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In New Orleans, healthcare's road back from Hurricane Katrina has not been smooth. Charity Hospital, the grand Art Deco facility that served most of the city's uninsured population, has been folded into the new, $1.1 billion University Medical Center. Doctors and officials say it's a change for the better, but the transition has been perceived as a blow to the poor and largely black community for whom Charity Hospital was a familiar institution.
Instead of relying on the Charity emergency room for medical care, many of those people — under a post-Katrina Medicaid waiver program — were expected to visit a new network of 60 community health clinics that have opened over the past decade. But of the 56,000 covered residents, about half haven't received primary care in the past two years.
The problem, not surprisingly, was that people were used to the old system. They went to Charity with their health problems. And without Charity, they went nowhere. Was the new system better? Hard to say: No one was using it.
This, in a nutshell, is the nightmare of the new urban technocrat. Programs of soft paternalism like soda taxes often run up against personal preferences and spark thorny debates about the government's role and responsibility. But encouraging access to primary care was hardly a nanny state initiative.
Still, Oliver Wise explains, it was a similar behavioral science problem. "You know going to the doctor is good for you, but because we as human beings discount future benefit, we are far less inclined to seek that preventative care."
Wise is the director of New Orleans' Office of Performance and Accountability, a kind of internal consulting shop for the city's other departments. Mayor Mitch Landrieu founded the OPA in 2011 and set it to measure blight reduction. Over the past 18 months, Wise has extended its work into analytics, bringing the OPA closer to the municipal data hubs that have recently sprung up in Chicago and New York, among other cities.
One of the office's early data missions was to develop a way to prioritize the distribution and installation of free smoke alarms after a deadly fire in November 2014. New Orleans has 150,000 structures. Which ones should fire department personnel visit first?
To figure it out, OPA devised two models. The first meant to predict which houses would have no smoke alarm, based on available data on a building's age, residents' poverty, and how long they had lived there. The second predicted the risk of fire fatality from records of previous fires and Census data on the presence of children or seniors. The New Orleans Fire Department visited homes that scored highly on both models.
Six months after they canvassed Center City, a fire spread in one of the buildings they had visited. Eleven people, including a baby, were able to escape unharmed.
In an attempt to get New Orleans residents to use their free healthcare, Wise teamed up with Elizabeth Linos of the Behavioural Insights Team, a British, public-private entity that troubleshoots interactions between civilians and governments. "If you pinpoint the right part of a process, you can have a disproportionately large impact," says Linos, the head of research and evaluation at BIT.
"Interactions between civilians and governments" obviously covers a lot of ground, and gives BIT, which bills itself as the first government agency devoted to behavioral science, a remarkably varied purview. So far, the organization has worked on issues as diverse as organ donation, small business growth and mobile phone theft. The goal is to develop a body of consultable research into how process determines results — and to be able to say with certainty what type of messaging, protocol or design will get results.
In New Orleans, BIT split 21,000 would-be patients into three groups and sent three separate models of text messages. The "ego" message implied that the recipient has been "selected" for an appointment. The "simplicity" message was short and to the point. The "social motivation" message, the longest, contained a modest guilt trip.
The three messages had (proportionally) highly variant response rates: "Ego" recipients were twice as likely as "social motivation" recipients to respond affirmatively. "Simplicity" fell in between. People like feeling special. Still, there's a reason why they call it "nudging" and not "pushing" or "shoving": No text message solicited a response rate greater than 2 percent.
Wise wasn't disheartened by the low response rate. For virtually no cost, the experiment had put a few hundred people on the path to doctor's appointments. "We have a culture of healthcare that's based on an old model," he says. "Now we have a new model. It's going to take a changing culture to make that model work."
The Science of Cities column is made possible with the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Henry Grabar is a senior editor at Urban Omnibus, the magazine of The Architectural League of New York. His work has also appeared in Cultural Geographies, the Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. You can read more of his writing here.


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University of Cambridge > Talks.cam > Seminars on Quantitative Biology @ CRUK Cambridge Institute > Dynamics of molecular clocks expose the lineage relations of cells
Dynamics of molecular clocks expose the lineage relations of cells
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If you have a question about this talk, please contact Florian Markowetz.
Understanding the embryonic development and post-natal maintenance in multi-cellular organisms requires advanced methods for cell lineage reconstruction of individual cells. The mammalian female germline is a classic example in which the fundamental aspects of these processes remain highly debatable, with doubts as to the clonal relation between adult stem cells and primordial germ cells, as well as conflicting evidence of post-natal oocyte renewal. We developed a high-throughput method for reconstructing cell lineage trees from genomic variability caused by somatic mutations in microsatellite molecular clocks. We have reconstructed lineage trees of hundreds of oocytes and other cell types, sampled from mismatch-repair deficient mice at various ages. Analysis of these trees sheds light on the lineage relations between oocytes and bone-marrow derived cells, on the nature of the migration-expansion process of primordial germ cells and on the dynamics of oocyte aging.
Hosted by Nitzan Rosenfeld.
This talk is part of the Seminars on Quantitative Biology @ CRUK Cambridge Institute series.
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Other listsPhD Colloquium - Dept of Architecture BHRU Annual Lecture 2015
Other talksGraded linearisations for linear algebraic group actions Participatory approaches to encourage responsible use of antibiotics in livestock Optimising fresh produce quality monitoring and analysis Laser Printed Organic Electronics, Metal-Organic Framework - Polymer Nanofiber Composites for Gas Separation Stopping the Biological Clock – The Lazarus factor and Pulling Life back from the Edge. Designer Babies or Children of Frankenstein? Genome Editing and its Side Effects The evolution of photosynthetic efficiency Coin Betting for Backprop without Learning Rates and More The Anne McLaren Lecture: CRISPR-Cas Gene Editing: Biology, Technology and Ethics Migration in Science Thermodynamics de-mystified? /Thermodynamics without Ansätze? Number, probability and community: the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern data model, Monte Carlo simulations and counterfactual futures in cricket

