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The following bullet list sums up the GOALS of agility:
- If your requirements change you bend (and you do it in a robust and timely manner), but you don't crack
- You are able to constanlty improve desing and architecture without major delays
- Give the customer what they need at the end of the development process, not what they asked for at the beginning (unless it's the same thing)
- Do not burn people out while accomplishing previous goals
If you'd like to know HOW you'll be able to achieve all of this you might wanna have a deeper look at AGILE methodologies, bad news is there's around 1000 of them out there; they're basically fishing from the same AGILE pool of which they share the core. Talking about the core, it's easy to give a list of popular practices that can help to achieve the goals above, but how to use'em and which you should use and which not is up to which methodology you choose to adopt (you don't need to pick one, you can always create your own picking and mixing from the pool of AGILE practices, everyone seems to be doing that); just to name a few, XP is probably the trendiest, but the ICONIX process methodology is gaining lots of worshippers around, so keep an eye on it.
Anyway, here a list of popular AGILE practices, just to give an idea (random order):
- Test stuff like crazy - Test Driven Development (TDD) paradigm lives on this
- Involve your customer as much as possible
- Release like crazy
- Integrate your code like crazy
- Collective Responsibility (everyone knows about everything - in theory)
- Pair Programming (and pray your buddy is not an asshole)
- Optimize team communication (put buddies near to each other)
- Keep iterations short
Hopefully now it's clearer wtf AGILE means, but I wouldn't be surprised if not. Truth is AGILE doesn't exist.


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Birds are some of the most fascinating creatures on earth. One thing they have in common is the way they nurture their offspring. I like to think when a bird is wants to start a family, they plan it out and prepare (now this is just me thinking out loud). I see birds near my home collecting twigs and pieces of grass for their nests. It's beautiful, I must add. They make sure that their nest is all warm and cozy, and away from predators or anything that might bring harm to the nest or the offspring. So they pick a high branch in a tree, or a well hidden spot in a shrubbery. Safety First!!!
When they lay their eggs, they make sure to sit on them and keep them warm all the time. This is to ensure that the chick develops well and grows inside the egg. If they don't do this, the eggs would get too cold and they won't hatch. When they do hatch, the parent bird still keeps the chick close its body to keep it warm as well as to protect it. They do this until the chicks are old enough to fend for themselves and protect themselves; only then can they leave the nest to build one of their own.
It's kind of like that with us too, God places under the instruction and tutelage of different people to help us grow in our walk with him. The bible says in Eph 4:11,
"11. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13.Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"
Notice that He says, "FOR THE PERFECTING OF THE SAINTS". That tells me that there is a level of perfection that God intends for has to be at. And what is that? Its "…a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:" The problem is many Christians want to reach the fullness of Christ, they actually pray ever so fervently about it, but they do not want to be under the guidance of those that the Lord has given them. They don't want to be incubated in the nest. They feel, "well, I can't be pastored by anyone", "I don't need that church, I can study the bible on my own", "I can start my own ministry". Well, that's wonderful that you can study the Bible, but God saw it fit to give us Pastors, Apostles, Evangelists, etc. for our perfection. Imagine where the church at Ephesus would have been if they did not have the Apostle Paul.
Imagine where you would be if you did not have that really cool Sunday school teacher. All those people are there for your perfection and edification. Don't leave the nest. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)
Even at our places of employment, you may be placed under the supervision of someone; it's for your training. Sometimes you may think, "why have they placed me here, I am more qualified than that guy." Stop and think about it; it maybe to test your humility and your ability to work with others even those you think are less qualified than you. It's the secret place. The trouble is, if you decide to leave, you expose yourself to danger. If you decide to be insubordinate to your supervisor, you may end up getting fired or even worse, they'll keep passing you up for promotion. It's because they see you are not 'developed' enough.
Don't leave your church just because you argued with a brother or sister. Stay in the secret place. Don't let the enemy earmark you for destruction by separating you from the rest of the family "for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5:8). Your safety lies in Christ, and in the place where he has planted you. Then,
"8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. (Psalm 91)
Your safety is in the Secret place. Don't leave the nest before your time.
God Bless you.

subset: commoncrawl


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Violence is best understood as an epidemic health problem, and it can be effectively prevented and treated using health methods to stop events and outbreaks and to reduce its spread. This health framing is important because it recognizes that violence is a threat to the health of populations, that exposure to violence causes serious health problems, and that violent behavior is contagious and can be treated as a contagious process. Relatively standard and highly effective health approaches to changing behaviors and norms are increasingly being applied to the problem of violence and are showing strong evidence of impact among individuals and communities. We need to mobilize our nation's health care and public health systems and methods to work with communities and other sectors to stop this epidemic.
Because of its pervasiveness and far-reaching effects, violence is one of the most devastating national and global challenges we face. Violence not only causes injury and death; it also erodes the physical, psychological, social, and economic health and development of nearly everyone in affected communities, reducing life expectancy, inflicting trauma, limiting opportunity and achievement, and further entrenching inequities.
Recent advances in neuroscience, behavioral science, and epidemiology demonstrate that violence behaves like other contagious epidemics, yet violence is not primarily managed by the health sector, and health professionals are not the principal spokespersons or policy advocates on the issue. While health and public health methods for stopping violence exist and have been proven effective, they are underutilized and under-resourced.
Health professionals have ethical responsibilities to fully understand violence; to convey accurate information to patients, families, and the community; to provide the best care and follow-up to ensure recovery from violence; and to help prevent violence. We health professionals also have an ethical obligation to educate the public and policymakers about the new scientific understanding of violence as a contagious process that has emerged. It is our job to share this new understanding to shift the world's thinking toward scientifically grounded solutions for violence prevention. This Write-up outlines what is known about violence as a health issue and contagious process, effective programs for reducing violence, and practitioners' obligations to reverse this epidemic by acting on this new knowledge.
It is now scientifically clear that violence behaves like a contagious and epidemic disease. Violence meets the dictionary definition of disease (characteristic signs and symptoms causing morbidity and mortality and of contagious transmissible, causing more of itself). Violence also exhibits the population and individual characteristics of contagious epidemics—clustering, geo-temporal spreading, and person-to-person transmission. Incubation periods, defined as the time from infection to evidence of clinical disease, are variable in both infectious diseases and violence. Some other infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis have incubation periods that range from weeks to years. Incubation periods for violence can also vary greatly. People at heightened risk for violence have acquired this susceptibility in the same way that people acquire other contagious diseases—through exposure. The particular contagion of violence is initiated by victimization or visual exposure and mediated by the brain, just as the lungs mediate replication of tuberculosis or the intestines cholera. The brain processes violence exposure into scripts, or copied behaviors, and unconscious social expectations. This processing can also lead to several situationally adaptive responses including aggression, impulsivity, depression, stress, exaggerated startle responses, and changes in neurochemistry. The result in each case is production of more of what there was an exposure to, i.e., transmission to subsequent person(s) or groups.
Past exposure to violence is the strongest predictor of violent behavior, and each violent event represents missed prior opportunities for prevention and current opportunities to stem progression and spread. Studies have shown that exposure to violence from victimization or direct visual exposure increases the risk of chronic violent behavior thirtyfold. Exposure to peers who are victims in one's social network also increases the risk of violent victimization, similar to the elevated infection risks of close contacts of persons with tuberculosis.
As is the case in most contagious processes, not all persons exposed express the clinical condition of violent behavior, as there are factors that influence uptake—in particular, proximity, dose, and age. Other factors, such as poverty, poor education, and family structure, should be understood as modulating factors. As with other diseases, these modulating factors are important, but specific strategies for interrupting progression in a person or transmission in the community provide the best opportunities for reversal of the problem. These processes, whereby persons exposed to violence are at heightened risk for perpetration of violence, are thought to be responsible for contagions of child abuse, intimate partner violence, street violence, suicide, mass shootings, riots, and terrorism. These types of violence should be understood as syndromes of the same disease process that differ by context.
New methods are now available for stopping the spread of violence that are tailored to its disease-like characteristics. The public health sector has a strong record of effectively preventing disease—including stopping epidemic disease—changing norms and behaviors, and reaching high-risk populations. The epidemic control approach to reducing violence will be highly recognizable to those who have worked in infectious and epidemic control. Community-based health workers are selected, trained, supervised, and supported under the guidance of the health sector. Health workers map out areas of highest transmission and symptom manifestation, reach out to and intervene with those displaying clinical signs to reduce further transmission using methods tailored to the infectious agent at play, detect close contacts and others with emergent symptoms or at highest risk of future contraction, and render all those at highest risk less symptomatic and likely to transmit. Through these methods, health workers reduce spread of the contagion and reverse the epidemic process. As with other contagious health problems such as AIDS, new protective behaviors and norms are then promoted and supported at the community level.
Given evidence of the contagious nature of violence and the effectiveness of violence prevention programs using the epidemic control approach, our understanding of our role as health practitioners in relation to the problem of violence must now evolve. First, as part of our ethical obligations, we must more fully understand the essential components for providing competent care and follow up to victims of violence, including those with physical injuries, those traumatized by exposure, and communities as a whole. In some instances, and particularly in the case of community violence, victims of violence are at greater risk to be involved in future violence. Thus, in addition to acute care, we must provide intervention aimed at reducing risk of patients' re-injury, retaliation, or engagement in subsequent violence. Persons traumatized from exposure to violence must be identified and treated based upon the severity of their trauma. There is a role for all health practitioners who come into contact with people exposed to violence in providing screening, trauma-informed care, and follow up.
Health professionals should also provide information on violence as a contagious health problem to patients and the community so that individuals can limit their own exposure and seek treatment for trauma when needed. Patient education is a regular role for health practitioners in working to change behaviors, such as dietary behaviors, encouraging safe sex practices, or recommending other types of preventative interventions.
Finally, as health workers, we have credibility as spokespersons and thus need to step into this role more proactively and with greater visibility. We have the ability to provide a health framework on violence and its transmission, as we did for AIDS, and to encourage more effective policies and practices that will lead to better outcomes. During most epidemics, fear is prevalent, but accurate information provided by health professionals helps ensure the best responses to and outcomes for those affected and the general public.
Conclusion:Violence is best understood as an epidemic health problem. It is transmitted through exposure, which is mediated by the brain and social processes, and can be effectively prevented and treated using health methods. This scientifically grounded understanding of violence holds potential for a fundamental shift in how violence and persons who show symptoms of it are treated. Recognition and treatment of violence as a health crisis is long overdue. To date, the health sector and health professionals have been highly underutilized for the prevention, treatment, and control of violence. Health practitioners—from pediatricians to emergency medical personnel, from nurses to public health professionals, from mental health professionals to trauma specialists, and especially community health workers—need to step up and use new detection and intervention methods to treat violence and to advocate for competent care for all, both through existing health care institutions and a more robust community health system. These new methods should be widely used and supported within the health sector and in the community through trainings, curricula, and standards of practice, and further advanced through a reprioritization of resources to support health-based approaches to reducing and preventing violence. Now is the time to for our nation's health care and public health systems to work with communities and other sectors to stop this epidemic. Each of us has a role in making this happen.
The writer is former Head, Department of Medical Sociology,
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control & Research (IEDCR)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.


