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A Reflection of Gratitude - The Importance Of Staying Focused and Centered
|Photo courtesy from ACHI Facebook Page
I have definitely been through some humbling, yet rewarding experiences while on this makeup journey. I would be remised not to share with my audience a moment of thanks and gratitude for the lessons, experiences, and relationships I have gained as a result. Thus far, nothing beats being recognized and nominated for donating your talents, time and services to greater causes. To know that someone is watching you, praying for you and putting your name out there so others can get a glimpse of what it is you do, is beyond humbling. It is a blessing. STORY TIME! Let me tell you how this entire thing unfolded. When I tell you, that the saying, "What God has for you is for you!" ain't nothing but the truth!
Picture it, Hampton, VA 2016, several of my colleagues in this beauty industry were posting pictures and congratulatory statements on their timelines about being nominated for an ACHI Magazine Award. OK, cool. What the heck is ACHI, I thought to myself. Never bothered to look them up. 2017 rolls around and some other colleagues and church members were being nominated for various awards, Makeup Artist of the Year, Hair Stylist of the Year, Woman of Inspiration of the Year... "Ok, how are these women being nominated? Where's my nomination?" I thought to myself. I have to confess, I even thought, for a moment, that my work was just as good, if not better than those nominated. I've been doing this longer, why haven't I gotten a nomination? I had to catch myself and remember to not compare myself with anyone else. My journey is mine and their journey belongs to them. So, I offered my sincerest congratulatory and made peace with where I was in my journey and being genuinely happy for the ladies being recognized for their talents and contributions on their journey.
|Joselyn and I holding hands.
Totally unsuspecting, but I received this red envelope in the mail. The familiarity with the name and organization had me excited and intrigued. With the same swiftness that I opened my Hampton University Admissions letter in Summer of 1995, I gently but eagerly opened this red envelope. I was stunned, dumbfounded and floored. I thought to myself - this is definitely my time. I am glad I was able to change my question from a why not me, to a statement of affirmation - my time will come when it's ready. The beauty of life is that we all have stories of failure and success, but it's how we interpret our success and failures. It's how we learn from those experiences, appreciate them for the purpose they serve at that very moment in your life. That perspective alone allows you to see the path God has laid out for you. That perspective alone allows you to understand how the different pieces work together to prepare you for your next "position."
Gratitude is one of those things we sometimes take for granted or we don't always show gratitude for everything that occurs in our life. I think that's just the human side in us where we get wrapped up in our day to day, we forget to just stop, be still and give thanks. Secondly, most of us are always questioning our own progress based on someone else's journey - and we have to stop. That's a dangerous thought process because it stunts growth. It could have the potential to motivate, but
under what pretense? Give thanks for your journey. Appreciate where you are, reflect on your practices, resources, and goals frequently. Once you can truly - without reservation, celebrate the progress of your journey, then your path will open wide for you to receive everything that you deserve, desire and need!
All Rights Reserved 2018 (c)
Content created by Lisa S. Singleton
TMB Makeup Artistry, LLC
Hampton, VA
Instagram: @tmbmakeup757
Twitter: @TMBMakeup
Snapchat: themakeupbaby13


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subset: commoncrawl


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Despite government budgets in European countries being stretched to the limit, newly released data show that Germany and Austria have continued to spend billions of euros annually on cannabis prohibition.
The German federal government is plowing €5.2 billion to €6.1 billion each year into repressive anti-drug measures, with the lion's share focused on cannabis, according to data released by the country's Left party. Charges for selling or growing cannabis make up nearly three-quarters of all registered drug offenses in the country of 80 million residents.
Berlin is particularly striking example of the heavy focus on enforcement. The German capital is generally regarded as liberal; possession of 10 to 15 grams of cannabis will be cited by authorities, but offenders generally won't be prosecuted. Last year, however, Germany's interior minister decided to repeal this generous rule within the area of Görlitzer Park. This tourist hot spot, where one could once easily pick up a gram and even consume in public, is now a zero-tolerance zone.
One can't help but wonder how much longer these countries will choose to spend money chasing cannabis consumers instead of turning them into taxpayers.
Public consumption of cannabis isn't unusual in Berlin, and dealers have moved to different spots around the park to avoid detection. That means most victims of the government's strict enforcement are inexperienced consumers or visiting from elsewhere. They have no idea that, since 2015, a joint in Görlitzer Park has been seen by police as a serious offense. The change has confounded many local residents in the liberal district surrounding Görlitzer Park.
In the first six months after the new rule came into force, police spent 58,000 extra hours in park, according to government data, costing the Berlin taxpayers over €2 million. That's money that could be spent on schools or seniors. And any positive effect of the measure has yet to be seen. Even the German Senate admitted that "nothing has radically changed" as a result of the millions spent on enforcement. Today, street sales are more visible than ever — and not just in and around the "Görli," as the park is known. Illegal sales have also overflowed into a neighboring park.
In 2014, at the suggestion of Berlin's mayor, the Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain district introduced a pilot project that regulated cannabis sales. The system made headlines around the world, but after almost two years the Federal Ministry of Health turned down the application. Instead there is now a zero-tolerance zone that saddles the already debt-ridden Berlin with significant enforcement costs.
In Austria, which has a population of 8.5 million, the government is also throwing money behind the failed war against cannabis, even though cannabis cuttings and other non-flowering plants are actually legal in the country. But as in the rest of the European Union, cannabis from adult plants that are high in THC are prohibited for non-medical use.
The Vienna-based Hanf Institut (Hemp Institute) calculated that the small Alpine republic "spends about €400 million on the persecution of some 29,000 people who commit crimes without a victim," citing figures from the Austrian federal police.
"On average, one indictment costs €15,000, while the confiscated amount is less than 40 grams," the institute reported. "This is the equivalent of about 100 joints — with a market value of about €320."
Costs will almost inevitably rise this year, as the June 1 intensification of the Narcotic Substances Act has spurred intensive police actions against street sales, particularly in Vienna and other major cities.
Shop highly rated dispensaries near youShowing you dispensaries near
Legalization would do more than forego enforcement costs. The Vienna Hemp Institute calculated how much potential tax revenue the Austrian state is missing out on by maintaining a prohibitionist policy and found it amounted to an annual loss of about €600 million — and that's based only on the amount of cannabis confiscated by the police, which is only a fraction of the market.
With government strapped for cash and many police agencies understaffed, one can't help but wonder how much longer these countries will choose to spend money chasing cannabis consumers instead of turning them into taxpayers.


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Shopper Habits: A Strategic Approach
September 9-10, 2019. Amsterdam
The Shopper Brain Academy presents a 2-day business course on marketing from a habitual perspective. You will learn how habits are formed in the brain, how these habits undermine new marketing approaches and why a thorough understanding of habitual buying is essential for every marketer.
Participants learn a new model of consumer behavior and how to apply it to current marketing challenges – specifically:
1. Market research, consumer insights, shopper insights
2. Segmentation
3. Pricing
4. Distribution
5. Product management, innovation, new product development, growth and maintenance for existing products and services
6. B2B marketing
7. Strategic marketing
Location and DatesAmsterdam, the Netherlands - September 9-10, 2019
Who should attend?The program is crafted for managers, developers, designers, specialists, and business owners in areas like marketing, advertising, branding, pricing, strategy, social or digital media, CRM or communications.
Day 1: The force of habit
- Foundations of behavioral marketing
- Traditional marketing vs. neuromarketing research
- A new model of consumer behavior
- B2B: companies don't buy from companies but from people
Day 2: How to become your customer's habit?
- Product management and behavioral marketing
- Mobile and social marketing
- The strategic imperative to habit marketing
- Exercise in behavioral marketing
Course facilitatorNeale Martin has been working with high-tech companies since 1994, helping them adjust their strategic thinking in light of rapidly evolving market realities. For the past several years, he has worked on updating the principles of marketing in light of cognitive psychology and neuroscience research, which revealed that human behavior is mostly the result of unconscious habits. The result of this endeavor is 'Habit: the 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore'.
InvestmentThe registration fee is
- Your participation on both days, including catering
- White paper with the habit model
- Workbook 'force of habit'
- A print copy of the book "Habits - the 95% marketers ignore"
After completion of the workshop, you will receive a certificate of participation and completion.