subset: commoncrawl


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IPHost Monitor interfaces
IPHost Network Monitor provides user with two interfaces:
A monitoring client (Windows UI) allows you to view and change the monitoring system configuration and to view reports, graphs, and logs.
A Web interface (Web UI) allows you to view the monitoring resources current state or reports and graphs that show monitoring results for any time interval from any web-enabled device (i.e. from any device with web-browser).
Windows Interface The IPHost Network Monitor Windows interface (also called a client GUI) allows you to start, stop and configure network monitoring, obtain and analyze the monitoring results and state change notifications.
GUI overview
The IPHost client GUI displays all monitoring configuration controls, monitoring results and logs on one screen. This design is intended to save your time. Typically when you change the settings you expect to see the effect of your change in monitoring results, and when you see a problem in monitoring results you may want to adjust the monitoring settings or actions.
The GUI contains three view panes and a standard Windows menu, toolbar and status bar.
Windows GUI consists of three panes:
- Tree View Pane
- Parameters/Results Pane
- Log Pane
Client GUI creates an icon in the system tray; even when you close the GUI main window, the icon remains present and you can double click it to reopen the client GUI. When a monitoring service is running, the icon displays the worst monitor state in your system; when the monitoring service is stopped, the icon is grayed. By placing the mouse pointer over the tray icon you can get a state summary tooltip for your system.
When the client GUI runs in the system tray, important system events such as monitoring service start and stop are signaled with tray balloons. If you set up a Pop-up window alert for a monitor, it also shows a balloon in the tray.
Tree View
The Tree View pane provides different views of monitored objects and allows you to take a quick glance at the system status. By default Tree View pane opens with By Host tree. The drop-down menu allows you to switch to By Monitor Type, By State, Discovered and Favorites Views.
Each tree node contains an icon corresponding to the worst child monitor state within the node. Changing the focus in Tree View reloads the contents of all the other client panes. The frequently used actions are available from Tree View pane context menu that appears when you right-click a selected monitor or group.
Parameters/Results Pane
Parameters/Results pane is used to configure monitoring. It displays all parameters of a currently selected object. The monitor name, comment, polling frequency and monitor-specific parameters, availability settings such as timeout, performance levels settings, and actions to be performed on state changes can be configured on Parameters/Results pane tabs: Main parameters tab, State conditions tab and Alerting tab.
For monitor groups, the pane also displays a monitors state summary across the group.
IPHost Network Monitor is provided with several admin tools that help you to manage your hosts (servers) and monitors. There are:
- Remote Desktop client
- SSH client
- Telnet client
You can also specify a path to device web interface and specify your tool of choice as a custom admin tool.
Report Tab
Report tab displays an HTML report for a currently selected monitor or group. When a monitor is selected, a detailed report including a performance graph and all state changes of this monitor is displayed. The default report period is the last 24 hours and can be changed in Settings dialog (Tools menu). When a monitor group is selected, a summary report for it is displayed. You can navigate the reports using the Back and Forward buttons on the toolbar in Report View, Refresh a report, and open the IPHost Web interface with this report loaded using the Open in browser button. When you navigate the HTML links in a report or use the Back / Forward buttons, not only the Report View content is changed to display data for the new monitor or group but all the other panes are updated too.
Log Pane
Log pane provides access to log messages stored in the database. You can configure it to display either system messages or monitor state change messages or both types. The state changes and events records are filtered in accordance with currently selected monitor or group; only the messages related to the current selection are shown. Host and monitor log records contain hyperlinks; by clicking on them you select a corresponding object in the Tree View pane and all the other panes.
IPHost Network Monitor contains a Web interface that provides access to monitoring reports. The interface is provided by Apache web server, version 2.2.26.
The Web interface provides several views of statistical data and allows you to:
- quickly review the current and all previous states of your network resources
- get a list of problems that have been occurred over a specified time interval
- study trends and detect performance degradation immediately
- obtain detailed reports that include a useful performance graph and detailed resource state changes log
You can choose different groups of monitors to build a report; you can also choose any timeframe as well as one of the several predefined time intervals such as Today or Last week.
The general Web interface main window layout is shown below.
There is a Tree View on the window left side. It is separated from the Parameters panel and Report panel by a vertical splitter which you can drag to resize the panels. The Parameters panel is at the top of the window and is separated from the Report panel by a grey non-movable horizontal line.
The Tree View contents match the contents of Tree View in the client application (Windows UI). There is a an accordion control to select a view (you can select View by hosts, View by monitor type, View by state, Discovered or Favorites ). Once the selected tree is loaded, you can navigate through it and highlight the necessary monitor or resource group; your selection becomes prominent in bold type. The report gets generated when you select a tree node and after you press the Generate button on the Parameters panel.
The Parameters panel allows you to select:
- the report type (from the drop-down menu).
There are four report types: Summary, Problems, Trends and Logs. A summary report for a monitor contains a performance graph and state change log; all other reports include «pseudo graphs» (color-coded state change records) and a statistical summary.
- the report period. There are several predefined time intervals that you can select from the drop-down menu; once you do so, the system will set the report start and end dates automatically.
You can also define the start and end dates of a report manually; the report interval will be reset to Custom. Dates are selected using a calendar, and times are chosen from the drop-down menu with a 30-minute accuracy.
When the report is configured, you can either (the report will appear in the Report panel) or it (the report will appear in a new browser window or tab without the Tree View and Parameters panel, and the standard Printer selection dialog will be shown to allow printing). You can also the report over E-mail (a form will appear where the destination address and the message subject can be changed; by default, the report is sent to the administrator e-mail address).
Following the hyperlinks in reports shown in the Web interface reloads the whole interface with a corresponding monitoring object, type of report, and report interval already selected. You can share these links with your colleagues who might want look at the report in question. You can also open this link in a new browser window or tab to create a copy of the Web interface that already displays the necessary report. In contrast, navigating Tree View and changing the report parameters does not reload the Web interface; only the Report panel gets updated when you press the button.
Other features description
|Monitoring Features
|Here you can find the list of monitor types supported in IPHost Network Monitor and brief description of their parameters.
|Network Discovery
|Helps you to create a basis of your monitoring configuration and automates the task of detection network hosts and network services.
|Alerting Features
|Here you can find the list of alert types (ways of reaction to the problems happened during monitoring) available in IPHost Network Monitor, and their brief description.
|Reporting Features
|Here you can find the list of report types available in IPHost Network Monitor with brief descriptions.
Related Topics:
Distributed network monitoring


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Close to USD 20 billions has been raised to fund crypto project but the landscape is constantly chanaging, and its happening at a rapid pace.
The idea of riding a wave of optimistic market sentiment brought by a new revolutionary technology is dead. We believe that truly disruptive projects need to dig deeper to find solutions that can challenge the status-quo. We are here to help you achieve this.


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Click edit and create your own amazing websiteRead MoreEdit this site
Children's bookstores, authors, and online publishers.
Give your creative books the home they deserve with this beautiful template. Whether you're selling a single book or a whole new series, this platform is fun and easy to use. Upload images of your covers, add a summary, and tell your future audience a little bit about yourself. Ready to reach the bestsellers list? Get your literary work online today!


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Baltimore Activst Joe Kent Speaks Out After Being Kidnapped By National Gaurd [VIDEO]
Hashtag #WhereIsJosephKent was trending after news cameras captured a peace keeping protester walking in front of a line of militant police in Baltimore and suddenly disappeared into an armored truck. Today he explains what happened to him and what he plans to do now. Watch the full interview here.
21 yr old civil rights activist and community leader Joseph Kent is well known and respected for keeping protesters calm and peaceful at demonstrations in Baltimore and New York. Tuesday night, after the Baltimore curfew went into affect, Joe was easing tensions between Police and protesters when the National Guard came through in an armored truck and snatched him off the street. Twitter exploded news of perfectly coordinated kidnapping went viral.
"I just disappeared. It all happened so quickly and professionally" Kent told CBS News.
Law enforcement know who he is and only charged him with curfew
I am so happy to see that he is alive and well. Tonight he is back on the streets to continue to keep the peace.
(Funny, that's what a cop's job is supposed to be. Instead Police is who we need protection from. )
Drake mentions this in "6 AM in New York"


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This is a test, it's not my best,
I'm tired and plainly need a rest,
A simple couplet tries new blog,
No further need dead horse to flog.
Personal Blogs
This is a test, it's not my best,
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There are several advantages of hiring a local painting company. For one, you'll likely receive better customer service than a large company could offer. Plus, a local painter can provide you with a one-on-one color consultation. That's why you should choose Bozeman Painting LLC.
We offer professional painting services to residential and commercial clients in the Stonington, CT & Westerly, RI area. No painting project is too big or small for us to handle, and we're happy to customize our services to suit your individual needs. Call 406-581-9307 today to schedule an appointment.
If you've been looking for a highly qualified house painter in the Stonington, CT or Westerly, RI area, you've come to the right place. Bozeman Painting is:
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Reversible 13mm & 10mm ratchet spanner
Product Code: PROSPAN10-13
- Tightens 10mm & 13mm nuts securely
- Reversible to change the direction
- 30° angled offset for tight spaces
- High quality product with long life
Product Description
High quality reversible 10mm and 13mm double ratchet spanner ideal for engineers, installers or DIY enthusiasts.
Double-ended with popular 10mm and 13mm sizes covered.
This ratchet spanner assists in tightening both 10mm and 13mm nuts securely.
It's fully reversible with a flip switch on the spanner to change the direction of tightening, meaning it can be used as both a 10mm ratchet spanner and a 13mm ratchet spanner.
The spanner's 30° angled offset allows you to get in tight spaces.


