all of them look neat and clean and comfortable. It would be an excellent establishment in England for old housekeepers and such like.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. October 27, 1841 Meeting Laura Bridgeman at the Blind Asylum
In the Blind Asylum I saw Laura Bridgman, in her twelfth year. At the age of two she lost her sight and hearing by a severe illness, but although deaf, dumb, and blind, her mind has been so advanced by the method of instruction pursued by Dr. Howe, that she shows more intelligence and quickness of feeling than many girls of the same age who are in full possession of all their senses. The excellent reports of Dr. Howe, on the gradual development of her mind, have been long before the public, and have recently been cited by Mr. Dickens, together with some judicious observations of his own. Perhaps no one of the cases of a somewhat analogous nature, on which Dugald Stewart and others have philosophised, has furnished so many new and valuable facts illustrating the extent to which all intellectual developmcnt is dependent on the instrumentality of the senses in discerning external objects, and, at the same time, in how small a degree the relative acuteness of the organs of sense determine the moral and intellectual superiority of the individual.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. June 1, 1841 Visit to the Refuge for Juvenile Delinquents; Visit to the Eastern Penitentiary.
During my short stay in Philadelphia on this occasion, I visited several of its prisons, philanthropic institutions, et cet. These are pro-eminently the glory of this beautiful city; yet as they have been often described, I shall pass them by in silence, with the exception of two, the Refuge, and the Penitentiary; which I briefly notice because I may offer a few general remarks in another place, on the important subject of prison discipline. The Refuge is an asylum for juvenile delinquents, founded on the just and benevolent principle that offences against society, committed by very young persons, should be disciplined by training and education, rather than by punishment. In this establishment there are from eighty to ninety boys, and from forty to fifty girls, of ages varying from eight to twenty-one years. The former are employed in various light handicraft trades, and the latter in domestic services, and both spend a certain portion of their time in school. They remain from six months to four years. From the statements of the superintendent and matron, it appeared that about three-fourths of the male, and four-fifths of the female inmates become respectable members of society, and the remainder are chiefly such as are fifteen or sixteen years of age when first admitted into the Refuge, an age at which character may be considered as in a great measure formed. The labour of the children pays about one-fifth of the expense of the establishment, the rest being defrayed by the legislature.
The prejudice of colour intrudes even here, no children of that class being admitted into the Refuge. Coloured delinquency is left to ripen into crime, with little interference from public or private philanthropy. As might have been expected, coloured, are more numerous than white criminals, in proportion to relative population; and this is appealed to as a proof of their naturally vicious and inferior character; when in fact the government and society at large are chargeable with their degradation.
The Penitentiary contained, at the time of my visit, about three hundred and forty male, and thirty-five female prisoners. In this celebrated prison, hard labour is combined with solitary confinement, a system which is techincally known as the "separate" system. Silence and seclusion are so strictly enforced as to be almost absolute and uninterrupted; even the minister who addresses the prisoners on the sabbath is known to them only by his voice. A marked feature of this institution is security without the aid of any deadly weapon, none being allowed in the possession of the attendants, or indeed upon the premises. As compared with the " silent" system, exhibited in the not less famed prisons of the State of New York, this is much less economical, as the mode of employing the prisoners, in their solitary cells, greatly lessons the power of a profitable application of their labour.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. February 1842. Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind; Meeting Laura Bridgeman.
The thought occurred to me as I sat down in another room, before a girl, blind, deaf, and dumb; destitute of smell; and nearly so of taste: before a fair young creature with every human faculty, and hope, and power of goodness and affection, inclosed within her delicate frame, and but one outward sense-the sense of touch. There she was, before me; built up, as it were, in a marble cell, impervious to any ray of light, or particle of sound; with her poor white hand peeping through a chink in the wall, beckoning to some good man for help, that an Immortal soul might be awakened.
Long before I locked upon her, the help had come. Her face was radiant with intelligence and pleasure. Her hair, braided by her own hands, was bound about a head, whose intellectual capacity and development were beautifully expressed in its graceful outline, and its broad open brow; her dress, arranged by herself, was a pattern of neatness and simplicity; the work she had knitted, lay beside her; her writingbook was on the desk she leaned upon.-From the mournful ruin of such bereavement, there had slowly risen up this tender, guileless, grateful-hearted being.
Like other inmates of that house, she had a green ribbon bound round her eyelids. A doll she had dressed lay near upon the ground. I took it up, and saw that she had made a green fillet such as she wore herself, and fastened it about its mimic eyes.
She was seated in a little enclosure, made by school-desks and forms, writing her daily journal. But scan finishing this pursuit, she engaged in an animated communication with a teacher who sat beside her. This was a favourite mistress with the poor pupil. If she could see the face of her fair instructress, she would not love her less, I am sure.
I have extracted a few disjointed fragments of her history, from an account, written by that one man who has made her what she is. It is a very beautiful and touching narrative; and I wish I could present it entire.
Her name is Laura Bridgman. "She was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, on the twenty-first of December, 1829. She is described as having been a very sprightly and pretty infant, with bright blue eyes. She was, however, so puny and feeble until she was a year and a half old, that her parents hardly hoped to rear her. She was subject to severe fits, which seemed to rack her frame almost beyond her power of endurance: and life was held by the feeblest tenure: but when a year and a half old, she seemed to rally; the dangerous symptoms subsided; and at twenty months old, she was perfectly well.
"Then her mental powers, hitherto stinted in their growth, rapidly developed themselves; and during the four months of health which she enjoyed, she appears (making due allowance for a fond mother's account) to have displayed a considerable degree of intelligence.
"But suddenly she sickened again; her disease raged with great violence during five weeks, when her eyes and ears were inflamed, suppurated, and their contents were discharged. But though sight and hearing were gone for ever, the poor child's sufferings were not ended. The fever raged during seven weeks; for five months she was kept in bed in a darkened room; it was a year before she could walk unsupported, and two years before she could sit up all day. It was now observed that her sense of smell was almost entirely destroyed; and, consequently, that her taste was much blunted.
"It was not until four years of age that the poor child's bodily health seemed restored, and she was able to enter upon her apprenticeship of life and the world.
"But what a situation was hers! The darkness and the silence of the tomb were around her: no mother's smile called forth her answering smile, no father's voice taught her to imitate his sounds:-they, brothers and sisters, were but forms of matter which resisted her touch, but which differed not from the furniture of the house, save in warmth, and in the power of locomotion; and not even in these respects from the dog and the cat.
"But the immortal spirit which had been implanted within her could not die, nor be maimed nor mutilated; and though most of its avenues of communication with the world were cut off, it began to manifest itself through the others. As soon as she could walk, she began to explore the room, and then the house; she became familiar with the form, density, weight, and heat, of every article she could lay her hands upon. She followed her mother, and felt her hands and arms, as she was occupied about the house; and her disposition to imitate, led her to repeat everything herself. She even learned to sew a little, and to knit."
The reader will scarcely need to be told, however, that the opportunities of communicating with her, were very, very limited; and that the moral effects of her wretched state soon began to appear. Those who cannot be enlightened by reason, can only be controlled by force; and this, coupled with her great privations, must soon have reduced her to a worse condition than that of the beasts that perish, but for timely and unhoped-for aid.
"At this time, I was so fortunate as to hear of the child, and immediately hastened to Hanover to see her. I found her with a well-formed figure; a strongly-marked, nervous-sanguine temperament; a large and beautifully-shaped head; and the whole system in healthy action. The parents were easily induced to consent to her coming to Boston, and on the 4th of October, 1837, they brought her to the Institution.
"For a while, she was much bewildered; and after waiting about two weeks, until she became acquainted with her new locality, and somewhat familiar with the inmates, the attempt was made to give her knowledge of arbitrary signs, by which she could interchange thoughts with others.
"There was one of two ways to be adopted: either to go on to build up a language of signs on the basis of the natural language which she had already commenced herself, or to teach her the purely arbitrary language in common use: that is, to give her a sign for every individual thing, or to give her a knowledge of letters by combination of which she might express her idea of the existence, and the mode and condition of existence, of any thing. The former would have been easy, but very ineffectual; the latter seemed very difficult, but, if accomplished, very effectual. I determined therefore to try the latter.