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Monday, November 29, 2010
thirty|day sixteen
11 comments:
Love this! What a sophisticated look. I love how you've changed up the classic pencil skirt/blazer/oxford combo with the brown tights and contrasting boots.ReplyDelete
Wonderful look! I love how you broke up the traditional skirt suit look!ReplyDelete
I love this look, it is so polished!ReplyDelete
Sparrow & Urchin
I've been dying to get a tweed skirt, but I don't want to pay those prices. I'm jealous that you found that perfect skirt at the thrift store.ReplyDelete
The Auspicious Life
I really like this one. Totally awesome.ReplyDelete
great blazer, really beautifully put together outfit!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 30, 2010 at 4:00 AM
those boots? kind of perfection <3ReplyDelete
Gorgeous! This is the perfect little remix. The trim on your jacket?! Yes please! :)ReplyDelete
Very chic and professional at the same time - the blazer steals the show!ReplyDelete
Very chic and professional at the same time - the blazer steals the show!ReplyDelete


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There just aren't enough films about killer turkeys, pilgrims, or the voting public. Deep sigh, silenced by an early round of stuffing laced with candy corn.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Goodbye to the Great Pumpkin King
There just aren't enough films about killer turkeys, pilgrims, or the voting public. Deep sigh, silenced by an early round of stuffing laced with candy corn.
7 comments:
Clue costumes are too much. Very cool!!!ReplyDelete
I agree, I love Thanksgiving, but it could really use a horror boost. Sounds like you had a great time...I always heard the October Chillers were the best ones! And Robey doesn't just go by Robey anymore?!ReplyDelete
Thanks for the ego-boosting boys.ReplyDelete
I was as shocked as you, Matt, that Robey has sought fit to reveal and use her first name. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that nobody was really clamoring for her autograph at her table, so she felt she needed more info. I have a soft spot for the F13 series, but I've yet to meet anybody with as much affection for it.
One of the artists told us that the Saturday night Chiller experience is the best, so we'll naturally be there in April. I've been to Chiller twice before (once as a wee lass and again five years ago) and it's definitely the largest convention in this general area. Can't wait for the next one!
Has richard dreyfuus entered the realm of b-listers at the chiller theater convention? is he selling headshots with ihs autograph for 20 bucks now?ReplyDelete
Apparently, yes and I think so, although the price was probably a little higher. It was quite odd, since Patrick Stewart had his own wing and was selling autographs for $100, although I think that price included your own personal & professional photo shoot. Dreyfuss was at a table, albeit one with the longest line. He seemed to enjoy himself and posed for pictures. Quite odd, since I believe most actors do these shows for the cash and you would assume Dreyfuss was doing okay. Maybe the recession is even worse than we feared.ReplyDelete
Super cute costumes! Great work, it looks like you had a lot of fun.ReplyDelete
I too have a very soft spot for the F13 television series, Robey's wall of hair and the awful fashions of the time.
Thanks Mob!ReplyDelete
How I used to dream of having Irish princess red locks like Robey. It's lost some of its fire and bounce, but I'm still pretty damn envious.


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Instructor's Guide to Physics of the Body, Second EditionAuthor: Roderick M. Grant
Published: 2008 | OOP date 12/2021 | 48 pp. | Softcover
DescriptionFully annotated solutions to the problems in the text of Physics of the Body, 2nd Edition.
Physics of the Body, Second Edition is intended primarily for students who plan to make a career in some field of medicine. The authors rely on basic physics principles to promote an understanding of the function of the various organ systems of the body. Although it was written primarily as a text for students who have some knowledge of elementary physics, it is understandable to any person who is curious about the workings of the body. The mathematics is at the algebra level. Illustrated with more than 220 figures and tables. The Instructor's Guide includes answers to all of the problems in the book.


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How to Improve Safety on a Construction Site?
While a major workplace accident can happen in an office, as well, the truth is that such a thing is much more likely to happen out in the field.
Top 5 Side Hustles for Retired Women
Oftentimes, we think of side hustles as a preserve for those just starting out or mid careers. After all, side hustles are supposed to help us supplement our main stream of income.
Different Ways You Can Save for Retirement if You are Self Employed
Being self-employed gives you a certain degree of freedom but it shouldn't give you a reason not to save for retirement. Since you don't have the benefit of an employer helping you save for retirement, you need to do most of the legwork yourself.
Armagh Mortgage Advisor Explains When is The Best Time to Apply
If you've been following the real estate news in Armagh, Ireland over the past few years, you will notice that there have been complaints of how progressively difficult it was becoming for people to become home owners. The reason for this has been chucked down to the steady rise in the price of real estate and the much slower rate at which average wages are increasing.
How to Live Happily With What You Earn?
Financial crisis is the cause of depression for most people out there. What is it that often leads to financial crisis?
Driving in Luxury: How to Afford a Ford
The Ford GT Supercar is an iconic vehicle that drives some fans wild. Although we all cannot be the owner of one of these luxury Fords, we can find a way to get our hands on a Ford Mustang or your favorite year F-150.
Starting A Swimming Pool Business
If you love getting outdoors and encouraging others to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, then getting into the swimming pool business might be just your calling.
Injured and Out of Commission? 3 Ways to Pay the Bills if You Can't Work
You're hurt. You're at home. The bills are piling up, and you don't know what to do.
4 Tips for Choosing a Fantastic Financial Advisor
In reality, there are only two ways for a person to earn money: working in exchange for money and putting their money to work for them.
Avoid Financial Failure When Merging Companies With These 4 Tips
The elaborate dance of merging companies can open numerous windows for financial calamity if both sides enter the process haphazardly.
What are the Advantages of a Credit Union?
Have you noticed how the financial landscape is changing? It used to be that traditional commercial banks were the only way to manage your money. Now, there's a growing selection of banking alternatives to choose from.


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This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.
I am, by far, no means a Bitcoin expert. Based on my historical data, you wouldn't even think that Bitcoin falls within my financial game plan. I mean, I am the Debtist who is more interested in wiping my debt than taking the forgiveness plan in order to up my wealth accumulation game. I know I am giving up a lot of potential wealth in order to get rid of my debt. But I am not anti-wealth-accumulation altogether! I am keeping an eye on Bitcoin, and learning more as time goes on. To get to the main point of this post: I invest in Bitcoin because I think it's a viable financial option, even for Debtists such as myself.
One of the most interesting things that has happened during the pandemic is the government's postponement of student loan repayment. It has created the space for me to get a glimpse of what life would be like if I hadn't chosen to pay back our debt aggressively. I got an idea of how much we are saving, and we have started to learn more about where we could be investing all that money.
I am still of the mind that paying back my debt aggressively is what I want to do. I can see how the debt accumulating in this country is leading up to the collapse of the economy. It is apparent to me that building our finances on debt can be extremely detrimental, and I use the economy at large as an example. Currently, the economy is controlled by the government, who has been inflating the value of a dollar by printing crazy amounts of money in the past few years (2020 and 2021 especially). We are printing money to cover our deficit, which even the Feds are warning against as it has been proven to be the demise of other countries in the past. But the printing hasn't stopped, and neither has inflation. Meanwhile, the wages have not increased enough to offset the inflation rate, and the amount of goods in our economy hasn't increased to match the money being printed. Due to the high inflation rate, it makes sense for people not to hold on to cash or an emergency fund, since the value of the dollar is declining. So people are putting their money in assets like real estate, stocks, bonds, etc – just to offset the inflation rate (and marginally!).
However, if Bitcoin becomes more prevalent as an alternative monetary system, then the way in which society deals with money will change. Bitcoin is an asset that should continue to gain value over time (as it stabilizes) because it is a limited asset. With that being the case, as more people use Bitcoin, we will switch to a society that values savings and emergency funds over putting their money in assets. A world of Bitcoin is a world in which I will do well – because I value being debt-free, having savings, having emergency funds, and owning something that increases in value.
Meanwhile, the fiat system will continue to inflate the dollar. Why? Because the fiat system is built on this foundation of debt. When we print more money without increasing the goods in the economy, we decrease the value of the dollar and cause inflation. We then create debt as people need more dollars to pay for things. At the same time, the value of bonds will decrease, which will lead to a distrust of the government. Less investors will place their money in bonds (aka lend their money to the government), which would require the government to increase interest rates. And how do you think the government will pay back the investors with such high interest rates when it comes time? When it comes time for the investors to collect their money, the government will need to print more money. Essentially, the creation of more money leads to the creation of more debt.
In a world where you have a choice between an asset that is deflating in value over an asset that is increasing in value, it can become quite obvious why people would choose Bitcoin. Now I am not a Bitcoin maximalist. I don't think Bitcoin will completely replace the current monetary system. I don't know if it will stay decentralized forever. I don't think governments will sit back and allow it to completely usurp their way of life. I don't think Bitcoin is without risk. I heard that 80% of all Bitcoin is owned by 2% of people, who have the power and ability to sway its price tremendously. I heard that 40% of Bitcoin mining happens in China, whose government has more control over their miners. I am not even so confident as to say I am betting on Bitcoin. I am not going to put 100% of my lifesavings in Bitcoin. I know there are people out there borrowing money and selling all they own to go fully into cryptocurrency. I am not about that.
BUT. I have bought Bitcoin and my husband has had the foresight to purchase and hold Bitcoin from over five years ago. I griped about it at the time since we were young and we had no money to play with. Plus Bitcoin was "new", which is always scary. In hindsight, I am glad he did it and will never live down all that groaning. I, myself, started investing in it over this past year as insurance. If the probability of Bitcoin having a place in this market exists, wouldn't you want to get in it? My thought is, "if Bitcoin does become a thing, I don't really want to be the guy without any."
These are my few words on Bitcoin. Like I said, I am no expert. I am no Bitcoin maximalist. I have my doubts just like anyone. But I have my hopes too. I am not here to spread 'facts' about cryptocurrency (what are the facts these days?!). You can brush this off as simply musings from my desk.
However, if you wish to dabble in cryptocurrency, or like me, to insure yourself, you can easily set up a Coinbase account here (referral link!). If you use this link, you get $10 in free Bitcoin after you buy or sell your first $100 on Coinbase. If you are a student or someone who is tight on cash but hopes to be financially free one day, here is what I would do. Invest $100 in Bitcoin, and then just let it sit. Ignore the volatility that will surely exist in the coming years, but just think of it as a reserve for the just-in-case. Start there, and see where this pans out. Adjust later if you'd like. It's not going to make you rich, but it's a place to start with cryptocurrency. And it won't break your bank or hinder your current plans. Then learn more about Bitcoin. Listen to podcasts or find tutorials on YouTube. I personally like the BTC episodes on The Investor's Podcast (TIP). I recommend starting with episode 1 if you are starting from scratch. It helped me a lot to get the ball rolling.
Get free Bitcoin by signing up for a credit card that gives bitcoin for rewards! I personally use the Fold Debit Card (referral link!). For every purchase, you are granted free satoshis. I have always been a travel hacker, earning free rewards through normal spending and traveling the world for free. Well, I have since traded in my travel rewards for Bitcoin rewards. I watch my Bitcoin stash grow with every swipe. Whether you are planning for a big purchase, a big trip, or the holidays, I would definitely recommend applying for the Fold Debit Card now.
Other Recommendations
- Earn $10 cash when you buy your first $5 in crypto on Paypal through my referral link.
- Sign up for BlockFI credit card (referral link!) to earn $10 in Bitcoin after you've made a minimum transfer of $100