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Another major storm of 2019's hurricane season is due to impact Bermuda. Hurricane Humberto is forecasted to reach Bermuda Island on Wednesday, September 17.
According to USA's NHC-National Hurricane Center (part of NOAA/National Weather Service), the Bahamas (heavily affected by Hurricane Dorian in September) will be spared this time as the area will not be directly impacted - like Bermuda. The same is predicted for the Southeast US coast that is also expected to see swells but little impact. The rest of the Atlantic USA will not be impacted. NHC's projected path for Humberto has the storm traveling out into the Atlantic Ocean and away from the USA.
Carnival Cruise Line changed planned voyages for the ships Carnival Pride and Carnival Sunrise, that were both scheduled to visit Bermuda this week.
- Carnival Pride, planned for a 7-day Bermuda itinerary from homeport Baltimore MD, will skip Bermuda and visit instead Amber Cove Dominicana and Grand Turk.
- Carnival Sunrise, which left NYC New York on a 6-day Bermuda voyage on Monday, will now stop in Charleston SC on Wednesday, then will arrive at Kings Wharf on September 20 before returning to NYC on September 22.
- Carnival Breeze, which is currently on a 7-day roundtrip from Port Canaveral, will be cruising as scheduled.


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Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
Monday's Postcard 2015: Iowa
Iowa is the only state name that starts with two vowels.
The name Iowa is derived from the Ioway Indians who lived in the area.
The Iowa State Fair features over 600 exhibitors and more than 50 foods on-a-stick.
I am attending a Nancy Drew convention in Iowa at the end of the month. Nancy Drew author, Mildred Wirt (the original Carolyn Keene) lived here and attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Posted by Amanda from Seattle at 6:16 PM No comments:
Monday, April 13, 2015
Monday's Postcard 2015: Indiana
Indiana literally means "land of the Indians," as it was once promised to be reserved for Native American use. This was not to be, however, and the area was eventually appropriated by other groups.
The first long-distance auto race in the U. S. was held May 30, 1911, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The winner averaged 75 miles an hour and won a 1st place prize of $14,000. Today the average speed is over 167 miles an hour and the prize is more than $1.2 million. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the site of the greatest spectacle in sports, the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis 500 is held every Memorial Day weekend in the Hoosier capital city. The race is 200 laps or 500 miles long.
Both Ryan and I have family roots in Indiana. My Dad's family is from Fort Wayne and Ryan's Dad's family is from Terre Haute !
Posted by Amanda from Seattle at 6:14 PM No comments:
Monday, April 06, 2015
Monday's Postcard 2015: Illinois
Posted by Amanda from Seattle at 8:33 AM No comments:
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Books I read in March 2015
When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning (library) this was a wonderful book. It tells the story of how the ASE books of WWII came into being (Armed Services Editions) and really it was the beginning of the popularity of Paperback books. I have a couple of ASE books in my collection.
Trading Up by Candace Bushnell (audiobook) Yuck, listened to while driving around the AT, would not recommend
Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly (audiobook) liked this one okay, Ryan is getting me to read the Michael Connelly books, so there will be several of his on my lists throughout the rest of the year.
The Life of Objects by Susanna Moore (library) I really liked this one. WWII sort of upstairs/downstairs (Downton Abbey-esque) a young irish girl goes with a countess to be her maid in Germany during the time leading up to WWII and experiences all the changes that the war brings to the social order.
Agents of Treachery ed. by Otto Penzler (library) Short stories about spies
The Vacationers by Emma Straub (library) a dysfunctional NYC family goes on vacation in Majorca
The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly (audiobook) I liked this one better than Concrete Blonde.
The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (library) YA book about a Quiz Team of kids who come together to form a winning team. I had never read it when I was a kid and it was recommended to me. Very good and I will be picking up more books by Konigsburg.
The Real Photo Postcard Guide by Robert Bogdan and Todd Weseloh I had asked for this one for my birthday and it is really interesting....if you are a postcard collector
Over-Dressed The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion by Elizabeth Cline (library) Learned a lot about the over consumption of clothes. And I feel good about buying at consignment and thrift. AND getting things repaired when they break. So glad that I don't fall into the trap of needing the latest trendy thing OR getting a dozen shirts in every color just cause they are $3 at Old Navy.
The Dark End of the Street ed. by Jonathan Santlofer and S. J. Rozan (library) Short Stories by Crime authors
Black Echo by Michael Connelly moving on through these...this one was good, I think it was the first one and I really ought to be reading these in order, but that has been problematic.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien I read about this book when it first came out years ago and I thought it was non-fiction. It is actually a fictional account of the Vietnam War
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg I told ya I would be reading more of her stuff.
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly I got a lot of reading done during my jury duty stint
Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians by Doris Gove I really enjoyed this detailed guide to the AT. Ryan has some "bare bones" hiker guides (light weight, so the detail is not as extensive) and I really liked her descriptions of the areas including natural history and social history.
Just after Sunset by Stephen King (audiobook) short stories on an audiobook that I listened to while driving Ryan to and from the AT. There will be a lot of audiobooks these next few months.
The Camino by Shirley Maclaine just watched The Way again on DVD and saw this book about the camino in a used bookstore.
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth by E. L.Konigsburg (library) I was delighted to figure out that I HAD read this one as a kid. I totally remembered the storyline once I got into it.
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The big design: Wall likes pictures
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|ATUNGULU, GRIFFITHS - University Of California
|Pan, Zhongli
Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2010
Publication Date: 8/1/2010
Citation: G. Griffiths. and Pan, Zhongli. 2010. Radiation adsorption properties of food materials. In: Infrared Heating for Food and Agricultural Processing. Editor Zhongli Pan and Griffiths G. Atungulu. Contemporary Food Engineering. Taylor & Francis Group Publishers. p. 19-39.
Interpretive Summary:
Technical Abstract: Precisely, infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of terahertz radiation and microwaves. The infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum spans roughly three orders of magnitude (750 nm to 100 µm) and has been very useful in food processing in a number of ways: (1) Food processes involving heating (2) Spectroscopic measurements of chemical composition (analytical application) of foods (3) Noncontact temperature measurement of foods This chapter is primarily intended to address radiation absorption during applications of infrared radiation in heating of foods and discuss the relationship between infrared wavelength and food compositions as well as the effect of physical and chemical properties on infrared radiation heating.