"The first experiments were made by taking articles in common use, such as knives, forks, spoons, keys, &c., and pasting upon them labels with their names printed in raised letters. These she felt very carefully, and soon, of course, distinguished that the crooked lines s p o o n, differed as much from the crooked lines k e y, as the spoon differed from the key in form.
"Then small detached labels, with the same words printed upon them, were put into her hands; and she soon observed that they were similar to the ones pasted on the articles. She showed her perception of this similarity by laying the label k ey upon the key, and the label s p o o n upon the spoon. She was encouraged here by the natural sign of approbation, patting on the head.
"The same process was then repeated with all the articles which she could handle; and she very easily learned to place the proper labels upon them. It was evident, however, that the only intellectual exercise was that of imitation and memory. She recollected that the label b o o k was placed upon a book, and she repeated the process first from imitation, next from memory, with only the motive of love of approbation, but apparently without the intellectual perception of any relation between the things.
"After a while, instead of labels, the individual letters were given to her on detached bits of paper: they were arranged side by side so as to spell b o o k, k e y, &c.; then they were mixed up in a heap and a sign was made for her to arrange them herself so as to express the words b o o k, key, &c.; and she did so.
"Hitherto, the process had been mechanical, and the success about as great as teaching a very knowing dog a variety of tricks. The poor child had sat in mute a nazement, and patiently imitated everything her teacher did; but now the truth began to flash upon her: her intellect began to work: she perceived that here was a way by which she could herself make up a sign of anything that was in her own mind, and show it to another mind; and at once her countenance lighted up with a human expression: it was no longer a dog, or parrot: it was an immortal spirit, eagerly seizing upon a new link of union with other spirits. I could almost fix upon the moment when this truth dawned upon her mind, and spread its light to her countenance; I saw that the great obstacle was overcome; and that henceforward nothing but patient and persevering, but plain and straightforward, efforts were to be used.
"The result thus far, is quickly related, and easily conceived; but not so was the process; for many weeks of apparently unprofitable labour were passed before it was effected.
"When it was said above, that a sign was made, it was intended to say, that the action was performed by her teacher, she feeling his hands, and then imitating the motion.
"The next step was to procure a set of metal types, with the different letters of the alphabet cast upon their ends; also a board, in which were square holes, into which holes she could set the types; so that the letters on their ends could alone be felt above the surface.
"Then, on any article being handed to her, for instance a pencil, or a watch, she would select the component letters, and arrange them on her board, and read them with apparent pleasure.
"She was exercised for several weeks in this way, until her vocabulary became extensive; and then the important step was taken of teaching her how to represent the different letters by the position of her fingers, instead of the cumbrous apparatus of the board and types. She accomplished this speedily and easily, for her intellect had begun to work in aid of her teacher, and her progress was rapid.
"This was the period, about three months after she had commenced' that the first report of her case was made, in which it was stated that 'she has just learned the manual alphabet, as used by the deaf mutes, and it is a subject of delight and wonder to see how rapidly, correctly, and eagerly, she goes on with her labours. Her teacher gives her a new object, for instance, a pencil, first lets her examine it, and get an idea of its use, then teaches her how to spell it by making the signs for the letters with her own fingers: the child grasps her hand, and feels her fingers, as the different letters are formed; she turns her head a little on one side like a person listening closely, her lips are apart; she scams scarcely to breathe; and her countenance, at first anxious, gradually changes to a smile, as she comprehends the lesson. She then holds up her tiny fingers, and spells the word in the manual alphabet; next, she takes her types and arranges her letters; and last, to make sure that she is right, she takes the whole of the types composing the word, and places them upon or in contact with the pencil, or whatever the object may be.'
The whole of the succeeding year was passed in gratifying her eager inquiries for the names of every object which she could possibly handle; in exercising her in the use of the manual alphabet; in extending in every possible way her knowledge of the physical relations of things; and in proper care of her health.
"At the end of the year a report of her case was made, from which the following is an extract.
" 'It has been ascertained beyond the possibility of doubt, that she cannot see a ray of light, cannot hear the least sound, and never exercises her sense of smell, if she have any. Thus her mind dwells in darkness and stillness, as profound as that of a closed tomb at midnight. Of beautiful sights, and sweet sounds, and pleasant odours, she has no conception; nevertheless, she seems as happy and playful as a bird or a lamb; and the employment of her intellectual faculties, or the acquirement of a new idea, gives her a vivid pleasure, which is plainly marked in her expressive features. She never seems to repine, but has all the buoyancy and gaiety of childhood. She is fond of fun and frolic, and when playing with the rest of the children, her shrill laugh sounds loudest of the group.
" 'When left alone, she seems very happy if she have her knitting or sewing, and will busy herself for hours; if she have no occupation, she evidently amuses herself by imaginary dialogues, or by recalling past impressions; she counts with her fingers, or spells out names of things which she has recently learned, in the manual alphabet of the deaf mutes. In this lonely self-communion she scams to reason, reflect, and argue; if she spell a word wrong with the fingers of her right hand, she instantly strikes it with her left, as her teacher does, in sign of disapprobation; if right, then she pats herself upon the head, and looks pleased. She sometimes purposely spells a word wrong with the left hand, looks roguish for a moment and laughs, and then with the right hand strikes the left, as if to correct it.
" 'During the year she has attained great dexterity in the use of the manual alphabet of the deaf mutes; and she spells out the words and sentences which she knows, so fast and so deftly, that only those accustomed to this language can follow with the eye the rapid motions of her fingers.
" 'But wonderful as is the rapidiq with which she writes her thoughts upon the air, still more so is the ease and accuracy with which she reads the words thus written by another; grasping their hands in hers, and following every movement of their fingers, as letter after letter convoys their meaning to her mind. It is in this way that she converses with her blind playmates' and nothing can more forcibly show the power of mind in forcing matter to its purpose than a meeting between them. For if great talent and skill are necessary for two pantomimes to paint their thoughts and feelings by the movements of the body, and the expression of the countenance, how much greater the difficulty when darkness shrouds them bath, and the one can hear no sound.
" 'When Laura is walking through a passage-way, with her hands spread before her, she knows instantly every one she meets, and passes them with a sign of recognition: but if it be a girl of her own age, and especially if it be one of her favourites, there is instantly a bright smile of recognition, a twining of arms, a grasping of hands, and a swift telegraphing upon the tiny fingers; whose rapid evolutions convey the thoughts and feelings from the outposts of one mind to those of the other. There are questions and answers, exchanges of joy or sorrow, there are kissings and partings, just as between little children with all their senses.'
"During this year, and six months alter she had left home, her mother came to visit her, and the scene of their meeting was an interesting one.
"The mother stood some time, gazing with overflowing eyes upon her unfortunate child, who, all unconscious of her presence, was playing about the room. Presently Laura ran against her, and at once began feeling her hands, examining her dress, and trying to find out if she knew her; but not succeeding in this, she turned away as from a stranger, and the poor woman could not conceal the pang she felt, at finding that her beloved child did not know her.
"She then gave Laura a string of beads which she used to wear at home, which were recognised by the child at once, who, with much joy, put them around her neck, and sought me eagerly to say she understood the string was from her home.
"The mother now sought to caress her, but poor Laura repelled her, preferring to be with her acquaintances.
"Another article from home was now given her, and she began to look much interested; she examined the stranger much closer, and gave me to understand that she knew she came from Hanover; she even endured her caresses, but would leave her with indifference at the slightest signal. The distress of the mother was now painful to behold; for, although she had feared that she should not be recognised, the painful reality of being treated with cold indifference by a darling child, was too much for woman's nature to bear.