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Pasta Zanmai.。10:40:00 PM
I know the last post is not-a-blog-post so today I decide to blog again. I'm gonna blog about my last Sunday's brunch since my friend is craving for pasta on that same day and I promise to show her what I ate. :p
I went to KL again last weekend, before we went back to kampar, bf's bro brought us to have our brunch. Since we have no idea what to eat so we went to 1U, walk around and see what to eat. At first we planned to eat at Sushi Zanmai but there is a big crowed queuing up, so we changed our plan to Pasta Zanmai.
I'm craving for the food already when I see these photo! Why Ipoh no Pasta or Sushi Zanmai?! :(
Btw,did you notice that I changed my blog background already? Like it? :)


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Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Stella Art Foundation
Announce the exhibition
There is a Beginning in the End. The Secret Tintoretto Fraternity
11.05 – 11.09
Media Preview: 8.05, h 12.
Chiesa di San Fantin, Campo San Fantin, San Marco, Venezia
Exhibition curators: Marina Loshak, Olga Shishko.
Together with the Stella Art Foundation, the Pushkin Museum will present a special project of the "Pushkin Museum XXI" initiative in Venice: "There is a Beginning in the End", a modern art exhibition in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Venetian artist Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto.
This event will be held at the same time as the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
#jointhesecretfraternity #ThereisaBeginninginTheEnd #VenicePushkinMuseumArt
Gary Hill- Let it Cry Ice (Uninted Ice) 2019
Irina Nakhova, Tintoretto Tritych, 2019


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Bienvenido a Rock Developer
One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.
The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked. «What's happened to me? » he thought. It wasn't a dream.
His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table – Samsa was a travelling salesman – and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame.
It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad.
«How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense», he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn't get into that position. However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was.
He must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull pain there that he had never felt before. «Oh, God», he thought, «what a strenuous career it is that I've chosen! Travelling day in and day out. Doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. It can all go to Hell! » He felt a slight itch
Episodios Anteriores
Temporada 3
- Episodio 1
Temporada 2
- ¿Y tu cuanto cuestas?
- Administración de Código (Source Control, SVN)
- Generación de Código. El bueno el malo y el feo
- Servicios Web
- Java VS .Net
- En el inicio el hombre creo el hardware y el software
Temporada 1
- Metodología ágil de Desarrollo de Software
- El Futuro de Java en la Industria del Software
- Extreme Programming parte 1 de 3
- Extreme Programming parte 2 de 3
- Extreme Programming parte 3 de 3
- Herramientas ORM
- Ajax y Librerías Javascript
- Enchulame la Pagina. Optimización de sitios web
- Patrón de Desarrollo Model View Controller
- ¿Quien es que? Roles en el equipo de Desarrollo de software


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Below you will find three different breakdowns for what a scientific theory of consciousness must be able to account for, formulated in slightly different ways.
First, David Pearce posits these four fundamental questions (the simplicity of this breakdown comes with the advantage that it might be the easiest to remember):
- The existence of consciousness
- The causal and computational properties of experience (including why we can even talk about consciousness to begin with, why consciousness evolved in animals, etc.)
- The nature and interrelationship between all the qualia varieties and values (why does scent exist? and in exactly what way is it related to color qualia?)
- The binding problem (why are we not "mind dust" if we are made of atoms)
Second, we have Giulio Tononi's IIT:
- The existence of consciousness
- The composition of consciousness (colors, shapes, etc.)
- Its information content (the fact each experience is "distinct")
- The unity of consciousness (why does seeing the color blue does not only change a part of your visual field, but in some sense it changes the experience as a whole?)
- The borders of experience (also called 'exclusion principle'; that each experience excludes everything not in it; presence of x implies negation of ~x)
Finally, Michael Johnson breaks it down in terms of what he sees as a set of what ultimately are tractable problems. As a whole the problem of consciousness may be conceptually daunting and scientifically puzzling, but this framework seeks to paint a picture of what a solution should look like. These are:
- Reality mapping problem (what is the formal ontology that can map reality to consciousness?)
- Substrate problem (in such an ontology, which objects and processes contribute to consciousness?)
- Boundary problem (akin to the binding problem, but reformulated to be agnostic about an atomistic ontology of systems)
- Scale problem (how to connect the scale of our physical ontology with the spatio-temporal scale at which experiences happen?)
- Topology of information problem (how do we translate the physical information inside the boundary into the adequate mathematical object used in our formalism?)
- State-space problem (what mathematical features does each qualia variety, value, and binding architecture correspond to?)
- Translation problem (starting with the mathematical object corresponding to a specific experience within the correct formalism, how do you derive the phenomenal character of the experience?)
- Vocabulary problem (how can we improve language to talk directly about natural kinds?)
Each of these different breakdowns have advantages and disadvantages. But I think that they are all very helpful and capable of improving the way we understand consciousness. While pondering about the "hard problem of consciousness" can lead to fascinating and strange psychological effects (much akin to asking the question "why is there something rather than nothing?"), addressing the problem space at a finer level of granularity almost always delivers better results. In other words, posing the "hard problem" is less useful than decomposing the question into actually addressable problems. The overall point being that by doing so one is in some sense actually trying to understand rather than merely restating one's own confusion.
Do you know of any other such breakdown of the problem space?


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Multiple Maps - Map View / satellite view / hybrid view
There are two major ways that the tracking and the monitoring of vehicles are done. Level one is that the vehicles can be tracked through the GPS technology enabled user friendly cell phone software. In this case the viewer can track the movements of the vehicle through a convenient and simple political map. This multicolored political map very clearly shows the route that the vehicle has traveled till date and its present continuing route. In addition, the map also shows the various major landmarks  Â


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This past week I got an email from my mom's friend asking if I was interested in an old dresser she wanted to get rid of. Ummm... YES! It is a good thing the price was right because this thing is a mess. This morning was spent stripping the wallpaper off of the drawers. I can't wait to get started on this one!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The Dresser with Wallpaper!
Posted by Sarah @ Imperfect Patina at 8:26 PM
2 comments:
These are my favorite pieces to do subway art on!ReplyDelete
Great find
Can't wait to see what you come up with Sarah!
Oh, I can't wait to see what you do with this one. I love all your refurbs; you have such a great eye for colors. I've nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. You can go to my blog to check out all the details. Congratulations!ReplyDelete
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Sale Sold out
Regular price $25.00 USD
Regular priceUnit price per
Sale price
Surprise scrap bag!
Who doesn't like a surprise! 🎉🎊
Our FLYbag2go is filled with 4-5 different prints, trims or patches that were hand selected by our amazing team!
Most fabrics are limited or EXCLUSIVE and have never made it on our site! You may find a few of your favorites in there as well!
Grab your FLYNESS to go!
Each individual fabric or trim will measure by the yard, patches = 1 piece
-Small Bag: 4-6 pieces | 1-2 yards a piece
-Large Bag: 6-8 pieces | 2-3 yards a piece
Picked from a selection of different prints, textures, patches, or trims *You never know what's inside!!
No two scrap bags are the same! How cool is that?!!


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Nicklas Helenius has today become Aston Villa's fourth signing of the summer.
The Denmark striker agreed a three-year contract on Tuesday afternoon after Villa struck a deal with Danish top flight club Aalborg.
As is standard nowadays the transfer fee was undisclosed, but it is believed the price could rise to £2 million depending on various add-ons.
Helenius, a 6ft 5ins forward, who has been capped twice by his country, joins compatriot Jores Okore at Villa Park.
Fast-acting Villa boss Paul Lambert has also snapped up Bulgarian winger Aleksandar Tonev and Dutch midfielder Leandro Bacuna and is closing in on Spanish left-back Antonio Luna.
"This is a big opportunity for me, a big dream to play in the Premier League with a club with the history of Aston Villa and I'm very excited," Helenius said.
"I know we have a young team and I know we came through a test last season and got better as a team over the course of the campaign. I watched the game against Liverpool at Anfield and was very impressed by the way the team played. As we got more confidence in the game, we became better and better and won 3-1 with some great attacking football.
"In Gabby Agbonlahor and Andi Weimann, for example, we have good players who have great speed and energy and a real love for playing for Villa. You can see this and you can also see the strength and quality of Christian Benteke. It is really exciting to be a part of this and I'm looking forward so much to pulling on the shirt and getting to know my new team-mates.
"I've been to see the stadium and it's tremendous. The atmosphere inside Villa Park can be incredible, I know this from watching games on TV from Denmark where the Premier League, obviously, is really big. I've watched Premier League football since I was eight years old.
"I was so inspired that I used to go by myself to an empty ground in my home town of Godthaab – a town of 900 people – and just kick the ball around, practise the skills and shoot. That was my whole life growing up.
"I learnt a lot over the past few seasons with Kent Nielsen as my manager. He was a player here at Villa and, while I have always been a good finisher, he taught me to be more aggressive and determined when I don't have the ball. He showed me how to work hard and this will help me in this league.
"I thought that maybe when I was 28 or something I might eventually be able to move to the Premier League having made my mark in Danish football but now I have my chance and I think this is the right club for me with all the other young players in the side who want to do well and achieve something together.
"I want to show the fans that I'm hungry for this and that I'm very proud to be a Villa player."