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Thursday, June 1, 2017
Pepper And NAO Robots Paper Toys - by Soft Bank Robotics
These cute robots paper toys are Pepper e NAO, the mascots from Soft Bank Robotics company. You will need two sheets of paper to build each one.
Estes simpáticos robôs paper toys são Pepper e NAO, os mascotes da companhia Soft Bank Robotics. Você vai precisar de duas folhas de papel para montar cada um deles.
Link: Pepper.And.NAO.Robots.Paper.Toys.by.Soft.Bank.Robotics
More Paper Models of Robots related posts:
Paper Toy Robots In Cubic Style - by 7eater`s Cubees
Easy-To-Build Cubic Robot Paper Toy - by Roaring Design
Rorobotan Robot Paper Model - by Dikids
Henchman Robot Paper Toy - by The Bat - Via Pepakura Gallery - Robô Escudeiro
Postado por mauther papermau às 7:04 PM
Marcadores: download, kids, mascot, paper model, paper toy, papercraft, papermodel, robots
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Espa ol
Every so often an album commands our attention and respect, and Solá Akingbolá's solo debut is a prime example. The Nigerian-born percussionist's main gig is with the chart-topping, globe-trotting U.K. dance band Jamiroquai, but he found the time to make a traditional Yoruba drumming-inspired album with the help of a talented stable of musicians. Akingbolá writes and plays with exceptional depth and emotion—he composed, arranged and produced most of the 11 songs here with instrumentation that mostly consists of hand drums, percussion and vocals. Tracks such as "Ninu Opon Ori Tiwa," and "Kulumbu Yeye" show off not only his ensemble's nimble musicianship, but equally important, his songwriting artistry. Simply put, every track on this disc is a standout, even if some of them are vignettes of three minutes or less. The more you listen, the more you hear, making Routes To Roots truly an aural expedition worth exploring many times over.
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Ganga Mahotsav 2010 begins! Ganga Mahotsav, one of the most awaited festivals of India, is celebrated in the month of October to November every year. The Ganga Mahotsav festival is a 5 day long beautiful affair that attracts tourists from far and wide. The celebrations of the Ganga Mahotsav begin from the Probodhini ekadashi and trail off to the Kartik poornima of the Indian lunar calendar. The venue of the Ganga Mahotsav is the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Ghat in Varanasi, a beautiful place which comes alive with all the joy and spirit and enlivens the bank of the holy Ganges.
What the Varanasi Ganga Mahotsav brings on the platter?
Ganga Mahotsav 2010 is five day long carnival, a platform that becomes the kaleidoscope of the finest craft and fantastic culture of India, all of which converge in a single place, i.e. by the bank of the River Ganges in Varanasi. While this art and culture festival of India converges the most traditional facets of the Indian cultural heritage, it is the vibrant state of Uttar Pradesh, which is the main show stealer in the Varanasi Ganga Mahotsav.
The illuminating moment of Ganga Mahotsav
The phantasmagoria of this dreamy Indian festival comes to a closure on the fifth day, when millions and millions of illuminated earthen lamps, called Diyas, are sent afloat the mystic and playful waters of the Holy Ganges. The fragrance of the burning incense fills the atmosphere impregnating the breezes with sanctity. The sacred Vedic chants on the other hand add to the holy scene by slowly transforming the Ganges bank to a celestial abode. This out of the world feeling and the scenes converges in a pair of worlds – Dev Deepavali, an enlightening event in the Ganga Mahotsav festival that brings down the curtains to this cultural bonanza of Varanasi.
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The ongoing Avian Influenza outbreak in the United States continues to have huge ramifications for our foodservice industry and our supply channels. The situation continues to develop but already has resulted in millions of birds being killed and many of the existing flocks continue to be at risk for disease and possible slaughter.
Liquid egg manufacturers in the United States have been greatly impacted, with some losing all or the majority of our flocks. We have been notified by our supplier that BiRite will be on an allocation program beginning next week and more than likely running through the year and quite possibly the majority of 2016.
Effective immediately, BiRite will need to take the following steps to continue servicing our customers and to minimize overall disruption to the supply chain.
- BiRite will no longer accept new business or new customers for liquid eggs.
- Current customers will be limited to at most their twelve week average of purchases. If our allocation decreases from the historical average, we will allocate our customers proportionally.
Aaron Barulich,
General Manager
BiRite Foodservice Distributors