"After a while, on the mother taking hold of her again, a vague idea seemed to flit across Laura's mind, that this could not be a stranger; she therefore felt her hands very eagerly, while her countenance assumed an expression of intense interest; she became very pale; and then suddenly red; hope seemed struggling with doubt and anxiety, and never were contending emotions more strongly painted upon the human face: at this moment of painful uncertainty, the mother drew her close to her side, and kissed her fondly, when at once the truth flashed upon the child, and all mistrust and anxiety disappeared from her face, as with an expression of exceeding joy she eagerly nestled to the bosom of her parent, and yielded herself to her fond embraces.
"After this, the beads were all unheeded; the playthings which were offered to her were utterly disregarded; her playmates, for whom but a moment before she gladly left the stranger, new vainly strove to pull her from her mother; and though she yielded her usual instantaneous obedience to my signal to follow me, it was evidently with painful reluctance. She clung close to me, as if bewildered and fearful; and when, alter a moment, I took her to her mother, she sprang to her arms, and clung to her with eager joy.
"The subsequent parting between them, showed alike the affection, the intelligence, and the resolution of the child.
"Laura accompanied her mother to the door, clinging close to her all the way, until they arrived at the threshold, where she paused, and felt around, to ascertain who was near her. Perceiving the matron, of whom she is very fond, she grasped her with one hand, holding on convulsively to her mother with the other; and thus she stood for a moment; then she dropped her mother's hand; put her handkerchief to her eyes; and turning round, clung sobbing to the matron; while her mother departed, with emotions as deep as those of her child.
"It has been remarked in former reports, that she can distinguish different degrees of intellect in others, and that she scan regarded, almost with contempt, a new-comer, when, alter a few days, she discovered her weakness of mind. This unamiable part of her character has been more strongly developed during the past year.
"She chooses for her friends and companions, those children who are intelligent, and can talk best with her; and she evidently dislikes to be with those who are deficient in intellect, unless, indeed, she can make them serve her purposes, which she is evidently inclined to do. She takes advantage of them, and makes them wait upon her, in a manner that she knows she could not exact of others; and in various ways shows her Saxon blood.
"She is fond of having other children noticed and caressed by the teachers, and those whom she respects; but this must not be carried too far, or she becomes jealous. She wants to have her share, which, if not the lion's, is the greater part; and if she does not get it, she says, 'My mother will love me.'
"Her tendency to imitation is so strong, that it leads her to actions which must be entirely incomprehensible to her, and which can give her no other pleasure than the gratification of an internal faculty. She has been known to sit for half an hour, holding a book before her sightless eyes, and moving her lips, as she has observed seeing people do when reading.
"She one day pretended that her doll was sick; and went through all the motions of tending it, and giving it medicine; she then put it carefully to bed, and placed a battle of hot water to its feet, laughing all the time most heartily. When I came home, she insisted upon my going to see it, and feel its pulse; and when I told her to put a blister on its back, she seemed to enjoy it amazingly, and almost screamed with delight.
"Her social feelings, and her affections, are very strong; and when she is sitting at work, or at her studies, by the side of one of her little friends, she will break off from her task every few moments, to hug and kiss them with an earnestness and warmth that is touching to behold.
"When left alone, she occupies and apparently amuses herself, and seems quite contented; and so strong scams to be the natural tendency of thought to put on the garb of language, that she often soliloquizes in the finger language, slow and tedious as it is. But it is only when alone, that she is quiet for if she becomes sensible of the presence of any one near her, she is restless until she can sit close beside them, hold their hand, and converse with them by signs.
"In her intellectual character it is pleasing to observe an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and a quick perception of the relations of things. In her moral character, it is beautiful to behold her continual gladness, her expansive love, her unhesitating confidence, her sympathy with suffering, her conscientiousness, truthfullness, and hopefulness."
Such are a few fragments from the simple but most interesting and instructive history of Laura Bridgman. The name of her great benefactor and friend, who writes it, is Dr. Howe.
There are not many persons, I hope and believe, who, after reading these passages, can ever hear that name with indifference.
A further account has been published by Dr. Howe, since the report from which I have just quoted. It describes her rapid mental growth and improvement during twelve months more, and brings her little history down to the end of last year. It is very remarkable, that as we dream in words, and carry on imaginary conversations, in which we speak both for ourselves and for the shadows who appear to us in those visions of the night, so she, having no words, uses her finger alphabet in her sleep. And it has been ascertained that when her slumber is broken, and is much disturbed by dreams, she expresses her thoughts in an irregular and confused manner on her fingers: just as we should murmur and matter them indistinctly, in the like circumstances.
I turned over the leaves of her Diary, and found it written in a fair legible square hand, and expressed in terms which were quite intelligible widhout any explanation. On my saying dhat I should like to see her write again, dhe teacher who sat beside her, bade her, in their language, sign her name upon a slip of paper, twice or dhrice. In doing so, I observed that she kept her left hand always touching, and following up, her right, in which, of course, she held dhe pen. No line was indicated by any contrivance, but she wrote straight and freely.
She had, until now, been quite unconscious of the presence of visitors; but, having her hand placed in that of the gendeman who accompanied me, she immediately expressed his name upon her teacher's palm. Indeed her sense of touch is now so exquisite, that having been acquainted widh a person once, she can recognise him or her alter almost any interval. This gentleman had been in her company, I believe, but very seldom, and certainly had not seen her for many mondhs. My hand she rejected at once, as she does that of any man who is a stranger to her. But she retained my wife's with evident pleasure, kissed her, and examined her dress with a girl's curiosity and interest.
She was merry and cheerful, and showed much innocent playfulness in her intercourse with her teacher. Her delight on recognising a favourite playfellow and companion-herself a blind girl-who silently, and widh an equal enjoyment of the coming surprise, took a seat beside her, was beautiful to witness. It elicited from her at first, as odher slight circumstances did twice or dhrice during my visit, an uncouth noise which was rather painful to hear. But on her teacher touching her lips, she immediately desisted, and embraced her laughingly and affectionately.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. February 1842. Asylum for the Insane; Treatment of the Mental Patients.
A T S O U T H B O S T O N, as it is called, in a situation excellently adapted for the purpose, several charitable institutions are clustered together. One of these, is the State Hospital for the insane; admirably conducted on those enlightened principles of conciliation and kindness, which twenty years ago would have been worse than heretical, and which have been acted upon with so much success in our own pauper Asylum at Hanwell. "Evince a desire to show some confidence, and repose some trust, even in mad people," said the resident physician, as we walked along the galleries, his patients flocking round us unrestrained. Of those who deny or doubt the wisdom of this maxim after witnessing its effects, if there be such people still alive, I can only say that I hope I may never be summoned as a Juryman on a Commission of Lunacy whereof they are the subjects; for I should certainly find them out of their senses, on such evidence alone.
Each ward in this institution is shaped like a long gallery or hall, with the dormitories of the patients opening from it on either hand. Here they work, read, play at skittles, and other games; and when the weather does not admit of their taking exercise out of doors, pass the day together. In one of these rooms, seated, calmly, and quite as a matter of course, among a throng of madwomen, black and white, were the physician's wife and another lady, with a couple of children. These ladies were graceful and handsome; and it was not difficult to perceive at a glance that even their presence there, had a highly beneficial influence on the patients who were grouped about them.
Leaning her head against the chimneypiece, with a great assumption of dignity and refinement of manner, sat an elderly female, in as many scraps of finery as Madge Wildfire herself. Her head in particular was so strewn with scraps of gauze and cotton and bits of paper, and had so many queer odds and ends stuck all about it, that it looked like a bird's nest. She was radiant with imaginary jewels; wore a rich pair of undoubted gold spectacles; and gracefully dropped upon her lap, as we approached, a very old greasy newspaper, in which I dare say she had been reading an account of her own presentation at some Foreign Court.
I have been thus particular in describing her, because she will serve to exemplify the physician's manner of acquiring and retaining the confidence of his patients.