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Throughout the reviews of Soylent Green, I have been cautious to stick to the movie, to the interface and service design. But I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to tease apart one of the complex, real-world ethical questions head-on.
The Thanatorium is the singular speculative technology in Soylent Green. The film contrasts the services' caring facade with its deceptive, exploitative, cannibalist true nature. This Big Twist was played for shock: the film ends right after Thorn, shot and bleeding out, shouts his famous line "Soylent Green is people! We've got to stop them somehow!", so if there is any effect from his murderous investigative journalism, i.e. any change, it is unaddressed. The film only cares about *gasp* its tabloid zinger. (Yes I'm aware of a cut scene in which Soylent and the government issue retractions. That scene was, as mentioned, cut.)
Note that the Thanatorium visuals are also used extradiegetically to get the audience to re-appreciate their own lives and ecology. (I am still searching for a name for this literary device.) We are given 73 minutes of bleak, dirty, sweaty oppression, and breathe a sigh of relief when we are shown images of sunlit tulips and pristine nature, inspiring us after the movie is over to to go outside, hug a fruit tree and a bee, and think, "My gods. We just can't let Soylent Green happen." So it wasn't just shock, but I digress.
As we rightly reject the Thanatorium's deception, oligarchical exploitation of the working classes, and of course, cannibalism; let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is something in there that is worth considering.
Since I'm not a bioethicist, I'm going to lean on Matthew Burnstein's essay "The Thanatoria of Soylent Green: On Reconciling the Good Life with the Good Death" in Bioethics at the Movies, ed. Sandra Shapshay (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009): 275-94. In it Burnstein points out that "the good life"—on which much of Western philosophy focuses—depends on what he calls the mastery model. That is, a moral actor must have agency, and use that agency well, before we can call theirs a good life. Burnstein points out that this model operates from our adolescence throughout our lives (up to a point, read on) and even after our life, in that our possessions and remains are handled in the manner we specify. We can specify a good after-death.
But there is a curious carve-out for death itself. It is good to build mastery over your life, we say, so you can lead a good one. It is good to exhibit mastery over one's things after your life, we say. But the manner of your death? No no no. You must not choose that. Psychologists and physicians are the only ones who can make that call for you, and only in certain circumstances. Burnstein calls this carve-out "moral gerrymandering," and it's a pretty illuminating phrase: Why would we not apply the mastery model here?
There are good reasons to take caution with permitting "easy" suicide, putting aside supernatural objections as well as the obvious need to prevent murders that are disguised as suicide.
Suicide is an irreversible decision, and sometimes our perceptions of things in the moment are exaggerated and even wrong. What feels like hopelessness may improve if we just gave it time. It would be tragic if a person gave into the grip of temporary despair with an irreversible decision, and never got a chance to change their story. So, yes, we should put some guidelines around such an act. We should provide universal mental health care and try to ensure that people are in crises have places to turn. But the moral gerrymandering around death means that we most often forbid suicide outright, and when it is permitted, it's prohibitively constrained.
In my home country of the USA, there are currently 11 states that permit physician-assisted suicide (PAS). (Around the world PAS is legal in a number of countries, but I am less familiar with those laws even in passing.) The rules around PAS are deliberately restrictive. You have to prove you are of sound mind and that your incurable disease will kill you within 6 months. A person with a slow-burn incurable disease—especially one where the mind will go before the body—is mostly doomed to just…suffer through it, at emotional and financial toll to themselves and their loved ones. There are Patient Instructions/Advance Directives that people can use to clearly state directives for medical instructions for different situations, but one cannot issue a directive that breaks the law, like asking for euthanasia, and drawing up legal documents can be financially prohibitive. So for many there are still massive impediments to having death with dignity, or what Burnstein calls "the good death."
A dear friend of mine is going through this very thing right now with a loved one, and while it's not my place to tell their story, it is heart-wrenching and inhumane to hear play out.
There are some good real-world models. Dignitas is an association in Switzerland that offers life counseling and death with dignity services according to Swiss law. Travel can be prohibitively costly for anyone who does not already live there, and any person who is present with them at the time of their death may face harsh legal consequences upon returning home. It would be more humane if other jurisdictions would take steps towards enabling their own death with dignity policies, and undoing the moral gerrymandering that says we must only die according to the dictates of chance.
Even in the misguided Malthusian fiction that is Soylent Green, what is presented as a horror is quite rational. Without the thanatorium, Sol has a Sophie's Choice between starvation and cannibalism. A gentle, pleasant suicide is a welcome third option. What is wicked in this speculative service is that they use his cadaver without his consent and hide the truth of their product from the population at large, so that oligarchs on "the board" can continue to live out the last days of the earth enjoying showers, exploited sex workers, air conditioning, and food that is not made of humans. In short; It's the oligarchy, not the suicide services, that is the villain, though the film spends its calories on the shockeroo moment.
When considering this model for the real world, we should take great exception to the no-questions-asked expediency seen in Soylent Green. We would want such a service to be slow, deliberative, and life-affirming, with counseling and assistance programs to help people overcome crises of all sorts and palliative care. (As Dignitas does.) And then, yes, additionally, self-determination suicide services. But not walk-in "suicide booth" stuff.
So as we put the reviews of Soylent Green to rest, let's not take that shock at face value. The Thanatorium—without the casual expediency, deception, cannibalism, and oligarchy—is a model worth considering.


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The ruling Communist Party easily won parliamentary elections in Moldova on Sunday, an exit poll showed.
The Communists won some 45 percent of the vote, according to the Institute for Public Politics. The party says it favors close links with both Europe and Russia.
Three pro-European parties managed to get enough votes to make them eligible for the 101-seat legislature. They scored 37 percent together.
The poll which has been reliable in the past had a margin of error of one percentage point. First results are expected early Monday, with final results on Wednesday.
The Communists came to power in 2001, and were re-elected in 2005. Living standards rose in that time but international groups have criticized Moldova's slow progress toward full democracy, and a lack of media freedom.
One of Europe's poorest nations
Moldova remains one of Europe's poorest nations with an average monthly salary of $350. Last year Moldovans abroad sent home $1.6 billion — roughly the same amount as the state budget.
President Vladimir Voronin will step down after his term expires on April 7, having served the legal maximum of two terms in power.
Two hours before the polls closed, about 52 percent of the electorate had cast their ballot, making the election valid.
The election was monitored by some 3,000 observers.
Some 300 people jammed a polling station in a pro-Russian separatist region, stopping voters in the town of Corjova from casting ballots. Election observers were investigating the incident, and the town's residents voted in a nearby village, election official Iurie Ciocan said.
Has strong ties with Russia
But Moldovans living in other areas controlled by separatists were prevented from traveling to polling stations, election official Renata Lapti said. No ballots were being held in the separatist region of Trans-Dniester, where Russia has 500 troops stationed.
Located between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova was part of Romania in 1940, but has maintained strong ties with Russia since the Soviet era.
Two-thirds of the country's 4.3 million population is ethnic Romanian, thousands hold Romanian passports and about 600,000 Moldovans work elsewhere in Europe, mainly in Russia, Italy, Spain, and Ireland.
The new Parliament will also have to choose a replacement for Voronin.


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Embracing Darwin's unique history and heritage Cullen Bay brings breathtaking views, restaurants and bars set on the Cullen Bay SandsRead More
Embracing Darwin's unique history and heritage Cullen Bay brings breathtaking views, restaurants and bars set on the Cullen Bay SandsRead More
Conveniently located in Bishop Street, Woolner, Trader Jacks Café and Grocer is a specialty and gourmet food grocer, incorporating aRead More
"Strange name, great coffee!" That's the catch-cry of Colquhoun's Coffee, located on Winnellie Road, Winnellie. Owner Sam completed his chef'sRead More
Recently undergoing extensive renovations, the Beachfront Hotel has re-emerged as a completely new venue in Nightcliff. Still loved by localsRead More
1 Keith Lane Fannie Bay • 08 89 818428 • firstname.lastname@example.com • www.coolspot.com.au • like us on facebook The FannieRead More
photography by Weir Couture www.thechantillykitchen.com • PH (08) 7906 2825 • 66 Aralia St. NIGHTCLIFF (Next to "Frock Me", dressRead More
www.thechantillykitchen.com Already renowned for their irresistibly tasty and gorgeously decorated handmade treats, The Chantilly Kitchen Tea Room is now offeringRead More
Frying Nemo – officially judged and awarded as the Best Fish and Chips in Australia It has been an eventfulRead More
Zachary Green enjoyed a great childhood with his mum, dad and sister. As an everyday kid growing up in theRead More
"Outback Café has become the new hotspot for true coffee fiends in the Darwin CBD." Friendly and talented baristas serveRead More