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First, writing a poem (or prose) about how to do something can clarify your thinking beautifully. One of my assignments to a new high school writing class was always for students to write instructions for something they knew how to do very well. The exercise provided them with practice in thinking, and writing, more clearly than usual. The students were always amazed at the steps they omitted in the first draft simply because the act they were describing was so familiar to them. I�ll never forget the frustration of one young man writing about how to ride a bull in a rodeo, and a young woman writing about how to make a bed. But they did it.
Another attraction of the "How To" poem is that you can use it to review something you haven�t done for a while, recalling memories from childhood. One of these days I need to do a poem on how to milk a cow, to refresh my memory of what started out as a chore and became a joyful duty that taught me a lot more than the direct act of milking.
So here�s an example of a poem written during an August when I was spending more time gardening than writing, and wanted to get back to writing. The file of drafts of this poem contains 9 pages, which is unusually short for my revisions.
Here�s the entire first draft:
How to Pick Green Beans
in the garden�s deep soil.
to lift the bottom leaves.
for rattlesnakes that may
in shade to wait for rabbits
at dusk to feed.
That�s not a bad poem; it has strong verbs (kneel, reach, watch), some nature observation that includes the rabbits as prey of the rattlesnakes, as well as the ending twist with the rabbits coming to the beans as predators.
But I felt it was incomplete, so I put the draft aside. Once begun, a poem often surfaces in my subconscious, and my mind continued to nibble at the edges of it. This scattered method seems to work for me, though I can�t recommend it unless your mind works as mine does. Just now, for example, I stopped working on this essay to run upstairs to finish washing a sink full of dishes. They�d been soaking in hot water and suds because just after I started this essay, I needed to get away from the computer and think for a few moments. I wandered upstairs and started doing dishes-- but I don�t hesitate to drop a domestic job if I get a sudden inspiration in something I�m writing.
For the second draft, two days later, I delved into my memory of my grandmother, and began to alternate my memories of her gardening with my own experience picking beans. Somehow kneeling in the garden reaching into the sunlight-braided leaves made me see her hands doing the same, brought me close to her, though she�s been gone from my immediate world for many years. The memories this exercise evoked were worth the struggle, even if the poem had never been finished.
How to Pick Green Beans
in the garden�s deep soil.
to lift the bottom leaves.
for rattlesnakes.
Grandmother kept her hoe handy, wore gloves,
tilted her bifocals until she was sure of the snake�s
skin among the mottled shade cast by the leaves.
She rose, steadied herself in the dirt and chopped.
Once, twice, until the head was loose. Hooked
the hoe to lift the limp body, carry it to the fence
She threw and the snake struck against the sky.
No snakes this morning, only gold
sliding among fat green leaves
beans slender as sunlight. I pinch
each one free, gently, trying not to knock
off the blossoms that will make next week�s
beans. A grasshopper lands on my wrist, feet
prickly. Redwing blackbirds sing
from the cottonwoods, and I commend the soul
of the grasshopper to them. I crawl along the row,
and start back down the other side, finding beans
I should have been able to see. Tomorrow I will
find more I can't believe I missed.
And I will
Remembering my grandmother and her deft manner of killing rattlesnakes added a deeper aspect to the references in the first draft; the snakes are a threat not just to the rabbits but to the life of the gardener, adding value to the beans. I retained the idea of kneeling, suggesting a worshipful aspect to the harvest.
Now the poem needed to be tightened, refined. In the third draft, ten days later, I focused on the fourth and final stanza, emphasizing the aspect of gratitude.
I flinch from a prickle on my wrist, but
it�s a grasshopper. Redwing blackbirds sing
from the cottonwoods. On my knees,
I shuffle down the row. Grandmother used
even the scabby ones, hopper-gnawed.
Later the beans will sway in the sink
full of water like green snakes.
Tomorrow I will find more beans
I can't believe I missed.
And I will kneel again, my hands
singing praises for this harvest.
My mental picture accompanying the last line was of praying hands, but the idea of hands �singing� praises jarred my logical mind. Over the next several weeks, I worked on the poem every few days, mostly paring it down, whittling away unnecessary adjectives, trying to make the sensory impressions more vivid. In the sixth draft, late in August, I shifted one stanza from the middle of the poem to the beginning to put the reader into the center of the sensory experience before getting into the complications I�d introduced.
This morning�s gold breeze slides
among beans slender as sunlight
making snake patterns. Gently, I brush
the leaves aside, careful not to knock off blooms
that will make next week�s beans.
Late in September, I was still tinkering with the poem, but I had decided against making the final stanza a hymn of praise, believing that the reference to kneeling carried that idea sufficiently. I was concentrating on the ending, groping for the right combination.
First I wrote this: �I will taste the green possibility / of snakes within this harvest.�
A month later, I decided to make the reference more direct:
All winter, eating beans with bacon,
I will taste the green flesh,
know the snakes
within this harvest.
At the side of this I scribbled, �Taste the snake?� That was the final touch: making the snake�s presence more vivid and sensory by suggesting something that seemed outlandish, that the flavor of the snake remains within the bean harvest. I knew the poem was close to finished, so I put it aside to rest. In November, I revised the poem for the final time.
How to Pick Green Beans
This morning�s gold breeze slides
among beans slender as sunlight,
making snake patterns in the earth.
I brush leaves aside, careful
not to knock off blooms
that will make next week�s beans.
in the garden�s deep soil.
to lift the bottom leaves.
for rattlesnakes.
Picking what she called a mess of beans,
my grandmother kept her hoe handy,
tilted her bifocals to see the snake,
steadied herself and chopped
until the hissing ceased.
Hooked him with her hoe, swung her arm.
The snake whirled and struck the sky.
each stem with the left hand
each pair of beans with the right.
One hand
should always know
the other�s whereabouts in rattler country.
Redwing blackbirds sing from the cottonwoods
as I shuffle on my knees down the row.
Later, in the sinkful of water,
the beans sway like green snakes.
Grandmother used even the scabby ones,
hopper-gnawed. All winter, eating beans with bacon,
I will taste the green flesh,
taste the snake
within the harvest.
* * *
�How to Pick Green Beans� (c) 2011 by Linda M. Hasselstrom
This poem was published in Dirt Songs: A Plains Duet, with Twyla Hansen, now the State Poet of Nebraska. (The Backwaters Press, 2011).
Twyla tells me that she�s celebrating National Poetry Month by writing a poem a day. I�m not going to be able to manage that, but I urge others to try it. And you might want to start with a poem on How To Do Something.
Linda M. Hasselstrom
Windbreak House
Hermosa, South Dakota
# # #
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Changes needed for free online game site
Budget $30-100 USD
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Due to the high number of people who say they can do the job and then never accept the assignment I have decided that I will accept a bid from someone who has a high feedback rating and has completed bids that are related to my posting.
I would like to have the following changes made to my arcade site:
1. I want the script updated to the latest version, I will supply all the files needed.
2. I want to have a file added on my server that cannot be searched by the search engines and I want to be able to add say a hundred or so games and videos and then have some way to tell the site to automatically take a game from the file and add it to the site every hour and place it in the right assigned category and must be indexable by the search engine.
3. I want to have a basic shoutbox added to the main page so visitors can post a message on the main page to challenge other players, must be able to block bad words
4. I would like a complete site review for on page seo, no off page or web promotion only on page for proper white hat seo to improve search engine rankings.
5. Improve the speed at which the site loads by optimizing the file sizes.
6. All work done must come with a 30 day review and correction of any found errors.
I want this work done asap so I am only going to accept bids for up to 48 hours and I will place the agreed upon price into escrow right away, I will release payment upon completion of the work with the understanding that I have 30 days from date of payment acceptance to report any errors I find on the site and have them correct by you at no additional charge.
If you can complete the above work within the required time frame and can show good feedback then please respond to this posting.
Thank you,


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Sunday, January 22, 2017
So I just watched the Lobster, and here's lots of words about my reaction...
Fear is a crazy thing. As I've been encountering my own spiritual re-evaluation over the past 18 months, I've found myself exploring which belief systems do and do not work for me, and it has been absolutely terrifying. I've said this many times over the past 18 months... I COMPLETELY understand why people don't change. To step away from self-serving, fear-based thought-patterns and move towards new behaviours, when those thought-patterns were the only things that kept me safe as a child??? Are you KIDDING me?? The devil we don't know is 1000x scarier than the devil we know. I GET why people don't change. In the time since having 3 pretty intense shall-we-call-them-"spiritual"-experiences, most pre-2015 truths that were rock-solid have since dissolved, and things I wouldn't have even considered have become a very real part of my filter. Maybe I'll blog about that more one day... but suffice it to say, there's a lot I'm unclear about right now.
BUT. One constant truth has emerged in my insatiable research these days: that we NEED each other to survive. it appears the the only way we can evolve - indeed, the only way we have survived this far - is through trust, empathy, and compassion. It appears we cannot evolve as a species without these characteristics. We've got tiny little bodies, no claws, fangs, or fur, poor eyesight, and these huge heads. How else are we supposed to kill a bear if we don't have group strategy??
The aforementioned absurdist "comedies" serve to remind us that without accessing our evolved frontal cortex, the centre for "WE" thinking, we become fear-based, self-serving, and manipulative. Not just on the individual front... but as a WHOLE. Believe or don't believe in the law of attraction... I feel it's safe to say that we are inter-connected... our thoughts and actions can directly influence those around us. ESPECIALLY vulnerable groups like children.
Our society is flawed and distorted. Perhaps it always will be. With our material needs met, the First World's evolutionary impulses step into overdrive. Combined with not NEEDING our neighbours to help us harpoon dinner, and with the Industrial Revolution's move into large cities and nuclear families, our tribal empathy and support systems have all but disappeared. Great for technology. Terrible for our brains.
I am moving into learning more and more about mental health, of my own propensity towards anxiety and compulsive behaviours, and the remedy for that. Turns out I can't heal anxiety on my own. When I'm in the midst of an anxiety attack, the ONLY way out of my thoughts is calling somebody else who can talk me through it. If not a friend or fellow, it's a Crisis Line. My thoughts get distorted and if I don't ask for a trustworthy's person help, who knows what will happen. What works for me is thinking of my mental health as one that carries a spiritual disease: I do have preventative medicine available (therapy, meetings)... and when I'm stable, there's some leeway on my routine. But if I go long without this medicine of other people's healthy thinking to bolster my own, or the ability to be kind and compassionate to others, I can slip right back into the self-serving-ness so quickly I won't even know what happens. How "amusing" that the very thing that is our evolutionary protection (fear-based ego), can actually lead to our downfall.
With the help of my kind, caring network of strong people around me, I seem to be doing ok right now. I mean, I HATE the winter, so ask me again in 6 weeks, but cultivating compassionate tribe has been a crucial part of moving through my own self-destructive periods. And likewise, the times that I've found a way to remember to channel kindness and compassion towards others, I've felt the intensity of emotional/mental pain cool and maybe even be replaced by a different, more pleasant, feeling.
It's been said that pain and struggle exists because without it, we would not have compassion. I'd like to buy that, but the skeptic in me is still unsure. I've had some pretty intense pain and struggle in my time, and it is PEANUTS compared to what some other humans go through. So for me to use that as a blanket statement for why the world is as it is feels callous and negligent. This goes back to me not knowing a god-damed thing about the world.
But here's what I do know: I have some very important mentors who have either lived longer than me on this earth, who have lived through at least what I'm going through if not worse, or both... and have lived to tell the tale. The people who pull me through are those who can say, "Me Too!". I don't even care about getting advice, when I'm in that place, usually... I just know that if somebody hasn't experienced what I've experienced, they simply won't help me get through the thing I'm getting through. But if they have, and I feel safe around them, I open up just a little bit. And maybe even heal. Or whatever.
So... do I have an end for this blog? A Happy Ending? Or an answer for our terrifying shared reality of the Inauguration of He Who Shall Not Be Named? Not really. Except that the sun came up today, and there's a lot I don't have control over, even from day to day (depending on my mental health state), but there will always be even a little something I have control over, and that's enough for today.
A lot of this blog was influenced by this article here, which is worth a read in our scary world events right now, and contains a link to a TED talk. It also is prompting a lot of my own personal research into Joseph Campbell, so if you have any articles around the work he's done, send 'em my way.
4 comments:
- delara hadi said...
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English > Research
The two pharmaceutical departments have divided their research into the following strategic focus areas.
- Analytical Biosciences
- Biologics
- Pharmaceutical Design and Drug Delivery
- Pharmaceutical Technology and Engineering
- Social and Clinical Pharmacy
Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology
- Natural Products Research
- Medicinal Chemistry Research
- Experimental Pharmacology
- Biostructural Research
- Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
- Pharmacotherapy
- Center for Biopharmaceuticals
See also Pharma Science Profile-video (appr. 3 min)