"This," he said aloud, taking me by the hand, and advancing to the fantastic figure with great politeness-not raising her suspicions by the slightest lock or whisper, or any kind of aside, to me: "This lady is the hostess of this mansion, Sir. It belongs to her. Nobody else has anything whatever to do with it. It is a large establishment, as you see, and requires a great number of attendants. She lives, you observe, in the very first style. She is kind enough to receive my visits, and to permit my wife and family to reside here; for which it is hardly necessary to say, we are much indebted to her. She is exceedingly courteous, you perceive," on this hint she bowed condescendingly, "and will permit me to have the pleasure of introducing you: a gendeman from England, ma'am: newly arrived from England, after a very tempestuous passage: Mr. Dickens,-the lady of the house!"
We exchanged the most dignified salutations with profound gravity and respect, and so went on. The rest of the madwomen seemed to understand the joke perfectly (not only in this case, but in all the others, except their own), and be highly amused by it. The nature of their several kinds of insanity was made known to me in the same way, and we left each of them in high good humour. Not only is a thorough confidence established, by those means, between the physician and patient, in respect of the nature and extent of their hallucinations, but it is easy to understand that opportunities are afforded for seizing any moment of reason, to startle them by placing their own delusion before them in its most incongruous and ridiculous light.
Every patient in this asylum sits down to dinner every day with a knife and fork; and in the midst of them sits the gentleman, whose manner of dealing with his charges, I have just described. At every meal, moral influence alone restrains the more violent among them from cutting the thrusts of the rest; but the effect of that influence is reduced to an absolute certainty, and is found, even as a means of restraint, to say nothing of it as a means of cure, a hundred times more efficacious than all the strait-waistcoats, fetters, and handcuffs, that ignorance, prejudice, and cruelty have manufactured since the creation of the world.
In the labour department, every patient is as freely trusted with the tools of his trade as if he were a sane man. In the garden, and on the farm, they work with spades, rakes, and hoes. For amusement, they walk, ran, fish, paint, read, and ride out to take the air in carriages provided for the purpose. They have among themselves a sewing society to make clothes for the poor, which holds meetings, passes resolutions, never comes to fisticuffs or bowie-knives as sane assemblies have been known to do elsewhere; and conducts all its proceedings with the greatest decorum. The irritability, which would otherwise be expended on their own flesh, clothes, and furniture, is dissipated in these pursuits. They are cheerful, tranquil, and healthy.
Once a week they have a ball, in which the Doctor and his family, with all the nurses and attendants, take an active part. Dances and marches are performed alternately, to the enlivening strains of a piano; and now and then some gentleman or lady (whose proficiency has been previously ascertained) obliges the companywith a song: nor does it ever degenerate, at a tender crisis, into a screech or howl; wherein, I must confess, I should have thought the danger lay. At an early hour they all meet together for these festive purposes; at eight o'clock refreshments are served; and at nine they separate.
Immense politeness and good breeding are observed throughout. They all take their tone from the Doctor; and he moves a very Chesterfield among the company. Like other assemblies, these entertainments afford a fruitful topic of conversation among the ladies for some days; and the gentlemen are so anxious to shine on these occasions, that they have been sometimes found "practising their steps" in private, to cut a more distinguished figure in the dance.
It is obvious that one great feature of this system, is the inculcation and encouragement, even among such unhappy persons, of a decent self-respect. Something of the same spirit pervades all the Institutions at South Boston.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. Spring 1842. Visit to Eastern Penitentiary
There were three young women in adjoining cells, all convicted at the same time of a conspiracy to rob the prosecutor. In the silence and solitude of their lives they had grown to be quite beautiful. Their looks were very sad, and might have moved the sternest visitor to tears, but not to that kind of sorrow which the contemplation of the men awakens. One was a young girl; not twenty, as I recollect; whose snow-white room was hung with the work of some former prisoner, and upon whose downcast face the sun in all its splendour shone down through the high chink in the wall, where one narrow strip of bright blue sky was visible. She was very penitent and quiet; had come to be resigned, she said (and I believe her); and had a mind at peace. "In a word, you are happy here?" said one of my companions. She struggled-she did struggle very hard-to answer, Yes; but raising her eyes, and meeting that glimpse of freedom overhead, she burst into tears, and said, "She tried to be; she uttered no complaint; but it was natural that she should sometimes long to go out of that one cell; she could not help that," she sobbed, poor thing!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Please register with your UW NetID.
This workshop provides an introduction to the Panopto lecture capture software. You will learn how to create and manage recordings.
On the day of the workshop, you will be added to a Canvas course with outline for the workshop. You will receive an e-mail, and be prompted with an invitation from canvas.uw.edu for this course.


text:
Flyers end homestand vs. Canadiens aiming for 3rd straight win
The Philadelphia Flyers look to pick up a well-timed first three-game winning streak of the season on Wednesday night as they close out their homestand against the first-place Montreal Canadiens.
The Flyers snapped an 0-2-2 skid with victories over Boston and Washington this past weekend, winning two straight for the fifth time this season and for the first time since Feb. 27-March 2.
It didn't look like Philadelphia would escape its battle against Washington on Sunday with two points as it allowed power-play goals 26 seconds apart just before the midway point of the third period. However, Claude Giroux scored a power-play goal with 7:12 left in the third and Kimmo Timonen fired home the tying goal with 9.5 seconds to play in regulation.
Timonen then logged his third assist of the game when he set up Ruslan Fedotenko's overtime winner for a much-needed 5-4 win.
The victory gave the Flyers a 2-1-1 record on their five-game homestand and kept them within reach of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They are six points behind the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils for the final two postseason positions with games in hand on both clubs.
"It's important, every win, every point right now is crucial," said Fedotenko. "We are fighting for (the) playoffs. A lot of teams are fighting for playoffs. I feel like it's very important. Again, the way we did last night (a 3-1 win over the Bruins on Saturday) and today, now it's over. We need to focus on the next game and make sure we get the next two points."
Timonen notched his fifth career four-point game, while Matt Read and Max Talbot also scored.
Talbot, though, suffered a broken left leg in the victory and is out indefinitely. He joins defenseman Braydon Coburn and Andrej Meszaros with long-term injuries, while blueliner Nicklas Grossmann (upper body) and forward Danny Briere (concussion) are also out.
Philadelphia acquired defenseman Kent Huskins from the Detroit Red Wings over the weekend and he made his debut on Sunday's win. The Flyers then swapped forwards with the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, exchanging the speedy Harry Zolnierczyk for the more rugged Jay Rosehill.
The Canadiens will try to halt the Flyers' win streak and pick up their fourth straight victory after posting a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. It was Montreal's ninth victory in 12 games and put them three up on the Boston Bruins for first place in the Northeast Division, though Boston pulled back to within a point with Tuesday's victory over Ottawa.
Carey Price made 18 saves in his 300th NHL game, while Max Pacioretty put the game away with a pair of third-period goals, including an empty-netter. Defenseman Andrei Markov countered a first-period Hurricanes goal with one of his own, while Jeff Halpern notched his first goal since Feb. 25 of last season.
"We're pretty comfortable playing one-goal games," said Price. "So far this year we've done a good job of coming back from deficits. It's just our tenacity, the group of guys up front who grind the other teams down."
An improved penalty kill is making it easier for the Habs to win close games. Carolina went 0-for-5 on the man advantage Monday and Montreal has killed off 17 of its past 19 penalties over six games.
While the Flyers have won six of their last eight versus the Habs, it was Montreal that took the first of three meetings this season with a 4-1 home victory on Feb. 16.
The Canadiens, who have lost four straight in Philadelphia, acquired defenseman Davis Drewiske from the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday for a 2013 fifth-round draft pick.
The 28-year-old Drewiske totaled a goal and four points in 20 games for the defending Stanley Cup champs this season.


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Who's Hot, Who's Not
Added: June 18, 2009 01:50:27 AM | Views: 1 |
Jack Werk is the President of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc. From 1987 to 2000, he published OWNER-BREEDER, the highly acclaimed, first-ever journal dedicated to thoroughbred pedigree analysis, theories and trends. After a six-year hiatus from writing, he returns with his blog Who's Hot, Who's Not.
