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Omicron Surge: Deaths and Hospitalization low in USADecember 30, 2021 09:11
(Image source from: deccanchronicle.com)
USA and UK have a seen a sharp rise in the new cases of coronavirus due to the spread of Omicron variant. USA reported more than 5 lakh new cases in a single day and this is the highest ever surge across the globe ever since the coronavirus pandemic started. The Omicron variant is badly infectious and 58 percent of the new cases reported in USA are said to be due to Omicron. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said that the hospitalization and deaths in the country are quite low when compared to the new reported cases. Rochelle Walensky said that the cases would continue to increase in the coming weeks.
The current spike is more than 60 percent in the current week when compared to the last week in the nation. The average hospitalization rate is said to be 14 percent and th deaths are down by 7 percent after the Omicron variant reached the country. The hospitalization and the deaths are high because of the Delta variant than due to the Omicron variant. The government wanted the people to take up booster doses and the vaccination drive for the children too is happening at a faster pace. Thousands are rushing towards the testing laboratories and there is a huge rush and scarcity for the testing kits in the USA.
By Siva Kumar


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A lesson I learned caring for a recent patient: CHF exacerbation in Afib with RVR Clinical Question: What is the best way to rate control in decompensated heart failure? Our first instinct when we see patients with A-fib with RVR is to reach for diltiazem or our beta blocker of choice, however, these are not …
Tag: chf
Jun 13
CHF and Atrial Fibrillation
Jun 07
CHF or PE? PE is a known and common complication of CHF
challenging case: an obese 60yo patient never seen by a doctor as an adult presents marked peripheral edema, hypertension, and 2 months of worsening DOE, PND, orthopnea. BNP 400, EKG Unremarkable, trop 0.1, stating well. It feels like CHF. But the cardiologist wants a CTPE. We oblige – big saddle embolus with RV strain. This …

subset: commoncrawl


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About 233,000 still without power in Puerto Rico days after Fiona
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An estimated 233,000 homes and businesses were still without power in Puerto Rico on Friday almost two weeks after Hurricane Fiona caused an island-wide outage for its 3.3 million people.
After hitting Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Fiona turned north and slammed into eastern Canada on Sept. 24, leaving more than a third of Nova Scotia without power.
Nova Scotia Power, a unit of Canadian energy company Emera Inc, said about 59,900 customers were without power in the province early Friday, down from about 78,200 early Thursday.
Fiona hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 18 about five years after Hurricane Maria knocked out all power on the island.
PowerOutage.us said about 233,000 customers were without service in Puerto Rico on Friday, down from around 239,000 early Thursday, based on information from LUMA Energy, which operates its grid.
Related video: Biden offers reassurances to Puerto Rico as spotlight shifts to Fla.
That pace of restoration was much faster than after Maria - when almost all 1.5 million customers had no power for a week. At that time the now bankrupt Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) was still operating the grid.
It took PREPA about 11 months to restore power to all customers, but Maria was a much more powerful storm than Fiona.
Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017 as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 miles (249 kilometers) per hour (mph), while Fiona hit as a Category 1 storm with winds of 85 mph.
LUMA Energy said it restored service to 1.212 million, or about 83% of all customers by early Friday and expects to restore service to 90% of customers in all of its service regions by Oct. 6 so long as sufficient generation is available.
LUMA is a joint venture owned by units of Canadian energy firm ATCO Ltd (50%) and U.S. energy contractor Quanta Services Inc (50%).
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Angus MacSwan)