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Located in the heart of Salt Lake's Yalecrest National Historic District, Harvard Ave is home to many architecturally significant residences. We recently had the opportunity to renovate one of the few neoclassical styled homes in the neighborhood, built in 1926. In addition to many elegant features including a generous front porch, an expansive porte cochere, and beautiful original stencil and woodwork in the formal living areas, the home also revealed a series of small, isolated back rooms, traditionally considered the "service" zone. The owners enlisted us to renovate these rooms and convert them into a bright, open, and active space for their young family.
Our goals for this historic renovation:
- Connect the home to the backyard to facilitate outdoor living & dining
- Open up the jumble of tiny back rooms
- Create a new master suite upstairs
- Preserve the original character of the home
We began by infilling a second stair to the basement and removing the wall separating stair and kitchen (above left), significantly uncluttering the rear of the home. In its place, we created a family room open to both the expanded kitchen and a new backyard terrace (below). We also removed the breakfast room wall (above right), creating space for an open built-in breakfast nook, and direct views from the dining room to the new pair of French doors that open out onto the back terrace (below). Light now streams into the unified space, and the abrupt separation between the traditionally formal areas of the home, and the "servant" spaces is gone. The transition is seamless.
Upstairs, the challenge was to fit a complete master bath and dual closets into the existing footprint. The key was utilizing existing square footage that was previously concealed behind closed walls, under the wide gables. In both the master bedroom and a child's room, attic space was reclaimed to expand the space and create cozy sleeping nooks.
While a portion of the generous upper landing was converted to the master bath, we were able to recreate the landing on the opposite side, previously a shallow cedar closet and inaccessible attic space, with only the addition of a small dormer. The washer and dryer are hidden behind a set of doors.
The design eye of the homeowners Tim, a TV producer, and Megan, a painter and designer, is revealed throughout the house in the colors and finishes that complement Meghan's evocative paintings and the refurbished light fixtures.
The original house is a contributing historic structure in the Yalecrest National Historic District. The commitment of the owners and the design team to preserving the historical character of the home and meeting the requirements of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation was key in qualifying for the Utah Historic Preservation Tax Credit. You can learn more about the process and requirements for the state tax credit here.


text: Extra virgin olive oil produced for 3 generations on the family estate in the Liguria region of Italy. This first cold-pressed oil is unfiltered, meaning that its appearance is cloudy; there are tiny olive particles at the bottom of the bottle. Wrapped in gold foil to protect the oil from light and heat.


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The Three StigmataM. Stanley Bubien
"I'm a black man."
"I'm a white man."
"I'm a gay man."
"I'm a yellow man."
"I'm an olive man."
"I'm a female human."
"I'm a brown man."
"I'm a red man."
Copyright ©2003 M. Stanley Bubien. All Rights Reserved.
Please contact the editor for free text versions of this very short story formatted for e-mail, usenet news, or ftp.
Story Bytes
May, 2003
Issue #80
32 Words


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Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Join me for a "cuppa" in the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!
22 comments:
Love the colors and pattern papers you used.ReplyDelete
This is so pretty!ReplyDelete
Your 'cuppa' is delicious ... and be still my heart with that die cut lacey doilie and all those yummy dots and stripes! Thanks for sharing your beautiful card with us at Paper Sweeties for the September challenge, Lori :)ReplyDelete
This is gorgeous! I love that big scallop and polka dot heart - that's a WOW factor there.ReplyDelete
Beautiful coffee themed card, Lori!! Love the embossed heart and patterned papers! Thanks so much for joining our challenge this month at Paper Sweeties!! Please come back soon!:-)ReplyDelete
Great layering and colors! Love your pp cup and background!ReplyDelete
Love that paper pieced mug!ReplyDelete
So cute adorable heart.ReplyDelete
Love the diagonal strips. Thanks for sharingReplyDelete
Love how you coordinated the background pattern paper with the cup. Great card. Thanks for joining in the fun at Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge. Gayatri xxReplyDelete
Love your beautiful card! Love the doily heart behind the cuppa!! Fabulous!ReplyDelete
I love the heart behind the cup and the wonderful texture. A coffee hit for sure.ReplyDelete
great card, love the colors!ReplyDelete
So pretty! Love the design and the colors! That heart doily is one of my faves!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous card!!!ReplyDelete
This is beautiful, Lori! Love how you used the Paper Sweeties stamps and dies!ReplyDelete
Beautiful card!ReplyDelete
Very beautiful card. I love the colors. Thanks for joining us at Crafty Sentiments Designs. I hope to see you again on the next challenge! Good luck!!! PatriciaReplyDelete
Love your striped cuppa!ReplyDelete
Grat card, luv the doily :)ReplyDelete
Lovely cardReplyDelete
Fabulous make, just love the coloursReplyDelete
Thank you for sharing with us at Inspiration Destination this week, good luck in the draw


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|Fractures & Broken Bones
| Fractures and broken bones can be frustrating and extremely painful. Many kinds of bone injuries can be cause by accidents, including skull fractures, broken arms, snapped back, hip fractures, broken legs, and broken ankles. Broken bones can be caused by all sorts of accidents, such as car and motorcycle crashes, ATV accidents, bicycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, and numerous others.
You probably have questions about your bone injury case:
You need Mayo & Russ on your side.
Mayo & Russ will take over the hassles of your case so you don't have to worry. Our attorneys have been helping injured people get the justice they deserve for over 40 years. Mayo & Russ will fight for you rights to fair compensation.


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Dump truck explodes after crash on Ohio highway
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - Several lanes were blocked on an Ohio highway following a crash and explosion on Thursday morning.
According to the Summit County Sheriff's Office, a dump truck traveling I-77 north struck an Ohio Department of Transportation vehicle that was on the shoulder just before 7:30 a.m. near the Graybill Road interchange in Green, WOIO reported.
The crash resulted in an explosion, and both vehicles caught fire, the sheriff's office said.
According to the sheriff's office, the driver of the dump truck suffered life-threatening injuries.
The Ohio Department of Transportation said their driver was seriously injured, but the injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Delays on I-77 north stretched out of Summit County into Stark County.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.


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The 3 star Garden Hotel offers rooms that are en-suite or standard. All rooms are individually designed, with a rich mixture of traditional and classical style decor and equipped with modern amenities to suit all corporate and leisure guests. These rooms are only a few minutes by foot from the railway station, the high street and the main university building.
Room Amenities:
Complimentary Wi-Fi
Fax and copying
Laundry service
Flatscreen TV and radio
Complimentary tea and coffee
Packed lunches available
Complimentary toiletries
Towels provided
Trouser press (upon request)
Iron and ironing board (upon request)
Additional seating area (deluxe rooms)
Free use of our comfortable guest lounge (first floor)
Click images below to view slideshow
All rooms are strictly non-smoking.
Check in time: after 14.00 - 21.00
Check out time: before 10.00am.
Buffet style continental and freshly cooked full English breakfast served every morning
Mon-Sun - 8:00-9:00
Packed lunches available
Cards accepted
Visa, MasterCard, Maestro
Your credit card will guarantee the booking.
Extra Charges
VAT is included.
Service is not included.