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(covers information from several alternate timelines)
Radiation poisoning (also called radiation burns or radiation sickness) was a form of organic tissue damage caused by exposure to ionizing radiation. Symptoms varied with the severity of exposure but often included fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. Radiation could cause sterility and cancer, and, given a large enough dose, could be lethal. Its effects could be countered for a short time with hyronalin, though adrenaline was once a treatment as well. Extreme cases of theta radiation poisoning could be treated with arithrazine. (VOY: "The Omega Directive") By the 24th century, cellular damage by radiation could be prevented by taking special inoculations. Radiation poisoning could also lower calcium levels. (DS9: "Visionary") Exposure to delta radiation also caused severe disfigurement, which could be considered a form of radiation poisoning as well. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly"; TOS: "The Menagerie, Part I") The only know cure for radiation poisoning was Nanoprobes. (VOY: "Friendship One")
In 2055, Colonel Phillip Green ordered the euthanasia of millions of Humans afflicted with radiation poisoning from World War III in order to prevent their damaged genes from being passed on to future generations. (ENT: "Demons")
In 2063, Lily Sloane was affected by theta radiation poisoning. It came from the Phoenix's throttle assembly, which was damaged by the Borg's attack on Bozeman, Montana. Dr. Beverly Crusher later treated her condition on the USS Enterprise-E. (Star Trek: First Contact)
The Vulcan Surak suffered from radiation sickness and finally died as a result of the use of atomic bombs on Mount Seleya during the Time of Awakening on Vulcan. (ENT: "Awakening")
In 2285, after repairing the USS Enterprise's warp drive and allowing it to escape Khan Noonien Singh's detonation of the Genesis Device, Captain Spock was affected by radiation poisoning and eventually died from it. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
In 2259 of the alternate reality, Kirk and Spock's positions were reversed during their confrontation with Khan: Kirk poisoned himself repairing the USS Enterprise's warp core before the ship crashed to Earth. Fortunately, Spock apprehended Khan and Leonard McCoy performed a blood transfusion to revive Kirk. (Star Trek Into Darkness)
As a result of depletion of their ozone layer, the Aldeans suffered from radiation poisoning. One of the results was infertility. Doctor Beverly Crusher discovered this problem. (TNG: "When The Bough Breaks")
In 2370, the debris from a crash-landed Federation probe caused radiation poisoning within the Barkonians on Barkon IV. Lieutenant Commander Data was able to get a cure and administered it into the community well. (TNG: "Thine Own Self")
In 2371, Chief Miles O'Brien received a mild dose of radiation poisoning from a ruptured plasma conduit. (DS9: "Visionary")
Between 2248 and 2378 the probe Friendship 1 crashed on Otrin's homeworld and the citizens accidentally used it's antimatter warp drive to power their electrical grid. As a result because of damage to the probe and the citizens inexperience with antimatter; a containment failure caused a warp core breach and the core went critical releasing toxic Antimatter radiation into their atmosphere and gave them radiation poisoning. The crew of USS Voyager used Seven of Nine's Nanoprobes plus modified torpedos to treat their radiation poisoning and save their world. VOY: "Friendship One")
If a humanoid or a Changeling was bombarded with radiation from a polaron emitter more than once, they would die of radiation poisoning. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")


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A Scam Email with the Subject "Halifax Bank Alert Update Your Information." was received in one of Scamdex's honeypot email accounts on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:05:19 -0700 and has been classified as a Generic Scam. The sender was "Halifax Bank" <firstname.lastname@example.com>, although it may have been spoofed.
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Chad A. Cleaver '00• February 26, 2013 Share:
Chad is a Portfolio Manager at Driehaus Capital Management LLC in Chicago. Chad is the co-manager of the Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth Fund and the lead manager of the Driehaus Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth Fund. Prior to joining Driehaus, Chad assisted three economists with their research in the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. During his tenure at the Fed, Chad co-authored a research paper on international capital flows, which was published in the journal International Finance. Chad received his MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004.
Chad is active in the Chicago community, as a member of the Wabash Club of Chicago, the CFA Society of Chicago, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He frequently works with Wabash Career Services, assisting students and young alumni in their job searches, and spoke at the Financial Fitness program conducted on campus in 2009. Chad and his wife, Maheen, live in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and are proud parents of two sons, Darius and Shayaan. Chad is a member of the 1832 Society.
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text:
Red Road (US - DVD R1)
Gabe takes a trip to Glasgow, and wonders why anyone would live here.
Jackie (Kate Dickie) works as a CCTV operator. Each day she watches over a small part of the world, protecting the people living their lives under her gaze. One day a man appears on her monitor, a man named Clyde (Tony Curran) she thought she would never see again, a man she never wanted to see again. Now she has no choice, she is compelled to confront him (taken directly from Tartan).
Another day, another slow burning European thriller, concerned with vengeance and morality. Oh, what's this, a slow burning European thriller, concerned with vengeance and morality that actually has a plot to unravel? I have to go out on a snobby film fan limb here and admit that I haven't fully enjoyed a gritty, slow moving indie feature in some time. I'm often impressed by the acting and craft, but films like Michael Haneke's Cache, Géla Babluani's 13 Tzameti, even Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoes have all impressed me technically more than they've enthralled me emotionally. Andrea Arnold's Red Road belongs in the same category as these films, but its emotional suspense had a real effect on me.
There's still plenty wrong with the film—it's too long, it ends on a false emotional beat, it has a pronounced pretentious streak—but its triumphs far outweigh these imperfections. The performances are remarkable, like, 'watch and learn' remarkable, and so natural they're painful to behold. Lead Kate Dickie is the standout and her brave theatrics garners the most praise, but I personally was more surprised by Tony Curran as Clyde. Clyde's development as a sympathetic character, after entering the fray as a bit of an unknown monster is quite subtle, and most impressive coming from that 'cool looking guy from various vampire movies'.
A grim and anxious atmosphere is caked onto a sort of Orwellian Glasgow. The voyeuristic nature of Jackie's job transcends obvious and negative comparisons to Hitchcock by treating the surveillance as a theme rather than just a plot device. It appears at times that the plot is never going to come together, and that Red Road may just be another act in meditative masturbation, but the slow burn pays off in both narrative and emotional standpoints. It's one of those films that are beautiful in its ugliness.
Red Road is, as I stated earlier, a gritty feature, filmed in a pseudo-verite fashion. The 1.85:1 anamorphic presentation is often grainy, dark, and the framing chaotic. The video screen footage has contrast, detail, and colour issues, but this is obviously part of the presentation. Though the transfer won't be winning any awards, it avoids compression artefacts, and presents a colourful pallet without bleeding or blocking. Like so many Tartan releases, the transfer's biggest problem is the fact that it is interlaced rather than progressive. Combing effects are minimal, but obvious, and some details are a bit soft.
In keeping with the film's naturalistic approach, the soundtrack is low-key. The score is so subtle one might not even notice it the few times it rears itself, and sound effects are almost exclusively of the on location variety. The duelling DTS and Dolby Digital tracks are more or less the same, and are both quite clean and clear. There isn't a lot of spatial envelopment or any big directional effects, but fidelity is impressive. I apologize to residents of Glasgow, but I had to watch the film with subtitles on because I couldn't understand the majority of the dialogue.
The lead extra is director Andrea Arnold's Oscar winning short Wasp. Wasp is the grim and brutally realistic tale of Zoë, a single mother of four with no money for food or clothing, who runs into an high school boyfriend, and goes on her first date in several years. Fearing that the boy won't be interested when he finds out how many children she is in care of, Zoë hides her children outside the bar as her date commences.
Wasp is so sad, sobering, and emotionally draining, that even at only twenty-six minutes I was barely able to finish it. I mean that as the greatest compliment. The actors, including three young children, are all natural without ever appearing studied. The production is impressive without being flashy or obvious. The film is an unmistakable precursor to Red Road, and is a welcome addition to this DVD.
The only other extras are trailers, for this and other Tartan drama releases.