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Retailers have weathered storm after storm of partial, full, or reversed lockdown restrictions. There is no sugar-coating a tempestuous 2020 and its grim figures. But adapting to an evolving world is part and parcel of retail – it was before the pandemic arrived, and will remain so after.
In this post I want to look ahead to when non-essential brick-and-mortar stores will reopen their doors. But first, we have to look at what the situation is now.
COVID-19: impact on retail priorities
Roughly a year ago, Panasonic and WBR Insights teamed up for our Future Stores Benchmark Report on the challenges retailers face in the 2020s. As highlighted in a previous post, the pandemic upended many of these plans. The report's conclusions remain relevant, but with some twists.
First and foremost: safety and security are always paramount. But now they are, by far, priority number one. Virtually overnight, the definition of a safe retail environment changed radically, leading to rapid and significant investments in health safeguards. In turn, the customer experience is currently centred around reassurance. Even for personalised campaigns – which will remain key to driving store footfall in future – the present focus is safety, encouraging people to venture out.
In short, retail now looks very different from pre-2020. With more and more people flocking online – even for grocery items – will physical stores have a future?
Brick-and-mortar's unique appeal
I certainly think so. People's habits have changed, but they can boomerang back: how many friends and colleagues have said they cannot wait to "live a little" again? They are looking forward to treating themselves, and that includes going shopping. Even now, the stores that remain open have long queues snaking outside. That is heartening, and it makes perfect sense.
In-store shopping offers a rich tactile, visual, and acoustic experience; it appeals to our human nature. We want to see and feel what we are buying. Simply the act of going to a store and looking around can be rewarding. People browse to gather information, and to have fun – to escape, socialise, indulge. Being in-store can lead to serendipitous moments that algorithms cannot deliver.
So, following a slow start post-lockdown, we may have a physical retail boom. However, questions remain: how much will stay online, and how can traditional retailers adjust? What will the "new normal" be, and how do we get there?
Bridging the online-offline gap
Retailers have to tap into the reasons why people enjoy going to physical stores. And that will require a mixture of creative solutions and smart technologies – solutions that seamlessly blend the online and offline experience, to engage with their customers wherever they are.
In concrete terms, that will mean providing more options, such as click-and-collect, additional touchpoints, and tools that provide rich information, making the in-store experience more like the online one. One way to do that is through Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs).
ESLs offer benefits relevant to both the current lockdown situation and the post-COVID future. First, they enhance safety: they update labels automatically, so fewer staff need to be out on the floor, making changes by hand. That means more customers can come inside while observing social distancing rules, boosting revenue.
ESLs also help brands to win customers' trust, and improve their reputation. For instance, when staff switch out labels manually, there is room for human error. There may also be a brief window of time where customers see out-of-date information – and an item ringing up with a different, higher price at the till is understandably off-putting.
ESLs in action
Panasonic recently installed ESLs at two UK businesses. A family-run supermarket in the south of England wanted, in particular, to strengthen pricing compliance and customer brand loyalty. Now, by changing prices on the master list, labels across the store are adjusted automatically. This has led to a 100% reduction in errors and an 80% time saving for this process – not to mention lower expenditure on paper, ink and printers. Plus, as the Managing Director of the store underscored: "The real benefit is customer confidence. This new development has given the customers the reassurance and our store colleagues the knowledge that the store is at all times fully compliant."
At Costcutter Culverstone Green, ESLs' ability to update prices in mere minutes is key to remaining competitive, as sales can be driven through price matches and promotions. Owner Peter Juty is pleased with the results, noting that staff can now "concentrate more on the customer's needs. There are fewer disagreements over product prices and this leads to a stronger relationship between staff and customers. The customers also love the look of the labels."
Furthermore, information can be added to ESLs – on the product's origin, on ongoing promotions, and much more besides. For Juty, that means on Valentine's Day, for example, "the label can include a photo of a love heart and a simple message which says how the product is an ideal gift for a valentine. This was tested in another store and the result was an increase in turnover of up to 100% on such products."
"The ESL's will provide us with a lot of flexibility and potential to market products around the year, and we look forward to seeing how this will impact our sales."
Preparing for retail in a post-COVID world
Though there is no denying COVID-19's impact, there are things retailers can do. Moving forward, plenty of choice, and rich, accurate product information will be vital to continued growth, in both the analogue and digital spaces. To make a successful comeback, retailers will have to ensure a balanced business, with both a strong online presence and an engaging in-store experience. Each enterprise will have to decide what the right balance for them is.
Read more insights…
Experience the Future of Retail
Welcome to the Panasonic Campus Munich - the corporate brand centre for Panasonic in Europe. My name is Doris. I'm your tour guide demonstrating the latest technology solutions for the supply chain in our experience centre in Munich. Our retail Solution section has been updated and it's worth exploring!
Panasonic Demos New Ai-powered Service To Personalise In-store Retail
Panasonic partners with leading retail data analyst ADEAL Systems using ChatGPT for digital signage in its innovative Customer Experience Centre (CXC).
Panasonic Showcases Latest Temperature-Sensitive Transportation Solutions At CPHI Barcelona
Panasonic's new range of large VIXELL temperature-sensitive cooled boxes and pallets, featuring Vacuum Insulated Case technology, will be featured.
Experts' Whitepaper: The Tech That Is Required To Address Bio Pharma Supply Chain Challenges
Worldwide supply chain challenges are still heavily impacting Bio Pharma companies as a result of the fallout from the pandemic and include shortages, delays, and ongoing disruption. Amid the turmoil, what should organisations do?
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Come out on May 3rd for the first ever Taste of Merrifield in the Mosaic District from Noon - 8:00 p.m. Try dishes from local restaurants, a brew from Port City Brewing and enjoy live entertainment. There will be children's activities including pony rides and face painting.
The festival is the same day as the Kentucky Derby. They will be celebrating with a hat contest for attendees and the race will be shown on the big screen.
This event is FREE and Open to the public, but select tickets are needed for food tastings and children's activities. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the charity Homestretch.
Restaurants Participating
BlackFinn AmeriPub
Flippin' Pizza
Open Road Ice House
Ovvio Osteria
Matchbox Restaurant
Capitol Kebabs
Port City Brewery
Red Apron Butchery
Sea Pearl
Taco Truck
TRIO Gril
LIVE Entertainment!
Split String Soup
School of Rock
The Joe Chiocca Band
Derby Day Activities
Showing of the Kentucky Derby on the Big Screen
Hat Contest
Pony Rides
Children's Activities
Train Rides
Face Painting
Pony Rides 2:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Balloon Artist
Lego Building Tent
Caricature Artist
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Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Small Missions
Early numbers looked great for Dillingham, and I was tempted to head that way. I was also confident that the sea breeze or building trades would make Kahana work, despite the blipmap's pessimistic dark blue bubble. But when Jorge called to invite me for a mission at Makapuu, I couldn't refuse. Plus by that time I could see that Dillingham was getting too strong and Kahana was not turning on. So much for second guessing the blip.
It was fun flying with Jorge, and watching his crazy valley lines. I stuck to the ridges and it didn't pay off as well for me. While Jorge specked out between clouds and blazed multiple sorties toward Lanikai, I was struggling to connect with anything solid in front of Olomana. Eventually Jorge caught a boomer and disappeared back toward Puu O Kona. I tried to find something comparable, but the clouds were getting lower and I was running out of time and patience.
Finally I just blazed over the back toward Green Walls, a lot lower than I would have liked. Jorge later said he saw me down there and couldn't believe I was taking that low a line. Well Jorge, sometimes you just got to take a low line. I arrived with maybe 1,400 feet at the back and squeaked my way up, as Jorge came over to join me from Puu O Kona. We frolicked in the wispies at green walls before heading back to Makapuu, where we found more and more monkeys launching into the now stronger conditions.
Great to see everyone out there: Don, Kaaawa Larry, Jorge, Doug, Fedex Dick, Sebastian, Tom Ekman, Allegra, James, new student Margot, Frank, Tommy, and anyone else I'm forgetting.
Posted by Alex at 11:05 PM
1 comment:
- Thom said...
Good thing this got said. I was painfully working in Wahiawa when I got a call from Leo. He said there was a glider up over his house and it looked like he was having a great flight, thought it might be you. I told him it was not me and right away he said then it has to be Jorge. Wow, I thought that made my day, if its not me it must be Jorge, what a compliment! It used to be I was driving by and I saw a glider in a tree.....?
It looked great up there and I hope to be getting some of that soon.
Thanks for the write up.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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8 R Startup
R has been designed to be used from shared computing resources such as linux servers. As a result R's startup offers lots of opportunity for customization; both for every user of a system as well as for each individual user. However this flexibility comes at a cost: complexity.
And for sure, R's startup procedures are complex:
However most R users can ignore the majority of this complexity and focus on two main files.
.Renviron- which contains environment variables to be set in R sessions.
.Rprofile- which contains R code to be run in each session.
These files are R specific instances of a broader family of customization files commonly referred to as dotfiles. These are used to tailor the behavior of many programs, particularly those with roots in the unix command line.
Many people store their dotfiles on GitHub and a great way to find inspiration for what you can do with them is to browse other people's dotfile repositories.
One way to find R specific dotfiles is to do a GitHub search for filename:.Rprofile.
.Renviron file is most useful for defining sensitive information such as API keys (such as GitHub or twitter) as well as R specific environment variables like the history size (
R_HISTSIZE=100000) and default library locations
.Renviron file contains lists of environment variables to set. This is not R code, it uses a format similar to that used on the command line shell.
The easiest way to edit
.Renviron is by running
A simple example of a
.Renviron file is:
Try the activity
to learn how to set a GitHub PAT to your
.Renviron and then use it with
usethis::use_github() to upload a project to GitHub.
.Rprofile file contains R code to be run when R starts up. It is run after the
.Renviron file is sourced. Typically
.Rprofile is located in the users' home directory (
~/.Rprofile), however a different location can be configured by setting the
R_PROFILE_USER environment variable.
The easiest way to edit
.Rprofile is by running
Some common things people often add to their
- Set a default CRAN mirror
- Write a welcome message
- Customize their R prompt
- Change options, screen width, numeric display
- Load frequently used packages (but be very careful)
- Aliases / shortcuts for frequently used functions
8.2.1 Reproducibility
A good rule of thumb is you should only put things in your
.Rprofile that you run interactively in the R terminal. If it ever appears in a R script or R Markdown file it should not be in your
If you set these options in your
.Rprofile, then try to run one of your scripts on another system without your
.Rprofile it will no longer be reproducible. Some problematic examples are loading packages used in analysis (such as
dplyr or
ggplot2) or changing default options which change the value of outputs, such as
options(stringsAsFactors = FALSE).
In addition because the
.Rprofile is run by every R process (including those started by R itself) it is important to guard most of the code with
interactive(), so it is only run in interactive sessions (sessions you are controlling with a terminal).
A simple example of a
.Rprofile is:
options(repos = c(CRAN = "https://cran.rstudio.org"))
if (interactive()) {
options(width = 120)
Try the activity
to learn how to create a
.Rprofile with a default CRAN repository and add a startup message to it.
8.3 Disabling startup files
You can run R without any startup files by using the
--vanilla argument when starting R. In RStudio you can do this by checking the option
Project Options -> Disable .Rprofile execution on session start / resume. You can also selectively disable only the user or site
.Rprofile with
--no-init-file and
--no-site-file respectively, and disable the environment files with
.Renviron and
.Rprofile must end with a newline character. If they do not the last line will be ignored without a warning or error.


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Filthy Confessions Offers Place to Reveal Your Dirt
If you're feeling dirty or you are feeling guilty and need to confess something, cleaning product Greased Lightning has given you a place to air your dirty thoughts on a site called Filthy Confessions. On the site you can write or phone in your confession and listen and read the confessions of others. Visitors who use Blogger can also publish their confession on their blog by entering their username and password. There's also a sweepstakes that offers the chance to win a vacation and the usual send to a friend feature. What? No MySpace page?