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Melaleuca lanceolata - Rottnest Teatree
Want tough? Then this plant is for you as it thrives in the harshest of conditions. It is recorded growing in a variety of soils, but locally favours limestone and exposed sandy calcareous dunes overlooking the ocean, plus on inland gypsum mounds and on the edges of Samphire zones around saltlakes. So strong salt-laden winds, alkaline and saline soils, plus extreme heat and dry conditions are the norm for Melaleuca lanceolata.
This plant that is also known as the Black Paperbark, Moonah and the Western Black Teatree is found right across the southern portion of mainland Australia, most commonly in the habitats described above. However it is probably not native to all environments in which it grows, as it is commonly used as a farm tree, plus fishermen and campers seeking its shelter near the coast, accidentally carry the fine seed to other places.
Melaleuca lanceolata adapts readily to habitat and in exposed dry inland conditions will usually grow as a bushy shrub from 2-4 metres (6'-12') in height, but in less severe places it can be a low branching bushy tree to 8 metres (26' in height). Due to its bushy nature, it provides dense shade often when there is little else, so is very popular with people, kangaroos and others during summer.
The nectar rich, white bottlebrush flowers are produced in ornamental profusion, which depending on local weather conditions can bloom anytime from January to September and are very popular with honeyeating birds, not to mention various insects like honey bees, etc. The trunks do not have the white paperbark of most large Melaleuca spp., but a rough dark one, probably an adaptation to an arid dry environment.
Melaleuca lanceolata besides being an exceptional windbreak, shelter and honey producing plant, also has hard durable timber that is used for fence posts, craft woodworking and firewood. So if you need tough, Melaleuca lanceolata has a great deal going for it.
Melaleuca is part of the very large and highly diverse Myrtaceae (Myrtle) Family.


text: Past Event Tomas Saraceno: Particular Matter(s) - Environmental Justice and... Share Add to Calendar: Calendar / Outlook Google Yahoo February 16, 2022 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM America/New_York Online Tomas Saraceno: Particular Matter(s) - Environmental Justice and Covid-19 A large-scale exhibition and sensory experience with spiderwebs, air, and the cosmic web Tomas Saraceno: Particular Matter(s) features an expansive gallery exhibition as well as a newly commissioned sensory experience, Free the Air: How to hear the universe in a spider/web, a 95-foot-diameter installation in The Shed's soaring McCourt space. There are three ways to visit Particular Matter(s): Upper Level of Sensory Experience + Gallery Lower Level of Sensory Experience + Gallery (wheelchair-accessible) Gallery Exhibition Only Through floating sculptures, interactive installations, and an artistic process that centers collaboration, often with spiders and their webs, artist Tomás Saraceno proposes a conversation between human and nonhuman lifeforms. These beings have been disregarded by humans in the Capitalocene, a name for the era of Earth's existence that we're living in, characterized by the destructive effects of capitalism on the environment. In a call for environmental justice, Saraceno also collaborates with human communities that have been impacted by these negative effects to renew relationships with Earth, the air, and the cosmos, particularly as part of his community projects, Aerocene and Arachnophilia. Particular Matter(s), the artist's largest exhibition in the US to date, brings this layered approach together, celebrating the complexity of our collective existence while looking for ways to live together differently. The exhibition features new and existing works in The Shed's galleries and a newly commissioned sensory experience, Free the Air: How to hear the universe in a spider/web, a 95-foot-diameter installation in the soaring McCourt space. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue and a robust public program in partnership with the Columbia University's Climate School. Organized by Emma Enderby, Curator-at-Large, with Alessandra Gómez and Adeze Wilford, Assistant Curators Please click here for tickets and more informoation: https://theshed.org/program/227-tomas-saraceno-particular-matter-s Contact Information Pamela Vreeland [email protected]