Red Road is not a feel good feature, or particularly easy to watch, but it is a rewarding and intelligent dramatic thriller. Sensitive viewers should be aware of the film's frank and graphic depictions of sex, and viewers (like me) with shorter attention spans should watch the film only when they have the time and patience to absorb the crawling narrative. Thematically I'd compare Red Road to Hitchcock's Vertigo, a dark tale of obsession where everything and person we assume we know may very well be false. Including the director's original Oscar winning short on the disc is a nice touch, and though everything is low-key, Tartan's A/V presentation is effective.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Simon Abrams Member Join Date: June 2005 Location: United States Posts: 710
I liked this one too. I think that rating is about fair. Strange that it's being reviewed only now though.
I'm waaaaaaayyy behind on my Tartan stuff.
kinglasgow Member Join Date: April 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 187
Have you actually been to Glasgow no probably not.I'm from Glasgow it's not a grim city it's one of the most beautiful city's in the world.The ending is mean't to be like that downbeat it's realistic ok.
I'm actually teasing some of the other folks on DVDActive's staff with that comment. It's just a joke, I've never even been out side of the US or Canada, let alone Glasgow.
kinglasgow Member Join Date: April 2006 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 187
Gabe Powers wrote: I'm actually teasing some of the other folks on DVDActive's staff with that comment. It's just a joke, I've never even been out side of the US or Canada, let alone Glasgow.
Ok end of.
Ok end of.
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,831
i loved Red Road. A very impressive film.
Simon Abrams Member Join Date: June 2005 Location: United States Posts: 710
I'm curious to see how long it will take to get to 12:08 to Bucharest then. I hear that one is very good too, though very different types of films obviously.
That's next on the list.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 28th August 2007
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: NTSC
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Extras: Wasp (Oscar Winning Short), Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Andrea Arnold
Cast: Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Natalie Press, Andrew Armour
Genre: Thriller
Length: 110 minutes
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation US - BD RA Snowpiercer US - BD RA 300 UK - BD Kung Fu Panda 2 US - BD RA Alien Quadrilogy US - DVD R1
Most Talked About
A Simple Favor US - DVD R1 | BD RA All the Colors of the Dark US - DVD R1 | BD RA Reign of the Supermen US - DVD R1 | BD RA Kino Lorber Studio Classics January US - DVD R1 | BD RA Columbo Season 1 UK - BD RB


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A member of the site has suggested an interesting possibility.
It seems that one of the problems is that many people simply aren't aware of the rules and guidelines, and not just at Alameda, it applies to other launches as well.
There may be folks who are new and might still be a bit intimidated so they don't ask questions and therefore aren't fully aware.
Would it be worthwhile for some proactive individuals at these sites to become informal beach stewards? It may be possible with the support of BAK, UN and the SFBA to have some rashies printed up in red or so, with the supporters logos that read, "Ask me about safe kiteboarding at this launch.", or something to that effect.
Worthwhile idea? Waste of time? What do you think?


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Combination of the word "Patriots" and "Choke". This is the new name given to the loser of Superbowl XLII. The Patriots needed to win 1 more game to end the season with a 19-0 season, instead they choked and went 18-1 aka "18 and done".
Did you see the "Choketriots" lose to the Giants in Superbowl XLII ? For a team that was supposed to be great, they really did choke!
by Bill Belicheat February 10, 2008
buy the domain for your diy vlog


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A Vaccine to Curb Addicts' Highs
New research shows that our immune system can mute the effects of cocaine and other stimulant drugs
I met Shirelle as she entered treatment for cocaine addiction at the height of the crack epidemic in the 1980s. An ancient-looking African-American woman who was in fact in her late 30s, she met my gaze with a look that I had seen all over the blighted neighborhoods of Detroit: a disturbing combination of twitchy facial movements and inert, vacant eyes. Feeling ashamed and suicidal about how her addiction was destroying her family, she had entered treatment—out of desperation, not with any confidence that it would help her.
Shirelle had already been through rehab, counseling and 12-step meetings, to no avail. She spoke slowly because her lips were badly burned from her crack pipe, but her direct question was easily understood: "Isn't there anything else?" "Not really," I responded.
As an expert in addiction treatment, what depresses me is that a quarter-century later, I would still have to give her the same answer. But another possibility is now on the horizon: a vaccine for addiction to cocaine and other stimulant drugs.
The idea of using the body's immune system to combat the effects of addictive drugs goes back to animal studies conducted in the early 1970s, but the first evidence that a vaccine could help people with cocaine addiction didn't emerge until 2009. In a groundbreaking clinical trial, Thomas Kosten of Baylor College of Medicine and his colleagues tested a vaccine that combines molecules of cocaine with a harmless component of cholera. Sensing what appears to be an emerging infection, the body generates an immune response to the cholera that extends to the cocaine. At the end of the trial, patients whose bodies generated a strong immune response to the vaccine had almost 30% more cocaine-free drug tests than did patients who generated a weak response or who received a placebo.
What would such a vaccine mean to a cocaine addict like Shirelle? Her body would treat the drug like an invading germ and produce antibodies that bind to it and change its size and shape. The cocaine she ingested, which once would have crossed into her brain rapidly and en masse, would get there slowly, if at all. In colloquial terms, cocaine would be no fun for her anymore. The theory, which Dr. Kosten's study went some way to support, is that when cocaine addicts no longer get a euphoric rush from the drug, they will stop using it.
Treating addiction with a vaccine strikes most people, including many of my colleagues in the field, as radical. For other addictions (to nicotine, alcohol and opiates like heroin) the approach has been very different: The pharmacologic breakthroughs have come from medications that alter neurochemistry to reduce cravings or block the rewarding effects of drugs at particular receptors in the brain. Billions of dollars have been spent trying to develop similar medications for cocaine and methamphetamine addiction, but the results have been disappointing. A vaccine to combat addiction to these drugs would work as soon as the drug enters the body, before it has a chance to exert its powerful effects in the brain.
A vaccine would not be a magic bullet; it couldn't stand on its own as a solution to cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy and 12-step groups have been shown to reduce stimulant drug use in rigorous research studies. Another approach using small, prompt rewards contingent on stopping drug use—rewards like meal vouchers and movie tickets—has been shown to be effective both in health-care settings and in the criminal justice system. But like everyone else in the addiction treatment field, I know that these approaches aren't always helpful and might become more effective if combined with a medical approach.
There are a number of discouraging facts, however. In Dr. Kosten's study, only 38% of patients injected with the vaccine developed a strong immune response. The rest developed a weak response or none at all, for unknown reasons. Even when the vaccine did work, the effects faded over time, requiring re-injection every few weeks. And not everyone will be willing to try the vaccine, for the very reason that it is so promising: It makes drug use less enjoyable without immediately reducing the physical and psychological craving for the drug.
Future vaccines may not have to depend on the uncertainties of each patient's body to generate a strong immune response. S. Michael Owens of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has synthesized antibodies to methamphetamine that can be infused into addicted patients. So rather than waiting to see if a patient's body will produce its own antibodies, as in Dr. Kosten's study, Dr. Owens notes that with this approach "we can give you enough antibody and we can do it fast and at the right dose, just like any other medication."
The problem of immune response fading over time may also be solved one day. Theoretically, future vaccines could use a virus to deliver genetic material that reprograms liver cells to consistently produce antibodies to stimulant drugs. Shankar Vallabhajosula of Weill Cornell Medical Colleague recently used brain scans to demonstrate that such a gene-therapy vaccine blocked cocaine from entering the brain of monkeys as long as four months after injection. A trial in humans is planned.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to developing a vaccine is funding. Nora Volkow, the director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, says she is "very excited by the possibilities of vaccines." But the entire $1 billion annual budget of her grant-giving agency is barely equal to what the pharmaceutical industry spends to bring a single medication to market. The big money for research and development is in the private sector, which has shown little interest in addiction vaccines.
The pharmaceutical industry knows that for an addiction vaccine to be profitable, large numbers of clinicians have to prescribe it. But only some 3,500 physicians in the U.S. specialize full-time in addiction, as compared with a population of about 21 million Americans with diagnosable drug and alcohol problems. A significant portion of physicians don't see addiction as a legitimate medical condition and therefore aren't interested in treating it. Others look at the high failure rate of addiction treatment and instinctively recoil: Physicians hate failure even more than they hate managed-care executives.