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Kate Pollasch is an art historian, curator, and writer.
She serves as Associate Director at Rhona Hoffman Gallery and has previously held positions with The Art Institute of Chicago, The Roger Brown Study Collection, and the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore. Her curatorial practice interrogates preexisting notions of history and normativity through queer tactics, network theory, archival studies, and considerations of affect and digital pedagogy. In 2012, she curated the exhibition "Roger Brown: This Boy's Own Story" of Chicago Imagist artist Roger Brown's artistic relationship to HIV, sexuality, mortality, and Chicago's gay leather community. The exhibition unearthed previously censored artworks and archival materials from Brown's career and resulted in Brown's induction into the Visual AIDS Artist Registry.
Pollasch holds a MA in Modern art History and Theory and an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She holds a BA in Studio Art and Art History from Saint Mary's College of Maryland. She has lectured extensively, including speaking at The Chicago History Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The University of Chicago.
Learn more about Kate Pollasch's HATCH exhibitions A Fine Line, Tracing the Invisible, and Being, enough.


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*We find Google Classroom to be very user friendly. We have a 1:1 campus and students have their own iPads all day, every day. We work to keep a well-balanced learning environment and know the importance of paper/pencil and unplugged activities, as well. However, using Google Classroom provides an outlet for us to seamlessly share and communicate within our room, and beyond.
*It is easy to send a Morning Message to my students. When my students enter our classroom each morning, their To Do List is traditionally written on the board. It reminds them of things to do before school begins and provides an activity or two to get them thinking as we prepare for our day. As we began using Google Classroom more often, then daily, I made a laminated Google Classroom icon with a magnet on the back. Now I just hang the icon under the day's date and students know to check Google Classroom on their iPads once they get settled. This frees me to tackle last minute morning tasks and empowers students to be responsible for the beginning of their day. The following list asks students a few questions then reminds them to go to 'Read to Self' as part of their Daily 5 for the day:
*I can collect work from students and grade their digital work in one central location. In our classroom, paper/unplugged products are equally important and acceptable - students load a photo of their work.
*I can share documents easily with students. This was to use for a collaborative project. Students enjoyed the fact that they could access the document anytime. They also preferred any directions or rubrics to be posted to Google Classroom so they could refer back as needed.
*In our classroom we follow many experts on Twitter. Pete Delkus is our local weather forecaster and we use his data often in Math and Science. Students also provide Weather Reports to the class each day so we practice observing patterns in weather all throughout the year.
*I often use Google Classroom as a warm up - it is usually their Morning Work, which gives me time to view their answers with plenty of time to address what we need to work on in class. We had a student who telescoped from first grade last year. He could easily access Google Classroom each morning (I had a note for him on his desk) and participate in the activity, especially if it pertained to our Math lesson that day. It provides a strong sense of community and participation.
*I can send a message when we have a sub. There are few questions if the sub is not able to communicate the activity and I can view responses from my meeting or home if I have a sick child. (I contact the sub - if he/she is familiar - if I notice everyone has not completed the activity)
*I ask questions to gain information about my students and I include a sentence stem for support if needed. Students can also view each other's posts which provides additional support for students. We often discuss the posts as a part of our Circle Up. Sometimes it is regarding a current event or an activity that students want to talk about that day (this was the day after their music program)
*I can provide a warm up activity. It is easy to post a video or photo. I can gather data and can address that day as a warm up learning point, a super tool for formative assessment.
I still have a lot to learn using Google Classroom. I need to learn how to improve our work flow so students can turn in their work to me through Google Classroom. We tried it a few times but haven't mastered it... yet. Luckily I get to loop this year so we can try, try again! : )
How do you use Google Classroom?


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This handmade tie by QP Collections is made of a yellow and coral cotton with a large floral print. Each tie is slightly different because of the large print.
This is a great new pink floral we are excited to release. There is a unique large print so each tie varies slightly. If this concerns you, contact us to see pictures of the available ties. The rear tie stay is made of a genuine leather Handmade by me or my team We now offer the option to monogram initials on the back of your tie. Either the initials for yourself, or someone who will be receiving this item as a gift. Please leave the initials in the notes section when you check out. If you get multiple items, please specify what item should get what initials. We can only fit up to three letters or numbers for the monogram.
AHAlife is committed to help you live a conscious and inspired life.
Many of the items you discover here are exclusive to AHAlife, which is what makes our community of designers and artisans so special.
If you find one of our products anywhere else for less than it's being sold on our site, we will match it.
Our dedicated Concierge Team is here to help. Reach out any time at:


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SOURCE: Cloudera
April 19, 2011 06:00 ET
Daily Deal Giant Chooses Cloudera to Get Maximum Insight From Its Data Deluge
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Apr 19, 2011) - Cloudera, the leading provider of Hadoop-based data management software and services, today announced that Groupon, the pioneering daily deal site, has implemented Cloudera's Distribution for Apache Hadoop (CDH) to get more value from the massive amounts of data and information they collect and generate.
With more than 70 million registered users in more than 500 global markets, Groupon has been dubbed the "fastest growing company ever" by Forbes magazine. Data is one of Groupon's most strategic assets; Groupon relies on information from both vendors and customers to make daily deal transactions run smoothly. Prior to deploying CDH, Groupon realized that they needed better ways to organize and make sense of the data generated by their massive user base for the long term.
Groupon first approached the Hadoop experts at Cloudera to assist in laying the foundation for a large-scale data system. The goal was to build an IT infrastructure that could keep up with the speedy rate at which Groupon amasses data without impeding the expansion of the business. Groupon worked closely with the Cloudera team to capture their ever-swelling collection of data into Hadoop, take advantage of the ease of scale of the system, and ultimately be prepared for future growth while consistently gaining new insights into its customers and business.
"We were eager to try Hadoop based on the technology's promise to make sense of massive amounts of data, and it hasn't disappointed," said Mark Johnson, chief data officer, Groupon. "Cloudera's distribution and support have been instrumental in helping Groupon deliver on our goal to be a technology leader."
Groupon will use Hadoop as a staging area for all of their extreme data. Savvy analysts will be able to go directly to the finest level of detail on data before it has been through the cleansing process. Data that has been refined and processed in Hadoop will go into an analytic DBMS for additional analysis. The company has plans to leverage CDH beyond core Hadoop to include other projects such as Flume, Pig, Hive, Oozie and HBase.
"Cloudera is committed to companies with large amounts of complex data like Groupon by providing the Hadoop-based platform industry-standard in CDH along with unsurpassed Hadoop-related support and services," said Amr Awadallah, CTO, Cloudera. "Groupon is a perfect example of how enterprises can best make use of Hadoop to get the most insight out of their data and we're proud to be working with such a trail-blazing company."
Groupon's goal of building a world-class infrastructure has encouraged many talented engineers to join their teams in Palo Alto and Chicago. The data team at Groupon is rapidly growing, which is indicative of the heightened interest in data management that both Cloudera and Groupon are seeing in the IT industry.
About GrouponGroupon, launched in November 2008 in Chicago, features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 500 markets around the world. Groupon uses collective buying power to offer unbeatable prices and provide a win-win for businesses and consumers, delivering more than 900 daily deals globally. For more information, visit Groupon.com. To learn more on how to become a featured business on Groupon, visit http://www.Grouponworks.com.
About ClouderaCloudera is the leading provider of Apache Hadoop-based software and services and works with customers in financial services, web, telecommunications, government and other industries. The company's products, Cloudera Enterprise and Cloudera's Distribution including Apache Hadoop, help organizations profit from all of their information. Cloudera's Distribution including Apache Hadoop is the most comprehensive Apache Hadoop-based platform in the industry. Cloudera Enterprise is the most cost-effective way to perform large-scale data storage and analysis and includes the tools, platform and support necessary to use Hadoop in a production environment. For more on Cloudera, please visit www.cloudera.com.
Media Contact: Ray George LEWIS Pulse for Cloudera Phone: 650-922-3825 Email Contact
Media Contact: Ray George LEWIS Pulse for Cloudera Phone: 650-922-3825 Email Contact
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In house shop construction assures greater quality control and more efficient use of man-hours. Adverse weather and site conditions are not a factor because preassembly is completed inside.
In our state-of-the-art facilities, EPIC's skilled modular fabricators build process skids to strict FDA, ASME, AWS and client imposed specifications.
EPIC routinely builds large modular process systems in our fabrication plant which features high-clearance ceilings and loading dock doors.
Fabrication capabilities include:
- Carbon-steel
- Electrical development, wiring and testing
- FAT testing
- Frame fabrication
- Green tags
- Instrumentation installation
- Insulation
- Mechanical assembly
- Non-carbon steel
- Painting
- Packaging assembly
- Pipe fitting, bending and installation
- Pressure vessel fabrication
- Sanitary fabrication
- Sheet metal
- Structural fabrication
- Tooling
- Tubing fitting, bending and installation
- Welding
Sanitary Projects
EPIC has separate facilities and tool sets for projects involving carbon steel or sanitary systems. As a packaging machine machine manufacturers, we ensure that no cross-contamination occurs between environments. EPIC is equipped with an orbital welder for sanitary piping projects.
Our sanitary system capabilities include:
- Zero dead leg piping design
- Internal finish polish specification
- Slope-to-low point drain piping design
- Specification of sanitary components (valves, regulators, sample valves, pumps, tanks, etc.)
- Clean-in-place (CIP) system design
- High temperature sanitization system design
Electrical Panels
EPIC designs, fabricates and wires all electrical panels and components in-house in our panel shop. Electrical design is also completed in-house.
Welding for Structural and Piping Projects
Our welding staff is fully equipped to complete a wide variety of welding and piping projects, including: projects involving carbon steel, sanitary piping, aluminum and Hastelloys.
Custom Projects
Most projects completed in our plant are custom projects. Our experienced packaging machinery manufacturers, plant staff, quality control manager, shop foreman and engineering project managers work together on every custom project to ensure success. All projects completed in the EPIC fabrication plant leave fully assembled, tested and ready for on-site installation.