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Things haven't been less hectic on the personal front, but at least they're less worrisome at the moment. The weekend before last, instead of going to Apollycon, I went to see my dad. For those of you who read my previous post, I'm happy to say that Dad did not end up needing a new heart surgery. He's currently in a rehab center, recovering after this most recent health setback. In the interim, my sister (not the one who's my dad's caretaker; my other sister) has been staying with me while dealing with her own health issues. She's had two surgeries in two weeks, but she's doing better and – fingers crossed – the issues that necessitated those surgeries should now be resolved. To say I'm currently breathing a big sigh of relief is to put it mildly.
I gave brief updates regarding the above on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. One of the responders offered her well wishes for my family along with this suggestion, paraphrased below:
"Since you've gotten good news about your family, how about you celebrate it by giving us another peek from Ian's book?"
I'm all for sharing a good mood with others, so I thought this was an excellent idea. This is currently chapter eleven, but I'm anticipating that it might be cut from the final version of the book. Why? Everyone that read my commentaries in Outtakes From The Grave already knows – pacing! This scene doesn't really reveal anything new about the characters personally (as compared to previous chapters); it doesn't reveal a new obstacle for the characters to overcome; it doesn't reveal any new world-building secrets, and it isn't necessary to move the characters forward to deal with any of the aforementioned. Why did I write it, then? *grins* Because I didn't know this until AFTER I wrote it and could look at it in context. All the above makes it good for an excerpt, though, since it won't spoiler things. And, truth be told, I might be professional enough to know there's a good chance I'll have to cut this scene, but I liked it enough to write it, so I still want to share it. And hey, if my editor likes it enough (hi, Erika!) it might stay after all :).
Note: if you haven't read chapter one yet (posted here), you should do that before reading this. Otherwise, you could feel a little lost. Oh, and standard disclaimer about all pre-published excerpts: it hasn't been revised or copyedited, so you might find spelling errors, grammar errors, and missing/incorrect words. It also might change from the final, published version, assuming it makes it into the final, published version. All that said – and whew, that was a lot! – happy reading 🙂
SHADES OF WICKED excerpt, copyright Jeaniene Frost. Releases October 30th.
The entrance to our hotel had been swept clean, but the rest of Times Square was still coated with streamers, confetti and other remnants from celebrations the night before. Seeing it, I wasn't sorry we'd spent New Year's Eve over the border in Canada. Not that I had anything against confetti or streamers; it was the crushing crowds I wasn't fond of. Times Square on New Year's Eve was the epitome of that.
When we exited the hotel, the bellman offered to hail a cab for us. Ian turned to me. "Up for a walk instead?"
"Sure." My ice-blue dress might be formal, but it didn't restrict my stride, and since I was a vampire, I couldn't get blisters despite today's foot-contorting high heels.
Ian offered me his arm, which I took after a brief arch of my brow. "Careful, someone might mistake you for a gentleman."
He flashed a grin at me. "Anyone who'd make such a mistake deserves what they get."
His smile made his looks even more distracting, and that was quite an accomplishment. Once again, we'd gotten a suite with two bedrooms, so we'd had privacy while readying ourselves for tonight. When Ian had come out of his room with his auburn hair slicked back so his impossibly beautiful features were highlighted for maximum effect, wearing a tuxedo that draped his tall, muscled form as if the tailor who'd fit him for it had been in love… I'd had to look away before I did something ridiculous. Like proposition him on the spot.
I don't know why I was having such a strong reaction to him. A week ago, I'd seen him naked and felt less affected. But back then, I hadn't really seen Ian as a man. I'd seen him as a necessary burden that might end up stabbing me in the back. Now, I knew Ian was dangerously smart, complicated, loyal, powerful, lethal, sexy…and arrogant. Proudly so.
He took every second and third glance from the normally jaded New Yorkers as his due. He even flashed pitying looks at the people who abruptly turned and began to follow him, glancing at me before raising a brow at them as if to say "Sorry, I'm hers tonight, and yes, that is your loss."
After several instances of this, I was getting irritated. These people could clearly see my arm folded in his. Did I need to take more drastic measures to show that he was not available for their pleasure? Perhaps I'd feed from the next person who spun around and began to follow him like an animal catching an irresistible scent…
"Gods," I muttered out loud. What was wrong with me?
Ian glanced at me. "Something amiss?"
"No," I said while thinking yes!
Nearly all vampires were possessive over their personal food sources, their offspring and their lovers, yet Ian was none of those to me. I'd never turned a human into a vampire, so I couldn't speak for offspring, but I'd never experienced that trademark surge of territoriality with any my former lovers. Or the humans I'd put under my protection. For the past four thousand years, I'd been glad to find myself above such pettiness. So why was I now fantasizing about biting every male and female who did nothing more than make their interest in Ian known?
Lack of control, I decided in a grab for an excuse. I was in the very unfamiliar position of being *censored for spoilers.* I must be trying to distract myself from that by inventing a possessiveness I didn't really feel.
Yes. That had to be it.
"Which act would you prefer for tonight?"
His questions broke through my musings. I was all too glad for the interruption. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "There's the new lovers act, the friends-who-fuck act, the swingers act, the gold-digger and sugar-daddy act, the fighting couple act-"
"What about a platonic friendship act?" I interrupted.
He looked at me as if I'd finally spoken a language he couldn't understand. "Is that a joke?"
I snorted. "Hardly. You might be attractive, but not everyone wants to have sex with you." As soon as I said it, I cringed. Did that sound as overly defensive as I felt?
"No, some people also want to kill me," he said at once. "Some want me to turn them into a vampire, some want my money, some want me for my rare artifacts, some for my fighting skills, and one wants to dangle me out as bait for a demon she's trying to kill. See? No one is with me simply to be with me."
Guilt pricked me, followed by a rush of empathy. I couldn't remember the last time someone had been with me just to be with me, either. Wait…yes, I could. Tenoch.
Loneliness and a far deeper wave of guilt swelled, followed as always by pain. How could I have not known what Tenoch was trying to tell me the last time we were together? How could I have been so blind as to miss that he'd been saying goodbye?
As much as I wanted to, I could do nothing for Tenoch. He'd killed himself centuries ago. But I could do something for the man next to me, if Ian allowed himself to accept it.
"I might be with you for ulterior reasons now, but it's well established that it's been a while since I've gone out for fun," I said in a carefully nonchalant tone. "And whatever else you are, you are fun, Ian. So, assuming we're both still alive when this is over, would you accompany me for an evening out?"
He looked at me in amazement. Then he began to laugh. "Offering me a pity date? Now I've heard everything."
"It's not pity and it's not a date," I said, a testier note creeping into my tone when he continued to laugh as if I'd told the funniest joke ever. "Since you've never gone out with someone just as a friend, and I'm in clear need of an update on places to have a good time, I thought…oh, never mind what I thought, if you can't stop laughing at me!"
"My apologies," he said, still chuckling. "It's only that I can't decide which is funnier – my being pitied for an assumed lack of companionship, or the look on people's faces if they saw you, a venerated Law Guardian, out with an infamous, law-scorning rakehell like me."
He was right that I'd hear no less than a decade's worth of snide remarks from some of the more sexist council members, not to mention a few from my fellow Law Guardians, too. But that didn't matter. "Long ago, I decided I wouldn't let other people's disapproval dictate my actions, so as the saying goes, I can handle it if you can."
His laughter stopped and something flashed over his face, too quick for me pinpoint what it was before it was gone. "If you hadn't played a part in the execution of my friend's child, I think I would very much like you, Veritas."
She's still alive.
I couldn't say that out loud, of course. Not without endangering her, and I wouldn't do that despite the surprisingly strong urge I had to redeem myself in Ian's eyes. "You'll never forgive me for that, will you?"
As if there was any doubt. His calling me by my name instead of his usual moniker of "little Guardian" had been enough to tell me how serious he was.
"No, I won't," he said in a low, steady tone.
I met his eyes and held them. "Good. Some things should remain unforgiveable."
Like everything Dagon had done to me, to Ian, and to innumerable others. Actually, I was grateful for Ian's reminder of how he saw me – as another merciless player in the execution of a child whose only crime was frightening the bigoted because she'd been born different. Now, I could stop with these ridiculous thoughts and feelings about Ian. They were a waste of time and more importantly, of energy. Nothing mattered except bringing Dagon down. Tonight was one more step toward accomplishing that.
"Pick whatever act you want. I don't care," I said, and stared straight ahead for the rest of the walk.
Learn more here. Pre-order: Amazon, B&N, IndieBound, iBooks, BooksAMillion, Kobo


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Using fMRI technology and vector multivariate analysis, Damien Fair, PA-C, PhD, post-doctoral research scientist in the OHSU Department of Psychiatry and lead authors, Nico Dosenbach, MD, PhD, and Bradley Schlaggar, MD, PhD, at Washington University in St. Louis are now able to accurately predict a young person's age by studying their brain scans. The research, which will likely have several clinical applications including assessment and diagnosis, is titled "Prediction of Individual Brain Maturity Using fMRI," and is published in the Sept. 10 edition of Science.
As summarized in the paper introduction, there is broad scientific consensus that fMRI has the potential to aid in the diagnosis of developmental delays and neuropsychiatric disorders, especially for conditions that lack structural brain abnormalities. However, an enduring challenge in capturing this potential has been defining the types of scans needed for predictive value. In this case, the authors used a new procedure called resting-state functional connectivity MRI.
The research had two major objectives:
"The first aim was to develop an approach for making accurate predictions about individuals on the basis of single fMRI scans. The second aim, building on the first, was to further illuminate typical brain development, a prerequisite for studying developmental disorders and pediatric-onset neuropsychiatric diseases," wrote the Dr. Dosenbach.
The research is premised on original work by Dr. Fair that showed when we are young, brain activity is more localized in the brain. However, as we develop, these connections in the brain become more complex and distributed. "In this work we found that we could create a form of a brain development yardstick, or what Dr. Dosenbach, the primary author of the paper, calls a maturation index," said Dr.Fair. "Using this yardstick of sorts, we learned that you could effectively determine the subjects level of brain development."
The scientists hope that, with further investigation, the technology will assist in comparing brain function across populations to assess childhood development during the maturation process. For instance, a percentile scale could be developed to gauge brain development much in the way weight and height percentiles are calculated for growing children. Such a tool could highlight individual needs and lead to specific ways of helping individual children. Currently Dr. Fair and his collaborators are working to see if this form of analysis may also play a key role in diagnosing childhood developmental delay, ADHD, and autism.
"In many cases it can be very hard to diagnose and properly characterize these problems, which is why we are so encouraged by these findings," added Dr. Fair.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, John Merck Scholars Fund, Burroughs-Wellcome Fund, Dana Foundation, Ogle Family Fund, McDonnell Center, Simons Foundation, American Hearing Research Foundation, and the Diabetes Research Center at Washington University.
Pictured: Dr. Damien Fair