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Clamshell Park One-Piece Swimsuit by Baked Fresca
Clamshell Park One-Piece Swimsuit by Baked Fresca
What sets it apart from the other brands? Three things:
1. Comfort
2. Style
3. Sustainability
Our designs are not only crafted with your utmost comfort in mind, we also utilize recycled fabrics in most styles and provide reversible bikini sets to allow you to get the most for your money. Baked Fresca will be the design your family pulls out the most every season due to its innovative polyester and spandex blend that makes it resistant to repetitive chlorine exposure. So what are you waiting for; start choosing smarter and enjoying your family sun time longer!
This one-piece swimsuit for all figures will bring out your best features. Enjoy the smooth fabric and the flattering design, and show it off by the sea or pool!
• 82% Polyester, 18% Spandex
• Fabric weight: 6.61 oz/yd² (224 g/m²)
• Chlorine-resistant fabric
• Cheeky fit with a scoop neckline and a low scoop back
• Zig-zag stitching
• Double-layer front for added modesty
• Four-way stretch material stretches and recovers on the cross and lengthwise grains added to give the lift and smooth that you are looking for!
Size guide
|Chest (inches)
|33 ⅛
|34 ⅝
|36 ¼
|37 ¾
|44 ⅛
|47 ¼
|Waist (inches)
|25 ¼
|26 ¾
|28 ⅜
|29 ⅞
|33 ⅛
|36 ¼
|39 ⅜
|Hips (inches)
|35 ⅜
|38 ⅝
|40 ⅛
|43 ¼
|46 ½
|49 ⅝
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Clothing and Home Goods: Items are produced or custom printed order by order. We have a turnaround time of 5-7 days or less during non eventful times of the year and 8-12 days during eventful times.
Example of eventful times is when a large majority of the country is placing orders at the same time for similar reasons such major Holidays, particularly Christmas, New Years, Mother and Father's Day. Another eventful time may be a promoted event run by our page that has a clear start and end date that would produce a large amount of sales in a small amount of time. We generally run these events for organizations and the extended production is noted as a reminder within the event. Items are shipped via USPS
Shipping is free within the Continental US, if you live in the outlying US States please click here. International shipping is calculate via USPS International Shipping Rates.
Books for Book Fairs: Books generally arrive within 14 days or sooner with most arriving in less than a week. They ship via FedEx
Return Policy:
Clothing and Home Goods:
Since the customer has complete control over what size, color and design the choose on the site and each order is custom made to what they have selected, returns are not accepted nor will items be refunded solely on the basis of disliking the fit, color or design. We do not stock inventory, all products are made to order. Exchanges are considered if product arrives damaged but proof must be sent via email to here with the subject "DAMAGED ITEM" within 24 hours of delivery via the tracking number. We require a picture for proof of manufacturer or design error. We will respond to your email within 48 hours with an exchange. Again, we will not issues returns or exchanges for a product that does not fit as expected. Every brand fits a little different, if you have sizing questions please reach out before the sale so we can help you choose the right size for your body type. WE ARE HAPPY TO HELP YOU FIT YOUR BODY TYPE! And we know how to help you find what works so there is minimal stress in your shopping experience. We want you to have a happy shopping experience. We require this time frame to eliminate and discourage fraudulent returns, we understand damages happen, we simply want to weed out real exchanges from fraudulent ones. Product will be replaced if damage due to manufacturing process or the postal service is found to be negligent. A store credit can also be issued, whichever suits the customer best.
Books: Since our books are sold through UsBorne, we follow their return policy as follows: "We accept exchanges or refunds for up to 30 days after your purchase. After the 30 days has expired, we only accept merchandise for ½ price replacement. Lifetime ½ Price Replacement Policy: Customers may return damaged or defective product to us, and we will replace it for ½ price plus a $6.00 handling fee for the lifetime of the customer. Even if the dog chews it up, we will replace it at half the cost plus shipping!"
Care Instructions
Care Instructions
All our clothing products are machine washable and tumble dry friendly, even our handbags and shoes!
You don't have to be stressed about this purchase, you know that right?
You work hard. You deserve nice things. We also know you stress over bills and making endings meet. There is no reason for you to spend your whole life not having nice things, that's why we paired with Sezzle. We'll ship you the products and allow you to make payments. Get that wardrobe you deserve, we support you!
Free ShippingSee our other rates
We offer free shipping, no matter the minimum purchase to all 48 Continental US states! Please see our Shipping and Returns Policy for other rates.
Hassle-Free ExchangesSee our Policy
If we sent you the wrong size we will pay to have it shipped back and send you the right one! See our Shipping and Returns policy for all other return issues.


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I created a new proof template for Gentry's professional work. Over the past three years she has had over 1,000,000 proof views (yes, I keep track). I started to think that if I placed ads on these proof pages, and 1 out of 100 page loads also included an ad click, then I would make a few dollars — maybe even enough to pay for this pointless blog every year.
I was reluctant to advertise on these pages, but I thought I would give it a try and see what happened. Please note that I would never consider placing an ad on her main web site.
Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think. Do you think the ads are too obtrusive? While you're there, feel free to click on an ad and put $.07 cents in my pocket. Or, if you're feeling nice, click on the large footer ad and Google will generously give me $.12 or maybe even $.13! By the way, I tried the Google competitor "WidgetBucks" and got $.01 for my first click. I went back to Google — $.07 sounded like a fortune!
Here's the first wedding to use the new ad-infested proof viewer.
Thoughts? Comments? Do you know of a better ad provider?