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The Most Awaited Theatrical Trailer of Ishq Positive Starring Noor Bukhari, Wali Hamid Ali Khan, Sonu Sood, Faria Bukhari, Durdana Butt, Saud Qasmi, Saim Ali & Others…
Directed by: Noor Bukhari
The movie is produced by KSL PRODUCTION alongside Shazia Hussain and Kashif Latif, while the story is penned down by Suraj Baba.
While the music score is organized by Kamran Akhtar, Wali Hamid Ali Khan & Saji Ali.
The film is releasing on 22nd of July' 2016.
Watch Ishq Positive Trailer:


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We are preparing a new release of a new improved Fitness Mat version. This new improved version is now available to buy with a 10% discount in Pre-Order. If you buy now your Fitness Mat Dev Kit you will receive it in January.
Take advantage of the 10% Pre-Order offer!
Soon we will give you more information about this new version.
Make your Fitness Sensing Project Smart


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Armenia raises Iran gas imports
TEHRAN (ISNA)- Armenia has increased gas imports from Iran in the first half of this year.
Imports of Iranian natural gas to Armenia in the first half of 2016 decreased by 23.2% from the first half of 2015 to 1.004.8 billion cubic meters, according to the Customs Service of Armenia, which said also the customs value of the imported gas decreased by 36% to $162.6 million.
According to the Customs Service, imports of natural gas from Russia declined by 27.3% from 1.125 billion cubic meters in the first half of 2015 to 818.3 million cubic meters, while imports from Iran increased by 1.2% to 186.5 million cubic meters.
Armenia not only imported, but also exported natural gas- 24.7 million cubic meters- to the neighboring Georgia earning $6.1 million.
According to the Armenian customs data, in 2015 Armenia imported a total of 2.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $ 514.3 million, up from about 2.5 billion cubic meters imported in 2014.
Imports of Iranian gas in 2015 amounted to 383.1 million cubic meters worth $72.4 million, up from 365.9 million cubic meters imported in 2014.
Russia accounted for 82% of Armenian natural gas imports (about 2.2 billion cubic meters a year) worth $426.3 million.
Source: ISNA


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When Vittorio Moretti started making wine as a hobby in 1977, he could not have anticipated the vast success that Bellavista would soon achieve in terms of both undisputed quality and worldwide recognition. In fact, today, both below and above the Bellavista hill, what one can find is a veritable "empire" comprising the house, the first vineyard, the cellar, a large hotel, the restaurant of renowned international chef Gualtiero Marchesi, the "Espace Vitalité" of Henri Chenot and even the offices of Terra Moretti's holding company. All this was made possible thanks to great respect and love for the land and great dedication to work. Today, Vittorio Moretti's and Bellavista's main goal remains that of achieving the highest level of objective quality.
Let us help you. We have created and maintain extensive lists of wines, spirits and liqueurs readily available outside of our current stock. Simply select and submit what you desire and we'll revert with a quote upon confirmation of availability:
If you still don't find what you're after, we also offer wine sourcing services through which we can secure and import specific wines and related items on your behalf.


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Marty & Bev Zide
Midwest, USA
The Midwest Messianic Center, an evangelical faith missionary organization, began in 1924 with the purpose of proclaiming Jesus as Messiah to anyone, but with emphasis on the Jewish people.
We believe that God chose the Jewish people and that He entered into a special covenant relationship with them that was based upon His sovereign choice. As such, they are unique among the nations of the earth, in that they are specially loved and known by God. This is not to suggest that God does not also love the world. We believe that Israel and the church are two distinct and separate entities. The church being made up of Jewish people and Gentiles, forming one body in which Messiah Jesus is the head. Both have their own distinct plan that is laid out in the Word of God. We believe that God is not finished with ethnic Israel and that He has a plan for them that still awaits fulfillment. (Deuteronomy 7:6-9; Amos 3:2; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Exodus 4:22; Zechariah 2:8; Ephesians 2:14-16)
Marty was born and raised in St. Louis into a reformed Jewish home. He was saved in 1971 when his 2 best friends witnessed to him. He graduated from Brookes Bible Institute in St. Louis and Calvary Bible College in Kansas City. He has been doing missionary work for 22 years and was in pastoral ministry for 9 years. Marty and Bev were married on July 31, 1976 and have 5 children: Sam, Matt, Aaron, Rachel and Nathan.
Contact Information:
Midwest Messianic Center
PO Box 6611
Chesterfield, MO 63006-6611


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Inspired Candidate Architect or Architect required for full time long term employment.
My studio is in Salt Rock, KZN. My work is primarily residential. We work from concept through to final detail work. I am looking for enthusiastic, inspired, creative people who believe in experience of space, sensitivity to context as well as architectural metaphor. This is interpreted through form, interior and exterior detail work and finishes.
(Proficiency in ArchiCad/Autocad, hand sketching, being a generally nice person, Good technical knowledge of detailing as well as Municipal submission experience is also required)
If you can do all of the above then we want to meet you.


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This is a partially developed activity description. It is included in the collection because it contains ideas useful for teaching even though it is incomplete.
Fossil evidence for evolutionary and environmental change
Authors: David Gillikin, Bret Bennington, Katrin Monecke, Blaine Schubert, and Michael Savarese
Activity Description
The instructor chooses one or more topics/concepts e.g. convergent evolution environmental change geographic change functional morphology evolutionary lineage/relatedness etc. and students search for fossil/geologic evidence in the objects on display in the museum to illustrate/provide evidence for the key topic/concept. Each student creates a concept sketch or series of concept sketches with photos of the museum exhibits as the central graphics. The concept sketches must demonstrate the students understanding not only of the objects in the museum exhibits but also how those objects illustrate or provide evidence for the topic or concept.
Learning Goals
- Students will make observations of fossils in the museum to connect fossil evidence with key concepts learned in class/lab.
Students will be assessed based on the quality of their concept sketches.