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Good morning, everyone. Back on Tuesday, the Hall of Fame announced their results of this year's voting and we learned that no one - not a single person - was elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. I'm a supporter of a big Hall, as I feel that as many greats as possible should be enshrined. However, I don't feel that everyone should get in, as I was pleased to see that Jack Morris was not elected. Sorry folks, but I was 2 years old when he pitched his 10-inning Game 7 shutout, and I've never watched the game in its entirety either, so I can't use the "You had to be there" argument to support his case. Additionally, when I look at his numbers, I'm not impressed, so I simply can't justify having him elected.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of players that were omitted from the Hall this year. I won't list everyone that I felt was deserving, but I do feel that Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Tim Raines, and more should have received more votes than they did. Now, Bonds and Clemens were excluded for steroid use, and Piazza and Jeff Bagwell were assumed to have used steroids, but really, the voters should get off their collective high horse and admit that there are already cheaters and scoundrels in the Hall of Fame right now. Despite this fact, it's easy for me to understand why they won't let that change their minds. After all, it was most likely a different group of BBWAA voters that elected those players into the Hall, and the voters now that feel that it's their responsibility to keep this generation's cheaters out. Good for them for voting for the Hall of Morality, and not the Hall of Fame.
By the way, Aaron Sele received a vote. Seriously.
- MLB and T-Mobile have announced a deal where T-Mobile is now the Official Wireless Sponsor, and of course T-Mobile needs to slap its logo on something for all to see: the bullpen phone. This sponsorship also means that stadiums will be switching from the landline phones to cell phones in the dugout and bullpen. The cell phones will operate on a closed-point system, so they will not work if they were taken out of these two locations. Also, I've heard that they will not be smartphones, so there's no worry of Ron Gardenhire failing to get a reliever warmed up because he was playing Angry Birds while Liam Hendriks was being lit up like the Joe Mauer family Christmas tree.
- The oldest baseball card in existence was recently found and will be up for auction shortly. A man (his identity has not been released) had been looking for antiques in Baileyville, ME, when he bought a photo album, some Coco-Cola bottles, and a couple of oak chairs for less than $100. After purchasing the album, he looked through it and found an 1865 Brooklyn Atlantics card that featured the team's 9 players standing around their manager. This man is expecting to fetch at least $100,000 at the auction for the card.
- Something new I learned is that there is a Yogi Berra Museum. Something even newer is that Yogi Berra will be tweeting occasionally through the Yogi Berra Museum Twitter account. Many of us know of Yogi's famous quotes, and this would provide him a great opportunity to bestow us with some more winners long after he left the public eye. However, I could also see the other extreme, where Yogi believes that Twitter is simply for telling people what you're currently doing, and thus we'll be "treated" to tweets about him eating breakfast and what he's watching on TV.
- Players such as Kyle Lohse and Rafael Soriano are failing to receive contract offers due to the signing team forfeiting a draft pick, but there are also a couple other players that were very close to finalizing their contracts only to be tripped up by an injury. Those two are Mike Napoli and Francisco Liriano, where both had agreed in principle to multi-year contracts with the Red Sox and Pirates, respectively, only to have the teams back up once it was revealed that the player had an injury. In Napoli's case, he has a bum hip that worries the Red Sox that he'll see significant DL time through what would have been a 3-year, $39 million contract, while in Liriano's case it's an undisclosed injury to his right, non-throwing arm. Liriano's arm is now putting a 2-year, $12.75 million deal in jeopardy. I kind of wonder if this wouldn't be a prime opportunity for a team to swoop in with a smaller contract offer in the hopes of stealing one of these guys away, but I'd think that Napoli's hip problem is serious enough that it would chase away all other suitors unless he'd be willing to take a significant pay cut.
- Finally, I received the documentary "Pelotero" over Christmas and I finished watching it. If you don't remember from when I first talked about it a few months ago, it's about two Dominican baseball players looking to sign that large contract with an MLB team. It will especially appeal to Twins fans as one of the two players is minor league 3B Miguel Sano, who just finished the past season at Single-A Beloit. The documentary chronicles the challenges Dominican players face as they fight for that contract with a major league team, which sometimes involves lying about your age and name. In fact, Sano's age is scrutinized heavily in the film, and it turns out that some shady dealings from others are what's preventing him from being signed. For a much better review than what I've provided here, I recommend checking out Jeff Passan's article from last July.


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FoodTech Start-up Vgarden recreates the famous canned tuna with plant-protein
Vgarden, Ltd., a foodTech developer and manufacturer of plant-based alternatives, launches the game-changing vegan canned tuna. The 100% plant-derived product has the same appearance, texture, and flavor of the canned kitchen staple. The tuna analog is crafted to satisfy the appetites of the growing pool of sustainability-driven consumers by bringing to the table its creative response to the issue of the overfished and rapidly declining ocean populations of wild tuna.
"Tinned tuna has a very distinct flaky, yet moist and chewy texture, with a powerful fresh-from-the sea aroma," explains Ilan Adut, CEO of Vgarden. "Our new tuna-like product is clean-label, scalable, affordable, and sustainable. But for our plant-based creation to serve as a true substitute, even beyond compellingly mimicking all of the sensory qualities, it also has to match tuna as much as possible in nutritional value."
Following 12 months of experimentation with ingredients and processes, the start-up developed its winning plant-based tuna formula. The private-label product is already being rolled out in the retail and food service sectors. It is available in two packaging formats: pouches for chilled storage and actual cans to give the full authentic tuna experience and to facilitate convenient non-chilled storage. Vgarden's R&D mission was to develop a tuna that can be tinned and sterilized at high temperatures, yet still retain its full flavor and texture. The company has filed a patent for the formula and process.
What's the Catch?
Vgarden's tuna analog is based on pea protein, with a total protein content of 11.2-14%, before and after filtration. It contains a short list of natural ingredients including fibers and sunflower oil. Being sourced outside the marine ecosystem, the start-up's "tuna-free" tuna contains none of the toxic metals, microplastics, and other ocean pollutants. Its proprietary manufacturing process uses only minimal energy consumption and water, lifting the burden on marine life, bringing a highly sustainable and guilt-free seafood option to consumers.
"Aquaculture and the overfishing of this high-in-demand fish has had a devastating effect on their numbers to the point that it has put several species, such as the yellowfin and the Atlantic Bluefin, on the edge of extinction," notes Tom Rothman, Head of global sales at Vgarden. "This not only poses problems in terms of food security but also negatively impacts the delicate and fragile balance of the marine environment. Our plant-based tuna solution can help turn the tide on this ecocatastrophe and contribute to the restoration of the ocean's wild tuna populations."
Tuna is the world's most popular fish
Tuna is the world's most consumed fish, according to a UN report. The global tuna fish market is projected to grow from USD 41.06 billion in 2022 to USD 49.70 billion in 2029. Canned tuna is a popular source of affordable protein that is convenient to store and requires no refrigeration. Europe and Asia are the leading buyers of canned tuna, with South America and the Middle East fast developing an appetite. Tuna's popularity coincides with a major rise in ethically and ecologically motivated health-conscious consumers seeking plant-based seafood alternatives.
Vgarden was founded by Kibbutz Gan Shmuel and the Eliav family and has been making headway on the plant-based curve. The company already has launched a variety of meat and dairy alternatives in Israel under its MashuMashu brand. The vegan line is fast becoming a household name among the dairy-intolerant and flourishing flexitarian community. The portfolio also is currently offered in several popular restaurant and pizza chains in Israel, a country with more vegans and vegetarians per capita than any other Western nation.
Vgarden's collection of faux firm cheeses also is tracking well in Australia, Canada, Asia and Europe, including generating interest among food manufacturers and food service operations in Germany and Austria. Recently, Vgarden entered into a joint venture with Cale and Daughters, Sydney, to establish a new dairy and meat alternative production facility in Australia. The plant is, already operational and is expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2023.
How do you like your tuna-free tuna?
Vgarden's vegan tuna can be integrated into any traditional tuna-based recipe, such as tuna mayo sandwiches, salads, toasts, pastas, sushi, pizza, and more. The company is now setting its sights on the global alternative protein scene for penetrating its tuna analog. "Many food outlets are turning to our tuna analog to create a classic tuna niçoise salad or a tuna pasta that will give its discerning flexitarian customers the full experience of the real thing," concludes Adut.