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This piece in Newsweek is a neat summary of the rise and fall of Icelandic genomics giant deCODE Genetics. Regular readers of Genetic Future will be aware that the company has been steadily bleeding capital ever since its launch over a decade ago, and recently declared formal bankruptcy. Since then the company has been bought up by US-based company Saga Investments. (For an excellent analysis of the implications of this sale, see Dan Vorhaus' post on Genomics Law Report.)
A few weeks ago, meeting with Stefánsson in Boston, he proved his point. The two were mulling the fate of deCODEme, the consumer diagnostic test. Stefánsson said he still hoped to be "very modestly marketing" the test as of next year. Collier raised his eyebrows and said, "If you want one, you'd better buy it now." In other words: forget it.
What will happen to the customer data generated by deCODEme if the service is abandoned? No-one knows for sure, but those interested in this question should revisit the excellent posts by Dan Vorhaus and Lawrence Moore on this topic here, here and here.
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More like this
The data will be sold.
That's my guess.
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It looks to me as if plans are afoot to improve the services there. So either this decision was made very recently, or they're making one final push to see what happens over the next few months, and if nothing changes they'll probably close shop.
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The end of the (deCODEme) personal genomics service excellent entry is actually a double question (when parentheses are used).
I would refrain from commenting on the "end of deCODEme" as a single company, even if it was the first, and part of the "top three".
Daniel McArthur (and just about everyone) point out that survival of any DTC hinges on a better business model. As such, the other leading two (Navigenics and 23andMe) are no different. Their "growth pains" are substantial, e.g. the inevitable upgrade from microarrays, interrogating the tiny (up to 1.6 M bases out of 6.2 Bn bases) "SNP-tests", towards a targeted (algorithmic) search for structural variants over the affordable full human DNA are contingent only on time/money (to the extent that they are convertible, with limitations). Organizational issues are also very frequent and are eminently solvable.
The key questions are, therefore, if genomic testing service has a future at all - and if yes, what is the business model that will sustain it.
Francis Collins' book, fresh off the shelves, "The Language of Life - DNA and The Revolution in Personalized Medicine" effectively and definitely answers the naysayers. Futurists who may still voice their doubts about the future of genomic testing simply have not done their homework. Most likely did not get a chance yet to read Chapter I., page 1. of the book with the title "The Future Has Already Happened".
In all fairness, those behind the curve are lag only few months, perhaps up to two years. The book appeared early this year, and as we learn on page 84 Francis Collins in 1996 "found the idea of direct-to-consumer genetic testing completely unimaginable in my lifetime". Moreover, his turn-around only happened a mere two years ago (page XVII)- and the final conviction (as usual) was due to his own genomic testing by all three companies last Spring. Proclivities found were in line with his family history (as far as elevated risk for macular degeneration was concerned), but did not apparently occur in his family (as far as diabetes type II is concerned). Dr. Collins, an MD/PhD, head of NIH, immediately went on prevention program for both, modifying his diet, body weight (visible on his before and after portraits), etc; he apparently found DTC results "actionable". Conclusion of his chapter "So Personal Genomics is here..." reads "Given the early stage of DTC genetic testing, there are [those]...arguing that it is premature for this kind of information to be made available for consumers. I am not one of them" (pp. 89)
The "open question" remains, therefore, in what business model can such testing pay for itself in a manner (like the first rudimentary OS; "DOS", followed by "Apple OS" and "Windows" and killer apps) promising a hyper-escalation in a business sense.
One of the answers is given by (full disclosure; my new venture) HolGenTech, see YouTube where the heretofore "open" DTC-loop (not closing on empowerment of consumers) becomes a "closed business model" by both tooling up consumers for personal and participatory prevention programs, as well as providing interoperability of their genomic- and health-date, all overridden by their personal preferences.
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If Newsweek is slagging off GWAS, as it does in this article, does that mean GWAS has officially jumped the shark?
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Wanted: Copy ninja
I'm looking for a copy ninja.
Or rather, archibald ingall stretton, the integrated ad agency where I work, is looking for a copywriter to join its current happy band of scribes.
The lucky chap or chappess will get to work on a range of different briefs including emails, websites, SMS messages and DM, for clients such as O2, EDF Energy and Skoda. Smile winsomely enough, and there might be some more conceptual work available too.
You'll probably be looking for your second job. You may even be a middleweight ninja, if I can muddle metaphors even more.
You'll be comfortable working in media offline and on, handle long copy expertly, short copy deftly and be ruthless in your proofing. Experience applying tones of voice will be useful too. Of course you'll be a scribing for all things social too.
If that wasn't enough, we're based in the heart of London's trendy media adland, have a roof terrace and are all lovely.
Naturally I don't want to wade through a gazillion CVs. So, instead, send the tweet or text that you think will most convince me of your copy skills through the usual channels.
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text:
Who is Taiwanese?Taiwan's minority indigenous peoples are being used to refute mainland China's claims on the island – but what does that mean for their recognition, land rights and identity?
March 2012
Status Quota
Despite more than 25 years of anti-discrimination legislation, it remains the case that the higher up any organisational ladder you look, the fewer women you see. In Australia, for example, women made up just 8.4% of board directors and 8% of executive managers in 2010. This persistent 'vertical sex segregation' has, in some quarters, led to demands that it is time to actively shake up the status quo, rather than leave it to peacefully evolve at its own idle pace. Norway was the first country to implement quotas for female directors on the boards of publicly listed firms, with legislation mandating that 40% of all public limited firms' directors be women by 2008. Several other countries have since followed Norway's lead.
In this global context, the ASX Corporate Governance Council introduced a diversity policy in January 2011 requiring all publicly listed companies in Australia to set, and report on, targets for increased female representation. The lurking potential threat – that failure to meet voluntary targets might lead to mandatory quotas and penalties for non-compliance – was made explicit in the Australian Human Rights Commission's Gender Equality Blueprint 2010. The blueprint recommended a minimum target of 40% women on all Australian government boards, senior executive ranks of the public service, all companies providing goods or services to the Australian government, and on the boards of all publicly listed companies in Australia.
It is not necessary to be a feminist, driven by concerns of social justice, to want to see more women in senior leadership positions: mere pragmatism can create the same desire. To under-utilise female skills and education, and to lose large numbers of experienced women from the talent pool, makes little business or economic sense. But even if you are persuaded of the benefits of greater female representation in leadership roles, there is still room for plenty of doubt regarding the best way to achieve it.
This was the question tackled by a report to be launched in April by the Centre for Ethical Leadership (CEL) at Melbourne Business School, Targets and Quotas for Women in Leadership: A Global Review of Policy, Practice and Psychological Research. Authored by two of my colleagues at CEL, research associate Jennifer Whelan and centre director Robert Wood, the report notes that voluntary targets for sex equality within an organisation may be written into policies and procedures, and include reporting on outcomes and even penalties for failure. Being voluntary, however, they are likely to involve less prescriptive forms of affirmative action. These include "opportunity enhancement", which tries to increase the pool of female talent through specially targeted mentoring, training, development and networking programs, and "weak preferential selection", in which a woman is selected if and only if her qualifications are equal to those of the strongest male candidate. Mandatory quotas, by contrast, could instead require affirmative action in the form of "strong preferential selection", in which preference must be given to the woman even if she is (or appears to be) the weaker candidate.
The report's review of the arguments for and against increasing female representation in senior leadership through the use of targets versus quotas regularly brushes up against a lack of consensus on a very fundamental issue: why sex inequality in the workplace continues to exist. This is most strongly reflected in one of the most common objections to quotas, which is that they violate the principle of merit. This objection of course implies that if sufficient numbers of able, competent and successful women existed for the roles, then they would most certainly already have them. Such confidence in a level playing field for the sexes has a surprisingly long history. Over a century ago Charles Darwin's cousin, the esteemed psychologist Francis Galton, argued that the absence of women in occupations requiring exquisite powers of sensory discrimination, such as tea-tasting, piano-tuning and the like, was all the proof one might require that men's perceptual senses were superior to those of women. (Perhaps not coincidentally, Galton was of the view that sensory abilities correlated with intellectual ones.) That Victorian merchants might not be entirely sex-blind in their hiring practices was apparently not considered by Galton. After all: "If the sensitivity of women were superior to that of men, the self-interest of merchants would lead to their being always employed; but as the reverse is the case, the opposite supposition is likely to be the true one."
A similar faith in meritocracy was recently expressed to me at a party by a man who worked in finance. When I mentioned that part of my research at CEL involved investigating subtle forms of sex discrimination in organisational decision-making, he quivered like a war horse at the sound of a gunshot. "I most certainly discriminate in my employment decisions," he sternly informed me. "I discriminate on the basis of merit."
While few argue that sex discrimination, unconscious or intentional, has been eliminated altogether (except, perhaps, within one's self), some academics and commentators have suggested that such factors now play a relatively minor role in men's continuing stranglehold on positions of power. Instead, it is suggested, we are currently enjoying something close to a revised version of equality in which men and women are not equal, but equally free to express their essentially different natures. Equality of opportunity hasn't led to equality of outcome, but maybe that's OK. As The Sexual Paradox author Susan Pinker put it: "Is this a problem that should be fixed?" Her view, that tough and time-greedy careers may simply appeal less to the naturally more nurturing, socially driven female brain, has many advocates.
By contrast, to others there is little doubt that sex discrimination, albeit often unintentional or benevolently intended, significantly contributes to workplace inequality. As the CEL report points out, merit is a rather subjective phenomenon. The numerous biases against female employees documented by researchers in laboratory studies, showing how judgments of merit are shaped by implicit preconceptions about gender, often resonate with the personal experiences of those from the business world. Take, for example, the helpful recommendations made by researchers on the basis of a review of bias in evaluations of candidates for traditionally masculine roles, published in the journal Academic Medicine. The researchers' evidence-based, if often absurd, recommendations for women seeking such roles – including dousing oneself with a masculine scent for interviews, and concealing a state of pregnancy – reflect research showing that femininity triggers less generous assessments of ability.
In a real-world echo of the extra contortions required of women to seem equal to men, Carol Schwartz, founding chair of the Women's Leadership Institute Australia, recalled her outrage on seeing an advertisement in the Australian Financial Review for a reputable head-hunting and recruitment firm. The ad's headline, 'Women Non-executive Directors', was followed with the question: "Do you have a double degree?" To Schwartz, it was telling – and entirely consistent with her own experience of corporate Australia – that a double degree should be deemed especially necessary for women seeking a director role. While it's unclear whether, say, attaining an MBA is more or less demanding than disguising an eight-month baby bump, Australian Business School economist Renée Adams and her colleagues reported last year that Australian female directors are more likely to have achieved the former than their male counterparts, and do indeed tend to be more highly educated.
It's to be expected that the explanation of sex inequality you tend to favour will influence your feelings about quotas. If you believe that men and women now generally get the jobs they want and deserve, the use of quotas to force an adjustment to this happy state of affairs seems unlikely to appeal. If, on the other hand, you consider many organisations to be rife with old boys' networks, homophily and sexism, then affirmative action policies will seem less like violations of the principle of merit.
Less easily anticipated though – and flagging the difficulty of addressing the complex problem of sex inequality – is the psychological fallout from affirmative action. While in theory people might regard such policies as giving talented and deserving women a sex-based boost that (white) men enjoy by default, the practice is starkly different, as suggested by decades of research from the United States. Reviewing this literature, Jennifer Whelan and Robert Wood argue that a clear theme emerges from studies of people's attitudes towards affirmative action beneficiaries: "Women hired under affirmative action practices are in general seen as less competent and deserving of their position, and the women themselves [have] similar perceptions." Several studies, many led by New York University's Madeline Heilman, a professor of psychology, have confirmed that female employees hired under affirmative action are regarded as less competent than, say, identically qualified men. Female beneficiaries, in turn, make similar inferences about themselves. Particularly, in the absence of feedback to the contrary, their own self-beliefs and behaviour follow suit, leading to lower self-ratings of confidence, a timid, performance-limiting approach to work and a diminished interest in continuing in leadership positions.
Such studies don't tell us whether women actually hired under the stigma of affirmative action are less competent. Whelan and Wood note that there are apparently no hard data available to indicate the validity of the common perception in Australia that women selected under affirmative action regimes such as targets or quotas would be less well qualified than those appointed with no such policies in place. It certainly seems possible that, at the senior leadership level, the compounding effect of decades of sex discrimination (not to mention the cumulative time and energy consumed by the household responsibilities that men still ungallantly tend to shirk) might leave women, on average, with some catching up to do even if they have no less intrinsic potential and drive. Norway's quota required an approximately four-fold increase in female representation in four years but, notes Adams, there is debate among economists as to the effects on both the age and work experience of board members. For example, while University of Michigan economists Kenneth Ahern and Amy Dittmar argued recently in the Quarterly Journal of Economics that the effect of quotas was to lower the age and high-level work experience of board members, David Matsa and Amalia Miller reported (in 'A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas') that that women appointed to boards after quotas had very similar education and professional experience to those appointed before, and that the age distribution of board members remained stable. The decline they observed in short-term profits was, they argued, due to reduced staff layoffs – with unknown, but potentially positive, longer-term effects.
Regardless, the psychological research indicates that even if corporate Australia is exploding with women thoroughly deserving of senior leadership roles, if the dominant cultural mindset supposes otherwise then prescriptive forms of affirmative action may have undermining, self-fulfilling psychological effects. Ironically, assumptions about the incompetence of women hired under quotas might be more damaging to those women's performance than any actual shortfall in their experience.
And yet, presumably one hope held by advocates of quotas is that, by disrupting the status quo, the uncertainties and assumptions about female leadership it helps sustain will be challenged and changed. Scope for optimism on this front is offered by an investigation of the effects of a political gender quota system in India. In 1993 a law was passed requiring that every election cycle leadership positions be reserved for women in randomly selected village councils. Ten years on, women were more likely to stand for, and win, elected positions in councils that had reserved positions for women in the previous two elections. In addition, the experience of living in a village with a female leader on the council improved men's unambiguously biased perception of women's leadership abilities. Perhaps no less importantly, though, the effects of the quota system trickled down to the next generation. In villages selected to reserve a female leadership position for two election cycles, girls were much more likely to have similar aspirations to boys, and the gap in educational achievement was closed. This was due entirely to enhancements of girls' achievements and desires, such as to delay marriage, graduate and get a skilled job. Parents' aspirations for their daughters were similarly changed under female leadership. In what is perhaps an implicit appeal to the need for courage and patience in thinking about quotas and their effects, the researchers note the delayed timing of the positive consequences, suggesting that "[a]lthough the first generation of women leaders may encounter significant prejudice, their experience can pave the way for others to go further".
Sex inequality is a multi-level, complexly interacting, subtly self-reinforcing problem – and it is sustained by far more than the kinds of organisational decisions that quotas can override. As a large body of research shows, cultural realities and beliefs about females and males – represented in existing inequalities, in media, and in the minds, expectations and behaviour of others as well as our own – alter our social perceptions, self-concepts, interests and behaviours. The potential ripple effects, then, of intervening at one level while leaving others largely untouched need careful consideration. In line with this, the CEL report draws attention to the need for greater understanding of the psychological repercussions of affirmative action practices, so they might be framed to increase positive trickle-down effects and minimise bottom-up backlash.
It remains to be seen whether Australia will follow Norway's lead of the short, sharp attack on inequality via mandatory quotas. How successful such a policy would be in Australia is also unknown, but one can only hope that it would be more effective than the patience and good intentions currently in place. Who knows, perhaps the answer to how well quotas would work lies in our collective minds. To paraphrase Henry Ford, whether we believe they can work, or whether we believe they can't – we are right.
The Nation Reviewed
Arts & Letters
Feminism Children's Lib
Fiction Ice Works
Jazz Thirty Words
Letters to the editor
Who is Taiwanese?Taiwan's minority indigenous peoples are being used to refute mainland China's claims on the island – but what does that mean for their recognition, land rights and identity?
Tacita Dean and the poetics of film editingThe MCA's survey of the British-born artist's work reveals both the luminosity of analogue film and its precariousness
David McBride's guilty plea and the need for whistleblower reformThe former army lawyer had no choice but to plead guilty, which goes to show how desperately we need better whistleblower protections
Mars attractsReviving the Viking mission's experiments may yet find life as we know it on Mars, but the best outcome would be something truly alien
Dog day afternoonAnimal welfare concerns have long plagued the greyhound racing industry, but in Victoria a campaign from covert investigators now has a parliamentarian leading the fight
Park of the covenantWith the Ranger Uranium Mine now closed, Kakadu's traditional owners want the government to make good on the original promise of a national park in their care
Writing in natureThe laureate of the Western Australian surf break sees a task ahead for our essayists, our novelists and our poets alike in the fight against climate catastrophe
Who is Taiwanese?Taiwan's minority indigenous peoples are being used to refute mainland China's claims on the island – but what does that mean for their recognition, land rights and identity?
Tacita Dean and the poetics of film editingThe MCA's survey of the British-born artist's work reveals both the luminosity of analogue film and its precariousness
David McBride's guilty plea and the need for whistleblower reformThe former army lawyer had no choice but to plead guilty, which goes to show how desperately we need better whistleblower protections
Kandinsky at AGNSWThe exhibition of the Russian painter's work at the Art Gallery of NSW provides a fascinating view of 20th-century art's leap from representation to abstraction
The unsung career of Margret RoadKnightLittle-known outside the Melbourne folk scene for decades, singer Margret RoadKnight's 60 years of music-making is celebrated in a new compilation
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Seth ArgoPresident and CEO
With over 17 years of development experience, Seth's leadership and vision are the driving force behind Focus Builders. He spent the first 10 years of his career as a retail commercial broker and developer, working as a development partner for a southeast regional development firm. Through that experience, he has developed a solid perspective of how a project should take shape, and a full understanding of what will advance Nashville's neighborhoods to their fullest potential.
When Seth is away from work, he loves spending time with his wife and their three children at their home in the heart of Green Hills. They enjoy taking advantage of all the great activities the city of Nashville has to offer. As a University of Tennessee graduate, he is, naturally, an avid fan of Tennessee football.