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Dr. Singer Will Teach You How to Become a Stem Cell Millionaire
You're a chiropractor whose business is built on $39 adjustments and then someone offers you a proposition. If you add "stem cell injections" you can treat everything from knees to aging and make millions in the process. All you need to do is to take a course and you'll get everything you need to become a stem cell millionaire. Sounds far fetched? Regrettably, it's happening every day. Let me explain.
Chiropractic Business Consultants
Physicians take for granted that we can be instantly jacked into insurance and hospital-based networks. Hence, few physician practices fail. Not so for chiropractic practices which have a high failure rate. Hence, business consultants in chiropractic are common.
One of the more popular chiropractic business consultants is David Singer. He usually teaches chiropractors how to pre-sell packages of adjustments, add ancillary services like physical therapy, or add a mid-level practitioner to prescribe hormones. However, many months ago he came on my radar when several of my local chiropractic colleagues reached out about the emails sent by David Singer pushing stem cells.
Becoming a Stem Cell Millionaire
To learn more, I signed up for one of David Singer's free webinars. Regrettably, I had patients during that time slot, so I missed it. However, I got sent an automated email with marketing collateral for the stem cell program. Let's just say that I was concerned.
This is from one of the PDFs sent to me:
"Knowing how to handle an audience is a science and an art. You will learn all the mechanics from your introduction to the close at the end. You will learn the secrets to signing up 100% of an audience as well as many simple procedures that have helped doctors to get to $300,000 a month with this material."
Yikes! Dr. Singer tells you that if you add stem cells to your practice, he can collect up to an extra 3.6 million a year!
This is Painful
I usually have many interesting moments when reading the things that chiropractic stem cell marketing experts write and Dr. Singer's "Regenerative Cellular Treatment" pamphlet was no different. In this, he discusses the five products he's selling "for homologous use". He even provides a reference to what he considers homologous use:
"Homologous – similar in position, structure, and evolutionary origin but not necessarily in function."
However, that's not the definition that the FDA uses, which is:
"As defined in 21 CFR 1271.3(c), homologous use means the repair, reconstruction, replacement, or supplementation of a recipient's cells or tissues with an HCT/P that performs the same basic function or functions in the recipient as in the donor."
This is a critical concept for the 5 products that Dr. Singer is selling which he calls Relev (amniotic fluid), Reviv (amniotic fluid and membrane), Renyte (Wharton's Jelly), Restor (Wharton's Jelly + MSCs), and Recharg (umbilical cord blood). Why? Homologous here in the FDA's parlance means that these products would never be approved for use in orthopedics without an actual FDA drug approval which these products don't have. Meaning Wharton's Jelly from an umbilical cord has little to do with muscles, tendons, and joints.
Regulatory Roulette?
After some research on where Dr. Singer was sourcing his products, I found out that these are the names for products that are actually sold by "New Life Regenerative Medicine", about an hour from Dr. Singer's Florida office. Dr. Singer's materials state that Restor has mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The NewLife website reports that they're "Medicinal Signaling Cells" (a newer term for MSCs). Why is that significant? That's a clearly illegal claim.
How can I say that Dr. Singer's and New Life's claims are not legal? There have been many Warning Letters issued to companies with quickie 361 tissue registrations such as the one New Life filed which claim to be selling stem cells. Here's one such letter to another vendor that the FDA issued that accuses it of marketing an unapproved drug product. This is now one of a series of letters that makes it crystal clear that any of these companies that are still selling products that claim to have live stem cells are not compliant. This is the key statement from this most recent letter:
"In addition, your products fail to meet other criteria set forth in 21 CFR 1271.10(a). The umbilical cord blood product, StemL UCB-Plus™, fails to meet 21 CFR 1271.10(a)(4). This product, manufactured from donated umbilical cord blood, is dependent on the metabolic activity of living cells for its primary function and is not for autologous use, allogeneic use in a first-degree or second-degree blood relative, or reproductive use. The umbilical cord product, SternL UCT-Plus™, fails to meet the minimal manipulation criterion set forth in 21 CFR 1271.10(a)(l) and defined for structural tissue in 21 CFR 1271.3(f)(1). The product does not meet this criterion because your processing alters the original relevant characteristics of the umbilical cord related to its utility for reconstruction, repair, or replacement."
While that's some dense regulatory speak, here's what it all means:
- You claim that you're selling live cells, which makes your product a drug that requires clinical trials and actual FDA approval-you never did that
- Your processing of the tissue alters what it was meant to do in the body, hence that's another reason your product is a drug
What is Restor?
In fact, as I quickly learned, NewLife doesn't make these products, as they are listed on the FDA TIR query as only a distributor. I called their President/CEO, Viki Mansavage, a 35-year veteran of the tissue banking industry. She discussed that their Restor product is manufactured by a third party. I also asked her why her website claims that there are "medicinal signaling cells" in their products, clearly, a claim that FDA says is not permitted for a 361 registered tissue product. She stated that she is trying to do the right thing and pursue an RMAT designation (a type of FDA approval), but when confronted with the concept that she is not permitted to make a claim that she is selling live cells until the FDA actually approves the results of clinical trials (which her company has not conducted), I got no clear response. Later, to Viki's credit, New Life changed its website to get rid of the claim that the Restor product has MSCs.
So does Restor have MSCs and are there any tests that would meet ISCT guidelines that show that? No, Viki also admitted that it was very unlikely that this product has many live and functional stem cells. This statement goes in the opposite direction of what David Singers states in his marketing collateral. Let's dig into Singer's claims.
Umbilical Cord vs Bone Marrow Stem Cells
I again reviewed David Singer's brochure entitled"Stem Cell Education". Here he tells us:
"As we age, and our bodies slow down so do our stem cells…It starts out slow day one, 1 penny, day two, 2 pennies, day three, 4 pennies and so on and so on. By the end of the month its going from $200,000.00 one day $400,000.00 the next day and $800,000.00 the next day to $1,600,000.00 and so on. These cells do the same thing. A cell that has a doubling time of 20 to 24 (young sources cells) hours becomes 1,000,000,000 (that is billion) cells in 30 days. A cell that has a doubling time of 60 hours (someone 65 years of age) becomes 200 cells in 30 days. To help the body grow, fix, replace, and regenerate we need to have young vibrant healthy cells or "Day 1" cells meaning the cells are only one day old (newborn). Day one cells are considered young healthy robust cells that have the power to really make a difference in helping a patient's body to heal."
This is the standard chiro song and dance that many patients have bought into, that their cells are just too old and that there are millions of young stem cells in umbilical cord products that once injected, these cells will grow in many billions more in their bodies. Is any of this demonstrably true? Is there any evidence that Restor or any other umbilical cord product on the market has millions of live and viable MSCs that are rapidly growing?
As I have written many times before, there is now quite a bit of research that the amniotic fluid and umbilical cord products that are being sold have no viable and functional mesenchymal stem cells MSCs) (1-3). In addition, this recent test of 5 commonly used umbilical cord products from the CSU Translational Medicine Institute tells the whole story visually. In this CFU-f test (one of the ISCT requirements for determining if you have MSCs (4)), purple dots represent stem cell colonies. White is no stem cells. As you can see, all 5 commercially available products on the left had no viable stem cells, while middle-aged and elderly bone marrow had tons of stem cells. So much for Dr. Singer's sales pitch. In fact, if it were even a little true and there were ANY fast-growing MSCs with 24 hour doubling times in any of these products, given that this is about a 10-day test, the plates here on the left would be covered in one big mass of purple instead of being sterile white.
Dr. Singer's Responses
I sent the following questions to Dr. Singer's office and called his staff to ensure I had the correct email address:
- Is Dr. Singer aware of recent FDA actions in the way of Warning letters and TRG TRIP determinations that claims of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells make a 361 registered tissue an adulterated, misbranded, and unapproved drug product which is illegal to sell, distribute, or advertise?
- Dr. Singer's collateral that I was sent clearly positions the Restor product as containing mesenchymal stem cells…Does Dr. Singer have a comment on that information?
- What information that meets ISCT guidelines can Dr. Singer provide me that clearly shows that Restor has live and functional MSCs?
- If no such information is available, what is Dr. Singer's comment to the statement that his collateral is not accurate and is in fact misleading?
- Can Dr. Singer provide me information from the FTC or FDA that supports his ability to make claims that he is selling stem cell products?
- Can I get Dr. Singer's publications, textbooks, or other published information that demonstrates that he is an expert in regenerative medicine?
At the time of this writing, I had no response. I will update this post if that changes.
Let's Review
- We have a chiropractic business consultant with no expertise in regenerative medicine (i.e. no publications, book chapters, or anything else that defines expertise in medicine) who claims to be able to make chiropractors stem cell millionaires, with collections of up to 3.6 million a year.
- Dr. Singer's collateral contains obvious errors in its understanding of simple terms like "homologous use".
- His information claims that he is selling a product (Restor) with mesenchymal stem cells. However, this product is actually a brand that is a private relabelling of a different Wharton's Jelly product. There is no clinical research on the rebranded product.
- The CEO of the company that rebrands the private labeled Restor product admits that it's very unlikely that the product has any live and viable stem cells.
- Despite this Dr. Singer claims that it has "day 1 cells" that will rapidly proliferate versus the old and slow-growing cells in your bone marrow. None of the published data supports these claims, in fact, the opposite conclusion is supported.
The upshot? If you ever wondered why chiropractors claiming to deliver patients stem cell products but who are really delivering to them dead umbilical cord tissue are popping up all over the place, look no further than chiropractic business consultants like Dr. Singer. If regulators want to stop this stuff, they need to look at the whole food chain. Here we have a tissue manufacturer who supplies a distributor who is supplying chiropractors with a Wharton's Jelly product that they claim has so many active cells with 20-24 hour doubling times that these will grow into billions of stem cells in your body. However, even the distributor admits that what she sells is stem cell poor, which fits with the research that shows that none of these products have any live and functional mesenchymal stem cells. You can't make this stuff up.
(1) Berger D, Lyons N, Steinmetz, N. In Vitro Evaluation of Injectable, Placental Tissue-Derived Products for Interventional Orthopedics. Interventional Orthopedics Foundation Annual Meeting. Denver, 2015. https://interventionalorthopedics.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/AmnioProducts-Poster.pdf
(2) Becktell L, Matuska A, Hon S, Delco M, Cole B, Fortier L. Proteomic analysis and cell viability of nine amnion-derived biologics. Orthopedic Research Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 2018. https://app.box.com/s/vcx7uw17gupg9ki06i57lno1tbjmzwaf
(3) Panero, A, Hirahara, A., Andersen, W, Rothenberg J, Fierro, F. Are Amniotic Fluid Products Stem Cell Therapies? A Study of Amniotic Fluid Preparations for Mesenchymal Stem Cells With Bone Marrow Comparison. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019 47(5), 1230–1235. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546519829034
(4) Dominici M, Le Blanc K, Mueller I, Slaper-Cortenbach I, Marini F, Krause D, Deans R, Keating A, Prockop Dj, Horwitz E. Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. The International Society for Cellular Therapy position statement. Cytotherapy. 2006;8(4):315-7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16923606
If you have questions or comments about this blog post, please email us at [email protected]
NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.


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On Saturday, international students took part in a trip to Fayetteville organized by the International Program. First stop was the Airborne & Special Operations Museum; and after that was a relaxing trip to Botanical Garden
The International Program organizes several of these trips for international students, this being the fourth trip since the start of the semester. The previous trips include a visit to the movies, Myrtle Beach and a local farm. The opportunity to travel helps introduce international students to the local attractions and culture while also allowing them to see what our country has to offer outside of Pembroke.
The trip to Fayetteville had a total of eight students, which is far fewer participants than the previous expeditions. Even with that being the casea, multiple countries and cultures were still represented. They were supervised by Qi Liu, also known as Larry, the Asian Program Coordinator and Kateryna Forynna, ESL Specialist, English Language Institute.
After leaving slightly behind schedule the first stop was the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.
The students split into two small groups, one heading to the museum where they gained some extra insight into American History, while the other group spent some time exploring Fayetteville. Georgina Feasby, an International Student from England, described the trip as a fun day out and a great chance to see Fayetteville.
The Botanical Garden was the next stop after lunch. The two attractions have rather little in common. While the focus of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum is on conflict and war, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is all about peace and tranquility. A good change of pace for students in the first wave of exams and papers. Student Favour Odoemena said, "I liked the Botanical Garden because I like nature and I like the calm atmosphere." One thing the two locations do share however is a maze-like structure that allow for groups to split off easily. For two hours the students were free to get lost in the beautiful Botanical Garden either accidentally or on purpose.
One of the highlights of the trip was a wedding taking place at the Botanical Garden. In the idyllic setting next to the lake a young couple said their vows while the International Students watched from a nearby patio, enjoying the romantic atmosphere. Larry got to know some of the wedding party and relayed the couples story to the students. This led to a interesting discussion on different wedding customs as well as personal preferences and experiences.
Some things are universal across all cultures and women talking about weddings seem to be one of them. Arrival back at Pembroke was slightly delayed, but then again one cannot leave in the middle of a wedding.
#news #aroundthecampus