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HTC will reveal its next device on April 12
It's been a long time coming, but at last we seem to have a date for HTC's next flagship phone to be revealed: April 12.
The company sent out invites to the press today highlighting an event that will be streamed from its website.
The phone, purported to be called the HTC 10 or M10 is rumored to include specs like a Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM, along with an updated camera.
That said, it's hard to say whether flagship specs and a decent camera will be enough for HTC to make up its lost momentum; the company will have to knock it out of the park if it wants to take on the likes of Samsung and Apple.
For it's part, HTC isn't saying anything about the device just yet, but we'll find out more come April 12.
➤ HTC 10 Will be Announced April 12 [Phandroid]
Read next: Can Shopify make the 'Buy' button a thing?


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I'm still learning about this blogging business but recently noticed there is a 'stats' page and one feature on it is a map showing all the countries that have people who have viewed my blog.....It was fun to see becuase as I noted the different countries I had a pretty good idea of who in that country might be viewing our little blog....growing up an MK I know we have a lot of friends all over the world and it is fun to be connected to all of you.....Thanks for your love and support!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Who reads this lil blog, anyway?
Posted by Sarah Houser at 9:36 PM
Labels: Readers
3 comments:
AWESOME pictures, i'm impressed! Can;t wait to see you adding to the book i've begun, when will we coordinate that? Grandma Hope and Aunt Norma Jean LOVED having you guys -- you truly are passionate about family!!! love you!! Glad you still like my pies the best : ) mommy OMAReplyDelete
I am reading your blog! Wow, Caleb has gotten so big and he's just adorable! Praying for your family, Sarah!ReplyDelete
-Kelley Speck
KELLEY!!! We miss you! Where are you these days? Please keep in touch! ~SarahReplyDelete
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Nouvel Terraced Flatback Stainless Warning TGSI
Product Code (SKU) - 113313
Price per unit.
400 units per box
All stocked items dispatched 1 working day upon order received, delivery 1-2 days Victoria, 2-3 SA & Eastern Seaboard, WA & NT 3-5 days.
Description: 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel Hazard Stepped Sides Tactile Indicators are highly durable and robust, offering an elegant finish perfectly suited to withstand and uplift a busy city environment.Installation: Tactiles are secured using an epoxy adhesiveSubstrate: Timber, Concrete, Asphalt, Stone Tiles, Ceramic Tiles, Direct Stick Carpet, Broadloom Carpet (Request Carpet Kit Specific PDS)Dimensions: Major Diameter: 35mm, Minor Diameter: 25mm, Thickness: 4.5mm, No ShaftLuminance Contrast Requirement: Discrete Stainless Steel Tactiles require a 45% luminance contrast with that of its surrounding substrates to achieve compliance with AS14528.4.1 Design for access and mobility.Slip Resistance & Luminance Test Classifications:Wet Pendulum Test Mean BPN: 53 W(HIGH*)Oil-Wet Ramp Test 21.6 Degrees R11(M)Luminance Value Mean Wet Value 23.01Mean Dry Value 31.27CSIRO Test Results available on requestComplies & Exceeds Required Australian Standards:AS/NZ 4586:1999 Slip Resistance ClassificationAS/NZ 1428.4.1:2009 Section 2: 2.3.2 Design RequirementsPacking: 400 Piece per box


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Scott H necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 57 diseños de 21 diseñadores freelance.
We need a logo designed that we intend to use for outdoor banner signs, business cards, letterhead and clothing. Please see description below.
We are not a traditional glass company in that we stress repair not replacement.
- Our logo must have the business name, Save Your Glass, and feature a windshield or front of a car showing a stone chip (not a cracked winshield). The colors should feature red and black, but can contain bright yellow as long as it can be removed for 2 color printing if needed, and should have good contrast for maximum visibility. Also the words There is no catch! (with the "no" underlined, bolded, etc) should be under the design and please also include the TM as we are going to have this trademarked.
- should be simple, clean and easy to read. It should only take a glance to get the idea that we repair windshields.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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From Granada to Barcelona!
While my friends all packed their bags for the United States, I got to stay in Spain for another 5 days! My dad met me in Granada on the last day of my program, where I?spent two days showing off the?hottest spots of my home away from home! After spending five weeks on a student budget living in a non air conditioned home, those last few days in Granada with my dad exposed me to a whole new side of the city, full of historical tours, expensive meals, ?and hotel rooms (where I did not wake up covered in sweat)!
While we were originally supposed to spend a few days in Lisbon, Portugal, after an issue with tickets (in which I had to talk with an Iberian Airlines representative for a stressful hour on the phone in Spanish), it turned out to be easier/less expensive to go to Barcelona! We went straight to a tapas bar after landing at 11:30pm, which got?our time in Barcelona off to a good start!?My favorite part was wandering around the streets and neighborhoods of Barcelona. Our hotel was on the Rambla, which is a major street lined with hotels, shops, and restaurants, and which leads straight to the water! On either side of the Rambla is?the Raval neighborhood and the Gothic neighborhood, full of boutiques and antique shops! We made sure not to leave any euros behind, eating at the best restaurants and of course buying an absurd amount of souvenirs and clothes!!
La Sagrada Familia
Construction on this Basilica began in 1882 under the direction of architect Antoni Gaud?. Believe it or not, it is still under construction today and is not scheduled to be finished until 2026! Dedicated to the Holy Family, the Basilica is very modern compared to some older ?cathedrals that I'd seen ?in Spain, constructed with huge columns meant to look like trees in a forest and huge stained glass windows. The outside of the basilica?is very different, and is intricately decorated with the figures of the holy family, depictions of nature, and emblems of the Catholic church.
Park G?ell
Park G?ell is at the top of a huge hill that overlooks all of Barcelona. The views are incredible, but?the hike up is NOT. We took the metro to a spot three blocks away from what we thought was the entrance to the park. We were wrong. It turns up you have to walk up what feels like a 90 degree incline for 6 blocks in order to get to the gates of the park. The experience only gets better when you wear strappy sandals that have absolutely no grip on the bottom (this has turned into an uncomfortable?habit of mine…)
La Boqueria
La Boqueria is a market just off of the Rambla which is full of vendors selling fresh fruit, smoked pig legs, dried peppers, and lots of fish! A refreshing and colorful?place to go after a full day of shopping!
travel days… great when you're going to Barcelona… not so fun when you have to go home
Written by Madison?Wiedeman