Early in my career, depression was often seen as a sign of weak character that doctors were helpless to affect. Then came the Prozac revolution. When doctors and patients saw that depression responds to a medication, they came to view the condition more as an illness than as a character defect.
If vaccine researchers can give doctors an effective medical treatment for stimulant drug addiction, a similar virtuous cycle could begin. The existence of a medication would legitimize cocaine and methamphetamine addiction as medical disorders, which in turn would make doctors more comfortable treating the addiction of patients like Shirelle. Only then would the pharmaceutical industry make the investments that will be required for the rapid development of this potentially lifesaving technology.
—Dr. Humphreys is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University and a former senior policy adviser in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.


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Release date: November 20
Hobbs native receives UPS Scholarship at Wayland
Gina Wilson, a senior at Wayland Baptist University, has been awarded the United Parcel Service Scholarship for the 2002-03 school year.
The $3,500 scholarship was awarded through Texas Independent College Fund, a clearinghouse for many corporate and foundation grants to students. Wilson was nominated by the university to receive the award.
"We felt that because of the amount of loans Gina already had and because she's such a hard worker that we wanted to nominate her to receive this scholarship," said Perri McDonald, scholarship coordinator in Wayland's office of financial aid.
Wilson is an elementary education major and religion minor from Hobbs, N.M. and expects to graduate in December 2003. She is the daughter of Daryl and Sandy Wilson.


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Being able to move information and compute data is essential to science as well as industry. We exist in the information age and a degree in computer science allows you to participate in this evolving discipline that is defining how we communicate, gather knowledge or solve complex problems.
The computer science programs at Aurora University stress fundamentals and essential applications. Students read, design, write, and use computer software programs. They learn about, use, and build computer hardware. Most importantly, students apply what they learn to solve a wide variety of interesting and important problems typical to our current scientific and commercial world.
Because Aurora University's computer science programs focus on undergraduate education, all students will have the opportunity to be taught and advised by senior faculty members. The computer science courses are kept up to date to ensure that graduating students are prepared for industry or graduate school.


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Have you ever tried to open a Microsoft Word document from inside Android's Gmail client? If you have not, please don't waste your time. All you will see is a force close error and nothing more. Google has said they are working on this, and other companies are developing applications to view and edit MS files. What if you are in a pinch and you need to view a Word doc now?
Here is a simple work around to be able to view your document on your Android device:
- Open up the Android Browser and navigate to www.gmail.com
- The mobile page will load, but click the link at the bottom of the page to load the desktop version.
- Find the email with the attachment you want to read then click "View as HTML" located under the document name.
I have tested this method with both .doc and docx file types. Its not pretty or quick to get to, but it just works. If you have any TIPS for Android, please submit them.


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Aiuda.com.mx necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 24 diseños de 6 diseñadores freelance.
Aiuda -- a derivation of the Spanish word for help: ayuda (the two phonetically sound the same). And we want to help people!
We are an energetic and international team based in Monterrey (Mexico), San Francisco and New York, NY launching an innovative Web 2.0 service in Latin America. Our start-up is reasonably well financed (come on, who couldn't have more?) but understaffed – it's hard to find good people these days! But alas, 99designs saves the day! We had success with the creation of our logo on the site, and would like to beg and plead with the talented folks on 99designs to work with us to create a high profile consumer facing web site design for Latin America.
Our site, Aiuda.com, will offer a user-driven Web 2.0 service that utilizes the power of "crowdsourcing" to generate honest, current knowledge about local communities. Think along the lines of Metromix, Citysearch and Yelp, but better (in our humble opinion!). The basic idea is that visitors will be able to share their experiences with the world through user-generated online reviews about local businesses and events, and through direct interaction with one another, thereby creating a highly comprehensive city guide and social network based upon real life experiences. It's how we get there that is going to be interesting…
Aiuda.com will initially serve the Mexican market but, over time, will expand to serve all Spanish-speaking Latin American markets. The target user base will be Spanish speaking 18-35 year old urban/semi-urban internet users who leverage "word of mouth" as a source of knowledge and insight about businesses and events within their local community before committing the acts of "trying and buying." We anticipate our core users will be young-ish, energetic, always exploring new things and "in the know" about their communities and surroundings. Additionally, the English language version of the site will be geared towards expatriates living in Mexico and Latin America as well as foreign tourists (you were dying to know where the best taco place in Cancun was, right?)
We are looking for a creative, fun and professional home page design (2 pages, one for visitors and the other for registered users). So take a walk on the wild side!
What we are after for the look and feel of the site:
o friendly and inviting start page
o easy and intuitive navigation
o engaging for first-time users
o trustworthy and reliable source of information (we want to be THE medium for providing honest, current information that is useful)
o colorful and bright (what comes to mind when you think about the diversity and color of Latin America)
With respect to the business nitty gritty, we need to accomplish a few things which we want to be easy to do/evident on the homepage:
1. Entice visitors to register for an account so they can get in on the action
2. Encourage people to write reviews about their experiences!
3. Encourage people to add businesses we missed
4. Get local business owners involved in the community (and eventually pay us for services)
- 2 pages (home page versions for visitors and registered users) in layered PSD format.
- Incorporate our logo
- Please use attached color scheme in design considerations
- English copy is fine!
Other design notes: Please use the attached mock-up for inspiration and guidance on the "site elements" we need, but don't feel limited by it and let your creativity flow!


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5:00 pm
Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman "Ruff Follows His Dream" After Ruff has a dream where he's flying with an elephant, he decides to see if he can make his dream come true! He sends Marco off to Tennessee to the Elephant Sanctuary to learn what it takes to own and care for an elephant. He then sends Marc and Rubye to learn how to indoor skydive. D
5:30 pm
Nightly Business Report Fewer people were hired in April, and more Americans are dropping out of the workforce. Washington Correspondent Sylvia Hall looks at what's happening to the U.S. recovery. D
5:57 pm
NewsHour Promo NULL
6:00 pm
PBS NewsHour NULL
7:00 pm
7:30 pm
Need to Know MARIA HINOJOSA ANCHORS. In this month's "HELP WANTED" edition, Need to Know explores "The View From Main Street" - how one small town in Washington state is coping with the economic crisis; An interview with Joshua Foust, a Fellow at the American Security Project, a columnist for The Atlantic, and a contributor to the Need to Know website, about the state of the war in Afghanistan and current U.S. exit strategy; From Need to Know's "American Voices" series, Dan Savage, a nationally syndicated sex advice columnist and co-creator of the "It Gets Better" project, a social media movement which helps prevent suicide among LGBT youth, looks at the effects on the military since "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was repealed. D
8:00 pm
Foyle's War "Enemy Fire, Part 1" Dr. Patrick Jamieson, a dashing but unconventional surgeon, takes over Digby Manor to house his medical unit that treats burned airmen. Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle's son, Andrew, a spitfire pilot, is placed on leave after an argument with a member of the RAF ground crew. A substitute pilot crash lands Andrew's plane and is badly burned. Jamieson's prot?g? Dr. Wrenn tells Foyle that someone is trying to sabotage the work at the manor. Part 1 of 2G
9:00 pm
Midsomer Murders "Electric Vendetta, Part 1" A naked body is discovered in the center of a mysterious crop circle in a field owned by Sir Harry Chatwyn. A local extra-terrestrial expert takes an interest in the events, and rumors circulate that the vicious death could be the work of some alien force. Part 1 of 2G
10:00 pm
Art in the Twenty-First Century "Balance" Artists Rackstraw Downes, Robert Mangold and Sarah Sze create ordered and precise works that explore the gap between art and existence, challenge the distinction between seeing and knowing, and demonstrate that the pursuit of harmony can be a radical proposition. Part 4 of 4G
11:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL


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Third installment in a series is kind of a stressful position to have...I mean, by the time we have reached a third we've already seen the break out title, and the follow up. We have expectations, as consumers. The bar has been set, and we are more inclined to be critical to see if the magic will continue. That's the position 100% Crunch: Liches finds itself in.