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In the Fall of 2011, Sarah Mackenzie, the maid of honor at my wedding, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. Sarah and her family were motivated to learn as much as they could about the disease to advocate for her care. They weren't scientists, but they started searching the literature for relevant articles. One evening, Sarah called us, angry. Every time she found an article that might be relevant to understanding her disease, she ran into a paywall requiring $15-$40 to access it. Public money had paid for the research, yet she was barred from making any use of it. Luckily, she had us. Most people in Sarah's position don't have the luxury of friends at wealthy academic institutions with subscriptions to the literature.
During this time, I was pursuing an interest in the business models of scholarly communication. I wanted to understand the ways in which these models interfered with the dissemination of knowledge that could improve quality of life. Sarah's experience illustrated one key part of the problem--the outcomes of research should be public goods, but the business models of publishing make them exclusive goods. Lack of access to published literature limits our ability to apply what we know to improving others' quality of life. If doctors can't access the literature, they can't keep up with the latest innovations for care. If policy makers can't access the literature, they can't create evidence based policies. To advance solutions and cures, the outcomes of research must be open.
During the next few years, Sarah went through the standard treatments with mixed success. She needed new solutions and was fortunate to qualify for a couple of clinical trials testing new therapies. They were difficult. Sometimes the side effects would have her in the hospital for weeks at a time, or at home but unable to interact with her young boys.
Simultaneously, I was learning a lot about publication bias. For example, despite a requirement that results be reported within 24 months of the end of a trial, less than 50% of trials were so reported. Trials were funded. Patients were put through treatments often with terrible side effects. And, by failing to report the study results there is zero return on investment and needless suffering for vulnerable people.
Moreover, evidence shows that there is bias in which results are reported. Positive results are more exciting and therefore more publishable, negative results are boring or disappointing and more likely to be left out. But, negative data is immensely valuable for getting to important solutions faster and for making evidence-based decisions about what not to invest in next. Failing to share negative data fuels tragic cycles of dead-end research investments. To advance solutions and cures, the data from research must be open.
The pressures for finding positive results produce additional problems for the content and credibility of research that does get reported. Outcome switching is rampant. In other words, what researchers observe is often different than what they report. Evidence suggests that rampant selection bias, often occurring unintentionally, produces reported findings that are much rosier than what researchers actually observed. For the doctors, policymakers, child care providers, elder care providers, educators, members of national security apparatus and so many others who depend on published research to inform their choices and strategies, selective reporting results in false hope and ineffective action. To advance the human condition, the process of generating, analyzing, and reporting the data must be open.
Sarah, and many many others like her, can't access the literature that their tax dollars funded, are being used for research that never gets reported, and are being misled by a literature that looks more beautiful than the actual evidence suggests. This is unethical, both in terms of the use of research dollars and the sacrifices experimental patients like Sarah make to test possible treatments.
Sarah died two days before we hosted the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science (SIPS) meeting at COS this past July. At the meeting, we discussed the negative impacts of inaccessible outcomes, unavailable data, and doctored results in advancing science in general, and I couldn't help but think of that impact in very concrete, personal terms. As a society, we didn't do enough to transform science's creativity, rigor, resources, and talent into the greatest possible benefit for people like Sarah. There are thousands of others like Sarah who are waiting for science to help them. And, there are going to be thousands more next year, and the next, and the next. Closed science is an impediment to progress.
We can change this. To improve quality of life, advance more effective cures, and more efficient solutions, we must build the means and create the incentives for scientists to appreciate and embrace two "simple" objectives:
Really and truly, that's it. If we can open the marketplace of ideas to the actual evidence and how that evidence was acquired, scientists are smart, they will figure out what is reliable and what needs to be studied next. Open science is the key to reducing waste, accelerating meaningful solutions to the biggest problems faced by our communities, states, nations, business and civic institutions, and to save the lives of millions of people around the world including people like my friend Sarah who desperately need science to survive.
We can improve decisions and quality of life by making the content of research and the process of producing that content transparent, accessible, and reusable.
Researchers produce lots of research. What proportion of it is open? Let's compare 1999 Brian with 2017 Brian. In 1999, I might have produced 25 studies. At the time, none of the materials, none of the data, and none of the code was made publicly accessible to others. One reason for this lack of access was that the Internet was not what it is today--technology makes a difference. But technological change is not enough. Achieving our key outcome requires a strategy that integrates new technological opportunities with a deep understanding of the academic cultures and expectations that work against open research.
1999 Brian was a product of that culture. I didn't write down my predictions in advance. I just hoped for a positive result that I could publish. If I got a negative result, I was motivated by the culture to toss it aside and try again. I had no incentive to record my predictions or save my "failed" trials. I have a few papers of mine from that time period. I don't really know how many studies I ran. I don't know where the data or materials are -- or even if they still exist. I don't remember why I picked some studies to write up for publication and not others. Did I leave out some inconvenient results? Did I p-hack? I did the work, and I don't know that. No one knows. And, there is no way to find out. This reduces the credibility of the research that was published and is a waste of all the research that was lost.
In 2017, I will probably produce about the same total of 25 studies (now "I" is generous because others do most of the work). All 25 are on the OSF. My collaborators preregister the design and upload the materials in advance. After data collection, anonymized datasets and analytic code are added. All of the content and key process elements of my research are preserved and accessible. If I leave out studies from my reports, that is discoverable. If I p-hack my results, that is discoverable. If someone wants to reproduce my findings, they can. If someone wants to build on my work, they can. If I forget 16 years from now what work I did and how I did it, it doesn't matter. It is there. Some parts of the workflow, e.g., email correspondence about ideas, is not yet integrated into OSF, but most of the research is preserved and accessible.
The immediate ROI of my 2017 research will exceed the ROI of my 1999 research because it is done more rigorously and more transparently. Moreover, the long-term ROI of my 2017 research will vastly exceed by 1999 research because it can be reused, reanalyzed, and extended by anyone and for purposes beyond what I envisioned. My 1999 research is gone and can provide no additional benefit.
Every part of the COS strategy moves researchers toward 100% open. That might start as simple as sharing a poster from a conference on OSF, a poster that would otherwise disappear within weeks. It might be as easy as sharing a paper on a preprint service, accelerating the date that others can become aware of the work by two years or more, and ensuring that it is openly available forever, even if it is never published in a journal. These little steps are ways to inculcate a change of mindset -- a mindset that making our work available to others is a good thing. With technology, incentives, and training, those initial steps can accumulate into a new ethic of openness that influences planning, execution, and reporting of all research.
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I've never seen so many strippers at a funeral...
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Well the strippers just heard there was a man that was stiff...
When did hugh hefner die?!
if that doesn't put the "fun" in funeral I don't know what does....
Got to be proud of him for supporting all the single moms.
potentially the greatest after party/wake ever...
Did lil Wayne die? ...let's hope so
i sure hope so
Hoe down
Is there a pole in the casket?
Successful in life, even more successful in death.
That'll lighten the mood a bit
A pimp named slickback probably died
God knows I have......
Ahhh Reno, not suprising. Stay classy Reno.
charlie harper is dead?! D:
775 reppin!
How do you know they're strippers?
Probably took their clothes off.
Were you watching 6 feet under????
...and they say killing strippers is bad!
Haha, Reno area code, figures!!
@9:37 - I see what you did there.
Your sister will be missed.
The pole died?
Poor Jennifer :( Also, I think I might be qay.
Charlie Sheen passed away??
Lord knows I have...
Oh so last time there were only a few strippers at the funeral ?? What kinda whore factory were you born in ?? If this is real, can't say Im not jealous ... But Im gonna go ahead and say bull crap OP !!!