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Serious Tippling? Where to Drink Like the Irish in Manila
As far back as the medieval ages, pubs have played a big role in keeping the spirits high among communities of both rural and urban Ireland, in times of upheavals, famine, and plague. The pub, short for 'public house', acted as hubs where villagers gather, tipple some ale, chew the fat, swap neighborhood gossip, and simply forget about the cares of the outside world.
Lock stocked with hearty meals and a bar full of liquor, pubs provided a safe space where people can display social graces (or the lack thereof) in a place akin to one's home, only with a few unwanted but likeminded intruders. This centuries-old tradition had certainly made the Irish a notoriously rowdy bunch, that a pub's presence can't be lost in other cities south of Dublin.
Celtic Crew: Scotch and Irish whiskeys stand side by side
With its fear of missing out, Manila has played host to a handful of Irish pubs, the newest of which is Finnians, found in the brewing foodie alley of Calderon Street in San Juan. Taking all the good stuff about traditional Irish pubs with it—the warm ambience, the no-frills approach to entertainment, and the supersized servings of booze and chow—Finnians gives us a taste of how it is to cap a dreadful week, jolly Irish style.
The outdoor seating area provides just enough smoky, chatty welcome as one enters from the streets. Judging from the line of empty bottles, it seems like the community spirit is strong in this one. But that is just a sip of the whole pint inside. With walls plastered high with boozy Irish memorabilia, one can already get tipsy thinking about tonight's lineup. Fact: There is no way you'll leave Guinness out of the equation.
That's the easy part. Further back is the bar, filled over the edge with standard hard spirits. But then you'd have to remind yourself, you came all the way here for the classic Irish whiskeys. In the company of Jameson, Bushmills, Tullamore Dew, and The Pogues, a shortage of social lubricants is next to impossible.
Spirit of Ireland
Shepherd's Pie
Honey Bourbon Ribs
And to keep the buzz flowing, on the little menu are some staple Irish favorites, heavy with fat and carbs that guarantee no dull moment ensues. There's the Shepherd's Pie stacked with a generous heap of mashed potatoes, the Fish and Chips heavy on finger-fat fries, the Bangers and Mash suggesting of nocturnal puns, especially when topped with warm gravy, and the Honey Bourbon Ribs, doused with its smoky-sweet sauce, can't be left alone by a mother lode of potato wedges. With these, Finnians assures everyone that the Irish potato famine is a thing of the past.
By now, groups fill in the place, and the pub feels a bit warmer. After a few more pints, the people get stickier, and pretty soon, you find talking to strangers highly encouraged. Before you know it, you start buying them rounds. It doesn't help that Finnians has a 'Last Man Standing' rule, you may actually choose to crawl back home.
Finnians keeps to its clover as a genuine Irish pub—uncolonized by dabbing DJs, strobe lights, and, gasp, craft cocktails. Here, the background music stays in the background of neighborhood chatter, especially if you don't mind bobbing your head to 'Riverdance'. What takes the spotlight, however, are the straight-up drinks, the heavy and hearty food, and most importantly, the company you choose. Cheers.
Finnians Irish Pub is at 403 F. Calderon Street, San Juan City; a second outlet, named Limerick Arms Irish Pub, will soon open at Knightsbridge Residences, Century City, Makati City.


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The Renaissance Wood Cremation Urn is crafted from American walnut and embellished with a laser engraved decorative border. These urns are wonderful for those who appreciate the beauty of wood and expert craftsmanship.
These urns load from the bottom through a wood plate that attaches with screws. It is important to keep the cremains in a sealed plastic bag inside the urn.
Engraving on the top of this urn is available. Please limit engraving to no more than 35 spaces per line. Check engraving information to be sure spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and dates are correct. Engraving will be done exactly as submitted.
Made in the United States by professional woodsmiths.


text: This project consisted of the construction of the new Atlantic Avenue (SR 806) interchange at the Florida's Turnpike (SR91) and the widening of the Turnpike from south of Atlantic Avenue to north of the Atlantic Avenue SR806. Structures included new AASHTO concrete girder beams over SR806 and over the canal. The work also included the construction of a new Toll Plaza facility. Condotte America was able to meet the interim milestone and early completion milestone bonus dates. Project was completed 60 days ahead of schedule allowing the Florida Turnpike to begin their toll operation earlier than anticipated and again providing added value to our client.