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Over at HobbyArt they are having their very fist blog challenge - its Poppies/Remembrance. I really wanted to enter and, as usual am running out of time, so made a very simple card using the HobbyArt Poppies Scene It clear stamp set.
The images are stamped with black Versafine and embossed with clear powder then coloured in with Spectrum Noir coloured pencils.. I added clear Wink of Stella to everything and Glossy accents to the three main flowers. The white die cut is Spellbinders but I don't know what set (sorry) as a friend gave it to me. Sorry about the glare - my photo skills are pretty much non-existent!
Please have a look at HobbyArt Blog and see the fab DT makes and the other entries which are awesome and much more elaborate than mine!
Thank you for visiting me and have a lovely Sunday. Take Care. Christine xxx
Sunday, 30 November 2014
First Challenge for HobbyArt
6 comments:
- Anita in France said...
So much fabulous sparkle, shimmer and shine, Chris ... the black is so brilliantly dramatic! Anita :)
- 30 November 2014 at 18:33
- Redanne said...
The poppies really are beautiful and I do love that die you used in the background, it really is lovely. Hugs, Anne xx
- 30 November 2014 at 21:06
- Craftin Suzie (Susan Flynn) said...
Beautiful Chris. I love the glossy accents on the poppies. Susan x
- 30 November 2014 at 21:41
- chrissies said...
Wonderful finish on the poppies they really stand out
Chrissie x
- 1 December 2014 at 07:42
- SARN said...
This is a lovely poppy card. Love the glossy accents use. xxx
- 1 December 2014 at 14:30
- Jackie said...
It's lovely! Jx
- 5 December 2014 at 08:29
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How Many Hedge Funders Does it Take to Make a Joke…
By David Benoit from WSJ's Deal Journal blog.
Bridgewater Associates has landed itself a new in-house comedian.
Our WSJ colleagues have reported the hedge fund has hired Michael Terry as a client adviser. Terry was Bank of America's former head of capital introductions, a role that involves essentially matchmaking between investors and hedge funds. Click to read more


text:
I am actress, still trying to make my foothold strong in Bollywood. I had made a debut in Bollywood in 2004 but that went unnoticed and I moved on to south industry.
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Apple Inc.
At the same time, I want to reinforce the doubts I expressed then about some of its products, especially the iPhone. Nothing depresses me more than to see people staring at their iPhone screens throughout the day—in restaurants, on the street, around the dinner table, while they are driving—anywhere it seems.
I believe the iPhone has become an addiction for all too many people. The constant preoccupation with the device has become a substitute for plain thinking, plain observing, plain reflection, conversation, rumination, or dreaming.
Here is what I wrote in October 2011:
Here's to the crazy ones. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Apple's 1977 "Think Different" Advertising Campaign.
Steve Jobs went to Reed College where I taught psychology throughout my academic life and was a student while I was there before he dropped out after his first semester. For a while after, he continued to hang around the department, primarily in the heavily electronic physiological lab and audited several of our classes.
And it is true, as he noted in a graduation speech he delivered at Stanford several years ago that he was troubled by the fact that it cost his parents so much to send him there. I doubt, however, that was the only reason he dropped out.
I write about Steve Jobs not only out of respect but also because he and his original team at Apple brought the computer world to me. Throughout his life he remained extremely generous to Reed. After the first computers were produced at Apple, he gave each faculty member one and he continued the practice with each succeeding version of their personal computer.
I never would have learned to use one were it not for the simplicity, its user friendliness as it is called. That feature is characteristic of all Apple products, They are designed to be models of simplicity.
It was simple matter to learn how to use them, something I had previously found impossible with other computer operating systems around then and still do with complicated Windows-based computers. In a way, the early Mac with its graphic interface opened up a new life for me, gave me a better and clearer way to express myself, and eventually with the development of the Web and the Internet expanded the sources of information and the ease of obtaining them regardless of where I am.
You have to remember when this was, otherwise it makes no sense given the electronic world we live in today. It was in 1984, twenty-seven years ago [at the time of this writing], that the first Macintosh computer was produced. The picture above is what it looked like and something like it sat on my desk at Reed soon after it was manufactured.
I wrote my first book on it, a book on promoting energy conservation, with a word-processor known as MacWrite. Since my handwriting is atrocious, completely unreadable even to me, I never could have written such a heavily documented book without it.
Everyone once it a while I stop to think about the larger implications of the new products that Jobs and his group at Apple developed—the iPhone, iPod, the iPad. I'm not entirely certain they represent the positive contribution the personal computer does.
Haruki Murakami wrote about life before and after the development of the electronic revolution recently. I was reminded of what he said about this issue in thinking about the death of Steve Jobs and his enormous influence on society.
By setting the story ["Town of Cats," published in the New Yorker] in 1984, before cell phones and e-mail and the Internet had become common, I made it impossible for my characters to use such tools. This in turn was frustrating for me. I felt their absence slowing down the speed of the novel. When I thought about it, though, not having such devices at the time—both in daily life and in the story—ceased to be an inconvenience. If you wanted to make a phone call, you just found a public telephone; if you had to look something up, you went to the library; if you wanted to contact somebody, you put a stamp on a letter and mailed it. Those were the normal ways to do those things. While writing the novel (and experiencing a kind of time slip), I had a strong feeling of what the intervening twenty-seven years had meant. Sorry to state the obvious, but maybe there's not much connection between the convenience of people's surroundings and the degree of happiness they feel.
4 comments:
- Dom said...
My observations are the same as yours – "… people staring at their iPhone screens throughout the day—in restaurants, on the street, around the dinner table, while they are driving—anywhere it seems." As you also said, it appears that "…the iPhone has become an addiction…".
However, it seems that such iPhone behavior must provide users with significant satisfactions and need fulfillments, or such users would not spend so much time and so much money purchasing and using the iPhones to the extent that they do, rather than use such time and money in some other manner.
What is it that you believe that obsessive iPhone users are getting from their iPhone experience that to them is more desirable, and more important, then the "plain thinking, plain observing, plain reflection, conversation, rumination, or dreaming" that their iPhone use causes them not take advantage of?
- April 3, 2016 at 12:57 AM
- Richard Katzev said...
Dom: Thank you, as always for your comment. It is clear the iPhone gives users immediate gratification, although they are not reading Kant. Instead, they are reading the countless texts from their many friends. Or listening to their favorite tunes. Or watching a film or youtube video. Who knows what they are doing? What they are doing is private, seen and known only to them. That is another part of its pleasures. The notion of simply letting your thoughts roam or looking closely at the passing scenes never seems to lead most users anywhere. The lack of patience is another lost virtue; those we seen in public areas can't wait to return to their home/apartment to see what's up. No, they need to know right now. And so on. Surely I am out of touch with the contemporary world. And I'm sure many others are less devoted to their iPhone too. The device has many advantages and can be a rich source of knowledge. But like anything else, it might be best to use it with moderation. Richard
- April 3, 2016 at 4:24 AM
- Linda said...
Fascinating post, Richard. Especially your connection with Steve Jobs - you knew him when! Do you still have that first computer he gave you (wonder how much that might be worth)?
I have an adult daughter who lives and dies by her iPhone. I marvel at her mastery of the tool - with two thumbs she can type e-mails, texts, post directly to Facebook, etc. much faster than I can type it out on my desktop (and I am an old-school, very fast, touch typist). Her ability to utilize various "apps" makes her phone truly a life command center. But she is so shackled to it it worries me. It constantly chirps out notifications of new stuff (Facebook posts, instant messages, etc.) that she seems to need to view or respond to immediately. When we are together, she puts it aside and tries to resist its siren call, but she can only go so long without checking.
I agree with you that it seems to be an instant gratification thing - a new Facebook "like" is a quick reward. But must reciprocate with a "like" back to the original "liker" so you can get even more "likes." It is an addiction. And I think it is a false sense of connection. But I could go on and on about the effects of social media.
I love my personal computer, my iPhone and iPad - thank you, Steve Jobs! Like you said, they make many activities so much easier - research, writing, perhaps feeling a little safer when you are alone, but they can easily lure one into so much time consuming triviality. And I think I've read that the kind of electronic content consumption you and Dom are talking about impairs our ability to sustain concentration and think on a deeper level. I don't know - I suspect I'm out of touch with the cutting edge of digital life, too. I'm fine with that.
- April 3, 2016 at 7:40 AM
- Richard Katzev said...
Linda: I was not a buddy or even a friend of Jobs when he was at Reed, but we said hello to each other when we met in the lab and hallway. No I don't have that first computer or those that followed it. You are right, it is now worth big bucks. But I do have an extra MacBook Air (only 2 years old and like new), if you want it. Usually I get a new MacBook Air when a new arrives, but there's little room to improve them now, they are "state of the art." I think the Apple Corp. has run out of ideas; they all do eventually. Like you I cannot believe how fast some people can move their thumbs on that little thing. But I can't, nor can I readily bookmark anything like I can with my Firefox Browser, or write anything like I am doing now. I do text once in a while to those I know love to text, but there aren't many of them. If there is ever a fire in my apartment house, the first thing I'll grab if my MacBook Air. It is my brain and I can't manage without one of those. Richard
- April 3, 2016 at 7:54 AM


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Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished just to stay near it. Markus Zusak
If you read the above quote, you probably whispered, "Yes!" I know I did. Book covers began dancing in my line of vision.
As a girl, I loved Eleanor Porter's Pollyanna, Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney, The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, and, of course, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
I was fourteen when I read Charles Shelton's In His Steps, and it was worthy of carrying. I reread it for years. My teen years included Not My Will, A Brother Beloved (over and over -- even after the last few pages were missing), and Light in my Window, all by Francena H. Arnold. Alex Haley's Roots haunted me for months after reading it. Clara Verner's Orphan By Choice was my favorite, and I still have my grandmother's copy.
As a young wife I read Helen Andilan's Fascinating Womanhood and Silver Boxes by Florence Littauer. As a young mother, I read The Birth Order Book by Kevin Leman. (And Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch, and The Berenstain Bears Get Stage Fright by Stan and Jan Berenstain.)
Recently I read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. I have carried this one (and it's conviction) with me. John Eldridge's Beautiful Outlaw, The Scent of Water: Grace for Every Kind of Broken (Naomi Zacharias), and Girl at the End of the Word: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future (Elizabeth Esther), have all impacted my life in some way.
But this past month? I used the word I never permitted my daughters to say. My reading was b-o-r-i-n-g! It was totally my fault for trying to read one subject for the whole month. What was I thinking? However, I do know a lot more about creating habits.
I'm happy to lay aside June's books (a few days early), and choose new books. I picked up seven at the library and will add or delete as I choose. It's vacation time and I'm declaring a vacation for my mind. I will read what I wish and that makes me smile! I'll try to keep you updated on A Sheltering Tree's Facebook Page.
I have found that through the years of my reading, books have shaped my life. They hide their words in the corner of my heart and reappear when I need them most, re-encouraging, re-convicting and re-feeding my soul.
Download book log here: Book Log
Soli Deo Gloria
Jesus, Coffee and Me


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8 thoughts on "Painting and the Artist"
Thanks for sharing
You know what, I liked this.
Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I'm more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out. Keep up the great works guys I've added you guys to my blogroll. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information.. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.
Thanks for sharing that quote…it is a new one for me! Art truly does enhance our lives. I always say, "Life without art is like a garden without flowers"
Van Gogh said it best with "Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I see before me, I make more arbitrary use of color to express myself more forcefully."


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5 ways Wilmington wins as a city for soccer fans
To find the best places to be a soccer fan, the number crunchers at WalletHub, a consumer finance site, compared the 296 most populated U.S. cities with at least one college or professional soccer team. The data compiled for the comparison ranged from the minimum season-ticket price for a game to stadium accessibility to the number of championship wins. Here's where Wilmington ranked on some key metrics. Source: WalletHub 23. Overall rank Wilmington ranked 23rd overall among the almost 300 cities in… Read More »


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The Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, has said that Nigeria ranks 26th in the world production of palm oil and hardly satisfies her domestic demand.
He made the statement during the stakeholders meeting towards the successful hosting of the 1st International Palm Produce Conference (IPPC) held at the weekend in the ministry's headquarters, Abuja.
In his address read by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Dauda Kigbu, Dr. Ortom said that the inability of meeting local demand in palm oil production was a clear indication that the fortunes of the Palm Oil Sub-Sector have declined significantly.In his word, "It is in this regard, that the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) in collaboration with my ministry proposed to organise a conference to serve as a platform for interaction with stakeholders in the oil palm industry globally to review and widen contacts as well as foster development al strategies to address the entire Oil Palm value- chain with stakeholders in order to resuscitate the lost glory of the oil palm industry in Nigeria.
Ortom said the conference was coming at a time the ministry was setting building blocks in the transformation of the oil palm industry as a catalyst for economic development and prosperity.
"It is also timely, as the forum intends to send strong signals to investors/stakeholders of existing opportunities in the palm oil industry in Africa with participation of more than 40 countries worldwide:.
He reassured the stakeholders that the ministry will continue to put in place policies that are needed to facilitate a rapid development of the commodities sector along the value chain in order to restore the lost glory of palm oil industry.
Ortom urged the stakeholders, government agencies, corporate bodies and others to contribute generally towards the success of this historic occasion which will open up new investment opportunities and a roadmap for tackling the challenges facing the development of the oil palm industry in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Director, Commodities and Produce Inspectorate, Mr. Joseph Apanishile, charged stakeholders to be committed to the hosting of the international conference which will serve as an avenue to attract investments from the large turnout of investors.
He recalled that Nigeria was before 1965 the world's largest producer of palm produce but has ceased to contribute to the world's export of the commodity since 1974 except palm kernel.
Earlier, the President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, Engr. Henry Olatujoye, had pointed out that the ministry has built a robust support for the association for the development value chain in the sector.
According to him, "Palm produce is a business in 24 states of the federation. We cannot say we have had a synergy of relationship in the area of cooperation within ourselves to promote and drive the value chain in the sector and we in the private sector were apart. This conference is majorly to bring us together to contribute to the process of policy development by government."
He noted that Nigeria produces 1.2 million metric tones which were consumed locally with local shortage of 700,000 metric tones and participation in this conference, he said would enable them to exchange ideas and experience to meet local demand.


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The proposed regulations implementing the Volcker Rule require a banking entity engaged in proprietary trading activities or hedge fund or private equity fund activities to implement a program reasonably designed to ensure and monitor compliance with the prohibitions and restrictions on trading activities and fund activities and investments. This compliance program requirement forms a key part of the proposal's multi-faceted approach to implementing the Volcker Rule and is intended to ensure that banking entities establish, maintain and enforce compliance procedures and controls to prevent violation or evasion of the prohibitions and restrictions of the Rule. For banking entities engaged in significant proprietary trading or significant hedge fund and private equity fund activities and investments, the program must create a culture of compliance with the board of directors and the CEO responsible for creating an appropriate tone at the top
There are six elements that each compliance program must have, at a minimum, and banking entities with significant proprietary trading activities and significant hedge fund and private equity fund activities must have enhanced compliance programs as spelled out in Appendix C of the proposed regulations.
The first of the six elements is the existence of internal written policies and procedures reasonably designed to document, describe, and monitor the trading activities and fund activities and investments of the banking entity to ensure that such activities are in compliance. The second element of the program is a system of internal controls reasonably designed to monitor and identify potential areas of noncompliance. The third element is a management framework delineating responsibility and accountability for compliance, while the fourth element is independent testing for the effectiveness of the compliance program conducted by qualified banking entity personnel or a qualified outside party.
The fifth element is training for trading personnel and managers to effectively implement and enforce the compliance program. The sixth element is recordkeeping sufficient to demonstrate compliance, with a concomitant requirement to maintain the records for at least five years and promptly produce them when requested by the SEC or a relevant banking agency.
If a banking entity does not engage in covered trading activities and/or covered fund
activities and investments, it need only ensure that its existing compliance policies and procedures include measures designed to prevent the entity from becoming engaged in such activities and making such investments, and requiring it to develop and provide for the required compliance program prior to engaging in such activities or making such investments.
The regulators advise that a banking entity's compliance program, enhanced or otherwise, should not be developed through a generic, one-size-fits-all approach, but rather should carefully take into account and reflect the unique manner in which a banking entity operates, as well as the particular compliance risks and challenges that its businesses present. In light of the complexities presented in differentiating prohibited proprietary trading from permitted market making-related activities in particular, the Agencies expect that such a dynamic, carefully-tailored approach to internal compliance will play an important role in ensuring that banking entities comply with the prohibitions and restrictions.
For a banking entity with significant covered trading activities or significant covered fund activities and investments, the compliance program must meet standards specified in Appendix C of the proposal. The application of these standards for these types of banking entities is intended to reflect the heightened compliance risks of large covered trading activities and large covered fund activities and investments and to provide clear, specific guidance to such banking entities regarding the compliance measures that would be required for purposes of the proposed regulations.
The Agencies proposed to include these standards as part of the regulation itself, rather than as accompanying guidance, reflecting the compliance program's importance within the general implementation framework.
For banking entities with smaller, less complex covered trading activities and covered fund activities and investments, these detailed minimum standards are not applicable, though the Agencies expect that such smaller entities will consider these minimum standards as guidance in designing an appropriate compliance program.
Appendix C would allow a banking entity to establish a compliance program on an enterprise-wide basis covering the banking entity and all of its affiliates and subsidiaries collectively. In order to do so, the program must be clearly applicable, both by its terms and in operation, to all such affiliates and subsidiaries, specifically address the requirements set forth in Appendix C, address the consolidated organization's business structure, size, and complexity, as well as the particular activities, risks, and applicable legal requirements of each subsidiary and affiliate, and be determined through periodic independent testing to be effective on an enterprise-wide basis.
Appendix C states that senior management and intermediate managers should be accountable for the effective implementation of the compliance program, and the board of directors or the chief executive office should review the effectiveness of the compliance program.
Appendix C sets for standards for the internal policies and procedures element for both covered trading activities and covered fund activities and investments. With respect to covered trading activities, Appendix C would require that internal policies and procedures specify how the banking entity identifies its trading accounts and require identification of the trading activity in which the banking entity is engaged and how that activity is organized.
The policies and procedures must also thoroughly articulate the mission, strategy, risks, and compliance controls for each trading unit; include for each trader a mandate that describes the scope of his or her trading activity; articulate and document a comprehensive description of the risks associated with the trading unit's activities; document a comprehensive explanation of how the mission and strategy of the trading unit, and its related risk levels, comply with the proposed regulations; and require the banking entity to promptly address and remedy any violations.
These internal policies and procedures would require banking entities to have the data and standards to prevent prohibited proprietary trading and to identify abnormalities and discrepancies that may be indicative of prohibited proprietary trading. The internal policies and procedures should also provide the Agencies with a clear, comprehensive picture of a banking entity's covered trading activities that can be effectively reviewed.
With respect to fund activities and investments, the proposal would require that internal policies and procedures describe all covered fund activities in which the banking entity engages and the procedures used by the banking entity to ensure that it complies.
The Agencies expect that these internal policies and procedures will be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in business practices, strategies, or regulations. Frequent, unexplained changes to policies and procedures or other aspects of the compliance program, particularly changes to reduce their stringency, would warrant additional scrutiny from banking entity management, independent testing personnel, and federal agency supervisors or examiners.
Similarly, Appendix C articulates minimum standards for the element of internal controls. With respect to covered trading activities, internal controls must be reasonably designed to ensure that the covered trading activity is conducted in conformance with a trading unit's authorized risks, instruments and products, as documented in the banking entity's written policies and procedures, and must establish and enforce risk limits for each trading unit and perform a robust analysis and quantitative measurement of covered trading activity reasonably designed to ensure that the activity of each trading unit is appropriate to its mission, strategy, and risk, as documented in the banking entity's internal written policies and procedures.
The internal controls analysis and measurement must also monitor and assist in the identification of potential and actual prohibited trading activity, as well as prevent the occurrence of prohibited proprietary trading. This analysis and measurement should incorporate the quantitative measurements calculated and reported under Appendix A of the proposed rule, but should also include other analysis and measurements developed by the banking entity that are specifically tailored to the business, risks, practices, and strategies of its trading units.
The SEC and the banking regulators expect that the thoughtful use of these types of quantitative tools to monitor the extent to which the activities of a trading unit are consistent with its stated mission, strategy, and risk profile may help identify abnormalities or discrepancies in permitted trading activity that may be indicative of prohibited proprietary trading. In addition, these internal controls must provide for regular monitoring of the effectiveness of the banking entity's compliance program and require the banking entity to take prompt action to address and remedy any deficiencies identified and to provide timely notification to the relevant regulator of any investigation and remedial action taken.
With respect to covered fund activities and investments, the internal controls required under proposed Appendix C focus on ensuring that a banking entity has effective controls in place to monitor its investments in, and relationships with, covered funds to ensure its compliance with the covered fund activity and investments restrictions, including controls that relate to implementing remedies in the event of a violation of the Volcker provision and its implementing regulations.
Appendix C also details standards for the element of responsibility and accountability focusing on four key constituencies: the board of directors, the CEO, senior management, and managers at each trading unit and asset management unit level. The board of directors and the CEO are responsible for creating an appropriate tone at the top by setting an appropriate culture of compliance and establishing clear policies regarding the management of covered trading activities and covered fund activities and investments.
Senior management must be made responsible for communicating and reinforcing the culture of compliance established by the board of directors and the CEO, for the actual implementation and enforcement of the approved compliance program, and for taking effective corrective action, where appropriate. Managers with responsibility for one or more trading units or asset management units of the banking entity that are engaged in covered trading activity or covered fund activity and investments are accountable for effective implementation and enforcement of the compliance program for the applicable trading unit or asset management unit.
The standards for the independent testing element require that the testing be conducted by a qualified independent party, such as the banking entity's internal audit department, outside auditors, consultants or other qualified independent parties. The independent testing must examine both the banking entity's compliance program and its actual compliance with the regulations.
Testing must include not only the general adequacy and effectiveness of the compliance program and compliance efforts, but also the effectiveness of each element of the compliance program and the banking entity's compliance with each provision of the regulations. This requirement is intended to ensure that a banking entity continually and objectively reviews and assesses the strength of its compliance efforts and promptly identifies and remedies any weaknesses within the compliance framework.
With regard to the training element, Appendix C would require that a banking entity provide adequate training to its trading personnel and managers, as well as other appropriate personnel, in order to effectively implement and enforce the compliance program. In particular, personnel engaged in covered trading activities or covered fund activities and investments should be educated with respect to applicable prohibitions and restrictions, exemptions, and compliance program elements to an extent sufficient to permit them to make informed, day-to-day decisions supporting compliance.
In particular, any personnel with discretionary authority to trade, in any amount, should be appropriately trained regarding the differentiation of prohibited proprietary trading and permitted trading activities and given detailed guidance regarding what types of trading activities are prohibited. Similarly, personnel providing investment management or advisory services, or acting as general partner or trustee of a covered fund, should be appropriately trained regarding what fund activities and investments are permitted and prohibited.
Finally, Appendix C articulates standards for the recordkeeping element under which a banking entity must create records sufficient to demonstrate compliance and support the operation and effectiveness of its compliance program. The records must show any scrutiny or investigation by compliance personnel or risk managers, and any remedies taken in the event of a violation or non-compliance. The records must be retained for at least five years in a form allowing them to be promptly produced at the request of the SEC or a banking agency. Records created and retained under the compliance program must include trading records of the trading units, including trades and positions of each such unit.


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(April 13, 2010)
Contact: Rick DelaHaya, Centenary News Services, 318.869.5073
Religious Studies Seminar Showcases Local Buddhism April 24
SHREVEPORT, La. (Centenary News Service)—The Religious Studies Department of Centenary College will sponsor an adult education seminar on Buddhism in the Shreveport-Bossier area, Saturday, April 24, from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. in Kilpatrick Auditorium, located in the Smith Building. The seminar is free and open to the public.
"The Dharma in Dixie" will showcase local expressions of the Buddhist religion and feature multi-media presentations, films, panel discussions, meditation exercise, and opportunities for interfaith dialogue.
Dr. Peter Huff, T. L. James associate professor of Religious Studies, calls the seminar "an extraordinary opportunity to learn about one of the newest additions to America's diverse religious scene." An expert on Buddhist-Christian relations, Dr. Huff will present a lecture at the event on "The Christian Encounter with Buddhism."
The Buddhist tradition began in India 2,500 years ago with the experience of Siddhartha Gautama, known to history as the Buddha or "enlightened one." A thousand years later, Buddhist civilization stretched from Afghanistan to Japan. Buddhism was the world's first multi-cultural religion. Today its European and American adherents number in the millions.
Speakers at the seminar will include local Buddhist leaders Larry Androes, Buddy Landry, Yoshi Odaka, and Ben Riggs. Co-sponsors include the Buddhist Meditation Group at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, Centenary Meditation Group, Falang Corner Bhavana Group, Refuge Meditation Group, and Soka Gakkai International.
Lunch will be provided for attendees. RSVP by April 20 to Rachel Stevens at email. For more information, contact Dr. Huff at 318-869-5049 or email.
About Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrated 100 years in the Shreveport and Bossier City communities.


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Mediterranean Diet May Be Effective in Reducing Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome
Mediterranean Diet and Metabolic Syndrome
In another study in this issue of JAMA, Katherine Esposito, M.D., of the Second University of Naples, Italy, and colleagues demonstrated that a Mediterranean style diet had beneficial effects on endothelial (a layer of flat cells lining the closed internal spaces of the body, including the blood vessels) function and in reducing vascular inflammatory markers in patients with the metabolic syndrome.
According to background information in the article, the metabolic syndrome consists of several factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Recent estimates indicate that the metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in the United States, with an estimated 24 percent of the adult population affected. Its clinical identification is based on measures of abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia (the formation of high levels of lipid deposits in the arteries), elevated blood pressure, and glucose intolerance. The metabolic syndrome has been identified as a target for dietary therapies to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease; however, the role of diet as contributing to the metabolic syndrome is poorly understood.
The randomized trial was conducted from June 2001 to January 2004 at a university hospital in Italy among 180 patients (99 men and 81 women) with the metabolic syndrome. Patients in the intervention group (n=90) were instructed to follow a Mediterranean-style diet and received detailed advice about how to increase daily consumption of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil; patients in the control group (n=90) followed a prudent diet (carbohydrates, 50 percent-60 percent; proteins, 15 percent-20 percent; total fat, less than 30 percent).
The researchers found that after 2 years, patients in the Mediterranean diet intervention group had significant decreases in body weight, blood pressure, levels of glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, and triglycerides and a significant increase in levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, all of which were greater than those recorded in the control group. Serum concentrations of interleukins 6 (IL-6), 7 (IL-7), and 18 (IL-18) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were significantly reduced in patients in the intervention group compared with those in the control group. Endothelial function score improved in the intervention group but remained stable in the control group.
Forty patients consuming the intervention diet still had features of the metabolic syndrome, compared with 78 patients consuming the control diet. Participants who followed the intervention diet showed a reduction in the number of the components of the syndrome such that the overall prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was reduced by approximately one half.
"The results of this study represent the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that a Mediterranean-style diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, walnuts, and olive oil might be effective in reducing both the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its associated cardiovascular risk," the authors conclude. (JAMA. 2004;292:1440-1446)