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Remarks at USAID's Higher Education Solutions Network Event
Secretary of State
USAID Administrator
The video below is available with closed captioning on YouTube
And I'll get a chance to make a few remarks after Secretary Clinton departs this afternoon, but we are – I am so honored to be able to host you here in this room. It is a special room with a lot of significance, but in this case, the significance is Secretary Clinton has been a tremendous proponent not just of development and of tackling extreme poverty around the world, but of bringing American science, technology, innovation, and youthful enterprise to that task. And one of the ways we have tried to put into practice that guidance and theme has been creating and launching the development laboratories on college campuses that we're inaugurating here today and in the conference series tomorrow.
So I do want to take just one moment to thank Megan Smith from Google who's on our advisory board and has been from the beginning, Rick Klausner for helping us to conceptualize this, and [inaudible], who has also served in that capacity.
So with that, Madam Secretary, thank you for having us here today.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Raj, and it's exciting for me to welcome all of you here to the State Department, actually to the Benjamin Franklin Room. Mr. Franklin is above us over the fireplace. But what a especially fitting setting for us to be discussing this exciting new initiative, harnessing science and technology to save and improve millions of lives around the world.
Raj just finished thanking a lot of people, but I want to thank you, Raj, for your leadership and your commitment to innovation that produces results. And it's been a very exciting time to try to reach out and create a network of likeminded partners and institutions to work with USAID. And I am delighted to see all of you here.
Having representatives of these seven universities focusing the ingenuity of your brightest people on these daunting challenges is very reassuring to us because we know we cannot do the work we try to do solely on the – building on the past, looking at what might have worked 10 years ago or 20 years ago. Nobody does that in the private sector, and it's perhaps slightly more difficult to change direction in the public sector, but we know we must, and this is a very strong indicator of that.
I know we have some students with us today and we thank them for being part of this. I think it's exciting that you will have a chance to really be part of solving some of these difficult problems we face. What we've tried to do in the Obama Administration is to elevate development alongside diplomacy and defense, because we consider the so-called three "D"s as being the basis, the foundation, of our foreign policy and national security. And we've also tried to put real substance behind the slogan "Country-led, Country-owned." Our goal is to help countries become self-sufficient, to be in the hoped-for future themselves, putting us out of business because of the way that we are working together now.
So we cannot rely solely on traditional development – building roads, infrastructure, hospitals, training, doctors, nurses, teachers. Incremental change is a necessary but not sufficient pathway to what we hope to accomplish. And that's why Raj and his team have put a special focus on science and technology, and we've already seen some serious steps forward because of that. We've kicked off a series of prizes, challenges, and competitions. USAID launched three grand challenges for development – to save lives at birth, get all children reading, and power agriculture through clean energy. We've also created new funding mechanisms that will help bring new ideas to scale like our Development Innovation Ventures program, which is supporting new solutions to prevent electoral fraud and to expand access to credit for underserved populations.
We're helping build research capacity through new partnerships with the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health that connect American scientists with their counterparts around the world. And through science fellowships, we're bringing in more researchers, engineers, and physicians to work with USAID.
Now we want to build on and expand all this progress, and we especially want to expand our portfolio of partners in the private sector, in local NGOs, and of course in the academic and research community, and that's where all of you come in. Each of the seven universities represented here today has committed to create a development lab. Working with USAID's field mission experts and Washington staff, scientists and researchers in these labs will apply the latest science and technology to some of the biggest challenges in development.
For example, MIT, a leader in design and technology, will publish reports on the effectiveness of different technologies ranging from treadle pumps to microscopes mounted on cell phones. Think of it as a kind of consumers report for development. Berkeley and MIT are creating a new discipline of development science and engineering. That will mean new courses, new journals, new departments, and even new PhDs dedicated to design for low and middle-income countries. And Makerere, a university in Uganda, will engage the developing world by creating online courses with a special focus on people helping themselves to get an education as well as fighting for more transparency, accountability, justice and equality in their own societies.
At Texas A&M, researchers will bring a special focus on improving agricultural productivity. William & Mary will help USAID advance its use of data and analytics to improve decision-making. Scientists at Michigan State will study megatrends like population growth and climate change. In many parts of the world, as you know so well, rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns are making it harder for farmers to grow enough food, putting a strain on entire agricultural systems. Now of course, climate change is not a problem that only hurts people in faraway places. It affects everyone, and we are seeing the effects, as we speak, in our own country. And I think it's increasingly imperative that we address that issue at every level of society.
So the idea behind the Higher Education Solutions Network that we are launching today is to take advantage of each lab's unique abilities. Here's an example of how it could work: An entrepreneur at Berkeley discovers a groundbreaking innovation to bring clean drinking water to low-income families, but she needs to take it to scale. So the network connects her to researchers at Duke who have expertise in accelerating and scaling up solutions, and together, they grow her business so her work benefits hundreds of thousands, even millions of people.
I'm very excited about this project and pleased to announce that USAID has committed up to $130 million for the network and development labs over the next five years. This commitment will be matched by an equivalent amount from universities and their partners. But to make this network a reality, we need your input and ideas. So in the rest of this session, which Raj will chair, I hope you'll explore how we can work together to make what we're doing as effective as possible as soon as possible. How can we ensure that this is not just a series of individual grants or one-off accomplishments, but instead we create an integrated network that delivers large scale impact?
So I'm very excited about this. I'm sorry I can't stay for the discussion. I have to go over to the White House. Now that the election is over, we're trying to – (laughter) – make up for a lot of lost time in dealing with a lot of the issues that are pressing for our country and the world. But Raj will give me a full de-brief.
But again, I want to thank all the universities. We're especially pleased to have you come from Uganda. Eventually, our dream would be that this would be a global network, and that development labs would be working around the world, all networked and creating very positive outcomes for millions and millions of people who might never hear of what we are doing, but would see the results of all of your work.
Thank you very much. Thanks, Raj. (Applause.)


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- Courtesy photos
- Seven Days summer music festival guide
We're on the cusp of a colossal outbreak — a pandemic surge of infectious revelry I like to call "festival fever." And Vermont is patient zero.
Fortunately, this contagion is one you'll want to catch. The only cure? Get yourself to as many summer fiestas as you can. No matter what part of the state you live in, dozens of unique, outdoor wingdings are just a quick road trip away.
As a brief primer for festival season, here are seven diverse offerings that will take you to various nooks and crannies of Vermont and beyond — save for one glaring omission: the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. But don't worry, we'll be checking in on all of that magic in the next few weeks.
Roots on the River
June 9-11, Bellows Falls
- Courtesy photo
- Hayes Carll
Vermont Festivals presents Roots on the River, a three-day hootenanny that grew out of a recurring concert series featuring Canadian alt-country singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith. After a good run in the mid-2000s, Eaglesmith hung up his hat — and his guitar. But that didn't mean the party was over. With a wealth of community support, VTF founder Ray Massucco has since transformed the fest into an expansive celebration of old-timey twang and rustic roots music in a picturesque, riverfront setting.
This year's top-billed artists include the sardonic Texan singer-songwriter Hayes Carll, rockabilly legend Bill Kirchen and queer folk songstress Mary Gauthier. Other notable participants include Birds of Chicago, the Suitcase Junket and the Mammals.
Though its name conjures images of campsite villages and sing-alongs 'round the fire, ROTR does not recommend camping — unless you have an RV.
You might also like: Montréal Folk Festival on the Canal, Old Songs Folk Festival
Ziontific Summer Solstice Music Fest
June 16-19, Woodford
- Courtesy photo
- The Alchemystics
Ziontific Summer Solstice Music Fest is all about community, harmony and, most prominently, reggae music. While funk and hip-hop acts are well represented — including locals Cultural Chemistry, Binger, Bless the Child and Fresh Patterns — this weekend jamboree is all about dub, dancehall and Jamaican roots music.
One of the fest's centerpieces is the Silent Disco. If you aren't familiar with the concept, here's how it works: Rather than sending music through a traditional sound system, DJs broadcast sets into wireless headphones. Revelers experience a thumpin' dance party, while onlookers simply see a bunch of people rocking their bodies in total silence. It's a major trip for everyone involved.
Also in full effect are members of the Conduit Center, a wellness practice based in East Hartford, Conn. In its Wellness Village, practitioners host yoga workshops, meditation sessions, Thai massage and even Hula-Hoop lessons.
Other irie highlights include the Alchemystics, Dub Apocalypse and SensaMotion.
You might also like: Wanderlust Stratton, Manifestivus
June 23-25, Barre
- Courtesy of Letter10 Creative
- Rockfire
In the early 20th century, Millstone Hill in Barre was home to 75 granite quarries, making it a staple of the local economy and an essential part of the overall granite industry. The sites have since been transformed into recreational trails. And, for one weekend in June, the place comes alive with RockFire, a unique celebration that combines music, sculpture, art and, of course, fire.
Pyrophobes, beware: This "elemental experience" features live displays of fire-art from the Iron Guild, a group of purveyors and exhibitionists of the molten arts. Basically, these modern-day blacksmiths get their jollies by hurling liquid metal at enormous slabs. It's like being inside a volcano.
On the music side of things, songwriter and Skinny Pancake artist-in-residence Bow Thayer returns with his band. You'll also find the traditional Scottish ensemble St. Andrews Pipeband of Vermont. And then there's the pyrophone organ, which, as you might guess, literally spits fire as it's played.
You might also like: South End Art Hop, Vermont Renaissance Faire
Jenny Brook Bluegrass
June 22-25, Tunbridge
- Courtesy photo
- Ricky Skaggs
As one of the largest bluegrass festivals in these here parts, Jenny Brook Bluegrass features some of Appalachia's finest pickers, such as the Gibson Brothers and David Davis and the Warrior River Boys.
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder take top billing. Skaggs probably needs a wheelbarrow — or maybe a minivan — to cart around all of his industry trophies. He's won multiple Grammy Awards for Best Country Instrumental Performance. The International Bluegrass Music Association crowned his band Instrumental Group of the Year on numerous occasions. And, in the 1980s, the Academy of Country Music awarded Skaggs and co. Touring Band of the Year five times.
After soaking up the sounds, you might feel the urge to pick up a banjo yourself. If so, consider enrolling in Jenny Brook Bluegrass University. Professional musicians will show you the ropes on the stringed instrument of your choosing.
You might also like: Sugarbush Brew-Grass Festival , Rattlingbrook Bluegrass Festival
Frendly Gathering
June 29-July 1, Waitsfield
- Courtesy of Ash Larose
- Kat Wright
Who needs correct spelling when you're immersed in three days of funk-laden, jam-tastic, soul-licious music? In truth, the Frendly Gathering's misspelling is tied to the fest's high-concept manifesto.
That screed claims that there's "no I in frends" and outlines the 10 tenets of "frendship." They are (with my own interpretations): passion (feel strongly); mutual accountability (don't pass the buck); humility (you're not as cool as you think you are); inclusivity (cliques are for kids); respect (do unto others...); revelry (it's a party, after all); collaborat ion (you can't do it alone); selflessness (it's not just about you); integrity (do things the right way); and honesty (let it all out).
After several years in Windham, this year's wild rumpus moves to the Sugarbush Resort at Mount Ellen — which makes sense, since a group of professional snowboarders founded the festival.
Home-state jam champs Twiddle headline the first two nights, and a hefty batch of locals anchor this year's lineup, including Kat Wright, Madaila, smalltalker, the Renegade Groove, Peace in the Valley, and DJs Disco Phantom, Taka and Cre8.
You might also like: Twiddle's Tumble Down, Onion River Music Campout
Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
August 4-6, Montréal
- Courtesy photo
- Lorde
Among the biggest summer festivals within two hours of Burlington, the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival gives Coachella a run for its money. Across five stages, household names and underground darlings alike come together for a blissed-out rager just minutes from downtown Montréal.
This indie music carnival's headliners seem to get more impressive every year. Some will say nothing could top last year's über-famous top-slot performer, Radiohead. But this year's biggest acts — the Weeknd, Lorde and Muse — might appeal to a slightly different set.
What do these three artists have in common, aside from ubiquity? Perhaps they tend toward overly showy and sensational appeals to emotion. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Noteworthy acts include R&B maven Solange, Australian singer-songwriter Gordi, British glam-revivalists Temples and Swedish groove-meisters Little Dragon.
You might also like: The Thing in the Spring, Boston Calling
Otis Mountain Get Down
September 8-10, Elizabethtown, N.Y.
- Courtesy of SarahWaiswa
- Jojo Abot
This homegrown shindig is technically across state lines, but its origins can be traced back to Burlington. A group of the festival's founders once operated "the Range," an off-the-grid performance space in a South End basement. In 2013, they sought to take the party outdoors and found themselves atop Otis Mountain, upon which sits a mom-and-pop ski area. (Not so coincidentally, the family of one of OMGD's originators owns the mountain.)
The lineup typically leans toward on-the-cusp, cutting-edge artists — ones who garner attention from big-name outlets such as National Public Radio and Pitchfork. For instance, one of this year's headliners, Overcoats, made waves with their NPR Tiny Desk Concert back in April. Other headliners include Delicate Steve, Jojo Abot and Sam Evian. Repping the 802 are the Wormdogs, Iron Eyes Cody and smalltalker.
You might also like: Grand Point North, Solid Sound: Wilco's Music & Arts Festival