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Our soaps are handcrafted in small batches using a traditional cold process method. They cure for at least four weeks to create a hard, long lasting bar that is gentle on the skin. Just as important as what is in our soap, is what isn't – no detergents, additives, or preservatives. Pure soap will gently wash away dirt without stripping the skin of its natural moisture.
How do I order?
Ordering can be done on our web site here. If ordering from facebook or instagram you will need to provide your full name, email address and postal address in order to receive an invoice for payment. In most cases orders are dispatched within a couple of days but please allow 4 – 7 working days, in the case of stock shortages we will advise if there will be a delay of more than 7 days. Please remember that payment must be made before we dispatch any goods, so allow time for that as well. Sometimes our soaps are advertised 4 weeks before they are available due to curing time required. If you have not received your order within 7-10 days, please let us know.
How long does hand made soap last?
Our soaps usually stay 'good' for years. In fact, the older a soap gets, the longer it will last when you finally combine it with water in your shower, and the more gentle it will become. However, time does affect the intensity of a soap's scent. For that stronger aroma we recommend that you enjoy your soaps within six months of purchase.
Do you sell soaps wholesale?
We have decided not to sell wholesale as we are only making a very small profit margin and our recommended retail price would be so high per bar of soap that we would be unable to remain competitive. However, we are happy to provide a discount to customers who buy in bulk. We have the experience to reliably supply your business with beautifully presented soap bars, gift packs and more.
Are Willow's Wonder products Vegan?
Yes, most of our products are vegan. We have a small range of goat milk soaps. We do occasionally use locally sourced bees wax and our own native Australian home grown honey. See our ingredients here.
Are Willow's Wonder products organic?
Many of the ingredients used are certified organic. See our ingredients here.
Are Willow's Wonder soaps hot processed or cold processed?
The majority of our soaps are cold processed but we do have some hot processed soaps from time to time.
Do you accept custom orders?
We can custom make requirements outside our normal range. Custom soaps need to be ordered in full log quantities of 8 soaps per log. Pricing may vary from our normal range depending on alterations, additives or essential oils. Customised orders do not follow our regular turnaround time. Full payment is required before production and as custom made soaps are not standard stock lines, orders can not be cancelled once production commenced.
Do Willow's Wonder products contain artificial or synthetically derived fragrances?
No. Our products only use natural essential oils. See our ingredients here.
Your shipping seems a little expensive. Can you offer discounts of some kind?
No, we can't. We have shopped around for the best deal for our customers. If we find a better shipping option, know that we will begin using it and pass that savings on to you!
Delivery within Australia domestic shipping $12.00 Flat rate
We don't export internationally – the costs and benefits of export licensing are not viable for our small handmade business.
Where possible, orders will be dispatched within 48-hours of receiving payment.


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Heroism is most often associated with individuals braving physical or mental challenges, often for the good of others or for some noble cause. The Lady Ethelreda Townshend, according to her contemporaries did not care much for anything other than her own pleasure. And yet it is difficult not to admire her for a determination to do as she pleased. Lady Townshend (1708 – 1788) was one of those notorious 18th century ladies whose behaviour might have been outrageous but whose disregard for the requirements of polite society were at the very least brave. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the delightful The lively Lady Townshend and her friends give a list of her lovers and here perhaps we could give her a cheer on behalf of the older woman, as at the age of 44 she pursued (and won) the 23 year old Frederick Campbell. (It was said, rather unkindly that she kept a dormitory in her dressing-room at Whitehall for Westminster schoolboys and such like). She belongs on this site, not only because of her bold behaviour but also as a permanent resident in Hertfordshire; a member of the Harrison family, she inherited Balls Park from her Uncle George, and is buried in the family vault at All Saints, Hertford.
Admittedly she began with an inheritance which made dependence on a husband or keeper unnecessary. And according to her biographer, her parents were pleased to marry her at the tender age of 15 to Charles, the eldest son of a viscount, Thomas 'Turnip' Townshend, a senior politician and a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to George I. And in defence of her desire for freedom it was a loveless marriage to a man she clearly didn't like very much; they are described as not even sitting down to dine together. There was further justification in her antipathy towards her husband as he had a lasting affair with his maid on whom he fathered three children. Her husband, also a parliamentarian, did not enjoy the political intrigues of Walpole's ministry and in 1730 he retired from his Westminster activities to his estate in Norfolk where he spent his time devoted to rural life and agriculture. By this time Ethelreda had done her wifely duty and produced five children for him and ten years later, in 1740/41 the couple separated. Clearly she was more interested in the high life than country pursuits and with her new freedom and her independent wealth she became a celebrated society hostess in London, with a reputation for witty repartee and 'gorgeous entertainments'. According to one commentator, 'all the celebrities, dandies and macaronies of the time flocked to her assemblies'.
Her salon was devoted to pleasure. She was politically inclined to be anti-government although when she fell in love with a known follower of the Stuart Pretender on trial for treason she flirted briefly with Jacobitism. And she certainly wasn't pious. As Walpole said: "My Lady Townshend has been dying, and was woefully frightened and took prayers; but she is recovered now, even of her repentance". It was said that she had exhausted scandal both in her person and her conversation. Her other reputed lovers included Sir Harry Nesbitt, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Argyll and Lord Kilmarnock (the Jacobite). She is also rumoured to have 'made overtures' to the Duke of Newcastle, which were rejected. She was so well known in her circles that it was said that she formed the basis for Henry Fielding's lascivious Lady Bellaston in Tom Jones.
Most of our view of Ethelreda comes from descriptions in her contemporaries' correspondence and they appear more amused than shocked by her activities. Her quoted remarks are both acidic and apt. For instance in 1762 she said of the growth in the peerage "I dare not spit out of the window for fear of spitting on a lord". Of the androgynous Lord Hervey she said: "God had created three races of English – men, women and Herveys". She could also hold her own when she came under scrutiny by her social circle. Taking a break from her house in Whitehall she took a short lease on a "villa at Tyburn" an area famous for public executions. She countered their disapproval by saying that as her 'neighbours' were continuously being hanged and were therefore always changing she could never tire of the view. This is evidence of a grisly sense of humour, perhaps, but a bold one. She also rather disloyally remarked that the royal family, who liked to go to all public shows and suppers, were the cheapest family to see and the dearest to keep. Swearing was also not out of her range and she was quite capable of the kind of language which one would not have expected from a lady of breeding; a fellow guest at a dinner party records her as 'speaking out and calling things by their proper name". The details of this outburst do not highlight a ladylike demeanour. Rather they point to her unabashed disregard for polite behaviour (and the flavour of her reputation). When she turned to her dinner companion and using words not to be seen on a public website, commented on his lack of sexual expertise, he replied that she was known to be both expert and generous with her favours. Disappointingly, at this point Ethelreda decided to take the matter no further and changed the subject.
The quirky Horace Walpole, the builder of the exquisite Strawberry Hill in Twickenham was a friend of the hedonistic Ethelreda and many of the stories about her can be found in his letters. Although he was frequently disparaging of her adventures they were clearly very close and on one occasion she took charge of his wardrobe, finding him a suit with a white background and purple and green flowers which he wore to the marriage of one of his relatives.
He was a frequent commentator on her antics and with keen delight reported that she was spectacularly unabashed at public displays of bad behaviour: Walpole reports that "My Lady Townshend was arrested two days ago in the street at the suit of a house-painter, who, having brought her a bill double of the estimate he had given in, she would not pay it. " In other letters he says:
My Lady Townshend's gallantries were the talk of the town, for they were usually conducted in a manner that scorned secrecy. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu says that, whilst Lord Townshend was spitting up his lungs [Etheldreda's husband suffered from consumption] at the Gravelpits [a fashionable resort for invalids near Kensington] she 'is diverting herself with daily rambles in town. She has made a new friendship with Madam Pultney and they hunt in couples from tea-drinking till midnight.
My Lady Townshend was a great patroness of the Italian singers and gave private concerts, being a woman of fashion in all things, even to parting with her husband, Charles, the third viscount of his name.
Do but think on a duel between Winnington [Eethelreda's lover] and Augustus Townshend [a cousin]; the latter a pert boy, captain of an Indiaman; the former declared cicisbeo to my Lady Townshend. The quarrel was something that Augustus had said of them; for since she was parted from her husband, she has broke with all his family. Winnington challenged; they walked into Hyde Park last Sunday morning, scratched one another's fingers, tumbled into two ditches — that is Augustus did, — kissed, and walked home together.
But she could be equally acerbic in her comments on Walpole:
I believe she alluded to my disposition to pout, rather than meant to compliment me, when my Lady Townshend said to somebody t'other day, who told her how well Mrs. Leneve was, and in spirits, "Oh! she must be in spirits: why, she lives with Mr. Walpole, who is spirit of hartshorn! [i.e. smelling salts]
Life was not always joyful for the Lady Townshend. Tragedy struck in the death of two of her sons. Roger, a professional soldier, was killed in battle in 1759 and she erected a monument to his memory in Westminster Abbey in 1762, designed by Robert Adam. There was further heartache when her favourite son died in 1767. This loss struck her so strongly that she retired from her riotous life for several years. She spent the last years of her life lavishing her affection on her grandsons and was given a complimentary obituary from the Gentleman's Magazine:
She possessed her faculties in amazing perfection to the last. Her acuteness of observation and brilliancy of expression were as forcible and brilliant as at her earliest state of life, when she was so esteemed, and her society cultivated by the first wits of the time.
Ethelreda died at the good age of 80. She had lived an extravagant life but no doubt enjoyed it more than if she had followed the norm. She may not have been considered virtuous but she did no harm, and was certainly good fun, pushing the boundaries of a constrictive society in defiance of contemporary convention. And there is surely something heroic in that.


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Isaac 'Ike' Perlmutter, CEO of Marvel Entertainment, is the perfect billionaire. He's a self-made man who saves paperclips from the wastepaper basket. He's a Hollywood bigshot who'd rather be playing tennis in Palm Springs. He's a generous philanthropist who holds a permit for a concealed weapon.
And he's at the helm of the biggest entertainment franchise in the world – Marvel, which incorporates Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently represented by Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron – but has never been interviewed and rarely photographed.
Ike Perlmutter was born in the British Mandate of Palestine in December 1942. Having served in the Israeli Army, he's thought to have fought in the Six-Day War in June 1967, but such information is hard to verify, given Perlmutter's dedication to maintaining his privacy.
In the late Sixties, when he was 24 years old, Perlmutter emigrated to the US with only $250 to his name. He would wait outside Jewish cemeteries in Brooklyn and offer to recite the mourner's kaddish (a prayer for the dead) for a fee. That business didn't make him a billionaire, but it was an early sign of his entrepreneurial nous.
Perlmutter eventually found his way into the world of toys, where he proved to be a sharp operator. In later years, stories have circulated of Perlmutter's overriding concern for the bottom line. "If there was some used paper or a memo lying around," said his long-time business partner Avi Arad in a 2009 interview with the Financial Times, "he would rip it into eight pieces and he would have a new memo pad."
According to one report, for a long time the Marvel headquarters had only one bathroom per gender, leading to insufferably long lines come lunctime.
Or consider his attitude to the Hollywood premiere of Iron Man in April 2008. Iron Man was the first movie to be financed by Marvel Studios, the film production arm of Marvel Entertainment, and there was a lot riding on it. The character had been shunted from studio to studio for almost 20 years as Marvel brokered licensing deals with Universal, 20th Century Fox and New Line. Writers and directors - among them Quentin Tarantino and Joss Whedon - had been mooted, but the film seemed destined to languish in development hell.
In 2008, Iron Man – which would go on to make $585 million at the global box office – was far from a dead cert.
So anxious was Perlmutter about the vast expense of the film - whose production budget was $140 million, a figure that must have been matched by the costs of marketing it around the world - that he argued that they should only serve crisps at the premiere.
Perlmutter was there at the premiere, paying a rare visit to Los Angeles from the home he shares with his wife, Laura, in Palm Beach, Florida (the couple also lives in New York City). But no one recognised him, because at the time he was wearing a wig and moustache.
In fact the reclusive CEO, whose net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion by Forbes, has managed to avoid being having his photograph taken for three decades. There is one picture, taken in 1985, which shows a handsome, unsmiling man leaning on a desk. It's also a point of pride for Perlmutter that he's never given an interview.
Scarlett Johansson with Joss Whedon on the set of Avengers: Age of Ultron
Clearly he has little time for journalists. Sparse catering at an Avengers event led ravenous hacks to pillage the hospitality suite of The Five-Year Engagement, which was screening nearby. (Perlmutter is nonetheless an exceedingly generous philanthtopist, having given tens of millions to cancer reasearch in recent years.)
Perlmutter is known for the tough contracts he negotiates with actors who enter the Marvel universe. An anonymous source who worked with the studio told the Hollywood Reporter that actors were handed "ridiculous deals". "They want you to do mashups, mixing and matching the universes," he said. "If you're character A in franchise one, they not only want the right to put you in sequels but to say, 'Now you'll appear in a glorified cameo in franchise two.' "
Marvel cleverly hires directors untried or long neglected by Hollywood, paying them little for their first film then upping the fee for a sequel. Joe and Anthony Russo recently told the Wall Street Journal that they made more money directing TV shows such as Community and Happy Endings than they were paid for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And Joss Whedon revealed that his web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog gave him a bigger payday than his work on The Avengers. (He's said to have been well compensated for the sequel, Age of Ultron.)
Perlmutter's approach seems to have worked. The worldwide cumulative gross of the films that comprise the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which is populated by The Avengers, Thor, Captain America, the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man) is more than $7 billion.
That's not to say that Perlmutter is unbreakable. For the first Iron Man film he paid Terrence Howard, who played Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, more than Robert Downey Jr, the star of the show. (Downey Jr's pay has since skyrocketed; for The Avengers he was paid $50 million. "They're so p-----," said Downey Jr in an interview with American GQ. "I'm what's known as 'a strategic cost.'")
Howard was replaced with Don Cheadle for the subsequent Iron Man sequels, and it was alleged by one of Perlmutter's former colleagues that he had advanced the opinion that no one would be able to tell the difference because both actors are black. (Marvel issued a statement in response highlighting the company's record on diversity.)
Iron Man star Terrence Howard (left), who was replaced by Don Cheadle (right) in subsequent films
In the vast tranche of Sony emails dumped online by Wikileaks, we get a few shadowy glimpses of Perlmutter, mostly in connection with Spider-Man, a Marvel title that had been leased out by the company since 1999. Various Sony apparatchiks ask his advice on marketing and promoting the films, and he's often on then-CEO Amy Pascal's "to call" list. What's clear is that even at the age of 72, Perlmutter is as hands-on as ever.


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We are Silver Strike Winery, located in the heart of Tombstone Arizona on historic Allen St, just steps from the O.K. Corral. Silver Strike is a family owned, fully operating winery, with all our wines produced on site with grapes from our own sustainably grown vineyard as well as locally harvested varietals.
Please join us in our tasting room for a sampling of our wines between 12 noonand 6pm daily!
Enjoy our website and feel free to contact us with any questions!
334 E Allen St
Tombstone AZ 85638
Phone: 520.678.8200
E-mail: email@example.com


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Smeg's Retro Adventure
Smeg Brand Activation at Eroica Festival
At FullCircle, we take pride in bringing a brand's vision to life, so we were so excited to brainstorm with a client who has a brand identity as strong as Italian home appliance manufacturer, Smeg.
With Eroica being a festival which originated in Italy, and Smeg being an Italian brand, the client wanted to create an activation which would celebrate the brands iconic retro style whilst showcasing its range of home appliance products.
FullCircle took a vintage caravan and created the 'Smeg Retro Adventure' pop-up; a fully branded caravan kitted out with all the brand's modern appliances and a photobooth to encourage audience engagement and create valuable social media content for the brand.
Every detail was considered as visitors entered the caravan via a Smeg orange fridge door and were wowed by the caravan's interior. Complete with their latest built-in range including a gas hob, oven, combi microwave and warming drawer, all in cream.
Smeg welcomed thousands of visitors over the three day festival, providing festival goers with delicious food samples which were cooked onsite, plus the opportunity of striking a pose in the photobooth where guests could collect their photos as a souvenir of the day from the nifty postbox printer installed just outside the caravan.
The 'retro adventure' caravan will be touring the UK at various festivals and events, so keep your eyes peeled!
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text: Moscow, 5 January 2000 (RFE/RL) - Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, is due to meet today to set the date for Russia's early presidential election. Under the constitution, the vote is to take place within three months of the resignation of the former head of state. A date in late March is expected to be chosen. Boris Yeltsin resigned as president on December 31, six months early, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has assumed the role of acting president. Putin yesterday said Yeltsin's resignation was intended to deliberately give him a boost in the forthcoming vote.


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Babies just grow up so fast. Leighton seems to be growing up even faster than Paige. I don't mean more advanced or baby genius or anything, it is just going by even faster than it seemed to with Paige. Maybe its because we are watching two little girls grow and change before our eyes!
Leighton is really blossoming into her personality! She is such a happy, snuggly, playful baby!! She is so ticklish, loves to cuddle, is enthralled with her sister and is "talking" nonstop!!!
TONS of people told me our second born would be more docile and different than the first child. All signs point to this child being equally as outgoing as Paige! She even gets frustrated when Paige and I carry on a conversation and don't include her. She will start "yelling" at us to include her! She loves me to sing and dance with her, probably her favorite thing.
She has been sitting up for several weeks, going from laying to sitting, doing lots of crawling type activities but hasn't quite mastered the traditional crawl just yet. She is plenty strong enough--she does a pretty awesome Downward Dog (yoga pose) several times a day! I can't believe how strong her arms are and she has been pulling up in her pack and play and on anything she can get to since last friday!!!
She loves her family so much too! Not just us but all her grandparents and Aunt Tiff and Uncle Bubby....and her puppy dog Oscar! She loves petting him now...and posing on his back side! Found this pic on the camera last night, daddy must have taken these:)
She has been sleeping on her tummy for quite awhile now and has turned out to be a great napper! She occasionally will wake up in the night but hopefully now that she is starting solids she will stay full in the night and be a champ sleeper!
She has been eyeing our food since she was 4 months old!! Its obvious she wants to know what its all about! I follow the recommendation of our pediatrician and the majority of nutritionists and wait until 6 months of age to introduce solids. Well last night she got to have cereal for the first time!! She LOVED it!! She did kind of practice the pushing the food back out like babies do but she actually ate the whole bowl of cereal!! Paige and I kept telling her it only gets better from here! I can't wait to start making baby food again!
Disclaimer: I just finished hot yoga and look a mess and Paige just finished a battle with ketchup so is only half dressed...we may or may not usually look like this but I'd like you all to think otherwise:)
I like how both of us have the same expression here! HA!
I Love my daddy so I have to stop and smile at him!
Look daddy, I FINALLY got REAL food!!
And here's my tongue daddy! I sure love my tongue these days too!
Just when I think it couldn't be possible to love her more I do! I was looking at the girls yesterday and I could literally feel my heart grow and swell! Its amazing how much they love each other and each day get closer. We love you so very much Leighton Kennedy and are so blessed to have you in our family! I can't even imagine life without my girls and its had to even remember life without them!!


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Course Design in Higher Education: Course Design Institute
Instructors who wish to design significant, effective, and assessable learning opportunities can benefit from ongoing practice and support with preparation through intensive training in student-centered course design. In this Course Design in Higher Education pathway, you will receive expert support in learning and applying the backward design process. This endorsement provides participants with the tools, time and support they need as they work to build or rebuild effective, student-centered courses.
This pathway provides instructors a structured way to (re)design a course of their choosing. Most university instructors have a great deal of experience with student-teacher interaction and many have received some preparation for that element of teaching. However, very few have any structured, formal preparation for designing significant, effective, and assessable learning opportunities. The Drake Institute's Course Design Institute (CDI) provides that preparation through an intensive multi-part workshop in which instructors, with hands-on guidance from experts, focus on designing or redesigning a specific course. Regular reflection, feedback, and peer-interaction are built into the process, enabling participants to learn from and support each other. The CDI provides participants with the tools, time and support they need as they work to build or rebuild effective, student-centered courses.
- Articulate and align course goals and learning outcomes for a given course.
- Create appropriate course evaluation tools aligned with learning outcomes.
- Design appropriate, effective and efficient evaluation and assessment tools for your chosen learning outcomes.
- Make discipline specific decisions regarding which content to include in a course.
- Evaluate which pedagogical tools and teaching styles will be most appropriate for the context, goals, and outcomes of an individual course.
- Devise appropriate assessment methods to determine the success of your designed course.
Participants can choose from one of five different Course Design Institutes (CDIs) offered by the Drake Institute. Completion of one institute is needed to fulfill the Course Design for Higher Education endorsement. Requirements include the following:
- To participate in a CDI, you must first apply and then be accepted
- Participants must attend all sessions of that CDI
- Participants meet for 12-15 hours (either 4 or 5 sessions of 3-3.5 hours each)
- Time to complete activities at home is expected for each CDI (about 2-4 hours each week)
The final teaching endorsement application will require you to upload your completed Integrated Course Plan from your Course Design Institute Portfolio.
Get Started
Learn more about Endorsement requirements and offerings.Sign Up
Apply for Endorsement
Complete your required documentation.Go to application


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Bay Miwok of the San Ramon Valley
By Randall Milliken
In late March of 1772, Spanish explorers entered the lands of the Tatcan tribe in the San Ramon Valley, "We came to three villages of little grass houses. As soon as the heathen caught sight of us, they ran away, shouting and panic-stricken without knowing what had happened," wrote diarist Juan Crespi.
The Tatcans, many people learned at a conference held at Diablo Valley College on September 20, 2003, were one of six Bay Miwok-speaking tribes living in Contra Costa County at the time of first contact with Spanish explorers and missionaries.
The Tatcans probably numbered about 270 people spread among three separate villages, perhaps at Alamo, Danville and San Ramon. They had numerous small seasonal hunting and gathering camps, spread from Bollinger Canyon on the west to Shell Ridge and Rock City on the east.
The Bay Miwok language the Tatcans spoke is related to the Sierra Miwok language of Yosemite, and the Coast Miwok language of the Marin Peninsula. The first modern scholar to recognize the Bay Miwok language was linguist Madison Beeler. In 1955 he studied a tiny vocabulary written in a notebook by a Franciscan missionary back in 1821 and determined that "Saclan" was a Miwok language.
Few of us who grew up in Contra Costa County learned about the Bay Miwoks when we were in school. Our teachers drew their local Indian curricula from the 1925 Handbook of the Indians of California by A. L. Kroeber. Kroeber knew from historic sources about the Saclan of the Lafayette area, but presumed that they were a Costanoan (Ohlone) speaking group.
The term "Bay Miwok" was introduced by James A. Bennyhoff in a 1961 Ph.D. dissertation. Bennyhoff noted that Saclan shared linguistic features with the languages of four other local East By groups, the Chupcans, Julpuns, Ompins, and Volvons. Only in the past few years have we come to realize that the Tatcans were also Bay Miwoks, and that the nearby Jalquins of Crow Canyon and San Leandro Creek were bilingual Bay Miwoks and Ohlones.
Archaeologists believe that Bay Miwok speakers were pushed down into Contra Costa ounty from the lower Sacramento Valley by Patwin speaking people from still further north. The push may have occurred around 1,500 years ago, but new evidence suggests that it happened as recently as 400 years ago.
Prior to the Bay Miwoks, unknown Indian languages were spoken in the San Ramon Valley. Radiocarbon dates indicate that Indian people have lived in California for over 13,000 years. So far, the earliest evidence for occupation in Contra Costa County reaches back only 9,000 years. That evidence was discovered at a deeply buried archaeological site near the spillway for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir.
The Bay Miwok speakers were all removed to Franciscan missions between 1794 and 1812. Most Tatcans moved to Mission dolores in 1804. At the missions, their language disappeared, as their descendants learned Spanish and intermarried with people from Ohlone, Patwin, Yokuts, and Plains Miwok groups.
Ironically, the Franciscan mission registers are out primary sources of information abut the early Tatcans and their neighbors. The missionaries were zealous record keepers. They wrote entries, in registers that still exist today, for each individual that they baptized. The entries always included the date, the individual's age, native name, and new Spanish name. Some entries included information about the person's home village or tribe and the names of a person's parents and/or children.
Ethnohistorians are learning many details about the early Tatcans and their neighbors, the Volvons of Marsh Creek, the Saclans of Lafayette, and the Seunens of Dublin, by linking their baptismal and death records together, then reconstructing their genealogical ties.
Only four tribal Tatcans were still alive when Mission Dolores was closed as an Indian mission between 1834 and 1836. Three of those Tatcans were bachelors who died without issue. However, one Tatcan woman, Sincletica Jilumaye, had three living children in the late 1839s, Descendants of those children may exist today, although none have made themselves known.
About the author.
Anthropologist, archaeologist and ethnohistorian Randall Milliken holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from U. C. Berkeley. More of his writings about the Tatcan can be found in his book, A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1769-1810, published by Ballena Press, 1995.
Article from the Valley Sentinel in October 2003


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Swanson / Hell – Waiting For The LadiesSale, VinylVinyl reissue of the massively limited split LP from Yellow Swans' Pete Swanson and darkened Kosmische operator Rene Hell, who each supply a side of new music. A1. Pete Swanson – Self Help B1. Rene Hl. – Walking In Tune B2. Rene Hl. – Bending (Voice) B3. Rene Hl. – Glass (Coke)
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