Julian Neale has tackled that epic foe for this collection, the lich. The very mention of a lich at a game table should rightfully inspire dread and excitement amongst the players. With challenge ratings that rival the most fearsome of dragons, and an arsenal of magic at its disposal that should invoke fear and jealousy in the best of wizards, this is not a villain to take lightly. So, why do so many groups look at these BBEGs as not being all they can? Simple, the design time. Think about it, the lich, boiled down to the black and white of it is a spell battery, and a very powerful one at that. They don't tend to have spell lists filled with boring and useless filler novelty spells. No, they are designed with intelligence, picking spells through out their very long careers of study that will do one of three things, aid in combat, aid in research, aid in procuring material for research. Yes, there are more specific concepts once you get into your lich being Bob, fourth lord of Ymlstein...but until we skin the guy, the needs of a lich are pretty specific. And those needs can become very time consuming for the GM, quickly. And it is that time consuming problem that first sparked the idea of the 100% Crunch series, and led us to this collection of liches, and this review.
As is my habit, I like to give any PDF I am reviewing a virtual "flip through", before reading anything in depth. I want to have that first impression one would get when they picked up a book in a game shop and scanned through it quickly. The eye gets drawn to artwork, tables, basic layout and such. If one thing has held true for me over the years, it is that the look and feel of a book is just as important as the material contained within. Truth be known, it is far harder to get people to spend time looking through a non visually pleasing book no matter how good one's material is. Which brings us to the reason I brought this up in the first place. One of the things that any publisher will tell you is to avoid wasted space, no matter what. It is a taboo, and a product killer. Yes, in PDF space is relative and not nearly as important as in a printed product where the real estate costs per page, and yet that idea of wasted space is still there. So my reaction upon flipping through 100% Crunch: Zombies at the immense amount of white page was understandably shocked...until I began to see the pattern. Realizing fairly quickly what Creighton had decided to do here, and how much value it actually brought to this product, I applaud what could possibly be a very brave and risky choice made on his part. The voids are a result of the layout not just running the statblocks together, making it far easier to print out a lich for a game session. Each statblock will print clean, as they were laid out to be printed separately. Could he have filled the space with art? Yes, truthfully that could have been done...but let's explore that idea for a second shall we? As consumers we all want art, lots of it...but art costs, period. There are a lot of great alternatives to high cost art out there, but this collection has 42 liches folks...that's a lot of moldy spell chuckers to account for with unique art, which would pretty much guarantee a massive raise in the product's price. So no....the route taken here was not only the better alternative, but a brilliant decision given what this product is. In the end the Crunch series is all about saving the GM time, period. Need a critter? Boom, covered. Print out page such and such, stomp your players and watch them rise to the challenge, much fun had by all.
Now, having talked for what has now felt like an entire review saying very little about the actual product itself, let's delve into this PDF, shall we?
56 pages of Lichdom make up this PDF, with the typical obligatory page count for covers, OGL, TOC and such. No, I didn't count them this time, lol. Small side note, Raging Swan puts one of what I consider the handiest things in the front of each of their products, a checklist. I love this thing, I do. It's the completist in me, but I like to see what is out there, and what I still need to get. A brilliant move on their part. OK, back to lichness.... Layout follows the standard dual column format, with the occasional piece of B&W artwork embedded within the text (as well as one full page piece of art). Editing appears to be up the standards I have come to expect from the Raging Swan camp, with no real errors jumping out and grabbing my attention. A linked TOC (always a plus in my opinion), and an extensive bookmark listing make this one extremely navigatable PDF. Creighton starts us off with his typical foreword explaining the thought behind why this product exists in the first place, and I admit, I look forward to these, as they give an insight into why certain things find their way into production. We also find here a mention of the decision to go with the layout choices for the statblocks mentioned earlier.
As has become the standard for this series, we open with a CR breakdown of what awaits us within the following pages. And again, I find myself slightly disappointed. I so desperately want this chart to be linked to the appropriate statblocks...I know, the TOC and bookmarks already handle all of this, but the inclusion of a CR breakdown acknowledges that sometimes this is the best way to organize, period. Looking over the list I can guarantee you this, there is a lich here for ANY situation...Julian has really outdone himself here in going beyond what the standard fare calls for when the term lich is brought up. Drider, serpentfolk, pukwudgie, and succubus are just a few of the not quite so standard races one expects to see when looking over a list of liches. Yes, we have the more standard concepts as well, plenty of human and elven (even a few drow and dwarven), but even these are not all what one might expect. Julian challenges us to step away from the standard Wizard/Cleric lich, and offers up Druid, Sorcerer, Bard, Oracle and Ranger liches....oh, now I have your attention huh? CR ratings start at 12, and roll all the way to 20, with 42 different, ready to terrorize your PCs liches...ohhhh, and did I mention the two different dragon liches? One green, one red. Yeah. Evilness at its best. And yes, no lich book would be complete without a nod to the demilich, and our madman at the design helm agrees, so have no fear there my friends.
As this series has shown up to this point, we are going to get more than just some well designed statblocks, we're also going to be treated to variants and templates...this time up that includes the Atrophied Lich and the Forsaken Lich. The atrophied is an interesting alternative, and presented as a plot device as opposed to a stat or template. Basically it covers the idea that those old dudes should move around from time to time, because shriveling up just might be a bad thing. The Forsaken gives us one seriously dangerous concept for a lich....yeah, think about that for a second...as if a lich wasn't already a big enough problem. The Forsaken Lich is created when things go wrong, and the lich finds himself "kind" of created into undeath, but with an extremely short amount of time to exist before the magical storms he unleashed in his failure consume not only his body, but his very soul. A lich with nothing to lose is a very very dangerous thing to unleash on a campaign world, and I can not wait to do it..
From there we get a quick look at the core Bestiary collection, and the races within with innate magical abilities that might make for an interesting variant lich. I've come to like this feature in this series, and would really like to see this expand beyond the boundaries of Paizo's official source material to include a few of the bestiaries from other 3PPs...of course depending upon which bestiaries make that list, that could become a product of its own.
Now, by now it must be nothing but statblocks right? Nope, not quite...there are three Archetypes here as well, the Unliving Bard, Druid, and Ranger. Each with a list of spells to remove from their lists, and spells to add. Out of the three, the bard has the most changes made to the core class, in that they now affect the undead as they once affected the living.
Now....a full description and breakdown of what exactly a Demilich is, and how one goes about becoming one, along with the variant Awakened version...and we arrive at the wealth of Lich statblocks. As stated previously, 42 of these uber villains waiting to be unleashed upon your PC's all in total crunch format, perfect for print and go, or to inspire a time rushed GM to design their fluff and NPC around.
This series continues to do nothing but impress me, and the addition of this PDF to the line really raises the bar, as there are some excellent builds in here, with some truly new concepts for what we consider the lich to be. Having found one whole thing to whine about, and that being the CR breakdown page not being linked, which, let's face it, that's really not an issue, just something I personally want to see...yeah, I can find nothing to fault this PDF on, at all. A well deserved and fully earned 5 star rating for an excellent product that I can guarantee will bring hours, and I do mean hours, of evilness to any table. A welcome addition to any collection, and well worth the price of admission folks.


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Health and Wellness Lab Tests
How often can I take B-12 injections?
For overall wellness and to increase your energy levels, B-12 injections can be given once per month.
Do you offer TB screens?
Some, though not all, of our locations are able to offer TB screens. Please contact your local store to see if they are able to offer this service.
Can I get the test results for my blood test on the same day you collect it?
No. The blood must be sent to the appropriate laboratory to be performed and analyzed by scientific experts. However, most tests results are available in only 24 – 48 hours.
Do you perform pediatric blood draws?
Yes, our certified medical assistants are experienced and skilled in drawing blood from our pediatric population.
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