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Are you afraid of the dark? Well brace yourself, because you soon might be.
This creepy image shows a ghostly girl lurking in one of the prison cells at the notorious Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.
It was captured by teaching assistant Sheila Sillery-Walsh while on a tour of the infamous jailhouse, off the coast of San Franciso, California.
The prison is considered to be one of the most haunted places in America.
To mark the latest paranormal sighting we have given you the heads-up on nine more ghostly goings-on sure to send a shiver down your spine.
A ghost takes in New Year's Eve celebrations
One London photographer was preoccupied with spirits of a different kind as he took in New Year's Eve celebrations last year.
Professional snapper Jules Annan believed he caught a ghost looking out over the River Thames near Westminster Bridge.
The transparent figure appears to be dressed in modern clothing with a red jacket, winter boots and a cap.
Annan's spooky shot had sceptics talking but it seemed to convince paranormal investigator Lee Roberts, owner of Haunted Events UK.
He said: "He has found a live one here - or a dead one, as it were."
Is this misty figure the White Lady of Rufford?
Nottinghamshire County Council/PA)
Look closely and this misty snap might just reveal the ghost of the White Lady of Rufford.
Ill-fated Arbella Stuart is said to wander the ruins of the historic Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire.
And when teenager Cameron Hamilton caught this spooky apparition on his phone staff at the abbey were convinced it was the lady of legends.
The blurry snap shows a young woman in old-fashioned dress hovering over the door.
15-year-old Cameron said: "I was quite surprised and was not expecting it. I believe in ghosts and the supernatural and this has convinced me they do exist."
The ghost of Hampton Court
Hampton Court became Henry VIII's in 1528 and is said to be haunted by the king along with his wives Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard.
In 2003 security staff were alerted when an alarm went off to say a pair of heavy wooden doors had suddenly burst open.
They raced to check doors - only to find nothing there.
It was only when they later inspected CCTV cameras they discovered a mysterious figure draped in a cloak appearing at the doorway shortly before they arrived.
Bosses at Hampton Court said no other cameras had captured anyone near the doorway at the time.
A spooky vision haunts a Grade-II listed pub
This orb-like object might look pretty harmless, but the boss of a Grade-II listed pub says it's just one of a number of supernatural sightings plaguing his boozer.
The spooky sight was capured at Allerton Hall pub in Liverpool by shocked members of staff.
The pub, now known as the Pub in the Park, was built in 1736 and there has been a manor on the site since medieval times.
General manager Joe McCann said: "Ghost hunts here in the past have found some strange things like orbs and other supernatural activity so who know what's going on."
In a spooky coincidence, the pub is owned by the Spirit company.
Hooded figure stops by for a spirit
Perhaps unsurprisingly our next chilling encounter takes us to the fourth oldest pub in Britain.
Ye Olde Man and Scythe in Bolton dates back to 1251 and is said to be haunted by the Seventh Earl of Derby, James Stanley.
This toe-curling footage captures a hooded figure appearing near the bar during the night - with CCTV suddenly stopping soon after.
Manager Tony Dooley said: "I came down and saw a glass smashed on the floor so I was instantly suspicious and went to check the CCTV and found it had stopped working.
"To be honest I was a bit concerned - I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to ghosts but you become more of a believer when you see things like that."
This ghost gets nasty
This video captures what happens when ghosts get nasty.
The extraordinary CCTV footage shows a man being pushed to the ground before he is mysteriously dragged along a corridor.
The 60-second scare-fest starts with a man striding briskly along a white hall before a ghostly apparition appears in front of him.
He is hurled to the floor and dragged a short distance before the man stumbles to his feet.
Understandably the man then flees looking seriously spooked.
Thirsty ghost gets stroppy with staff
Maybe this ghost wasn't happy with the service at his local.
The creepy footage shows bottles of wine being thrown from the shelves at the Carlisle Castle Hotel bar in Newtown, New South Wales. And unfortunately, the ghost doesn't have cheap taste.
Licensee Peter Bradbury told the Australian Telegraph: "Red wine seems to be the choice, apparently he likes the red.
"Expensive wine too, he picked up a Kilikanoon last night, which is about $27 a bottle."
The spooky guest is said to made regular appearances at the bar.
Spirit takes crowd surfing to a whole new level
This bizarre footage captures a football fan taking his love for the game beyond the grave.
The unexplained video shows crowds watching football in Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz, Bolivia.
They are completely oblivious as a ghost appears to run over their heads and even through a barrier.
It was captured by TV cameras and footage of the shadowy apparition has since gone viral.
Little princess pays a visit?
Leeds Castle is said to be haunted by a 13-month-old princess.
The girl, believed to have been the daughter of Henry VIII, is said to have died from a wound to the head while she was playing in her bedroom.
Tourists at the castle took this video as they wandered the grounds.
They claim to have set a camera up overnight to capture the princess in all her glory, and played some spooky music over the top too.
We'll let you decide if this video is real or a fake.


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Introduction The effect of acute changes of hemoglobin during index heart failure admission on long-term outcomes remains unknown. Methods We examined 433 patients enrolled in the ESCAPE trial. Results Of the 433 patients, 324 (75%) had baseline and discharge hemoglobin available for analysis. Of those, 64 (20%) had at least 1 g/dL drop of hemoglobin by time of discharge. Compared to patients without hemoglobin changes (g/dL), patients with hemoglobin drop were older (59 vs. 55, p = 0.011), had lower systolic BP (mm Hg) (99 vs. 106, p = 0.017), lower sodium (mg/dL) (136 vs. 137 (mg/dL), p = 0.025), higher BUN (mg/dL) (37 vs. 26, p < 0.001), higher creatinine (mg/dL) (1.6 vs. 1.3, p < 0.001) and higher hospital length of stay (10 days vs. 6 days, p = < 0.001). Higher hemoglobin drop was observed in the pulmonary artery catheter (PACs) (vs. clinical care) randomized arm of the trial (2 g/dL: 10% versus 3%, p = 0.010; 3 g/dL: 5% versus 0%, p = 0.005). After adjustments, a drop of hemoglobin with at least 1 g/dL was associated with increased mortality risk (Adjusted HR 2.38, p = 0.003) and higher hemoglobin concentrations by the time of discharge was associated with lower mortality rate (Adjusted HR 0.79, p = 0.003). PACs insertion was not associated with adverse clinical outcomes by quartiles of % change of hemoglobin. However, PACs use was an independent predictor of hemoglobin drop during heart failure admission (Adjusted OR: Hb Drop 1 g/dL: 1.88, p = 0.043; Hb Drop 2 g/dL: 3.6 p = 0.025). Conclusion In-hospital decrease in hemoglobin is independently associated with increased long-term mortality and hospital length of stay in ADHF. The ideal hemoglobin levels in ADHF patients should be investigated and the insertion of PACs to direct therapy should be weighed against bleeding risks.
|Original language
|English (US)
|Pages (from-to)
|Number of pages
|International Journal of Cardiology
|Published - Nov 1 2016
|Externally published
- Anemia
- Heart failure
- Hemoglobin
- Hospitalization
- Mortality
- Prognosis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine